For those of us raised in Manila and for our children and grandchildren who weren't and aren't, I am coopying an email I received about three years ago which should serve as a memory flashback for us and something to think about for our younger generation: Here it is -
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN?
By Letty Jacinto-Lopez
What did I get for attending the last class reunion?
Eighty new names to clutter my e-mail box. I was swept
by a tide of bonhomie and believed every scream of
"You haven't changed a bit!" Other than classmates
growing a little thicker around the middle and men
combing their hair in artistic patterns to cover
barren spots, we were faring pretty well. That was
until class president Juris Telmo sent me a list of
"do you remember whens" highlighting the four decades
that shaped and influenced our world. Like an old
pinball machine, I bounced names and places with pop,
clang and clatter ringing up friends for details that
had gone all too hazy. We brought back ghosts of the
past.
Do you recall when:
You tasted: Fres Gusto, Cosmos "Sarsi" Sarsaparilla,
RC Cola, Yes Cola, Teem, Darigold Evap, Liberty Condensada,
Choco Vim, Sunkist Orange (in tetra packs), Magnolia
Chocolait, (pronounced chocolayt), Klim (the word
"milk" spelled backwards), Big 20 Hamburgers, Tweet &
Jiggs Candies (by Mr. Krieger), Sugus Candies, Tootsie
Roll, Serg's Chocolate, Blenda Margarine,
kerosene-flavored popcorn and kropeck along Dewey
Blvd, dirty ice cream, Magnolia Ice Cream Sandwich,
Selecta ice cream (now Arce Dairy) and their fresh
carabao's milk, Magnolia popsicles in orange,
chocolate and langka flavors, Sison Ice Drops in
monggo, and buko flavors, Milky Way's buko sherbet and
Coney Island's 32 flavors.
Why can't I have "dirty" ice cream? "Because the
sorbetero peddled them in a cart going from house to
house, gathering soot and dust along the way," came
the booming reply from my mother. I envied my
playmates who were allowed to wolf down scoops of
mango and ube ice cream with pinipig sandwiched
between two slices of bread. They never got sick
either from eating something "dirty" taunting me
instead for missing out on these smooth and creamy
heat busters.
You went to: Syvel's, Assandas, Arcegas at the Maranaw
Arcade, Funhouse at Bricktown, Erehwon Bookstore,
Alemars Bookstore, Bookmark, Botica Boie, Makati
Supermarket (in Makati!), Rizal Theater (with its
spacious lobby) with D'Bankers Barbershop and Leila's
Coffee Shop, Tropical Hut (and its hamburger), Acme
Supermarket, Cherry Foodarama, The Regent of Manila,
Hotel Aurelio, Manila Hilton, Christmas carnival
(where Dusit Hotel now stands), Villa Pansol and Lido
Beach.
I met a boy whose family owned and operated Tropical
Hut and when he paid me a visit, my kid brother got
excited and said, "Can your friend bring over a fat
brown bag of nuts and chocolates instead of stuffed
toys and flowers? Throw in some hamburgers too." The
friendship never went beyond the hi-and-have-a-good-life
phase unlike their store which expanded and sold more
hamburgers. Sadly, the hamburger lost its unique taste
after ownership of the chain changed hands.
"Rizal what?" I asked. "Who would be crazy to build a
cinema in the middle of nowhere?" It turned out to be
the best theater in the city of Makati (at the same
site now occupied by Shangri-La Hotel). The builder
did not scrimp on space with its wide aisles and
double cushioned seats. There was always a good view
of the screen from any angle with no marked
distinction between the popular orchestra seats and
the more exclusive lodge and balcony seats. When I
watched a spine-tingling thriller that starred a blind
Audrey Hepburn entitled Wait Until Dark, I shivered
down to my toes not because of my runaway imagination
but the air conditioning system that was set to an
all-time blast-freezing high.
And ate at:The original A&W along UN Avenue in Manila,
Aristocrat across Malate Church, Italian Village, Café
Valenzuela, Bonanza Restaurant, Brown Derby, Little
Quiapo, Country Bake Shop, Selecta Restaurants (owned
by the Arce family), Taza de Oro, New Europe, Madrid,
Cucina Italiana, La Cibeles at A. Mabini, The Plaza,
Jade Garden Restaurant, Luau, The Makati Automat, Sulo
Restaurant (in Makati),Makati Fastfood Center (the
first ever), Bulakeña, Casa Marcos, Au Bon Vivant,
Salambao Restaurant, Dairy Queen along Buendia, Di
Mark's Pizza, the elegant dining room of the old Army
& Navy Club.
Brown Derby and their signature foot-long hotdog came
with its special, extra tarty mustard sauce and a hot,
crispy bun. We used to park at their drive-in bays
after we were exhausted from all-night partying but
with enough energy to gobble down sausages and soft
drinks. They were our comfort food that guaranteed a
long and restful sleep.
The Plaza was the favorite venue for all formal school
and social functions. Food was not a big factor so
long as cozy couples could have their special table
for two. Although we talked of young love that never
died, marriage was definitely not in our immediate
plans. But I was outnumbered by friends who made an
early covenant and literally jumped out of their
school togas and into their bridal gowns. It drove me
to ask in earnest, "Was there life outside graduation
and marriage?"
You shopped at: Escolta, Harrison Plaza (when it was
still clean and had the bump cars), Ali Mall, Rustan's
in San Marcelino, Aguinaldo's in Cubao, Quezon City;
Shoemart in Makati was a small, split-level affair.
The original Rustan's was a residential house
converted into a dazzling shop filled with eclectic
things and collectibles. I liked the signet ring that
had the profile of the Virgin Mother etched in pure
gold. It cost more than my student's allowance but
true to Rustan's slogan "Where Shopping is a
Pleasure," the management reserved it for me until I
was able to pay for it in full. That was my first
crack at a lay-away plan before the advent of the
cashless, plastic cards. The ring cost P80 ? a king's
ransom at that time. I still wear it on my finger.
Blockbuster movies were: Love Story, Mahogany,
Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Planet of the Apes, Star
Wars, Logan's Run, Battlestar Galactica, Paper Chase,
Enter The Dragon, Jaws, Towering Inferno, Poseidon
Adventure, Carrie, Willard (theme song was Ben sang by
a young Michael Jackson), Exorcist, Love Bug,
Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang.
Washington DC, 1970: There was such a big hype
surrounding this new film Love Story that my room
mates Lirio Calixto, Papoose Oteyza and Lydia Aunario
refused to watch it. They only relented when we could
not find any other movie to watch on a typical Friday
night. When Ryan O'Neal struggled to hold back his
tears while he held a young and dying Ali McGraw in
his arms, you could hear stifled sobs in the dark and
to my amusement, from my jaded roommates as well.
Lino Brocka's master work Tinimbang opened our eyes to
the arrogance of power. The rape and the childbirth
scenes left nothing to the imagination but they were
the same scenes that stayed longest on our minds. To
think we were only curious to watch this young, new
discovery Christopher "Boyet" de Leon who acted
alongside multi-awarded thespians like Lolita
Rodriguez.
You wore, carried or used Denman brush tucked in your
back pants pocket, Jordache and Sassoon jeans, Bata
rubber shoes, Botak running shoes, Ace flexible comb,
Ace clutchbag, Carrera shades, Ray-Ban Photochromic
and Ambermatic shades, Foster Grant sunglasses,
Alaskin, tie-dye shirts and pants, double-knit pants,
Sergio Valente, Vidal Sassoon, Fiorucci, Banlon, Ye-ye
Vonnel shirts, Nik-Nik, Bang-Bang, Faded Glory,
Jazzie, Puma Topfit, Tiger Onitsuka, Happy Feet,
clogs, Wet look shoes, Pierre Cardin, Brut, Jovan musk
oil, Aramis, platform shoes with bell-bottom pants and
wide-buckled belts.
Valentine's Day 1965: I was looking for something
special to give away and there was this new cologne
called Brut. The moment I bought one I regretted it
instantly because I was allergic to perfumes and
colognes. That was not as disastrous as finding out
that every member of the male population in Metro
Manila was wearing it.
You had your hair styled or permed by: Flavio and
Carmen, Nomer's, Lita Rio, Grace Lagman, and
Kayumanggi. (Note from Beng: she forgot to mention Miloy!)
That was the time of Aqua Net stiff, foot-high
beehives, French twist and Kiss Me liquid eye liners
and Pretty Quik instant facial blotters. My hair
"drank" 7-Up or San Miguel beer because they were the
most effective setting lotions that kept my hair
styled high and in conical, cornucopian shape. My
so-called crowning glory was also the perfect nesting
place for feathered hatchlings.
You sang: Bobby, Bobby, Bobby by Jo Ann Campbell,
Someday by Ricky Nelson, And I Love Her by the
Beatles, Cherish by the Association, Because by Dave
Clark Five, Distant Shores by Chad and Jeremy, Rainy
Days & Mondays by the Carpenters, You've Got a Friend
by Carol King, Hundred Miles by Peter, Paul and Mary,
Evergreen by Paul Williams.
I saved my whole month's allowance P50 to watch
the Beatles perform live at Rizal Memorial Coliseum in
1965. Security could not control the excited crowd
from entering the gates in an orderly manner so we
were forced to jostle and elbow our way in. Everything
went wrong that night. Bad acoustics, scattered sound
and worse of all, a visibly exhausted group of
Liverpool mopheads who failed to light up the sky. But
their mere presence kept us in high spirits and we
remained diehard fans long after the group disbanded.
It was hip to listen to: Bingo Lacson and Jo San Diego
(past midnight) of DZMT, the singing sensations from
Ateneo de Manila ? RJ and the Riots, The Loonilarks,
Joe Mari Chan and the APO Hiking Society and dance to
live combo music garbed in cocktail dresses and dark
suits.
DZMT was affiliated with the Manila Times and was the
only broadcast station that stayed on the air past
midnight. Jo San Diego was their anchor woman (she
with the velvety bedroom voice). Insomniacs, students
cramming-for-exams, and those manning the midnight
shifts were fully entertained by her music, intimate
chats and chuckles.
And danced at: Manila Hotel's Jungle Bar, Stargazer,
Bayside Night Club (with live music by the Carding
Cruz band), the Nile (and the Italian singing group
Five n' Fives), Queue Disco, Circuit Disco, Where?
Else?, Altitude 49, Delirium (in Greenbelt), D' Flame,
Rino's, Velvet Slum, Wells Fargo, Coco Banana.
After graduation, jam sessions were replaced by night
clubs and Bayside was the place to go for live bands
and non-stop dancing. It didn't matter that one side
of it was cordoned off for date-less clients who paid
a premium to choose from a lineup of professional
escorts. It allowed me to catch a glimpse of the many
faceted lives that moved around Manila by night.
Do you remember when: Dollar to peso exchange rate was
$1 = P7, Walang Tindigan buses charged a flat rate of
P1, Love Bus fare was P1.50, family size Shakey's
Pizza cost less than P40, Malate streets were named
after US States (Pennsylvania, Colorado, etc.);
Parañaque, San Juan, Makati, Pasig, Las Piñas,
Taguig, Pateros and Muntinlupa were
municipalities of Rizal province; DLSU was De La Salle
College, Poveda was Institucion Teresiana, Adamson
University was the original St. Theresa's campus,
Robinsons mall was the Assumption Convent campus,
Petron was Esso, Villamor Air Base was then known as
Nichols Air Base, bancas were aplenty in the Baclaran
side of Dewey Blvd. (now Roxas Blvd.) and traffic was
non-existent in Tagaytay.
PLDT telephone numbers were five digits and you used
your index finger to dial a number one at a time.
Communication was limited to letters, telegrams and
telephone apparatus that couldn't be yanked from the
wall. If you missed the car pool, you'd be left
stranded, twiddling your fingers until the next
available transport came to take you home.
If you remember all these things, you're history, in
great company and I daresay, happy to be.
JopenSantaAna
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
A Happy Weekend
This will be a short post but I just wanted to share with whoever reads this, that I had a truly lovely weekend. This time I WAS where I've always been happiest - near the ocean! The weather was lovely - warm, even hot at times, but with just enough ocean breeze to believe that though "life may be a beach" for some people, to me, its almost close to heaven. I saw old friends that I hadn't seen in a very long time and best of all, spent time with a person who had been practically the center of my life for 8 years but because of this and that, I hadn't really spent time with since, well, a long time.
Sometimes, Life, Fate, or God (when He's in a humerous mood), sends us a minute, an hour, a couple of days, or years to just be plainly happy and content. And, since we all know that there is no status quo, (things get better or, get worse), the deal is - enjoy that minute, hour, day or years to the fullest. Life does come around only once (and sometimes if we're very, very lucky, we get a chance for a "do-over"), so make the most of every minute. The glow will carry you through the rougher, darker times - really, I know, because I've been there. As Julia Roberts's character Shelby said in the movie "Steel Magnolias" - "I'd rather have 3 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special."
Amen.
Sometimes, Life, Fate, or God (when He's in a humerous mood), sends us a minute, an hour, a couple of days, or years to just be plainly happy and content. And, since we all know that there is no status quo, (things get better or, get worse), the deal is - enjoy that minute, hour, day or years to the fullest. Life does come around only once (and sometimes if we're very, very lucky, we get a chance for a "do-over"), so make the most of every minute. The glow will carry you through the rougher, darker times - really, I know, because I've been there. As Julia Roberts's character Shelby said in the movie "Steel Magnolias" - "I'd rather have 3 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special."
Amen.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Quotes to live by, or that I try to live by....
I know many of you may have heard or read the quotes that follow but I think they all have invaluable lessons - some are heartbreaking, or beautiful, or sad, or the absolute truth, or just funny. I hope you enjoy reading them as I have enjoyed (and continue to...) collecting them. There are blanks after some quotes only because I can't remember who said them or they have been repeated so often, the world has forgotten who said the wise words.
It's a hot day in the summer of 2010 - August 5, to be exact - but I hope these quotes give my readers a pause to think and comment on the quotes below. The quotes in bold and italics are my personal favorites, though technically I love them all since I collected them through 4 years!
Here they are:
"I believe that addicts are not responsible for their addictions, but they ARE responsible for their actions, just like everyone else." - Susan Cheever
The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference. - Maggie Scarf
Having the right to do something doesn't mean it’s the right thing to do. - WSJ 8/3/10
"90 percent of life is just showing up. The other 10 percent might be knowing when to leave." - Woody Allen
"Fast ripe, Fast rotten" - Japanese Proverb
Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true." - Demosthenes
"You have to accept that on the Internet there is no erase button." - Sandra Zoratti, vp of global solutions at InfoPrint Solutions Co.
Work is the rent you pay for life – Queen Mary of England
"It isn't enough to succeed; your friends must fail" - Gore Vidal
"Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt" Abraham Lincoln
We don't play God when we take terminal patients off life support; we play God when we put them on it. Norris Church Mailer - "A Ticket to the Circus: A ...."
It’s our choices that make us who we are.
