Think Before You Tweet

Yesterday, I had my first “heated” discussion over Twitter. Well, ok heated might be overstating it a bit. Let’s just say lively.

Recently, upon the suggestion of a friend I started to follow DJ Mo Twister over at Twitter. My friend said that his tweets were entertaining. Fine ok, I followed.

I must admit some of his tweets were really entertaining. Mostly those about his travels in Europe.

However there were some tweets exchanged between him and some people that I have to say weren’t nice. It must have been the heat yesterday but after seeing Mo’s reply to someone I kinda got irked and decided to join in the conversation. Let me chronicle it below.

It started with this tweet.

did kris aquino really say she wanted to STAB people who talked smack about Noy? thats awesome. cuz thats my solution for everything too.

someone with the twitter name *youlovealfer* replied to Mo which in turn Mo replied to him with this.

RT @youlovealfer: @djmotwister — i understand her coz thats her brother.–ARE YOU EFFING SERIOUS? stabbing humans, filipinos?

Now, like I stated above, it must have been the heat or it was just a sucky day for me coz normally I won’t even bother but I guess it just irked me. So I sent a tweet over to Mo saying.

@djmotwister dude, it may be bad choice of words but that’s what they are. don’t tell me you’ve never said “i’d kill that guy”. c’mon.

What followed was what would turn out to be a lively exchange between Mo and I. Here’s the rest of the tweet exchange.

@chairmanone youre fucking insane thinking thats justified. wow. im scared for monday cuz of people like you.

 

@djmotwister i never said it was justified. all i’m saying is you’re making such a big deal out of nothing. it’s kris aquino for pete’s sake

 

@djmotwister you really taking kris aquino seriously?

 

@chairmanone its the presidency my friend…im not making a big deal, look at my tweet. i was being sarcastic. “its awesome”. 6 yrs bud.

 

@djmotwister so wait, what’s the presidency got to do with what she said? is she the one running?

 

@djmotwister so ok, you’re saying you take the presidential elections seriosuly. let’s have a discussion. who you voting for and why?

 

@chairmanone oh shit. youre stupid. what does it have to do with the presidency? are u high? the biased mind is so disturbing

 

@djmotwister dude, now with comments like that makes you “stupid” more than me. calling other people stupid when you don’t even know them.

 

@djmotwister coz if what kris says is a barometer of who noynoy is, then i pity your siblings if you have any. for all the crap you say.

First of all at the time Mo tweeted about Kris Aquino’s statement he didn’t even know it was true. So given that he’s a celebrity and all with a lot of followers, why post something that might give people the wrong impression about another person. Is it because she’s Kris Aquino? Because she’s the host of a competing show? I dunno. But that’s not the thing that irked me.

What irked me was how he replied to “youlovealfer”. The guy/girl was making a simple comment which in my opinion has some merit. I mean if it were me and you talk smack about my family I’d kick your ass (if I could).

You have to put things into context. A lot of people have been saying bad things about Noynoy and the Aquino family in general. It’s been a long campaign season and so even if what Kris said was true, people will know that it’s a figure of speech. Something not to be taken literally. The only person Kris would probably stab is James Yap in the even she catches here cheating on him. Ok, ok I’m kidding. Even if she does she probably won’t. For all of Kris’ faults I don’t take her as someone who’d actually stab a person.

So that being said, when I replied to Mo, I only meant to imply that he shouldn’t take things literally. Read between the lines and take everything into context. First of all it might not be true, second he’s an educated person he should know it was probably a figure of speech.

What pisses me off though is how Mo would reply to people. I made a simple comment. No need to be crass about it and start cursing people. Especially someone you don’t know. Even going as far as saying “he’s scared on Monday because of people like me”. He doesn’t even know me, so how can he be scared of me? I never even implied that it’s justified to stab someone when he talks smack about your siblings. Again, it’s probably a figure of speech!

Also, why is he taking what Kris Aquino says seriously? It’s Kris Aquino for pete’s sake. We all know that a character she is. I’m not saying Kris is bad but sometimes she also needs to filter what she says. But Kris is Kris and that’s another topic altogether.

