ZDNet reports that Bill Gates bids a teary farewell to Microsoft. From being a geek, Gates will now live the life of a philanthropist. Through his foundation, he will be finding new vaccines or to microfinance projects in the developing world.

Is he trying to show us the real meaning of life? That after working hard to get where he is now, he’d retire and get down to more humane work.

I’ve seen many successful people do it. After retirement they build foundations and go out and help people.

Can't we work to build a fortune and help people at the same time? Is this what they mean when they say, you can't serve two masters at the same time?

Hmmm…

The first time I heard the song Betamax by Sandwich, I thought it was a Parokya ni Edgar song. The lyrics, the melody, the beat, the sound is so Parkya-ish for me. I hope I don't offend Sandwich and their fans as well as Parokya ni Edgar and their fans.

Nevertheless, I like the song. I may be giving away my age, but I can so relate. Yeah those days were fun! I smiled when I heard these lines:
Sa jingle magazine
Natutong mag gitara...

Yeah, I learned to play the guitar that way. My mentor was Cathy, the sister of Uncle Steve. The instrument,  owned by their father Lolo Stanley (God bless his soul) was heavy and with metal strings. My first piece was How Deep is Your Love followed by Too Much Heaven both by the Bee Gees. After an afternoon jamming, my left wrist would be hurting, I could hardly move my left-hand fingers whose tips were all blue! But it was super fun!

Makes me think that life may be simpler then yet it was never less fun. I miss the jamming sessions with my parents and brother, and other times with friends.  Now, I jam with my husband and kids. Every time, it's a happy happy activity.


Music has always been my anti-depressant and my medicine. Whenever I feel happy or sad, I'd listen to music or play some music, and I'd feel good. About a month ago, I was having frequent dizzy spells, I would strum the guitar and sing, and I'd feel much better.

For me, if love makes the world go 'round, music makes the going 'round really worthwhile.


Models:
1. Rago with the old Jingle Mag
2. Gabo learning the guitar

These are words of wisdom from John D. Rockefeller Jr.


Frank (international name: Fenshen) has given us another chance to exercise the privilege of giving.

Being married to a wonderful wonderful Ilonggo, I feel Ilonggo blood running on my veins, too. Please let's do our share.

For more info on how to give, check out BYAHILO's post.

Well, year after year, we see typhoons battering our cities, towns, and flooding streets, wiping away houses, and people. These have been an annual thing, and you would expect me to be dysensitized to it.

But no, and I think never. My heart breaks every time I see people thrown out of their houses, people looking for their missing loved ones. Worse, is that I can only do so much like deposit a small amount. If only I would hit the Lotto biggest pot for once!

When you hear about typhoons, storms, cyclones, twisters, earthquakes, you would often think that man is no match with nature's fury. Especially now that weather patterns have been altered due our disregard for Mother Earth, we can really say, "woe to us!"

My heart bleeds (and I rage) however when I see tragedies caused by man's negligence. The latest of which is the tragedy that is MV Princess of the Stars. The stars literally went blind on those passengers who took that trip unmindful of what was ahead.

Many versions of the story have been coming out since then: the coastguard  who let the boat sail despite the storm warning; the shipping company who let their boat sail even with a hole in it; the 23MT (metric tons) of coil, which was uncoiled, that could have been the cause of the sinking, etc.

No matter what the stories have been or whose version was it, the fact is that the ship sank, people got killed, and people are suffering!

How do we end a vicious cycle like this?

In the Father's Day card that I sent Hutsai (the name we call my Papa), I quoted this:


Yes, I say Dads are masterpieces created by God, and my father is one of them. To us he is a masterpiece because he has molded my brother and I with inspiring words, and not with the rod or restrictions.

I cannot remember a time when he clenched his fists and hit us, or extended his arms or legs to hurt us. I never even saw him violent and hit anything or throw something out of frustration, desperation, or anger.

He gets angry, of course! He raises his voice to make a point, sure! He would frown to show disagreement, yes.

But, he is always ready to listen and talk. Words, guiding and inspiring words---through talk or song---are his greatest legacy to Boy and me. In fact, one of our most fun bonding time is jamming, he plays the piano or guitar and we all sing along; or I play the piano or guitar, and they would all sing along. Up to this day, those words would echo at the perfect time when we need them.

