A Blogging Lesson

One lesson I learned about blogging and web-publishing my thoughts is that NOT EVERYONE WILL AGREE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.  You can't please anyone as the saying goes.  Naturally, those who do not agree leave a comment to air their disagreement.  Some are constructive (which I appreciate by the way) and would point out errors in terms of the information that I have written about or simply put forth their disagreement to my opinion.  However, there are some (in my case, there is one) who would leave nasty comments that would seem to imply a certain dislike for me and my thoughts.  The fouler comments I delete but the rest I let be.  It is after all a sort of compliment that he/she (yes, this person don't even have the nerve to place his/her name and always comes out as ANONYMOUS) have read my blog.  You can't comment on an article without reading it, right?

So to you ANONYMOUS---thank you for continuing to read my posts.  

Winter Solstice

I woke up at 4am to make breakfast and lunch "baon" for my kids:  longganisa and rice for breakfast and fish fillet for lunch at school.  Four o'clock is my wake up call whenever I'm on leave; otherwise, it's 3am on a work day.  By the time I close the stove and putting the hot water for the bath it would be around 5:15am.  The good thing about being on leave on a school day is that I can go back to sleep after my early morning ritual.  It was 5:30am whn I decided to hit the sack again.  As I lay in bed I noticed something amiss---it's still dark outside!  Did I wake up earlier than usual?  Was my cellphone time advanced?  I could have sworn that it was already 5:30am.  That's when I realized that it's still winter solstice---shorter days, longer nights.  Sweet!  

Whatever...

I was talking to a friend last night and he asked me why I have not blogged for quite some time. It’s either he’s really a fan of my blog or it was his state of inebriation that he thought he actually liked reading my blogs. Anyway, the question got me thinking myself.

My last blog entry was about the recent Philippine presidential election. I was really passionate about this subject matter specially the criteria by which we Filipinos choose our government officials---pitiful to say the least in my opinion. But that’s water under the bridge. I pray that those who voted for Noynoy actually have the balls to stand by him in all his presidential initiatives. Me? Well, I’m thankful Noynoy won otherwise we would have found the plunderer sitting in office AGAIN!

Passion. I guess that’s the reason for my blogs. I write about things and events I’m passionate about. Actually, I have been in the process of finishing a blog about a recent happening at work. Unfortunately, after writing, deleting, writing, and more deleting---I’m unable to control the emotion in my composition. So I just decided to cork it. There goes my catharsis!

Maybe I’m in the denial stage. Whatever it’s called there’s no use fussing about the situation. Everything happens for a reason. Now is the time for me to understand and hopefully make sense of what’s going to happen.

Wait and see.

At least there’s Plans A, B, and C to look forward to. Not!!

20 Years Ago Today

Some 20 years ago today, May 3, my wife and I said YES to be bonded as husbund and wife.

I was 21 and she was 19. It was unplanned. Our wedding was a quickie and was arranged at the spur of the moment. If I remember it correctly, our wedding was planned a total of two days! There were no formal invitation, no entourage. I was thankful to our friends who attended for having the presence of mind to just stand up and provide assistance with regard to the veil, ring, and cord. Not your ideal wedding, I tell you. It was forgetable to say the least but despite the whirlwind nuptial the important ingredient was that my wife and I were truly in love with each other! I do believe that's the bottomline in every marriage. Many have splurged on a very expensive wedding but ended up in court settling assets (not to mention child custody).

Did my love for my wife change after 20 years? YES. I love her more now! I love her so much that I gave her a heavy duty helmet---Kevlar---para kahit mabagok ang ulo e di sya matatauhan!-lol

Happy 20th Anniversary Sweetie! Tsup! Tsup! Slurp! Slurp!

Be Happy!

The most important component in finding true happiness is ACCEPTANCE.

This may seem to be a simple process but it is actually easier said than done. If you experience a nagging difficulty in any aspect of your life---it's likely that the cause of this problem is the failure to accept reality as it is.

