A Funeral In Another Christmas...

My Aunt Pat Lira

Christmas is that time of year when everyone goes frenzy over shopping, gifts, food and boozes. It's something that my kids look forward to every year and so does every Filipino family that I know. Well-wishers text each other just to say merry Christmas as early as December 20th of each year. Doorbells ring with neighbors bearing sweets for the holidays. As a child, I remember spending Christmas dinner at my Aunt Pat Lira's place where everyone is present. We share family recipes and specialties and exchange gifts with the entire clan. Each one for sure bears a token gift at the end of the night. This is how I remember my Christmas way back when I was a kid. This Christmas season was a little different from the others. After a long while that type of text message on your phone which anyone don't want to read comes and tells you that there's another death in the clan.

My Aunt Pat Lira just passed away on December 20th, 2011. She was rushed to Veterans Hospital because of her prevailing heart ailment. My mom had a chance to talk to her the day before and she was still very strong. They talked about things that the family would do once their sisters Aunt Menchu and Bing comes this January. They ended their phone conversation and gave each other their usual "I love yous." It never occurred to my mom that it was the last time they'll talk to each other.

Aunt Pat with Macky Saavendre, my nephew

Veterans Hospital caters to enlisted men in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. They also serve their immediate family members. Widows are also entertained by the hospital and in some rare cases, even referrals of people in power. What's sad to note is that they don't allow family members to hang around at night to cater to a sick family member's needs. Visiting hours are strictly observed. They only allow a 5 minute glimpse of the patient if a visitor insists in seeing a loved on in their care. That day she died, my cousin Mary Ann noticed that her respirator was disconnected at the start of visiting hours. She called the attention of the nurses and asked how long it has been disconnected. No one would give her a straight answer. A patient in a nearby bed said that it must've been disconnected when Aunt Pat had her sponge bath from a nurse. They probably failed to reconnect it that time. It was around 6 am when she got her sponge bath. It was already mid morning when they allowed my cousin to come in and check her out. So she's been  struggling with her breath since then. This probably triggered her heart attack. Mary Ann remembers going out for a while. When she came back, my cousin noticed doctors pumping her chest. In a little while they declared that she's gone. The effort to revive her wasn't exerted to the fullest. That's how government health service is to immediate family members of soldiers who served and even died for the Republic.

My Aunt Baby with Dale Ramos, her grand daughter

After a long period of time, the clan gets together again for a reunion. This time, it's not in the big Lira house in Project 8 Quezon city but in a funeral parlor along Katipunan road. Almost everyone with a Buenavista last or middle name was there to say their farewell to one great aunt. The last time we did a get together was when my aunt Baby Aurora died of a heart ailment as well. I remember the calls I got on that busy day. Each one of us has to go to Medical City Hospital in Ortigas to say our goodbyes. Her life support was shut off and will go anytime. I was the last one who gave her a goodbye kiss in her hospital bed. I whispered how much I love her and said goodbye. After I left the hospital, a text message came in announcing to every member of the family that my aunt Baby is in God's arms... This aunt of mine never misses my birthday every year. She'll make it a point to call me up and greet me and ask me what I'm serving on my birthday. Honestly, I miss those calls she makes. Last June was the first time I didn't get a call from her. Deep inside me, I'm still foolishly waiting for a call. My mind can't accept the fact that she's gone even to this day.

Uncle Tony and cousin Ramon

Fifteen years ago, I lost a special uncle in my life. Uncle Tony was my hero and friend. I make it a point to drop by his home and taste his scrumptious cooking. He would introduce me to his drinking friends and we'd share a shot of local brandies and beer together. Our most unforgettable adventure was a trip in Singapore where we literally painted Orchard road red! We'd go window shopping, Fast food taste fest and queue up for designer store's giveaways. That's one Christmas season we had together in Singapore. He's the typical eat, drink and be merry type of guy. He stopped smoking only when the big C was on stage 3. I remember shaking off that thought every time I see him and make sure that everything was still normal when we talk about the good ol' days. He would always tell everyone about his Singapore adventure with me. When he was rushed to the hospital for the last time, I didn't want to see him suffer in his deathbed. Everyone prayed that he just gets a painless death with less suffering. God was good enough to answer our prayers.

Aunt Pat's death completes the "Tupak Gang," a small group of relatives and friends who frequent Tupak, Ilocos at least once a year. Aunt Pat will initiate a trip call in Aunt Baby and Uncle Tony and off they go to Tupak Ilocos. Everyone of that small group are now in heaven and we were talking about them being complete now. In one of their adventures, my cousin Erwin Lira would tell about stories of that enjoyable and memorable trip. We lay her peacefully beside my Aunt Baby and Uncle Tony in Himlayan Filipino in Tandang Sora. We have to keep the wake short for it was Christmas season. We buried her on the 23rd of December. The funeral van played Apo Hiking Society songs as her coffin was gradually slid down the ground. I never realized that APO Hiking Society music is now used by funeral services.

