Category: Tobby and the Harbingers of A Grown-Up’s Reality

The Internet, The Vast Harbinger of Cruelty and Kindness Reality

After having a significant amount of time spent in the Internet, I realized that it isn’t really a perfect escape from reality, or a place where you can be a god. Even in the Internet, you’re still a human being. Imperfect, yet still having potential for awesomeness. The Internet is like that as well. The Internet is not as great as Heaven, that place where one can find eternal and true happiness, but it can be a breeding ground for good things.

Still, I think my parents had a good point when they didn’t let me use the Internet as freely as I do today when I was a child. And they definitely had a good point for them watching over the stuff I watch on television. Kids are innocent little beings unless somebody else out there decides to corrupt them (Oh, and abandonment is one way to corrupt them, by the way). Again, remember that they’re humans.

Oh wait, where am I going now? I was supposed to talk about the Internet and try to inspire you people along the way…Get back on track, you crazy bear…

Yeah, the Internet. Have a powerful-enough computer and enough smarts in your brain, and you now have access to a place which can make you or break you. Right now, it’s a Hell filled with demons who hide behind masks and would do anything to make any surfer’s day miserable just for the sake of doing it or because they’re incorrigible pieces of crap already…which is probably the viewpoint of those so damaged by the dark side of the Internet. People in despair are really concerning, and we really shouldn’t leave them wallowing there, you know. What, we should just leave them alone ’cause we may get infected by despair? And it’s their fault? Sure, trying to be around despairing people would probably lead them to pushing us away ’cause they’re probably stuck believing that we’ll only cause despair for them, but when a person despairs, they want hope but can’t find it or, in other words, pretty much blinded by despair. And sure, maybe they have fault in getting themselves in despair, but do you really think they don’t have potential for awesomeness? At times, we tend to forget people having potential for awesomeness, you know. And leaving despairing people wallowing in despair doesn’t really increase hope. It pretty much accelerates the increase in despair, though, ’cause they’ll feel like venting out their despair on other people, especially the ones close to them. And then we get a worse situation.

Alright, I was gonna talk about the Internet, but then I talked about hope and despair and stuff…Oh, freaking nuts, I feel like I became a noisier version of Makoto Naegi…

But hey, think about this, nutshellcrackers who really like surfing the Net: Do you really think you’ve escaped reality and entered some perfect dimension when you’ve stepped into the Internet? For me, trying to find and build actual friendships in the Internet feels easier than doing so face-to-face, and I feel like the success back then and my stupidity mixed and became a factor behind my Internet addiction. But then, I realized that I’ve never left reality after some spending a significant amount of time there. I needed to go to school, I needed to care for my family, I needed to maintain my friendships properly, I needed to keep my body fit enough to use the Internet and do other things, and my Internet addiction kept me from fulfilling those needs properly. The imperfection of humans is a part of reality, and reality gave me another wake-up slap.

Speaking of the imperfection of humans, the Internet isn’t really a place where you can forget all the bad stuff happening outside it. The Internet is a part of reality, and all those news spreading in the Internet, specifically those news about all those heinous crimes happening out there, proves that the Internet is a part of reality. The Internet we all know isn’t Heaven. It’s reality. Bad stuff exists there, and they’re out and about to bring down all the good stuff. Anyone who has spent enough time in the Internet should already know about that.

But at the same time, good stuff can exist in the Internet. I may have become addicted to it, but it’s not like I never gained anything good from it. I’ve made close friends there (and I really want to meet up with them in person someday), there are people who–although imperfect–have highly developed awesomeness, so many more inspiring news and stuff, and I can see them all clearly as long as I don’t spend too much time on the Internet. We don’t escape reality when we step into the Net, but it’s not like reality is as hellish as many of us think. Seeing the truly good things in the Internet inspires me to spread more goodness to the world, and now, thanks to all those good things and so many other good things outside the Internet, seeing bad things–even though they still sting–motivates me to do good things more! If the Internet didn’t have any potential for awesomeness, I definitely won’t be here to post this piece of writing.

