2V or not 2V

By | July 18, 2021

As soon as the ashy mist of a conversational tit for tat clears, another one bites the dust at maiiwang tulala.

Take this. Para bang tinanong ka ng kasalubong mo: “Pare, saan ka?” Yamot pa siya kung ang reply ay “Nandito.” ‘Di ba? Totoo naman na narito kung wala roon. Hmmpp.

Or this: May bitbit kang towel, soap at panghilod; then it is asked, “Kuya, maliligo ka?” “Hindi. Maghahanap ng babatukan.” Hay naku naman! Obtuse ba?

And this: “Petrang manunuba, baka nakakalimutan mo na ang utang mo!” Ginantihan nang: “Hayaan mo, bruhang bungangera, makakalimutan ko din yun!” Ang palengkerang sinagot, hayun, nakasimangot. 

Puro question, puro tanong; nakalunon ba sila ng binagoongang tahong? Ang sumagot nang pabalang, maututan sana ng tikbalang.

But as always, the rule is “Be kind to animals.”

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How people communicate determines the kind of social environment they tend to live in.

Many times, it is pathetic to even think that a verbal trade (or tirade) was how it was in the beginning or will be until the end.

Nang ginawa ni Bathala ang mundo, everything was good. Wala sa kuwento ng Creation ang mga bungangerang spitfire at pilosopong tanga. Huwag na natin busisiin pa ang istorya ng cremation.

Mabuti pa ang mga panatiko sa komiks, wagas kung maka-react sa binabasa ngunit kadalasa’y tahimik na wari’y tulog na biik.

Remember na lang ang payo ni Grandma, if applicable: “Pagpatak ng ulan, sa swimming pool ay lumisan; you might get wet like the kalabaw sa lubluban.”

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Personal Recall: When an oral argument among siblings got hotter and louder in the house, my father would step in and request the older one: “Maraming pacencia (a kind of biscuit) sa garapon ni Kabise, bumili ka.”

Then he would call the younger one and explain: “Libre ang away; nakakapagod, nakakasakit at nakakagutom nga lang.”

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Kadalasan, ang tao ay nakikinig lang para sumagot. Sasaluhin nga ng tenga, babagsak naman sa bunganga.

Sana naman, makinig mabuti, bigyan nang kahulugan ang nasabi. Iluklok sa diwa ang dakilang pang- unawa.

Often said: “Never talk when your mouth is full.”

A friend says: “Never talk when your head is empty.”

Dagdag ng miron: “Walk the talk, then i-post sa Tik Tok.”

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So, the conversation about Covid-19 continues; well, until JHU stops a seeming never-ending global count that will stand at more than 186.6 million cases and over four million deaths this month.

If still interesting, at least 3.4 million doses of vaccines were administered worldwide as of July 11.

Have you noticed that the top five countries that had the most number of Covid-19 cases and deaths stopped appearing on Toronto’s prime time television?

But if you still care to know and talk about it at the backyard or patio, Canada’s southern neighbour – the US – still tops the gory list. In number of cases, it is followed by India, Brazil, France and Russia; and in number of deaths, by Brazil, India, Russia and France.

Under prevailing conditions after earlier loosened restrictions, will Canada’s federal officials finally lift roadblocks and reopen the border with the United States? Let’s see on July 21.

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“We are better than this or that” is a typical comment from top honchos when something goes awry.

Anyone’s query: How better are the soothsayers than better than this or better than that?

Truly, anything that goes out of hand may, regrettably, also get out of reach.

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At least, Covid-19 made people stand apart from the rest.

Nearly two years! Covid-19 may have also outlasted some Hollywood and Las Vegas marriages.

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I received my second vaccine dose more than a week ago. That was 92 days after the first jab.

Whether the date of vaccination mattered anymore or not is no longer the question.

However, I am among the curious who ask if the protective drug’s not-so-hundred percent efficacy had further waned after it was administered way beyond the ‘best before’ suggestion of pharmaceutical companies.

Did the medico-political option to delay the second dose for as long as four months justify itself? Who would be accountable for any harm that decision may have done to an individual?

Oooops! Elections are coming!

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Kwidaw na nag-impose pa ng drug expiry date, babaliin din pala ang regulation!

Teka, sino-sino kaya ang naturukan ng expired vaccine?

Worse, how many were injected with salted water or any kind of fluid other than the prescribed vaccine?

May bisa kaya? Naku naman!

Further, who needs a booster after the second shot?

Beware! Some drug dealers are getting too greedy while people still get sick and die the world over.

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Whiling away the 15-minute rest after inoculation, I felt confident that the vaccine will do its job.

However, the Doubting Thomas in me, a professional trait, had to clear a flurry of doubts that shrouded either fact or fiction about the vaccine.

At least six seniors I regularly interact with intimated their hesitancy to get the Covid-19 vaccine, not for anything else but simply because their bodies react negatively to vaccines.

Some don’t want it, insisting that they do not have to mess with a hoax.

Others negate the idea of being used as lab rats and guinea pigs.

Yes, Santa, there are reported cases of Covid-19 in animals that may have been infected by humans. So, what is this stuff about bats? I’m talking about nocturnal flyers, not swinging wood.

How I wish that one could get the jab and transmit it to the bio-system of arrogant hardheads and selfish unbelievers, as easy as Covid-19 and its variants do. How cool would that be?

Nope, high-tech fibre optics, analog and digital gadgets and interactive gaming do not work. The hardheads and unbelievers are still in the couch on a ridge on top of an active volcano.

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Be it as it may, I have completed my civic responsibility. Whether the duty will ensure that everyone in my circle and I are duly protected from Covid-19 and its mutations remains to be seen.

Having trusted the system, I hope so like you do.

Meanwhile, I wear a mask when outdoors. I likewise practice social distancing.

Stay home? Naksanayan na kaya sige na lang.

‘Ika nga, mabuti na ang naniniguro.

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2V or not 2V, iyan ang tanong. I am all in for two Vaccinations. I am not for two Variants (Delta and Lambda and the growing neighbourhood of Covid-19 mutations).

Frankly, I respect those who see things the other way around; the ones who say yes to two and more Variants and those who are not for two Vaccinations.

There is not much I can say except that my thoughts and prayers are for them.

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Here is a big show of love to everyone who put up and manned vaccination sites and spaces and all who bared their arms for a jab or two.

Thank you so much for helping keep the city safer from the spikes of Covid-19 and its variants.

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“Anyare?” Have you ever wondered why a child wants a birthday fiesta and you to be the piñata? #####