"Los hombres teneis muy poca memoria" - MJPerez Meler - "Dias de otono...donde esta el Rey?"
A death unseen is a death unrealized.
The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd poison your tea." He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."
A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."
"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).
45 THOUGHTS TO PONDER AND LIVE BY -
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But, don't worry, God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But, the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
Patriotsm means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president. - T. Roosevelt
......Everytme you think you are in control, God taps you on the shoulder - or kicks you in the ass, depending on what you need - and shows you who is really in charge. - Melissa Gilbert
Marriage changes passion. Suddenly, you're in bed with a relative.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent." Marilyn von Savant
Remember where you're standing when the spotlight goes off. You'll have to find your own way off the stage - Lovell
To name a demon is to make it yours.
Let another hail him dear -
Little chance that he'll forget me!
Only need I curse and fear
Her he loved before he met me - Dorothy Parker
Because your eyes are slant and low
Because your hair is sweet to touch
My heart is high again, but, oh,
I doubt if this will get me much – Dorothy Parker
Scratch a lover, and find a foe - Dorothy Parker
Where's the man could ease the heart like a satin gown? – Dorothy Parker
The sun's gone dim and the moon's turned black, for I loved him and he didn't love back – Dorothy Parker
Say "I love you only when you really mean it, and learn to say "I'm sorry" even when you don't.
Never take something from someone that was never yours to begin with.
"You're one decision away from disaster....." Kathy Lee Gifford
"A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." Sofia Loren
"I didn't know how to ask for what I wanted for fear of losing what I had." Jane Fonda
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable" John F. Kennedy
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length.
I'd rather have three minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special. (“Shelby” –Steel Magnolias )
It’s hard to shine when you stand next to the sun - TIME re Bill Clinton and Hillary
"Susanne, if sex were fast food there'd be an arch over your head" (Designing Women)
"For those who know me, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't, no explanation is possible." - Yogi Berra
"Pity goes hand in hand with contempt."
"He looks at me like he's the spoon and I'm a dish of ice cream"
You don't get rich doing what you love. You get rich doing what no one else wants to do.
".....its what you don't choose that makes you who you are" Ben Affleck in "Gone Baby Gone"
A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out - Walter Winchell
Statistics are no substitute for judgment - Henry Clay
Meetings are indispensible when you don't want to do anything - John Kenneth Galdbraith
I'm always fascinated by the way memory diffuses fact - Diane Sawyer
Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in – (Michael Corleone -Godfather III)
I've always depended on the kindness of strangers...(Blanche Dubois - A Streetcar Named Desire)
Sometimes people who really love each other have the knack of making each other uncannily miserable.....
To understand a man, you must know his memories. The same is true of a nation. - Anthony Quale
Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
There ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them - Mark Twain
When all else fails read the instructions.
Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them - Lady Bird Johnson
NOTHING MAKES A PERSON MORE PRODUCTIVE THAN THE LAST MINUTE
Any time you think you have influence, try ordering around someone else's dog
Other things may change us, but we start and end with family - Anthony Brandt
It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it - W. Somerset Maugham
It infuriates me to be wrong when I know I'm right - Moliere
Never let people see how you feel, it gives them too much power. - Mike Nichols
The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you're finished. "Night Fall" Nelson DeMille
Be careful whom you choose for an enemy because that is who you become most like - Nietzsche
Provided you have enough courage or money, you can do without a reputation - Margaret Mitchell
Oh let's don't ask for the moon.....we have the stars – (Bette Davis in Now Voyager)
I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last for days – (Kevin Costner in Bull Durham)
Children are paparazzi. They take your picture when you don't want them to, and then they show it to you. - Jamie Lee Curtis in AARP May/June issue.
The value of education is not in learning of the facts, but in training of the mind to think.
Statistics is like a bikini. What it reveals is suggestive. What it conceals is vital.
One doesn't plan to fail, one fails to plan.
Take what man makes and use it, But do not worship it, For it shall pass. - Anonymous
"Say hello to my leetle friend." – (Al Pacino in Scarface)
Do not mistake coincidence with fate.
You want to risk a no if you ever want to hear a yes.
It’s not our abilities that show us who we truly are – it’s our choices.
Though you can't change a situation, you can control how you respond.
Bad table manners have ruined more marriages than infidelity - "Gigi"
Romantic is the life you want to live. Sexy is the night you want to have.
Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want - Krutch
Time spent with cats is never wasted. - Colette
There are many intelligent species in the universe. They are all owned by cats. - Anonymous
There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. - A. Schweitzer
You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats. - proverb
There are few things in life more heart-warming than to be welcomed by a cat. - Tay Hohoff
The Present is the living sum-total of the Past. - Thomas Carlyle "Characteristics"
Perception is the ultimate truth.
Never interrupt an enemy while he's making a mistake - Napoleon Bonaparte
Man plans, God laughs.
Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggy, until you can find a rock. (Nelson De Mille - Plum Island)
"You can never be lonely if you read." - Brooke Astor
There comes a point where life stops giving you things and starts taking them away – (Indiana Jones - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
We are the choices we have made – ("Francesca" - Bridges of Madison County)
I don't want to need you if I can't have you – (Robert to Francesca – BOMC)
This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime – (Robert to Francesca BOMC)
I watched him walk away and all the blood in my veins followed him. Anita Shreve
'People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But, people will never forget how you made them feel'.
"After the first death, there is no other" - Dylan Thomas
It's a hot day in the summer of 2010 - August 5, to be exact - but I hope these quotes give my readers a pause to think and comment on the quotes below. The quotes in bold and italics are my personal favorites, though technically I love them all since I collected them through 4 years!
Here they are:
"I believe that addicts are not responsible for their addictions, but they ARE responsible for their actions, just like everyone else." - Susan Cheever
The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference. - Maggie Scarf
Having the right to do something doesn't mean it’s the right thing to do. - WSJ 8/3/10
"90 percent of life is just showing up. The other 10 percent might be knowing when to leave." - Woody Allen
"Fast ripe, Fast rotten" - Japanese Proverb
Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true." - Demosthenes
"You have to accept that on the Internet there is no erase button." - Sandra Zoratti, vp of global solutions at InfoPrint Solutions Co.
Work is the rent you pay for life – Queen Mary of England
"It isn't enough to succeed; your friends must fail" - Gore Vidal
"Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt" Abraham Lincoln
We don't play God when we take terminal patients off life support; we play God when we put them on it. Norris Church Mailer - "A Ticket to the Circus: A ...."
It’s our choices that make us who we are.
"Los hombres teneis muy poca memoria" - MJPerez Meler - "Dias de otono...donde esta el Rey?"
A death unseen is a death unrealized.
The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd poison your tea." He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."
A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."
"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).
45 THOUGHTS TO PONDER AND LIVE BY -
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But, don't worry, God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But, the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
Patriotsm means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president. - T. Roosevelt
......Everytme you think you are in control, God taps you on the shoulder - or kicks you in the ass, depending on what you need - and shows you who is really in charge. - Melissa Gilbert
Marriage changes passion. Suddenly, you're in bed with a relative.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent." Marilyn von Savant
Remember where you're standing when the spotlight goes off. You'll have to find your own way off the stage - Lovell
To name a demon is to make it yours.
Let another hail him dear -
Little chance that he'll forget me!
Only need I curse and fear
Her he loved before he met me - Dorothy Parker
Because your eyes are slant and low
Because your hair is sweet to touch
My heart is high again, but, oh,
I doubt if this will get me much – Dorothy Parker
Scratch a lover, and find a foe - Dorothy Parker
Where's the man could ease the heart like a satin gown? – Dorothy Parker
The sun's gone dim and the moon's turned black, for I loved him and he didn't love back – Dorothy Parker
Say "I love you only when you really mean it, and learn to say "I'm sorry" even when you don't.
Never take something from someone that was never yours to begin with.
"You're one decision away from disaster....." Kathy Lee Gifford
"A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." Sofia Loren
"I didn't know how to ask for what I wanted for fear of losing what I had." Jane Fonda
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable" John F. Kennedy
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length.
I'd rather have three minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special. (“Shelby” –Steel Magnolias )
It’s hard to shine when you stand next to the sun - TIME re Bill Clinton and Hillary
"Susanne, if sex were fast food there'd be an arch over your head" (Designing Women)
"For those who know me, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't, no explanation is possible." - Yogi Berra
"Pity goes hand in hand with contempt."
"He looks at me like he's the spoon and I'm a dish of ice cream"
You don't get rich doing what you love. You get rich doing what no one else wants to do.
".....its what you don't choose that makes you who you are" Ben Affleck in "Gone Baby Gone"
A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out - Walter Winchell
Statistics are no substitute for judgment - Henry Clay
Meetings are indispensible when you don't want to do anything - John Kenneth Galdbraith
I'm always fascinated by the way memory diffuses fact - Diane Sawyer
Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in – (Michael Corleone -Godfather III)
I've always depended on the kindness of strangers...(Blanche Dubois - A Streetcar Named Desire)
Sometimes people who really love each other have the knack of making each other uncannily miserable.....
To understand a man, you must know his memories. The same is true of a nation. - Anthony Quale
Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
There ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them - Mark Twain
When all else fails read the instructions.
Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them - Lady Bird Johnson
NOTHING MAKES A PERSON MORE PRODUCTIVE THAN THE LAST MINUTE
Any time you think you have influence, try ordering around someone else's dog
Other things may change us, but we start and end with family - Anthony Brandt
It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it - W. Somerset Maugham
It infuriates me to be wrong when I know I'm right - Moliere
Never let people see how you feel, it gives them too much power. - Mike Nichols
The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you're finished. "Night Fall" Nelson DeMille
Be careful whom you choose for an enemy because that is who you become most like - Nietzsche
Provided you have enough courage or money, you can do without a reputation - Margaret Mitchell
Oh let's don't ask for the moon.....we have the stars – (Bette Davis in Now Voyager)
I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last for days – (Kevin Costner in Bull Durham)
Children are paparazzi. They take your picture when you don't want them to, and then they show it to you. - Jamie Lee Curtis in AARP May/June issue.
The value of education is not in learning of the facts, but in training of the mind to think.
Statistics is like a bikini. What it reveals is suggestive. What it conceals is vital.
One doesn't plan to fail, one fails to plan.
Take what man makes and use it, But do not worship it, For it shall pass. - Anonymous
"Say hello to my leetle friend." – (Al Pacino in Scarface)
Do not mistake coincidence with fate.
You want to risk a no if you ever want to hear a yes.
It’s not our abilities that show us who we truly are – it’s our choices.
Though you can't change a situation, you can control how you respond.
Bad table manners have ruined more marriages than infidelity - "Gigi"
Romantic is the life you want to live. Sexy is the night you want to have.
Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want - Krutch
Time spent with cats is never wasted. - Colette
There are many intelligent species in the universe. They are all owned by cats. - Anonymous
There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. - A. Schweitzer
You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats. - proverb
There are few things in life more heart-warming than to be welcomed by a cat. - Tay Hohoff
The Present is the living sum-total of the Past. - Thomas Carlyle "Characteristics"
Perception is the ultimate truth.
Never interrupt an enemy while he's making a mistake - Napoleon Bonaparte
Man plans, God laughs.
Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggy, until you can find a rock. (Nelson De Mille - Plum Island)
"You can never be lonely if you read." - Brooke Astor
There comes a point where life stops giving you things and starts taking them away – (Indiana Jones - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
We are the choices we have made – ("Francesca" - Bridges of Madison County)
I don't want to need you if I can't have you – (Robert to Francesca – BOMC)
This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime – (Robert to Francesca BOMC)
I watched him walk away and all the blood in my veins followed him. Anita Shreve
'People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But, people will never forget how you made them feel'.
"After the first death, there is no other" - Dylan Thomas
Friday, July 30, 2010
My 3 cents on the article of the Barcelona Reporter on Bullfighting in Catalonia
Deveras, que tiene que ver las corridas de toros con la independencia o nacionalidad o lo que hizo Franco hace 50 anos? Digo yo. Ver articulo que sigue que copie del “Barcelona Reporter”
Catalonia’s Independence from Spain drives bullfighting ban
Catalonia’s decision on Wednesday to ban bullfighting in 2012 is akin to Quebec banning hockey or California banning fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Catalonia’s Independence from Spain drives bullfighting ban
Seneca, the Roman playwright, cast the Iberian Peninsula as a stretched bull’s hide — la piel de toro — more than 2,000 years ago. Cave paintings discovered in Spain depict men staring down bulls. Bulls and bullfighting are icons of Spanish self-identify, and as such, are interwoven in the culture’s pageantry and sense of patrimony.
It is part of the country’s pageantry, but it’s more than that, and b.
On the surface, banning bullfights is about animal welfare, but more than anything, it’s about politics and age-old tensions being played out in the bullfighting ring.
“In this case, banning the bullfight has a lot to do with Catalonia saying, ‘Look, we are not Spanish,’ ” says Carrie Douglass, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Virginia who specializes in Spain and is married to a Spaniard from Madrid. “Because if Spain is associated with or equal to the symbol of the bull and the bullfight, and the Catalans are prohibiting it then they are saying: ‘We can’t be Spanish. And we should be separate.’ ”
Originally, the Catalans were separate, a kingdom unto themselves known as Aragon, with a distinct language, governing institutions and customs that persisted long after the birth of the Kingdom of Spain in 1469.
By the end of the 18th-century bullfighting, as we picture it today, was already fully developed as a commercial enterprise. It was the first form of mass entertainment in Western society. Arenas dotted the Spanish landscape. Stars were worshipped like matinee idols. Festivals would end with a bullfight, followed by a feast. People loved it, even in Catalonia, the first region in Spain to industrialize and, by the 1850s, the wealthiest.
“A Catalan nationalist movement emerged in the 1850s,” says Adrian Shubert, a historian at York University in Toronto. “The Catalans saw themselves as more sophisticated, more European, more advanced economically than the rest of the country.”
And the future, to the Catalans, was to be European, and being European meant no more bullfights. Bullfighting was a symbol of Spanish backwardness, of barbarity, a tradition unbecoming a progressive people. To the rest of Spain, bullfighting was the people; it was Castilian virility, artistry and bravery in the face of death.
Goya celebrated it in paintings. Federico Lorca, the poet, embraced it with verse.
“Perhaps little children cannot imagine the shape of Spain, but we adults know – our teachers told us so – that Spain stretches out like a bull’s hide,” he wrote. “In this geographical symbol lies the deepest, most dazzling and complex part of the Spanish character.”
Lorca was executed during the Spanish Civil War, a bloody conflict that ended with the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.
“Franco detested the Catalans,” Mr. Shubert says. “He saw them as separatists and a threat to the unity of the Fatherland.”
Under Franco, the Catalan language was banned in public, and banished from media. Nationalism went underground, and wouldn’t emerge again until after the general’s death in 1975.
