“Some friends are like sunny days, with false flames, oozing from afar, coming near without a dime.” – Michael Bassey Johnson. I can smell her vulnerability from afar. I have this uncanny ability to sense my victim. It started at a young age with a big lie that helped me avoid punishment if caught. Since then lying has… Read More »
In Sept of last year, I wrote a two-part article for BALITA about the gathering of “dark clouds” in the Philippine educational landscape. I couldn’t have been more prescient when in Dec 2019 the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment ) results of 2018 computer-based, 2-hour test were revealed. The assessment was administered to 600,000 15-year-olds in 79 participating countries. We… Read More »
Beautiful halcyon days! Sun in full splendor. Blue skies. White fluffy clouds. Cool breeze. Perfect! How we want to hold on to this kind of days. But alas! Life is not life if it stays this way. The livingness of life, as I have realized it, is change. Nothing stays the same. Even our bodies change every second.… Read More »
By: Edwin de Leon There are probably more books and titles dedicated to life’s most perplexing wringer. What is the meaning of life? If we take this question on a purely biological basis, the short answer is “none”. Just as the universe has no meaning, so is the life ( or lives ) in it. We give meaning to our lives… Read More »
“Somewhere there’s music/How near, how far/It’s where you are.” Lyrics from How High The Moon, A Song by Les Paul and Mary Ford Whenever I work out on my elliptical at my home basement, I listen to music instead of watching a DVD documentary or a movie. Since being self-isolated due to COVID-19, working out on the elliptical… Read More »
My heart sank when I espied a bit of news online that Muji was filing for bankruptcy (just like a bunch of other fashion retail companies). Thank heavens it was only in the U.S. (Sigh of relief). Am not much of a U.S. goer anyway. Except maybe to New York. But then, my travelling days will probably have… Read More »
“Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.” Immanuel Kant Last famous words, asking for sympathy but none was given. In eight minutes and forty six seconds, the life of Mr. George Floyd was snuffed out of him, captured on a video by a concerned bystander. According to Wikipedia, the last person publicly… Read More »
By Tess Taylor It was March when the world was upended. Spring was up in the air. But the world had other things in store for us. Lifestyle changes. Drastic ones for hordes of people. For me, it was a test of maintaining one’s equanimity in the midst of the fear, uncertainty and confusion and the changes that… Read More »
I received the emergency call from my superior. She wanted me to report to the hospital right away although it was my day-off. It’s good my mother was living with us. I didn’t need to scramble for a babysitter. She could watch my 5-year old daughter while I was at work. That’s what she’s doing mostly anyway. We… Read More »
By Atty. Henry Moyal There is no doubt that these are unprecedented times and 2020 will always be known in history as the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is also no doubt that the pandemic has taken everyone by surprise and many have questions on proper safety protocol and the future of immigration. However, those following IRCC… Read More »