SPECIAL OCCASION SPEECHES

These are the things I have accomplished as an Advanced Toastmaster-Silver in our Club.

1.MASTERING THE TOAST
Objectives:
To recognize the characteristics of a toast.
To present a toast honoring an occasion or person
2-3 minutes

2.SPEAKING IN PRAISE
Objectives:
To prepare a speech praising or honoring someone, either living or dead.
To address five areas concerning the individual and his/her accomplishments.
To include anecdotes illustrating points within the speech.
5-7 minutes

3.THE ROAST
Objectives:
To poke fun at a particular individual in a good-natured way.
To adapt and personalize humorous material from other sources.
To deliver jokes & humorous stories objectively.
3-5 minutes.

4.PRESENTING AN AWARD
Objectives:
To present an award with dignity and grace.
To acknowledge the contributions of the recipient.
3-4 minutes.

5.ACCEPTING AN AWARD
Objectives:
To accept an award with dignity, grace and sincerity.
To acknowledge the presenting organization.
5-7 minutes.

Use of Props in Your Speech

These are the things I have accomplished as an Advanced Toastmaster-Silver in our Club.

A prop is an object that adds impact to your speech. The purpose is to:

1. Emphasize your message, dramatize your point & help the audience to remember your message.

2. Add visual interest.

3. Focus attention.

The right prop must be:

1. Appropriate to the message – must be relevant to the presentation’s theme.

2. Appropriate to the audience – consider the audience’s interests, experience, and sophistication.

3. Appropriate to the occasion – is it a formal awards dinner or a children’s party?

4. Enhancing, not overpowering, the message – make sure your point is remembered, not just your props.

5. Clearly visible – small audience, small prop; large audience, large prop.

6. Used with confidence – appear confident so that your audience will think you are confident.

VSC Residency

A few hours ago, I finally sent Kathy Black of Vermont Studio Center my sorrowful e-mail informing her that I could not make it to the scheduled residency due to my present family problem.

She answered, feeling sorry for my predicament, and assured me that in case things are looking up, they will still be keeping my files for a year and that I can still apply for the next residencies.

That was reassuring, but it still breaks my heart.

I lulled myself to sleep, finally, a lonely tear trickled down as I dosed off.

General Resume

JOAN H. MOCORRO


Address: Door #7 Townhouse, Carmela Valley Homes, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

Email Address: joandarling@boxbe.com

Mobile Phone Number: +63.9228121320

Website Address: http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/62433-joan-mocorro http://joandarling.blog.friendster.com/wp-admin/
http://philippinelegalresearch.blogspot.com/


Birth Date: 13 August 1970
Gender: Female
Nationality: Philippines
Residence Location: Talisay City, Philippines
Marital Status: Forever Free

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

July 2002 - Present:
Court Legal Researcher
MTCC Branch 3, Hall of Justice, Bacolod City, Philippines

May 2008 - Present:
Administrative Assistant/Secretary to the Board of Trustees
BCCB-Ikthus, Mandalagan, Bacolod City, Philippines

July 2002 - April 2009:
Law Professor (Substitute for Judge Napoleon Diamante)
University of St. La Salle
Bacolod City, Philippines

September 1998 - July 2002:
Court Interpreter
MTCC Branch 3, Hall of Justice, Bacolod City, Philippines

December 1992 - September 1998:
Civil Clerk
MTCC Branch 3, Hall of Justice, Bacolod City, Philippines

EDUCATION

June 2006:
Carlos A. Hilado Memorial State College, Talisay City, Philippines
Units in Masters in Education

September 1998:
La Consolacion College, Bacolod City, Philippines
Units in Masters in Business Administration (units)

April 1996:
University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, Bacolod City, Philippines
Bachelor of Laws

April 1991:
University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, Philippines
Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Major in Computer Science

April 1987:
University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, Bacolod City, Philippines
Secondary Education (High School)

Pampaaraalang Dula: Jose Rizal (Ayon sa Kinakailangan ng Learning Center 7 ng CAB, Buwan ng Wika, 2009)

SCENE I
Scene Title: “Pambungad”

Oras: Umaga. Sa silid-aralan.

Papasok si Bb. Jo at haharap sa mga manonood bilang kanyang mga mag-aaral.

