May 1 rally was OK. My parents even encouraged me to go but my Dad teased me to no end. He gives me money and says like, "o ayan, para sa bayan!"

If anything, I got a nifty new fedora hat, tanlines on my upper arms that look like shirtsleeves, and met a new Russian (Sergey) who joined the rally--walked roughly 15 kilometers with us and suffered the heat too! And he's so galing at speaking Filipino. I asked how many years he's been here, he said "last September lang." Eh bakit ang galing mo mag tagalog? They teach Filipino as a foreign language in college daw.

Everyone started calling him "Russian Revolution." Terry's all like, "O, nasan na si Russian Revolution?" Usually he's talking to Fudge.

I was flag bearer, walking and/or sprinting behind the really big Oust flag, but didn't chant so much this time. Really long line, I doubt if anyone beyond two rows could hear me. The whole thing rocked, though, despite the heatstroke. Really big turnout.



I bet all unenlightened drivers were so pissed at us for blocking entire sections of road from Espanya to Mendiola. Rallies disrupt the status quo, and even if we scream and yell, much as we want to bring down a corrupt regime, rallies aren't specifically meant for that.

It's not cause and effect, like say, if you rally, she steps down (although in special circumstances and conditions it could happen), but we do this to show the  current (presumably oppressive) status quo CAN be disrupted, and it SHOULD be disrupted, and it's an awesome smack-in-your-face way to get your points across. To the general public. We call it "prop action." And rallies are the highest form. But not the highest form of struggle.

Anyway, I talked to Sergey a couple of times, 80% of which he didn't understand or couldn't hear so it was pretty much just me conversing with his cheek. He's from St. Petersburg and said R&B's really big in Russia. Made a mental note to check it out. Then I asked him if he likes Kirpichi but he asked me why and I couldn't explain. But their nickname for him turned out to be quite apt.

Tin: Nagrarally ka ba lagi?
Sergey: Dito o sa Russia?
Tin: Dito.
Sergey: Hindi, ngayon lang.
Tin: Eh sa Russia nagrarally ka?
Sergey: Oo sumasali ako.
Tin: Bakit ano ba issue niyo dun?
Sergey: Patalsikin si Putin.

I was laughing so hard.