I can't help myself from crying on that day. The losses that we've had in our clan was so much to bear. My mom spearheaded the short speeches portion and I was invited to say a few words which I failed to finish. I saw myself in tears and can't speak out what I have in my heart. I've been holding out on my feelings for every death we have in our clan in the Buenavista side. I reminded everyone that aunt Pat led the family in every major event that we all have to go through. She organized every special moment that the family had and made sure that every spawn of Prospero, my grandfather, were at arm's reach. Loosing her was like loosing the clan's Godmother. I wanted to tell every member of the Buenavista clan that we've all changed in the past years. We lost the bonding moments that we have during Christmas season when everyone gets drunk with nephews and uncles, where girl stories and gossips are shared with aunts and nieces. The only time we get together now is during funerals. I wanted a stop to this practice and revive the traditions we've been accustomed to. Kuya Erwin said that he'll work one out in the coming future and revive what moms, dads, aunts and uncles have shared to all of us.

Christmas is still that best time in the year. I still see the Christmas glow in my children's eyes when they open up their gifts. This coming January, my Aunt Menchu and Bing will be here for a short vacation, and I'm sure their presence will reunite the family and strengthen the Buenavista bond. We'll have that chance to get-together and talk about the love we all have for each other...

When 3 Hours of Fun and Talk Ain't Enough... UESLS Batch 89's Party-Party!

It was Saturday, a week before Christmas. We have to be at Kamayan Restaurant in Quezon city by 7:00 pm. The place only serves dinner from that time till 10:00. Saturday was a peak day so we had an earlier booking. It was a table for 20. Someone beat us in reserving a conference room by just 5 minutes. We weren't really hoping that a large crowd will show up because only that number of people confirmed. Mervin Pobre's invitation. He was the batch's Student Government President  and arrived town early December from the US of A. He announced that he will be staying in Manila for good. He wanted a get together and so we organized one on that day, At first, we didn't have a day and venue. I suggested a day. Then, the group decided on the venue later. Kiddingly we entitled the event as 'Mervin's' treat.

There was a banner in a long table that anyone can easily see from afar. That will tell the group where we are. Mavic Ilagan and Christine Reyes were talking about life and what has changed over the years. Some of the questions were thrown on Mervin asking him what happened after graduation and what he's been doing. Then the conversation shifted to odd topics from love life to gossips about what-happened to who and where-the-hell is he or she? A lot of what-I-heard about... stories floated in the air as each one was eager to see each other.

I was there slightly past 7:00. I really don't want to come too early and the Saturday traffic is really unbearable. Using my Honda Beat with my wife Gina, we went pass the killer highway in Commonwealth to cut our trip short. Boy! It was really a nerve shaking trip on a motorcycle to the well known killer highway. A lot of road mishaps have occured in that long highway which stretches from Quezon city Circle to Fairview. We got there just in time to start the casual chats. My wife was attending another Christmas party with her highschool friends so she didn't stay with me that evening. We can't text each other so I promised her that I'll be there when she comes back after her party.

We want a picture with Victor from UK so here it is!

Mervin, Christine and Mavic were a little worried. Who won't be, it's already past 7:30 and you can still count the crowd in one hand. They're hoping that we'll have all those that confirmed present. I assured them that the batch's corpse commander, Uldarico Morales and his high school sweetheart turned wife Jackie Siva will be around. We met a week earlier and they said that they intentionally didn't confirm to surprise the group. Mervin laughed and then they tried to get in touch with another colleage, Victor Lafuente in UK. Victor gave me directions to get to Kamayan for I wasn't really that familiar with the place. I asked him if it's near Kanto Tinio and he just said he didn't know. It's actually a joke which Antonio Baradi easily understood. We had a video chat whth him while we're waiting for the others. Thanks to Smartbro, we got in touch with him and had a very, very long video chat. The wifi of the restaurant wasn't working well.

Everyone was looking at their watches. One by one, the small group became bigger, and bigger. The more new faces arrive, the noisier it becomes. In a short while, Victor Coria, Fatema Abdullah Royo, Haidee Remo-Magno, Emma Ruth Cuyugan, Madrideo Leony, Joyce Pellas Jurado, Rommel Eric Carpio, Cherry Mauricio Jolly Inocencio and Antonio Barradi came. This is becoming a big crowd now. We waited for the others to arrive and decided to have dinner at 8:00 pm. Daisy Aboy and Deny Buan will arrive later. Daisy's caught in traffic and Deny will come all the way from Cavite. She knows she can't make it, but assured everyone that she'll be in a second venue, if ever we decide on going to another place.  Cristina Bote also arrived minus her husband. She really alloted this day to bond with the gang. Vivian Calalang-Reyes also arrived and shared her time and stories. Rocel Robles who works with the NBI are on red alert so she can't make it.

