I picked up my son Mio from the domestic airport a while ago. He had just come from his 1st unaccompanied trip to Boracay and he was buzzing with stories and that irrepressible energy of a young man who has discovered his own power to move in the world. He planned this whole 4day thing with his classmates and even saved up and paid for his room and board. I pitched in with plane tickets. He expressed how much he enjoyed traveling alone, from checking into the airport, riding the plane, taking an hour’s bus ride to Boracay and just doing stuff without having to rely on us. He has clearly discovered the path to greater independence and autonomy., and I generally like that. As a parent, I do worry a little about a few things which may get kids in trouble, like bad company, alcohol and drugs. But I know I should take risks in trusting young people to do the right thing. In two months, he will go on an even bigger journey to Oxford in England, and a stint in Paris to take a college preparatory course. He will be gone for 40 days alone in the Europe part of this big, wide world. Ala and Erica took the same thing years ago before college and it opened their eyes to the bigger picture. Besides, it helped them get into the school that they wanted. Mio can’t wait!

But before that, he has a few gigs lined up with his band called Bandido. I am amazed at how quickly he has learned the guitar. Lately, he seems to have discovered some of APO’s earlier music, and guess what? He likes them! Ha ha! Yes, enough to want to play some of them in their gigs. They also write their own stuff and that’s something I give them credit for. I am quite excited to see him spread his wings and make a mark in his milieu. And you should see him before and after a gig! Parang di mapakali, just like his dad, or at least that’s what his mom says.

I talked to him recently about college and he has expressed great interest in taking up music. I never even gave the remotest consideration to going for music in college because I was on scholarship at the Ateneo and it didn’t (and still doesn’t) have a music course. And to have had to go to any other school then, and in the process incur expenses for my hard working mom and step dad was just out of the question. As a parent now with a little more means, I will support as much as I can the directions where my kids wish to find their passion.

If Mio does go into music, he will outdo his father in at least one thing: he will be able to read and write music—something I never learned to do. I tried learning it before but it slowed me down considerably. I guess I just got too used to making music intuitively. Maybe someday I will take it up again. But if by next year Mio decides to take up something else, it will be no big deal to me. The time to indulge in a little confusion is during youth when it is expected and one has the luxury of time to do so.

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I leave on Wednesday for APO’s second leg of its US tour. This blog may be quiet for sometime since I do not always have internet access when we tour. But APO’s page will be full of updates so watch out for that. And if you are one of those who will want to buy souvenirs, we have something even better this time around: DVDs of past milestone concerts, buttons, and more CDs.

I must admit I will be happy to escape the summer heat, the discomfort and the palpable discontent that’s evident everywhere due to the high cost of gas, electricity and all the other irritations that plague life in the Philippines. Add scandals like Pacific Education Plans and CAP not living up to their end of the contract. I pity the parents who unexpectedly have to scrounge for more money now to keep their kids in school. On top of that, the idiocy and the sleaze of ABS-CBN and GMA TV shows and the passionate efforts of our political leaders in insuring that meaningful changes do not happen in our lifetime make it so pleasant to leave even for awhile. I was so sorry and angry to see Haydee Yorac leave PCGG, and Victor Corpus retire from government. Man, I could go on and on. OK, I know I am betraying my calm and my attempts at maintaining a non-judgmental stance in most things. Don’t worry. I am not about to turn this blog into a political forum. We all just need to vent from time to time, don’t we?

Heard a quip from Jon Santos: He says that in the US, Michael Moore made an anti-Bush film called Fahrenheit 9-11, Sometime soon, someone in the Philippines will make an anti-Gloria docu called… are you ready?… Fahrenheit 4-11!