Happy birthday to me! I just turned 32 arggh! Actually I will turn 32 later at dawn. My mother told me I was born at dawn when the band at our barangay chapel plays the “diana”. You see, it was also our barangay fiesta, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The whole barangay is celebrating my birth! As if they knew  all the while that I’m a gifted child. …

This is an actual text conversation I had with a friend, Jen (not her real name) last June 25, four days after typhoon Frank ravaged Iloilo. She has five kids, the oldest of whom is only high school level and the youngest is a toddler. They live in Providence Subdivision in Pavia, Iloilo. One of the towns hardest hit by the flash floods brought by Typhoon Frank/Fengshen.

I may not be there with you but my heart goes out to my fellow Ilonggos. Many have lost their homes, properties, and loved ones when Typhoon Frank vent its wrath of destruction on Iloilo, the worst the province has experienced. I can only imagine the damage. Justice Secretary Gonzalez even compared it to the destruction brought by Mount PInatubo eruption. I can’t help but cry while looking at photos …

FINANCIAL
I consider my financial status in distress state. Most of my Christmas bonus were spent on hospital bills when my mom had a stroke last December. What’s left of it and a loan proceed, I used to pay for down payment for a house and lot through Pag-IBIG. I’ve been planning to get a housing loan since last year. Initially, I planned on getting a foreclosed property but I …

My mother got me back the day I almost lost her. I was the youngest of five siblings and among us, I was the one most attached to our parents. However, the need to find my own space and live a life of my own has somehow created a space between us. I no longer find the need to go home every weekend and if I do, I often spend …

Sometimes we get inspiration from the most unlikely persons. Last night I had to pass by the office to get the files for the report I have to work on during the week. The security guard on duty requested me to stay awhile for he’s going to buy some medicines. When he got back I noticed him smiling from ear to ear. It seems he can’t wait to be asked …

We just had our team building seminar last Sept. 6-7 at the Centennial Resort Hotel and Convention Center in Iloilo City. So far, of my 4 years in the office, it was the best team building we ever had. Thanks to the funny and witty Tatay Jojo. Bo Sanchez couldn’t have a much better substitute and I can only speculate at the savings the office made. Everybody was game (as …

Friends are families we choose. I’m not choosy in making friends but I only keep a few very close ones. Of all my friends, I consider my high school buddies the closest. We came from the same backgrounds, public school educated, children of farmers, government employees and OFWs. Education for us was the only way to have a better life. We were content then to eat bananacue for merienda and …

God must have known how our lives would be intertwined that He made us share the same birthday. He was born when I was 16 years old. To say that I was upset by the circumstances of his birth was an understatement. I never felt as disappointed as I did that day. Somebody I really looked up to has just fallen off her pedestal and what hurts me most was …

I went to the grassroots in Silay City yesterday. When I say grassroots I mean the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) I am assisting. Sometimes I would ask myself if I’m in the right job. Did I labor five years in college for this? When some of my classmates are probably working in some manufacturing plant, here I am in the rural areas doing development work.