There are certain things in life that we can change like job, address, haircut, girlfriend, boyfriend. However, there will be times when we cannot just change them on a whim. If you don't like your boss you don't just quit and say good riddance! Finding a job is hard nowadays. Your current house may not be as plush as you want it to be but do you have enough financial excess to move out and buy a new one? Or, you wanted to have a mohawk style hairdo but if you have a receding hairline like Bruce Willis there wouldn't be much hair to style. What I'm saying is---in order to be happy in life you should find contentment with what you have.

Resentment is a disease that eats up the soul! If you have an abundance of resentment in your heart there can never be room for happiness!

I cannot tell you what to do. All I can say is---IT'S NOT A GOOD FEELING TO BE RESENTFUL! So, I chose to be happy! Try it! You may find it worthwhile doing!

What Now, Brett?

And the Brett Favre comeback saga continues...
Apparently, the Packers organization has "moved on" to the post-Favre era and is now posturing Aaron Rodgers as their number 1 quarterback. Naturally, Favre wanted a release so he could show what he has still got in another team. Unfortunately, the Packers aint quite ready to release him just yet. Now, why is that?!
They've offered the number 2 spot which I think is an insult to Favre's stature! I'm sure Brett will not be amenable to this set up!
If I were the Packers---I'd let Brett play out the remainder of his contract (he's got one more year left) and have him redeem himself from last season's sorry loss to the Giants. That would be reason enough for him to really step it up one more notch to greatness!
But then, I'm not the Packers!

Dare to Dream!

"Mangahas kang mangarap!" That was what Dr. Onofre Pagsanghan was passionately preaching about during Jollibee's General Meeting last June 23, 2008. Dr. Pagsanghan or "Pagsi" as he is fondly called is an 81 year old Ateneo high school teacher whose teaching experience spans 57 years and counting!

I have had the privelege of hearing this man speak twice. The first one was during our department team building in Tagaytay. Although, he basically spoke of the same things, I was mesmerized a second time!

When I first saw him, I was wondered what this feable looking man has to say that will make me want to listen. He was close to balding and looked withered. There was, however, a certain spring to his stride as he went up the podium. To my surprise, he spoke with such energy, passion and the eloquence I couldn't help being capture by his every word! With his extra ordinary charisma he spoke of his life experience and transformed mundane moments into lessons that many of us can attribute to.

His message was simple, "Mangahas kang mangarap!"---"Dare to DREAM!"
Born from a poor family in Manila, Pagsi dreamt of studying in the Ateneo. A simingly impossible aspiration for someone whose family is barely able to make ends meet. But through the kindness of their parish priest coupled by persistence, perseverance, and an unwavering hope that there is life beyond the confines of poverty, he was able to prove that dreams can come true!

With S'Ato's declaration of the company's 2020 vision on international television, we find ourselves looking through the eyes of young Pagsi. Such a tall order for a small company to prance about in the land of giants!
The road towards this vision will definitely not be a walk in the park and considering that the international players are already entrenched and dug in, our path will be an uphill climb on rocky grounds.

"Mangahas kang mangarap!"---To open 4,000 stores world wide and be the best Asian food chain in the 2020 is definitely a long haul but with Pagsi's example he has taught us that YES, one can dream one's impossible dreams and try to reach for that unreachable star, only if one is ready to pay the price to make it a reality!

A Song

Lost in the ghettoes of my soul
Is a song,
Cherished,
Yet not sung,
Hidden in the cavernous
convolution of my being...
In the mouth of a mute,
Shouting, struggling to be free,
But,
Fate had sealed the door,
And there it dwells,
Forever,
In the dungeon...
...of my soul...

