Bayan ng Bukirin (isang maselang pagsusuri sa hiwaga ng Farm Town)

My very own LAND and the Virtues I Learned

As a son of a full pledge farmer, once in my earlier life, I loathed the loads of farm works to be done early in the morning. My friends would then tease me to play in the streets but my father would tell “Tumulong ka pay ditoy, haan ka tumulad kadagita awan trabaho na”.

Indeed I was able to internalize the virtue of PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE and SACRIFICE so as I write this post, I am waiting for that pineapples of mine for harvesting, enjoying the feeling of economic stability with regards to my farm’s profit from production and the social recognition I am receiving from friends in admiration of my LEVEL 30 FARM TOWN ACCOUNT!

Patience.

                Standing on farm town’s market place can sometimes be frustrating. Jobs are just in the corner yet you realize you are not that lucky to be chosen for certain works.  Pleads for a job comes in with the usual “Pls give me a job, I am just starting”, “I am a fast clicker”, and the worst of all that made my muscle jerk “I can do plow job and hand job”.

                Time taught me that the best word is silence: just stand by the corner where everyone can see you with moderation of chats would certainly get you a job in no time. A tip from an expert would be “just stand by that orange colored fruit and let them do the talking. “A minute of wait will be much rewarded (promise).

PERSEVERANCE

                Starters should be contented with any small job of harvesting or plowing in any size of farm offered. In fact, I was fond of harvesting trees in my earlier days just to compensate with my stupidity of letting the others take on cotton and pineapples, not knowing they are more expensive. Anyway there will be lots of people online during the later hours of the night (foreigners are online usually and they give the best jobs ever).

                What you need is a well developed clicking reflex and hand and eye coordination with good analysis of the size of the farm and approximation of how much effort  will it take you to out maneuver the rest.  A faster internet connection is an advantage where you can do twice as the others do. Courtesy is an option here yet a better option of starting a good conversation with the owner can end up in adding him/her in your buddy list, thus giving you hope of returning to the same farm and get the job again! A simple “Hi, can I add you on my list” certainly won’t kill.

SACRIFICE

                Of course nothing is free. Just visiting your farm and waiting for that job to be offered requires you more and more time as you get addicted to the game. The satisfaction becomes more difficult to achieve as time goes by thus comes the monetary deficiency in real life comes to play. An hour would not be enough to fix everything in a day.  (Luckily, my school offers WiFi).  It will cause you a lot of money depending of the severity of your addiction.

Time is also sacrificed especially for full time students like me. Review or study hours are trimmed just to face the computer once a day.  My super-ego tells me that I must study yet I find it difficult to resist my ego.  I usually end up going to bed late at night and wake early in the morning to cram for the day’s quizzes.  Yeah it’s hard but I’m surviving (still).  

In the end, I came to appreciate all the teachings my father has given me. That a great man that faced the hardships of farming in his earlier life can have a great farm even though its only online. I will be contented with this- for now.

(feel free to add me as a friend and neighbor at akonayata@gmail.com gifts are much appreciated XD)

Dimmed Spotlight

Philippine politics has never been plain boring. it has always been a venue of circus acts, blatant ironies and dynamic display of power and influence.  

Doing my pre-bedtime rituals includes turning on the television and scanning for the usual programs .Its just quite annoying that, once again as it has always been, the primetime is jam packed with advertisements of political figures ranging from skin soaps to alcoholic beverages and worst, commercials with self uplifting themes. Not to mention cabinet secretaries flaunting their agency’s advocacies.

To top it all, sensational commercials like “Anak-itabi-mo”, “Dito-kami-Nangarap”, and “Ganito-kami-sa-Makati” paved its way to the public eyes for months now. It highlights politicians riding in a pedicab (of course it’s not possible in real life), narrating his rags to riches drama and achievements in his City.

According to the Omnibus Election Code, the official campaign period for the national positions starts 90 days before the election, that is on mid February of 2010. It is a fact neglected by our dear officials. Commercials such as these are clearly manifestations of early politicking.

It all boils down to these two facts: firstly, they were not models, secondly, they are not paid, instead they pay exorbitant fees just to see themselves on TV.

Its true that these officials have not yet filed their candidacy for national position but why will they spend hundred of millions in such major Philippine TV stations. It is also true that even there are no “Vote for Me” phrases, the whole thing speaks for it. That even  my 5-year old nephew stopped  imitating John Lloyd’s “ingat” instead he started saying “Anak Itabi Mo”.

Not to mention Government secretaries starting to appear regularly at primetime with what they call info-mercials about their respective agencies.

Money spent can be more productive as to donations to Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that never spent a single penny on ads just to ensure that they make the most of there fund or just continue their public service while not expecting anything in return.

Traditional Politicians or TraPo is what they call them.  Conventional politicians use this as tactic with statistics saying  early signs of uplifting popularity  affects standings on chances of winning the elections.

But how can we choose such leaders if simple rules they can not follow. In this time of crisis, change is much awaited. And greatest changes are more expected from them.

I have seen much of these for the past elections yet nothing has changed. What was being portrayed in commercials is most likely to-good-to-be-true. After the elections, money spent will be taken back. The public will always be left deceived.

Voters are becoming wiser even though slower than expected but at least. We’ve reached another opportunity to make the right choice or the other way around. We can believe in what we see in that box of glittering and shimmering nothing but we can also be more critical in comprehending the darker side of it.

With this I remember the most remarkable commercial of  2007 that goes like this: “Pangarap kong Tuparin ang mga Pangarap mo”.