Yes, after eleven months, the year is about to end now. Has anything changed in your life? Ramdam mo ba ang pag-asenso? (Do you feel the progress?)

Anyway, done with the Christmas decorations yesterday. Christmas songs playing in the music player. For the first time, decoration was done in such a late date. Hard times.

With the times getting harder than ever, I am thankful that not everyone is hard pressed like us who scour for crumbs from the table. While we scrounge to survive, I am thankful some people are comfortable with their lives. While we strive to make our lives better, I am thankful for some people who do their best to keep us where we are. While we try to change the way things work, we are thankful for some people who tries very hard to keep the status quo.

While people are being ravaged by HIV/AIDS, the Catholic Taliban continues to to encourage us to keep on guessing whether it is safe to do it or not. I am thankful that the Church and the State are separate, but who am I kidding?

As much as I want to count my blessings, I cannot be blind to what is truly happening on the ground. I am thankful, though, that I don’t have a callused conscience. And I hope I will remain that way. I hope the next year, my conscience will remain that way.

I know I am being incoherent. Life is like that. Unless you live a comfortable life, of course.

(You might be wondering about the title. It is from a Filipino comedy movie. In one scene, an American is addressing a group of poor Filipinos, spewing promises. He said, “I will give you aids.” When the people heard that, they ran away. They thought he is to give them AIDS. And yes, today is World AIDS Day.)