Inflation Rate

Aym bak…. Na-miss ko mag-tagalog (o Filipino). Na-miss ko din ang mag-blog. Kaya nandito ulit ako. Kahapon, na-miss ko naman ang pagiging bata dahil sa inflation rate. Kinailangan ko kasi  ipaliwanag sa aking klase (sa Argumentation and Debate) kung ano ang inflation rate, dahil malaki pala ang kinalaman nito sa pagtaas at pagbaba ng ekonomiya ng bansa (katatapos lang kasi ng SONA ni PNoy kaya may hangover pa ako). Ang akala ko kasi, kapag mababa ang dolyar at mataas ang piso, maaayos na rin ang estado ng ekonomiya. Hindi pala ganun, dahil kailangang tingnan din ang kasalukuyang inflation rate sa bansa. Tatlong beses ko nang nababanggit ang inflation rate (pang-apat na ngayon), kaya hinanap ko na ang depinisyon sa net. Sabi sa Wikipedia, “In economics, the inflation rate is a measure of inflation, the rate of increase of a price index (for example, a consumer price index). It is the percentage rate of change in price level over time. The rate of decrease in the purchasing power of money is approximately equal.” Sabi naman ng Bangko Sentral, “Inflation Rate is the rate of change in the weighted average prices of goods and services typically purchased by consumers.”

Nosebleed ba? Lalo yata nakakalito. Basta ang naintindihan ko, ang inflation rate ay ang pagbaba ng halaga ng ating pera upang makabili ng mga produkto. Halimbawa, noong bata pa ako (mga 4-5), isang sentimo lang ang cherry ball, kaya kapag nakakita ako sa bulsa ng bag ni Nanay ng dalawa o tatlong pirasong barya na may mukha ni Lapu-lapu, tatakbo na ako sa kapitbahay at bibili ng babolgam. Kapag sinusuwerte at nakahingi ng singkong bulaklak, solb na ang bibig sa pagnguya ng 5 pirasong cherry ball na tatagal ng 3 – 4 na oras (at pagkatapos ay ididikit sa buhok ng kalaro kapag wala ng tamis, o kung may tamis pa ay ididikit muna sa pader at babalikan [yuck! gawain yan ng mga kalaro namin na sina Allan potpot at Bunso]). Ngayon ay 4 na pirasong cherry balls na lang ang mabibili  sa piso, na ibig sabihin ay beyntsingko na ang isa. Therefore, ang halaga ng piso noon ay iba na sa halaga ng piso ngayon dahil nga sa inflation.

Ayon pa sa nahanap kong info sa net, P8 - $1 ang palitan noon, habang P43 - $1 ang palitan ngayon. Ang araw-araw na baon ko noong grade school at P2, noong middle school ay P5 at noong high school ay P30 (kasama na ang lunch at pambayad sa tricycle na P6 sa umaga at P6 sa hapon). Malayong-malayo na ito sa baon ng mga estudyante ko ngayon na P70 - P100 isang araw.

At dahil nga sa paguusap tungkol sa inflation rate (paulit-ulit na ‘ko, wala bang synonym ito?), naalala ko na naman ang aming simpleng buhay-bata. Ilan sa mga pagkain na nabibili namin noon o madalas na inuuwi sa amin ng Tatay ko ay nasa ibaba. Ang mga presyo nito ay nagiba-iba na din, dahil syempre matagal din ako naging bata (mula 1985-1987 marahil ang mga presyo dito). Ang presyo naman ng ilang serbisyo noon ay nasa dulo ng listahan.

Pandesal                                                          10¢

Nognog                                                            10¢

Fishball                                                            10¢

Jelly Ace (2 beyntsingko)                                12.5¢

Putoseko (3 beyntsingko)                                8¢

Nutriban                                                          25¢

Nutriban na may palaman                              35¢

ET (may libre pang laruan o pera sa loob)     25¢

Texas bubblegum                                            25¢

Tootsie Roll (maliit)                                        25¢

Expo Peanuts/Expo Coated                             25¢

Tira-tira                                                           25¢

White Rabbit (nakakain ang balat), Viva, Lipps  25¢

Chocnut                                                           25¢

Keso/Ube                                                         25¢

Pompoms                                                        50¢

Zebzeb                                                             50¢

Lechon Manok                                                 50¢

Bazooka bubblegum                                        50¢

Taho (isang malaking baso)                            P 1.00

Peewee (small)                                               P 1.00

Pinipig crunch ice cream                                P 1.00

Nips                                                                 P 1.00

Coca Cola 12 oz.                                              P 1.50

Jack and Jill Chippy, Cheese Curls                   P 2.00

Chickadees                                                      P 2.50

Tawag sa telepono                                          75¢

Pamasahe sa Jeep                                           P 1.00

Tiket sa sinehan                                              P 20.00

Marami pa rin sa mga pagkaing ito ang makikita sa mga tindahan ngayon. Ngunit katulad ng ibang kalaro namin noon, hindi pa rin lahat ng mga bata ay maaaring makabili ng pagkaing nanaisin nila. Sa kasalukuyan kasi, kaliwa't kanan ang pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin. Mula pagkain, bigas, gasolina, pamasahe at marami pang iba. Habang nagmamahal ang presyo ng mga pangunahing produkto, patuloy ang pagbaba ng halaga ng piso. Kaya ang mga kawawang anak ni Juan, ni pandesal na P2 na ang isa ngayon ay hindi na natikman o matitikman pa.

