My First Born

Last Sunday, March 23, my daughter celebrated her 28th birthday. Yes, you read it right. I have a 28 year old daughter.

She was born on Easter Sunday in 1986. I named her Kristine Anne which means "graceful, merciful Christian." She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces at birth, 20 inches in length. I had a hard time pushing her out, she was rather big for a first time mom. 

Being the first grandchild, Kristine was the darling in the family. My parents doted over her like she was their child, taking her with them everywhere they went. I was still in Medical School when I had her, so my parents were the ones who took care of her most of the time. 

"Tin-Tin" as she is fondly called, grew up to be a fine young lady. I worked hard to send her to exclusive Catholic schools for girls and sent her to the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest Catholic university in the Philippines where she graduated with a degree in Economics. 

My little baby is now gainfully employed and eyeing a managerial post in the banking institution she is working for. She has accomplished so much in life and all I wish is for her to spread her wings even more and reach her dreams and aspirations. She has been the best sister to her two younger brothers, never failing to give them valuable advice about setting life goals and staying focused on achieving it. I am confident that she will be a good wife and mom when the time comes. 

I still cannot believe she is now 28 years old. It seemed like it was only a few years ago that she was a baby. On her birthday, I made a little video with pictures of her as a baby, and as a grown woman. I am sharing it with you.

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world.

It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things

and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."

-Agatha Christie

F4 Once More!

I will be transported back in time tonight at 8pm.

Baffled? I hope not. I am just happy that ABS-CBN will be showing re-runs of the very first Taiwanese soap I fell in love with. Yes, they're showing #Meteor Garden again.

Meteor Garden is the Taiwanese version of the famous Japanese comic book series "Hana Yori Dango." The plot is very simple - spoiled rich boy meets courageous poor girl. Its a story about getting into a relationship, its joys and sorrows and the triumph of love over all odds. The twists of a snotty rich matriach disapproving the relationship, the secret feelings of love by the lead's best friend towards the girl, the bullying at school. Nothing out of the ordinary, however I guess the reason this soap got so popular is the introduction of new faces - and good looking ones at that.

The cast is made up the lead female, Barbie (Hsu Hsi-Yuan) and a boy band called #F4. They are Jerry (Yan Cheng Xu), Vic (Zhou Yu Min), Ken (Zhu Xiao Tian) and Vanness (Wu Jian Hao). 

The cast of Meteor Garden. (L-R) Jerry, Vanness, Barbie, Ken and Vic

I was drawn by the simplicity of the story, the sad moments when the lead characters had to fight for their love, the insecurities, and of course, the light hearted and funny scenes  in the show. Meteor Garden got so popular in the Philippines that the group F4 held several concerts here. Me and my daughter watched every single one of them! Jerry and Vic even became product endorsers of a clothing line (Bench Philippines) and they were the company's poster boys for a loooooong time.

In 2004, I had the opportunity to work in Taiwan for two years. With a weird twist of fate, I found out that I was working 3 blocks away from the apartment building where Vic (Zhou Yu Min) lives. There was one time I saw him on his big Yamaha motorcycle speeding away. Major freak out! (faints). 

In my own opinion, this soap taught people some realities - that money isn't the be-all and end-all of things; that being steadfast in your beliefs can take you to your dreams; and that love conquers all. 

Oh my, I can go on and on talking about Meteor Garden, F4 and the Mandarin experience. At 8:00 pm tonight, I will have a repeat of a happy time in my life.

愉快的星期一! 

"When I Grow Up, I want to be..."

It is graduation time once more. Schools are all abuzz preparing for this annual event. In the Philippines, a child has to go through four graduation ceremonies before he/she is finally done with school. There is graduation from pre-school, then elementary graduation, high school graduation and then college. If they go ahead and pursue a post graduate course, then that would be five graduation ceremonies all in all. 

I turned my attention to young children. The youth and their dreams. The voices of the future. I asked some neighborhood kids about their dreams and if they would go abroad after graduation.  I was surprised with their honest, innocent responses.

Gab, 4 years old
Nursery

Gab lives next door to me. He's a little tyke with a huge personality.

When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he quickly responds:

"I want to make buildings and houses. I want to be like my godfather - an architect."

Angelo, 7 years old

2nd Grade

Angelo and his friends play a lot outside when school is over. 

He dreams of becoming a doctor someday. 

When I asked him if he would want to work abroad, he said, "No, I want to stay here."

JL, 11 years old

5th grade

Like Angelo, he also dreams of becoming a doctor. 

I asked him, "A doctor here or abroad?" 

His response: "I'm not sure yet."

