Whenever my birthday comes, I couldn’t help but ask myself how old I am --- and I’m not even thinking about numbers. Jules Renard said “it’s not how old you are but how you are old.”
But figure this our. I started playing the piano at age three. I could be counted on by my mom to buy stuff she’d want from a sari-sari store a year after. I started having crushes as early as fourth grade. Come high school, when worries of my classmates would revolve around boyfriends and treatments for acne, I already looked forward to a career in journalism and that passing through college looked like a means to an end for me.
In some ways, I feel I’m too old for my age.
Yet in some ways, like when I’d start to wonder why things are the way they are, I feel that I am not even born yet.
I happened to check Fully Booked’s music sampler sections a few weeks ago and randomly, I picked out a corner that featured Corrine May’s “On the Side of Me” album. It seemed strange that there’s a song called “Five Loaves and Two Fishes.”
Behold the lyrics as you listen to the melody:
A little boy of thirteen was on his way to school He heard a crowd of people laughing and he went to take a look
Thousands were listening to the stories of one man He spoke with such wisdom, even the kids could understand
The hours passed so quickly the day turned to night Everyone was hungry but there was no food in sight
The boy looked in his lunchbox at the little that he had He wasn’t sure what good it’d do there were thousands to be fed
But he saw the twinkling eyes of Yahshua*
the kindness in His smile and the boy cried out with the trust of a child he said:"
Take my five loaves and two fishes Do with it as you will surrender Take my fears and inhibitions All my burdens, my ambitions You can use it all to feed them all"
I often think about that boy when I’m feeling small land I worry that the work I do means nothing at all
But every single tear I cry is a diamond in His hands and every door that slams in my face I will offer up in prayer
So I’ll give you every breath that I have Oh Yahweh, you can work miracles All that you need is my "Amen"
Take my five loaves and two fishes Do with it as you willI surrender Take my fears and inhibitions All my burdens, my ambitions You can use it all I hope it’s not too small I trust in you I trust in you
Take my five loaves and two fishes Do with it as you willI surrender Take my fears and inhibitions All my burdens, my ambitions You can use it all no gift is too small
*Sacred Name insertion mine
In the time of revival songs, it’s great to know there are still people who can take the time to craft a beautiful original song. In my book, “beautiful” means something that touches the spirit. Bravo to Corrine May for this song!
July 25th marks my seventh year at work. It was like yesterday when I decided to seriously consider a career in market research. Two years ago, the company I work for gave me personalized pens as token on my fifth year with my employer. I guess that’s how it is when you do what you love. You hardly notice the time passing you by.
I wonder if there are lawyers in Manila such as that of Chicago personal injury lawyers who can be depended on to be there for you if you have complaints about medical malpractice, car accidents and other kinds of personal injury? Legal assistance can be expensive if you prefer the high caliber ones. But the quality of the service they provide may be worth every penny.
I wasn’t really paying attention to the film “Evan Almighty” that my husband watched on DVD last night as I was actually doing something else and just happened to be sitting in front of the TV set.
I would only listen passively and once in a while glance to see how modern-day Noah’s Ark would be shown in the age of 3D technology and all that. Quite frankly after having watched European films (yes, the ones that carry English translation because the main language used would either be French or Italian), it’s been really difficult for me to appreciate whatever Hollywood has to offer, and much less this film.
There was a particular scene though that made me to stop whatever I was doing to pay attention. It was when the Almighty (played by Morgan Freeman) pretended to be a waiter and talked to Joan (played by Lauren Graham), the wife of newly elected Congressman Evan Baxter (played by Steve Carell).
Before this scene, I barely recall that Baxter’s wife just left him as she couldn’t bear anymore the public’s ridicule since her husband was so bent on Numbers 6:14 to build an ark amidst a sunny weather believing that the Almighty would re-stage another Biblical flood.
“…people miss the point of the Noah's ark story because they think it's about Almighty Yahweh’s* anger,” he said. “I think it's a love story about believing in each other, that’s because the animals show up in pairs, together, and Noah's family sails off in the boat, together.”
That’s the spiel that blew me away in the film. It made me give Noah’s Ark story a second look. Considering that I knew the story for ages, it’s only after I heard about the love story angle. About the importance of “being together” or “side by side” with your family as you face the flood of life.
