bambina writes

The Aftermath of A Fluke

To me, Thursday's coup de fluke was stupid, pathetic and tragic, but not all that senseless, at the end of the day. Military juntas went out of fashion by the 1980s, and the few countries still clinging to the junta's rather unimaginative skirts, like Burma and Pakistan, clearly missed the boat when it comes to democracy do's and don'ts. People power fatigue may be real, but so is the aversion to any form of military takeover. So it was stupid for the senator-soldier and his followers to even attempt that.

What was pathetic was the government's knee-jerk reaction - as always, acting without really thinking, typical bully tactics. As I said, the APC ramming through the doors of the Pen was an unnecessary and disproportionate response to the threat at hand. Um, hello, there are other entrances to the Pen. The army ahd already blinded everyone in the lobby with teargas, so why not slip in through the side doors and creep stealthily down the double antebellum staircase, a flank of soldiers on each wing? Oh, of course, they brought the tanks and the tear gas but they probably forgot to bring their anti-tear gas masks. So let's just crash through the front door. So like the midget, who's been crashing the democracy party since her very undemocratic usurpation of power in 2001.

Tragic, because while the rebels' aim was to "save the nation" by highlighting their disgust for the abuses and excesses of the current administration, which have continued unabated, they managed to piss a lot of people off, people who kept grumbling, why now, why this way? So now, instead of focusing its rage on a corrupt and shameless pseudo-president with a list of crimes that guarantee her a first-class ticket on the express train to hell, a nation's fury is (mis)directed towards a handful of people who actually did something rather brave. Stupid it may have been, but it still took guts to do what they did. If only they had the benefit of intelligence and eloquence as well.

But senseless? Not exactly. I think Thursday's events marked the beginning of the end for the midget. That express train is waiting. She should have thought about that before she blocked all the constitutional avenues to due process and accountability.

Speaking of accountability, I think the midget should pay for the damage to the Pen.

Ok, that's it, no more political rantings, I hope. My mother does enough of that on a daily basis on her paper!

What is the What

So today I woke up - 6 hours later than everyone else because of the time difference - to the news that there's another coup d'etat brewing. A few hours later it had fizzled out and had become a coup de what-was-that?

After a brief stand-off, it seemed like there was only one major casualty, the front door of the Pen, thanks to the tank that rolled in, Rambo-style, commandeered by the government forces. Apparently a side door was earlier broken by the powers-that-wannabe, but the damage, in comparison, was not as, um, shattering. From where I stood, admittedly a hemisphere and six timezones away, the tank-led siege appeared to be an unnecessary act of bravado ordered by the Napoleoneta who calls herself president. "Shtorm the lobby!" you could almost hear her commanding. "Show them whosh the bossh!" Just wait, in a day or so, she'll come out on TV smiling like the palenquera who got the biggest bilao of bangus in the market.

However misguidedly noble their intentions were, I still think the rebel soldiers, led by a recently elected soldier-senator, were, quite frankly, stupid beyond belief, to have attempted their takeover the way they did. Wrong means, wrong venue, wrong timing. Ano ba?!? Right before Christmas pa! One would think they would have sussed out the psyche of the very people they wished to "liberate". Hello! If the curfew is extended throughout the holiday season, what's going to happen to misa de gallo and the steaming bibingka and hot chocolate right after the mass?

They should have waited till Lent so they could join the freak show of flagellants, then nail the midget to the cross instead!

Not Without My Daughters

Ok, I never thought I'd blog. Truth be told, I'd been thinking about it for some time, but I never actually thought I'd do it. It just seemed like too much effort. Part of me - the writer/yet-to-be-published novelist part - figured it was time to start building what is often referred to in the publishing industry as a "platform", which I guess is another way of saying creating a virtual presence in the wide world of the web out there, instead of just being a reflection on the computer screen. Part of me - the protective lioness guarding her cubs part - felt blogging required a level of candor I wasn't quite ready to commit to, considering my current circumstances (I'll explain soon). Yet another part - the-grew-up-in-Asia-amid-quasi-feudal-splendor-can't-I-just-pay-someone-to-do-it-for-me part - was just plain lazy.

So guess which part finally won?

Actually, I've got my friend Amanda to blame - she got me into Facebook, and now she's got me blogging. I think if she ever gets me to run 5ks a day... I truly would have crossed over to the dark side! Although there was a time - in another life in a tropical island far, far away - when I actually ran 5k races. If you've got boobs, even a supersnug Champion jogbra doesn't erase the fear that your mammaries will shrivel and droop with that manic running. I've gone for gentler workouts since, like Bikram yoga, Pilates and Gyrotonics. And hiphop every now and then so I can delude myself into believing I get some cardio into my fitness routine. I still don't have Madonna's body.

In another life, I was an expat wife. Today, I am an expat ho- as in hostage. Yes, in another of the supreme ironies that characterize my life, I happen to live in Hijack City. Just go to Google and find out which country has one of the highest violent crime rates in the world - where thugs hijack cars and shoot you for sport and clueless men - the Type AK-47 ones - think raping 9-month old babies is cool because it cures AIDS. Yup, that country. Or should I say, Ja, that country.

Sorry if I seem coy or evasive... but when your ex spends his waking hours obsessively trawling the web for anything he can dig up on you - oh, and I'm sure he's surfing for porn, too - you tend to be a bit more restrained in your cyber-outpourings. Hence the vague identity. Hope you understand.

Anyway, back to Hijack City. So far so good. Apart from a horrific car accident earlier this year and the front license plate of my car being stolen, I haven't been hijacked. Metaphorically, however, my life has been hijacked by an angry and vengeful ex who after more than three years of litigation refuses to finalize our divorce (and the accompanying custody case). My life has also been hijacked by the crappy judicial system in Crime Central, capital, Hijack City. Where 8 months after being told by the court I would be given a PREFERENTIAL trial date, I am still waiting to be granted one. Where divorce and custody proceedings have thus far been going on for HALF of my younger daughter's life, and a THIRD of my older daughter's life. Now isn't that obscene?

And all I want is for this nightmare to end so I can GO HOME with my daughters, be with my family, to resume my career, all in the country where Kafka wears a smile. And no, it's not the Czech Republic.

Oh, and did I mention that for the last 2 1/2 years there's been a court order in place, sought by the ex, which prevents me from leaving Crime Central with my children pending the divorce? The longer the divorce drags on, the longer the court order is in place, get it? So why do you think he hasn't bothered to insist on a new trial date?

In other words, call me Betty Mahmoudy.