Finally, after what has been a long time I already went out to vote for the first time. Without weighing any pros and cons, I just went to jump in and took a leap of faith of doing something which I was supposed to have fulfilled years ago.

Now, more than just being excited about trying a hand at what is a new voting system in the country, election day was also a period of facing the sad fact about reality. The things and events that I normally hear and see on TV are actually for real--and I admit that witnessing such made me feel disappointed, annoyed and was left with a little amount of disgust.

And it was not an easy task--more different from what I've been thinking that things will be more convenient now. Talk about birth pains of a new system, it was one of those things that prove reality indeed bites. I braved the inconvenience of having to find my name which was not on the list but was accomplished with the help of PPCRV's volunteers, having to be patient with the long queue of lines in the middle of an exasperating El Niño heat and waiting an hour just to cast a vote in just less than ten minutes.

And having this ink stain had made me more conscious about my fingernail than before. It was like whenever I ride a jeepney to wherever I'm going I tend to look at people's index fingers just to be sure that I'm not just the alienated one with dirt on my nail.

But those were just birth pains. After all, the process is one thing new to everyone and so there still are glitches unaddressed. I would agree that doing things for the first time is kinda scary (and yep, it applies not just to sex but even to fulfilling a solemn duty). Having my ballot fed into the PCOS machine left me critically watching there; hoping that my ballot and my vote will be successfully counted. And fortunately it was.

As of this writing, I am content with the way things are going. Noynoy Aquino will soon be the next president and my choice of senators are kicking hard on their rankings. However, I'm only hoping that Mar Roxas will be the vice-president. Transmissions are not yet complete which keeps the white flag from being waved and it's a way probably that keeps everyone's hopes alive; because to be honest, I think my system isn't still convinced for a Noy-Bi tandem in Malacañang.

At least not just yet--for now.


photo above courtesy of Joell Lapitan