The "Superman" Suit

If you think your childhood dreams of being Superman or the Incredible Hulk is way beyond your reach, then let the latest technology of this generation make those impossibilities become a reality for you. If lifting a truck with a single hand is just an effortless act for Superman, then it would be similar for you, too. With the entry of the Superman Suit in the world of fashion in the late 21^st Century, you are sure to be doing heroic acts in your neighborhood when you wear the the Hybrid Assistive Lim or HAL system.

This is a fully functioning robotic exoskeleton designed to provide it’s wearer an unimaginative strength and super abilities that will enable you to perform extraordinary things like lifting a 50-kilos barbell with one hand. This extra-ordinary suit as developed by the Cyberdayne in Japan. This is especially designed and developed in a way that it moves according to its wearer’s orders. Thus, this only moves whenever the wearer wants it to move.

This suit is covered with sensors at are applied to the skin. This suit makes use of these sensors to help detect the feeble electrical currents sent by the brain through the nervous system whenever it commands a certain task or activity. The sensors are connected to a computer that interprets the signal received. Next, they send their own commands to the electric leg and arm braces. When the signals are being detected, the appropriate electrical nerve signals, and then the HAL moves for a split-second before the leg muscle will move itself. The upper-body component of the exoskeleton improves the strength of the entire portion of the arm.

This amazing suit is then attuned to the wearer’s natural strength. This helps the weak to wear this technology easily. This was created as a rehabilitation tool that will bring strength and mobility to physically disabled people and the older ones. Nevertheless, availability for this suit is still limited in the market. Even the upper-body units are not that popular in the fashion market yet. "Unlike cars, HAL wasn't developed in a one-sided fashion, but by incorporating the views of many people, including end-users," Yoshi-yuki Sankai, Cyberdyne Chief Executive said in a statement,

You might be excited to own one of these super-suites to become the next superhero, but you might also want to consider how much it will cost you to become a strong person. This suit is indeed amazing, but wearing one isn’t the only way to make you a superhero. Helping others in your own little way will make you a modern-day hero, too.

Of Our Dear Friend, Brycel

These are Brycel's birthday greeting cards
given to the writer.

As we looked at the pale and unusually deformed face behind the clear glass of the coffin, we had difficulty taking in and accepting the fact that it was our dear friend. My best friend, Dess and I couldn’t contain our tears as they cascaded down our cheeks. We hugged our dear friend’s mom and then we hugged each other as we let out some loud sobs for more than ten minutes before we finally recovered from the painful thought that Brycel, our beloved friend was finally gone. Fate took her away from us.

A week before the accident, my best friend and I bumped into her at the third level of SM City Cebu, near Toy Kingdom. Dess was supposed to meet her boyfriend at that time who was so freaking late in their date. So, we walked around the mall for a little window shopping before we’d meet up with Mark.  After a few rounds on some floors, we went back to their supposed rendezvous, and that was when we saw Brycel with Hannah, another friend of ours, too. They were also hanging around the mall after classes.

When we saw each other, we were so excited that we chatted non-stop. Dess was a little bit anxious seeing some friends because her relationship was not open to everybody. She was scared that other people might know that she has a boyfriend and even feared the idea that it might reach her mother. So, while chatting with Brycel and Hannah, Dess was a little uncomfortable and was a bit of in a hurry. Brycel, sensing her uneasiness, told her, “Si Dess bah, karon ra gani ta nagkita, nagdali na’g lakaw… (You’re in a hurry to go now, we just see each other now).”

Ignoring Brycel’s words despite a bit of guilt within her, she just said, “we’re actually in a hurry because we need to meet someone.” I just told Dess to wait and look around for Mark, while I continued to laugh and chat a bit longer with Brycel and Hannah.

After we graduated from high school, we went to different schools to pursue different courses and majors. Brycel and Hannah studied at the University of San Jose Recoletos, while Dess and I took up Mass Communication at Saint Theresa’s College. It was only that time that we saw each other after we graduated from Saint Alphonsus Catholic School.

After a few chitchats, we bade good bye to each other as Brycel and Hannah took the winding staircase down to the next floor below. Before we separated ways, Brycel told Dess, “others na kay ka ha…” an expression stated in a joking manner that suggests a bit of coldness in relationship. Dess just gave her a grin and shrugged her words by responding another joke.

