“Hi, Pangga! May energy ka ba?”

This slogan by a local FM radio station is so popular that it's heard on the streets or in public transports like FX taxis and jeepneys. There aren't that many “panggas” among us, that is, women from Iloilo, so its popularity is surprising. Something tells me there is a double entendre in this slogan somewhere.

Be that as it may, as to the question whether I have energy or not, I would have to say that I have none at the moment. Since Tuesday, I have been flat on my back, with headache (Tuesday), a runny nose (Wednesday), fever (Thursday), fever and cough (Friday). Hey, I'm beginning to sound like that Martin Short character, a hypochodriac, from the movie "Innerspace" starring Meg Ryan and Dennis Quiad. In the movie, we're treated to a fantastic voyage of the human body as a miniaturized Dennis Quiad in his spaceship-like capsule tours Martin Short's body.

If you really want however to learn about the complex wonders and mysteries of the human body as God created it, please read the books “In His Image” and “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” by Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand.

I first tried non-aspirin acetaminophen and it got rid of the headache and fever for some time. But then the cold and running nose came in. I then tried Neozep and it stopped my runny nose from running, but I got this sensation that all the phlegm (sorry!) got stuck inside my chest. My nephew bought for me Decolgen Forte and my sister brought home some BioFlu.

Reading the printed info on these medicine packs for contraindications, I found out that Decolgen Forte and BioFlu exactly had the same active ingredients (phenylpropanolamine HCI, chlorpenamine maleate and paracetamol). This reminded me of my Intellectual Property Law (copyrights, patents) subject in law school where I learned the difference between “product patent“ and “process patent.” The difference between “product patent“ and “process patent” probably explains why Decolgen Forte and BioFlu (manufactured by different companies) have exactly the same ingredients.

I felt a little bit stronger stronger today, and I opened my e-mail. I had some 30 e-mails, some from e-mail counselees, some from e-mail newsletters I had subscribed to and a lot from those persistent men and women from Ivory Coast and Burkina Fasso who so generously want to give me millions of dollars. I cannot just take seriously these e-mails that out of the blue wants to give me millions of dollars when they cannot even present such an offer in grammatical English.

I had some new info (18th Fundamental Bible Conference) I had to post in my Baptist Churches blog, but as I didn't have the energy to do the typing, I asked my Grade 4 niece Chloe to help me out. Hey, as soon as I get my energy back, I will be writing more articles for you.