Life's Compromises

During a recent visit to our house, my auntie showed us graduation pictures of her son, my 6-year-old cousin who's very comfortable with technology (as if kids nowadays are not!). He graduated from kindergarten last March and is extremely excited about his coming primary education. One of the pictures, was him holding up a microphone on stage. It was part of the program where each young graduate had to introduce himself including his dream/s.

He was sporting a policeman look. The thing is, he really wanted to be an engineer someday but turned out he had to be a policeman because he couldn't think of any way to phrase the right reasons why and acting out the policeman role came easy for him. Maintaining peace and order, call it commonplace! Besides that, he's already complete with costume beforehand.

I was smiling and drifted effortlessly to my little dream when I was about his age. Life has been kind to me ever since, I realized.

The Smoker's Body

It is too ironic how millions with a pipe clenched in between their lips can be so indifferent to something I personally think is a dead match between their already susceptible body and an obvious killer. There's no denying that while they indulge themselves in doing it, they are making a major cutthroat of whatever are sustaining their body.

So why smoke? Every smoker must ask himself this question and provide an answer. Answers can go from peer pressure, self-gratification, the weather, to coping mechanism, especially to those battling psychological issues. It might seem to them the absolute and only answer, but no more when its effects are already presenting themselves right in front of their face, and then the body goes unforgiving.

This is an attempt to distract you, dear smoker, by telling you a friendly advice that smoking doesn't do you any good.

Please click on this very image, and do care to read the numbered texts.

Image: Cebu City, Philippines

More of Magellan's Cross

The famous kiosk that houses the cross.

Cebu, is a place of rich history, amazingly beautiful nature and large talent pool.

Visit Cebu, explore WOW Cebu now!

Magellan's Cross

If Cebu is your destination, then Magellan's Cross should definitely be in your itinerary. It is most often regarded in travel catalogs as Cebu's official landmark and perhaps the most recognizable. More info in Wikipedia.

Calamba and Rizal

Who wouldn't love being in the birthplace of our national hero? I guess nobody would care half as much as I do. Not when they don't have a "Joe" in their names. Kidding!

Jose Mercado Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, was a journalist, doctor, educator, farmer, linguist, and scientist. Born in Calamba, Laguna, he was aptly called the Calamba Joe. He, too, was claimed as the pride of the Malayan race. Beyond this, his personal life remains very interesting to many.

Yes, I was there working for a semiconductor company that so challenged me in many ways (kudos to my mentors). However physically and mentally demanding my job was, I didn't allow myself to miss the opportunity of meeting new people, of knowing their ways, of seeing the bigger part of the country, and of speaking in Tagalog that so punished me a bit (err, I'm trying to discount the fact that indeed I had a hard time in this aspect).

Above photo is the Calamba Rizal Shrine, a replica of Rizal's house. It was reconstructed by architect, Juan F. Nakpil and inaugurated in 1950 during the time of Pres. Elpidio Quirino. Hope I can still remember everything I saw: so there was the master's bedroom (there was an almario, where pillows and blankets were kept), the boys room, the girls room (the mosquito net made me smile all the way and the Singer sewing machine), the dining room (there was a gigantic, fan-like thing used to shoo away flies), the kitchen room, the comfort room, the bathroom, the wishing well, and some memorabilia.

Sure I had fun and so the bunch of kids painting outside. They were talented.