Madilim ang buong entablado maliban sa nag-iisang ilaw na nakatutok sa kanya.

BB. JO
Nakangiti sa lahat.

Magandang umaga sa inyo, aking mga mag-aaral. Ako si Bb. Jo at ang pag-aaralan natin ngayon ay ang buhay ng ating pambansang bayani. Alam ba ninyo ang kanyang pangalan? Ito ay may initials na J.R.

MAG-AARAL 1 (KILIAN)
Nakataas ang kanang kamay.

Ma'am, Ma'am! Si... Jericho Rosales?

BB. JO

Mali! Siya ay isang duktor.

MAG-AARAL 2 (JOAREM)
Ma'am! Hindi po ba si... Dr. Jericho Rosales?

BB. JO
Hindi! Patay na siya.

MAG-AARAL 3 (GABY)
Ma'am! Eh, di ang yumaong... Dr. Jericho Rosales!

Tawanan ang lahat.

BB. JO
Hay naku, hayaan n'yong ako na lang ang magkukuwento sa inyo. Ang kanyang pangalan ay si Dr. Jose Rizal...

Sabay tingin sa kaliwang likuran. Kasabay sa paghudyat ng kanyang kaliwang kamay, iilaw ang isa pang spotlight sa isang taong suot ang isang makalumang kasuotan (Angelo). Isa siyang bilanggo at siya'y may isinusulat sa kanyang mesa. Hindi niya wari ang mga tao sa paligid dahil ang mga ito ay nasa iba't-ibang mga kapanahunan.

BB. JO
Siya ay ipinanganak noong Hunyo 19, 1861 sa mag-asawang si Francisco Mercado Rizal at Teodora Alonzo y Quintos.

Papasok si Benjamin at Bea at palakad-lakad sa kanilang mistulang hacienda habang nagsasalita si Bb. Jo.

BB. JO
Galing siya sa isang mayamang pamilya. Ang kanyang ama ay isang magsasaka at ang kanyang ina ang siyang naging guro ng batang si Jose Rizal. Isa siyang napakatalinong mag-aaral. Kaya naman sa edad na 23 isa na siyang ganap na manggagamot.

Mula Espana, nilibot niya ang buong Europa. Doon niya isinulat ang kanyang dalawang nobelang pinamagatang NOLI ME TANGERE at EL FILIBUSTERISMO. Marami rin siyang napag-aralang mga aklat. Isa na rito ay ang Salita ng Diyos.

Papasok si Zachary at Alessander. Pati na rin si Marco.

BB. JO
Nagalit ang mga Kastilang prayle sa mga isinulat niya. Sa Pilipinas, ang kanyang mga kamag-anak ay palaging pinag-iinitan ng mga guardia sibil. Naghahanap sila ng kahit anong butas sa katauhan o mga gawain ni Jose Rizal upang masampaan ng demanda sa husgado.

Ang kapatid na si Lucia ang napagbintangang may dala-dalang ipinagbabawal na babasahin na isinulat ni Rizal. Nakita diumano ito sa kanyang bagahe pagdating niya sa Pilipinas galing ng Hong Kong kasama ng mahal na kapatid na tinatawag nilang Pepe sa kanilang pamilya.

Papasok si Kristel (Lucia) na hinahabol ng mga guardia sibil (Kilian, Gaby, Joarem, Marcus). Magugulat ang mga magulang (Benjamin at Bea) na puspusan ang pagtatanggol sa anak na pinagbibintangan ng mga guardia sibil. Hahalungkatin nila ang dala-dalang bagahe ni Lucia at may nakita silang mga ipinagbabawal na babasahin na sulat ni Jose Rizal.

Samantala, nasa likuran lang nilang lahat ang dalawang aklat na nagpapanggap na mga inosenteng libro, pilit na tinatakpan ang mga pamagat na nakasulat sa kanilang mga balat. Tinutulungan silang takpan ng Biblia upang hindi makita ng mga sundalong kastila. Ang isa sa mga guardia sibil ay may makikitang ipinagbabawal na babasahin at dahil dito kinaladkad nila palabas si Lucia. Susunod ang mga magulang nito na alalang- alala. Ang tatlong aklat ay malungkot na lilisanin ang entablado.