Fresh from the US of A, Carlo Roberto arrives. He's here only for the holidays for his children and heard about the get together. So he made sure that he'll make it. Then as promised, Uldarico and Jackie arrive with their celebrity son, Makisig. He's a wonderful boy and really made heads turn to our table. Even the waiters and waitresses wanted a glimpse of the young singer/actor. We tried to control ourselves and pretended to be ordinary folks with Makisig, however, the girls in the group can't help having a celebrity around. They have to get a shot of him and make sure that they'll have a remembrance shot. Uldarico introduced me to his son and said that the craziness he taught his son came from me! I refuted and told Makisig that only the  bad lessons in life  came from me, and the good ones that he leared are from his father and mother.

Mervin and Daisy: How sweet!

Daisy Aboy arrived and talked about her being single and what she and her brother Zeus were doing. We told her that she's lucky, Mervin isn't married yet. So all through out that time we were pairing the two ex-classmates. James Lester Allado arrives just when it was closing time. He ate out and just dropped by to say hi to the group. Unfortunately, his head was counted as part of the buffet table. So to avoid any misunderstandings and confusion, he took some bite from the place and joined the group.

Three hours wasn't enough. The place was closing when we left. That gave the waiters and waitresses enough time to pose beside Makisig and get some souvenir shots. The serenaders came into the picture and sang a few songs to the group, and even did a duet with Makisig which impressed not only the batch but also the staff of the restaurant. Some of the people in the other tables even stoped munching just to hear the young boy sing. Mervin wanted a night cap. The group agreed to leave the place and continue the party-party at Music 21 which isn't very far from the place. Uldarico and Jackie begged off because they'll have some scheduled appointments with their children. The girls in the group don't want the day to end. So in a convoy, they drove to the music joint. I called home using Rommel's cellphone to relay a message to my wife.  I told the group that my wife Gina will arrive a little later so I have to stay behind and make sure that she'll see me. I promised them that I'll follow them to Music 21. The only problem is, I don't know where it is. Rommel Carpio told me earlier that it's just along Quezon boulevard so when Gina arrived more than an hour later, we tried looking for the place but can't find it. I told her to text and tell the group that we'll be going home instead because it was also very late.

The pictures you'll see in this blog are evidence how strong high school bond is. Like the batch before them, they've all grown up to become wonderful people. I remember the conflicts and worries that they had when I was still they're teacher. I'm glad that they didn't count out or isolated any of their batch mates regardless of what sections they came from. I felt sorry not to see the others whom I've been dying to see for a long time. I also regret not following the group to Music 21 as I promised. I checked out their pictures and deep inside, I wanted to turn back the hands of time and join the group. I'm pretty sure, the group had a wonderful time there as well. At least, they'll have time as a batch so that they can talk about other matters which will concern them. Until next time, I hope to see a bigger crowd. This will be the start of something good for the batch. Again, Mervin, congratulations for a job well done!

Any Given Friday or Even Any Given Day!

Weeks before the book launch event of Any Given Friday, The Jerks, my friend Glenn Marcelo and Renz Tuzon have been sending me invitations  in Facebook just to make sure I'll be around. I was the kind of friend who would rarely show up specially if a gathering  is on a weekday instead of a weekend. All I said was, "Maybe, I'lll see, I'm not sure." Glenn sent a private reaction and said that I should not focus so much with work, I should find time for my self and for my friends. It looks like the situation I"m in is in favor of attending this event.

I remember the feeling of loosing my job. When I was talking to the heads of the company, and while they were explaining to me the reason behind the company policy, deep inside me was a feeling of excitement becasue all of a sudden, my eyes were fixed on Glenn's friday night event. I was very eager to end my day and submit my clearance and get ready for what fate has prepared for me. Glenn was not just a boss to me. He was like an older brother I never had. He taught me some tricks of the trade and made sure that all the work I make was perfect. Seeing him again and finding out how he survived 4 women in his life will be a wonderful "over beer" topic (Glenn has 3 daughters with his lovely wife, Dudee. Please don't get me wrong).

Glenn Marcelo and Me!

Another person I always wanted to see is Renz Tuzon. He's the youngest among us and the last time we worked together was  when we were doing radio shows for the Filipino oversea workers in Taiwan. The last news I heard about him was that he was working in an internet radio station. Unfortunately, I never got the stadion I.D. or URL. When I was checking him out in Facebook, he was in Dubai. The good news is that he's in town and was one of the key persons of the organized event in Bistro 70s.