And now, I’d like to share something that I thought of, something that inspired me to write this post even more. There’s this popular Japanese shoot-em-up game (well, in the Internet, at least) called Touhou, and I guess one of the things that makes it well known is the frequent presence of difficult bullet patterns. And as for the story plots and details in each game in general in the Windows Era, there’s someone causing an mess, the player character goes out to stop it, battles are done non-lethally (Really, it’s canon despite all the pichuuns and flashy explosions that happen upon defeats there, and it’s part of the Gensokyo Danmaku Battle rules, go look those up), the antagonist is stopped, and then there’s tea time after all the battling. Now, that pretty much reminded me of life, and that also reminded me of how I’d like to deal with conflicts with other people. Sure, I would fail in the face of all those difficult challenges that are like all those crazy danmaku patterns at times, but if I practice and practice and practice, I’d surely be able to get past them! And even if I end up in conflict with someone, I’d still like to form friendships with them. Sure, we may not be perfect, but hey, having no real friends is harder than having one real friend. If a person you made a friendship with starts a mess again, fight them, but not without ruining their existence and your friendship with them. Keep it non-lethal. And fight with the help of your brain as well. Surprise them. Show them the weaknesses of the bad stuff they throw at you. Learn from your failures. Know where the bullets go and how they flow. At first, they will be challenging, and there will definitely be times when you’ll have to have optimism and guess your way through or else you’ll get wiped out if you don’t think quickly and optimistically enough. And through it all, try to build a friendship with them. Of course, violence doesn’t really build friendship that well. Keep the fighting non-lethal! We need to solve problems, not make them worse! People are potential enemies, yeah, but at the same time, they are potential friends. Really, what sort of people do you want to be near you in your life? Enemies or friends?

Now, where did I fly off to this time…? Oh yeah, I’m in Friendship Land right now. It’s a really nice place! We should hang out there, nutshellcrackers! FRIENDSHIP FOR THE WIN! YEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Previous Part: The Streets of Metro Manila, The Smoke-Filled Harbinger of Education and Self-Care Reality

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The Streets of Metro Manila, The Smoke-Filled Harbinger of Education and Self-Care Reality

From what I’ve observed in the years of my life, a lot of Filipinos, especially the ones from the provinces, think that life is way better out in the National Capital Region, a.k.a. Metro Manila.

Unfortunately, a better life isn’t just about having a job that pays a worker a lot of cash. I feel like many Filipinos these days don’t see much value in proper formal education. And I feel like many of us Filipinos equate a happy life with truckloads of cash as well. Sure, we need cash, but only enough.

Thing is, we Filipinos seem to be worrying about money too much lately.

For example, I remember a dominant reaction to the newly implemented K to 12 education program in my country, where the years of basic education will go from 10 years to 12 years, putting a middle school level into the mix. Said dominant reaction can be summarized with the sentence “We’ll have to spend money for school again, damn it.” Another are the various plunder cases in the government caused by families of politicians who managed to take advantage of the Filipino masses’ lack of proper formal education. And then there’s that one incident that my dad and I managed to get out of safely, which involved a traffic enforcer trying to fine my dad for illegal swerving. From what my dad told me, “pagbabalagbag” is one way to call illegal swerving, and Dad was on lanes with broken lines in between, which meant that he was allowed to switch lanes (politely, of course). Long story short, the traffic enforcer was attempting to extort from Dad, the traffic enforcer didn’t really understand the rules that he was supposed to enforce, and Dad managed to get out safely after the traffic enforcer let Dad go and refused to give his name out when Dad said that he’d surrender his license only if the traffic enforcer gave his name (which would lead to Dad being able to report said enforcer more easily).

Those problems are like the smoke circulating around the building-stuffed and automobile-filled streets of Metro Manila, and said problems are the most noticeable in that area. On one hand, they make Metro Manila repulsive. On another, they inspire me to freaking beat the crap out of those problems.

But as Dad reminded me after we got away safely from that pitiful traffic enforcer (I pray that the traffic enforcer would learn better ways to live), I have to train myself and equip myself with the right tools. Right now, I have the will to be a hero, but I don’t think I have enough knowledge. Despite being of legal age already, I still need to learn a lot more about stuff like properly getting myself a worthwhile job with a stable income, how to get into certain jobs, how to do certain chores, and so much more. To summarize, I’m still pretty much a manchild with the will to be a hero, which means that if I stay a manchild, I’d end up being more of a villain than a hero.

So, right now, learning how to maintain myself in society takes higher priority. I can’t try to help other people all the time, but it’s not like I should stop trying to be friendly and helpful to others. Yeah, it’s painful to keep on walking through streets with people in rags sleeping there, it’s painful to know about news of people doing horrible things to other people, but the best I can do right now is pray for true happiness to come upon them in some way while I try to improve myself and whoever I can help around me with my always-in-training abilities. I have to learn from the mature nutshellcrackers, the ones who know so many more good ways to be a hero than I do. I must learn awesome stuff, and then teach the awesome stuff that I learned to those who need to learn about the awesome stuff that I learned.

