Pounding The Keyboard

       “You know, the only thing that it does to you is make you horny.”        Somebody told me this while I was busy chopping red chili peppers to put in a just-cooked plate of sisig . “I beg to disagree," I said, “yes, chili pepper is considered an aphrodisiac but they do have nutritional benefits.”        “They have none.”        I didn’t like arguments so I would have just let it pass, but then I thought, chili peppers had been making most of my meals more appetizing, so it’s high time that I write it a tribute and tell the world of its health benefits (of course, a lot of people had written about it and I would just copy-paste them here.)        Chili peppers are known to have:        Vitamin C        Vitamin B6        Vitamin K1        Potassium        Copper        Vitamin A        And are known to:        Help protect your heart        Help you burn fat and lose weight        Fight inflammation        Help lower high bl

Around two months ago, we were at a clothes shop when one of my companions unfolded and held a t-shirt aloft and asked, “What are these words?” I looked at the shirt, read the (almost jumbled) words artistically written in front of it and answered, “That’s the lyrics to ‘Let’s Dance,’ a song by David Bowie." I then started singing the song while I continued staring at the words, even imitating the raspy and booming vocals of David Bowie, to the amusement of the saleslady near us. ... If you say run I'll run with you And if you say hide We'll hide Because my love for you Would break my heart in two If you should fall into my arms And tremble like a flower Let's dance Let's dance For fear your grace should fall Let's dance For fear tonight is all Let's sway You could look into my eyes Let's sway Under the moonlight, this serious moonlight… After my impromptu but impeccable performance, and since I was a fan of the son

                      The post that immediately caught my eye when I logged on to my Facebook account this morning was the news about a mass comm student from Adamson University who accidentally fell while taking selfies from a condominium rooftop.   She was with a friend when she sat on a low parapet and lost her balance and plunged to her death.        And for all her misguided efforts, Facebook commenters could only mock her: “Selfie pa more!”        And that is just sad.        Two of the things that Facebook successfully brought out from a lot of people were 1) the tendency to be narcissistic and 2) the tendency to be a braggart.        Nothing wrong with feeling beautiful or handsome and trying to show it, but only when you do it in moderation. Flooding your timeline (and your newsfeed) with your selfies every five minutes, resting only to grumble on how your complexion is not fair enough is, well, not exemplary.        Nothing wrong also with

       Today is New Year’s Day, the first day of 2016, and of course, the first day of the rest of your life.        I really have no grand plans or goals this year except to try to work really hard, work my fingers to the bone, as the cliche goes, and hope that luck will be on my side. Maybe I could insert developing my biceps and abs. I heard women really dig that, lol, although my right arm is still sore from suffering from a severe pinched nerve early last year, and I still can’t really rough it up.        I also have no formula for happiness except that maybe, you should really let go of people, things and memories that distress and depress you no matter how much you care for them and just focus on those that inspire you, motivate and appreciate you.        And lastly, I leave you with a quote from Dalai Lama XIV that a lot of people say should be everyone’s guide in living, new year or not.