An hour ago, I stood on the raised walkway along Makati Avenue and watched the old building of the Ayala Museum being demolished to make way for the new Greenbelt mall. That museum has stood there for decades, playing host to any number of grade school field trips; but now the whole block (including the Schwarzwalder-Italianni’s restuarant building) looks like a scene from war-torn Afghanistan: all crumbling buildings and shattered glass and rubble. In another month it will be gone. Those of you who haven’t been to Makati in the last two years may not even recognize the Greenbelt area anymore. Things are changing fast.

(By the way, everyone’s favorite Philippine History Dioramas can still be viewed at their transitory location in the Philippine Stock Exchange building, Ayala Avenue.)