Lampin

The wife of one of my dad's laborers' just gave birth - it's a boy! Why do i know? Because there's this small compound near our house where most of the laborers live and it's where we store the cement mixer, shovels, grinders, drills and other stuff you saw in Hostel. And I'm naturally chismoso.

Anyway, I was having a fit this morning because my maid told me that the wife (now a mother) cannot afford to buy a 250 pesos set of Lampin (12 pieces in Divisoria according to the maid)!!! She was cutting their (dirty) blanket into lampin sized pieces to compensate for the cloth diaper!

250 pesos! It's like a budget for a lunch out with friends. It's like a super hyped up Starbucks drink. Or a 14 by 18 sized Berkeley canvas. To some, it's a 12 piece cloth which will house the first few weeks of a newly born child. Which investment is more worth it?

She knew that she was having a baby and they weren't even able to save anything. "Isang kahig, isang tuka" was the way they lived, and I cannot apathetically watch their situation. I wanted to give my brother's scarves as lampin but he'll kill me so I told my maid that when she goes to Divi, she should buy lampins for the baby boy.

I know WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYONE. Benevolence is the worst form of marginalization, according to one philosopher. But I ask myself, what if i'm the one in her position - I have barely anything to eat and I still have to usher this new life. Sigh.

On another side of my universe, I just semi-finished this painting and I guess it's a bit violent. Last few weeks were so stressful and instead of releasing the stress with a shot of Bacardi every night, it turned out like this.

As you can see, the bottom part isn't finished yet. Parang kamay ng powerpuff girls lang. I'm still finding the right object to complement it. A vase with dry flowers? A picture frame with a guy/family in it? Or a set of Lampin and a cigar in hand.