Provincial or real

This is the most embarrassing “senior moment” I have experienced so far.

Here I am in Lipa, Batangas on what many call an extended vacation. Actually, I’m just keeping an annual promise to my daughter that we would spend all of her semestral break at the farm so she could play with her Great Dane puppies and do stuff she enjoys.

After being away from the Metro for a week, you sort of get used to the isolation. No TV, No Cable, and No Internet. The only concessions that my wife agreed to were DVD movies and Broadband sticks which are excruciatingly slow regardless of the company behind it.

Just like the broadband service, things can go slow in a farm setting unless you have the discipline of lining up the work you need to do and keep yourself focused to the tasks. That is where my great embarrassment set foot.

The only day that’s different in a farm is Sunday. Generally speaking, that’s when you take a break, go to church and do some family fun stuff or do the market or maybe even go to the beach.

The other days of the week don’t differ much from each other. You get up, read the Bible, ask God for a good day, pray for friends and loved ones, get some grub and do the chores. That’s what I’ve been doing everyday this week until the days started to be like every other.

Today, this evening in particular was apparently different. I received a text message from Ramon Lim, our Editor inquiring if I had sent out my column for Friday? Call it a senior moment or anything you wish, but I have never been so shocked, embarrassed and confused.

This is beyond memory failure or having a senior moment. I can honestly label it as a mental disconnect. After several days of adjusting to a different lifestyle, your mind decides to disconnect from its previous operating system. Unlike my Metro mindset where I subconsciously know when it’s time to write a column, I was totally clueless and not even conscious of.

So in between bouts of shame and annoyance, I jump back to “writer” mode hoping this confession serves as a warning to those of you yearning to live the double life of City Slicker and Gentleman Farmer. Make sure you remember what day it is and keep a “To-do” list!

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They say, “Never mix business with pleasure”, but when I see people mix business and friendship, it is both a curious thing to watch and an inspiring thing to see.

Long time friends Tonyboy Cojuangco and Willie Soong have been both real and good friends for many years and they have both supported each other’s endeavors and stood firmly by when waves of crisis would rumble in. But for the longest time, I never heard them go public on a “goodwill” project until now.

Last week, Land Rover Philippines under Willie Soong and AIRAsia Inc. of Tonyboy Cojuangco announced their team-up and support for the development of Philippine motorsports. In particular, the two organizations will be fielding their “Team AIRAsia - Land Rover Philippines” to the Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia.

The team will compete from Dec. 3 to 12, 2011 in what is considered one of the world’s longest and toughest 4X4 off-road adventure competitions. The venture will certainly be a first for Tonyboy Cojuangco who has been associated mostly with luxury cars and is now supporting an off road team.

This bit of news makes us wonder if the “Cojuangcos” in general are setting the new trend for Philippine high society to engage and invest in sports as their way of giving back? Before the Land Rover-AIRAsia team up, the collegiate basketball circles has been full of analysis and discussions regarding the return of La Salle’s Patron of Basketball, Ambassador Danding Cojuangco, who is reportedly giving his full support behind the La Salle basketball program.

The question is, does the Boss’ return to La Salle basketball merely reflect his loyalty to La Salle or is this just a continuation of the competition between SMC and MVP aka Manny Pangilinan who has been the force behind the Ateneo Champs and Smart Gilas? As long as everyone is a sport about it, why not?

This is one sure way we can build up more teams and more players. With guys like Hans Sy building up the National University Bulldogs, Danding Cojuangco reviving the Green Archers and Manny Pangilinan waiting to take on all comers with his Blue Eagles, the future of Philippine Basketball looks bright.

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With the toughest part of All Saints Day over, DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas and MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino might want to look into better regulation of vehicles through the LTO.

We have long asked the DOTC and the DTI to look into regulating the design and safety standards for tricycles, regulating the original equipment compliance on motorcycles particularly the conversion of exhaust pipes into after market performance exhaust pipes that are both loud and adds to air pollution.

We have also suggested to Secretary Mar Roxas and Chairman Tolentino, more than once, to PLEASE ban air horns on buses and jeepneys. There is no justification for installing air horns on vehicles that spend more time waiting and honking for passengers. If the DOTC can’t rid the highways of excess buses, they should at least make it a little quiet!

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