Almost four decades later, a new civil war is being waged in Spain, and the first casualty is bullfighting. The debate that ended the blood sport played out in Catalonia’s legislature for several months. Biologists, veterinarians, philosophers, writers — bullfighters — all were invited to address the politicians before the crucial ballot was cast. And when the votes were tallied, bullfighting, and the Spain behind it, was defeated 68-55.
“Can you have a fiesta in Spain that claims antiquity — a patron saint festival — without a bullfight?” Ms. Douglass wonders. “In Spain, you can hate the bulls. But your fiesta — like the Fourth of July — is more than just corn on the cob and a band and some watermelon.”
There has to be fireworks and a rocket’s red glare. Being opposed to the bullfight is like being a supporter of the National Rifle Association in the United States: it says something about a person’s politics.
And to the Catalans, it says that we are the modern ones, the progressives and, most of all, that we are different. And they are different, even though the region has a rich bullfighting tradition and a reputation for producing some of the finest matadors in the land.
“It is not a cruel show,” renowned Catalan bullfighter Serafin Marin said this week. “It is a show that creates art.”
Text within the news headline and/or news body may be subject to copyright Barcelona Reporter does not claim copyright to any such text.unless it is written by one of our reporters :
Please refer to the URL-referenced web page (the ‘Article Source’) for further information and details of the original source from the Barcelona Reporter.com web site. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder
Catalonia’s Independence from Spain drives bullfighting ban
Catalonia’s decision on Wednesday to ban bullfighting in 2012 is akin to Quebec banning hockey or California banning fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Catalonia’s Independence from Spain drives bullfighting ban
Seneca, the Roman playwright, cast the Iberian Peninsula as a stretched bull’s hide — la piel de toro — more than 2,000 years ago. Cave paintings discovered in Spain depict men staring down bulls. Bulls and bullfighting are icons of Spanish self-identify, and as such, are interwoven in the culture’s pageantry and sense of patrimony.
It is part of the country’s pageantry, but it’s more than that, and b.
On the surface, banning bullfights is about animal welfare, but more than anything, it’s about politics and age-old tensions being played out in the bullfighting ring.
“In this case, banning the bullfight has a lot to do with Catalonia saying, ‘Look, we are not Spanish,’ ” says Carrie Douglass, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Virginia who specializes in Spain and is married to a Spaniard from Madrid. “Because if Spain is associated with or equal to the symbol of the bull and the bullfight, and the Catalans are prohibiting it then they are saying: ‘We can’t be Spanish. And we should be separate.’ ”
Originally, the Catalans were separate, a kingdom unto themselves known as Aragon, with a distinct language, governing institutions and customs that persisted long after the birth of the Kingdom of Spain in 1469.
By the end of the 18th-century bullfighting, as we picture it today, was already fully developed as a commercial enterprise. It was the first form of mass entertainment in Western society. Arenas dotted the Spanish landscape. Stars were worshipped like matinee idols. Festivals would end with a bullfight, followed by a feast. People loved it, even in Catalonia, the first region in Spain to industrialize and, by the 1850s, the wealthiest.
“A Catalan nationalist movement emerged in the 1850s,” says Adrian Shubert, a historian at York University in Toronto. “The Catalans saw themselves as more sophisticated, more European, more advanced economically than the rest of the country.”
And the future, to the Catalans, was to be European, and being European meant no more bullfights. Bullfighting was a symbol of Spanish backwardness, of barbarity, a tradition unbecoming a progressive people. To the rest of Spain, bullfighting was the people; it was Castilian virility, artistry and bravery in the face of death.
Goya celebrated it in paintings. Federico Lorca, the poet, embraced it with verse.
“Perhaps little children cannot imagine the shape of Spain, but we adults know – our teachers told us so – that Spain stretches out like a bull’s hide,” he wrote. “In this geographical symbol lies the deepest, most dazzling and complex part of the Spanish character.”
Lorca was executed during the Spanish Civil War, a bloody conflict that ended with the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.
“Franco detested the Catalans,” Mr. Shubert says. “He saw them as separatists and a threat to the unity of the Fatherland.”
Under Franco, the Catalan language was banned in public, and banished from media. Nationalism went underground, and wouldn’t emerge again until after the general’s death in 1975.
Almost four decades later, a new civil war is being waged in Spain, and the first casualty is bullfighting. The debate that ended the blood sport played out in Catalonia’s legislature for several months. Biologists, veterinarians, philosophers, writers — bullfighters — all were invited to address the politicians before the crucial ballot was cast. And when the votes were tallied, bullfighting, and the Spain behind it, was defeated 68-55.
“Can you have a fiesta in Spain that claims antiquity — a patron saint festival — without a bullfight?” Ms. Douglass wonders. “In Spain, you can hate the bulls. But your fiesta — like the Fourth of July — is more than just corn on the cob and a band and some watermelon.”
There has to be fireworks and a rocket’s red glare. Being opposed to the bullfight is like being a supporter of the National Rifle Association in the United States: it says something about a person’s politics.
And to the Catalans, it says that we are the modern ones, the progressives and, most of all, that we are different. And they are different, even though the region has a rich bullfighting tradition and a reputation for producing some of the finest matadors in the land.
“It is not a cruel show,” renowned Catalan bullfighter Serafin Marin said this week. “It is a show that creates art.”
Text within the news headline and/or news body may be subject to copyright Barcelona Reporter does not claim copyright to any such text.unless it is written by one of our reporters :
Please refer to the URL-referenced web page (the ‘Article Source’) for further information and details of the original source from the Barcelona Reporter.com web site. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder
Monday, June 14, 2010
The GULF OIL SPILL
Hi All,
I know this is not the fun, light, and lovely messages I usually write about, but I am truly concerned about the world we are leaving to our precious grandchildren so this oil spill in the Gulf is a disaster too horrid for us to ignore. And, after reading the item in bold below, please keep this disaster in your prayers - our fragile ecosystem needs all the help it can get, and at this point, the Big Guy Above needs to send us a miracle.
I just read this comment (below in bold) about the oil spill in Yahoo. If this doesn’t scare the beejesus out of everyone I don’t know what will. Every disaster movie that was ever made would pale in comparison if this holocaust did happen. The person who wrote this sure sounds like someone who knows what he is talking about. God help us all.
"A lot of people here are missing the jist of what is happening there under the sea.
BP has not capped the well because they are terrified of a problem they have not yet discussed in public. Namely that the rig explosion cracked and damaged the sea floor around the well head, and that besides the broken pipe there are other, more fragile leaks of oil coming up from the sea floor itself.
This is why they are so cagey with information, and why they are keeping everyone not directly involved with the repair out of the area.
They have not capped the well because they are afraid if that if they totally capped the pipe closed, the pressure would back up into the damaged well bore and cause a blow out of the damaged sea floor around the well head.
This would be a much, much, MUCH bigger disaster than what is happening now; with little or no hope of us being able to control it. They are purposely letting the leak run in order to keep the pressure low in the well and minimize any further pressure damage to the well bore. A 20 inch pipe leaking into a containment cap is much better than a 75 foot wide crack or hole in the sea floor rocketing an enormous unstoppable geyser of oil into the Gulf. If that happens, it's goodbye Charlie. The Gulf would be overwhelmed in a short period. They have to do this, no matter how frustrating it is. This is also why they are capping it in increments, so they can carefully observe what each change in well pressure does to the damaged area.
This is why it was unacceptable when the first cap iced over, because it was blocking the oil flow, and again the pressure would back up into the well and might cause a catastrophic sea floor blow out.
When viewed in this context, what they are doing makes sense. They are trying their best to avoid the worst case scenario, and it definitely can get worse than what is happening now. They are not letting the pipe leak just for their health or negligence, or for financial gain.
Barack Obama did not cause this, and he is trying as much as possible to stay out of their way so that they can think and work without government hassle in order to try and get this extremely dangerous situation under control.
The US government is not an oil company and does not have the expertise to handle this, although it's obvious BP doesn't really have it either.
There is a distinct possibility that if the government shoved their hand in there to get things going, it would end up making it far worse. What is happening now is a disaster. If the sea floor blew out at 5,000 feet, it would be a holocaust."
I know this is not the fun, light, and lovely messages I usually write about, but I am truly concerned about the world we are leaving to our precious grandchildren so this oil spill in the Gulf is a disaster too horrid for us to ignore. And, after reading the item in bold below, please keep this disaster in your prayers - our fragile ecosystem needs all the help it can get, and at this point, the Big Guy Above needs to send us a miracle.
I just read this comment (below in bold) about the oil spill in Yahoo. If this doesn’t scare the beejesus out of everyone I don’t know what will. Every disaster movie that was ever made would pale in comparison if this holocaust did happen. The person who wrote this sure sounds like someone who knows what he is talking about. God help us all.
"A lot of people here are missing the jist of what is happening there under the sea.
BP has not capped the well because they are terrified of a problem they have not yet discussed in public. Namely that the rig explosion cracked and damaged the sea floor around the well head, and that besides the broken pipe there are other, more fragile leaks of oil coming up from the sea floor itself.
This is why they are so cagey with information, and why they are keeping everyone not directly involved with the repair out of the area.
They have not capped the well because they are afraid if that if they totally capped the pipe closed, the pressure would back up into the damaged well bore and cause a blow out of the damaged sea floor around the well head.
This would be a much, much, MUCH bigger disaster than what is happening now; with little or no hope of us being able to control it. They are purposely letting the leak run in order to keep the pressure low in the well and minimize any further pressure damage to the well bore. A 20 inch pipe leaking into a containment cap is much better than a 75 foot wide crack or hole in the sea floor rocketing an enormous unstoppable geyser of oil into the Gulf. If that happens, it's goodbye Charlie. The Gulf would be overwhelmed in a short period. They have to do this, no matter how frustrating it is. This is also why they are capping it in increments, so they can carefully observe what each change in well pressure does to the damaged area.
This is why it was unacceptable when the first cap iced over, because it was blocking the oil flow, and again the pressure would back up into the well and might cause a catastrophic sea floor blow out.
When viewed in this context, what they are doing makes sense. They are trying their best to avoid the worst case scenario, and it definitely can get worse than what is happening now. They are not letting the pipe leak just for their health or negligence, or for financial gain.
Barack Obama did not cause this, and he is trying as much as possible to stay out of their way so that they can think and work without government hassle in order to try and get this extremely dangerous situation under control.
The US government is not an oil company and does not have the expertise to handle this, although it's obvious BP doesn't really have it either.
There is a distinct possibility that if the government shoved their hand in there to get things going, it would end up making it far worse. What is happening now is a disaster. If the sea floor blew out at 5,000 feet, it would be a holocaust."
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mi Mami - my mother - Paquita Rodriguez de Bowie - Memories this Mother's Day 2010
She arrived with her mother Amparo, her sister Enriqueta and her best friend Nieves. It was around 1938 and pre-war Manila was a charming, beautiful city. They had left the horrors of civil war ravaged Barcelona to join her brother Carlos, sister Sara, nephew Fernando and other extended family who lived in the gracious, lively, cosmopolitan city that was called the Pearl of the Orient. She was petite, with a perfect oval face, lovely dark hair which she curled herself, and with flashing black eyes and a ready smile, she soon became popular among the Spanish/American/Filipino community that made this city the envy of other Asian capitals around it. My mother loved to dance and until the rheumatoid arthritis restricted her to a wheelchair decades later, she could dance anything any orchestra threw at her. She told me she loved Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers and when little, she adored Shirly Temple who tapped danced into many a little girl's heart.
She met my dad on a sort of blind date concocted by her brother Carlos. My uncle was then married to a lady (her name was Alma) who worked at the KZRH (later, MBC, owned by the Elizalde family), where my dad was one of the main newscasters. They all decided to go bowling at the YWCA and the moment my dad took one look at her, he fell in love and told everyone and anyone who would listen that he was going to marry Paquita Rodriguez Fernandez. My uncle told him that would be next to impossible. Stacked against him was the fact that my grandmother was a strict Spanish lady who didn't believe young unmarried ladies should go out with a man without a chaperone; secondly, my mother did not speak any English and he not a world of Spanish; thirdly, my mother like her mother and sisters, was a devout Catholic and dad was Lutheran. My dad's response? In today's vernacular, "no problem!" He set out to woo and win the hand of this lady - whatever it took. First, he got both himself and my mother corresponding Spanish/English dictionaries. Then, he came around to visit my mother's home, endearing himself to my grandmother and uncles and aunts. (And, did! Until she died, my grandmother and dad were kindered spirits and in some ways, were more in tune than my mother and father.) He became a fixture at the Rodriguez home and slowly and surely won my mother's heart. He proposed to her on top of those double decker tour buses that used to go down Dewey Blvd. with my her sister (my Aunt Sara) sitting 3 seats behind them. He converted to Catholicism before he married her and on December 7, 1941, my mother walked down the aisle of the Malate Church (she swore it was the longest aisle of any church anywhere!) to meet the love of her life, Hal Bowie. Of course Fate had more serious events going on - at the moment my parents were saying their vows, the Japanese were bombing Pear Harbor. My parents' honeymoon in Tagaytay was cut short and a month later, the Japanese came and "escorted" by dad to Bilibid prison before incarcerating him in Santo Tomas (the Japanese concentration camp for all Allied countries' prisoners). Since my mom was a Spanish citizen (and the war broke out before she could get her American passport), the Japanese did not require her to go into the camp but my mother had centuries of her Spanish Catholic faith woven into her very bones and she made a vow and by golly, she was going to keep it! So, she marched up to Bilibid and insisted that she be joined with her husband and the incredulous Japanese - shaking their heads and telling her that if she went in she couldn't come out - let her in. After a year and a half in Santo Tomas, the Japanese decided to take about 2,000 able-bodied men out of Manila into the foothills of Mount Mackiling (Sp.?) to the little town of Los Banos, Laguna. The women followed a bit later. And therein that camp, in the middle of a typhoon at 1:35 AM of July 16, 1944 my mother was delivered by cesearian section of a 2 pound 2 ounce baby girl - me! That she, and I survived that is surely a miracle on many levels but my mother attributes it all to Our Lady of Lourdes to whom she was devoutely faithful. In fact, after I was delivered and my mother was under heavy sedative and the doctors and my dad weren't sure this little thing was going to survive, so he went looking for a priest and asked his good friend Johnny Oppenheimer what name he could give me, and Uncle Johnny said, why not Lea, so in front of Fr. Reuter who witnessed my baptism, and another priest who actually performed the ritual, I was christened into the Catholic faith. When my mother came out of the fog of sedation, she asked my dad what he named me and he said Lea and she was not happy as she had never heard of the name before and had promised Our Lady of Lourdes that if all went well and she had a girl she would name her Lourdes. But since I had already been baptized, they placed Lourdes as my middle name though I rarely use it.
Aftter the war was over and surviving a harrowing rescue by the 11th Airborn Division of the Los Banos Internment Camp, my parents came to the United States for a while but after 3 years decided to return to the Philippines and make their life there.
