another auld lang syne

Before I pop the cork and gobble a slice of food for the gods or cover my ears but look up to the midnight sky for the new year fireworks and revelry, here are my top five resolutions for the new year:

01. Get back into a smaller shape through a low carb diet, dancing sessions in the gym, weights sessions in the gym, boxing, jogging, badminton, yoga, mental power, whatever it takes.

02. Learn how to drive - even just an automatic car. And of course, park it, drive it in reverse, keep it in a safe distance from the silly driver at the front and at the back, and match its seat covers and throw pillows inside.

03. Finish ultimately my masters in business administration and take up a new course right after summer - professional education, literature, law, corporate governance, guitar, anything.

04. Start listening and focus. To the things my daughters say when they raise a fit on what clothes to wear, to everyone older than me when they have unsolicited advice to give, to credit card telemarketers when they remind me about deadlines, not new products.

05. Be kind to myself and take care of myself. Do not fall again for empty promises that goad you to work like a horse but ends up to nothing, false self-worth through overtimes that stretch into dawn, and interesting arguments or clever one liners. Handle my heart with care and acknowledge that the greatest love of all is found deep within me.

the five places a girl loves

Each girl has one of those sometimes. Bad-hair day. Your-giant-zit-defines-you day. You-are-not-getting-enough-loving day. Too-tired-to-make-a-difference day.

Aahh! From out of the doldrums, your energy has suddenly taken a sharp turn and it leads you somewhere. Might as well. The better to enjoy and rationalize your visits to these five places, my dear.

And today is the day!

THE BOUTIQUE.. Will anyone please tell me who brought these bubble dresses into the racks? Or the ones that start at your neck and falls down to nowhere? And whoever among the grownup girls believed that they'd look good on these unless they weigh 90 pounds? Well I've tried on a rich orange red and a dark black - is there any darker than black - and though the design and work in the crimson number was marvelous, I could not invest on something that can only be worn in December for the fear of being the walking stop sign throughout the year. Lesson from me: When in doubt, settle for black.

THE SALON.. Popular refuge and admittedly a major destination that you'd need to make a phone call and set an appointment to make sure that you are lined up and will be served by your own beauty technician. French tips for my nails are always a winner with me. Lifting my left leg for my foot spa, I wondered when did we ever turned a cleaning act into a social activity for other people to see? And I need my regular leg shave too! Lesson from them: When you prefer open-toed and strappy sandals instead of closed pumps, petroleum jelly works wonders for those peds.

THE SPA.. Armed with the key to my locker for the day, I stepped into the Havaianas flip flops courtesy of the center and slipped into nothing else. A five minute shower and a sauna as long as it takes the hour glass to be filled with sand. A time to indulge the back with a good deal of warmth, a sauna stay also kinda gives you the taste of hell it's creepy. But the Swedish massage was heaven. Aside from the physical relief, there must be a psychological effect from this thing. Well from someone who loves back rubs for a good night's sleep, I should know. Lesson from me: Wear that thong during a massage session. Makes the whole exercise easier.

THE SKIN CLINIC.. Dermatologists amaze me. Are they doctors or are they skin-deep beauty endorsers? Limiting my visits to the skin clinic to those stinging little shots whenever I have a giant pimple, this time I came for a facial. I think trust plays a major part here, you know. You are in this bed away from your great weapon the cellular phone and someone hiding her face behind a mask pokes and touches your face. But hey you asked for it! Lesson from them: No matter how busy the work schedule is, always take your 8-hour sleep every night.

THE HIP RESTAURANT.. All right, I admit that nothing beats the stand offering cotton candy of different flavors and colors - and that I had two servings today too despite my yet unfinished medication for tonsilitis. But it is only right to cap this day with a visit to the food strip and pick a shop that promises the most to my palate. As I am not an espresso girl, the choice was easily made. So spinach pizza and watermelon shake it was - with strawberry cheesecake on the side. Lesson from me: Shark's fin dumplings dipped in soy sauce before those wouldn't hurt a bit!

If there's a better way to end the old year and welcome the new, tell me and I'll sit up and listen.

greetings this holiday season

I choose these last few days of the year to reach you and send you my greetings for the holiday season. For at this time I am sure I shall not be disrupting your many days filled with a frenetic schedule and a kaleidoscope of colors.

2007 has been a real gift - full of surprises and opportunities for us to learn and grow and see beyond what we have… and to be what we wanted to be. Everything we touched and created brought in changes - new alliances, new harmonies, new definitions to things and events that we both worked for or just watched to happen. As we stand at the end of this year, we see ourselves and the world a little differently.

Indeed, we face an unfolding scene of changes. May 2008 provide us the chance for the metamorphosis we are looking for in our lives - if we so want it - and only if we claim it for ourselves.

I hope your Christmas was truly meaningful and your new year will be a fabulous one.

and then there was a star

The light piercing the darkness.

We have this total fascination with light. It's like, as darkness precedes it - nothing happens until there is light.

In my residential area, after a silent and tense power interruption, you can just hear the combined screams of relief and the released laughter when the lights would turn on at each of the houses.

Illumination, though how practical and functional it was intended to be, is even taken to the realm of the romantic and the dreamy. For who would pass off a chance to dine and watch the face of another by candlelight?

And that is why Christmas is such a great season. It's the chance to deck the rooms and even the front yard with those tiny lights. I don't know why, but those rows and rows of clear gold little beams really fascinate me. My green Christmas tree is adorned by eight hundred pieces of those sweet small pins glowing in the dim corner with all the tinsel and the red flowers.

The firecrackers have been ordered for December 31. To signal the end of the holidays and the start of the new year, there is almost a quasi-vow to welcome each year with the fantastic display of fire works in the midnight skies.

Yet all these are just a salute to that event that happened more than two thousand years ago. When a people were waiting for a Savior.. and when His coming was announced by a star. I believe that people know the meaning of all the ruckus that happens at Christmas time. That no matter how the righteous would condemn the commercialization and objectification of the Nativity - people really know that as one takes the effort in hanging that lantern, or untangling those strings of lights, he is making his statement for that star which shone for the Child King.

It started at the beginning. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good..

parenting on center stage

It was a long wait before the competition started. Long enough to plant the seeds of fear - not in the children that were wearing their numbers on their formal dresses - but in each of the parents who gathered to wait.

