I stopped reading the newspaper shortly after the Inquirer unsubscribed from all foreign comic strips. See, I don’t really read the news anyway, I just browse through the headlines. I’ve always thought a good headline gives you most of the information you need. Let’s look at today’s headlines for example:

Palace official clears Akbar’s political foe
Blaming Abus was convenient for probers
GMA and Burma PM meet before summit
Environmentalists want more Asian action on global warming

You kind of get the whole story.

If I find a headline that piques my interest, I read the entire article. Otherwise, I proceed to the opinion columns. If it’s a Thursday I go on to the Lifestyle section because I like reading about food. If it’s a Sunday I read the magazine.

I always end my newspaper experience by doing the crossword but before that, I go and see what my day’s going to be like (yes, i read my horoscope, yours too) and take a peek at Hammie and Zoe’s day because they remind me of Issa and Fiona and Iseck before they moved and became all grown up.

And then one day I was going through my usual newspaper routine and lo and behold, I couldn’t find them! Hammie and Zoe and the new baby whose name I keep forgetting were all gone, replaced with new comic strips which were a little too dramatic for me. I wasn’t planning a boycott but eventually I stopped reading the newspaper and just subscribed to the Inquirer’s RSS headlines just so I’d still know what’s going on.

Last Friday, I was waiting for the rain to stop and out of habit, I picked up the newspaper and started doing the crossword. It was then that I noticed they were back. Hammie and Zoe and the baby whose name I can’t remember were back! I don’t know when the Inquirer started subscribing to the foreign comic strips again but that is the best news I’ve had from them ever since I don’t know when.

So now I’m back to reading the newspaper, err browsing the headlines. I’m back to reading de Quiros and reading my horoscope (yours too) and doing my whole newspaper routine.

But the best thing is that I realized that boycotting, even if it’s unplanned, unannounced, and unofficial, will eventually give you what you want.

So now I’m boycotting you.