JUST WANNA HAVE FUN

You can tell a lot about a person, it seems, from how he/she reacted to the new DOT campaign. Try this little experiment: divide your facebook "friends" between those who took to it, those who held their peace, and those who reflexively screamed "faiiiilllllllllll!". What do you notice about everyone in the last group? Exactly.

Now just for kicks, unsubscribe - even for just a little while - from the updates of all those "friends" who fell over themselves rushing to hate on the campaign. See how your wall is suddenly lighter, brighter and, dare I say it, more fun!

Ah, yes, that phrase. New or not, I gauge its success by how the happier, more creative souls out there just brilliantly ran with it. There's now no shortage of "More Fun" albums and meme-makers -- there's even a geek version! (my favorites of the lot: the Moriones 300, the planking lechon, crowdsourcing Quiapo, and angry birds sabong). And, like Pringles or mani, once you start going through them, you just can't stop. It succeeds because it time-sucks!

Heck, once I found out what the new slogan was, I spent my hour-long tube ride to work zoning-out and dreaming of possible UK-reference versions:

• Picture of kids playing with salagubang: Beetlemania. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of the Puerto Princesa river: The Underground. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of a packed town plaza watching a Pacquiao fight: Boxing day. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of Cagayan caves: Limescale. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of a fully stocked Bulacan paputok store: Arsenal. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of bayanihan in action: Relocation, Relocation. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of palengke vendors calling customers: Girls Aloud. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of the tinikling: Double Yellow Lines. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of oblation run: University Challenge. More Fun in the Philippines.
• Picture of a celebrity Belo patient: Stiff upper lip. More Fun in the Philippines.

I ended up missing two stops making these! At naisingit ko pa ang medical tourism!

Are they corny? Sure. Did I look like a total doofus on the train talking to myself while thinking them up? Absolutely! Did I exceedingly enjoy the whole process? Hell, yeah! That's the whole point! Your mind is brought back over and over to a most happy and special place -- home!

So let the haters hate.

I'm having fun.