St. Mary's School had organized this search for singing talents and the whole grade school sent in their nominees. Nika was to sing among them and the whole family sat in front of the stage, ready to watch her.

Children were scattered all over the school court, whispering to each other their bets. And the contestants were all huddled at the back of the stage, running around, watching those on deck or just plain chatting.

But you got to hand it to the parents.

A boy walked in the stage. A mother scuffled in the first row of the seats. She was unrolling a cartolina paper and written upon it were the lyrics of the song that her son would sing. I thought she was at a loss what to do first - to take photos or to hold up that piece of paper. But the lights were out and the audience area was dimmed in order to give focus to the performer on stage. I wished with all my heart that the boy saw the words.. and prayed that he would remember all his lyrics so he would not have to refer to the copy.

A girl in full makeup was ready to sing. But her recorded musical accompaniment would not work. Then music suddenly played.. but it was obviously the wrong one because the young girl fidgeted. A man suddenly stood up from the front seats and went to the musical director's area to instruct the technician on the correct music. It was finally on and the man faced his daughter, giving her the thumbs up and putting his hands together all the while she was singing.

A little girl in full costume came. She was so much into the song, feeling it with the all the emotions and making her matching gestures. And she was gazing straight to just one person in the audience. I followed her eyes and saw her mother. The woman was alternately waving her arms and placing her hands to her chest. She was mouthing the words to the song for her daughter and those sitting near her were staring at her, short of being amazed.

I smiled. And worried on my own in silence. The contestants before Nika were good and I decided for us to leave after she will deliver her song. You know, spare her the disappointment when she would not make it. It was eight o'clock in the evening anyway and we were hungry too. I took a good look at the trophies. Then I promised to buy a bigger and better one and give it to Nika - for her courage to join this competition, if for nothing else.

She sang and I was so sure I was not breathing the whole time she did. Picture of pure naivety and inexperience, she just sang it simply like the way she would at home.. while touching her gown at moments, in the same manner she would lovingly stroke her plush toy giraffe when she goes to sleep.

After her song and as we were getting ready to leave for dinner, she asked me effortlessly: "But Mom, how can I get my trophy if we leave now?"

How to answer a question like that? I just smiled at her and gave her a big hug. Told her she was the best for me, but for her not to expect too much, and if she indeed wins, she could always get the trophy the next day she reports to school.

After a dinner of prime steak, and as I was getting ready for bed at home, a message came through my cellular phone. It was a note of congratulations from one of the teachers - Nika won second place!

Mike and I looked up the girl and saw that she was already sleeping. As this set of parents could finally rest for the night with a smile and a sigh.. and there's no more need for me to order that personal trophy, Nika moved and reached for her toy giraffe. The sleep of the innocent. And the winner.

is this your name?

HEIDI MENDOZA

Forename: Origin: German (Root: Adelaide) Meaning: Noble One

Surname: Origin: (Basque) habitational (locality) name from several places in the provinces of Arava and Biscay called Mendoza, named with Basque mendi ?mountain? + otz ?cold? + the definite article -a.

50% of the letters are vowels. Of one million first and last names we looked at, 2.2% have a higher vowel make-up. This means you are extremely well envoweled.

Backwards, it is Idieh Azodnem... nice ring to it, huh?

In Pig Latin, it is Eidihay Endozamay.

In ASCII binary it is... 01001000 01100101 01101001 01100100 01101001 00100000 01001101 01100101 01101110 01100100 01101111 01111010 01100001

Your personal power animal is the Honey Badger

Your 'Numerology' number is 5. If it wasn't bulls**t, it would mean that you are adventurous, mercurial, and sensual. You seek growth through adventure and different life experiences. Although you are a critical thinker, you can sometimes over-ponder an issue.

People with this first name are probably: Female. So, you are constantly overcharged for beauty products.

According to the US Census Bureau, 0.088% of US residents have the first name 'Heidi' and 0.043% have the surname 'Mendoza'. The US has around 300 million residents, so we guesstimate there are 114 'Heidi Mendoza's (in the US, that is).

CHECK YOUR OWN NAME HERE

from both sides of the fridge

The other night before going to sleep, I found this folded note on the bed:

"Dear Mommy, I am sorry for not getting the singing competition. But I will do better next time I promise. Gela"

I smiled, folded it back and planned to store it somewhere. Now I remember the right spot for it.

Well, I like to think we are a regular family. And like a regular family, there is a different kind of altar-bulletin-control board that we keep. It is in a very strategic location, since it is where everyone converges when hungry. Yes, like any other mobile and active household, we adore the refrigerator. More specifically, its walls.

To hold current unpaid bills, personal reminders, perfect quiz scores (those less than that just end up posted in notebooks), school schedules, subdivision notices - the fridge walls can also display art works, original comic strips, juvenile literary attempts and love letters. Can you imagine the challenge to those little magnets?

"Happy B-day Mommy. I love you. I wish you can have fun. Love, Nika"

"My Day. My day was great. It was hard and the Civics long quiz was so easy I mean very easy. And now I will have tutor at the end of class I mean after the last subject. See you."

"To Mom and Dad. Hi guys. How are you? I am fine. Hope you are having fun. Hope you like this letter. Do you like it? Thanks for your love to me. Thanks for enrolling me in Saint Mary's School. Love you. From Nika"

"Don't go please. I will miss you Mommy. Why do you have to go?"

"I miss you Mommy"

"From Nika to Dady. I love you."

"To Mom. Welcome home Mom. Welcome back Ma. I missed you all morning. Please promise to leave a note when you go next time okay. Love ya all day. See ya later alligater. I hope you will like this letter. Love ya with all my heart. See ya. From Annika."

"Dear Dad and Mom. Thank you for being good to me and for caring for me. Thank you for supporting me in my assignments and for loving me. Your daughter, Angela"

Inside those refrigerator walls is food. The pretzels in the bag. The eggs for a hasty breakfast on a lazy Saturday. The red wine to calm a night's flighty nerves. The sweet ham, the peanut butter, the apples.

Yet outside is another kind of fare that feeds the heart. And without the worry of unwanted calories, it fills you. It fills you to the brim.. then it overflows.

how creative are you?