It was summer and we took summer classes. A few days after our rendezvous at SM, we got a text message from a common friend: Brycel got hit by a multi-cab and she was at the ICCU in Mactan Doctors Hospital. Hearing this, my best friend and I were worried. But Dess was more worried than I was because I have never witnessed a person sent to the ICCU, while she had when her aunt was admitted a few months ago.

A day or two after, we decided to visit Brycel at the hospital. Dess, Michelle and I met up at Burger Machine, in front of our Alma Matter. When we got to the hospital and finally got in the room to see our friend, we were so surprised at what we saw. Our dear friend, Brycel was totally in a bad shape. Her faced was a little bit deformed and was purplish with bruises. Her right leg was raised and she couldn’t open her eyes. When we talked to her, a tear would silently slide down her cheeks. The sight of her on that bed broke our hearts.

On our second visit, Brycel didn’t look any better from the first time we visited her few days ago. To make matters worse, Michelle told me silently that she dreamed that her tooth fell down from her mouth. Trying to be cool, I just tried to ignore the thought despite my little knowledge on the meaning of dreams because I feared for the worse to come.

One afternoon after our second and last visit in the hospital, Dess got a text message: Brycel passed away. We just finished our classes and we’re heading for home at that time. It seemed like the clock stopped at the moment, but I tried to ignore it. I was still hoping it was just a joke, but crazy me, who would’ve pull such a serious and unfunny joke. Dess and I talked a bit about it, but most of the time, we were silent as we rode the 21B jeepney heading to SM, then the shuttle van towards Opon Mercado (Opon Market).

As Dess and I hugged each other in front of Bycel’s coffin, my best friend couldn’t help telling me her regrets. Looking back to the days before we looked at Brycel in her coffin, she said, “If I have known that it would be the last time I would see her at SM, I would have given her more time. Now, I won’t ever see her again and I was so sorry for that…”  

Indeed, life has given us many chances to be able to meet and be with our beloved family, friends and other love ones, and even perhaps, along with this, is the chance to say goodbye to them formally before fate would finally take them away from us. Who would have thought that in a single instant, Brycel would be gone forever, even before we had a chance to say “goodbye” to her. A thousand pleasant words won’t matter anymore when the person is dead.

Therefore, live your life everyday as if it were your last, so when the time comes, you won’t have to regret a single moment. Time lost can never be found, so live each day fully by sharing wonderful moments with the people you love and cherish... who knows? 

This was written and published at the Lifestyle Section of The FREEMAN on September 8, 2010; Tuesday as a tribute to a special friend.

Ideal Attire When Going Tropical

You just got the news from your big boss! And you’ll be off to a tropical destination for a business trip or whatever assignment it may serve. In a week or so, you will be flying to a country with a totally different and hotter climate from what you’re used to. With countries like the Philippines, Brazil, West Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, etc., the next question would be, are you ready with your tropical-business dress shirts?

Tropical climate countries are located in the equator where the temperature usually ranges from 30 – 35 degree Celsisus, mostly, hot and humid. So, to help you decide on the right clothing to put on your baggage, here are some ideas that you might find helpful.

In an interview with Creative Director and former model, Beverly Solomon, she said having grown up in “Houston, which rivals any place on the globe for heat and humidity…” and having traveled the world to promote art and fashion – many in tropical climate countries -- with her international artist husband, there are basic clothing requirements you need to wear to survive the high temperature.

Solomon recommends wearing “light, cool and white long sleeved dress shirts” that are made of cotton. Long sleeves “are best because they keep off both the sun and mosquitoes.” Many well traveled people also go for cotton when touring very hot areas. One of them is Indian-American rock star, Anad Bhatt whom we also conversed with.

Having traveled and toured throughout the Southeast Asia -- often in India – because of his career, he said nothing beats the extreme heat but a dress shirt with cotton fabric. And “many times, a short sleeve button up cotton shirt will keep me more comfortable than a T-shirt. Also, you wouldn't think of it, but silk is not a bad option, especially if you have someplace formal to go. It keeps me surprisingly cool without compromising on fashion,” Bhatt said.

For tropical climate areas, dress shirts should also be cut and hemmed so that you can wear them loose and not tucked into your pants. Tucked in shirts create a hotter effect to the body, causing you to sweat more on the lower part of your chest and abdomen. Now, you’re ready for your business trip and at the same time a summer get-away.