BB. JO
Dahil dito, kinailangang lumayo muna si Dr. Jose Rizal sa Dapitan, isang maliit na bayan sa Mindanao. Doon nagturo siya ng salitang Ingles at Kastila sa kanyang mga mag-aaral.

Papasok sina Faith (bulag) na inaakay ni Jussell (kaklase) na may dala-dalang libro. Sa puntong ito biglang nagkaroon ng malay si Angelo (Rizal) at tumayo sa kanyang kinauupuan upang magsimulang magturo sa kanyang mga mag-aaral.

BB. JO
Sa Dapitan niya naisagawa ang kanyang mga natutunan sa larangan ng agrikultura, siyensiya, enhinyero, pangingisda, pangangalakal, pagiging iskultor, pintor, at marami pang iba. Higit sa lahat, ang kanyang pagiging dalubhasang duktor ay naging tanyag maging sa ibang bansa.

Pagkatapos ng kanilang klase, inakay ni Jussell si Faith sa tanggapan ni Dr. Rizal upang tingnan ang mga mata nito. Uupo si Faith sa silya upang suriin ni Rizal ang kanyang mga mata. Laking pasalamat ni Faith nang makakakita na ito. Lalabas ang mga babae.

BB. JO
Sinasabing siyam na mga babae ang napaibig sa palakaibigan at mabait na Rizal. Una siyang umibig kay Segunda Katigbak noong sila ay mga bata pa. Ngunit si Segunda ay nakatakda nang ikasal sa kanyang kababayang si Manuel Luz.

Papasok si Julianne na kilos bata. Maglalaro sila ng nagkikilos bata ring si Rizal ng papel-gunting- bato nang biglang nagkaroon ng malisya ang mga paghawak ng kamay nila. Biglang naalala ni Segunda na siya ay ikakasal dahil sa suot niyang engagement ring. Lalayo ito kay Rizal na nadudurog ang puso sa naudlot na unang pag-ibig.

BB. JO
Si Leonor Rivera ay naging kasintahan niya sa loob ng labing-isang taon. Subalit hindi nauwi sa dambana ang kanilang pag-iibigan dahil sa pag-ayaw ng ina ni Leonor kay Rizal. Itinago ng ina ang mga sulat ni Rizal kay Leonor. Sa pag-aakalang kinalimutan na siya ng kanyang kasintahan, napilitang siyang pumayag ikasal sa taong nagustuhan ng kanyang ina, isang taga-Inglatera na si Henry Kipping.

Papasok si Lyanna. Magalang na hahalikan ni Rizal ang kanyang kamay at dahan-dahang iiwang mag- isa sa entablado. Maghihintay nang maghihintay si Lyanna. Walang sulat na darating, hanggang malungkot na lalayo sa entablado papunta sa isang buhay na pinili para sa kanya ng kanyang ina.

BB. JO
Si O Sei San, anak ng isang Samurai, ang nagturo kay Rizal ng pagpipinta sa istilo ng mga Hapon. Siya rin ang tumulong kay Rizal upang tumingkad ang kanyang karunungan sa wikang Niponggo. May magandang buhay at trabaho na sana ang naghihintay kay Rizal sa bansang Hapon. Ngunit nagbago ang damdamin niya para kay O Sei San. Pagmamahal pa rin sa lupang sinilangan ang nanaig.

Papasok si Samantha na nakakimono at maglalakad ng kagaya ng babaeng Hapones. Tuturuan niya si Rizal ng pagpipinta ng sumi-e. Tititigan nila ang isa't isa. May sasabihin si Rizal sa kanya. Aasa si O Sei San ng isang pahiwatig ng tapat at walang katapusang pag-ibig. Ngunit ito ay isa palang paalam sa isang pambihirang babaeng minsan ay kanyang minahal. Lalabas si Samantha, iiwang nakaupo si Angelo sa kanyang silya, nakayuko.

BB. JO
Nagkakilala si Jose Rizal at Josephine Bracken nang magsadya sa Dapitan ang amain nitong si George Taufer. Nanggaling pa sila ng Hong Kong upang ipagamot sa dalubhasang manggagamot ang pagkabulag nito. Nabighani si Rizal sa kagandahan ni Josephine. Ngunit hindi siya nagustuhan ng mga kapatid ni Rizal sa pag-aakalang isa siyang sugo ng mga prayle.

