just your average Work From Home Dad

Today is the last day of my past life

2011-10-11T23:36:00.000+08:00

It was around August when I stumbled upon an old acquaintance. We knew each other way back. We were actually college schoolmates. After exchanging pleasantries, I asked him what he's been doing and he mentioned nonchalantly that he's doing some freelance work. I got curious and asked what he meant by freelancing. So he explained that he's telecommuting, doing a number of SEO and SMM stuff, among others and making good money to boot. He asked if I wanted to try it. I said yes and he signed me up under his agency. Later that same month he emailed me saying that some one wants to hire me to do some web content creation and stuff. I said yes and, well, that got me hooked!

Now, all I can think about is how this opportunity has escaped me for quite a long time. I snooped around and found out that freelancing has, in fact, been going on for quite some time now. The world is indeed changing, and people are finding out that there are a lot of real opportunities in the virtual world. I can certainly understand the general apprehension people have about the way jobs have gone virtual. It's certainly not easy to retrain our minds about what constitutes real work. But I am sure the earlier we accept that things are changing, the more ready we are to adjust to the challenges, reaping the benefits in the process.

And so I say, that today is the last day of my past life. Well I guess in terms of how I see myself in reference to a particular career. I am going virtual, baby. Freelancing is great. But I am now working on quite a number of new stuff, that should hopefully tickle me all the way to the bank.

This site will be changing too. I am now going to dedicate this site to fellow seekers, (yeah that what I called myself a while back) those who are looking for the opportunities that the worldwide web of wonders is joyously giving. This site will be dedicated to those who are beginning freelancing work, those who are looking for virtual assistant jobs, those who are wanting to be article, blog writers, etc, etc. Let us walk on this journey together.

Ghost Rider your face

2007-02-13T02:29:00.000+08:00

Cool eh?

Modern-day prophets

2006-01-20T00:05:00.001+08:00

I just saw the evening news. There was really nothing special on it except a feature story which kinda pushed my imagination into overdrive. The feature is about the progress of communication nowadays and how communication has become a multimedia playing field. Nothing fancy there especially when you've grown accustomed to the leaps-and-bounds growth of the communication
industry.

And so i was marvelling at the progress we have attained. Phones today have reached a level of sophistication unthinkable 20-30 years ago. Who would have thought that there would come a time when phones can be carried anywhere, that they could fit in pockets? Heck, the smallest nokia phone i've seen looks just like an oversized lipstick. I still remember the first mobile phones that hit the Philippine market about 10 years ago. These were the motorola phones that you would have to carry in a backpack because of the sheer size of the battery. After some time, these analog phones got a bit smaller and we had a barrage of contraptions reminiscent of the brick-game craze. But back then, these were already the top of the line improvements of their "jurrasic" (wired) ancestors. Or who would have thought that phones would now be able to act as cameras, or as mp3 players (or who would have thought about mp3's before? but that's another matter). One is never sure if he/she is buying a phone with a camera on the side or it's the other way around. But i'm not one to complain. I've always loved the fancy stuffs of science.

What i want to point out is the fact that what we have today, we were only imagining yesterday. And therein lies the rub-idubdub. "Life immitates art" or so they say. It makes you wonder if art is not the only thing it plagiarizes. Because it seems that what science fiction writers can churn up, technology can bring to life. There are so much technological inventions now which were but staples of science fiction stories before that i feel a mention of one specific example would just belabor the point too much. Science writers have become modern-day seers with only their mind as a crystal ball, or a divining rod, depending on one's metaphorical taste. They have become visionaries who are able to look into what is to come. They bring us news of great joy at times by their imagination of utopian world(s). Imagine a time coming when we are able to set aside - no, talk through would be more apt - our differences and create a world where we can be all we can be (without necessarily joining the army). Imagine, sings Lennon. If that time comes, we may need to confer a PhD in Prophecy to the guy.

Some visions of the future are nonetheless frightening. We may never be able to create that utopian universe. In fact time may come that somebody - no, something - may have to create it for us. A furtive glance at Andrew Clarke's 2001, A Space Oddysey and Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics makes one shiver in nervous anticipation of what may be ahead for us. One needs only to be reminded of the quantum leaps computing and robotics are making nowadays to understand that Asimov et al may very well be in deep visionary trance while writing these "harrowing" prophecies. Imagine self evolving machines who are conscious and are able make their own choices. Hugo de Garris, a pioneer in this field, thinks that we are nearer to this "future" than we think. Conscious machines could, afterall, be man's ultimate contribution to evolution. We can only hope that when we're done with the project, it would look more like the Bicentennial Man than I, Robot or Terminator for that matter. We can only hope that when machines evolve into concious "artilects", their conciousness would include the dimensions of moral reasonability and benevolence that we, their predecessors can never seem to perfect. Our very existence depends on this hope.