Here are some of them:

1. Into your life, some rain must fall (thus, I am better able to cope with problems or difficulties).
2. Cuss words are unbecoming for a woman (this is why I don't swear at all. Or if I'm on the verge of spewing, I'd catch myself and remember his words).
3. Men are polygamous by nature (so, I don't look at men as perfect human beings).
4. The woman is the stronger force in the home (this has built my self esteem as a woman).
5. Make your home a refuge (true - the world outside can go chaotic, but I have always found comfort and peace in my home).
6. A man or woman who appreciates music is most likely a good person (so my best friend and I looked for this in our men, who are now our husbands).
7. Rules are not there to impose but to be lived (he doesn't impose rules, rather he lives them so that we will learn and follow).
8. Always follow your head and heart; not one or the other (in other words, always strike a balance - and I think I always do).
9. The way you live your single life should not be so different from the way you live your married life because conflict arises when you had to make a lot of adjustments (true - my husband and I maintain and nurture our individuality).
10. The secret of life is in the passage of time (yes, everything passes and you become a better person each time.).
    

I cannot allow this day to end without greeting my fellow Filipinos Happy Freedom Day!

Freedom, like love, is the most abused and confused word in the dictionary. Many people confuse freedom as being free to do what they and want when they want.

It may sound like a cliche, but with freedom comes great responsibility. For every action and decision and even aspiration you make, there are consequences that you have to deal with. Noone exists in a vacuum. Each one is affected and influenced by the other.

With freedom comes great sacrifice. You cannot possibly allow something to happen if the greater majority would suffer from it in the end.

With freedom comes selflessness. You put the welfare of others before your own. You cannot espouse freedom yet coerce others to follow your twisted plans.

With freedom comes great service. You come not to be served but to serve. As the Jaycee creed says: Service to humanity is the best work of life.

With freedom comes great joy. When you're conscience is clean, you can sleep well at night and be joyful the next day.

With freedom comes great love. Because you can love, you are overflowing with care and sympathy for your fellowmen.

*Photo credit

With SmartBro installed at home, it's so easy to be online 24/7. Good thing my eyes don't like to be in front of the computer that much.

But they do love to read, still. So I've taken up reading again. I've been hooked on the Net for months now that I get to finish a book in six months. Yay!


I'm finishing now Haruki Murukami's The Wind-up Bird Chronicle on page 193.

And last labor day weekend, I grabbed these two books from A Different Bookstore:

I find this really amusing!

A Quiet Life
by Baron Wormser

What a person desires in life
   is a properly boiled egg.
This isn't as easy as it seems.
There must be gas and a stove,
   the gas requires pipelines, mastodon drills,
   banks that dispense the lozenge of capital.
There must be a pot, the product of mines
   and furnaces and factories,
   of dim early mornings and night-owl shifts,
   of women in kerchiefs and men with
   sweat-soaked hair.
Then water, the stuff of clouds and skies
   and God knows what causes it to happen.
There seems always too much or too little
   of it and more pipelines, meters, pumping
   stations, towers, tanks.
And salt-a miracle of the first order,
   the ace in any argument for God.
    Only God could have imagined from
   nothingness the pang of salt.
Political peace too. It should be quiet
   when one eats an egg. No political hoodlums
   knocking down doors, no lieutenants who are
   ticked off at their scheming girlfriends and
   take it out on you, no dictators
   posing as tribunes.
It should be quiet, so quiet you can hear
   the chicken, a creature usually mocked as a type
   of fool, a cluck chained to the chore of her body.
Listen, she is there, pecking at a bit of grain
   that came from nowhere.

"A Quiet Life" by Baron Wormser, from Scattered Chapters. © Sarabande Books, 2008

Last night, we had one of those bonding times again. Wizheart, the kids, and I were switching from Balls Channel to Star World. Balls was airing the French Open and Maria Sharapova was playing against Dinara Safina, and on Star World was "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?"

We were rooting for Sharapova of course, but Safina was in a much better shape and form, and so won the three-set exciting match.Sharapova was leading but Safina eventually closed the gap. Perhaps the rain break called by Sharapova made her lost her momentum. Sad.

In "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" the show took on a different turn. I think that was the first time it happened. Originally, the husband was the contestant, but he flunked out at the first question. The question asked him which song had the lyrics "Stand beside her, and guide her..." and the answer was God Bless America. The guy would have gone home with nothing but the host of the show called on the wife on stage and let her play instead. She played better and went home with $175,000. Then her closing lines were: "Even if I'm a doctor, I'm not smarter than a 5th grader. But I'm definitely smarter than my husband."

What did this bonding time did to us?

It gave the kids another round of tennis lessons from Wizheart, though they had done this so many times before. More importantly, it was among those rare occasions when TV can actually be good for the whole family.

We were huddled in the sofa and in between shows we would group hug, kiss, and tickle each other. Even when we were already in bed, we would be tossing each other questions. Talk of a quiz show hangover.