Papasok si Althea at Elijah na nakatungkod at suot-suot ang madilim na shades. Nang makita ni Angelo si Althea, hindi na niya maialis ang tingin sa magandang mukha ng babaeng muling nagpatibok ng kaniyang puso. Halos hindi na niya napapansin ang bulag na amaing kakapa-kapa kung nasaan na si Josephine na nililigawan na pala ni Jose Rizal.

Biglang papasok ang kapatid na si Kristel na hinahabol ng kanyang inang si Bea. Pilit paghiwalayin sila ni Kristel sa kanyang pagtututol sa umuusbong na pag- iibigang ito sa pag-aakalang isang alagad ng mga prayle si Josephine.

BB. JO
Subalit nanaig ang damdamin ni Rizal sa babaing pinakamamahal. Ninais niyang pakasalan ito sa simbahan. Nahati naman ang puso ni Josephine sa pag-ibig niya kay Rizal at sa tungkulin niya sa kanyang amain na wala na palang lunas ang kanyang karamdaman sa mata. Nang umuwi ito sa Hong Kong, nagpaiwan si Josephine sa Dapitan.

Hindi nakikinig si Angelo sa mga paratang ni Kristel kay Althea. Si Althea naman ay namamaalam sa amaing uuwi na lamang sa Hong Kong. Lalabas sa isang dako ng entablado si Elijah, lalabas naman sa kabilang dako ng entablado sina Kristel at Bea. Maiwan sa entablado sina Angelo at Althea.

BB. JO
Ngunit papayag lamang ang paring si Fr. Antonio Obach na ikasal sila kung sumulat si Rizal ng isang Pagbawi sa kanyang mga naisabi at naisulat laban sa mga Kastila. Isasaad doon na siya ay nagsisisi at muling maglilingkod bilang tapat na alagad ng Simbahang Katolika.

Papasok si Joshua. Magkahawak kamay na magsasadya kay Fr. Obach ang magkasintahan. Umaayaw ang pari. Ikakasal lamang sila ng pari sa isang kundisyon. Ibibigay ni Joshua ang isang papel at balahibong panulat. Aayaw si Rizal. Lalabas si Joshua.

BB. JO
Sinuportahan ng mga kaibigan at kamag-anak ni Rizal ang desisyon nilang mag-asawa kahit walang basbas ng simbahan. Subalit hindi pa kabuwanan ni Josephine ay naipanganak na nito ang sanggol na hindi man lang nagisnan ang mundong ibabaw. Sukdulan ang dalamhati na inilibing ni Rizal ang sanggol na anak na wala nang buhay.

Sa halip, imbes na sa simbahan sila magpakasal, magsusumpaan silang dalawa sa harap ng isang tungkod (ang tungkod ni Elijah).
Lalabas si Althea. Papasok si Bea, malungkot ang kanyang mukha. Dala-dala ang walang buhay na sanggol na kaluluwal lang ni Althea. Iiyak si Angelo. Makikiramay ang inang si Bea ngunit mas gustong mapag-isa ni Rizal sa kanyang pagdadalamhati. Lalabas si Bea. Iiwang mag-isa si Angelo, ililibing ang kamamatay lang na sanggol sa gitna ng entablado. Yuyuko si Angelo. Bigong-bigo.

BB. JO
Nobyembre 3, 1896. Dinakip si Rizal at dinala sa Fort Santiago sa Lungsod ng Maynila. Doon niya isinulat ang isang tulang walang pamagat, isang obra maestrang magpapasiklab ng damdaming makabayan ng bawat Pilipino. Ang kaibigang si Mariano Ponce ang nagbigay ng pamagat nito:

Papasok ang mga guardia sibil (Kilian, Gaby, Joarem, Marcus) kasama ang prayleng si Joshua. Hahawakan ng mga sundalo ang damit nito upang patayuin at kakaladkarin sa kanang bahagi ng entablado. Naghahanda sa pagpatay kay Rizal. Ilalabas na nila ang mga mesa, silya, at ang inilibing na sanggol.

BB. JO
Mi último adiós
¡Adiós, Patria adorada, región del sol querida,
Perla del mar de oriente, nuestro perdido Edén!
A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,
Y fuera más brillante, más fresca, más florida,
También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.

