Fast and Furious

That is the world to day. It is an epidemic, a pandemonium, a curse.

And it has infected me.

Earlier today, I was in a hot pursuit of a pirated copy of a software I need. My hands were itching to have a copy so that I could experiment on it and make probable projects with it. In my 'hotah-hotah' mode, I rode a jeepney (the common ride here in the Philippines) to the nearest mall. The jeepney was one of those old models of Sarao (search the internet you'll see a picture). And when I say old, I mean really old.

The mall was just three kilometers away but it took me forver to get there. The jeepney was huffing and cough black smoke and in lurched forward like a snail. At least that's what I think.

Then the woman, across my seat shouted, "Hinay hinay man to, manaog ko da." (Son, would you mind slowing down? I'll be getting off there). The jeepney wasn't moving to fast, my mind was.

I was so fixated in getting that cd that i thought everything was too slow. I was impatient.

Going off the jeepney, I resumed my 'hotah-hotah mode. Entering the mall, I was practically dashing my way to the Priated CD den stand. But before I even reach the stairs, I stupidly stepped on a slidy thing that made my body lunge forward.

It made me look like I was waltzing without a partner.

Looking down on the floor, I saw the culprit. It was an ice cream cone dropped on the floor. Who was to blame? Was it me? Was it the silly kid who dropped this mango-flavored instant sliding treatment?

I figured it was me.

I was too busy striding my way in the mall that I forgot to look where I was heading-no, I knew that, where I was stepping I mean. It wasn't the fault of the maintenance officer nor the vendore, it was my fault. I was rushing way beyond Mount Rushmore.

Then I realized I wasn't the only one.Everyone around me was pacing this way. We are all too fast for our age and speed limit (even if few of us have cars). Teenagers rushing to grow old. Tycoons wanting to earn more money. Drivers going too fast. Heck even food nowadays is fast. The world is not fast, we all know that, it rotates in mediocrity. If it didn't, we will all have 24-7 headaches and roller coasters would be a no-no ride.

Why are we in this 'hotah-hotah' mode? Why are we afraid to live it slow? Why did we invent a speedometer? (The last question is nothing, ignore it, please)

Why don;t we stop and smell the roses? Daisies? Putrid canal smells? Bagoong served? Isaw grilled? Why don't we take it slow like our ancestors did?

And that's is why I love movies. All of them have slow-motion moments. Fiction still beats reality./KP