The Hunger Game

(with my journal entry dated August 1, 2012, a Tuesday)

First birthday ng isa sa mga bata dito sa amin. Si Jewel. We call her Juweweng. Everyone’s busy. Maulan nga lang. May bagyo kasi.

‘Yung kapraningan ko early this year—about December 19, 2012 being the end of life as we know it—bumalik. It seems things are happening again that point toward that. Ewan.

Right now, I’m thinking of growing fat. I’m worried about famine when “the end” starts happening. Sa napanood ko kasi sa National Geographic, fat people tend to survive longer in times of famine. Nauuna kasing “kainin” ng katawan ang fat reserves for energy—that is, kung wala na talagang makain ang isang tao. Kapag naubos na yung fat reserves, kasunod naman “kinakain” ng katawan ‘yung mga muscles.

Now, kung hindi na makakilos ang isang tao dahil halos buto’t balat na lang siya, tsaka naman magsisimula ngayon yung pagsa-shutdown ng mga sistema ng katawan na hindi naman talaga kailangan para ma-sustain ang buhay. This is to divert a person’s remaining energy to functions that are really essential for living, e.g. respiration, heartbeat, etc.

Magsa-shut down ngayon ang digestive system (kasi nga kung wala ka na kinakain, ano pa ang ida-digest mo? Sayang lang yung energy), excretory system, etc. —mga functions na hindi naman talaga basic para manatiling buhay.

Lastly, kapag walang-wala na talaga, magsa-shutdown naman yung part ng brain that helps us distinguish between right and wrong. Medulla oblongata* nga ba ‘yun? Now, dahil wala na tayong sense of right and wrong, we become like animals—reduced to our instincts in order to survive. We’d eat anything, even each other, and we won’t even be squeamish about it anymore. Scary, right? But then we probably won’t be scared kasi we would be too insane to be scared by then.

Kawawa naman yung mga taong walang immediate access sa pagkain—yung mga taong hindi nakapag-stock ng food supply or hindi maka-move from place to place in order to find food. People would pray that death come quicker. Pero with just food scarcity threatening life, it would be a slow, agonizing death. Forty days**? Parang narinig ko dati, man can survive without food for forty days. I’ll check that one out if it’s correct.

Now, I’m wondering if suicide would be an option. I mean, for a deranged man whose instincts are focused on survival, would suicide even figure as an option? Oo siguro. Pero that would probably happen bago pa tayo masiraan ng bait. I surely hope it wouldn’t have to come to that. Hmm . . . e, bakit ko nga ba iniisip na magpataba? I mean, kung mataba ako, mas mahaba pang paghihirap dadanasin ko; whereas kung payat naman, sandali lang tepok na. Would I really want to last that long before I die? Geez.

But then, all that I’ve discussed so far is just the grimmer side of the coin. Malay natin, may mga rescuers naman pala. O di kaya, paano pala kung may pagkain naman na available, didiskartehan mo na lang para makuha? So, kailangan mo pa rin talaga makatagal. Expect the worst ba? With such scenarios, mas preferable pa ba ang tsunami? O ang mga solar flares na sa sobrang intense, instantaneous death naman agad? Siguro nga.

But right now, as much as I don’t want to be hedonistic about this, I can’t. May birthday party sa kabila. Dami food. Happy birthday, Juweweng!

*It’s the cerebrum. Dumb ass! Lol.

**It’s 7–9 weeks, or about 42–63 days, estimate of how long a man can survive without food.