* Sacred Name insertions are mine. For more information, please check out www.eliyah.com
It was almost like yesterday when Kyle was still a baby crying in his crib. We’d then bring him in the park or in the mall where he’d be in his Bugaboo stroller.
Little did I know that time would fly fast and before I know it, he’s off to pre-school.
It’s very important to be with your kids especially while they are young. It’s the time when they need you the most and the time you’ll surely cherish.
“Thin is in.” This is what the media across formats try to tell us, especially women. Be thin and you will tend to enjoy better acceptance by society. Be on the plump side and you will feel otherwise --- louder than words can say. Plus the fact that health-wise, the lean almost always has an edge over the heavy ones.
Consequently, more and more people are diet conscious nowadays. So don’t be surprised to find your bottled juice to suddenly don L-Carnitine, green tea, and other fat burners. Manufacturers are simply quick to pick-up the trend among today’s consumers.
Saturday night. Happy hour. New Orleans Bar is just getting to be filled-up but everyone is still relaxed. Anyone who’s here will sense that the ambience kind of makes you feel you’re somewhere in the beach with all the stars above you and beautiful people around you. You start looking for a fireplace. The open air set-up makes you forget that you’re actually in this miniscule piece of Bonifacio High.
Instead, a male pianist is seen on the side of the bar. With him is another male bass guitarist.Together they flare up the place with jazzy tunes borrowed from Antonio Carlos Jobim. In a short while, a Brazilian-looking, beautifully tanned lady in her 30s comes out in her spaghetti strapped outfit whose color mingles with the artistry of the bar’s side walls. She sits on a stool and begins to hum, probably setting the pace to blend in well. Then she starts singing the classic mellow tunes with samba flavors. They include “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “All the Things You Are,”“So Nice,” “Dream a little Dream of Me” and many more.
People especially expats in their 40s and 50s start to pay attention. Someone even manages to get the courage to go to her and whispers in her ear a special request of his group. She nods her head with a smile and signals her pianist and bass guitarist to shift gears. “Besame, besame mucho…” The man and his group are raving to their heart’s content.
She seems prepared to oblige whatever songs people would request from her. After all, this is her free square. To her this is hardly “work”. She’ll gladly sing for free if it were to be so. And that makes it her perfect gig.
I begin to wonder who she is. How often does she do this? Daily? Weekly?Occasionally? Is she rich or is she married to someone rich? Or is she still single? Does she have a day job? How can she afford to have the perfect gig I have been dreaming of? What if I really want this gig as much as she does more than I am afraid of it?
I do not know who she is but here’s something I know for sure. She is extremely confident, daring and happy about herself and what she does. It shows in her voice and in the way she moves.
“ Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, not do the children of humankind as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing at all.” - Helen Keller
“If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen” – Richard de Vos
Having worked in a real estate multinational company before has given me an opportunity to work with expats coming from various and different countries. Because our company used to change company heads every five years, I could see how stressful it must be for them to be moving from one country to another. More so if when they are moving with their family.
New York Moving Company is the one who helped my former boss when he was assigned in New York. This residential and commercial mover has a name that was already known and trusted having been in the business since 1978.
Like most men, my husband really loves watching TV. He spends most of the time at home watching his favorite TV programs. He even has plans to put some mobile TV in the car so that he can still watch his favorite news while driving during traffic while fetching me in the office.
Even when we travel, hell find a way to turn on the tube. He cannot seem to live with out it. That’s why I want to give him a slingbox as a gift. Slingboxallows him to watch and control his favorite TV sources from anywhere in the world on your laptop or mobile phone. I’m toying around the idea if having this as my gift to him on our anniversary. I wish he doesn’t get to read this until The Day comes.
The day I realized that my son has a potential talent in geography was when, at barely four years old, he could already find his way to Timezone once he sets foot either in Glorietta 4 or Greenbelt.
This is why Timezone becomes part of our family day’s iteneraries on Sundays. More so when I learned that it has a sing along booths adults would delight in. It is conducive for singing with LCD TV and a sound proof booth. No one can hear you even if you have missed some high notes. So you feel free to sing at top of your voice.
My son looks happy seeing his mom and dad sing duets, after which the computer will automatically score the way the song was being sung.