TAKE QUICK IMAGE QUIZ HERE

the half of a pair

It's the month of December and my only brother is getting married within the week. Yes, it's December again and the time to celebrate my wedding anniversary as well. Whew marriage!

Being married for me does not indicate being bound. Rather, it is the string that holds me strongly when my kite reaches and flies for the sky. It is the anchor, and the comfort after an MBA school night's ride from the rain.

But being married is taking your role as a half of a pair. Simply put, it means sharing spaces.

It is his blue towel and my white towel side by side in the rack.

It is his sandalwood and my white musk bars together in the soap dish.

It is his two blue big pillows in the left side of the bed and my two white big pillows in the right.

It is his golf bag parked below my badminton bag near the main door.

It is his Polo Ralph Lauren Blue and my Bulgari Omnia Crystalline both forgotten in the bedside table.

It is his khaki pair of Crocs tumbled along with my 18 good pairs of sandals.

It is his "The Temple and the Lodge" and "Recon Marines in Vietnam" paperbacks gathering dust beside my "Atlas Shrugged" and "The First Wives Club".

Being married is my small-sized pink gym shirt inside the hamper, and his large-sized t-shirt on the floor tiles, just a few inches short of landing in that same hamper.

Being married is staying together under the same roof while facing different laptop screens. And it means him taking trips to Duka Bay for a branch visitation or me flying to Manila for a project proposal writing workshop - and for the half of the pair who is left, to realize that seeing only one toothbrush in that cup, and the surprising space in the master's bathroom sink, just does not feel right. Nor enough.

It is that warm thought of being a part of someone else. A saved reminder tucked somewhere inside you.

mirrors from polished bricks

To a disciple who was always at his prayers the Master said, "When will you stop leaning on God and stand on your own two feet?"

The disciple was astonished. "But you are the one who taught us to look on God as Father!"

"When will you learn that a father isn't someone you can lean on but someone who rids you of your tendency to lean?"

- One Minute Wisdom
Anthony De Mello

a hundred hearts

When I was still in high school and have never fallen in love,
I accepted that I have a hundred hearts of different sizes.

Each of them has a special role...

In my heart of hearts they stay,
waiting in silence for the right time.
As they keep watch they do not pale nor get tired.
They knew that the magic moment will come.

Thus I grew, and I learned to understand.
I learned to give a heart for each of the ones I love,
my family and those near and dear to me...
and I have learned to give even to strangers
who have become my friends.

I also learned that if I give a heart,
I will not feel a loss nor an emptiness inside.

And most of all...

I learned that if I pick one and give it out,
I may or may not receive one in return.

But the very act of giving is the gift itself for me.
And I was never afraid to give out my hearts.

So if the time will come when you decide
to give out one of those hearts... do.
Then watch it grow everyday.

Just remember this though..
once it is given away, it is not yours anymore.
And the one who holds it now can do anything with it.

For they can just leave it alone, and pretend it is not there at all.

I have a hundred hearts inside me.

Photo credit: Leanne_Eddie

what's with the failure to listen?

Everyone hears the class bell to announce recess, the car horn to signal the arrival of a date, or that saccharine song from the movie Enchanted. But with instructions, I think listening must take a further step. It is not only receiving the message, but paying attention and heeding the message too.

So what's with the failure to listen to instructions?

Annika and Angela turning a deaf ear on me when I call them to bath is inevitable. But what is most irritating is the apathy of a group of people who disregard caution for their very lives and safety.

The airline attendant's calm voice in the public address system prompts everyone to remain seated when the seatbelt sign is still on. At that reminder, almost twenty people would remove their seatbelts. The voice continues to say that cellular phones should remain switched off - and as if this is the cue, you could hear the Nokia melody as mobiles are switched on. And the voice finally reminds the flight to only remove their carry-on baggage from the overhead compartment when the plane has finally come to a complete stop. Five would stand up. And a burly man would actually nudge your shoulder as he reaches up to open the compartment directly above you.

I mean, what's with the instructions being read backwards?

I had the chance to travel six times by air for the past month, and I've seen that this is most evident among Filipinos. And I think it has nothing to do with economic status nor educational achievement. Because the offenders, in a quick profile, are well-dressed, educated, professionals or involved in business, and not first-time flyers.

Could it be that the very act of defiance is simply most attractive?

Flight attendants should be replaced by drill sergeants. Just my opinion.

autumn in japan

Trying to capture our joint experience in the ENCI-1 Training Program for Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Japan. Being the fourth in our team was one of the best times I ever had.

For Teri, Vic and Jake. Yours always, Heidi



Soundtrack:
Final Fantasy Tifa's Theme
Everything by Michael Buble

waiting for the next move

I love to blog. I really do. But I just cannot blog for these past days!

The characters and links of the edit feature are in Japanese! In my inspired pomposity to show off my very basic blah blogging skills to Vic, I opened this in Tokyo last month and look what happened.

I have emailed Blogger but I guess it never reached tech support. But do they really reply to calls for help? I am just so grateful that I've hit some buttons right tonight - hence, I've come this far. But I've deleted my links, and boy, will my friends wonder where I've dumped them!

I've actually waited for some time, thinking and hoping that my space in the blog universe will clear up and go back to English. Only to find out now that it's still in Japanese characters.

Oh the waiting. I should know.

The Christmas greens waiting for me to pluck them out of the box so I can set up the whole tree. The paper waiting for me to finish its last five pages. The big luggage I brought to Japan and the small luggage I brought to Davao both waiting to be cleaned out completely. The spare luggage waiting to be packed for Cebu. The visit to the doctor and the laboratory test waiting to be completed.

I wait for the girls to listen. I wait for the ride. I wait for a phone call. I wait for a higher pay. I wait for a kind warm gesture to tell me that I'm welcomed back.

I can imagine the raging emotion in a waiting line for a delayed plane. Where everyone, like my blog editor, speaks Japanese.

Now that's a classic.

thoughts in scraps of paper

When the moon smiles from the sky...
during one of those unnamed nights...
a miracle happens.

Silently
Softly...
without any parade.

And under the moon,
man lifts up his eyes
towards the dark expanse...