Pipiringan nila ang mga mata ni Jose Rizal at patatalikurin kagaya ng isang ordinaryong krimnal. Ngunit mas gugustuhin hi Rizal na harapin ang kamatayan. Buong tapang na nakaharap siya sa mga sundalong Kastila.

(Slow motion) Habang binibigkas ni Bb. Jo ang huling bahagi ng tula, magiging dahan-dahan ang kilos ng lahat ng mga gumaganap sa entablado. Slow motion na pipitik na sabay-sabay ang mga baril. Slow motion na babagsak sa lupa si Jose Rizal. “También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.”
Bagsak na si Rizal sa bahaging ito.

JOAREM
Bilang lider nila. Hindi na slow motion.
VIVA ESPAÑA!

KILIAN, GABY AT MARCUS
Sabay-sabay.
VIVA ESPAÑA!

BB. JO
Marahan ngunit matatag. May alab ng lahi at ayaw magpadaig sa sigaw ng mga dayuhan.

Mabuhay ang Bansang Pilipinas.

***WAKAS***

Ped Xing

Sounds Chinese to me. I saw the name on a street sign in Manila in 2006 and wondered, "Who in Philippine history is Ped Xing?"

Then I came across an article by a Filipino columnist with the same thought about some unheralded Chinese hero now being honored by naming a street after him. Flabbergasted, he soon found out that Ped Xing is actually short for PEDestrian CROSS(X)ing.

Ped Xing. Who would have thought?

So when I came back to Manila again this year, 2009, I saw a lot of intersections with the glaring Ped Xing sign. And I just wonder, will the below average promdi get the message?

Training Them Almost From Scratch

It's a pity sometimes that my angels (that's what I call the sisters Janice, Jo-an, adn Joylyn) have to be trained almost from scratch. True, they have an advanced survival skill that far outmatches mine, they can go through the day on empty stomachs, and they are programmed to serve and honor you with their lives.

I've previously written about how they came into my life. Now, they are sort of family to me and my daughter.

As they are adjusting to our lifestyle level, I realized that they still have so much to learn. While they were obviously taught how to be obedient, respectful, thankful, polite, and honest (though there are times when they would try to get away with flimsy lying an educated person can easily find out), they still lack social graces and higher hygiene.

Having lived with us for several months already, they have learned how to hold their drinking glass properly and to eat with a spoon and a fork (i noticed they were more comfortable eating with their bare hands or with just spoons as they were used to). They have learned to wash their hands and pray before meals.

I tried to hide my shock and dismay when, having returned from a week of helping their mother and siblings build a new house after the old one was demolished, they proudly reported that the people back home noticed a few changes in their manners and way of doing things. For example, washing hands before eating.

I realized their younger siblings were not trained in this simple rule of hygiene doctors have been preaching. "Maghugas ng kamay bago kumain (Wash hands before eating)." So they echoed the same principle to the younger brood. Reacting to this wide-eyed, I painted a simple but usual scenario: little brother after moving his bowels washes off with his hand, sometimes or more often without soap. He wipes dry leaving traces of fecal matter on his fingers and proceeds to play with his sisters. The others pick their noses, wipe their eyes, scratch their behinds, a lively exchange of bacteria thrives. Then, when all these elements dry up on their hands, they rush to the dinner table (or floor) to eat with the same unwashed hands.

Then, if they later complain of an upset stomach or loose bowel movement, they blame it on unseen spirits and offer a black chicken and a black pig to appease the offended beings. And I ask them if they have seen the more progressive people do such rituals in their backyards.

Oh, how they still have a lot to learn. And unlearn.

Blogging is Not Journalism

An old friend from my campus journalism days has lately been asking me how to blog. But, he also announced, with a hint of journalistic pride, that blogging is not journalism.

Okay, okay. Fine.

While credibility is very important in journalism, it is just as important in blogging.

He argues that many bloggers hide under fictitious names and that there are no ethical guidelines in blogging, although he's quite interested in learning this new way of writing.

While there are a lot of stringent rules to follow in the journalism stylebook, there are a lot of rules to break in blogging.

A lover of argumentation and debate, I'd say blogging will suit him best, because while you can't argue with what the journalist wrote and expect an answer, you can definitely comment right after the blogger's post and most probably get an answer.