Judan, 7 years old

2nd grade

Judan was ready with his smile even before I had the camera on. What does Judan want to be when he grows up?

"A police officer in America!" was his quick response.

Tana, 6 years old

1st grade

Tana was quiet and shy but agreed to have her picture taken.

I asked about her dreams and she said she wants to be a nurse.

And she whispers "No going abroad. Just a nurse here."

Masakasu, 10 years old

4th grade

Masakasu is a Filipino-Japanese boy who dreams of becoming a Civil Engineer.

He was confident to declare he will definitely be working abroad when he is done with school.

Ayesha, 6 years old

1st grade

Ayesha is so tiny I thought she was still in pre-school. In her soft, shy voice she said, "I want to be a nurse and work in Saudi Arabia."

Erika, 7 years old

1st grade

Erika is lives in the next door apartment. She loves to sing and dreams of becoming an architect someday. When asked about her thoughts about working abroad, she said she does not want to go abroad to work.

It is alarming that some of these young children have their mind set on working abroad. One of them said that his father is in Saudi Arabia and is earning more than he was when he was here. Young as they are, these kids have the awareness of how difficult life is in the Philippines. They are aware of the fact that their chances to get a good job is not very promising. Their thoughts of a better life is not here but in some other country. 

When will our country escape the vicious cycle of the brain drain? Instilling patriotism in the minds of our youth is not good enough to make them stay. How can you opt to stay in the country when you can hardly make ends meet? An offer of a high paying job abroad would be very hard to refuse even if it means that you would be overqualified and underemployed.

These little kids with big dreams hold the future of our country in their hands. I wish our government would make laws to provide funding for their education, similar to the student loan programs being offered in other countries. Young minds who wish to serve, to be productive members of society must be given an a chance to be doctors, engineers, nurses, teachers or architects. A guarantee of local employment after graduation would provide motivation for our youth to strive hard to attain their dreams. 

I do not believe that our country does not have ample resources to fund a student loan program. We have the resources, it is only misappropriated and sadly, it ends up in the hands of the corrupt few. 

Our children do not have to work abroad as maids, laborers, or janitors to earn a decent income.  

If we want to have real economic improvement, all we need is to invest in the future.

Ask a child. Feel their dreams. Listen to their voice. 

The voice of the future. 

Know it? Got it? Post it!

Designing a postcard is never easy. You have to get our customer's attention at first glance and hold them there until they have gone through the entire postcard. Vibrant colors are always a good choice. I once had a professor whose hobby was photography. I can still vividly remember his famous line - "Anything red is always beautiful to photograph." So I guess red would be a good dominant color for a postcard. Your business information should also be easily found, with instructions on how to contact you. An effective product presentation is essential in growing our business.

Once you have come up with a design that suits your specifications, the next step is to find a store that offers local postcard printing. Going through the Yellow Pages to find one is rather tedious. At Printing America, this process is made simple. Just type in your zip code and a list of local printers will populate on your screen. You can now have a handful of choices to call and compare prices with.

Why complicate things when you can have the help you need at your fingertips? Printing America. Your best resource for online printing.  

Flowers or Weeds

In many of my blog posts, I have mentioned that my biggest dream when I was a teenager was to be a journalist. I was attracted to capturing life changing moments and putting them into writing, or snapping a picture of a moment that would never again repeat itself.

I started seriously blogging in June of 2013. I started putting together bits and pieces of my previous works, scattered over social media. I met Zen online, through a common interest - writing. This was way way back when Friendster was the "in" thing. She was the one who kept on prodding me to write, she gave me motivation, supported me and praised me for my blah-blah articles. 

Zen never failed to give me pointers and I learned a lot from her. She gave me new blogger friends, Betchai and Cherry, who like Zen gave their all out support to new bloggers like me. 

Zen is the genius behind the blog "The Letters In November". Betchai's talent in photography is showcased in the blog "The Joys of Simple Life", and Cherry's family centered blog "Sweet Memoirs" offers a good read every time. These three women are also behind the blog "The Salitype Society", written for a noble cause of supporting the education of two young children.

This post is to give thanks to these wonderful women - Zen, Betchai and Cherry for their wisdom, their help and their selfless effort to provide other people the hope to pursue their dreams. 

God bless you, my friends.

She was Beautiful, Deep Down to Her Soul

I found this online on a lazy Friday afternoon. I wasn't doing anything particular, just scrolling, reading, looking at pictures. And then this came up on the screen.

I had to stop and just stare at it. The words came alive. 

This is me.

I believe no one gives me the worst criticism than myself. I hate my chubbiness, I hate having to admit that I am not a young girl anymore. I hate not being as fair skinned as my sisters.