And tries his best
to give a part of himself...
so like the moon...
he may shine.

In his found light...
he calls on another
to put forth
her own brightness...

That together...
they shall burn...
like the sun.

- scribbled in Tokyo in the middle of a lecture,
on the 12th day of training

aladdin's lamp is mine

Or so it seemed at first. When what you want is presented to you, you look at what you have in your hands. You're full but still you say yes. And humans like me are like that.

Accepting the scholarship to the training for chambers of commerce and industry in Tokyo in the middle of the preparations for the first Cagayan de Oro Business Enterprises, Services and Trade Exposition [ORO BEST EXPO - one last advert] was a double whammy.

Anyway, it's the dawn to wake up not to chamber work but to closing loose ends and leaving my vacation message in my email boxes. The Oro BEST Expo is over and on the whole I want to think it is a success, though I do not want to over-rate it. I believe the ones who really lost sleep and slaved on a project are the ones who take it silently when an event is over. Those who just put on the show dress are the ones who really gush about how good it's been because they were simply there.

So well the baggage must be done - oops up to 20 kilos only! And I still haven't finalized the country report. And I have some papers to leave for the officers. And a memo to draft for the staff. The final paper due in MBA will have to be submitted when I'm back. I need to design Nika's gown. Same goes for mine! And that concept paper for the Cagayan de Oro ICT Business Council. And the finalization of the wedding missalette for Hans. And the chamber's water forum and a power investment forum when I'm back.

Yes when I'm back. I have to leave first. Aladdin never fully knew what his lamp means.

far away and anywhere

The Force Recon Airsoft Group (FRAG) of Cagayan de Oro was finally approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The group was also awarded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources a portion of the Malasag Watershed Park to be its playground. In return for this, the group will re-green the area. How's that?

Here is Mike's promotional video of the group, recorded during their first take last October 6 in Malasag Hill. And by the way, I must be there the next time!



frag = noun, U.S. Army and Marine Corps Slang. verb, fragged, fragging. to wound or assault with a fragmentation grenade

in search of the historical jesus

"Jesus was a Jew, not a Christian. This single historical fact opens the door to understanding Jesus as he really was in his own time and place; it's a door that many have never thought to enter. To understand Jesus in his own time and place we have to understand his deep commitment to the ancestral faith of his fathers. He saw himself as doing nothing other than filling the words of Moses and the Prophets, and the messianic hope that guided his life, and led him to his death, was the central core of his innermost being."

- The Jesus Dynasty
by James D. Tabor

celebrating together in cdo

The Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. cordially invites you to the Cagayan de Oro Business Enterprises, Services and Trade Exposition or ORO BEST EXPO 2007 on October 17-19, 2007 Wednesday to Friday at The Atrium, Limketkai Center, Cagayan de Oro City.

With the surge of investors in the country and the dynamic market of the region, the goal of the ORO BEST EXPO 2007 is to deliver an informative and comprehensive trade fair that will highlight the advantages and opportunities of investing in Cagayan de Oro City of Northern Mindanao. Event organizer Oro Chamber takes this as one of its advocacies as the city, being the business hub of the region, strengthens its role as a major business destination.

Aside from showcasing the various industries in the region through a 3-day exposition, the event’s highlight is the Go Negosyo Conference, the first-ever Mindanao conference in partnership with the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship where the Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs from Northern Mindanao will be awarded on October 19. Invited is no less than the President, Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to bestow the award and give the keynote message during that conference. Joining her are the Go Negosyo advocates who are featured in Joey Concepcion's Go Negosyo book.

The ORO BEST EXPO 2007 also aims to provide participants and visitors information on how to start up and strengthen business ventures through an Entrepreneur 101 Forum to be presented by the Bayan Foundation. Also organized is a business clinic for rising entrepreneurs, and local enterprises shall be provided with business matching sessions for possible engagements with 50 American companies through the linkage with the US Commercial Service.

With a parallel recruitment fair for new graduates and business clinic for entrepreneurs, the event highlights include:
Opening Ceremonies* Oct17
Luncheon with Mayor Constantino G. Jaraula** Oct17
Cagayan de Oro Forum - Polishing the Gold* Oct17
Cocktails for USA Exhibitors and Partners** Oct17
2nd Cagayan de Oro Business-Academe Forum* Oct18
Doing Business with the USA* Oct18
Go Negosyo Cagayan de Oro* Oct19
Luncheon with Go Negosyo Advocates** Oct19
Oro Chamber General Membership Meeting** Oct19

*FREE ENTRANCE **BY INVITATION ONLY
For Inquiries CLICK HERE

just the way i knew it

"I know that," I answered. "I've been in love before. It's like a narcotic. At first it brings the euphoria of complete surrender. The next day, you want more. You're not addicted yet, but you like the sensation, and you think you can still control things. You think about the person you love for two minutes, and forget them for three hours. But then you get used to that person, and you begin to be completely dependent on them. Now you think about him for three hours and forget him for two minutes."

- By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
by Paulo Coelho

here the girl goes again

From where I am, and where I stand, with everything that I was born with, and everything that has been taught me, formed by the things that I read, I hear, I watch, I imitate and I reject, I believe most in the goodness of the self.

The self is good. She came from the Supreme Goodness. And the purpose of that self is goodness itself. The self can be encouraged, molded, shaped, inspired, and delivered. And in that goodness of the self is the godliness she is destined to discover and realize that she is. The self is the body. But the self is the soul too. And the statement of the soul is the most important of all.

It is the soul that creates. It identifies the problem and recognizes what is wrong. And the good. It is the soul that looks beyond the obvious. It deals into the depths. It comes up with answers. In its wisdom, it decides and settles down. But only with the truth and with that which is good.

I believe in the power of one. But also in the accomplishment of one ardent dream that is shared. I highly regard the gift of thought. In the achievement of what one idea can do.

I am moved most of all by the person in the mirror. I have faith in that person. I start every morning of my life with her smiling back at me. And end each night with her quizzing me back with her eyebrows raised. But still with the firm belief of what she can do. And who she can be.

And in that person that smiles back from the mirror, I hold the highest standards. At work. At play. At home. With the family. With colleagues. With strangers. Only the best effort is good enough, as the self holds the highest standards. With the dream and the standards will sometimes come defeat and failures. But the self knows the lessons these bring, and the best is that of standing up again.