Bistro 70s is a wonderful place for people my age. They play music the way it should be and not just poor poetry from million dollar artists who complain about their skin color or the society where they live. The Jerks, Chikoy Pura's group for 30 years are celebrating their anniversary there. They're not really very popular with the young generation because all their followers have grown up to become top executives  and leaders in today's society. The fans and friend are all there to support their book launching. The likes of Cookie Chua of the Red band, Bing Gomez Austria and Maria Cafra were around to do a number or two for Chikoy.

Cookie Chua

I arrived past 9:45 though the call time was 8:30. Glenn was at the entrance gate to greet incoming friends. He pointed me to Renz' direction near the bar so I went there to see my other buddy. He was so surprised to see me and never expected that I'll be round with them. Another one of the gang said that he'll be coming but it looks like he got tied up with some "chicken chores." Renz and Glenn don't really know where each others were that night because of the humonguous crowd that's in Bistro 70s. "No one is going out, they're expecting a rockfest to happen before the night ends," was Renz' parting words before he walked around the place to take pictures again. I asked his permission to use some of the shots for this blog which he agreed. I told him that Glenn is outside the place. He just laughed and said that our good friend is an ageing rocker, he's suffocating due to the large crowd so he decided to hang outside rather than inside. I got the chance to jokingly tell this to Glenn and he refuted by saying that the airconditioning system is close to the entrance and he's not suffocating due to the large crowd.

Maria Cafra

Chikoy Pura, The Jerks

"Any Given Friday" is a 30th anniversary book of The Jerks. It was written by Glenn Marcelo which I only found out that night. Renz Tuzon contributed to the book by taking the wonderful shots found inside it. I didn't get the chance to read my friend's work but the crowd there loved it. Almost every copy was sold and a lot more were looking for a copy of the book. I wasn't prepared to get a copy of the book that night. I didn't expect that it costs 1200 pesos. There's no ATM around to withdraw money to purchase one.

All of Glenn's family was there to support him. His wife and all three daughters were there to give him moral support. His daughters have all grown up to become wonderful girls. The last time I met them was when they were toddlers. Now, the eldest is in the college level while the other one is in her 4th year of high school. The youngest I failed to meet because she's sitted beside her mother who is somewhere in the crowd. I got the chance to be by myself and just enjoyed the place, the music, the roasted pig  and the beer. To my surprise, I didn't notice that time flew so fast.

Maria Cafra and Bing Gomez Austria

It was already 2:00 in the morning when I decided to leave the place. The place was still over flowing with people and the beer and roasted pig just kept on coming. The pile of books that were in the bar can now be counted by your fingers. I have to say goodnight to  my friends but promised them another time around with them when we'll have the chance. To Glenn, Chikoy, Renz and all the others responsible for the woderful book my personal congratulations. May you have more wonderful music years in the coming years.

WHEN A FOOL MEETS A FOOL: Homeless Claims Greenpark's Basketball Court!

"When a fool meets a fool, who's the better fool?"

I remember a fable that I once read. It's about a mouse and an elephant. It goes something like this...

One day a mouse was quietly playing with his thumb when all of a sudden he heard a knock on his door. It was his friend elephant. Elephant was crying. He asked his friend why.

"Oh, my friend mouse, I just lost my home and don't have any place to shelter myself. Will it be alright if I put my trunk inside your house?"

Mouse seeing a friend in need, said, "Sure, you're welcome to put your long nose inside my house." So elephant slid his long trunk inside the mouse's little home.

After a while, Elephant said, "My friend mouse, it looks like my head is getting wet because of the foggy air. Will it be alright if I put my head inside your house?" The mouse, seeing a friend in need, answered, "Sure, it's alright."

After a few minutes, Elephant said, "My friend mouse, I'm beginning to feel the chill of the foggy air. Will it be alright if I slide my body inside your home?" Although Mouse has hesitations, He still sees a friend in need. So again, he agreed to let his friend cramp its huge body inside the mouse's home.

As the day's past, Elephant now lives with Mouse inside his tiny home. Elephant, being a social creature later on bragged to everyone in the animal kingdom how nice Mouse is as a friend. As a result, Tiger came over and asked for shelter as well. It didn't stop there, next it was Lion with Lioness and their pride, Hyena and the pack, Stork, Zebra, Crocodile and even Crane. To cut the long story short, everyone in the animal kingdom started living inside Mouse's little home.

One day, when all the animals started fighting over scarcity of food, they decided to hold a meeting. They concluded that the place where they are staying is too small for them and one of them has to move out. So everyone voted and Mouse was thrown out of his home.