Napaisip tuloy ako ng malalim. Nais ko sanang tanungin si PNoy kung may maitutulong ba ako, pero dahil alam kong hindi siya makakasagot, ginoogle ko na lang ang sagot. At ito ang aking natuklasan: Ang tanging solusyon sa implasyon ay ang pagtangkilik ng mga lokal na produkto.

Kaya naman pala mas maraming nabibili noon sa P5 baon ko, hindi pa gaanong mataas ang inflation rate. Wala pang mga ukay-ukay. Wala pang mga malls na nagbebenta ng signature clothing, signature bags, signature shoes, signature perfumes, signature chuchu… At higit sa lahat, hindi pa kasi uso ang mga “MADE IN CHINA.” Lahat na yata ng bagay dito sa Pilipinas ngayon ay made in China. Napatambling ako ng makita ko na sina Barbie at Hello Kitty ay made in China na (kelan pa naging Intsik ang blonde na si Barbie at ang pusang si HK?). Pero at least, simple lang pala ang solusyon sa problema natin. Ang tanong na lang ay: Kakayanin ba ng mga simpleng Pinoy na mamuhay na hindi nakikipagsiksikan sa ukay o bibili ng kahit anong made in China? Kakayanin ba ng mga mayayamang Pinoy na hindi bumili ng signature products?

(Eggheads, kung halos lahat ng bagay ay gawa sa China, may mabibili kayang matinong lider na made in China? Yung mataas ang kalidad ha? At dumaan sa masusing quality check kaya walang damage. Kung meron, pabili nga ng sampu. Size 9 lahat, color beige. Tawad na yung isa, may nisnis.)

FAREWELL, HARRY




courtesy of: artorg.info

 

I first met Harry Potter in 2000 at the National Bookstore in SM Fairview. It was my first year of teaching and since I got my own money, I decided to have my own teeny-weeny library in my teeny-weeny room. Seeing the vibrant cover of the Sorcerer’s Stone – a boy in round glasses with a bolt in the forehead flying in a broom - I picked it up and checked the blurb (the ‘teaser’ or sort of synopsis at the back cover of a book), and decided that it was well worth my money to belong in my precious shelf. I have no idea that it was a New York Times Bestseller, or that it was being made into a film. I am not much into contemporary/modern literature back then for I was more engrossed in Shakepeare and Poe, and I didn’t even like books about witchcraft, thinking it was one, but I wagered in the end.

Picking up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone has been my ticket to the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 ¾. Everything in it was riveting – the unusual arrival of Harry at the Durley’s doorstep, the vanishing glass at the reptile house, the arrival of the letters, the giant Hagrid, Diagon Alley, Gringotts, Hogwarts Express, the sorting, the sardonic Draco Malfoy, He-who-must-not-be-named, Quidditch, meeting Ron, rescuing Hermione from the troll, and much, much more. I remember reading the book in one night (which I’ve done in almost all of the books), oblivious that the sun had almost risen up when I finished. When Chamber of Secrets came out, I was drawn deeper into Harry’s world as I met Dobby, the mandrakes, Aragog and the basilisk. I even filed for a sick leave from work and pretended I had dysmenorrhea just to finish reading it. Finishing Books 3 to 5 had similar tales of filing for sick leaves and/or sleepless nights, transforming me into a bystander along the halls of Hogwarts.  Finishing the rest of the books (Books 6 and 7) had been easier yet woeful. Easier, since I was not a prisoner of the bundy clock anymore. I was able to reserve each book at National bookstore and became one of those who had finished it while drinking chocolate chip frappuccino at the nearest coffee shop. Woeful because of the sudden deaths of people I have learned to respect and cherish, and knowing that like death, the ending of Harry’s story is inevitable. Reading the epilogue of the last book felt like a lump in my throat had been removed, yet an empty hole in my chest formed. But I forced myself to smile, knowing that the movies are still coming. And now that they had, I still felt sad, but at least I have prepared myself for this. Yes, there was sadness, but its a sadness you feel when a loved one moves away, a feeling of knowing that once they left, you will never see them again, yet you know that they are just out there somewhere.