Mo, goes on to say “it’s the presidency my friend”. Huh? When did it become about the presidency? Oh.. because Kris is the sister of Noynoy. Hence what Kris says is a reflection of Noynoy’s character. Great logic! If people’s character were based on the things that their siblings say or their siblings for that matter, I hope that Mo is an only child. I’ll feel bad for his siblings. Imagine being judged because of what goes out of Mo’s mouth.

Replying rudely to people and calling them “stupid” doesn’t make you superior to other people. In fact you’re the one that’s stupid for doing that. Especially if you do it over Twitter. I mean when talking/texting/tweeting to people, especially those you don’t know you should be mindful about what you say. I’m pretty sure Mo’s a smart person. He wouldn’t be where he is if he was dumb. So why talk like that to people? Can’t you carry a decent conversation with strangers? There are ways to get your point across without calling them “stupid”, “idiot” or any other derogatory names for that matter. Case in point, I just had a lively debate with a friend over Facebook chat prior to the incident with Mo. We were trying to convince each other to vote for the other’s candidate. It went pretty well. No name calling was necessary. All’s well that ends well. A lively exchange of opinions can be carried out without the need for calling another person names. It’s not rocket science. It’s just plainly being decent.

Now, I wrote about this incident not to malign Mo. Let’s say it’s my way of telling him and people in general to *think before you tweet*. The Twitterverse is a whole different space than what goes on in normal conversation between friends. You can’t express what you want to say clearly in 140 characters. So there’s always a chance that people might not interpret what you want to say correctly. So all the more you need to be careful with what you say and how you say it.

Hey, for all I know Mo and I might even eventually end up as friends. I’m not judging him as a whole based on this. I’m just saying that sometimes he can be an ass when he tweets. It doesn’t make him a bad person. Just someone who needs to think more before tweeting.

*Disclaimer: At this point in time I am inclined to vote for Noy, Mar and the LP slate but that’s not because I’m biased. Nor is it because I follow them blindly because Noy is the son of Ninoy and Cory. It’s because based on what I see and have read, theirs is the platform that addresses a lot of the issues I care about. Mainly, health care and education. Also it’s because of all the parties, they fielded candidates not because they’re winnable but because they’re actually qualified. Are they the only ones qualified? No. But at least they can actually perform the duties of the post they’re running for.*

Thoughts On The Upcoming Presidential Elections

The election is less than 10 days away and the jockeying for votes is reaching a high. Campaign jingles blaring during the day, countless ads being aired on tv and radio. Even my current favorite past time of browsing Facebook and Twitter is being invaded by political messages. So I thought I’d just go ahead and share my thoughts on the upcoming Presidential elections.

First and foremost what I sincerely wish for is a clean and honest election. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen. So if Erap wins but it’s clearly shown that it’s the people’s choice and he’s the clear winner then so be it. We get the leaders we deserve but at least it was the true choice of the people. What I really don’t want is a President that cheated his way to the top.

That being said, here are my thoughts on the candidates for President.

*Noynoy Aquino* – He’s currently the person I’m most likely to vote for. Here’s why. There are two issues that are very close to my heart, health care and education. I truly believe that these two need to be addressed in order for the other ills of our society to be fixed. A healthy nation is a strong nation. An educated nation is a prosperous nation.

Aquino’s health care plan promises universal health care for Filipinos within 3 years and of the national budget to be allocated to health care.

The Aquino education platform also calls on focus on science and math which I believe are essentials for us to prosper as a nation. These subjects are the foundation of knowledge jobs such as medicine, engineering. I don’t want the Philippines to be just a nation of call centers and factories but rather a nation that is known for research, development and products that were born here and not just manufactured here. These are subjects that need to be learned and excelled at in order to do these.

A lot has been said about Noynoy’s qualification. That’s what they also said about Barack Obama. Some times it’s not about the length of service or how many laws you’ve been able to craft. I think this time we just need a President who can inspire hope in us. A President who can help us get our act together and push us forward.

Noynoy is just the son of Cory and Ninoy and nothing more. That’s what a lot of people say. Well I can also say that the Apple does not fall far away from the tree. If he inherited a fraction of his parent’s traits that would be better than most people running now.

