Dog-eat-dog days coming up?

Whether we like it or not we'll all be going to the dogs in 2006. It's their year. It's the Year of the Dog, according to our Chinese friends.

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Let's hope this won't be a dog-eat-dog year. So there won't be anyone of us who'll end up in the doghouse.

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Let's also hope that dogs will behave this new year. Just because this is the Year of the Dog does not mean every dog has the right to urinate on my car's tire.

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How did you find the Year of the Cock? Some say it was not as bad as the Year of the Monkey before it. Me, I found it cock-eyed.

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There are still many people living and earning a living in Cebu who don't know much about Cebu. There's one, for instance, who works in a hospital. "Where do you live?" he asked me. I said I lived in Punta Princesa. "Asa man na dapita Palawan?" he asked. I thought he was trying to pull my leg. Turned out he had never heard of Punta Princesa.

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There's another guy who works in a private company dealing in ukay-ukay and handles the business papers and yet doesn't know the first name of the city's vice mayor. He calls him Ismael. These people should read The Freeman and Banat news more often.

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The most widely circulated text messages these days go: "Ginoo kaloy-a kining tawhana kay siya ang gipapaabot kung unang mohatag og regalo nako karong Pasko" "Lord, bless my friend JVJ because he has some gifts for me this Christmas Day" "Panginoon huwag Mo po pabayaan ang taong ito dahil siya ang bibigay ng unang regalo sa akin sa darating na Pasko."

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The only Visayan text message I got from Bobit Avila crept into my cellphone yesterday. It's beautiful - both the contents of the message and the pure Cebuano language used by Bobit. It says: "Buntag na usab, timaan sa way hunong nga pagtuyoktuyok ug pagtiurok sa adlaw ug kalibutan. Hay! Pagkaanindot. Igsoon, maayong buntag diha kanimo. Pag-amping!"