I was about to leave the gym when the gym’s Muzak switched to Rivermaya’s “You’ll Be Safe Here.” So, I stayed and listened. As if I wasn’t rushing to some place. As if I had no to-do list for the day. As if there were no government deadlines to meet.

I stayed and continued to listen because this was the song that assured me that I’d still be safe at the height of a series of challenges in 2008 and 2009.

“Close your eyes, dry your tears/‘Cause when nothing seems clear/You’ll be safe here from the sheer weight/Of your doubts and fears/Weary heart, you’ll be safe here.”

I told a friend that if not for the gym, my coping mechanism would be, uh, what Ethan Hunt does for his impossible missions. Haha. But a friend said that I won’t be doing that at all. Instead, I’d be eating a lot. Haha! He could read my mind.

If only we can also read the minds of the incoming government officials who won recently. What are their plans for the madlang pehpohl? Will the Pinoy finally be Top 1 in their hierarchy of priorities? Or will their vested interest still be topping that list?

Lucky is the Pinoy whose concern happens to be the same as the politicians’ vested interest. Or if his farm happens to be located in the same area as that of the politician’s farm for it can then be reached through a paved road in the future.

I’ve reached that age when I should not hope anymore for the Philippine government to finally behave and make the country better. Still, I keep the faith.

The only time when I don’t keep the faith is when I sense disrespect from some people. That’s when I build walls around me. I now have low tolerance for such people. There was a time when I’d simply laugh that off. But now, don’t me.

As newly elected officials are in transition mode with the outgoing officials, Cagayan de Oro now seems to be transitioning from whatever to whatever. Is it from worse to worst? You won’t be safe here? Oops.

There are times when traveling from CDO downtown to uptown and vice versa during rush hours is almost like traveling along Edsa during rush hours. If you’ve been to Edsa in Metro Manila, you know what I mean. So, this is how it is to live in a highly urbanized city (HUC). And CDO is the HUC that’s having a difficult time in collecting garbage. Are there other HUCs with the same garbage problem? Hmmm.

I write columns while mobile so I won’t “feel” the traffic and see the garbage. If only SM City CDO Uptown will renovate its cinemas and insert a Director’s Club there, the uptowner will never go downtown again to watch a movie. And it will be nice if the uptown mall will have a Uniqlo, Miniso, Mango, H&M, Zara, Pull&Bear, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, and Charles & Keith. Yeah, dream on.