My father had these pictures framed a few months ago. He proudly showed me his piece of art and explained the logic behind it. He said that life is simple… At the break of dawn, the sun rises and provides us a chance of a new beginning. We wake up with hope in our hearts. The day passes with us working, even to the point of breaking our backs, if only to reach that goal of a better life. And by the time the Sun sets, we are like majestic birds with wings spread out as we try to fly to back to where we truly belong.

If I had the chance to add one more though, I’d put a small picture of a family in between. Everything we work for becomes more meaningful when we do it for the people we love. I have always believed that life becomes more significant when you learn to eliminate the words ME and I from your vocabulary and replace it with YOU and US.

-- I have seen my Dad in his best and his worst. His hair has turned gray but his soul is strong. He has showed me how it is to hold your ground and be brave. So whenever he talks to me about life, I listen.

The wee hours of the morning can really make me think about everything and I realize there are so many things I still have to learn. You and I are both young and we will surely make mistakes but what’s important is we try to get up, learn and live for the people in our lives.

You can't always present a smile every day. Sometimes you need to show the world you're also a bad-ass bitch. Knock them out cold if you have to but do it without losing your dignity.

-- perfect the art of smiling with a raised eyebrow. That should be enough to send a message that yes, you are a good person BUT you're not someone the world should mess with. wink*

It has been raining cats and dogs the whole afternoon. I found myself looking out the window and staring at the trees while the sound of the rain gently swept me away to another world...I saw myself wearing a long white dress. John Lennon's song 'Woman' played at the background while I slowly walked down an aisle adorned with beautiful red roses. As I reached the altar and was about to reach for the hand of a wonderful man....BANG!..the door flew open...."MAMA! May star ako!"

-- Joaquin is back from his Saturday classes. He really knows when to wake Mama from dreaming.

A small fact and a dose of unsolicited advice.

The fact: 

I’m sure most of you know The Beatles, right? Have you ever tried to listen to their song – Come Together? It’s a funky song but if you read the lyrics, you will find it difficult to understand what it means. Lines like “HE GOT MONKEY-FINGER, HE SHOOT COCA-COLA” and “HE ONE MOJO FILTER. HE SAY ONE AND ONE AND ONE IS THREE” would sort of give you just a hunch these boys at the time may have been so high with LSD and cocaine that it manifested in the way the song was written. Seriously though, it’s not really the case. Each stanza actually describes the four members of the band. Using figures of speech, John Lennon tried to present all of them to the world in weird slang language, hoping that somehow, it would unite the band and have people understand who they really were as individuals.

Now for the piece of advice:

Each one of us is born unique. Unless you use your own DNA to have yourself cloned, no one can follow your blueprint. Some present themselves as plain as white paper and there are so many others who come as messy graffitis. You are like an idiomatic expression that has to be deciphered in order to be understood.

Life is meant to be lived with the purpose of learning from each other. Our world actually serves as a big box where we all come together. Be very slow when you judge people. You may find a great person hiding underneath. Understand and you shall be understood. Learn to respect and you shall be given the same.

-- Gems are not found on the surface of the Earth. You find them by digging deeper.

I used to lock myself in Daddy's library and read away. While my sister and brother spent time with their friends, I spent my summers drowning in books when I was young. I remember closing my eyes and pulling out any book that my fingers touched. From literature to history... down to learning the sign language of the alphabet, I learned it all through reading. To so many, I didn't have a social life but to me, those were the best years. 

-- don't depend on the net alone. Teach your kids to love books. Who knows, they might grow up posting status messages like this someday.

So I lost my hour glass figure when I had my first baby. That pretty black dress may forever be lonely inside my closet. No bikinis kase baka isipin may built-in salbabida ako. And when I look at my body in the mirror, I smile 'cause it reminds me of tadpoles I watch in Animal Planet. When I laugh, my belly looks like an ocean after a really devastating earthquake -- with twin tsunamis rushing back and forth.

