Jeproks
January 13, 2008I always wondered where all the kanto slang in the Philippines started. The better question is "who started it." I just happened to pick up a Nonoy Marcelo (creator of the influential comic series "Ikabod") tribute book on my way to my throne, the toilet bowl. According to the book, Nonoy Marcelo, in all his weirdness and genius, invented the kind of slang that would influence the whole of Mega Manila, if not the whole country.
"Datkilab" is widely used, especially by frat men and it's very "asteeg"-sounding, as it's shrouded in mystery if you don't understand or know how to discover its secret. The kanto lingo that gave birth to datkilab influenced a lot of people, including Ka Freddy Aguilar and even my uncles.
Ermats would translate to mother and Erpats to father. Erap is to pare while todits is to dito. The datkilab for pera is areps but that's pretty recent. Here are some of the words and meanings I discovered recently (forgive my ignorance): jeproks (housing PROJECTS that would roughly translate to jologs in modern time) and kachokaran means karancho.
Weird or funny these words may seem, they still define us and who we are. Language is a vital part of Culture, and culture is what defines people and gives meaning and happiness to everyday life.
Oh Crap.
"Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die." I'm not really into putting this statement into practice, but I'm not exactly holding back (especially when the viand is meat or when I'm on a drinking spree) either. Even slurping Bulalo bouillon is not enough to make me feel guilty. The conscience is but a mere speckle of dust when I'm eating heartily. Tampalin (burger patties are pure beef, so my friend says. It's 70% fat, and 30% scrap meat from the ribs. Not sure where "tampalin" came from, though) burgers from Burger Machine are my favorite merienda.
I'm not what you'd call a regular drunkard, but I certainly wouldn't pass up a bottle of beer or two. Drunken revelry's definitely not my style. But what the hell is the world coming to? Is the pain I often feel somewhere along my nape a sign of a blocked carotid or whatever artery there is? Am I flatulent because of irregular or fatty diets? I certainly hope not.
It's hard losing someone special, family or friend, as was the case of my lolo's passing away back in '03. Though he did not die of his ever present Diabetes Mellitus or heart problems, I still felt bad that he suffered before his next great adventure. Now I'm on the brink of losing my lola to stroke (probably mild, but still….) and I do hope God would lend her some more time.
My point is, we should watch our lifestyles and dietary habits. It's fine to indulge one's self to a big, crispy piece of pata every now and then, but never forget to eat oatmeal and fiber-rich food and exercise. When the time comes for reunions, a healthy alumnus/alumna, kumpare/kumare, ninong/ninang can tempt and tease colleagues by eating crispy balat ng lechon and other pampabata stuff.
kasama ka ba sa Davao? Godbless!
