Living in the information age...

    In the so-called age of information, who brings the
most value to the table during a get-together? The girl who brought the
food? The guy who brought the beer? The designated driver that got them
there? Or the comedian who supplies the table with flowing conversation
topics and laughs?



     To my friends, don't worry, I'm not making
parinig. I'm just waxing philosophical... One of my faults in
relationships is that I can get very makwenta... ano ba english ng
makwenta... quantifying whether or not things are in balance between me
and my significant other. Maybe I'm just too shrewd or jaded, that I
wouldn't put my share on the line unless I saw yours there too.
Anyway... so in relationships, what do people value? I'm sure women
would fire a set of bullet point answers for this question...



    -Time spent together... actually... the quality of time spent together

    -Effort... yung tipong hatid sundo hanggang sa dulo ng mundo

    -For the more materialistic... the little trinkets and bling

    -Affirmation, etc, etc, etc. 



    So... its really a combination of the obvious... and
the intangibles... but aren't we forgetting something? Aren't we
forgetting logic and information? Shouldn't the content of
conversations and advice we share to our friends and significant others
also hold much more value?



    I pride myself in my ability to think clearly,
logically and rationally... and in my ability to give a strong 3rd
person point-of-view/critique/advice to my friends. I've been on the
receiving end of quite a few distressed phone calls and
conversations... often, during situations like these people on the
receiving end are put in the position to listen and be emphatic to the
problems of the person in distress... but should it end there?



    For me the problem festers unless we come up with a
strategy or solution to the problem. I think the world is full
listeners and confidantes, and lacks problem solvers and strategists
who come up with another way of looking at a problem.



    And unconsciously that has been my role... a critic,
a problem-solving confidante... but the thing is, information tends to
get overlooked... because of the sheer volume of data that bombards us
in a given day.



    I've been called kuripot, makwenta, shrewd,
hindi-mahassle by my friends, and especially my past significant
others... its frustrating to hear because they don't put a value on the
gems of advice, information and strategy that I've thrown their way
during the times they needed it.



    So in the end, you can't expect me to go out of my
way and rescue you from your problems, to give you a free ride, or to
dish out some emergency dough... but you can count on me to empower you
with a different view, a strategy or a solution to your problem... the
problem is you don't exactly get brownie or pogi points for that.