Seeing the world with a new lens

For the past two weeks, I had a blurred vision.

I underwent two separate, one-week apart surgeries, of both my right and left eyes for cataract.

After my online interviews with Marie Cusu, a certified Nora Aunor fan who talked about her fellow Noranians’ plan for the first-year death anniversary of the Superstar; Russell Siayangco, a celebrated Pinoy actor in New Zealand who has acted with Hollywood giant Tommy Lee Jones in “Emperor,” starred in a Katski Flores’ masterpiece “Runaway” with Kit Thompson, Maureen Wroblewitz, MJ Lastimosa and Audie Gemora;

Attended the premiere night of Dante Balboa’s directorial debut, “Graduation Day”; visited controversial Fil-Briton filmmaker Jowee Morel in his house in Pagsanjan, Laguna and a series of showbiz activities, I finally submitted to an eye operation at St. James Hospital in Santa Rosa City in Laguna.

After the first surgery, I had to beat deadlines of entertainment news even if my eyesight was blurred.

Then I had to cover events and interviews online for the next deadlines.

I was able to go to Gateway cinemas in Cubao in may half-healed vision, though, for the 8th Sinag Maynila Film Festival, claimed my festival pass from the secretariat and talked to internationally renowned filmmaker Brillante Ma. Mendoza.

With my left eye still untouched I was able to see the preparations of Brillante as one of the organizers and founders (together with Solar Entertainment producer Wilson Tieng) of Sinag.

Being one of the top honchos, Mendoza personally supervised the screening of all the entries in the festival, full-length features, shorts and documentaries.

Witnessing the opening of Sinag Maynila on the sideline minus the gala premiere of a film was such a privilege.

It was an inspiring celebration.

Although I didn’t participate in the one-week marathon movie watching because of my condition, I was able to see the enthusiasm and love of the audience and diversified moviegoers.

The other most memorable scenes I’ve watched were not the movies but the real images of the quotidian during my second eye operation last week.

The general strike of jeepney drivers and other transport groups as a protest against the spiraling prices of gas and petroleum primarily brought about by the war waged by the US-Israel on Iran.

As an eye patient who was gradually healing my sight, it was an ordeal to go to the hospital.

Caught in the scarcity of PUJs directly plying the boundary of Cabuyao and Santa Rosa where St. James Hospital is located, I had to take broken rides from San Pedro to its neighboring towns.

Initially, I took a jeep from San Pedro to Binan, then a tricycle to SM Santa Rosa, then an e-bus to Dita, a town juncture, and finally, another trike ride to the hospital.

It was a nightmare.

But I should see all these in a different light.

The new lens in my eyes has to be more open and clearer about accepting realities.

The poverty around is an eyesore but we don’t have to close our eyes not to see them.

Rather, our eyes must be wider open to see through the real root causes of these problems around us.