Just Some Write-Ups

This entry was originally published under my legal name in the October 25, 2018, issue of SunStar Cagayan de Oro, and can also be viewed on their website . Much thanks to Churchill G. Aguilar for making this possible! * * * We’re a month shy of reaching the end of 2018, this being the second consecutive year I’ve compelled myself to deactivate my Facebook account over a significant period of time. Throughout the course of these “experiments,” I’ve realized that said period’s span can be totally arbitrary. The shortest, if I remember right, was sometime late last year, when I deactivated for a mere two weeks. The longest wasn’t too long ago, when I deactivated between April to June of this year, to make up for my “reactivation” of the three months prior. I reactivated in July, and resumed deactivation throughout August and up until this time of writing. This relative ease with which I flit between activity and “de-activity” feel like a world away from my initial ...

The future is already here—it’s just not evenly distributed. —William Gibson A darkened street slicked with rain and refuse. Rush-hour commuters milling past storefronts, pawnshops, and low-rate gyms like ants along a monotonous column. Their heads are partially concealed by hoodies and jacket collars, but their dour faces, soaked with sweat and drizzle, reflect one of either two kinds of radiance: the green, red, and yellow lights given off by the aforementioned establishments, which are doubly brightened by the muddy water that has pooled over uneven concrete; or the blue-white brilliance of their smartphones hovering at stomach-level. The barks emanating from transport conductors and street-vending merchants resonate across old, grime-ridden buildings and newer, more pristine facades alike. Tires whir, smoke billows from mufflers, loudspeakers from nearby malls boom with news of bargains, and chats among friends and companions are reduced to indiscernible babbles. M...