I love fiercely. Truly. Fully. Love that is not complete is just a waste of time. And this love needs work. It should not just be said. It is action. And it is delivery of a promise. As it grows, it must be fed. By surprises, freshness and diversity and continuing discovery.

This is a girl who thrives and revels in the many roles and responsibilities served and offered. Daughter. Wife. Mother. Sister. Friend. Partner. Mentor. Student. Mover. Student. Child. Conscious and living with the gifts of what I can do, rather than those that limit who I am.

For that last one look in the mirror, I hope to be claiming the life that was meant for me. As a child of the universe, the offspring from the ultimate might, the supreme good. Able to shine when placed in the murkiest corner of the earth. To have learned, have touched other lives, and have contributed to humanity.

This is my heart and my mind. And this is who I am.

stock investment seminar

Attending the short seminar yesterday on "Investing in the Stock Market Today" was perhaps one of the few good moves I've decided to do these days.

The main speaker was brilliant. And I was there for the major points of the discussion, which for me, are the following:

• The stock market is the barometer of economy
• Greater risk, greater potential of reward
• In an uptrend, buy and hold
• In order to build wealth, take the rule of 72
• A stock decision is part reason, part emotion
• What you don't know you don't touch
• Our Philippine economy is improving
• Look out for the ability to grow
• People act in anticipation of change
• Three enemies: greed, fear... and hope
• Re-assess your risk versus reward
• Do not play the "all or nothing" game
• Plan your trade and trade the plan

The new knowledge, including the technical fundamentals in the capital market, is very interesting. The next time I have cash to spare, I'm definitely investing in stocks. The whole learning process augments my business lessons in MBA right now.
And I'm glad I chose to take a front seat and listened attentively. There are some things you can pick out with eyes closed because you know you'll come out learning a lot and gaining a lot. Which I cannot say yet with a not-so-easy decision regarding my pictorial for the annual Xavier University yearbook! Should I go or should I not bother? Ugh.

when we talk...

ME “You really like those chips, do you?”

GELA “Yup. Hey Mom, do you know that there is an animal that will allow itself to die?”

ME “Really? How’d you know that?”

GELA “Teacher said. The praying mantis boy, I mean, the male praying mantis, when the female praying mantis is going to have a birth, he will allow the wife to eat its head.”

NIKA “Eew! But Gela, what birth do you mean?”

GELA “I mean when the female praying mantis is pregnant, will have a child. She will eat the head of the male and then slowly eat the neck and the body.”

ME “That’s gross. I wonder why she’d do that. And the man mantis is okay about it?”

GELA “Yeah. The male praying mantis will be eaten. What a sacrifice. But Teacher was also asking that to us in class. Why?”

ME “But hey Nika, do you know that gorillas are now becoming extinct?”

NIKA “How did you know, Mom?”

ME “Internet.”

NIKA “Pity. Then the time will come Gel, when the turtles are also extinct.”

GELA “And you know, Nik, when I’m already a grandmother I’d say to my grandchildren: I am going to tell you about an animal we used to know when I was a kid. What was that again? What was the name of that animal again?”

ME “Hahahahahaha! Silly.”

NIKA “Yes Gel, you look funny. Hahahahahaha!”

GELA “Then my daughter would say: Oh mom, it’s the turtle. And I’d tell the boy, because my daughter will have a son: Yeah! The tur-tuh! The tur-tuh! What is the tur-tuh again?”

ME “Hahahahahaha! But hey, I thought you said you’re not gonna get married.”

NIKA “Gela’s gonna get married. Gela’s gonna get married!”

ME “But you look funny acting like a grandma.”

GELA “And I’ll tell my grandchildren: Do you know your great grandmother? She is Heidi. But yeah, what was that I’m going to tell you about again? Ah, the tur-tuh…”ME “C’mon girls, let’s finish off the chips and prepare your bags for tomorrow’s class.”

What a drag I must sound, but it's almost bedtime.

Yet it was a happy moment watching Gela act out, standing up on the couch, with Nika at her feet, munching and laughing. Laughing with them is always a treat.Then I realized, I'd also be extinct by the time Gela will be having this conversation with her real grandchildren...I stood up slowly, going to prepare their glasses of water, off to the same invisible highway that the gorillas and the turtles would go.

Painting: Mother and Her Daughters, by Lucette Dallozo

i've been tagged - and i'm it!

Gracie left me a note that she tagged me. It means I have to follow the instructions she left and then tag someone else: A kind of passing the ball, or a friendlier chain movement. Determined to drop work for a good half hour, I am doing this – but with my own little variation.

Instructions: Fill out the list by picking a word for each of the letters of the alphabet which best describes or relates to you, or anything that feels right. When you are tagged you need to write your answers on your own blog, or I also say, in your email for forwarding, as well as these rules. At the end of your task, you need to choose other people [number irrelevant] to get tagged and list their names. Though you must not scare them about years of bad luck, don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged through your blog!

A – ATENEO. A former officemate commented that I represent the Jesuit influence. A pleasure to be.

B – BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE. Biting into a cold slice makes the hair at my nape go crazy.

C – CANADA. More particularly Prince Edward Island. All travel can end there. Hope springs eternal!

D – DANCE. One of those things I love, and I just might do something rash and amazing one of these days.

E – EPIDEMICS. The kinds of French manicures and banana milkshakes and big wide sunglasses.

F – FAMILY. And I couldn't believe that I even self-brainstormed for a bit before I got my F word!

G – GOD. In whatever and whichever form for each of us, it’s a relationship that brings the best in ourselves.

H – HEART. Must be the most used and therefore most worn out in us. And I’m not just talking anatomically.

I – ICARUS. Anyway, the idea is so much better than the pronoun “I”, which I happen to always prefer than to a committee.

J – JAPAN. Learned when I visited that locals call it Nihon or Nippon. So why do non-locals call it differently?

K – KIM. Mike’s nickname from grade school, I was told. Kind of done right to left.

L – LIFE. A darn good read of a story we get out of each one of us. And we’re the writer too.

M – MOONRIVER. Mama Precy taught me how to sing this song, and thus it is very special to me.