So far, my observation as a blogger is that, first, you don't report to an editor. Your blog, whatever its content, gets published right away, misspellings, wrong grammar, unreliable facts, reckless opinions, etc. You are your own proofreader, layout designer, photographer, in other words, you are a one-man-show in your own stage in cyberspace.

While there is less writing restraints in blogging, your freedom of expression still stops where you touch the tip of your neighbor's nose. Readers are empowered to flag objectionable content. This calls the attention of your blog host until your account gets deleted for being flagged several times. This is why online credibility still counts in blogging.

While in journalism a story is presented as news or opinion but not both, in blogging one can be both factual and opinionated, perhaps even more. There's room for creativity here. Just try not to be scatterbrained or you will lose audience appeal.

While journalists can be bloggers, not all bloggers can be journalists. Which is the same as saying journalism can be blogging, while blogging is not (always) journalism.

A Friend in Need

Believe it or not, I only realized lately the real meaning of the saying, "A friend in need is a friend indeed." I thought all along that the friend in the saying is a friend who needs help that's why he's being a friend indeed, until I got to test the saying on a long-time friend in my time of need.

To my dismay, she refused to take my side. She just wanted to be on the safe side, the neutral side. Some friend. Friends are supposed to take definite sides -- to stick with you 'til the end or be devil's advocate.

Oh, well, I've been letting go of a lot of excess baggages lately. I'm letting go of a husband, a mother, and now a friend.

"Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulders,
Don't you know, the hardest part is over,
Let it in, let your clarity define you,
In the end, we will only just remember how it feels."

So goes the Rob Thomas soundtrack for the movie Little Wonders. The first time I heard the song, the first three words hit me hard. I have a lot of letting go to do.

Yeah, these twists and turns of fate. My own mother jeering instead of cheering at the sidelights as if everything that's happening to me now is final and over for me. I feel like a lame matador cornered by a raging bull, with no one to turn to for help.

But there are friends turning up in the most unexpected places. These are the friends in my time of need. These are real family. Friends indeed.

Indecent Display!!!

Hotels, motels, they are all venues for an increasingly-going-public thing: sex!

There is a public holler about an alleged motel being built near a public elementary school. As motels are easily equated to sex -- illicit sex, hotels have a more decent image.

So that, years ago when a standard class hotel sprouted just beside the school where my daughter attends, nobody complained (Sure the bar right next to it is a one of the hottest spots at night where teenagers and yuppies go to, have fun and vomit at the opposite fence bordering the school premises).

But then, what's this?! My daughter tells me that her classmates have seen a man and a woman engaged in sexual acts seen from the window of their second floor hotel room. It was daytime, of course, school hours in fact. One of the girls even described the couple doing the "bouncy bouncy"!

Perverse thoughts flooded my mind -- are these couple encouraging voyeurism to these schoolchildren?

The hotel windows are lightly tinted, but still the children saw what they saw, probably pumping silhouettes bathed in warm light. With what mass media is teaching our kids these days, they can just easily fill in the blanks! They saw a couple having sex through the second floor window of the hotel.

What were they thinking? My daughter tells me her friends were imagining a highly paid prostitute. A dirty old man who can afford a standard class hotel. Even if they were legitimate couples, what the school children saw already stamped an unforgettable scenario in their young minds.

Perhaps, it is not the fault of the hotel that things such as this would happen. But now I realized that there are couples that would take their perversions to the streets if given the chance. What a different kind of high those two might have had when they knowingly displayed their acts, knowingly or unkowingly to the shocked children. After all, the Philippines is still a largely modest society.

One of the teachers at my child's school explained that since they could not do anything against the hotel which most probably also had no idea what was happening within the window frame (and the world is full of such things), they are focusing on teaching their students how to deal with situations such as this. Just like a television, switch off, change channel.

As a parent of the child who only had secondhand information of what transpired, her imagination just as fueled by the "bouncy bouncy" description, what I can do is present things to her matter-of-factly, discuss another aspect of sex education, i.e., sexual perversion.

With this, I always remind my daughter to renew her mind. With all the sex, violence and other explicit content she has and will encounter on TV, radio, music, magazines, the internet, and other mass media, I constantly tell her to increase her power of discernment, to know the good from the bad, to learn from them both, to choose good and to overcome evil. For the real battle is not of this world.

It's all in the mind.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Won in Damage Suit, Now What?