What's the lesson we learned from this fable? "An act of kindness is always subject to abuse." That's very true. Earlier today, I had the chance to join my daughter in her first dawn mass for Christmas. She has to attend it to get her credits in her music and religion classes. I'm not really a church going guy so while my daughter is inside the church, I decided to try out my plastic bird which I earlier bought in Divisoria. It's a toy composed of plastic, rubber band and palo china wood. I bought it at a sucker's price of 20 pesos (the boy who sold it to me was asking for 35, I huddled to get it at 20. The sample was very convincing. It flew round and round and even landed nicely on the ground.Well, the sample was a lot better compared to the one I got). I carefully carried the toy home with some plastic bags full of token gifts for Christmas. The wings are so fragile that I have to literally make sure that I get it home safe. I didn't play with it right away because I was afraid that it will go to our neighbor's roof where I won't be able to retrieve it anymore. So I waited for the right time to play with it. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not deprived when I was young. It's just that seeing it fly brings back wonderful memories in my life. Those were the time when my father was still strong and played with us.

The Fool with Joy, Arnel (Pebbles) and Thess Vasquez!

The right time came when I have the basketball court all to myself. No one was playing, and no one will mind a 40 year old, unemployed guy play with his 20 peso plastic bird. So I thought. On the side bleacher there was a homeless woman and a child. The child was sleeping soundly and I didn't mind them and did my own business. I started throwing the plastic bird into the air to see if it will fly like the sample product I saw in Divisoria. It didn't. It crashed to the ground several times. I tried various ways to get the glide I wanted. I tried spinning the rubber tightly and lightly, threw the bird high in the air and again like a paper airplane. Nothing seems to work. That's when I realized that the 20 peso plastic bird was a sucker's product.

I caught the attention of the homeless woman as she protects her sleeping daughter. She shouted insults and started arguing that I'm making so much noise that her sleeping daughter might wake up or get hit by my plastic bird. She even muttered that I was too old to play with toys considering that I'm a 40  year old man. Well, I'm the Fool on the Hill! This homeless woman is hurling insults on me! I politely asked why she's staying in our subdivision's basketball court and asked if she's a bonafide resident of the subdivision. That's when she blew her top and started shouting at me, not minding that a dawn mass was currently being held. She even said that I'm TRESPASSING on her property!

I said to myself, I can tolerate a fool sit down beside me, but once the fool starts claiming public property, that's where I draw the line. I told her that her presence there isn't allowed because the homeowners association prohibits sleeping in the basketball court at night. Staying out late at night is vagrancy and we need to have it corrected as soon as possible before everything is too late!

I tried to call the attention of the barangay police who has its sub station on the playground. The sub station was locked and empty. So I tried to look for a security force in the neighborhood and advice them about the scandalous shouting that the homeless woman was doing. After a few minutes, a security guard came over and asked me what's going on. I asked the security guard who approached me if they are aware that a homeless woman is sleeping in our community's basketball court. He said yes, they are aware. They once tried to shoo her away but she fought back. She claimed the court as her home already. I asked the guard if the barangay police knows it as well, and he nodded. They also tried to act on her presence but got the same vocal treatment.

The woman claims that her presence there is known to everyone, and she's already a resident there. She said her presence there is even known to the homeowner association's president which she calls Director. She was tasked to guard the Director's office at night. She also mentioned that we can't get her out of there because she's a resident of the barangay and is related to Mayor Eusebio of Pasig! What? Is the city mayor aware that he has a relative that's living in a basketball court? We're dealing with a fool! She will name drop anyone just to keep her place in the bleachers. She even mentioned that she has the paper works to validate her stay in the community's basketball court.

After the mass, the security guard assured me that they'll report the scandalous shouting of the woman to the Homeowner Association's president. While we were talking, another woman who frequents the basketball court huddled with us. She runs the newspaper distribution business for the entire community. She said that  this woman with her child comes to the basketball court every seven in the evening and stays there to sleep. She comfortably leaves her things there and collects them at night. She regularly fights against anyone who sits near her bleacher because it's already her "property" She recommends that we confiscate her belongings and that will force her to leave the place. It was done before, but her cursing and shouting forced the people there with kind hearts to return her belongings. Then after that all's back to normal for her, she stays in the bleacher and sleeps with her child.  That's what happens when you tolerate these small things. Just like the Elephant in the fable, an act of kindness is always subject to abuse. The people around her have been passive and more forgiving. Well, I'm sorry to say, I'm not a mouse!

Our Last Minute Shopping Spree and "Misa de Gallo" with My Daughters

Dinky with her aunts and uncles one Christmas...

My Erika still believes in Santa Claus at 10 years old!

Staying home and not doing anything is really such a drag. Day in, day out, I see my mother in law staring at me, waiting for the moment when I'll get up and shirt up for work. After several days of staying at home and do nothing, she still believes that I'm just home for my leave. What she refuses to believe is the fact that I'm not working anymore at this time.