N – NOKIA N91. The capacity, the distinctive design, and because there are few of us who got it.

O – OBSESSIVE.COMPULSIVE. Not necessarily yet, but hovering in the borderline of the disorder.

P – PRIDE. AND PREJUDICE. Oh come on. I watched the Matthew MacFadyen version more than a dozen times.

Q – QATAR. My recent study in class included the place where the endless rounds of the WTO talks began.

R – REMBRANDT. The way he lets black be the enveloping theme in his paintings. I can relate.

S – SMILE. Though I stopped doing this lately, I know you’re never really fully dressed without it.

T – TIME. I don't know if I must look at it forward or backward. But I'm still busy in the now. For now.

U – UBER. Uber-worked. Uber-committed. Uber-sacrificed.

V – VICTORIA’S SECRET. Because lingerie is definitely not just plain underwear. I fancy that.

W – WEEKENDS. To take the girls swimming. To eat in bed. To watch movies. To dress down.

X – XAVIER. Hope I’ll hold the university’s diploma for masters in business administration soon.

Y – YESTERDAY. It always seems grander and better and sweeter when told and seen from today.

Z – ZZZZZZZ. I really hope I can hit more of these. I feel like a zombie. Hey that’s another Z!

Half an hour for this is just ain’t enough, I discover.

NOW TAGGING:
Jay, Ela, Mitchie, Girard, Honey, Elaine, Star, Michelle, Teng, Nelson and the other half of the world

Tagged by my li’l spot of sunshine
Photo by surrelmar, see more here

product development forum

The Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. [ORO CHAMBER], has committed through its Creation of Opportunities and Resources Management for Enterprises [CORE] Project, to advocate for micro, small and medium enterprise [MSME] development, capacitate these players in the local business area, and provide technical assistance along product development in partnership with other enabling enterprises and organizations.

The ORO CHAMBER, therefore, is organizing the

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM
September 10, 2007 8:00am-5:0pm
VIP Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City

Through this one-day activity, we want to note the past and existing efforts along product development in Cagayan de Oro and Northern Mindanao as well as present a stringent review on the basics for our entrepreneurs. We will highlight success stories and winning products indigenous to our area, and most of all, try to translate opportunities to real business ventures.

We are targeting an audience of local enterprises which need that extra motivation and technical input to further improve their products and services, thus raise their bottom lines. And most of all, we encourage the presence of participants who shall take the educated step towards entrepreneurship and business development.

Speakers include officers from the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Technical Skills and Development Authority, and the Philippine Coconut Authority. Talks will also be given by Vjandep Pastel and Suka Pinakurat. The main resource speaker for the activity is Prof. Mario Lopez of the Asian Institute of Management.

A minimal registration fee of P500 will be charged to cover for food, materials and certificate.

MAKE YOUR SEAT RESERVATION HERE.

in-between current reading

"... we reframe the way we think about the world... We have trouble estimating dramatic, exponential change. We cannot conceive that a piece of paper folded over 50 times could reach the sun. There are abrupt limits to the number of cognitive categories we can make and the number of people we can truly love and the number of acquaintances we can truly know."

- The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell

on marquee: margarita

2 oz. Lime Juice
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
2 oz. Jose Cuervo Tequila
1 1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 cups of ice

Rub rim of cocktail glass with lime then dip rim in salt. Place ice in blender and add all ingredients. Shake and strain into salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with a wheel of lime.

It's a party for one, but hey, a party just the same! After a facial, during a spa visit, while devouring a novel, focusing on a dvd, chatting on YM, or when you find those rare precious moments to just place your feet up in the living room center table. Ole!

miss piggy and me

Considering everything, she is my rightful role model.

With her wit and wisdom, she has an answer and the matching philosophy to all my worries and concerns.

On my looks, or lack thereof: "For the glamorous look, choose plain-looking dining companions."

On my being so ordinary: "I am a pig, and as a pig, I have always stood out."

On my lack of culinary skills: "It is often said that cooking is an art, but I have had very few meals that I would hang on my wall."

On my fascination with fashion: "What if you were in Florida without your furs and there is a very quick little ice age?"

On my career that's going nowhere: "I am waiting for a really strong and meaningful female pig role."

On my MBA education: "Many people have been to schools where they were taught useful phrases, how much to charge and - most important - what to wear."

On my being a half of a couple: "Your future together holds such promise. Why ruin it by telling him your plans?"

On my diet: "Never eat more than you can lift."

On my wardrobe: "You cannot have too many gowns any more than you can have too many invitations to parties to wear them."

On my plan to go beyond blogging: "I plan to write more books whenever I can find the appropriate writing attire and color-coordinated pen."

are you gonna go my way

I even had second thoughts on going to Marco Hotel. And it took me a little self-convincing to take it slow today and yes, we all deserve a break. Broken is what my back soon will be, if I would not watch it. Work is such a fake high. Quite a not so late revelation, thank you.

We went straight to the pool by the end of the hotel grounds. Nong Pio brought the big bag as I settled down under the big umbrella. A waiter was hovering, waiting for my orders. The girls were out of their robes, had taken a quick shower, and jumped into the pool in just five seconds record. Annika, a girl who used to study in Abba’s Orchard, had joined them. Her grandmother, the former regional director of the Department of Tourism was out on the lawn, under her own big umbrella, reading a novel.

I ordered food - the kind of breakfast for people who are not in a hurry and who are not necessarily hungry. A big bowl of fresh fruits. Cold and hot chocolate drinks. Chips and dip. Club house sandwich.

Another hotel staff stood by me to wait if I need anything. He bustled around, picking up dirt from the ground. He thought, this woman must be freaky and needs her fallen leaves picked up. Haha. I asked him to select the cleanest lounger and move it to where I was. Not in the shade but not in direct sunlight either.

One more hotel staff checked the pool, then checked the outdoor showers. When they’re done, they finally left me alone.

Being alone is frightening. Well I’ve stopped thinking about the Jim Carrey movie “The Number 23” since most of the formulas I’ve tinkered on did not really result to the number 23. But when I’m alone, I think about work. And that’s the scariest of all.