To Kill a Mockingbird

A mockingbird sits
perched on a song,
Throating the mellifluous
voices of cherubs,
Cleaning our miseries---
With the innocense of their opus...
His glolden brown hair
Glistening,
In the early morning sun,
Rousing us with music
Of yet another
glorious day...
But,
The hunter in men
Harkens for blood
Anesthesing all morals
Chained to the lust
that so palgued him...
And so,
The men go about the hunt
Seeking his prey with hawk eyes
Mind a blank
Except for the thrill
of the kill...
In the meantime,
The mockingbird is unperturbed
Unmindful of the looming specter
of danger,
Singing his repertoire
In blissful naivite...
Then ran
The echoing boom of death
And the predator whistling away
Satisfied with the blood
that so stained the earth,
While the mockingbird lies still...
(inspired by the book by Harper Lee)

Picking Fights

"The good general knows when to fight and when not to fight."---Sun Tzu, The Art of War

When faced with adversity fighting is not always the right course of action. Blind action almost always ends up a disaster. When a war is needed to be waged a thorough assessment of one army's chances of winning need to be the primary consideration. Why bother fighting if there is no chance of winning? However, let us not mistake sheer number as a source of strenght. Superior fire power can only be an advantage if you can see your enemy. Case in point: the American invasion of Iraq. Why is it that after many months since the American led coalition forces moved in to "liberate" Iraq have they yet to secure the country? The so-called superpowers are virtually impotent in dealing with the war versus terror because they have no idea where they are. In the movie "300" it was three hundred soldiers versus a hoard of invaders. Just as it was with Emilio Jacinto's last stand in Tirad Pass. Clearly, strategy would play a vital role in each battle that needs to be won.

A co-worker told me that you should never to complain about the food in a restaurant or any food establishment for that matter. If your complaint is legitimate provide the feedback and leave. If you're complaining in the pretense of "the customer is always right", never demand for a replacement unless you can witness the actual preparation of the product---who knows what you'll get in return. Believe me, it may seem you've won with the power play but once you've known the "extra special ingredient" in your soup...well, you get my drift!

If you have an asshole of a boss, you need to evaluate your options---you can resign and wish him good riddance. But you need to think this through very carefully specially if your boss is a ver well connected asshole! If you're tied to a contract you can just suck it up and be the best you can. For all it's worth, the wheel of fate will turn and you may find this assholeof a boss in a situation where you can just smack him in the head! What goes around comes around, right?
Good thing I have a good boss! Nighty!

Men and Household Chores

I don't know what the BIG DEAL is when people know that I do laundry and ironing chores for the family. Men should be domesticated too,right? I remember my father telling me his childhood stories when he used to do the laundry and ironing in his family---mind you, there was no washing machine yet that time! Heck, would even do the "palengke" chores! Buti nga daw at hindi sya naging "bading"! But then,my father did it to help out in the family chores(as should be the case with children!)---tell you WHY I'm doing it---because comparing laundry and plantsa it's a lot easier than taking care of the children! You see, I have 5 kids(and another one on the way) and they can be a real handful! I do have 2 teens who can already take care of the little ones...but I guess teens will be teens and can take a while to respond to the calling of initiative. Anyhow, a little parental prodding will get them into action! So i guess I took upon myself to carry this responsibility as my personal tribute to my wife who gave me 5 beautiful children and sacrifised a lot taking care of them! Just don't given me clothing with pleats to iron!!!

My First Blog Ever!

Well, well, well...look who's taking this Friendster thing seriously! I got this idea from a long lost friend of mine who I recently got re-acquianted with! Just read her blogs and I thought why not?! God knows how much I like to write and be heard---I guess this is my chance! I just hope I don't bore those who'd get the chance to read them!
I do believe that I will be able to impact other people by sharing with them my life experiences. Originally I have wanted to write a book out of it. I did start writing this book which I titled "Me, Myself and a Whole Lot of Crap!" I guess I was already on page 10 when my hard disk crashed and lost all my files! Yeah right, it was a real BUMMER! Then quite recently, I was awoken in the middle of the night by a drunk co-worker I was sharing a room with during our Department seminar in Tagaytay, that I got an epiphany to start another book-to-be which I titled "Gridiron Living".
Football(NFL) fan that I am I thought the title was a no brainer---until I realized that the NFL is not that popular here in the Philippines! Now I guess this book is going to be a wait and see thing! Or maybe...I can just compile my blogs here and make a book out of it! Hmmm...I guess sleep is alreay clouding my mind!
Gotta hit the sack folks! Over and out!