All through my childhood, girlhood, and teenhood, my mother was the center of our little family. Daddy was the one who 'brought home the bacon' but my mother made sure it got to the pan. Both she and my father were marvelous cooks and though by today's standards we lived very normal middle class lives - my parents gave me a wonderful childhood. We never wanted for anything....and I know that sometimes times were hard. Dad changed jobs from radio to newspaper to television and these ups and downs rocked the family economy now and then but I never wanted for a pretty dress for a party nor stopped me from enjoying the privilidges of being a member of the Army Navy Club which was a mecca for us teenagers who lived in Ermita and Malate. I should've been more sensitive to those times but teenagers are an uncouciously selfish lot and I just went on my merry way not appreciating then how comfortable my parents made my life. There were times when my mother's rheumatoid arthritis was so painful she could hardly move, but you never heard her complain. Dr. Fores prescribed cortisone for her and at that time it was the miracle cure-all but after a while, the cortisone made her appear bloated and the pain returned, so he cut of the cortisone completely and then her pain was so bad, tears would run down her cheeks but she still didin't complain. There was a time the cook and the housegirl either quit or had to go to the province for something or other so I cooked lunch and supper for my parents. But the good times were good - Christmas was especially wonderful. No matter what, good times or bad, there was always a hefty pile of presents under the Christmas tree on Christmas mornings. Once when younger, I wanted a "Tiny Tears" doll soooo much. And I got it. But the extras for the doll were expensive since it included a whole layette, so my mother made a whole layette of baby clothes herself for the doll. Just as she made all the baby clothes for me in the Japanese concentration camp from silk and linen slips and thread and needles she managed to find around the camp. I may have had what I needed ,but not always what I wanted - that I was taught to earn, like roller skates - I worked hours in the yard picking up calachuchi leaves from the ground, mowing the lawn, painting my mother's flower pots and other chores to earn the money for those skates. When I finally got the money to buy them, (it was near my birthday), my parents surprised me by presenting the skates to me. But they taught me the lesson. When I was young, I adored my dad and loved my mother. You know the difference. Daddy always made me feel good about myself, but my mother was the moral compass I had to follow and hers the roots that kept me grounded to the earth. Then, I resented my mother for being the killjoy I thought she was, but my dad balanced it off by waving away the cobwebs and expecting that pot-of-gold at the end of the rainbow (what else could an Celtic/Irish man believe in?). My mother, however, knew that there was no pot of gold anywhere unless you saved for it and all those doom and gloom predictions she gave me were just about always right. And thank goodness I listened to her too. Now, many, many years later, through many trials and tribulations and watching my mother fight and finally give in to the arthritis that crippled her limbs (but not her heart and soul), I know that if my father was the wind beneath my wings, my mother was the strong thread that kept me (and, continues to keep me), grounded to earth.
My mother died 15 years ago on a March afternoon in Barcelona, 21 years after my dad passed away during a typhoon in Manila in 1974. I was not at either of their sides when they left the bounds of earth and I don't think I have ever really come to terms with that, but it's just as well. I was lucky enough to see them before they died (my dad a year earlier and my mother 3 months before), so I remember them whole and happy. I've often wondered why God or circumstance deprived me of being by the side of my parents before they passed away but maybe He knows better. Being their only child, I don't know and I don't think I could've have the strength to watch them leave this earth, and me. But, I have a lasting memories from both of them. From my dad - the last long, long letter he wrote to me for my birthday in July 1974, telling me of his plans and that the place he was staying for a while during the week, had a great brick oven that he could bake the best bread in! And my mother - I was visiting her in Barcelona Christmas/New Years of 1994 and the night before I left I had a splitting headache and she told me to put my head on her lap and she stroked my hair and my head, just as she did when I was little, calling me "corazon" which she did very rarely and she hadn't called me that in years, and told me that everything would be alright. I will never forget thinking that though her hands were crippled badly with the arthritis, they were not stiff, but soft and gentle...........
And so, here I am, 15 years after she died and almost 66 years since she gave birth to me, and I still miss her today as heart-wrenchingly as I did the day I found out she passed away, minutes before I was going to board a plane to fly to see her in Barcelona.
I know she's up there in good company with her mother, my dad and all her family and I know she watches over me, and my daughter, who is now a great mother herself, and I hope she knows that I may be her "corazon" but she will mine forever..
Feliz Dia de la Madre, Mami. Te quiero como siempre.........
She met my dad on a sort of blind date concocted by her brother Carlos. My uncle was then married to a lady (her name was Alma) who worked at the KZRH (later, MBC, owned by the Elizalde family), where my dad was one of the main newscasters. They all decided to go bowling at the YWCA and the moment my dad took one look at her, he fell in love and told everyone and anyone who would listen that he was going to marry Paquita Rodriguez Fernandez. My uncle told him that would be next to impossible. Stacked against him was the fact that my grandmother was a strict Spanish lady who didn't believe young unmarried ladies should go out with a man without a chaperone; secondly, my mother did not speak any English and he not a world of Spanish; thirdly, my mother like her mother and sisters, was a devout Catholic and dad was Lutheran. My dad's response? In today's vernacular, "no problem!" He set out to woo and win the hand of this lady - whatever it took. First, he got both himself and my mother corresponding Spanish/English dictionaries. Then, he came around to visit my mother's home, endearing himself to my grandmother and uncles and aunts. (And, did! Until she died, my grandmother and dad were kindered spirits and in some ways, were more in tune than my mother and father.) He became a fixture at the Rodriguez home and slowly and surely won my mother's heart. He proposed to her on top of those double decker tour buses that used to go down Dewey Blvd. with my her sister (my Aunt Sara) sitting 3 seats behind them. He converted to Catholicism before he married her and on December 7, 1941, my mother walked down the aisle of the Malate Church (she swore it was the longest aisle of any church anywhere!) to meet the love of her life, Hal Bowie. Of course Fate had more serious events going on - at the moment my parents were saying their vows, the Japanese were bombing Pear Harbor. My parents' honeymoon in Tagaytay was cut short and a month later, the Japanese came and "escorted" by dad to Bilibid prison before incarcerating him in Santo Tomas (the Japanese concentration camp for all Allied countries' prisoners). Since my mom was a Spanish citizen (and the war broke out before she could get her American passport), the Japanese did not require her to go into the camp but my mother had centuries of her Spanish Catholic faith woven into her very bones and she made a vow and by golly, she was going to keep it! So, she marched up to Bilibid and insisted that she be joined with her husband and the incredulous Japanese - shaking their heads and telling her that if she went in she couldn't come out - let her in. After a year and a half in Santo Tomas, the Japanese decided to take about 2,000 able-bodied men out of Manila into the foothills of Mount Mackiling (Sp.?) to the little town of Los Banos, Laguna. The women followed a bit later. And therein that camp, in the middle of a typhoon at 1:35 AM of July 16, 1944 my mother was delivered by cesearian section of a 2 pound 2 ounce baby girl - me! That she, and I survived that is surely a miracle on many levels but my mother attributes it all to Our Lady of Lourdes to whom she was devoutely faithful. In fact, after I was delivered and my mother was under heavy sedative and the doctors and my dad weren't sure this little thing was going to survive, so he went looking for a priest and asked his good friend Johnny Oppenheimer what name he could give me, and Uncle Johnny said, why not Lea, so in front of Fr. Reuter who witnessed my baptism, and another priest who actually performed the ritual, I was christened into the Catholic faith. When my mother came out of the fog of sedation, she asked my dad what he named me and he said Lea and she was not happy as she had never heard of the name before and had promised Our Lady of Lourdes that if all went well and she had a girl she would name her Lourdes. But since I had already been baptized, they placed Lourdes as my middle name though I rarely use it.
Aftter the war was over and surviving a harrowing rescue by the 11th Airborn Division of the Los Banos Internment Camp, my parents came to the United States for a while but after 3 years decided to return to the Philippines and make their life there.
All through my childhood, girlhood, and teenhood, my mother was the center of our little family. Daddy was the one who 'brought home the bacon' but my mother made sure it got to the pan. Both she and my father were marvelous cooks and though by today's standards we lived very normal middle class lives - my parents gave me a wonderful childhood. We never wanted for anything....and I know that sometimes times were hard. Dad changed jobs from radio to newspaper to television and these ups and downs rocked the family economy now and then but I never wanted for a pretty dress for a party nor stopped me from enjoying the privilidges of being a member of the Army Navy Club which was a mecca for us teenagers who lived in Ermita and Malate. I should've been more sensitive to those times but teenagers are an uncouciously selfish lot and I just went on my merry way not appreciating then how comfortable my parents made my life. There were times when my mother's rheumatoid arthritis was so painful she could hardly move, but you never heard her complain. Dr. Fores prescribed cortisone for her and at that time it was the miracle cure-all but after a while, the cortisone made her appear bloated and the pain returned, so he cut of the cortisone completely and then her pain was so bad, tears would run down her cheeks but she still didin't complain. There was a time the cook and the housegirl either quit or had to go to the province for something or other so I cooked lunch and supper for my parents. But the good times were good - Christmas was especially wonderful. No matter what, good times or bad, there was always a hefty pile of presents under the Christmas tree on Christmas mornings. Once when younger, I wanted a "Tiny Tears" doll soooo much. And I got it. But the extras for the doll were expensive since it included a whole layette, so my mother made a whole layette of baby clothes herself for the doll. Just as she made all the baby clothes for me in the Japanese concentration camp from silk and linen slips and thread and needles she managed to find around the camp. I may have had what I needed ,but not always what I wanted - that I was taught to earn, like roller skates - I worked hours in the yard picking up calachuchi leaves from the ground, mowing the lawn, painting my mother's flower pots and other chores to earn the money for those skates. When I finally got the money to buy them, (it was near my birthday), my parents surprised me by presenting the skates to me. But they taught me the lesson. When I was young, I adored my dad and loved my mother. You know the difference. Daddy always made me feel good about myself, but my mother was the moral compass I had to follow and hers the roots that kept me grounded to the earth. Then, I resented my mother for being the killjoy I thought she was, but my dad balanced it off by waving away the cobwebs and expecting that pot-of-gold at the end of the rainbow (what else could an Celtic/Irish man believe in?). My mother, however, knew that there was no pot of gold anywhere unless you saved for it and all those doom and gloom predictions she gave me were just about always right. And thank goodness I listened to her too. Now, many, many years later, through many trials and tribulations and watching my mother fight and finally give in to the arthritis that crippled her limbs (but not her heart and soul), I know that if my father was the wind beneath my wings, my mother was the strong thread that kept me (and, continues to keep me), grounded to earth.
My mother died 15 years ago on a March afternoon in Barcelona, 21 years after my dad passed away during a typhoon in Manila in 1974. I was not at either of their sides when they left the bounds of earth and I don't think I have ever really come to terms with that, but it's just as well. I was lucky enough to see them before they died (my dad a year earlier and my mother 3 months before), so I remember them whole and happy. I've often wondered why God or circumstance deprived me of being by the side of my parents before they passed away but maybe He knows better. Being their only child, I don't know and I don't think I could've have the strength to watch them leave this earth, and me. But, I have a lasting memories from both of them. From my dad - the last long, long letter he wrote to me for my birthday in July 1974, telling me of his plans and that the place he was staying for a while during the week, had a great brick oven that he could bake the best bread in! And my mother - I was visiting her in Barcelona Christmas/New Years of 1994 and the night before I left I had a splitting headache and she told me to put my head on her lap and she stroked my hair and my head, just as she did when I was little, calling me "corazon" which she did very rarely and she hadn't called me that in years, and told me that everything would be alright. I will never forget thinking that though her hands were crippled badly with the arthritis, they were not stiff, but soft and gentle...........
And so, here I am, 15 years after she died and almost 66 years since she gave birth to me, and I still miss her today as heart-wrenchingly as I did the day I found out she passed away, minutes before I was going to board a plane to fly to see her in Barcelona.
I know she's up there in good company with her mother, my dad and all her family and I know she watches over me, and my daughter, who is now a great mother herself, and I hope she knows that I may be her "corazon" but she will mine forever..
Feliz Dia de la Madre, Mami. Te quiero como siempre.........
Monday, April 5, 2010
One lovely week - Lovely Easter weekend and happy early Spring!
First of all, I hope everyone had a happy and blessed Easter Holiday.
I was supposed to get my granddaughter Laura to stay with me from Tuesday morning on until Easter Monday but it was raining sheets on Tuesday so her mother brought her over on Wednesday morning and for 6 days and 5 nights I had my sweetie with me.
One of those cutsie sayings out there is that "our grandchildren are our reward for not killing our children." Now, y'all will agree that there are fleeting moments (especially when they are in their teens) that we have entertained the thought of strangling our offspring. In any event, my granddaughter and I (who is all of 11 already! (birthday March 18)) get along splendidly. She enjoys shopping with me especially when we go look at the handbags. We had to buy her some summer tees and jeans and God bless Old Navy. At least here in the Big Manzana, we would all walk around naked without it. The prices are rock bottom and the clothes are trendy but useful. The trick is in accessorzing. A cool scarf and attitude will make a $25 outfit go a long way. We watched Vogue's The September Issue 2007" (we both like to pretend we are sitting there wearing all those cool shoes, clothes and handbags and we can critique better than anyone on "Project Runway" and what woman DOESN'T wish she was Anna Wintour!), and also watched the sweetest 3-hanky dog story on DVD titled "Hachi" with Richard Gere. TIME magazine recommended it and if you like dogs and sweet movies, don't miss this. We had our first Baskin and Robins ice cream for spring - twice and raided Barnes and Noble (she, because she had 5 gift cards to use up, and me so I can jot down books I want to get on my Kindle). Ah, another thing my Laura likes to do is read, but I can't get sole credit for that - my daughter and I, her grandfather (my ex), and my parents, are and were all avid readers so she comes by that almost genetically.
On Saturday, Frances came to stay with us as she was doing Easter Sunday Mass with us, and my son in law went to stay with Cliff (Frances's dad) and later on Saturday evening we had a lovely pre-Easter dinner (we couldn't get a reservation in for Sunday - it was fully booked) at "Buttermilk Channel" - a lovely restaurant in the French boit style three short blocks from my apartment. The dinner was excellent and the gentlemen treated the ladies, natch. Coincidentally, Saturday was April 3 and it was 45 years ago that I had walked down the aisle with Cliff in Manila. My, my. The roads I have travelled since then, yet 45 years later, albeit divorced so long we can't (or he can't) remember what it was like to be married, we sat with our only child and granddaughter for Easter dinner. Life is not so bad.
So here you have me giving you a glimpse of my Easter holiday, on Monday afternoon, April 5th, feeling blue because my little apartment feels so empty without my girl(s). Tomorrow back to the office to earn my daily bread. But for the moment, there's a little breeze blowing thru the new curtains in the windows at the back of my apartment - making my cat Marco happy as the windows are up and the screens down and he can have some fresh from the garden smells of birds and squirrels after being denied all this, this long, cold, wet, winter. And though I grumble about having to work, I am glad I have a job as it keeps my mind active and worse things could happen to me, I guess. Spring is here (though I don't think we're through with the cold yet, April is a tricky month), and Life is not so bad.