Some women cry about it, some just don't care anymore -- I belong to the latter. You see, it's my constant reminder of motherhood. My fat belly signifies that a living child once grew inside of me...and the Tiger stripes on the sides remind me of how brave I was through it all.

-- so yeah, who cares if I have to hold my breath for pictures or go blue trying to close my zipper? I'm a MOMMY and I'm happy. I'm not a size 26 anymore...I'm a 34 and proud of it.

Remember when I said your simple posts can touch lives? I know mine did in a very beautiful way. 

This is Pat Pat. She read my post and did her best to contact me. She calls me Ate Apple and sends me messages since I talked to her through PM the other day. You think it would be that easy for a 19-year old to do that but not her...she has Muscular Dystrophy. She told me she used to attend ballet classes but after getting sick, she can't walk anymore. She never stopped requesting that I see her today until I finally had time to hop in my car and visit her even for a few minutes.

I can imagine everything has changed since she was diagnosed with the disease but regardless of what she's going through, she still has that BRIGHT smile on her face.

This is a beautiful day. It's Joaquin's birthday and even if my little boy has a nasty toothache, we were blessed to meet a wonderful person.

You want to know what BRAVE means? Ask Pat Pat. 

My mom and I decided to eat at Jollibee - One Mercedes Avenue after a grueling hour at the local market today. I was really starving and couldn’t care less if I had to stand in line. I usually don’t listen and just order away but this service crew caught my attention. Her name is Jhaz Bormate. She greeted me with an eager smile and her exceptionally SMILING EYES – a sincere gesture I don’t really see in people who should be working in the line of customer service. After paying for my order, I did not even bother to count my change and went straight to the table where my mom was sitting. After a minute, I got up and washed my hands. While I was doing so, I was surprised to see Miss Bormate standing behind me holding a P100 bill. She handed me the money and with all apologies, she said “kulang po ng P100 yung change nyo kanina.” There were more than 50 people in the store and seeing how I mindlessly put the change in my pocket, she could’ve just kept the money. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, she left her post at the counter and looked for me in the crowd just so she can give back what she owed.

Once in a while, you come across strangers who prove to be worthy of a commendation and this young lady is one of them. Trustworthiness is rare these days. Let’s face it, most people would think twice before they do a random act of kindness such as this one. It’s only a small amount but voluntarily giving it back helped her earn so much of my RESPECT.

No matter how crooked the world may seem to be, there’s still a handful of GOOD people out there. And I take my hat off to people like Miss Bormate who value honesty and exemplify INTEGRITY.

Raise the roof, Jhaz. I hope someday, you’ll be able to spread your wings and fly higher. You deserve it.

For my FATHER...

I was only 20 years old when I got pregnant with Miguel. I remember feeling so angry, confused and scared. Being a rebellious kid, I refused to cry despite the gravity of what I got myself into. My dad called for me and asked me to come to the library so we could talk. Hinahanda ko na yung mga pisngi ko nun in anticipation that my dad would slap me on the face. I sat beside him

and was waiting for the most hurtful words but instead of raising his voice, he tapped my tummy and gently said, “May apo na pala ako dyan.” That was the only time I finally gave in and cried in his arms.

That moment in my turbulent young life officially made me a certified Daddy’s girl.

I am already 35 years old but STILL, my dad tucks me in bed. He makes sure I have a blanket to keep me warm. He loves touching my forehead, fixes my hair and still says the words “I love you” before he leaves my side.

He was and still is my greatest supporter. Happy Father's Day! Love you.

Let me share with you an experience I had years back when I was still working as a call center agent. I had the privilege of sharing this online but the site closed down before I could even retrieve anything.