Well, during the quiz show, Gabo would try to answer the questions and so did Rago. Gabo would then comment, "yabang netong Rago na 'to ah... prep ka pa nga lang eh." To which Rago quipped, "Eh gusto ko eh!" :P

But the clincher of the night was this:

"Dito sa atin, Papa is smarter than Mama talaga," Gabo (referring to what happened to the couple in the quiz show). =)

Woman As (Mythical) Hero
Babaye-Babaylan- Baganihan (Being Woman, Being Priestess, Being Hero)
Manila - Dumaguete - Bacolod - Bago
June 15 - July 1, 2008
Acclaimed women artists from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and the U.S. will come together to interact with the local arts and academic communities of Manila, Dumaguete City, Bacolod City, and Bago City from June 15 to July 1, 2008 as a part of Woman As (Mythical) Hero (WMH), the pilot project of TRADE ROUTES in Southeast Asia.

Participating artists include:
Arahmaiani, performance and installation artist (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Brenda V. Fajardo, painter (Manila, Philippines)
Kai Syng Tan, media installation artist (Singapore)
Angel Velasco Shaw, video maker (Manila, Philippines, and New York, USA)

Through public forums, artist talks, art exhibitions, workshops, performances, and video screenings, these women will share their stories, cultures, and social concerns with local artists from the different regions in the Philippines. Such interactions aim to break through social barriers, like ignorance, discrimination, and lack of education, hence allowing for more dynamic relations between Southeast Asian, Asian American, and non-Asian artists.

WMH will open in Manila at the Philippine Educational Theater (PETA) Center on June 15 from 6:00 P.M. to 9:30 P.M.. The project team will then go on to do talks, workshops, forums, exhibits, video screenings, and performances in Dumaguete City, mainly at Silliman University, from June 19 to June 23. Afterwards, they will hold the same series of events in Bacolod City, primarily in Orange Gallery, from June 28 to June 29. To culminate the project, WMH will hold an all-day Arts Festival in Bago City on July 1, which will feature film screenings by WMH artists and exhibits and performances by local Visayan artists.

In partnership with Kababaihan sa Sining at Bagong Sibul na Kamalayan (KASIBULAN) and BAGLAN, Woman As (Mythical) Hero is supported by Arts Network Asia, the Asian Cultural Council, the Asian/Pacific/ American Studies Program and Institute at New York University, Ford Foundation Jakarta, the National Arts Council of Singapore, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Balay Ni Tan Juan Araneta, Galleria Duemila, Foundation University, The Living Room, the Negros Museum, Negros Occidental State University, the Orange Gallery, and Silliman University.

Photo credit

I betcha, that title got your attention! And now that I have your attention, this is how it happened.

I caught the middle part of QTV's Balikbayan last night. I told myself, the guy really looked familiar, and the sights being flashed on screen, I knew by heart!

It's Dumaguete City! But what is Rajo Laurel doing there? He's from Dumaguete? He is! Whoa!

There are four places in the Philippines, which I consider part of my life: Siquijor (particularly Tulapos where I was born and Larena where I spent some of my early years), Dumaguete (esp. Taclobo where I used to spend vacations with my cousins who live there), Iligan City (where I had my grade school and high school years plus three years of work right after college), and of course here in Metro Manila (particularly Q.C. where I lived for four years for college and another three years for graduate studies, then Paranaque where I lived with my aunt and now with my own family). Whew, pardon for that rather lengthy explanation!

So when I knew that Rajo Laurel is actually a grandson of Meniong Teves, I really felt he is my kababayan and a "kadugo" somehow.

And if the fates had a different plan for me, I would have married a Teves back then.

Being a sister city, Iligan City was there during the Makati City Day last Friday.

Too bad I couldn't be there as it was a workday. But my fellow Iliganons were there. Check the photos courtesy of QueenTintin here:

http://queentintin.multiply.com/photos/album/137/supporting_Iligan?replies_read=4

I've had her for 10 years only, but she has been a good mother to me, too. Never did I feel threatened by her presence nor did I feel unwelcome, and unworthy of her son's love. She doesn't interfere and even supports me all the way.

Yes, you guess it right. She's Nanay Lasing, my mother-in-law. I know there's a classic perception of in-laws not getting along, esp, moms-in-law and daughters-in-law. Well we are the exception to the rule.

Nanay Lasing is a strong woman. She is the eldest of the brood, but she has outlived all her siblings. At 95 years old, she is still as sharp mentally, though a bit slow physically. But she still travels and goes about.

She is a strong woman. She has been through a lot. She raised her kids for the most part, as her husband was away most of the time. But I had to hand it to her for rearing loving and responsible children, even great-grandchildren.