I was supposed to get my granddaughter Laura to stay with me from Tuesday morning on until Easter Monday but it was raining sheets on Tuesday so her mother brought her over on Wednesday morning and for 6 days and 5 nights I had my sweetie with me.
One of those cutsie sayings out there is that "our grandchildren are our reward for not killing our children." Now, y'all will agree that there are fleeting moments (especially when they are in their teens) that we have entertained the thought of strangling our offspring. In any event, my granddaughter and I (who is all of 11 already! (birthday March 18)) get along splendidly. She enjoys shopping with me especially when we go look at the handbags. We had to buy her some summer tees and jeans and God bless Old Navy. At least here in the Big Manzana, we would all walk around naked without it. The prices are rock bottom and the clothes are trendy but useful. The trick is in accessorzing. A cool scarf and attitude will make a $25 outfit go a long way. We watched Vogue's The September Issue 2007" (we both like to pretend we are sitting there wearing all those cool shoes, clothes and handbags and we can critique better than anyone on "Project Runway" and what woman DOESN'T wish she was Anna Wintour!), and also watched the sweetest 3-hanky dog story on DVD titled "Hachi" with Richard Gere. TIME magazine recommended it and if you like dogs and sweet movies, don't miss this. We had our first Baskin and Robins ice cream for spring - twice and raided Barnes and Noble (she, because she had 5 gift cards to use up, and me so I can jot down books I want to get on my Kindle). Ah, another thing my Laura likes to do is read, but I can't get sole credit for that - my daughter and I, her grandfather (my ex), and my parents, are and were all avid readers so she comes by that almost genetically.
On Saturday, Frances came to stay with us as she was doing Easter Sunday Mass with us, and my son in law went to stay with Cliff (Frances's dad) and later on Saturday evening we had a lovely pre-Easter dinner (we couldn't get a reservation in for Sunday - it was fully booked) at "Buttermilk Channel" - a lovely restaurant in the French boit style three short blocks from my apartment. The dinner was excellent and the gentlemen treated the ladies, natch. Coincidentally, Saturday was April 3 and it was 45 years ago that I had walked down the aisle with Cliff in Manila. My, my. The roads I have travelled since then, yet 45 years later, albeit divorced so long we can't (or he can't) remember what it was like to be married, we sat with our only child and granddaughter for Easter dinner. Life is not so bad.
So here you have me giving you a glimpse of my Easter holiday, on Monday afternoon, April 5th, feeling blue because my little apartment feels so empty without my girl(s). Tomorrow back to the office to earn my daily bread. But for the moment, there's a little breeze blowing thru the new curtains in the windows at the back of my apartment - making my cat Marco happy as the windows are up and the screens down and he can have some fresh from the garden smells of birds and squirrels after being denied all this, this long, cold, wet, winter. And though I grumble about having to work, I am glad I have a job as it keeps my mind active and worse things could happen to me, I guess. Spring is here (though I don't think we're through with the cold yet, April is a tricky month), and Life is not so bad.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Holy Week - yesterday and today......
Its been sometime since I've written - almost a whole month but I was in a winter funk what with all the lousy weather we've been having but spring has sprung and though I'm still not in full spring mode as it is still cold but at least sunny, I am looking forward to spending the upcoming week with my sweet granddaughter Laura and having my whole little family with me on Easter Sunday.
And keeping in the spirit of Holy Week, I am herewith posting a poem I wrote in high school (either in my freshman or sophomore year) which I want to share with you. It was submitted by either Miss Juco or Miss Ocampo or even Sr. Mary Angela (my Paulinian classmates know of whom I speak) to the Manila Bulletin and it was published during Holy Week then. Now, over 40 years later, I think I should post something fitting for this solemn week before Easter.
The Vigil
A woman stands beside the cross
Her beautiful serene eyes are glistening with tears
Her rose-tinted skin is now almost transparently white with grief
Her glorious mass of shining chestnut hair
Has tumbled over her shoulders
Now shaking with her silent weeping.
She raises her head toward the figure hanging on the cross
And as she looks at Him, a dagger pierces her soul
The Man hanging on the Cross is her only son
She is filled with anguish, pain and sorrow
But, helpless to do anything for Him.
There is a woman beside her sharing her sorrow
A woman called Mary of Magdala.
A group of soldiers are gambling for His seamless robe
Which she made for Him, so long ago.
The sky has suddenly become dark.
Lightning and thunder break through the unearthly stillness
With an angry force
And the woman hears a voice she knows to be her son’s murmur….
“Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”
And a soldier exclaims in terror and wonder…..
“Truly, this is the Son of God.”
A soft drizzle begins to fall
As two men take the Savior off the cross
And they lay Him in His mother’s arms.
There is still great sorrow and pain in her heart
But, she is also happy.
That He is rid of His suffering and agony.
His hands still bear
The marks where the nails had been cruelly driven into
Those divine hands
Which had caressed her cheek as a babe,
Had helped His father at work
Had healed the sick, the blind and the lame
And had changed bread and wine
Into His own Body and Blood.
The people had demanded the death
Of her Divine Son
This innocent Man
Lying in her arms now
Who had come down to earth
To save man from his sins
Their God and Creator
Who had brought the message of…
Love your neighbor as yourselves.
She thinks about this as she lays Him in the tomb
And she weeps again
But this time, for those who have denied Him
Hoping they will find Him again.
And as she walks down the path, away from the tomb,
We see a Queen, a Mother, a Saint, an Angel
And her name is MARY.
Have a Happy and Blessed Easter, all!!
And keeping in the spirit of Holy Week, I am herewith posting a poem I wrote in high school (either in my freshman or sophomore year) which I want to share with you. It was submitted by either Miss Juco or Miss Ocampo or even Sr. Mary Angela (my Paulinian classmates know of whom I speak) to the Manila Bulletin and it was published during Holy Week then. Now, over 40 years later, I think I should post something fitting for this solemn week before Easter.
The Vigil
A woman stands beside the cross
Her beautiful serene eyes are glistening with tears
Her rose-tinted skin is now almost transparently white with grief
Her glorious mass of shining chestnut hair
Has tumbled over her shoulders
Now shaking with her silent weeping.
She raises her head toward the figure hanging on the cross
And as she looks at Him, a dagger pierces her soul
The Man hanging on the Cross is her only son
She is filled with anguish, pain and sorrow
But, helpless to do anything for Him.
There is a woman beside her sharing her sorrow
A woman called Mary of Magdala.
A group of soldiers are gambling for His seamless robe
Which she made for Him, so long ago.
The sky has suddenly become dark.
Lightning and thunder break through the unearthly stillness
With an angry force
And the woman hears a voice she knows to be her son’s murmur….
“Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”
And a soldier exclaims in terror and wonder…..
“Truly, this is the Son of God.”
A soft drizzle begins to fall
As two men take the Savior off the cross
And they lay Him in His mother’s arms.
There is still great sorrow and pain in her heart
But, she is also happy.
That He is rid of His suffering and agony.
His hands still bear
The marks where the nails had been cruelly driven into
Those divine hands
Which had caressed her cheek as a babe,
Had helped His father at work
Had healed the sick, the blind and the lame
And had changed bread and wine
Into His own Body and Blood.
The people had demanded the death
Of her Divine Son
This innocent Man
Lying in her arms now
Who had come down to earth
To save man from his sins
Their God and Creator
Who had brought the message of…
Love your neighbor as yourselves.
She thinks about this as she lays Him in the tomb
And she weeps again
But this time, for those who have denied Him
Hoping they will find Him again.
And as she walks down the path, away from the tomb,
We see a Queen, a Mother, a Saint, an Angel
And her name is MARY.
Have a Happy and Blessed Easter, all!!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Snow Days and Disasters.....in the Movies!!!
Well, its been a heck of a winter especially the last two weeks here in beautiful downtown Brooklyn. I woke up (well, actually, I was woken up by a text and email blast from the university that there would be no classes or administration going on), at 5:30 AM on Friday morning to a world of white outside my windows. The good thing is that I got to stay home and read, eat when and what I want, watch movies and make my cat Marco happy by keeping him company and playing with him. Besides, all the birdies and squirrels he watches or tease him from the windows have disappeared to wherever those creatures disappear to when there are big snowstorms or heavy rain. In any event, its pretty for the first 24 hours and since it snowed for 24 hours it was pretty to look at and take photos off. I wish I could play in it but these not so spry and not so resilient bones of mine can't take that sort of thing anymore. What my bones are really asking me is why don't I take them to some warm sunny beach or warm sunny anywhere! And they say there's more snow to come this week. Aaaarrrgghhh.... My granddaughter will be going to school till July if this keeps up to make up for lost school days.
Then I had a slight heart attack (figuratively) because Thursday night it was snowing heavily already and my Direct TV dish was burried under the heavy WET snowflakes and I thought I would miss the ladies figure skating final at the Olympics but milagro! It came back on just about 9:30 pm. Wasn't that Korean girl just exquisite?!!
Nothing much else exciting is going on. Well, there is this earthquake in Chile, which is not exciting but horrid for those people and that tsunami scare because if it is supposed to reach Hawaii and Japan, the Philippines isn't far off but so far, it hasn't happened.
When I was a kid in Manila, really young, I had seen a movie called "Fair Winds to Java" and it was about a tsunami and for years and years I used to have nightmares about a tsunami rolling over us thru Manila Bay. When the real thing happened not so long ago in Banda Asche (Sp.?), I thought - some nightmares do become real. I know I may be a trifle weird but I rather like watching "disaster" movies like the original "Poseidon", "Earthquake" with Jennifer Jones/Charlton Heston, "Twister" (I like watching the movie but I can't relate too much to tornadoes not having really experienced or seen one in real life and I don't live in Oklahoma or Kansas), "Impact" or something with an impact about asteroids hitting the earth, which are a bit scary, and the two movies about nuclear bomb explosions, one had Jason Robards in it, "The Day After" and those are scary too. And then there's "The Towering Inferno" which those nasty terrorists made all too real and a thousand times worse by giving us a taste of the real thing. But I have the movie in video and I like it because of all the actors in it: William Holden, Fred Astair, Steve McQueen, Jennifer Jones, Susan Blakely, Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway and even OJ Simpson, who had a good supporting role. I like ""Dante's Peak" wth Pierce Brosnan (I like anything with him in it), "The China Syndrome", "On the Beach", "Titanic" and "A Night To Remember" (to some even better than Titanic by Cameron), "The Devil at Four O'Clock" (Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy), and "When Time Ran Out" with Jacqueline Bissett, Paul Newman and William Holden (talk about the dream team actors!). Anyway, I'm into a disaster mode and I haven't even included movies like "The Hot Zone" or "The Adromeda Strain."
I guess I'm from the older generation because I'd rather watch any of the above movies again than something about Iraq (The Hurt Locker), or blue people with a "message" (Avatar). Which brings me to the (drum roll) the Oscar's next Sunday. I have my favorite actors and actresses but none will win because everyone is now so "PC" (I HATE that term), but I like the spectacle and like looking at the dresses and who makes it or doesn't. I wish I could work the red carpet as an interviewer just for that night. As I'ved said previously, I like the Golden Globes awards better but the Oscar's are a tradition, so something to look forward to.
And for those of you who ARE "PC" and think that I should be talking about more serious stuff in here than old disaster movies, well, we get the serious stuff in our faces every day in the news, on TV and in our lives so I can indulge in old fashioned harmless memories of rotten and not so rotten movies that do what movies are supposed to do - entertain. Your entertainment may be French noir or Italian comedy or Merchant/Ivory films (I love them!) or Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. Whatever works, I say.
And then there's always my Kindle. Just finished reading a lot of non-fiction like "The Lost City of Z" and "The Johnstown Flood" so yesterday I indulged in a bit of chic lit called "Very Valentine" and loved it. The second of the trilogy by the author of this book releases in the middle of March and I can't wait.
Last but not least, last night I watched "The V.I.P.s" with Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Orson Wells, Maggie Smith, Elsa Martinelli and Rod Taylor and fell asleep watching Cameron's "Titanic" and hated Billy Zane all over again! Besides, not a thing to watch if you hate the cold!
Then I had a slight heart attack (figuratively) because Thursday night it was snowing heavily already and my Direct TV dish was burried under the heavy WET snowflakes and I thought I would miss the ladies figure skating final at the Olympics but milagro! It came back on just about 9:30 pm. Wasn't that Korean girl just exquisite?!!
Nothing much else exciting is going on. Well, there is this earthquake in Chile, which is not exciting but horrid for those people and that tsunami scare because if it is supposed to reach Hawaii and Japan, the Philippines isn't far off but so far, it hasn't happened.
When I was a kid in Manila, really young, I had seen a movie called "Fair Winds to Java" and it was about a tsunami and for years and years I used to have nightmares about a tsunami rolling over us thru Manila Bay. When the real thing happened not so long ago in Banda Asche (Sp.?), I thought - some nightmares do become real. I know I may be a trifle weird but I rather like watching "disaster" movies like the original "Poseidon", "Earthquake" with Jennifer Jones/Charlton Heston, "Twister" (I like watching the movie but I can't relate too much to tornadoes not having really experienced or seen one in real life and I don't live in Oklahoma or Kansas), "Impact" or something with an impact about asteroids hitting the earth, which are a bit scary, and the two movies about nuclear bomb explosions, one had Jason Robards in it, "The Day After" and those are scary too. And then there's "The Towering Inferno" which those nasty terrorists made all too real and a thousand times worse by giving us a taste of the real thing. But I have the movie in video and I like it because of all the actors in it: William Holden, Fred Astair, Steve McQueen, Jennifer Jones, Susan Blakely, Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway and even OJ Simpson, who had a good supporting role. I like ""Dante's Peak" wth Pierce Brosnan (I like anything with him in it), "The China Syndrome", "On the Beach", "Titanic" and "A Night To Remember" (to some even better than Titanic by Cameron), "The Devil at Four O'Clock" (Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy), and "When Time Ran Out" with Jacqueline Bissett, Paul Newman and William Holden (talk about the dream team actors!). Anyway, I'm into a disaster mode and I haven't even included movies like "The Hot Zone" or "The Adromeda Strain."
I guess I'm from the older generation because I'd rather watch any of the above movies again than something about Iraq (The Hurt Locker), or blue people with a "message" (Avatar). Which brings me to the (drum roll) the Oscar's next Sunday. I have my favorite actors and actresses but none will win because everyone is now so "PC" (I HATE that term), but I like the spectacle and like looking at the dresses and who makes it or doesn't. I wish I could work the red carpet as an interviewer just for that night. As I'ved said previously, I like the Golden Globes awards better but the Oscar's are a tradition, so something to look forward to.
And for those of you who ARE "PC" and think that I should be talking about more serious stuff in here than old disaster movies, well, we get the serious stuff in our faces every day in the news, on TV and in our lives so I can indulge in old fashioned harmless memories of rotten and not so rotten movies that do what movies are supposed to do - entertain. Your entertainment may be French noir or Italian comedy or Merchant/Ivory films (I love them!) or Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. Whatever works, I say.