But what reassures me about my choice is that you can tell a lot about the candidate by the team he put together. Among all of the candidates Noynoy has arguably the best people running with him. From Mar Roxas to his senate slate. I believe that that these are people I can stomach as public servants.

*Gibo Teodoro* – He would have been neck and neck with Noynoy for my vote if not for several things. First, he’s just too associated with GMA. I hate GMA with a passion.

Also, if his choice of VP is any indication of his leadership then I really don’t want him as my President. Of all 80 million Filipinos why would you choose Edu Manzano? Now don’t even get me started with his choice of Senators, Bong and Lito Lapid? Are you kidding me?

For a candidate who’s supporters are espousing that Gibo is the choice of the thinking man he didn’t put a lot of thought in his team.

A lot of people keep lambasting Noynoy about Hacienda Luisita, isn’t Gibo a Cojuangco too?

*Manny Villar* – C5, allegations of bribery and other unethical conduct as Senate President, Loren Legarda are just all the reasons I need not to vote for him.

*Dick Gordon* – He would also have been a strong candidate for my vote. He has both executive and legislative experience and has been successful in transitioning Subic from a US base to what it is during his time.

However, he just comes across as someone that’s temperamental and egotistical. A President needs to be first and foremost humble because he is in fact the number one servant of the people. Sadly humility is not Dick’s strong suit.

*Bro. Eddie Villanueva* – My biggest problem with him is that I am not a believer of having a preacher as a President. I believe that there should be a separation of church and state and I am afraid that if he’s President he might push his religious biases onto the people.

Also by insisting that he is God’s chosen one, every time he loses he is doing God a disservice. He’s making a case for people to think God doesn’t exist. If God indeed chose him, he would have been President years ago.

Please don’t use God as a campaign tool. If God wants you to be President you don’t need to tell people that, God will do that for you.

*Nicky Perlas* – He’s a good man. I believe this wholeheartedly and if I was President I would not mind having him in my cabinet. I wish he started slightly lower first and worked his way up. Maybe Mayor, Governor or something.

*JC Delos Reyes* – Like Nicky I believe he’s a good person. Try a lower position first and work your way up. He’s still young and he has a lot of time to ascend to higher office.

*Jamby Madrigal* – no comment.

Those comments being said there are still less than 10 days away from the elections, until my vote is cast it’s not certain. I can change my mind. If anyone can convince me that their candidate will be able to address the issues that I care about better then please by all means, convince me. If you do, I’d be happy to change my vote.

What’s Wrong With Being Depressed?

An alleged psychological report on presidential candidate Noy Noy Aquion dating back to 1979 has surfaced. According to “this report”:http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/04/27/10/villar-camp-revives-noynoy-mental-health-issue former which NPC President Guido Delgado circulated, a then 19 year old Aquino was said to be “suffering from depression and melancholia” partly due to his father’s incarceration during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos.

This report was supposedly signed by Jaime Bulatao, a Jesuit Priest and was dated August 9, 1979. Father Bulatao through a letter has since denied the report.

However, granting this report is true, what’s wrong with being depressed? Isn’t depression a natural human emotion? I will openly admit that I’ve been depressed several times over the course of my life. Especially because of the trials that I’ve been faced. Is there something wrong with me? Does this mean I am a lesser person than the next because I’ve been depressed? My answer would be no. There’s nothing wrong with being depressed.

At the time that the report was supposedly made Noy Noy was a young man who has gone through a tremendous amount of trials such as the incarceration of his father and the other attacks thrown against his family by their enemies. That’s more than a lot of people could undergo and handle given their youth.

If he became depressed, that would certainly be understandable. What’s important is that he got over it and since then has made something out of his life.

Being depressed is not bad. It’s our way of coping through problems. What’s important is the ability to get over the depression and press forward. As the saying goes, “it’s not how many times you fall down, it’s how many times you get up”.

That’s the same with depression. We’ll get depressed as we face trials and that’s fine. We should just find a way to get out of it in a timely manner.

If the worse trait of Noy Noy is that he gets depressed from time to time then I’m willing to live with that. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad leader or a bad person, it only means he’s human.

As the elections draw near, my choice of who to vote for becomes clearer and clearer. I am seeing and sensing desperation from some candidates and this only puts them in a bad light.