Oh well, dismiss the ramblings of a mind in hyperspace mode. I may have just had too much coffee to drink. As my shrink always says, caffein is bad for a paranoid's health. But while i'm at it, let me make my own prediction: time will come and someone will discover how telepathy telepathy works. And so we will then, in principle, be able to contact one another without use of any gadget. Telepathy will be the name of the game. But wait, there's more! Telecommunication companies will apply for patents to try turn telepathy into a cash cow. This means that we may then have to apply for a telepathic line so that our esp waves can be unlocked. Hmmm, i wonder what telepatic ringtone would be cool.... Prepaid telepathic lines anyone?

Wait, what's this... a blue and a red pill?

Situps for the Yeti

2005-11-22T11:47:00.000+08:00

The other day, someone came up to me and excitedly told me about this monster he has just read from one internet article. And so i asked what's the monster called, excited because i pretty much am into these stories myself. With booming voice he responded, "it's called..."

"the ABDOMINABLE Snowman".

"Say what?"

"ABDOMINABLE Snowman"

I was floored. I tried to keep myself from bursting into ecstatic speech. I summoned all the energies in my body, used the Seven Style Spitting Snake concentration technique to keep myself from laughing. All I can say was...

"the monster just probably needs a lot of sit-ups!"

Plugging The Drain - And Using The Right Plug

2005-08-09T20:20:00.001+08:00

I have just read the editorial on inq7.net where they gave some disturbing statistics regarding the "flight" of professionals to greener pastures.

In 2002, about 200,000 professionals, associate professionals and technicians left the Philippines for better-paying jobs abroad. Data for 2003 and 2004 are not yet available, but it would be safe to assume that each year a minimum of 100,000 professionals leave for greener pastures. That means that about 400,000 of the country’s best and brightest have left the past three years, depriving their own people of their talents and services.

You read something like this and all of a sudden you begin to sense something foreboding just around the bend. But well, statistics are statistics and depending on where inq7.net got this information, the figures could be higher than what the government would like us to believe. Afterall, this is one statistic where "shaving" is preferable than "padding".

The article also addresses the issue of what can be done to significantly reduce if not outrightly stop the phenomenon. And this is where I got a bit emotional about the whole thing. My mother is in France working and I am in Singapore trying to finish my masters, so you could just imagine how close to home this whole issue is. And so when I read somewhere in the article that an appeal should be made to the social conscience of professionals to first help their countryman before helping others, I felt somewhat slighted. But before letting off some steam, let me just say that I do understand that this editorial calls for a multifaceted approach to the issue of "brain drain". The government has its role and so do we.

But you see, this sounds more like a cop-out to me than a balanced take on things, especially coming from an Inq7.net editorial. First, the reasons for the flight of professionals are varied and complex but I do not think that these include lack of patriotism and love for country. I understand that this article does not say this is the case. It is apparently, merely appealing to the spirit of patriotism for the sake of the ailing country. But the call produces the same effect of taxing the already burdened spirit of professional OFWs and soon to be OFWs as well. We are made to lift the heavy weights the government deemed to heavy to carry - just so as not to be branded "unpatriotic". Is it just really the lure of plenty that makes people decide to leave their homeland? Do people leave just like that without first trying to help? Or do they leave because after trying, they soon feel that the government has given them that full and sole responsibility? What is so unpatriotic about leaving if it means that by doing so all the trapos will be left without people to govern and be driven to extinction. By all means, let us leave and then come back to build our country from scratch with the hope that when we do, even their ghosts are banished to the deepest gates of hell. It does not help to sound the alarm of patriotism because that alarm has never been shut off in the first place. And the government thrives on it. Many loot and plunder knowing that patriotic people will sacrifice to keep the country afloat. What are we sacrificing for? Heck, we do not even have leaders we could be proud of. But we can make them notice. I may be exaggerating on the idea of driving trapos to extinction. Their kind does not fade into the night so easily. But let us make them notice. Randy David's article, "Change" calls attention to the impact of the OFW phenomenon to the Philippine political system. This is a healthy sign that we are not merely contributing to the national coffers, we are also contributing to the national consciousness as well.