For several days I refuse to write about it. It's not something worth celebrating. I won. But still, the damage has been done. Society's ideal family: father, mother, child, crumbled before my very eyes, my own mother seemingly cheering that finally I failed, my father trying to fill in the missing manly pillar while constantly watching his back for fear of his wife's volcanic fury.

I have finally come to terms that a dysfunctional family could also be a family complete with a father and a mother but behaving dysfunctionally. I grew up in that environment.

Now, with the flight of my wayward husband (dropped from the police rolls, a warrant for his arrest already out, but two people reported having seen him riding his borrowed motorcycle {his driver's license long expired in 2006 by the way} just over the weekend), my daughter has to contend with living in an all female environment with me as what I call the lamp post (taking up the dual role as pillar and light), and the three sisters I have welcomed into our home to keep us company and for them to get a well-deserved education and better their lives. I try to keep our new family set up as functional as possible. But will it really?

For the sake of practicality, I have set aside my romantic ideas of family and love. Right now with new hardships and challenges coming my way, I need all the provisions for this lonely battle backed only by my little army.

I can't help but be reminded of Max Ehrmann's Desiderata:

"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit."

The story of the three sisters (of seven siblings) are even far more bitter than mine, a simple and at the same time complex situation than mine. I am avoiding my mother who has been more of a vexation to my spirit than the refreshment I truly long for.

"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time."

I have always been and still compared by my mother, to herself, to my brothers, to my friends, to other people. I used to resent the fact that I'm not as good, not as beautiful, not as smart, not as rich, as the people my mother would compare me against, but I have come to terms of the reality that I am probably the most average person with an average life with average problems and average achievements. Still, I am happy in my corner of the world. Away from my mother who lives just a few blocks away. I enjoy just doing my art, doing my own thing, and blogging.

"Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth."

This piece of advice makes me a bit scared, but as long as I am true to myself, love awaits.

"Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."

I'm a natural worrier, which can be stressful. I'm also a natural free spirit. The first time a portion of the Desiderata was recited to me was when I was a little girl being comforted by my father. He assured me that I am a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. What could be more encouraging than a father's words. My only regret is that I don't think my husband, in the situation he has chosen himself to be, could ever say such words to his daughter the way my father soothed my soul.

"Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful."

I am. I agree.

"Strive to be happy."

I am.

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Streetchildren New Careers: Begging!

I sometimes see the modern mother-and-child scene as a mother carrying a child, sometimes not her own, in order to be her prop for begging alms.

More likely, this child will grow up roaming the streets as his mother adopts another sizeable baby to carry for the more appealing mother-and-child look, while the toddler learns how to walk while avoiding street traffic with older street kids.

These street children then become mentors of their younger counterparts in the profession of begging for alms. Over the years, they have grown in numbers and have become more aggressive in their approaches, even to the point of asking the food you are munching off your hands. And then if you take pity upon the hungry child and give him what you are eating, five or six other kids from a distance suddenly flock around you asking for their supper, too.

I have taken into my home three sisters who used to be just like these children, begging in the streets while their mother is away, her return uncertain while their younger siblings go through a ritual of hunger their elder siblings have grown used to. While Joylyn takes care of the little ones left in their makeshift home beside the city river, Janice and Jo-an comb the streets for alms. They return home with P100 worth of milk for the two babies and just enough food for the five of them. Their father has long left them, his whereabouts unknown, and thus their mother decided for them to carry her surname instead.

One thing led to another until at tender ages of 12, 11, and 10, the three started working as house maids in various families, some of which were my relatives. When the youngest, Joylyn, turned 12, she worked for my mother as night companion and errand girl. But my mother was by nature a virago and at last Joylyn gave up being the butt of all my mother's anger. Joylyn sought refuge to me.

I accepted her not as a house maid, telling her a child her age should not be working yet. It's against Labor Laws. Joylyn became a part of my family of two (minus my wayward husband). I enrolled her at a nearby public school where she was accepted in Grade 2. Instead of a wage my mother used to give her, the same amount is her allowance which she could either spend for herself or send to her family. The latter is always the case.

When Jo-an, now 13, and Janice, now 14, suddenly lost their "jobs" at my two aunts' homes, they went home to the hacienda where they now live, far from the city streets they were used to, because their mother has a new boyfriend who lives in the said farm. My house being big enough to accommodate two more people, I told Joylyn that her two sisters could come live with us and attend school like she does.