A friendly advice to supporters of candidates don’t use tactics like this in order to sway others to your side, it only makes people think less of you and your candidate. If you want to convince me to vote for your candidate show me what they can do, their good qualities. Don’t show me the negative traits of the other candidates. That only makes you look petty.

Has it been that long?

Has it really been 463 days since my last entry? Yikes! Time has surely gone by. Well I’m back (I’ve said that before). Hopefully I’ll follow through this time. I’ll be posting more here.

A redesign of my site is also underway. Please watch out for that. I’m thinking of porting it to WordPress. We’ll see.

Belated Merry Christmas and Advanced Happy New Year!

Christmas has come and gone and 2008 is coming to a close. This year has been an interesting one. Good and bad things happened this year but the fact that I’m still here is truly a blessing. I guess that goes for all of us. Each day we’re alive is definitely a gift.

With that, I want to wish you a belated Merry Christmas and an advanced Happy New Year. I sincerely hope that your Christmas was a good one. I know times are tough and that this year might not have been as bountiful as the last. Still as long as you were able to celebrate it with your loved ones and had food on the table it’s a good Christmas.

My wish for you in the coming year, is good health and prosperity. I hope that all of us are free from sickness in the coming year. I also pray that we all will get through the economic turmoil that is coming.

Whatever happens this coming year let’s not forget to count our blessings and be thankful for what we have. Again, I wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and an advanced Happy New Year!

Right To Live or Die

Instead of debating suicide laws, why isn’t more done to find as cure for the awful diseases that so ruin people’s lives, they feel the need to kill themselves?
– Michael, Manchester, UK

That quote came from one of the comments left on an article that I just read. The article was titled “British TV viewers to be shown shocking moment terminally ill man ends his life at suicide clinic” and it was published on Mail Online, a British publication.

The article talks about a man named Craig Ewert who suffers from Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a group of progressive neurological disorders that affect the control over muscles. Craig Ewert has decided that he did not want to prolong his suffering as well as subject his family to his ordeal that he flew to Switzerland to die. Dignitas, a Swiss organization assists terminally ill people in performing assisted suicide. You can read the entire article here.

This story caught my attention and in a way pulled something in my heart because I know what it’s like to go through something similar, albeit not as bad.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, there’s a sense of dignity that is lost when you can’t fend for yourself. When you rely on someone else to do normal daily activities, it does get quite taxing. Not only on yourself but on the people around you.

Being paralyzed, not having control over your body is a very difficult thing. Physically and emotionally. It’s something you don’t wish another person, even an enemy.

I’m quite lucky that at least I still have some function over other parts of my body. I can still do other things such as type on a computer, text message, eat, speak, etc… Those things still make life worth living.

I do understand what went through Mr. Ewert’s head. I would be lying if I said that I’ve never thought about just ending my life and getting this over with. However those moments are very brief and fleeting. I’ve managed to think of reasons to keep on going. But I can empathize and understand his decision. It’s not an easy life…

The question begs to be asked “why aren’t we doing much more in terms of making sure that people who are in similar situations don’t have to make that decision?”.

We as a society should do more. We should spend more on healthcare, research for medicine and treatments that will cure illnesses such as this. We should provide programs that assist families in caring for sick members, we should be more compassionate as a society that decisions such as taking your own life should not be made. Life is precious, each life is important.

Like I said, I still manage to find a reason to keep fighting. My family is my main driver in doing so. I honestly wouldn’t know what to do if I lose them, they are the biggest reason why I continue to fight. Without them I don’t think I would have gotten this far. I honestly hope I never run out of reasons to go on and keep fighting.

While I can understand one persons wish to enforce his right to die and end his suffering, it is my sincerest wish that society gives everyone enough reason and assistance to not have to exercise that right.

Timepiece

I don’t know why but I’ve been really fascinated about watches lately. I’ve always liked watches but didn’t really think as much about it as much I’m thinking about it now.

I guess it’s because it’s a symbol of time and how precious time is to us mortals. We have a finite period that we spend here on earth and that’s something that you can’t put a price on.