About five years ago, I worked as an inbound call center agent in a BPO located in Taguig City. I had already submitted my resignation and only had roughly a week to finish my contract. I was down to my last two hours before my shift ended so I was quite tired and my voice cracked once in a while. I received a call from a client who lives in Canada. As usual, I said my opening spiel and asked what the problem was. He said he has a small concern about his account and wants certain changes. One thing about Filipinos, no matter how long they have stayed in a foreign country and embraced the native tongue, there’s still that distinct PINOY tone you will recognize when you talk to them over the phone. So I pulled up his account and I saw that his last name is MONTEMAYOR. I was quite happy knowing I was talking to a ‘kababayan’ and feeling a bit rebellious against company rules that we should never start conversations in Filipino, I politely asked if he’s from the Philippines. I was taken aback when he replied a strong NO. He said his last name is not pronounced as MON-TE-MA-YOR, but rather, it was MONT-ME-YER. Feeling quite annoyed that this man was so consumed with being a Canadian citizen that he didn’t want to be tagged as a Filipino, I apologized and went ahead in helping him make the changes in his account. Just as we were finishing the whole conversation, I heard women’s voices in the background. They were so loud that I could hear them trying to say something to the client I was talking to. To my amusement, the women were talking in FILIPINO! The man was obviously trying to hush the exceptionally loud ladies but his efforts were worthless. I already heard the language they were speaking and at the back of my mind, I was proudly telling myself “SCORE for Apple. Huli na kita, Manong.”

One thing about me though, I do not like humiliating people when I prove myself right in any situation…but I WILL find a way to make you admit what you’ve been trying to hide. So I pretended not to hear anything and finished my business. Like a robot programmed to say the same words over and over again, I reluctantly said my closing spiel and asked him if there was anything else I can do for him. When he said no, I took the chance of saying the words “Alright then, MARAMING SALAMAT PO.” You can’t imagine how much I wanted to give a sarcastic laugh when he mindlessly said “WALANG ANUMAN.”

-- Mr. MONTMEYER is actually Ginoong MONTEMAYOR.

Tomorrow is Philippine Independence Day. As we try to wave our little flags with the 3 stars and the Sun, I hope we also try to rekindle that PRIDE of being PINOY. No matter where you are in the world, never be ashamed of who you are and where you came from. The Philippines is a beautiful country and being PINOY is something you should always be proud of.

My parents sent me to an exclusive school when I was young. It was and still IS one of the best. I spent 13 long years in St. Paul Pasig and not once did I feel that my parents didn’t provide what I needed. When I was in High School, my mom would give me P100 for my daily allowance. That was the time when the Pop Swatch was a must and knitted socks from Marks and Spencer was considered highly fashionable. I graduated a happy 17-year-old kid but I was completely unaware of what life really was outside that comfort zone.

Today, despite feeling unwell, is laundry day until I read this article on the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I just had to drop everything, grab the Mac and share this online. It was just a short article but it was worth every second of my time. The story of this boy is so touching that it made me realize everything I had when I was his age and everything he doesn’t have compared to privileged kids today. His name is Charls Bryan Katipunan – son of a taxi driver. I’m guessing a P50-Mc Savers meal is already considered a ‘once in a blue moon’ treat for someone like him. On his graduation day, he delivered his speech and told his story with much pride and not out of self-pity. He said his piece with hope that he could give a positive example for those aspiring to finish their studies. He experienced the hardships and he graduated TOP OF HIS CLASS.

Charls is an example of how tough the Filipino spirit is. He didn’t have the ‘luho’ I had while growing up but he lived up to his name -- Katipunan – one who dared to rebel against the prevailing situation and work for something only the toughest of the tough can achieve. It gives you a feeling of pride to read about Filipinos who stood the test and won. It also makes you wonder how many more could be like him IF ONLY they could go to school.

Call me a dreamer but I sincerely hope the Philippines would produce more like him through EXCELLENT and FREE education. Countless times we hear people in government promising food on the table of every Filipino family. What the poor Juan Dela Cruz does not realize is he’s just like a burdened mule feeding on straw from the hands of his master. If you provide housing and funds for business, you’ll just have the Filipino depend on what government can give. PROVIDE EDUCATION and you give the Filipino the power to be self-sufficient.

Charls’ story is worth sharing. The story of a simple boy who struggled can spark much awareness in a society that is lukewarm to this basic need of underprivileged Filipino children.

-- It is not enough that we feed the hungry stomachs of our children. It is also our responsibility to feed their minds.