Like what I did with Joylyn's school records, I requested the Graciano Lopez-Jaena Elementary School at La Paz, Iloilo City to transmit the girls' school records to Efigenio Enrica Lizares Memorial School in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. Now the elder sisters are in Grade 4 of their new school.

Being too old for their grade levels, I urged them to apply for an acceleration exam and, in all the school, only the three of them were accepted to take the PEPT exams scheduled on November 22, 2009. This will determine what grade or year level they shall be placed in accordance to their academic standing in the tests.

For now, they are doing fairly well in school, and Joylyn who used to be in Section 6 of Grade 2 is then moved to Section 2 and now to Section 1. The elder sisters are also the teachers' pets for their academic excellence and reliability.

Janice the caring one dreams of becoming a doctor or a nurse someday. Jo-an the dark and ahtletic one dreams of becoming a teacher who promises never to verbally malign her students no matter how stupid they are, unlike what her teacher is now doing to them. Joylyn the one with strong leadership qualities despite her being the youngest, dreams of becoming an actress. Not having matinee idol looks, we told her to hone her skills of being a comedienne and maybe she might just make it big in showbiz.

Having become a single mother all of a sudden with the unexplained withdrawal of my husband from his fatherly obligations, and then swamped by three more people in his place, my financial burdens are becoming heavier than I thought. Having used to only one daughter to take care of all her needs, I realized I would also to take care of the needs of three more girls, which means triple the rice, triple the water, triple the laundry, triple the electricity, triple the everything.

Perhaps this is giving my otherwise only daughter an idea of what it is like to have siblings, competitions in terms of food, attention, and achievements. I grew up in a family with three brothers. Growing up a single child must be a different experience, and the sudden addition to her world seemed at first too much to bear, but she is now adjusting to the situation.

Still, I am just happy to be able to bless people who are less privileged than myself. My misfortunes are still a fortune from their point of view. I am happy that, although I am not in the practice of giving alms to random street children thus encouraging mendicancy, that despite my own needs I am helping three needier children to earn an education for themselves, a shot at a bright future far better than just wandering the streets for a lifetime career of begging.

Indeed, the mother-and-child image has a new face. They don't have to be connected by blood or by umbilical cord. They just have to face life head on, together as a real mother would provide and protect for her own children, and as children would give their true mother her due respect and love.

Psalm 68:5 "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling."

Manila LRT Booboos: A Promdi's Blooper

No matter what, a promdi ("prom di" or from the province) is always a promdi.

Manila is not my ol' stomping ground. I've been there many a transient times. I've taken the LRT several times, and I've had several unforgettable experiences worth blogging.

Let me just narrow them down to the two most memorable:

Late 90's. I and my brother just came from Clark, Pampanga, where I bought several blinds for my house back in my home province. From Monumento LRT terminal, we were to get off Baclaran terminal. My younger brother, being more experienced in the Manila jungle, was giving out instructions like an army general. I have to be alert lest I get left behind by the train, he huffed, carrying eight boxed blinds across his chest in his arms. Obediently I did, but he was too busy giving me tips on how to go about the LRT maze that the train door closed on him while I was already squeezed in with the other unmindful passengers. With an alarmed look in his wide eyes, he stood still, dazed as the LRT started to move on without him, blinds and all. It was a time when analogue cell phones are a luxury even the promdis couldn't yet afford. So, without any means of real-time communication, I just remembered to get off at Baclaran station where my brother was happily reunited with me after the next LRT came in.

Ten years later. I was traveling alone, a lot more confident after making a lot of booboos in the past. From Central terminal I was supposed to alight at Gil Puyat station. Alone and absentminded, I saw "Gil" at the next stop, so I quickly got off, went down the street and asked around for the ride to Ayala. Although I could get a ride from there, I realized I got off the wrong station. I alighted at Pedro Gil, not Gil Puyat! Why, the names could almost be palindromes! The bus ride from Pedro Gil got stuck in afternoon rush-hour traffic I was nearly in tears thinking I might not make it to our scheduled get-together at The Fort that night.

Whew! I never realized until now how the two Gils could make LRT life a bit more complicated to a promdi like me.