So I ate my fruits like I was on the deck of my own yacht and I stretched on the white, [and note, clean] lounger and put on my iPod. Oh the girls have played and replayed Jennifer Lopez much so that she would be now conferred the award for the Most Requested Artist. I reset the music list and chose solo guitars instead.

One thing about being a mom is that your ear is in your music while your whole self is watching your girls. They’re playing a drama game of sorts in the water. How that could be made possible, I think I respect them for that. They left the water just long enough to gobble up the sandwiches and drink the chocolate. Then the game was on again.

Nika and Gela earned this swimming date with me. The past week was their quarterly exams and the last five days were nothing short of grueling for all of us. Studying, reviewing, creating practice questionnaires, learning Filipino, getting through the pointers with sleepy eyes. Now they can shriek all they wanted.

I sent a couple of messages from the mobile phones and then I closed them. Both my personal line and the office line. Liberty!

My back has been acting up these days. And with the activities that the office has suddenly found itself in, I have been losing sleep. That kind where your body is tired and your brain is working. That's the hardest of all I guess. And then to realize that if indeed I'll get a bad case with my back, the office has not the resources nor the sympathy to take care of me.

Anyway, I was under the sun and it's my weekend. I've never seen the sky like that for a long time. It was as if the steady blues and the flimsy whites were racing with each other on which would occupy the most space in the great sky. Only a very faint breeze moved the leaves of the palm trees.

I just wish that I'm gonna take my own thin lovely cloud and pin it up on another blue canvas. And I hope it will be soon. But for the morning I was content to lie down there, close my eyes, listen to the girls giggling in the distance, the guitar on my ear, and be assured that I'm okay. We've generously splashed on the sunblock, right?

Photo: my camera, view from down here

if ud evah lose ur heart

I don't know what it was about her 'cause
She's still on my mind
So wild and young I could not keep her
But waiting here's just fine
'Cause I know someday she'll come my way
And soon the sun will shine

And if I ever lose my heart
I'll lose it to a girl like that
If I'm gonna save all my love
I'll save it for the day when she comes back
If I ever lose my heart
I'll lose it to a girl like that

Now she can wrap the world in ribbons
Make the stars her string or pearls
With the colors of the sunset
She takes me around the world
Now every night in silent prayer
I'm sending her my love out there

And if I ever lose my heart
I'll lose it to a girl like that
If I'm gonna save all my love
I'll save it for the day when she comes back
If I ever lose my heart
I'll lose it to a girl like that

And though I know she's gone
A million dreams just can't be wrong
There's no one else on earth
That makes me feel the way I feel with her

And if I ever lose my heart
I'll lose it to a girl like that
If I'm gonna save all my love
I'll save it for the day when she comes back
If I ever lose my heart
I'll lose it to a girl like that

If I ever lose my heart
I'll lose it to a girl like
A girl like that

love, only love, knows how

Things are a bit okay now. But last night it was different.

It was so so cold. But I was so so tired even to bring the blanket around me. Sums up my life. So so many things to do and not the time nor the strength to do them. Was that our pet barking faintly? The voices of Annika and Angela trying to learn their poems. But they were now fast asleep.

Yeah the workshops. Thursday and Friday. Writing a letter. The one that says thank you yet I am so sad you won't let me do it that this thank you is really not worth it. Oh I've thought really hard about it and the better combination is warm cookies and cold milk, and not the other way around.

Manila, Manila! Was it rude to make phone calls when you have the strongest notion the other party might be not wanting to take it? My back was complaining. I turned around so that it is up against the headboard. The pleasures of a king-sized bed. Where is Mike? Yeah, off to prepare for work.

I sank into the bottom of the sea and I mysteriously bobbed up again. I sink into the bottom of the sea and I drown. First time lucky, the second is collection time. Water lilies.

I'm great with the chocolates and the dates, but I'm not really the everyday kind of girl. Or something like that. From what movie was that again? I am far-sighted and I am near-sighted. Said the optometrist.

I hated it when I have the chills. And so what if the Spice Girls will have a reunion. And please let Beckham dramatically win a game first before anyone adore him! Flowers on your hair and on your wrist. Devastated bride.

Where was the thrill and the romance? I wondered if the one who picked up my lost sunglasses would like them. Always looking for the many ways I could put the most value to each peso I earn. Reunions. Suicide of sorts.

Rule number one when you resume blogging after skipping it for ten days: do not give a rundown of the things that crossed your mind. But yeah. Press releases do not count.

students' preparedness on ICT

Three schools proved themselves as top of the heap among fifteen teams participating in the IT Quiz Tournament, the 2nd Tertiary Schools ICT Quiz Show that was conducted last July 14.

Emerging as Champion was Ateneo de Zamboanga University (Zamboanga City) represented by Ronald A. Magcamig, Jerome K. Locson and Mark Jason T. Hariin. Aside from their individual cash prizes, they also won for their school one unit of HP personal computer set and a trophy from the Office of the Presidential Assistant of Northern Mindanao.

The 1st runner up was Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (Iligan City), represented by Charlie Louie E. Luna, Malikey M. Maulana and Mark Oliver L. Ouana. They also received cash prizes, and for their school, a trophy and an HP scanner.

The only all-girls team from the University of Immaculate Conception (Davao City) bagged the 2nd runner up trophy and an HP printer for the school and cash prizes for representatives Mechelle A. Dimas, Mary Grace B. Ignacio and Katherine F. Dacanay. All three teams came along with their coaches Geoffrey M. Tablan of Ateneo de Zamboanga, Dante D. Dinawanao of MSU-IIT and Exander T. Barrios of UIC.

During the main round of easy, moderate and difficult levels, the fifteen teams were head to head with each other with almost all of them getting the questions correctly. An automated score board was continuously shuffling according to the school’s standing keeping both contestants and the audience updated.

Five schools went from the main round to the final round - Ateneo de Zamboanga, Liceo de Cagayan University of Cagayan de Oro, MSU-IIT of Iligan, Northern Mindanao Institute of Science and Technology of Butuan, and University of Immaculate Conception of Davao. These 5 teams had to go through another 3 grueling rounds to get bragging rights of being the best in their field. The final round, which was a right-minus-wrong match, was especially exciting as teams get deductions from their score if they gave an incorrect answer thus making it any school’s game.