And then there's always my Kindle. Just finished reading a lot of non-fiction like "The Lost City of Z" and "The Johnstown Flood" so yesterday I indulged in a bit of chic lit called "Very Valentine" and loved it. The second of the trilogy by the author of this book releases in the middle of March and I can't wait.
Last but not least, last night I watched "The V.I.P.s" with Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Orson Wells, Maggie Smith, Elsa Martinelli and Rod Taylor and fell asleep watching Cameron's "Titanic" and hated Billy Zane all over again! Besides, not a thing to watch if you hate the cold!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Valentine's Day, February 14, 2010 (The Romantic Valentine, not the Familial One)
If you notice, the title of this posting doesn't say "Happy" only because I don't think Valentine's Day is a happy one for everyone. I mean, I know we all truly love someone - husband, child, parent, etc. but I am thinking that some have lost a truly loved one, hence, though not a tragic day, not the all hearts and flowers one for many people.
I received a sweet email valentine from an old love a few days ago and though in email and short, it was sweet - and since none of you who read this know who he is - I will quote from part of it - to share -
"Happy Valentine's Day Love. It doesn't seem possible that this will be the sixth one since our flight. Thoughts of you give (me) as many goosebumps as they did V day '05. Maybe more. I think memories of a relationship grow with the years as the mind gradually erases any flaws in the relationship and constantly homes in and magnifies what was, and still is, wonderful about it. Stay warm love."
The above sure made my day as any woman, or guy, reading it can appreciate.
And speaking of loves - and in my case, a love lost, I wrote this poem truly spontaneously one summer morning about two years ago. I woke up from dreaming about this particular person and the first lines of the poem were literally already in my head. I had to go to the office but as soon as I got to my desk, I took out a notebook and started writing and in about 45 minutes it was done - just as you see it below. The power of love or love lost is strong indeed. Probably this all came about as "closure" (I truly hate the word but I can't think of a better one for now), when this man finally placed a period to the long relationship we'd had since I first met him in 1969. The why, how and where is not important because its done with but this poem lingers as a testament to what it was and how I felt. Those close friends who I sent it to and to others who knew nothing about my life or didn't know that I had written it, where skeptical that I had actually written it, though impressed. Because I wanted to preserve the integrity of this poem and the emotion that conceived it, I had it copyrighted and received my official copyright # from the US copyright office about 6 months later.
Well, here it is. An old friend of mine who passed away not long ago (God bless him), thought it a little raunchy but that's a guy for you and the only man who read it. The women all understood.
Antonym
I hate you.
I hate you because you come to me
In my dreams
And take over the night
I hate you because you waken memories
Long dormant
And take over my day
I hate you because I taste your mouth,
Your skin, your maleness,
And it’s only a memory
I hate you because you always walk away from me
In my dreams, in my life
I hate you because all others diminish in comparison
And they are nobler than you
I hate you because our past obscures the present
And denies the future
I hate you because there is no present
There is no future
I hate you because I look for you
When I know I will not find you
I hate you because you once were mine
I hate you because you now belong to another
I hate you because you were only on loan to me by Fate
I hate you because we breathed the same air
I hate you because we don’t breathe the same air
I hate you because our bodies joined lifted me
To heights unknown to mortals
I hate you because I knew your body
Better than mine
I hate you because you completed me
I hate you because now no one does
I hate you because we connected without words
I hate you because we now cannot connect at all
I hate you because I will not watch you grow old
I hate you because I only remember our youth
I hate you because you took the best of me
I hate you because I didn’t take the best of you
I hate you because you never heard my silent song to you
I hate you because I never realized yours to me
I hate you because I cannot,
No matter how much I try,
Learn to hate you.
Lea Bowie
Summer 2008
And this is the person I wrote this poem about. The photo was taken in the summer of 1974.
I received a sweet email valentine from an old love a few days ago and though in email and short, it was sweet - and since none of you who read this know who he is - I will quote from part of it - to share -
"Happy Valentine's Day Love. It doesn't seem possible that this will be the sixth one since our flight. Thoughts of you give (me) as many goosebumps as they did V day '05. Maybe more. I think memories of a relationship grow with the years as the mind gradually erases any flaws in the relationship and constantly homes in and magnifies what was, and still is, wonderful about it. Stay warm love."
The above sure made my day as any woman, or guy, reading it can appreciate.
And speaking of loves - and in my case, a love lost, I wrote this poem truly spontaneously one summer morning about two years ago. I woke up from dreaming about this particular person and the first lines of the poem were literally already in my head. I had to go to the office but as soon as I got to my desk, I took out a notebook and started writing and in about 45 minutes it was done - just as you see it below. The power of love or love lost is strong indeed. Probably this all came about as "closure" (I truly hate the word but I can't think of a better one for now), when this man finally placed a period to the long relationship we'd had since I first met him in 1969. The why, how and where is not important because its done with but this poem lingers as a testament to what it was and how I felt. Those close friends who I sent it to and to others who knew nothing about my life or didn't know that I had written it, where skeptical that I had actually written it, though impressed. Because I wanted to preserve the integrity of this poem and the emotion that conceived it, I had it copyrighted and received my official copyright # from the US copyright office about 6 months later.
Well, here it is. An old friend of mine who passed away not long ago (God bless him), thought it a little raunchy but that's a guy for you and the only man who read it. The women all understood.
Antonym
I hate you.
I hate you because you come to me
In my dreams
And take over the night
I hate you because you waken memories
Long dormant
And take over my day
I hate you because I taste your mouth,
Your skin, your maleness,
And it’s only a memory
I hate you because you always walk away from me
In my dreams, in my life
I hate you because all others diminish in comparison
And they are nobler than you
I hate you because our past obscures the present
And denies the future
I hate you because there is no present
There is no future
I hate you because I look for you
When I know I will not find you
I hate you because you once were mine
I hate you because you now belong to another
I hate you because you were only on loan to me by Fate
I hate you because we breathed the same air
I hate you because we don’t breathe the same air
I hate you because our bodies joined lifted me
To heights unknown to mortals
I hate you because I knew your body
Better than mine
I hate you because you completed me
I hate you because now no one does
I hate you because we connected without words
I hate you because we now cannot connect at all
I hate you because I will not watch you grow old
I hate you because I only remember our youth
I hate you because you took the best of me
I hate you because I didn’t take the best of you
I hate you because you never heard my silent song to you
I hate you because I never realized yours to me
I hate you because I cannot,
No matter how much I try,
Learn to hate you.
Lea Bowie
Summer 2008
And this is the person I wrote this poem about. The photo was taken in the summer of 1974.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
SNOW DAY!!! February 10, 2010
Hey there folks,
Here I am, still in my pajamas while the world outside my windows - all five of them - is just a blizzard of white! I don't remember snow like this since my first winter in New York in 1966! Let me see if I can attach a picture or two I took from my windows, earlier today, though now, at 2 PM, its snowing even harder and the wind is picking up.
The picture above was taken from my kitchen window of my back yard. The screen is still down outside of the window pane hence the criss-cross lines, but that tree that is bent down from the weight of the snow is a lovely "butterfly tree" (I call it that because all during warm weather butterflies gather to it, especially Monarch butterflies) which is so lovely during the spring and summer. This was taken at 8 this morning but now at 2 pm half of it is practically on the ground and the other half is hanging over my neighbor's fence. Hope nature does its thing and it comes back to its glory in spring. It has beautiful violet flowers when it blooms.
I took more pictures of my front yard facing the street but since the windows face north,there are droplets of water of melted snow flakes and everything is a blur of white. Wonder of wonders, the mailperson who fails to deliver mail on nice days, actually delivered mail in a blizzard. Go figure but, goodie for me, I got two Netflix DVDs that I can watch.
I know, this is all pretty boring but for my friends in warm climes, this is a little taste of life in the Gran Manzana. I hope my friend Cora Arando Frattali, who is supposed to fly to Nevada made it out of here today.
Nothing much else going on but now that I can download pictures, I will see if I can download some more later on.
Happy snow day everyone!
The picture above was taken from my kitchen window of my back yard. The screen is still down outside of the window pane hence the criss-cross lines, but that tree that is bent down from the weight of the snow is a lovely "butterfly tree" (I call it that because all during warm weather butterflies gather to it, especially Monarch butterflies) which is so lovely during the spring and summer. This was taken at 8 this morning but now at 2 pm half of it is practically on the ground and the other half is hanging over my neighbor's fence. Hope nature does its thing and it comes back to its glory in spring. It has beautiful violet flowers when it blooms.
I took more pictures of my front yard facing the street but since the windows face north,there are droplets of water of melted snow flakes and everything is a blur of white. Wonder of wonders, the mailperson who fails to deliver mail on nice days, actually delivered mail in a blizzard. Go figure but, goodie for me, I got two Netflix DVDs that I can watch.
I know, this is all pretty boring but for my friends in warm climes, this is a little taste of life in the Gran Manzana. I hope my friend Cora Arando Frattali, who is supposed to fly to Nevada made it out of here today.
Nothing much else going on but now that I can download pictures, I will see if I can download some more later on.
Happy snow day everyone!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Winter, chills, spills and magic moments.
Well The Big Chill is back but it IS winter and I guess I'd rather bear with it than if it were too warm and icebergs were floating down the East River. Then I'd know the greenhouse effect is really upon us. I'm all for being eco-friendly with EVERYTHING!
I'm probably the last person left on the planet who hasn't seen AVATAR. I guess I am just lazy to walk the 9 blocks to the movie theater especially in this weather. I'd rather sit home and watch movies on my DVD player or on my laptop on Netflix which has practically most movies I'd like for free. So sue me!
I watched some figure skating last weekend and yes, corny of me I know, but I still love it. Remember when we all used to live to watch Holiday on Ice in Manila?! What did we know from ice skates and skiis. One afternoon, I decided I was going to do some iceskating of my own, so I took the hose and wet the garage floor in our house on San Marcelino Street, put on my roller skates (you know what's coming don't you) and did a twirl, slipped and landed on my face and cracked one of my front teeth! And I looked gorgeous already with braces on. I was about 13 and I would give Ugly Betty a run for her money. Anyway, when the braces finally came off at 15 or so, my dad had me go to the dentist to have that tooth capped. (The only tooth in my mouth that has a cap on it to this day.) But, of course, BEFORE capping it, it seems that when I cracked the tooth, the nerve got infected and I didn't know. So, the dentist had to cut the gum, drain it and I had a couple of stitches in - all this because I thought I was going to glide across my garage floor like a figure skater. When I got to New York, years later, I tried to ice skate ONCE (thinking how hard or how different could it be from roller skating) - hah! Joke on me. It was a catastrophe, so nix that winter sport. I also tried skiing while I lived in Spain. Went with a girlfriend to Andorra. The only thing I did well then, was get expertly off the t-lift at the top of the hill (the ski guy complimented me on that.) Anyway, again, how hard could this be, right? Wrong! Especially if one's skiis are way too long for petite me and there was a blizzard going on. Don't ask me how I got down that hill without killing myself but all I can say is that, from then on, let me just hang around the ski lodge and hope to run into Jean Claude Killey (Sp?). As you can see, and as I've said before....give me sun, sand, beach and palm trees. A sailboat and balmy breezes and I'm in heaven. Short of that, a nice swimming pool will do - thank you very much.
I was born on a hot tropical island in July - so let me watch the Winter Olympics on TV and pretend I'm Peggy Flemming or Michelle Kwan or watch Brian Boitano from the comfort of my couch. The only time I like the cold is by a cozy fire. The best fireplace I remember when a teen was the one at the Baguio Country Club or at my Aunt Trining Legarda's house in Baguio. My mother and I would sit by the fire after dinner and talk or listen to her favorite musical "My Fair Lady." Magic times those.
I'm probably the last person left on the planet who hasn't seen AVATAR. I guess I am just lazy to walk the 9 blocks to the movie theater especially in this weather. I'd rather sit home and watch movies on my DVD player or on my laptop on Netflix which has practically most movies I'd like for free. So sue me!
I watched some figure skating last weekend and yes, corny of me I know, but I still love it. Remember when we all used to live to watch Holiday on Ice in Manila?! What did we know from ice skates and skiis. One afternoon, I decided I was going to do some iceskating of my own, so I took the hose and wet the garage floor in our house on San Marcelino Street, put on my roller skates (you know what's coming don't you) and did a twirl, slipped and landed on my face and cracked one of my front teeth! And I looked gorgeous already with braces on. I was about 13 and I would give Ugly Betty a run for her money. Anyway, when the braces finally came off at 15 or so, my dad had me go to the dentist to have that tooth capped. (The only tooth in my mouth that has a cap on it to this day.) But, of course, BEFORE capping it, it seems that when I cracked the tooth, the nerve got infected and I didn't know. So, the dentist had to cut the gum, drain it and I had a couple of stitches in - all this because I thought I was going to glide across my garage floor like a figure skater. When I got to New York, years later, I tried to ice skate ONCE (thinking how hard or how different could it be from roller skating) - hah! Joke on me. It was a catastrophe, so nix that winter sport. I also tried skiing while I lived in Spain. Went with a girlfriend to Andorra. The only thing I did well then, was get expertly off the t-lift at the top of the hill (the ski guy complimented me on that.) Anyway, again, how hard could this be, right? Wrong! Especially if one's skiis are way too long for petite me and there was a blizzard going on. Don't ask me how I got down that hill without killing myself but all I can say is that, from then on, let me just hang around the ski lodge and hope to run into Jean Claude Killey (Sp?). As you can see, and as I've said before....give me sun, sand, beach and palm trees. A sailboat and balmy breezes and I'm in heaven. Short of that, a nice swimming pool will do - thank you very much.
I was born on a hot tropical island in July - so let me watch the Winter Olympics on TV and pretend I'm Peggy Flemming or Michelle Kwan or watch Brian Boitano from the comfort of my couch. The only time I like the cold is by a cozy fire. The best fireplace I remember when a teen was the one at the Baguio Country Club or at my Aunt Trining Legarda's house in Baguio. My mother and I would sit by the fire after dinner and talk or listen to her favorite musical "My Fair Lady." Magic times those.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Golden Girl, Golden Couples, First Loves and Haiti Telethon
Well, you heard it here first. In my last posting I mentioned that it was a wonder that a beautiful woman like Jennifer Aniston was still playing the field. I talked about the Golden Globes and though I noticed it, I forget to mention that the Golden Couple - Brad and Angelina, did not attend and his film Inglorious Bastards was up for an award. Last night at the SAG awards (whose only highlight for me personally was watching Betty White get the Lifetime whatever it is award), Inglorious Bastards won for Best Ensemble Cast Movie and conspicuous by his absence from the whole cast on stage was - Brad. Again, he and his beautiful partner were not in attendance. Now (drum roll) - the item below is from today's BARCELONA REPORTER -
"Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split
HOLLYWOOD golden pair Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have seen DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split deal, we can reveal.
