Online Burol

Whew. Been a while since I posted here. When you're not on vacation anymore, you can hardly find time for yourself. Can you read the ad above? You can also check out the article here: E-burol.

I was having breakfast with my sisters one morning when I came upon this advertisement in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from St. Peter Chapels. It says "Online Burol. Libre na! Worldwide pa!" Can you believe that? It just made us laugh. What, they'll have online multi-player mahjong games, too, just like there are mahjong games in some wakes? What is this world coming to? Soon, we'll be hearing mass off the internet... Wait a minute, that's being done already.

Alright, alright. We do have the technology, and why shouldn't we use it, right? I guess. And, truth be told, I thought the idea quite ingenious. It's just that, with the rise of technology, I can't help noticing manners and some other little pleasantries declining as well. Where are the thank you cards? The hand-written invitations that make you feel a lot more special than a printed one you know was also sent to countless others? Where are the afternoon calls where you can actually touch the person you're talking to? They're not completely gone, but in this fast-paced world, it's becoming quite rare.

I suppose when you're in another country, the online wake is not such a bad idea. But when you're in the same town as the deceased, I think it would still be proper to physically be there to extend your sympathies. The point of the wake is to give our last respects to the dead, as well as give comfort to his or her family. It's a little difficult to feel sympathy when you don't even know they're visiting, as is the case in online wakes (unless of course they sign the online guestbook, but then again the actual physical human presence gives comfort that can never be replaced by any amount of online presence).