Hosted by the Cagayan de Oro Chamber last July 14, 2007 at the SM Event Center, the 2nd ICT Quiz Show was conducted together with Sticky Media Solutions, Inc. and STI College Cagayan de Oro. The event was also in partnership with SM Cagayan de Oro, Accenture Phils., Global Chips Technologies, JobsDB and Mobile Philippines. BayanTel, Mindanao Goldstar Daily, MVP Digital Video and Samrey Printing Press also gave their support for the event.

Because of the responses from the various schools, the Cagayan de Oro Chamber has recently decided to make the ICT Quiz Show an annual event to be celebrated every ICT month of June, back to back with the Northern Mindanao Business Summit on ICT. As the contest showed the extent of just how capable and well-educated our college students are in the field of information technology, it is aimed to further propel the bid of Mindanao as an ICT hub of the Philippines.

these games we play

Mike is in high spirits these past few days. He's found a new game.

I listen from a distance at first. But realizing that I always complain that we do not do something together, I am getting giddy at the prospect that I will finally join him on this one!

With a handful of his friends, he is preparing for an airsoft sports team. He is always on the Internet searching for toy guns and paraphernalia and videos of other groups and companies at play.

My imagination started to run wild. Will this take the center stage and put golf in the sidelines? And since I'm not allowed in the green course because I would slow down the game, will I be allowed on the firing field?

I can pull the trigger! I think I could even make a good tactician. Okay honestly maybe not. But I could carry the video camera. Or handle the radio. Lug the water bottles. Be the one to have the sense to bring candles to ward off the flies. Restock the ammo. Even decorate the base!

The hikes in Malasag hill! And the sweetest thing of all - to dress up! Oh my, but olive is so not good for my skin tone. Khakis are great and with a little bit of accent, could pass up very well. But a camouflage getup makes the most sense of all. Throw in a pair of black boots as well. The ones that do not come with heels this time.

For headwear. A beret? Or a cap? What looks fantastic with this short hair? Oh, the sunblock and the insect repellant.

I line up the trainings we'd organize. How to read a compass. Hundreds of jumping jacks. No swimming though because I do not know how to do that. Reading a map. Reading the wind. Doing the knots. Hhmm, this starts to sound like the Girl Scouts.

And what will be my airsoft name? "Lara Croft" is so obvious - so I'd carry a dagger up my thigh. "Barbie Warrior" when I can find pink watercans. "Remington Steele" and I'll have the small girly pistols instead. "Conqueror Augustus" in reverence to my birth month and for luck in the games. "Optimus Prime" for the touch of the Transformers mania. I can already imagine my dog tag! Oh to have it engraved!

I think I want to be Captain. No, I'm okay with Lieutenant.

Hah. Mike asks if I know how a hit looks and feels like. I said I know it feels awful and looks ugly. Let's not visit pain.

He told me to form my own group. Say take five of my friends and call ourselves the "Spice Girls" and fight with another group of my girl friends who shall be the "Pussycat Dolls". What lousy alternative. I want to play with the boys!

Mike said No. He'll get me the costume, err, uniform - but I'll crawl and play war at home. He'll get me the dog tag with the name I'll finally choose, but that's all there is.

What a drag a two-letter word can be. Pulls you down. I'm even willing to be the lowest class of Private! Nevermind. As Anne Shirley said, flying up on the wings of anticipation, as glorious as soaring through a sunset... almost pays for the thud. THUD.

to blog or not to blog

An offer from Afghanistan taken. Result below:

60%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

meet you at the maze

You are invited by the Cagayan De Oro Chamber of Commerce & Industry to the IT QUIZ TOURNAMENT: THE 2ND TERTIARY SCHOOLS ICT QUIZ SHOW on 14 July 2007 Saturday 02:00pm at the Event Center, SM Super Malls, Cagayan de Oro City.

The IT Quiz Tournament: 2nd Tertiary Schools ICT Quiz Show is restaged this year to challenge and highlight the knowledge and skills of Mindanao IT Students, to provide the best avenue for Mindanao schools to engage in a friendly competition, to advocate the increasing role and significance of information technology, to motivate IT Students to build fulfilling careers, and to promote Mindanao as a rich human resource pool of technologically-adept, high-skilled graduates.

believing is just the beginning

It's a fairy world!
CLICK HERE TO ENTER PIXIE HOLLOW

joining the wedding entourage

My only brother is getting married on December 8 of this year. Bet that it's not only a major family event for me, but also a great excuse to wear a lovely gown. To be the sister of the groom! Oh what dress a girl to choose!

Vera Wang Mauve Pleated Jersey Gown

Nicole Miller Teal Stretch Silk Halter Gown

Tadashi Black Beaded Neckline Chiffon Gown

Photos: Bluefly

blazingly rich crimson

Your aura is red.

You have a high level of emotion.

This can mean passion, but it can also mean rage.

Usually, you don't take these emotions out on others.

You just use them as motivation - and it works!

The purpose of your life:

embracing all the wonders of life,

lots of travels, and tons of adventures

Famous reds include:

Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Lopez

Careers for you to try:

Dancer, Boxer, Surgeon

CLICK HERE TO CHECK THE COLOR OF YOUR AURA

go work the numbers

A forum on the "Economic Outlook of the Philippines for 2007 and Beyond" is set on June 28, 2007 at the Café Laguna of Limketkai Center, Cagayan de Oro City.

For the past few months it has been reported that the economy has slowly been getting stronger on the basis of the peso-dollar exchange rate and the continuous influx of investors to the country. However, there are still other determinants as to why the economy is on the rise and the need to see the available opportunities alongside this growth. This forum was organized to attempt to look at the real picture.

The briefing would discuss the economic performance of the Philippines and the trends for the past two years, and also identify the different opportunities available for existing and future businessmen. Its main objective is to present the immediate and current situation of the business community and what lies ahead for the region and country.

Indeed, with the forecast of the local market strengthening and the continued advocacy for a more stable more certain political climate in the Philippines, there is a need for everyone to be ready with steps and strategies to take advantage of these prospective business interests.

This half-day activity is a Good Business Forum conducted by the Oro Chamber. Presented by the Asia United Bank, this June discussion is open to chamber members as well as heads of business companies, educational institutions and government offices.