There are also some rewards that I get when I stay at home. For one, me and my wife Gina can do a lot of things together which we normally try to squeeze in our difficult schedule. This time, we just have to think about it and just do it. Like going to Divisoria to do our last minute Christmas shopping. That was really a treat. She just wore her new street shoes and got callouses from it. She's not used to wearing shoes, and according to her, the last time she did was way, way back, when she was still studying. She prefers sandals and slip-ons instead. This time, she has to wear one for the simple reason of just enjoying what I bought her. We have to buy band aid for her ankle to minimize the friction. Eventually the band aids gave up at the end of the day so we have to end all the shopping in the afternoon.

We were able to buy all that we need for the family. We missed out some people in our list so we have to run back to a nearby mall to complete our magic list. This day also marks the start of Christmas vacation for those that are in schools. So the mall is flooded by young people who are all trying to have fun with their friends by doing their last get together for the year. We used to do that as well during my St. Martin years way back in high school. We even prepare for it by saving some of our allowances just to make sure that the group is together after the classroom's Christmas party celebration.
During our time, we bring extra food to share with everyone. Nowadays, classrooms cater for their Christmas party. So food establishments all over the country profit well during this time of the year.

Not having any work also puts me in a situation where I can't say no or come up with excuses not to do something. And what may that be? It's accompanying my daughter to the dawn masses. It's a tradition to attend all 9 dawn masses or better known as misa de gallo by the Filipino catholics. Some religiously do it every year while some do it just for the thrill of being with friends and relatives for it. They say that if one completes all 9 dawn masses, their wish or petition to God will be given. My daughter Erika won't take no for an answer and made sure that I'll be with her on her first dawn mass participation. She'll be part of the choir and she wants to complete all 9 masses. She slept early and said that she'll wake me up at 2:00 to prepare. What? The mass starts at 4:00 in the morning! Why should she be awake at that time? She said that she wants to prepare well for it, and will really make sure that she's at her best. She needs to come earlier than the regular patrons because she has to practice her songs for the choir. How can one say "no" to such a request?

My eldest daughter came home late today because she joined her friend for some jingle Kringle or Christmas carols for profit. I failed to ask her how much she made for the night.She said that she'll also wake up at dawn to attend the traditional mass. Well for sure, my wife will have the bed all to herself...

St. Martin Batch 82 goes to KTV Chicago!

It was December 3, 2010. The gang once again organized a get-together and this time, we're celebrating it at a Family KTV bar. Chicago is the name of the place located in Ortigas, next to Metrowalk, was the instruction given to me. I decided to bring my wife along because it's her birthday the following day and the event was a party for the November and December birthday celebrants. The celebrants were no other than Ida Ceniza Tiongson and Yolanda Samodio. The call time was 7:30 p.m and we have to be there early because it's on an hourly basis.
It's a good thing the group decided to meet early. Everyone was on time to celebrate. We even came earlier than the celebrants! We can't smoke inside the karaoke room because Desiree Victoria was around and begged that we do our smoking outside the room. So we did. Desiree started off with some practice sessions to find out if the timbre of her voice is alright for the room. I also tried a few songs. It took time for us to master the remote control. It's a good thing Jojo Oppus was close to the main component so he easily punched in our requests.

We even had a special guest that night. Our old man, Mr. Oscar Calacal came all the way from Ilocos just to be with us on that day. He even brought some gifts for the celebrants. We chatted, sang and ate some noodles, deep fried goods and the local sisig. After a few minutes, the celebrants came and complained about the traffic at C5. It was expected that those streets will be clogged by cars. 7:00 pm in Manila is the worst time to drive around. You'll barely move from the traffic. Everyone had a few bottles already and then after that all the singing erupted.

It was a very fun night. As a matter of fact, We even broke some bottles due to the fun we're all having. The bottle got broken when everyone decided to dance to the ABBA music and do the swing with Mr. Calacal. It was a sight to remember. Yolly wanted to go home early but decided to stay a little bit later because everyone was really having fun. We even extended our time and stayed longer than the reserved time. Yeah! Let the next users wait!
Chicago KTV is a nice place to just be who you are. Everyone who went there really had a good time. The only problem is that the place has a very small parking for it's guests. Their patrons have to park at Metrowalk which is a 5 minute walk.
We ended the day at midnight, after the celebrants blew the cake that Darlene Garin  brought for everyone. What made going home worse is that it already started to rain an hour early and the street is all wet. Everyone didn't bring an umbrella so they have to ask Darlene or Ida's driver to drop them off at Metrowalk so that the rest of the gang can get their respective cars. One of the main topics that evening was the upcoming St. Martin Grand  Reunion scheduled for February 2011. The tickets are being distributed already and Elmo is once again tasked to make sure we have a good attendance for batch 82. No matter what happens this batch will always remain strong.

