There’s so much to read so little time.  There’s so much to write about, so much to share but I don’t know where to start.  I’m drowning in information.

Over the past few days I was tempted to manage my Inbox at home but I fought off the urge because that would mean depriving my kids of my time and attention.

And now I’m using this wonderful mobile, a Nokia 3230, my hubby gave me that’s packed with features and a host of other services that would keep me glued to the phone and to the PC.

While you’re reading this, I might already have PLDT’s MyDSL connection and that would mean unlimited Internet access for our entire household.  Information is literally at my fingertips, just a few keystrokes away. 

But reflect on this.  With technology now a part of our daily lives along with a multitude of information, at least for those of us in the urban areas, do these make us any smarter?

I just marvel at students these days seeing them listening to their iPods/MP3 players while reading a book and texting every now and then.  Seeing them makes me want to ask them if they even absorb anything from what they’re doing.  I, however, need not ask the question because teachers came to me with horror stories about the mediocre insights and obviously plagiarized essays they submit.

Nevertheless, I tried to multitask like them.  While putting this column to rest I had my radio on listening to retro music and I found it hard to compose and sing along with the songs at the same time.  I was further interrupted by text messages that I just had to step out of my office and go to a more quiet room to get this thing done.

Am I just getting old or what? Because I can no longer relate with the way kids are doing several things at the same time.

I don’t know about you but though I’m glad to have seen technological breakthroughs and experience the convenience they offer in my lifetime, they sometimes are sources of stress, too.

I am definitely tuned in but I darn know well when to turn off.  

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Corruption at the airport.  I met this British surgeon who’s based in Hong Kong early this month through a college friend.  The email though not totally unexpected, it was the attachment that gave me the biggest surprise.

It was a copy of a letter he sent to editors of South China Morning Post, a newspaper with a very wide circulation in the region, recounting what he calls  ‘disgraceful’ incidents at our airport.

Here’s part of the letter he sent to SCMP:

On January 4 I flew on Philippines Airlines flight 866 from Cebu to the new Philippine airlines terminal in Manila. On arrival, after prolonged discussion at the official airport transport desk, my Filipino friends were able to reduce the fare for the car to take the three of us to the Mandarin hotel from 1600 peso to 1300 pesos.

On returning to Cebu on January 5, I arrived at the domestic airport with a Filipino…We were greeted by four security guards who looked at our tickets and asked for identification… My friend was told by one of the security guards, “It is Ok if you have no identification, just give us some money for a snack“. A second guard, taking me for the husband said, “Anyway you can afford to give because your husband is rich”. One of the four guards followed us in, and repeated his request for money for a snack. After the hand baggage passed through the x-ray machine, a female security guard insisted that my friend open not only her hand bag but also her purse. She then said “can you give me the foreign currency in your purse as a Christmas gift?” These conversations were in Tagalog, and I was unaware what was going on.  The person with me, who was naturally furious, did not translate for fear that it would upset me and I would make a fuss.

I was naturally embarrassed at what they had went through especially because the night we met, I was trying to quell their fears given the warnings they got before setting foot in the country.  I remember assuring them that the Philippines was as safe (or as dangerous) as the countries they were from (he from Hong Kong and his Filipina friend from London) and that terrorist threats were just that – threats - not knowing they had an unpleasant experience right at the airport.

Imagine the repercussions of that letter had SCMP published it, which he assured me will see print as SCMP does publish his letters.  This brings to mind one of the little things Atty. Lacson listed in his book ’12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country”.  He encourages Filipinos to speak well of the country when talking to foreigners. But when foreigners get the kind of treatment like the one I just shared, what are we to do?

Airport authorities and the Department of Tourism better do something about this.  I wouldn’t want to meet another foreigner who would tell me the same thing.

 (For feedback, comments, suggestions email me at openingpagemb@yahoo.com)