Magazines are taking Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s relationship on the rocks to a whole new level.The world's most famous couple legally agreed how to divide their fortune and who gets custody of their six kids.
The megastars have agreed to equally divide their vast fortune - and to SHARE their six children.
Dynamite legal papers secretly signed by the couple this month detail how all their homes and assets will be carved up.
The agreement gives them joint custody of the kids - but all six will actually live full-time with their mum.
Preparations for a split began in early December when "Brangelina" visited a top Los Angeles divorce firm to begin thrashing out the deal.
An announcement of their separation is expected to be made soon - ending months of speculation that the five-year relationship is on the rocks.
A source told the News of the World: "The document was signed in early January. Both Brad and Angelina had signed it.
"The contract was like a tailor-made version of a pre-nuptial agreement except for an unmarried couple's split.
"It seemed clear they want the world to know they'll both play a part in the upbringing of the children.
"But Angelina will actually be the one who lives with them full-time."
The divorce lawyer they consulted is based in Beverly Hills and has worked on a string of celeb divorces and splits. He is widely regarded as "the best in the business".
Our source added: "There's no date for when the contract would come into effect.
"But the paperwork is already organised for a break- up - and for it to be as unmessy for them as possible. It is clear it's a case of when they break up rather than if."
The troubled couple have not been photographed together in public in recent days. On Friday night, Brad, 46, was snapped backstage at the Hope For Haiti concert in Los Angeles without Angelina, 34.
His ex-wife Jennifer Aniston was there - although not with him.
"Brangelina" fell for each other when they played a warring couple in Mr and Mrs Smith in 2004. They have three adopted children (Maddox, eight, Pax, six, and Zahara, five), and three biological kids (Shiloh, three, and 17- month-old twins Knox and Vivienne).
Both stars have been through high- profile splits before. Brad shocked the world when he split from Hollywood golden girl Jennifer, 40, in January 2005. They had been married for 4½ years.
He was first photographed with Oscar-winner Angelina three months after the split. Before Jen, he was engaged to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Jolie has been divorced twice - from Monster's Ball star Billy Bob Thornton in 2003, and Trainspotting actor Johnny Lee Miller in 1999.
Her joint fortune with Brad of $322 million (£205 million) includes mansions in France, California and New Orleans. But rumours have been circulating for months that the couple's relationship is doomed.
Last week they failed to show at the Golden Globe Awards even though Brad's film Inglourious Basterds was up for a several gongs.
Instead he went to watch the American football team New Orleans Saints, while Changeling star Angelina stayed in California. Also last week, Pitt bought the mansion next door to the family's LA home for £800,000.
His pals Guy Ritchie and wife Madonna famously bought their next-door pad in London before their split so they could share living space with their kids but keep away from each another.
Earlier this month, Angelina was snapped looking tense with an unsmiling Brad in New York.
And last month she said fidelity was over-rated - and if she or Brad had an affair it would not be a problem.
She told German magazine Das Neue: "Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other.
"I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship. It's worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards."
Angelina, whose new film Salt is due in British cinemas this summer, also said: "The sparks fly at home if the nice Brad fails to see that he's wrong and reacts in a defiant way.
"Then I can get so angry that I tear his shirt."
Also this month, best-selling American biographer Ian Halperin released a revelation- packed insight into the Jolie- Pitt relationship.
He said when the couple first met they had 20-HOUR sex sessions.
In his book Brangelina: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Ian writes: "Brad had never had such incredible sex.
"My sources say that they sometimes spent 18 to 20 hours a day in bed. But sex eventually wears off.
"She has brought a lot of good things to him - the children, for example.
"But he didn't know what he was getting into, and that's why I think they're going to split."
We asked Brad, Angelina and the legal firm for their comments but they did not respond. "
Now, I'm not saying that Brad and Jennifer will get back together. I think Jennifer has more gumption and pride than that BUT, does one REALLY ever get over that FIRST, full, complete, madly-in-love (or lust) LOVE??!!! I'm just sayin.....
Now, on a the really important tragedy of the new millenium - Haiti. Hope you all watched the telethon hosted by George Clooney on Friday night. I thought it short. It could've gone on an hour longer. All the performances were great but I thought Taylor Swift a bit out of place. Christina Aguilera is one fantastic singer. She's beautiful and has a voice! All the rest were great too and I hear they raised more than 50 million dollars! Way to go guys.
And now, back to padding around in my pajamas on a gloomy Sunday morning. Went to Mass yesterday afternoon. A friend wanted to see "Avatar" today and I'm still undecided. Everyone says its fantastic but I never was into fantasy movies and as wonderful as it is, can I stand watching blue people for over 2 hours and a half? Maybe not. Rather see something else or stay home and watch really GOOD movies free on Netflix. I rate whoever thought up the idea of Netflix right up there with e-mail, Amazon, the Kindle and the world wide web!!
Hasta pasta folks.....
"Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split
HOLLYWOOD golden pair Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have seen DIVORCE lawyers and signed a £205 million split deal, we can reveal.
Magazines are taking Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s relationship on the rocks to a whole new level.The world's most famous couple legally agreed how to divide their fortune and who gets custody of their six kids.
The megastars have agreed to equally divide their vast fortune - and to SHARE their six children.
Dynamite legal papers secretly signed by the couple this month detail how all their homes and assets will be carved up.
The agreement gives them joint custody of the kids - but all six will actually live full-time with their mum.
Preparations for a split began in early December when "Brangelina" visited a top Los Angeles divorce firm to begin thrashing out the deal.
An announcement of their separation is expected to be made soon - ending months of speculation that the five-year relationship is on the rocks.
A source told the News of the World: "The document was signed in early January. Both Brad and Angelina had signed it.
"The contract was like a tailor-made version of a pre-nuptial agreement except for an unmarried couple's split.
"It seemed clear they want the world to know they'll both play a part in the upbringing of the children.
"But Angelina will actually be the one who lives with them full-time."
The divorce lawyer they consulted is based in Beverly Hills and has worked on a string of celeb divorces and splits. He is widely regarded as "the best in the business".
Our source added: "There's no date for when the contract would come into effect.
"But the paperwork is already organised for a break- up - and for it to be as unmessy for them as possible. It is clear it's a case of when they break up rather than if."
The troubled couple have not been photographed together in public in recent days. On Friday night, Brad, 46, was snapped backstage at the Hope For Haiti concert in Los Angeles without Angelina, 34.
His ex-wife Jennifer Aniston was there - although not with him.
"Brangelina" fell for each other when they played a warring couple in Mr and Mrs Smith in 2004. They have three adopted children (Maddox, eight, Pax, six, and Zahara, five), and three biological kids (Shiloh, three, and 17- month-old twins Knox and Vivienne).
Both stars have been through high- profile splits before. Brad shocked the world when he split from Hollywood golden girl Jennifer, 40, in January 2005. They had been married for 4½ years.
He was first photographed with Oscar-winner Angelina three months after the split. Before Jen, he was engaged to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Jolie has been divorced twice - from Monster's Ball star Billy Bob Thornton in 2003, and Trainspotting actor Johnny Lee Miller in 1999.
Her joint fortune with Brad of $322 million (£205 million) includes mansions in France, California and New Orleans. But rumours have been circulating for months that the couple's relationship is doomed.
Last week they failed to show at the Golden Globe Awards even though Brad's film Inglourious Basterds was up for a several gongs.
Instead he went to watch the American football team New Orleans Saints, while Changeling star Angelina stayed in California. Also last week, Pitt bought the mansion next door to the family's LA home for £800,000.
His pals Guy Ritchie and wife Madonna famously bought their next-door pad in London before their split so they could share living space with their kids but keep away from each another.
Earlier this month, Angelina was snapped looking tense with an unsmiling Brad in New York.
And last month she said fidelity was over-rated - and if she or Brad had an affair it would not be a problem.
She told German magazine Das Neue: "Neither Brad nor I have ever claimed that living together means to be chained together. We make sure that we never restrict each other.
"I doubt that fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship. It's worse to leave your partner and talk badly about him afterwards."
Angelina, whose new film Salt is due in British cinemas this summer, also said: "The sparks fly at home if the nice Brad fails to see that he's wrong and reacts in a defiant way.
"Then I can get so angry that I tear his shirt."
Also this month, best-selling American biographer Ian Halperin released a revelation- packed insight into the Jolie- Pitt relationship.
He said when the couple first met they had 20-HOUR sex sessions.
In his book Brangelina: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Ian writes: "Brad had never had such incredible sex.
"My sources say that they sometimes spent 18 to 20 hours a day in bed. But sex eventually wears off.
"She has brought a lot of good things to him - the children, for example.
"But he didn't know what he was getting into, and that's why I think they're going to split."
We asked Brad, Angelina and the legal firm for their comments but they did not respond. "
Now, I'm not saying that Brad and Jennifer will get back together. I think Jennifer has more gumption and pride than that BUT, does one REALLY ever get over that FIRST, full, complete, madly-in-love (or lust) LOVE??!!! I'm just sayin.....
Now, on a the really important tragedy of the new millenium - Haiti. Hope you all watched the telethon hosted by George Clooney on Friday night. I thought it short. It could've gone on an hour longer. All the performances were great but I thought Taylor Swift a bit out of place. Christina Aguilera is one fantastic singer. She's beautiful and has a voice! All the rest were great too and I hear they raised more than 50 million dollars! Way to go guys.
And now, back to padding around in my pajamas on a gloomy Sunday morning. Went to Mass yesterday afternoon. A friend wanted to see "Avatar" today and I'm still undecided. Everyone says its fantastic but I never was into fantasy movies and as wonderful as it is, can I stand watching blue people for over 2 hours and a half? Maybe not. Rather see something else or stay home and watch really GOOD movies free on Netflix. I rate whoever thought up the idea of Netflix right up there with e-mail, Amazon, the Kindle and the world wide web!!
Hasta pasta folks.....
Monday, January 18, 2010
End of a book, the Golden Globes and lazy day chores...
Well, I finished the book - Dias de ....(I can't write the Spanish enye in the blog), and its good. Would I have read it had I not known the author? Probably not. On the other hand, had I read the book without knowing who the author was, I would've guessed it was MJPM as his entire persona, his character, his profession and his love of the sea especially the Mediterranean is evident in the book. Moving on....
The Golden Globes - I guessed right on almost all categories except for the music and I couldn't chose in the best actor/actress/picture category though in the latter, I guessed Avatar even if I haven't seen the movie. I adore George Clooney,and I still wonder why Jennifer Aniston hasn't found a partner after Brad but maybe because one doesn't really get over the first great love of one's life. I knew "Broken Embraces" wasn't going to win and I did guess The White Ribbon for best foreign film. (I read a lot of reviews.) I guessed Mo'Nique and since I love "The Good Wife" I guessed correctly and was happy Juliana Marguollis (Sp?) won. Didn't we all love her AND George in ER?!!! Julia Roberts put her foot in her mouth during the red carpet interview when she tells the guy interviewing her,(that young annoying guy with the blonde hair), that "You guys are in the toilet now" meaning NBC with its bad ratings and the Jay Leno/Connan drama and the channel airing the Globes was NBC! The guy was so flusterred. I bet NBC is not inviting Julia for any interviews anytime soon. I thought Marion Cotillard stunning, Meryl Streep, was, well, Meryl Streep, and Helen Mirren is classy, gorgeous and everything one should be and can't at past 60! Love that Jeff Bridges won, even if I was rooting for George and omygod, just had a senior moment and can't remember who got best actress award. Anyway, the Golden Globes is my favorite award show so I had a nice evening looking at the beautiful people and clothes and reactions, etc., etc. Just remembered - Sandra Bullock - best actress!!
As a sidebar, I think Matt Daimon the nicest guy!!
So, we continue to watch the horror of Haiti. It sure makes one appreciate how good we have it. I hope all of you who can have donated whatever you can to this cause. You can do it by texting 90999 and the word HAITI and $10 will be added to your phone bill but donated to Haiti. Also, on-line, the Red Cross and Catholic Charities are legitimate organizations to contribute to. The same way Banda Asche has been rebuilt 4 years after the tsunami, maybe the same will be true of Haiti. Pray God.
Happy MLK Day. Its nice to have the day off and since I have to start using up my vacation days, I am taking tomorrow off also.
So, I'm off to do dishes I left in the sink last night. I know, my bad, but I was watching the Globes! Then, I am cleaning out a bit more of my closet and throwing away clothes I haven't put on my body in a year! Of course, if I keep throwing things away, I'll be left with four pairs of slacks, 2 blouses and 14 tees to wear!!
The Golden Globes - I guessed right on almost all categories except for the music and I couldn't chose in the best actor/actress/picture category though in the latter, I guessed Avatar even if I haven't seen the movie. I adore George Clooney,and I still wonder why Jennifer Aniston hasn't found a partner after Brad but maybe because one doesn't really get over the first great love of one's life. I knew "Broken Embraces" wasn't going to win and I did guess The White Ribbon for best foreign film. (I read a lot of reviews.) I guessed Mo'Nique and since I love "The Good Wife" I guessed correctly and was happy Juliana Marguollis (Sp?) won. Didn't we all love her AND George in ER?!!! Julia Roberts put her foot in her mouth during the red carpet interview when she tells the guy interviewing her,(that young annoying guy with the blonde hair), that "You guys are in the toilet now" meaning NBC with its bad ratings and the Jay Leno/Connan drama and the channel airing the Globes was NBC! The guy was so flusterred. I bet NBC is not inviting Julia for any interviews anytime soon. I thought Marion Cotillard stunning, Meryl Streep, was, well, Meryl Streep, and Helen Mirren is classy, gorgeous and everything one should be and can't at past 60! Love that Jeff Bridges won, even if I was rooting for George and omygod, just had a senior moment and can't remember who got best actress award. Anyway, the Golden Globes is my favorite award show so I had a nice evening looking at the beautiful people and clothes and reactions, etc., etc. Just remembered - Sandra Bullock - best actress!!
As a sidebar, I think Matt Daimon the nicest guy!!
So, we continue to watch the horror of Haiti. It sure makes one appreciate how good we have it. I hope all of you who can have donated whatever you can to this cause. You can do it by texting 90999 and the word HAITI and $10 will be added to your phone bill but donated to Haiti. Also, on-line, the Red Cross and Catholic Charities are legitimate organizations to contribute to. The same way Banda Asche has been rebuilt 4 years after the tsunami, maybe the same will be true of Haiti. Pray God.
Happy MLK Day. Its nice to have the day off and since I have to start using up my vacation days, I am taking tomorrow off also.
So, I'm off to do dishes I left in the sink last night. I know, my bad, but I was watching the Globes! Then, I am cleaning out a bit more of my closet and throwing away clothes I haven't put on my body in a year! Of course, if I keep throwing things away, I'll be left with four pairs of slacks, 2 blouses and 14 tees to wear!!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Earthquake!