But alas, we cannot all just go to inhabit some part of Iceland or Greenland or Neverland. There will always be some of our contrymen, bearing the whole brunt of the government's ineptness, who will neither have the financial capability nor the opportunity to go to a greener pasture WHEN necessary. And true, they make leaving a lot harder than it should be. We remember them with great sorrow, thinking how we enjoy the security provided by our host government while we have left them seemingly in the clutches of an inhuman taskmaster. Which is why we leave but we never forget! We send our hard-earned money to pay for our children's studies and their children's studies. We contribute to our favorite charity. We excel in various fields of arts and sciences to make our country proud. Heck, my boss would have not known that Filipinos are loyal and trustworthy if there were no one of us here showing him that the Filipino politicians he reads about in the papers are more of the abberation rather than the norm.

We go not because we have to but because we must. In a country where decent job and decent salary do not exactly mean the same thing, to go out of the country at the expense of families and friends has become a small blessing. Has the government felt any pain from such a tradeoff? Well, let me tell you that with the way corruption is progressing in this country, the big "G" (government) has not felt a thing. Talk about frigidity! This "G" does not respond to any sort of stimulation.

Are we leaving the country because of the money? An honest reply would be "yes, we are". But (and here let me borrow the favorite catch-phrase of the TV shopping gurus) wait, there's more! It's also about the spoiled bureaucracy. It's also about the inept public official. It's also about the messed-up traffic. It's also about the farce which is also called election. Oh yes, indeed, there's more. Michael Tan could not be more correct in pointing out that when even (presumably) rich doctors from the Makati Medical Center are queuing up for visa applications for another country, there must really be something more! This is not to say that their paranoia has now become the barometer for establishing what's wrong or what's right with this country. This is just to say that if I can live like a king in this country but still choose to live like a commoner in another, then something must be wrong somewhere. Not that there's something wrong with being a commoner... Oh, i'm meandering again. But never mind me. I guess we all know the answer to that last riddle. Isdagobermentstyupid!

"air-fart"

2005-06-13T11:49:00.001+08:00

We just came back from our much-needed vacation to the Philippines. And our time back home was nothing less than fantastic - meeting family and friends, being greeted by warm filipino smiles, hearing tagalog everyday. Oh, priceless is the breath of fresh air punctuated only with the every-now-and-then whiff of fresh carabao dung. Our inang bayan is such a relaxing place to be if you would just learn to shut yourself off from the fact of high oil prices (which translates to high fares, high prices of basic goods, high cost of living, high-blood and high mortality rate), exorbitant nlex toll-rates (yeah, im getting personal here!), killer traffic jams (not to mention killer kotong cops), and despicable politicians more adept at comedy than statescraft. Oh, well... i know, much sarcasm is detected here and pardon me for it. I guess it takes a whole lot of internal strength just to consciously be able to shut all these off your senses and be able to relax in the Philippines. As one friend quipped, "ganda sana ng Pilipinas, gobyerno lang nakasira sa byu" (the Philippines should have been a beautiful place, if not only for the governement who ruined the view). Again i know, much value judgment is detected here and pardon me for it. but I guess it won't take so many years of living in the Philippines to understand that such a low estimation of the government is not without reason.

Which brings me to my recent brush with the dark side of the port. We took the tigerairways flight from Clark here to singapore. The trip was rather uneventful. Even though the airliner has none of the amenities offered by the more established PAL and SIA, it was ok because the fare was just about 10-15% of the usual fare by these standars airlines. And so the trip was ok. BUT THE CHECKING IN TO THE AIRPORT WAS NOT. First, we submitted our luggages for x-ray. we had three big bags and each one went through the machine without glitch. The bag I carry, which contained my laptop, iPod, PDA, a digicam and a videocam, was also asked to be put inside the machine for check. I went through the sensor and was frisked. when we were to collect the luggages, lo and behold the laptop case was not with them. and so i called the attention of the man operating the machine and said, "Boss, meron pang naiwan" (Boss, something is still inside). To which he replied, "ay, meron pa ba?" (Oh, is that so?) after which he pushed something and out went the laptop case. Sensing his evil desire to defraud me of my personal belongings, I immediately readied my light-saber of a mouth. As I was getting ready to decapitate him with killer expletives, my wife Lisa held on to me and said, "the way to the dark side, anger is. To the counter, go we must, pay the travel tax, we should."

But you see, the reason for my pain is the fact that the x-ray guy knows pretty well that something is still inside the machine because the x-ray monitor in front of him is turned on. If the guy is really not paying attention to the things passing through that x-ray machine, then he should be fired for it. This is precisely because these machines are there for the purpose of security. You are supposed to be aware that something is passing through. What if there is a bomb, and your inattentivity caused it to be left there - inside the very same machine that should have detected it. Then you would have died in all the glory of your stupidity. Sadly, others would have died with you. So you see, the guy knows pretty well that something is still left inside. Indeed, something valuable, which makes it all the more tempting to feign inattentivity. Anecdotal experience shows us that this is not an "extraodinary" happening on Philippine ariports. How many bags have been "misplaced", "eaten" by x-ray machines? How many luggages have been pilferred like mails? How many pasalubongs have been "lost" in the process of inspection of taxable goods in the airport? And each new story that bears resemblance to these stories of the past adds to the collective wound that makes it even more irritatingly painful. Parang kuto. inis na inis ka sa kati. kamot ka ng kamot pero di mo alam uumpisahan kung saan. At maski wala ng kuto, pag may nangati sa ulo mo, akala mo kuto pa din.