The HP series is indeed spellbinding. Personally, the series has unsealed a world where I want to purchase my own real estates, one at Privet Drive, one at Hogsmeade, another in Godric’s Hollow; a world I seemed to watch from the other side of the veil in the Department of Mysteries; a world where I rejoiced for all of Harry’s triumphs and where I lamented for all of his loss – from Sirius to Dumbledore to Dobby and to Lupin and Snape. (I cried whenever someone dies, not just because I adored these characters, but because I agonized with Harry.) Each time I enter Hogwarts, whether through the books or the movies, I am a child again - a Gryffindor like Harry, a Slytherin like Draco, a Hufflepuff like Cedric, a Ravenclaw like Luna.

JK Rowling is a genius that we, fans of Harry Potter, are indebted to. She had been the architect of this universe, not unlike a parallel reality where there are good – but not perfect – people like Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid and Snape; where there are not-so-good people like Voldemort, Lockhart, Umbridge (the character who annoyed me the most), Bellatrix, and Pettigrew; where there is hate, jealousy, treachery, bigotry along with love, friendship, devotion, loyalty and courage. And for that, I thank her.

And as for Harry, the boy who lived, “It has been an honor knowing you.”

(Eggheads, did you know that by the time Book 7 was released, everyone I bumped into along the mall’s corridors were clutching copies in their hands? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows holds the Guinness world record for fastest selling book of fiction in 24 hours in the US, and it was reported that sales reached a rate of 15 books sold per second.)

SPEECH TO CONVINCE: Muggle Studies

I just gave my students their first quarter project on my English Elective class. I asked them to write and deliver a speech on a particular college course assigned to them, from the point of view of someone who has been presently working in the field related to their college degree. I made the speech below as an example.



The Speaker, Meenataur Diggory
Photo courtesy of: hogwartsreborn.forumotion

Professor Dumbledore, our Headmaster, had once told us that “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Professor Dumbledore had always been an eccentric man, but he never failed to amaze me with the wisdom and truth behind his words. Indeed, a man is not made up of intelligence, skills, and abilities alone. We are more than that.

Good morning to all of you, young witches and wizards, and of course to the Hogwarts staff especially to our Headmistress, Professor McGonagall. It has been so long since the last time I set foot on the Great Hall. It was just after the Great War, and every Hogwarts alumni had returned to help restore the castle, which took less than three days. Now, I stand here in front all of you this morning, not to speak about the war, but to enlighten and inspire you as you plan for your future. I just didn’t know that standing on the podium where all the previous Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses had stood would make me this nervous.

Many of you may have known me, but for the sake of those muggle-borns who had just met me this morning, I would like to introduce myself. I am Meenataur Diggory, a graduate of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, from the house of Ravenclaw. As a student, I gained twelve Outstandings in N.E.W.T. (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test) and excelled at Transfiguration. After Hogwarts, I went to Marseilles, France and studied at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic for two years where I majored in Muggle Studies. After school, I went to America and became a professor at the Salem Witches’ Institute for three years. While teaching, many of my writings had been printed in various publications including Transfiguration Today, Wizarding Genealogy and Ministry of Magic Weekly, to name but a few. In addition, I had been the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet for two years and during these times, I have authored several books including Advanced Transfiguration, Home Life and Social habits of American Muggles, The Great War and its Impact on Muggles, which was co-authored by Mrs. Hermione Granger -Weasley, head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Defensive and Offensive Magical Theory - co-authored by Mr. Harry Potter, the head of the Auror Office.

At present, I am the head of the International Magical Office of Law under the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic. It is an agency that attempts to get wizards from different countries to cooperate in wizarding actions both political and public. Our work includes keeping track of laws and policies set down by the International Confederation of Wizards and advising Britain's Minister for Magic and the Wizengamot on matters of international law in order to prevent contradictions between British magical law and its international counterpart. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement actually enforces the international policies and laws of the International Confederation of Wizards on British soil, albiet often relying on the advice of the International Magical Office of Law.

Majoring in Muggle Studies had contributed a lot to my success in the several fields I have been to – that of being a teacher, an editor, a writer and a head of the Office of Law. Muggle Studies is considered by some people to be a soft option while in school, but I personally affirm that it is important for magical people to have an understanding of the non-magical community, especially if they work closely with Muggles, such as in the Ministry of Magic. I was not very good at Runes, nor adept at duels or fighting, nor skilled at Quidditch, but I was told many times that my charm could work wonders especially in dealing with different people, so I pursued this course. Taking up Muggle studies would give you a proper viewpoint of Muggles and educate you to detest bigotry, which I believe is something that brought us the Great War. MS would also open doors for various fields that you may want to venture into after NEWT.

I would like to end my discussion this morning with another statement quoted by Professor Dumbledore, which had become an adage among Muggle Studies students: "It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be." Wizards are humans. Muggles are humans. Half-bloods are humans. What else could we be but a group of bipedaled sentient beings?


Thank you and a good day to all.

(Eggheads, do not forget that when you deliver your speeches next week, everyone must be in business attire.)