So, the weather is better, not so cold, but any complacency we may have been tempted to indulge in after the Christmas holiday has been shaken by the horrible earthquake in Haiti. I think Hillary Clinton had it right when she said "it is biblical." Those poor people. Everyone has said it all in the news. I'm glued to the news on TV everyday because it doesn't seem to get better. All that aid is coming in but nothing is really being released to the people.....I know there is no infrastructure available to do this formally but the heck with crowds and pushing - (reasons why some US military person said why the goods were still sitting on the airport tarmac), just get a couple of big trucks that roll over concrete rubble and distribute the food and water, blankets and tents throughout the city and so what if its not in an orderly military manner - who cares! Worry about order later, these people are dying. As for the dead, God rest their poor souls - use people in protective clothing - get trucks and stuff and bury them in mass graves - its Dantenesque, but better that than start an epidemic if these things are not addressed. This is the 5th (or 6th) day after the earthquake and people are still lying around the streets. I hope presidents Clinton and Bush Sr. can do for Haiti what they did for New Orleans - though this is 100 times worse. Now let's hope, this poor island isn't hit by heavy rains.
On a lighter note - I'm in the middle of my book "Dias de otono....donde esta el Rey?" and its really getting interesting. I never read the end of a book first but I am so tempted this time. BUT, I am resisting. In the meantime, my Spanish is improving and and I am getting back into the rhythm of reading Spanish and after this book, I should read two books that were sent to me by a good friend in Spain, that were best-sellers there and continue to read more books in Spanish. Actually, one of the books has an English translation but I didn't like it in English. Of course I can't download onto my Kindle, but like the present books, I read before going to sleep.
Anyway, its the dull days of January which will lead to the dull days of February but I prefer dull to the awful news like earthquakes reducing a nation to nothing.
On a lighter note - I'm in the middle of my book "Dias de otono....donde esta el Rey?" and its really getting interesting. I never read the end of a book first but I am so tempted this time. BUT, I am resisting. In the meantime, my Spanish is improving and and I am getting back into the rhythm of reading Spanish and after this book, I should read two books that were sent to me by a good friend in Spain, that were best-sellers there and continue to read more books in Spanish. Actually, one of the books has an English translation but I didn't like it in English. Of course I can't download onto my Kindle, but like the present books, I read before going to sleep.
Anyway, its the dull days of January which will lead to the dull days of February but I prefer dull to the awful news like earthquakes reducing a nation to nothing.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
A couple of books, cold weather and a wedding.
Hey there folks. I know I have been silent since January 6th but, truthfully, there is nothing that moved me to write as I have been COLD!! I know, I know, its winter and I live in New York. So maybe I've been spoiled as it seems the winters in the past many years have not been this cold nor for so long, in consecutive days. So, during the day I'm at the office and when I come home at night, I check Facebook (recently for new pictures of Patricia Muniosguren Yulo's wedding in Manila on January 10) or watching "The Forsyte Saga" on Netflix. (I first watched it on PBS and loved it, so I am watching the series all over again.) I've also really beginning to enjoy "Dias de otono.....donde esta el Rey?" fiction-based-on-fact novel written by an old love. When I started it, I couldn't get into it - I found the Spanish difficult and I couldn't concentrate which was weird since I know off the plot of the book. Then I realized I was mentally blocked by the fact that I was reading it with the presence of the man who wrote it looking over my shoulder so I told myself - the heck with this - I started the book all over again forgetting who wrote it and now I am swimming smoothly through it and enjoying the story and its nuances. Though of course, now and then finding little pieces of the author in a character or a description of a manner of dressing or the ambiance of a city - Barcelona, which I can relate to as well. Fascinating. I also realize that my Spanish vocabulary needs stretching so I am writing down the words I don't know the exact meaning off and will look them up in my Spanish dictionary. Not a Spanish/English dictionary but a Spanish one alone.
Aside from the reasons above that I haven't written is that I've been paying more attention to friends from the past on Facebook which have now become - PRESENT! How great is that?!
In case y'all think I've abandoned my Kindle, I haven't. I read the book mentioned above before going to sleep here at home and the Kindle I carry in my handbag to read on the subway or during my lunch hour at the office. Therein I am reading the novel "Wolf Hall" which is a more mature and very interesting novel about Henry VIII's court, the major character being Thomas Cromwell. The book is on the New York Times best seller list and since it is fairly new, in hardcover and a fairly long book, what better way to read it than in my slim, portable Kindle!
And so it goes for today....
Now I will leave you to see if there are more pictures of Patricia's wedding.....
Aside from the reasons above that I haven't written is that I've been paying more attention to friends from the past on Facebook which have now become - PRESENT! How great is that?!
In case y'all think I've abandoned my Kindle, I haven't. I read the book mentioned above before going to sleep here at home and the Kindle I carry in my handbag to read on the subway or during my lunch hour at the office. Therein I am reading the novel "Wolf Hall" which is a more mature and very interesting novel about Henry VIII's court, the major character being Thomas Cromwell. The book is on the New York Times best seller list and since it is fairly new, in hardcover and a fairly long book, what better way to read it than in my slim, portable Kindle!
And so it goes for today....
Now I will leave you to see if there are more pictures of Patricia's wedding.....
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Happy Three Kings!
HAPPY THREE KINGS or Feliz Dia de los Reyes - everyone!
Still getting connected with old friends like Danny Hernandez, Laura Peragallo, Elisa Llamoglia, Ernie Racz (son), Sue Karavolas, Miren Berenguer, etc.
And best of all, my wonderful cousin Carlos in Madrid came through and I did get my old love's just published book from Spain como regalo para los Reyes. I've already started to read it and I see that my Spanish needs updating because there are words therein I never heard before, or to put it another way, I should be reading more Spanish and keep my Spanish/English dictionary handy. It's a good way to brush up on my Spanish but to think that for nine years I only read, thought and wrote in Spanish! Talk about verguenza!
I know I am weather obsessive but consider the title of this blog and you'll get why I am miserable when I hear the weather is getting even colder and that it might snow tomorrow. Aaaarrrgghhhh.
So were the Three Kings, Santa, the Blue Smurfs (or whatever you believe in) good to you this holiday season? I'm not complaining....got the book, good wine, cava, prosecco, a cashmere sweater, a year's subscription to Netflix among other things. More importantly, I spent time with my daughter and granddaughter and I've "discovered" my old gang in Manila all over again. So life is good.
More tomorrow....
Still getting connected with old friends like Danny Hernandez, Laura Peragallo, Elisa Llamoglia, Ernie Racz (son), Sue Karavolas, Miren Berenguer, etc.
And best of all, my wonderful cousin Carlos in Madrid came through and I did get my old love's just published book from Spain como regalo para los Reyes. I've already started to read it and I see that my Spanish needs updating because there are words therein I never heard before, or to put it another way, I should be reading more Spanish and keep my Spanish/English dictionary handy. It's a good way to brush up on my Spanish but to think that for nine years I only read, thought and wrote in Spanish! Talk about verguenza!
I know I am weather obsessive but consider the title of this blog and you'll get why I am miserable when I hear the weather is getting even colder and that it might snow tomorrow. Aaaarrrgghhhh.
So were the Three Kings, Santa, the Blue Smurfs (or whatever you believe in) good to you this holiday season? I'm not complaining....got the book, good wine, cava, prosecco, a cashmere sweater, a year's subscription to Netflix among other things. More importantly, I spent time with my daughter and granddaughter and I've "discovered" my old gang in Manila all over again. So life is good.
More tomorrow....
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Connections with old friends!!!!
Well, today was an embarrassment of riches on finding old friends through Facebook and my blog - who knew?!! Nadia Rindler and I reconnected after more than 45 years of separation. Which in turn I found my best friend Mercy's youngest son Johann who lives in Australia and then a woman who read my blog and knew many of the main characters from My Diaries who went to the American School the same time that Kathy Bruns and Carlos Garcia and Ginny were there! Her name is Christine Korfhage (don't know if Korfhage is her maiden name) but she has written a book of poems which a lot has to do with our young days in Manila - I found it on Amazon like she suggested and its titled "We Are Who We Are and this world isn't either." I have ordered it and can't wait to see what's its about. Incidentally, I've never met her but aint the Manila connection wonderful?!!!
I also "found" Danny Hernandez" on Facebook, brother of Marimil and Freddy and though I've contacted him he hasn't confirmed the connection. Can't win them all I guess. So, through Lyn Muniosguren I found Nadia and through Nadia I found Johann Gallent....and it goes on. Also some of the pictures I've posted have brought back good memories to the parties therein so it makes me happy that I've connected to yet more of the great Gang of Manila in the 60s! I have promised to post more pictures of my last stay in Manila but for some reason, this particular Facebook endeavor I haven't mastered yet. Sometimes I get it and I have a lot of pictures therein and sometimes, it slips by me.
Margotin (Magu) Ubago Ripoll keeps in touch through the blog too and keeps me grounded to that other great part of my life there - my high school days at St. Paul's. Also just received Monnette Martinez's SPU newsletter, which honestly, I haven't read yet. I have to wait to get home to indulge in personal web and email monitoring so I am doing this at 9 pm at night.
So, I received an email from my cousin in Madrid that the book written by a special man in my life is arriving by Fedex tomorrow - just in time for my Three Kings present. Can't wait!
Is it just me that can't get over how Tiger Woods mucked up his life?!! I've always thought that most men are fickle and so far, I haven't been proven wrong but the man had everything going for him and he blows it all on a bit of .....well, you know what I want going to say. The last person I thought that would be caught like this. Ok, I've gotten that off my chest.
In four days (New York time), Patricia Muniosguren and Anton Yulo will celebrate their wedding in Manila. How I wish I could be there but then I've haven't attended not one wedding of any of my friends or friends' children. I little cross to bear and one that saddens me but thank goodness for Facebook, email and the internet. Pictures will be forthcoming and shared. Yay!
Alright folks, enough for today. Keep in touch. It's not a bad world afer all.
I also "found" Danny Hernandez" on Facebook, brother of Marimil and Freddy and though I've contacted him he hasn't confirmed the connection. Can't win them all I guess. So, through Lyn Muniosguren I found Nadia and through Nadia I found Johann Gallent....and it goes on. Also some of the pictures I've posted have brought back good memories to the parties therein so it makes me happy that I've connected to yet more of the great Gang of Manila in the 60s! I have promised to post more pictures of my last stay in Manila but for some reason, this particular Facebook endeavor I haven't mastered yet. Sometimes I get it and I have a lot of pictures therein and sometimes, it slips by me.
Margotin (Magu) Ubago Ripoll keeps in touch through the blog too and keeps me grounded to that other great part of my life there - my high school days at St. Paul's. Also just received Monnette Martinez's SPU newsletter, which honestly, I haven't read yet. I have to wait to get home to indulge in personal web and email monitoring so I am doing this at 9 pm at night.
So, I received an email from my cousin in Madrid that the book written by a special man in my life is arriving by Fedex tomorrow - just in time for my Three Kings present. Can't wait!
Is it just me that can't get over how Tiger Woods mucked up his life?!! I've always thought that most men are fickle and so far, I haven't been proven wrong but the man had everything going for him and he blows it all on a bit of .....well, you know what I want going to say. The last person I thought that would be caught like this. Ok, I've gotten that off my chest.
In four days (New York time), Patricia Muniosguren and Anton Yulo will celebrate their wedding in Manila. How I wish I could be there but then I've haven't attended not one wedding of any of my friends or friends' children. I little cross to bear and one that saddens me but thank goodness for Facebook, email and the internet. Pictures will be forthcoming and shared. Yay!
Alright folks, enough for today. Keep in touch. It's not a bad world afer all.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Good advise from my parish priest and a warning......
Hi all,
Well, first day back to work after 13 days off for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Of course, its bitterly cold and just heard on the evening news that it will get colder toward the coming weekend and that this may turn out to be the coldest winter in 25 years. Oh joy. Oh where are my palm trees!!
Anyway, yesterday the flyer we pick up after Mass had the following list "for a better life" in 2010. I thought I'd share with you.
- NO ONE is in charge of your happiness except you!
- Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In 5 years, will this matter?"
- What other people think of you is none of your business. (I really like this one.)
- However good or bad a situation is, it will change. (in other words, there is no status quo)
- Envy is a waste of time and energy.
- Each night before you to to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for _______. Today I accomplished ____________.
- No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up!
- Forgive everyone for everything.
- Make peace with your past so it won't spoil your future.
- Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
- Life is too short to waste on hating anyone.
- Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
- Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
- Call your family often or email them to death. (I think we ALL do this anyway.)
- Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
- Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride!
I just found out that a whole lot of "freebies" that I got from points from a credit card weren't free at all. I looked at my statement and found more than $100 shipping charge - which $$ amount is much more than the stuff I chose from the freebies offered is worth!!! Goes to show, there really are NO free lunches. Anyway, I called the number on the statement and they said if I returned it all, they would credit my account. I usually am pretty smart about stuff like this but I didn't see anything about shipping charges - trouble is I threw away the original offer after I got the stuff in the mail. I am sharing this with you so you don't fall for the same "come-on." By the way, it was not Chase but American Express. I got the offer through my boss's corporate American Express card. I AM RETURNING EVERYTHING TOMORROW. It was silly junky stuff anyway. Que sinverguenzas!!!! Y, que tonta yo.
Keep warm those of you in the US because it seems it is even cold in Florida!
Well, first day back to work after 13 days off for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Of course, its bitterly cold and just heard on the evening news that it will get colder toward the coming weekend and that this may turn out to be the coldest winter in 25 years. Oh joy. Oh where are my palm trees!!
Anyway, yesterday the flyer we pick up after Mass had the following list "for a better life" in 2010. I thought I'd share with you.
- NO ONE is in charge of your happiness except you!
- Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In 5 years, will this matter?"
- What other people think of you is none of your business. (I really like this one.)
- However good or bad a situation is, it will change. (in other words, there is no status quo)
- Envy is a waste of time and energy.
- Each night before you to to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for _______. Today I accomplished ____________.
- No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up!
- Forgive everyone for everything.
- Make peace with your past so it won't spoil your future.
- Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
- Life is too short to waste on hating anyone.
- Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
- Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
- Call your family often or email them to death. (I think we ALL do this anyway.)
- Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
- Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride!
I just found out that a whole lot of "freebies" that I got from points from a credit card weren't free at all. I looked at my statement and found more than $100 shipping charge - which $$ amount is much more than the stuff I chose from the freebies offered is worth!!! Goes to show, there really are NO free lunches. Anyway, I called the number on the statement and they said if I returned it all, they would credit my account. I usually am pretty smart about stuff like this but I didn't see anything about shipping charges - trouble is I threw away the original offer after I got the stuff in the mail. I am sharing this with you so you don't fall for the same "come-on." By the way, it was not Chase but American Express. I got the offer through my boss's corporate American Express card. I AM RETURNING EVERYTHING TOMORROW. It was silly junky stuff anyway. Que sinverguenzas!!!! Y, que tonta yo.
Keep warm those of you in the US because it seems it is even cold in Florida!
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