And that is what has happened to our airports. It has embraced for itself a new culture that seems to be quite different from the usual way things are done elsewhere outside it. The culture is that of greed. The underlying assumption is that anyone who passes through its portals have wads of money to throw away. And the sad part is that the government does not show any care at all to rebuke this misguided assumption. For all its worth, me thinks it even has a foundational role in the stablishment of such a culture. Imagine paying 100 pesos for a small bowl of Goto (congee). Only in the airport. Why such exorbitant amount? I think because the concessionaires are hard-pressed to come up with the monthly pay for rent. Well, the government jacks up the rent for airport spaces because they know that business people will pay for airport spaces. And pay, they will because they know that they can jack up the price of congee like it comes from outer space. And so the underlying assumption really is, anyone who passes through its portals have wads of money to throw about.

And don't feel left out, there's plenty of greed to pass around. Ever hear them immigration guys greeting you "Merry Christmas" while slowly browsing through your passport, trying very hard to slowly find some space to stamp your arrival date to? I could almost here them call me, "Ninong"! And how about those who stall for time while browsing through your papers when you are merely going for a holiday, say in Hongkong or Singapore? They give you a hard time going out of the country by saying that... "hmmm, so this is your first time? Mahirap 'to" (this is hard). Bakit mahirap? E sa talagang first time ko mag holiday sa ibang bansa eh. Papano ko magkakaroon ng first time kung di mo ko papayagang umalis?" (how could i have a first time if you will not let me go?). "Magtatrabaho ka no?" (You will look for work?). Taemomabaho pare, kababayan moko, bat ang baba ng tingin mo sakin? Masama ba lumabas ng bansa? Feeling mo di ko kaya? Feeling mo magti-TNT nako? Sa pag uugali mo, dapat nga mag TNT nako. What makes this darn difficult to swallow is the FACT that others who do work illegally, say as GRO's in nightclubs in Singapore and Hongkong are passing the immigration check in the Philippines no frills at all. Why? because certain "agents" and "talent managers" are in cahoots with airport immigration officials. "Ang lagay eh..." Concerned ka ba sa safety ko kung magti-TNT ako? E bat di ka concerned dun sa safety nung kababayan nating pinay na pinalagpas mo samantalang alam mo kung anong gagawin nya dun sa bansang pupuntahan nya?

The way I see it, an airport is like a door to a home. such a place should be made attractive so that those who come in would have a foretaste of what is to come and those who go would have the desire to come back. This culture of greed at our airports does not reflect the wonderful cluture of the filipino people. We do well to find ways and means to begin the change which we as a nation so badly need. And we do well to begin this change at our airports, the doors to our beautiful country. It is not enough that we put Madame's huge smiling posters at the walkways of the arrival area. From my perspective, that does not help at all.

Titles

2005-04-14T16:09:00.003+08:00

I remember my job-hunting days in the Philippines. I once came for an interview for a "marketing officer" position in Pasay. I passed the interview and was scheduled for a comprehensive training. You hear the phrase "marketing officer" and you are immediately filled with thoughts of more-than-normal salary and nice airconditioned office. Afterall, one isn't called "officer" for nothing. This over-imagination (a realization that came only on hindsight) brought out the santa claus in me. Food flowed to the nth power. Buddies had their fill. I was in high spirits. I was, afterall, poised to become a "marketing officer". The day of training came. Imagine my horror when the trainor spilled the beans. We, the marketing officers (i was surprised by the numbers) were hired for the specific purpose of selling little portable water filters. As if that isn't already bad as it is. the contraption which seems to have come right from the jurrasic era sells for 3,750 pesosesoses!. Tachi ng buntis na matsing! Nalaman ko pa na sa SM, ala pang limandaan ang kahindik-hindik na filter! Nagkautang utang ako sa pagpapakain sa mga bundat kong mga kaibigan pati dun sa mga bundat na kaibigan nila at dun sa mga bundat na kaibigan ng mga kaibigan nila. Ngayon ang hubad na katotohanan - ang akala kong premyadong posisyon ay walang iba pala kundi isang tagapag benta ng water filter.