A watch is also what I consider a man’s jewelry. I’m not a fan of men wearing a lot of bling. Personally the only jewelry I’d be comfortable in wearing is a watch, ring (wedding ring) and a necklace. Even for the necklace I only wear a necklace that’s a religious symbol.

I have a few things I want in life one of them is to own a nice watch. Why? It’s because I feel that it’s something that I can pass on to my child if I ever have one or someone important to me. Something to remind them of me. It’s something that can be passed on from generation to generation. I’m not a watch collector so I really only want one nice watch.

Some people will think its ridiculous but to each his own. There’s something about a well crafted timepiece that really appeals to me.

There’s only two reasons why I don’t have a nice watch. One is that I can’t stomach the fact that I would own one and my dad doesn’t. I know he also wanted a nice watch but he sacrificed that want in order to provide for his family. The second reason is that.. well I just don’t have the money yet. If I did, I’d probably go and buy my dad one first and just ask him to pass it on to me later on.

If and this is a big IF, I had the resources to buy one, I’d love to own a Panerai. Why? It’s just a manly watch plus it’s not that common. At the moment a Panerai, any model is my watch of choice.

That’s a dream though… Maybe one day… But as of now there are more important things to worry about.

31 and Counting

I just turned 31 last Nov 28. For someone who was told that he might not reach the age of 30, this is certainly a milestone. I consider this my first “bonus” year.

The past year has been both good and bad. Good in the sense that I’m still around, bad that I feel I’m 31 and still have very little to show for it.

I am happy about somethings, I’ve done several interesting things, got featured in some TV shows, met interesting people who turned out to become good friends.

Bad because there are things that happened this year that are sad. I won’t dwell on it too much though.

I honestly have a lot to be thankful for. Another year has passed, I’m still around to enjoy life. My family is relatively healthy, I still have money (however little it is) in my bank account, new friends, my treatments are still continuing. All in all great blessings.

I do have some birthday wishes…

A friend asked me what my birthday wish for this year was, I answered that there’s a special person in my life that is sick right now. I wish him well and hope that he gets through this trial. That’s what I want right now more than anything else. Well, ok apart from the continued well being of my parents and brother but apart from that I’m good.

So on that note, God, thanks for another year. I’m hoping I’ll be able to write another post for my 32nd birthday and the many more years after that.

Back To Blogging

After a long break, I’m trying to get back into blogging here at Fight Pompe. I hope that I’ll be able to sustain this. I’m sorry to have neglected this blog. It’s just been crazy lately. Busy with so many things that it’s not funny anymore.

Wish me luck… again..

Hello Again!

So I didn’t quite live up to my last post. Things have just been crazy lately.

Some updates…

On my infusions… They are going great. We’re getting to a point that we’re already comfortable with the routine that unlike before that the doctor stays with me the whole time, now he just makes sure it gets up to the highest rate and then he can go about his other duties.

That’s not to say we’re getting complacent. There’s still a nurse that oversees the whole infusion.

So far, so good. Let’s hope it stays that way.

On work… There might be some major changes. I’m actually at a crossroads. Well not quite there but almost. I’m thinking about what to do in the future. Where I’ll be happy and fulfilled at the same time find something that will help secure a future for me and hopefully a family as well. A guy can hope can’t he?

On personal life… Things are a bit boring lately. My life revolves around my treatment, work, PSOD and Singles For Christ. I’m not complaining that it’s boring. Sometimes boring is good. However I do need to do other things to add a bit of excitement to my life.

On a sad or rather disappointing note, one of my assistants/aides resigned. I always feel bad when that happens, especially now since I’ve gotten so used to him and that my life was actually going pretty well. I have a temporary aide now for about a month but I’m on the look out for a permanent one. Wish me luck on that.

I’ve also been having trouble with one of my BiPap machines. The new one at that. That really sucks. I’ve already sent it to HK. Poor dad, he had to fly all the way to HK to get it fixed. It didn’t turn out well. I guess it’s because it was a rush job so the service center didn’t really get to test it fully. I can’t send it back yet since no one is going to HK soon. Oh well. I’m trying to plan for future machines. I need to see if I can get some new ones.

There are other things that have been going on. I can’t recall all or I’m just too tired to post it now. Anyway hopefully I’ll be posting more.