I must learn to love myself even more. I must remember that I was created in the image of God, just like everybody else. 

I am a child of God. 

I AM BEAUTIFUL.

Print Your Dreams

The cost of living has been on the rise over the past decade and we have to find ways and means to augment our income. As a parent, my goal is to see all my kids finish college. My daughter has a degree in Economics and is gainfully employed in an international banking institution. My two sons are on their way to earning their own - one in Marketing Management and the other in Hotel and Restaurant Management. 

I have done some market research and feasibility studies on a business that would be easy to manage with a quick ROI (Return of Investment). I have been looking into the printing business. There are many products that could be offered, from banners to business cards to corporate give aways. My only concern is the time constraint to produce unique designs and the stiff market competition.

However, I have learned that with a good web 2 print software, starting a printing business can actually be hassle free! I can start small as a print broker until such time that I would have enough working capital to grow it big. At Eoncode, I can choose the type of software suitable for the size of business that I intend to establish. Complete software packages and suites take care of everything from e-commerce storefronts, website development and workflow management applications.

My dream of owning a business and being financially stable in my twilight years is about to become a reality. 

My OOTD: XX Years Ago

It is always fun looking at old photographs. In my youth, cameras used film and we had to wait a week or so to have them "developed" into pictures. I had my very first Kodak Instamatic camera when I was in 6th grade and I guarded it with my life! My aunt's big professional camera had a stern "Do Not Touch" warning, while my dad's Polaroid was only for special occasions.

One of my favorite childhood pictures was taken at home. It was a big family dinner after my very first piano recital. My OOTD was a white dress, white socks and shoes. I had a white ribbon to keep my hair in place. For accessories, I had a watch, a bracelet and earrings and a necklace.

Children's parties during my youth were a big thing. There were no McDonald's, Jollibee, KFC, Shakeys. We had home cooked food that children really loved. Spaghetti, hotdogs, cake, lots of ice cream and candy. We had parlor games, balloons, loot bags for our guests. We got to invite all our classmates and more. It was a fun time. The following is a picture taken during my cousin's birthday party. My OOTD for that day was a shirt with a butterfly design, a red belt, and tangerine pants. Did you find me? Haha.

I loved growing up in the time that I did. I skinned my knees, I broke some bones, I had my share of my butt being whipped, kneeling in front of the altar with my arms outstretched as punishment for misbehaving. I learned a lot from experience.

I had my cousins as my very first best friends, the outdoors as my playground, my family as my rock.

My childhood was the best and I would not wish to have grown up in any other era as the one I grew up in.

Its About Time We Speak Up

Our village office regularly holds town hall meetings for the residents of the community. It is during these times that the officers announce scheduled medical missions, free services, or current updates to existing rules and regulations in the village. 

With all their good intentions at hand, it is still difficult for them to keep everyone's attention. Their dilapidated PA system makes their voices come out like a squeak and a crackle. I think it is the opportune time to replace the "century old" speakers. 

The Peavey PA Speakers would do the job perfectly. Its woofer and titanium diaphragm compression driver provide the best audio for any purpose, whether it be for town hall meetings or gigs. It boasts of a 400W power program and durable moulded plastic enclosures making it lightweight and portable. 

Our village would be very pleased to have a pair of these quality speakers. The Senior Citizens attending their weekly Ballroom Dancing classes would be very happy. The day care nursery class could now do their field demonstrations with better sound systems. Most important of all is that we will now be able to hear the announcements of our village president better. We'd be more than willing to sign a petition to our Mayor to provide funding for this much needed pair of speakers.

The Death of the Work Itik

This is my page. These are my thoughts. Like it? Read on. Hate it? Read even more.

The death of the work "itik"

1. I shut some people out of my life not because I hate them, but because I RESPECT ME.

2. Put an end to the phrase "We are all family here." People in the workplace are NOT my family. My family is the people I leave behind when I go to work at night. Workplace people are PEERS, NOT FAMILY.

3. I did not find employment to make friends. I sought employment to earn money. Gaining new friends is just a bonus.

4. I am an individual. I am unique. I am a rational being. I am not an item in the production line that will blindly conform to your specifications. 

5. Respect and earn respect.

6. I can be the most faithful ally. I can also be the worst enemy. It all depends on the situation presented.

7. Do not judge me unless you have walked a mile in my shoes.  

8. If you did not have a happy childhood, don't rub off your disappointment on others.

9. You can never be perfect because only GOD is perfect, and you are NOT GOD.

10. Most importantly, I would advise you to never meddle in the affairs of the dragon, for in my eyes you are crunchy and good with ketchup.