I may have digressed there a bit, pardon for the outburst. But see, the point is that this propensity to appropriate high sounding titles and positions for various jobs usually recognized thru their more common names misleads more that it clarifies. And more that that, it gives away some hints of the basic flaws in the collective filipino psyche. Impressions become a basic necessity. The reality of structural oppression and inhuman working conditions is masked in no simple ways by companies who lure prospective employees by high-sounding titles. And filipinos get used to this nonsense. They get cozy. They warm up to the idea until such time that they stop questioning the practice and start swallowing hook, line, and sinker. And when they do, they begin to appropriate it as "reality". The danger is that they begin to see the need to conform to the image of society. Mr. gives way to Dr. Ginoo bows down in favor of Attorney. The PTA president becomes Prez. Juan becomes Engineer Tamad. It wont be long that we will begin to see a proliferation of these titles because most colleges will just naturally "see the light" and follow the normal practice. Accountant Maria la del Barrio, Computer Scientist Marimar, Forest Ranger Joey de Leon, Nursing Aide Vic Sotto and so on.

Gone were the days when GRO refers to the pretty ladies in charge of hotel lobbies. It has now become the name of choice for opressed women of nightclubs and bars. Ever wonder how a change in the designation "legitimized" this otherwise abominable treatment of women? Go apply to be a costumer relations officer. Just dont forget to polish your telephone operating skills. Front desk officers are usually the receptionists. Maintenance officers are the janitors and manual laborers. Almost everybody is an officer nowadays. Ever wonder why that guy in Jolibee has remained a Management Trainee for five years already? He's not going to be the manager. "Management Trainee" is not a transitional position where managers are trained. It is a full time designation. How on heaven will he become the manager when the regular manager doesn't have plans of quitting come hell or high water, for the next fifteen years or so. No sir! management trainees will remain as management trainees.

This is not to demean these jobs and these workers as not deserving of "respectable" titles. The point here is, its not the title that makes the person respectable or not but the structural conditions that define these titles. Janitor should be an honorable designation, if not for the fact that most janitors are so overworked and underpaid. Same goes for receptionists, and telephone operators and what-have-you's. It is not the titles that need to go but the conditions that make these titles short narratives of inequality and oppression.

Call me Mr. Janitor, just pay me what is humanely my due.
Paraphrasing Pearl Jam:
Don't call me doctor
not fit to
the payslip kept will remind me

comments - l love my wife

2005-04-09T11:06:00.002+08:00

we enter an interesting phase in this blogwriting where i get interesting comments from the readers. so interesting in fact that i will time and again try to post them as a new blog and try to comment on the comment. i am hoping that this will encourage discussion on this blog and perchance thru these discussions come emergent ideas which will be worthy of another blog or two. so share your ideas, write them in the comments section and let us discuss with the passion of enemies while remaining under the banner of friendship.

here's one such comment from someone who wishes to be anonymous. she writes:

i know that just because guys think chivalry is dead past courtship doesn't mean they don't care about the girl anymore but the question is why do they forget the small things they used to do just because they're facing the bigger things like you said? is it just one or the other; is it so hard to do both? just a girl wondering =o

dear miss anonymous:
It's really not a mere case of forgetting the "lesser" in favor of the "greater". Times do change and all the while that we seem to "leave" one good trait behind, we pick up others which are even better. while I am tempted to say that, yes it is hard to learn new tricks while retaining old ones, this is a rather simplistic generalization that does not show the fine points of the arguments we make. i'm sure our lady readers would just love to pounce on that generalization and tear it to shreds :-). Oh no, no... sorry to burst your bubblegum, I won't make that blunder. I must just first toss the question back to the ladies. For the life of me I cannot understand why ladies have to nitpick about the acts of caring that we show? "Oh, he does this but he doesn't do that anymore" it's as if each act of care should be perceived as different from the other. why can't it be that the complexity of the caring project be retained in a dialectic synthesis of words and acts instead of a reductivistic analysis that sees each act and judges each act as a success or failure? In other words, don't miss the forest for the trees!!!

letterhead

2005-04-08T11:42:00.001+08:00

It’s been a long time since I have written you and I must say that I am quite ashamed of this fact. Yeah, I know that it has not been our practice to write notes and letters to each other as we have always been open in our communication. But I don’t know if talks are better than letters all the time. I don’t know if I am always able to convey what I feel when we talk. What I do know is that letters are at times more powerful than the spoken word, not merely for what these say but for what these represent. Letters represent a conscious effort on the part of the writer. They are not as spontaneous as verbal conversations. They carry with them the effort that goes with the choice of words, the choice of sentence constructions – all of which are deliberate efforts that seek only to have the writer convey his feelings in the deepest way possible. And a letter, too, is a lasting testament of what the mind sees and the heart feels on the given moment of its conception. Its power lies in the fact that it invokes those feelings every time it is read. It is no wonder that I am ashamed I have not been consistently writing you regarding things I feel strongly about. Is it now any wonder that I am writing you this letter? One lies and makes amends by telling the truth. One hates and makes amends by learning to love. I have taken for granted the necessity of sharing the deep things of my heart and I make amends by writing this letter.