Chicken Pesto: A dish for the holidays!

Well, here I am working on my computer again when all of a sudden, Gina, my wife decides to blurt out a meal she's been dying to eat for the day. She's craving for my chicken pesto which a good friend taught me to make. I was reserving the dish for Christmas but my brother Tootsie said he prefers something more sophisticated. Too bad, my sisters Rina and Margot were very eager to sink their teeth into my specialty. As a result, we ended up having it for dinner.

What's so special about this chicken pesto? Nothing. It's just a regular meal that my daughters and wife love to eat. It's so filling that a kilo is enough to feed more than 10 people if you include some french bread with garlic butter on the side. It's a good thing I have all the ingredients ready at home for I already made my Christmas dinner preparations early. No matter how simple the dish is, my wife still can't recall how I make it.

Well let's start with the basic ingredients:
McCormick Pesto two packets.
One half kilo of chicken breast
One kilo of spaghetti
One whole onion
One whole garlic
Cooking oil
One can or tetra pack of Nestle whipped cream.
A can of Jolly button mushroom, diced and stemmed
Two cans of Jolly cream of mushroom soup
One Magic Sarap or Namnam seasoning
Twio cubes of Knorr chicken broth concentrate

Step one: Cook the spaghetti noodles until al dente then set aside to cool.

Step two: Boil the chicken breast, shred to small pieces and then set aside the broth.
Step three: Put the two cans of creamy mushroom soup in a container and mix an equal part of water until the soup is firmly mixed with the water.
Step four: Saute in oil the garlic, onion, diced mushroom and shredded chicken in a wok.
Step five: When the oil in the pan or wok is absorbed by the chicken, pour the mushroom soup, put the McCormick Pesto powder, put the chicken cube broth concentrate into the mixture and let it boil for at least 5 minutes. Occasionally stir the sauce until it becomes lightly pasty.
Step six: Turn off the heat and mix the whipped cream or Nestle cream into the sauce and stir until it is absorbed.
Step seven: Let the sauce cool for a few minutes then mix the spaghetti into the sauce or serve separately.

This meal is so filling that you'll be burping for hours with the pesto taste in the air... Serve immediately. It's best to chill the excess in the refrigerator and eat immediately. Milk based sauces tend to spoil faster than tomato based spaghetti sauce.

Is this an expensive dish? No. It's really more affordable compared to a regular spaghetti. After you serve this, I'm pretty sure the people who tasted it the first time will look for it again and again and again.

Two Highly Anticipated Weekend Gatherings...

Cherry Mauricio, Joyce Pellas and Rocel Robles with me!

This is an exciting week for me. I'll be attending 2 gatherings this coming weekend. One is with my old boss and mentor Glenn Marcelo, with Renz Tuzon, and another one from my old students in UE SLS.

It's been quite some time since I last saw the people I'm eager to see again. Glenn and Renz together with me worked in a magazine and Glenn taught me all the tricks to be rude in a fashinable way. Renz was good enough to pick up the style as well. We worked on some independent projects as well during the "racket" years and this time, we'll just meet to have a bottle of beer. That's something that I am looking forward to do, sit down with the old guys and have a bottle of beer. The venue is just near our place so I'm sure I'll be able to make it. It's in Bistro 70s along Anonas  St. in Quezon City.

The seconed gathering is with my former students in UE high school SLS. That will be batch 89. This was the last batch of students that I handled before I decided to change careers. It's nice to see them grow and become what they've