Speaking of caring for the self, I’d like to say that friendship is important in that as well. Dying with so much loneliness and lack of true friendship is way more painful than dying with a friend watching over them by their side. I haven’t experienced death, but I sure hate dying with no one considering me a friend. Of course, we gotta remember that friendship is not letting evil acts slide, but making sure that we grow into people who would lead humanity to true happiness. Hurt a person, and you hurt others as well, and then you take yourself farther away from true happiness. With our imperfection, though, we will end up hurting someone one way or another sometimes, but that does not mean that we cannot fight against stupidity and evil. I’ve met kind people before (for example: my parents, who cared for me so much ever since my birth), and humans hate being stupid, too. So yeah, do your best. Look at the bright side. Friendship for the win, yo. And see you again in the den, too, nutshellcrackers. I’ll try to have more awesomeness when I post again. Oh, and if you want to say something about how to improve myself in stuff like writing stories and living life, feel free to tell me. 🙂

Previous Part: Theo, the Feline Harbinger of Healthcare Reality

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Theo, the Feline Harbinger of Healthcare Reality

April 25, 2015, about 8PM to 9PM in the evening in my family’s house, I got a not really debilitating but still concerning bite and scratch from the family’s pet cat, Theo. He wasn’t particularly aggressive or having some insane drooling or doing some crazy seclusion or something before he bit me (the most likely reason is that he just wanted something really fun to play with his claws and teeth, and that the most fun thing for him to scratch and bite was my freaking left foot), but just to be safe, I, with my Dad’s help, went to get myself an anti-rabies shot and two anti-tetanus shots (they’re given as a set, from what I’ve learned on that day) in an animal bite treatment center. By the time I’m writing this story, I have to take four more anti-rabies shots (though it can be three, where, according to the doctor and nurses, the fifth shot is an optional shot if Theo doesn’t die or go insane before I take my fourth shot, which will be taken two weeks after my first shot) in the coming days and another anti-tetanus shot after about a month.

That scratch and bite, and those shots, they awakened something. No, not crazy, feline-associated superpowers. I’ll have to become The Overlord Bear-Duck-Chicken-Cat in that case, and Tobby has had gone through enough animal DNA fusions and genetic mutations in order to become a more fun guy. No, The Overlord Bear is enough.

But seriously, though, that sudden incident and the calm visits to the hospital emergency rooms that followed awakened my awareness of the reality around me, a grown-up, an adult, a person who is already of legal age in my country. As they all happened, they got me thinking “You should try writing about growing up into and living as an adult.” And then titles for a series of stories were thought up, and then titles for the first story was thought up, and here I am, with Tobby and the Harbingers of A Grown-Up’s Reality, with Theo, the Feline Harbinger of Healthcare Reality as the first story in the series.

Speaking of healthcare reality, medicine sure is expensive these days, no? I have some awareness of my parents spending a lot of money for the medicine we need and the surgeries we have to go through at times, but I didn’t really take it as seriously as I did when I went to get my first anti-rabies shot. The sting of the sterilized needles that injected the vaccine into my system is just a way less sobering thing compared to the sobering factor in knowing about the amount of money my family has to spend for the vaccines. I have health insurance or something, which seems to be a benefit that comes with my parents working for the company they’re working for, but still, the amount of money we need to spend for the vaccines was a nice wake-up call for me to go take care of my health better and be more calm and optimistic when I do end up with an illness or a Ghoul organ inside of me.

And I hope I never get a Ghoul organ transplanted into me.

Anyway, after Theo landed a bite on me for the first time, I am now kinda more hesitant when it comes to approaching cats. I’d still admire cats being fluffy and flexible and agile and stuff, but a cat physically present near my body is something I’d approach more cautiously. I still find it hard to give pestering kitties a slap, though, let alone throwing a slipper at them like my mother does.

…

Oh dear, looks like my low self-esteem has been messing up my self-defense instincts against pestering cats as well. I’ll definitely need to power up those instincts of mine. I’ll also need to work harder in maintaining my physical fitness. I remember the visit to the first hospital my dad and I went to after I got bitten, “High-class” seems to be a suitable description for that hospital. I was slowly sobering up to the reality of having to visit hospital, fill up forms, and pay for the treatments without my parents’ help as my dad reminded me about what I needed to do when I enter the emergency room. And when my dad and I found out how expensive the treatment would cost us, freaking nuts, I got awakened bigtime. I managed to get a cheaper yet still trustworthy set of shots at another hospital, though, and now, after finding out that I need to take a series of shots in the coming days, the matter of preventing myself from being totally messed up by rabies has become really important to me.

So yeah, all the trouble I had to go through yesterday was a nice wake-up call for me. I need to exercise, I need to control my food intake, I need to keep my self-preservation instincts sharp enough. I want to do so many good things in life, and I’ll need to maintain my health if I want to do that. And I want to maintain my health, so I should focus more on what I can do to maintain it, not on what I can’t do to maintain it. I may get sick again at some point, but I have to focus finding a good way to keep myself healthy. I can’t help others if I don’t help myself enough.

Next Part: The Streets of Metro Manila, The Smoke-Filled Harbinger of Education and Self-Care Reality