Yours truly

Friends

2005-04-01T17:11:00.001+08:00

There was once a couple who set out to dig through the earth. Excited with their project, they started digging almost as soon as this idea came to them. After some time though, they began to realize that digging through is not an easy task afterall. The husband said to the wife, “ I think it would be wise to stop digging. We have been digging for some time now and I don’t think we are even halfway through. Let us stop digging and admit that we have failed to accomplish our goal.” But the wife said to his husband, “Cheer up! We may not get to the other side, but the treasures we are finding along the way are certainly worth the digging we have already done!” Indeed life is hard. Sometimes we just think if only we could just quit the game. But the good thing is, no matter how hard the journey is, there is the possibility of us enjoying it if we would only keep our eyes open for the treasures along the way.

You are one such treasure, one worthy of the journey we have made thus far. But as with most treasures that we find in this life, our tendency is to hold back to it, to keep it, to never let it go. Alas, that is never possible with this treasure called friendship. What makes friendship a complex endeavor is that while on the one hand it gives you a sense of fulfillment brought about by the sharing of lives that happens, on the other hand it asks you to be vulnerable to the other. Such vulnerability makes us susceptible to pain. And parting is one such pain that we definitely hope we won’t go through. But that will never happen. The contingent nature of the world we live in makes parting an everyday reality. We just have to learn to live with it, no matter how hard, no matter how painful. In our heart of hearts we desire to keep you, to just let you stay, to enjoy your company. But we know that is not possible. For in the treasure of friendship, unlike treasures of silver or gold or precious stones, we can never be owners. We think of ourselves only as borrowers. You have been shared to us, but the time has come for you to go. We cannot demand that you stay. We can only say thank you to Him who has shared you to us for allowing even for such a short time, the possibility of friendship. We may not keep you, but we know we have never lost you. You may go and leave us, but the memories will always stay. These will not leave us. They will forever be in our hearts.

Thank you for sharing your life to us. What makes this friendship possible is that you have opened yourself in acts of selfless giving and reached out to us. We hope that in our small ways, we have shown you how we have opened our hearts too. We hope that we have shown you that though we may never "outgive" you, where the heart is concerned, you can never “outlove” us. For it is there in the heart that we can be equals. It is there in the heart that we can reciprocate your kindness. It is there in the heart that we can say we are able to initiate the giving as well.

Thank you for coming into our lives. You are one precious treasure that we are so glad we have found. Sadly, we part ways. But happily, the journey does not end here. This is merely the beginning of yet better things. We may be away from each other. But that doesn’t mean the friendship has to end. We just have to be more creative in finding ways how to make it grow and mature. In the end, we can only thank the Lord above for allowing you to be a wonderful part of our lives. And for that we will ever be grateful.

Full Circle

2005-03-28T17:43:00.001+08:00

There was a time when man was thought to be at the center of the universe. Science was never dichotomized from theology and philosophy. Thus, Aristotle taught that the earth must be at the center of the universe with all the then-known heavenly bodies orbiting around it. The reason for this belief was both theological and physical. Man was said to be the crowning glory of creation. It was therefore theologically necessary to put him at the center - this, and the fact that the observable event was that the sun was rising and setting at some definite time and direction in the day. The privileged position of man as the center of creation soon came under question when a man named Galileo, following the Copernican theory of the sun being the center of the solar system, postulated that the earth must not be at the center but was merely revolving around the sun together with other planets. This incensed the powers-that-be who would not hear of such a thing. Galileo was forced to recant under the threat of imprisonment for heresy. The Pope allowed him to teach of such theory only on the condition that he will teach it alongside the Aristotelian truth and that he would not take sides. Upon seeing that the Copernican theory was gaining popularity, the Pope reneged on the deal and ordered Galileo to be imprisoned. Four years before his death, the manuscript of his second book, Two New Sciences was smuggled and was published in Holland.

The political repercussions of these works were by no means uncertain. The long-held belief of man’s centrality on the universe has been challenged. If that be so, then what else is there to hold untouchable? Everything, as it were, laid bare for science to question.