Love your work but not your employer

The original buds or OJTs of ePLDT Ventus Libertad

This is the first time in years that I've been sidelined. I have worked continuously for more than 6 years with ePLDT Ventus which is now known as SPi Global CRM. And guess what? After some bad numbers they junked everything that I've contributed to them. so here I am now, doing my best to survive the Christmas holidays. This is going to be the longest Christmas holiday that I've spent with my family.
A few month ago, I was already at a point where my specialization as a call center agent has bloomed to supervisory level. I was tasked early this year to join an elite team of agents from our Libertad, Mandaluyong branch to train a lot of agents. When I say a lot I really mean it. It's composed of an entire branch. So off we go to Makati and there, whe started training the managerial staff and point persons. After they've been trained, we then gradually discussed our line of business with the regular agents. In a few month's time, everyone was trained to do Advance Customer Support level to our client, Echostar who sells satellite TV service known as Dishnetwork. After everyone was uptrained, I was tasked to train the new hires. It was fun training new hires because you have to live with their inexperience. Some of them came from known call centers who transferred to us because they have attitude problems, and some are first timers in the call center industry. Each one were treated equally and were given the same level of training.
After all the hiring, now comes the downside where the company temporarily stops taking in new hires. As a result, from ad hoc new hire supervisor I have to go back to the OJT level and take calls. The last time I was taking calls was more than 6 months past. That became a challenge to me considering our product changes on a weekly basis and because of the numerous updates, I have to make sure that I give the same quality calls that I've done in the past. The company even changed their policy, wherein if one gets a "needs improvement" status for 2 consecutive times, you'll be dismissed. No one appealed or questioned it, because you'll be marked for death considering all those who are suckers already to destroy ones reputation.
As they try and see if the policy will work, they didn't notice that those that are most affected by the changes they made are every agent on the floor. The measure that they are using is so primitive that they'll base an employee's status on a single factor that is so one sided. In the end I am one who got affected.
My friend where telling me how I felt when the threw the bomb at me and told me that they'll be ending my 6 years of service. I said, I'm not the one who lost anything. The company lost me. In addition to that, the company will be losing more in the days to come.I was just one of the firsts ones that has to go. Some people admire me for this, because others will be devastated if what happened to me happens to them. I simply told them that I never kept my loyalty with the company I served. I love what I'm doing but it doesn't mean that you love the company. Company of various kinds will maximize what they can get from you and eventually remove you when you least expect it. Will they look back and see the previous contributions you've given? Never. So here I am now, looking for a new job. It may still be in the same industry where I previously worked but never with the company of SPi Global CRM.

A Tribute to my wife

From left, my daughter Erika, wife Gina and Jeanne Marie

I've been writing for quite some time but I've never really written anything about my wife. Today is her birthday and we had a quiet simple celebration at home with my daughters Jeanne Marie and Maria Fatima Erika. We had spaghetti, broiled pork belly and cake. As guests, we have (forever) her sister Gemma who's currently pregnant and her mother.
We started our day with a road accident. We were on our way to a vulcanizing shop to inflate my tires before we go and get her cake. When the traffic enforcer signed an all go signal, I zoomed to cross the intersection and lo and behold, a taxi was emerging from one of the side streets. He was running fairly slow crossing the intersection and gave us a light bump, good enough to teach me a lesson to always look both ways when I drive the motorcycle. Gina, my wife, was my back passenger. We fell down and I hurt her hand when my weight flattened it on the asphalted road. She has some minor bumps as well to share. We had a dialog with the taxi driver and decided to just be on our separate ways and forget that this thing happened. It's a good thing we were wearing our helmets and was within city speed limits when it happened. If it was in a major highway we probably celebrated her birthday in a hospital.
So right after that incident, we had the tires all inflated properly and went to the mall to buy her birthday cake. I was ready to spend that day but she decided to buy a simple one which is very unusual. She normally wants something special for herself and will even squeeze every cent you have just to get it. But this time, whe was being reasonable. We got ourselves a good chiffon mocha 12 by 8 cake and had my daughters' names and mine initialed on the cake. It was kind of late that day considering the unwanted accident that took place earlier. So we bought ourselves a luncheon meat for lunch and went home right away after getting the cake and the pork belly to broil.
When we went home she complains about her aching hand which got flattened when it got sandwiched between my shoulder and the road. As a result some ointment needs to be rubbed on it to make her feel good. After a while she's back to normal and so am I. We went ahead and prepared the family dinner. My eldest daughter Jeanne Marie wanted to leave home again because she has a dance practice session with her friends. Eventually, Gina asked her to help cook the barbecue. She complied and  amazingly didn't hear any of the usual complaints she murmurs when we ask her to do house chores. Fatima Erika also did her share of helping out by assisting me cook the spaghetti. She pours the ingredients on the saucepan as I name each one out. As a reward, she gets the chance to taste test the food before anyone else.
Gina was busy reading all the greetings that her friends made at facebook. She was also busy answering each one and makes sure that each one are read and answered. In between, she answers the phone to greet neighbors and other friends who remembered her special day. She supervised the meat we were broiling and I made sure that the spaghetti sauce is perfect for everyone. We also have to make sure that the noodles are al dente. Right after that, I took my afternoon nap and she attended church to thank God for another wonderful life.
We had dinner at round 7:00 p.m. and had the chance to talk about the day. Then, just like all ordinary days she went to bed and I managed my Farmville farm. While I wait for my harvest time, I think and recall all the things that  happend during the day. The accident made me think and realize that life is short and we have to make sure that we enjoy each day as it passes. The contents of my blog would be different if the taxi driver was zooming too fast or the ten wheeler on the other side of the road decided to zoom in as well. If Gina didn't survive it, That means the start of a lonely life follows. I'm happy to have her by my side and supporting everything that I do. I may not feel good at times when she advises me in her onw style but in the long run, I'm glad that she's there with me all the time. Today, we celebrate her birthday and at the same time make sure that this wonderful woman will have a wonderful life with me. She may do simple things but what she doesn't know is that I value everything she does and everything that's about her.