At her age, you would expect that she would just be enjoying her retirement and not worry about kids and kids' schooling anymore. But she does. She even uses her pension and the extra cash that her children give her to pay for some of her grandchildren's needs.

We would always tell her to just let go and enjoy. Do the things she wants to do, but she can't help it she would say. Because she worries about the well-being of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

On second thought, I think this is what makes her active and sharp still.  To be amused at her grandchildren's and great-grandchildren's actions and get angry at their foibles. These are her forms of exercise

Selfless and loving. These are characteristics that  parents should have.


I wish I'd grow to be like Nanay Lasing and Baliling. Hmm...these two even get along well, too. I'm doubly blessed! Amazing! :-D

She smiles, grins, guffaws. She laughs all the time. There is not a day that I don't hear her laughter ringing in our home. It's not that she doesn't have concerns or worries at all, but it's just her. She always makes it a point to laugh (even when I knew or my brother and I would sense that she and Hutsai quarreled).


Every time she visits us here, my kids would be laughing out loud, too. Every little thing that we find funny, we would break into unadulterated laughter. And I don't laugh as loudly when I'm not with her.

And this is what I learned through these years. A household run by laughter is really different. Your kids have a happier disposition and they go through life armed with positivity.

I'd like to believe that's how I am: ms positivity :) That no matter how chaotic my world outside my home is I don't worry, I don't get that affected much because I know I have somewhere to go where I'd feel better, and that I'd be okay. That somewhere is home.

In that home, Mama is there to make everything all right---back when I was a kid who would run to her with bruises on the knees and till now when I would go to her with worldly petty bruises.

She left her career (she'd probably be a VP, EVP, or President in the bank by now ~ hehehe) and has dedicated all her life to making our home a haven for me and my brother Boy, and Hutsai.

I asked her one time if she ever regretted not having a career of her own. Without a pause, she said, "No. This is my career. My family is my company. And that has given me joy, peace of mind, and love. Where can you find a company like that?" --- Nowhere, Mom. Only in your bossom we find the happiness and love we need.

For us, she is the best mother in the world!

Yes,  I got my fab wrap last Friday! Sorry it took me a week to post the photos. I photographed it as soon as I got it actually but some forces intervened. 

But I love love love it!

Lookie:Oh, I forgot to take a photo of my laptop being inserted in this fabulous wrap. Will do next time.

BTW, I didn't change our beddings just to match the color of my fab wrap. Talk of coincidence!

Do you like it too? Then go to My Favorite Store and check out Fab Wrap Originals, Fab Wrap Worldly Debut, and Fab Wrap Timeless.

I was laughing out loud when I read these rules on getting promoted. Anyone can get the humor of this.

REMEMBER that the point
of promotion is to work
less hard for more
money.

BE SUSPICIOUS if you get
promoted three times
and still have the
same boss.

EVERY PROMOTION MEANS
you can join a meeting
five minutes later.

AFTER A PROMOTION, upgrade
your mentor.

I have three boys in my house, so girly stuff has no place in there. Or at least I keep it to a minimum.

So when I started seeing pinkies and treeson in my friends' sites, I was amused. Deep inside I wished I could collect those things, too.

But hey, one day, I found out that my sons have a collection of similar "dolls" too. The Pokemon characters!

Look!

My mother made us these crocheted shoes/slippers ages ago. But we could only use them at home or in our bedrooms.  They are so comfy but slippery when worn on newly polished floors. It was fun wearing them, though.

Baliling would be amused to know that she thought of these ahead of everyone else perhaps.

Photo from Daily Texan Online, Creativity is 'EcoFashionable'

I was in the middle of my afternoon tasks when the phone rang. My younger son was on the other line.

Rago: Mommy, can I have one peso?
Me: You ask Ate Fely, if there's one peso there.
Rago: You have... in your wallet.
Me: Ha?
Rago: Yes. Wait ha...
[pause]
Rago: Hello... here, oh, one peso.
Me: Hahaha... where did you get it?
Rago: In your wallet na square na brown (in your brown wallet)...you twist it to open.
Me: Where did you find my wallet?
Rago: Upstairs...in the drawer in the mirror. Sa mga wallets nyo dun. (I found it in one of the drawers in your dresser where you keep your wallets.)
Me: Oh...hahaha
Rago: Mommy, Kuya wants one peso also ha.
Me: Are there more coins there?
Rago: Yes.
Me: What will you do with the one peso?
Rago: Secret! Bye na, mommy!
Me: Byeee

Me thinks, how did he know that I have kept my wallets there?

Kids! They're looking even without you knowing it, so be careful! =)