Science took to new heights under Newton. It was under him that the doctrine of scientific repeatability solidified. Under this doctrine, it is held that any truth, to be considered scientific, must be repeatable under observable sets of conditions. This did not help the severely strained relationship between the now-growing scientific community and the church. Afterall, this dictum cuts right through the heart of biblical claims – although its effects on biblical faith and truth-claims are to be felt much later on in the future. Even while the people are not ready yet to lay down biblical beliefs, their faith in science is growing, so much so that the study of philosophy and theology is giving way to the study of science. It seems, as it were that
the divorce is imminent, owing to the irreconcilable difference spelled as objectivity and subjectivity.

Even while the old order of religion was nervously trying to hold on to its privileged position of power by means of threats and punishments, science was fast becoming “Science”, an entity that has captured the hearts and minds of a whole gamut of social classes. Religion becomes repressive while science becomes liberating. Science has brought forth inventions and machines which allowed an unprecedented trip to progress. The “backwardness” of religious subjectivity becomes the backdrop of the glorious new age of modernity where progress is the necessary corollary of objectivity. More and more, religion was losing its power as the merger between the church and state is quickly dissolving. The state, after all, was turning to science for their needs for progress.

Soon enough, philosophers were becoming converts in the scientific dogma of objectivity. Whereas before, the postulations on the existence of God and how the universe began were answered by Anselm’s Proslogium, Aquinas’ Uncaused cause, Kant’s metaphysics, and Pascal’s famous wager, there came that time when even God’s existence became subject of scientific questioning. Thus, we see the rise of philosophers like Descartes who looked into the self to be able to ascertain that which we can know for sure. The famous phrase, cogito ergo sum becomes the battle cry of the modern man who like Aristotle has found man to be at the center of the universe. But unlike Aristotle, this centrality was not founded on some divinely inspired plan of creation but on the power of man to think and reason for himself. David Hume was not as forgiving with his critique of religion. Voltaire bragged that “God is dead!” Nietzsche's superman was born!

The new science has emerged. One that seeks natural explanation for all things, apart from the truth-claims of theology. Soon enough, scientific truth (one that is “unbiased” and “repeatable”) has permeated all the branches of education. It has not merely become a branch in itself but a looming principle that guides all learning. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that even the revered portals of religion were soon opening to the scientific. It’s just a matter of time when the “scientification” of religion has been made complete. A new scholarship has emerged. One that seeks to ferret out the truth of the Bible in the most scientific way possible – unbiased and repeatable. And so, a new hermeneutic has emerged. One which is called historical. And from this comes a horde of approaches that seek to explain away, if not outrightly reject, all biblical truth-claims that do not seem to fit into the scientific model. Scientific has become the preferred mode of inquiry. Objective has become the preferred mode of conclusion. One wonders if we have not just turned full circle right back to the time of Aristotle, albeit this time, heroic science has become the preferred mode of religious sameness.

I Love My Wife part 1

2004-12-02T13:22:00.001+08:00

I love my wife. This said, i find it so annoying when she blurts out suddenly in a middle of a conversation and says, "you're not the same anymore". While on the surface this statement is rather simple and straightforward, it is really loaded with meaning. Let me try to scratch the surface and see what lies beneath.

The idea of "same-ness" is not so hard to understand. People tend to build memories of good things so that they have something to look back to. This is specially true of ladies in relationships. They remember the first kiss, the first dates, the first time they made love with the guy of their dreams. They take note of the way the man moves swiftly to open doors, pull chairs, stops traffic in a "supermanly" fashion. The problem begins when in the course of the relationship, these good things become a rarity. The "then" and the "now" become glaring descriptions of the good and the bad, ideal and the actual, "fiction" and "fact". Such is the context of the "you're-not-the-same-anymore" charge.

Now the problem with this value judgment is that not enough room is alloted for change. Ladies fail to understand the fact that in any endeavor, there is a great deal of difference in approach and effort when you are yet establishing something as compared to when you are now just cultivating its growth. "best-foot-forward" efforts should be appreciated in this context. These are not sleight-of-hand tricks out to deceive an unsuspecting audience (the girl). Instead, these are sudden outbursts of extra-special energies designed to showcase what the guy has to offer. Special thrills for special times. The special time in this instance is the make or break of the courtship process. Here, relationship is being established. the courtship process is that small window of time where guys do all they can to win the girl and girls decide who wins their hearts. one need only to look at other animal species to understand that nature has decided that this should be the case. Lions fight it out with other lions to determine who is worthy of the lioness. Hyenas give their best "laugh" to prove they're worthy of their mate. However, lions do not go on fighting indefinitely with the others. They stop as soon as their relationship with the lioness is established. It would be impossible to stay in the "fighting mode" all the time. Hyenas could laugh themselves to death (literally) if this is the case for them too. The point is, there comes a time as soon as the relationship is established that different sets of motivation and behavior are developed - now, for the upkeep of the relationship.

So when ladies level this charge against us, they fail to appreciate the fact that the change is a psychological necessity. And that even while we men tend to forget the "knight-in-shining-armor" gestures, the efforts to show that we care are not lost, they are just spread out elsewhere - taking to task the challenges the relationship has just suddenly come up with. We may now forget to open doors for you, but it doesnt mean that we have stopped caring. It's just that the care may now be more clearly seen in the way we provide for the family - surely a challenge non-existent in the courtship days. It's not that we now view "opening doors" as unimportant, it's just that the effort has been diverted to other concerns. You may just have to look for our gallantry in other areas of the relationship. Yes, we are not the same anymore. But instead of seeing that as a negative change, know that it is a change necessitated by the growth in the relationship. It is a psychological necessity that allows us to focus on the "weightier" concerns without being stressed by "smaller" matters.

I just hope time comes that when my wife says, " you're not the same anymore" she actually would go on and add, "... and I love it!".

...to be continued

Things of Beauty

2004-11-28T02:22:00.000+08:00

Tulips swaying with the chilly winds of snow-capped
New Zealand mountains. Roses red under the care
Of Swiss environmental elements. Hills wrapped
In blankets of early morning fogs. Polar bear

Food-hunting on icy waters. Newborn babies
Gasping for their first breath of air. One proud father
Watching a smile break on his son's face. Stars - like rubies
That sparkle - on moonlit nights. Dark clouds that gather

To signal a coming storm. Seasons fast changing -
So quick, so like one fickle-minded lady. blue
Skies: serene, tranquil, peaceful. Sweet ice cream melting
On the hand of a delighted eager child. You...

chatmates

2004-11-12T21:50:00.001+08:00

I had been meaning to write the many thoughts i have regarding u and i eversince i started feeling this way. i want, as it were, to paint with vibrant hues that which i feel so that at least u could feel them through the words with which i write them. i ponder and ponder about the thought of writing. but i decided to hold back. not for lack of things to write - surely your love had given me the impetus to dig deep into my soul and give life to that which i feel. i held back. precisely because no matter how hard i try to convey my feelings, words fail to capture them. for how could mere words convey what love has encrypted in the language of the heart? i can hold back no longer. i need to write, to let you know what i feel - if only for the selfish purpose of unburdening myself with this pressure ever ready to explode inside me. i hope that i would find the means to reconcile lifeless words with vibrant emotions. how could one love someone he has not yet seen face to face. how could i miss you when i haven't even had the chance to look at ur eyes or touch ur hair, kiss ur lips or hold ur hand? i have time and again during these past few days asked myself questions such as this. i battle with myself; with my mind explaining the illogicality of the process, with my heart seemingly unable to defy the dictates of itself.

when we say we miss someone, is it only the physical "part" of her that we miss? as such, do we only miss seeing her face, or touching her hand? can I not miss the "thought" of being with her in a non-physical avenue such as that which is upon us, thanks to modernity and technology? can I not miss the sound of her voice, or the way which she composes her words so that i could be reminded of her special care for me? i had been told, time and again by my mind, of the absurdity of the context that gave rise to this love that i profess. how can love arise from a circumstance such as this that we have? it goes against every traditional reason and norm of courtship. it mocks the very foundation of erotic relationship which relies heavily on physical attraction. and i say it does all these things. yes, to such unimaginable degree that i can say i'm proud it does. for love ceases to be love when it begins to conform to the confines of tradition and society. love ceases to be love when it allows itself to be dictated upon by the expectations of the world. if that be the case romeo would have never had his juliet, paris his helen, anthony his cleopatra. love's power is seen when it bends expectations and unbinds the passion of a creative spirit to seek ways and venues to allow itself to grow and mature. love's passion needs physical affirmation. our bodies are used as conduits of a certain kind of emotional conversation which words fail to express. yet there are more avenues for love to express itself. for love refuses to be stifled by the finiteness of physical expression. love leaps over to the realm of the spiritual in such a way that its message is felt, at times more deeply thru a praise, or a promise, or a prose perhaps. ever wonder how just a glance from someone u love could send you fluttering to cloud nine? love breathes life to our otherwise lifeless souls. it energizes it so that we feel what we otherwise won't, we hear what we normally don't. love inspires the soul to be creative in looking for ways to convey itself.

here is where we are... fools to the eyes of the world, but we know where we stand. in time, we shall meet. but until then, let us hold on firmly to each other, with hope as our carriage, and love as our bond.