LIFELONG LEARNERS

Opening New Doors Your Ultimate Career Reinvention and Transition Planner (Plata, 2015)


“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” ― Walt Disney Company Continue reading

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Illac Diaz for Philippine President


“Duterte for President!” exclaimed an eleven-year old boy with his right fist punching the stratosphere. I thought Davao City Mayor Duterte had declared that he wasn’t interested in running as Philippine president in the 2016 national elections. This boy didn’t read the news, I said to myself. Continue reading

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Brother’s Keeper, Anyone?

Genesis 4:8-10 New King James Version (NKJV)
8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother;[a] and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” Continue reading

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Invisible Pain


1. A Widow

Widowed at age 60,
They asked why
She didn’t cry
She didn’t act the part. Continue reading

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“Sa Ugoy ng Duyan” (Music by Lucio San Pedro, Lyrics by Levi Celerio, 1947)


If you haven’t heard the magnificent lullabye “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan,” you are probably half-American or half-Filipino! Continue reading

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Christmas Diary 2014 (part 2)


Friday, Dec. 12. Born in the 1950s to four branches of our family tree, my cousins and I are now in our early 60s. Some insist they’re just 50-something. Sure. No problem. Continue reading

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Christmas Diary 2014 (part 1)


Tuesday, Dec. 02. I attend my first Christmas party of 2014 at Pete’s Place near Manila Bay. Too early, true. Better than getting stuck in the monstrous and hellish traffic of Metro Manila. Best to make time for fellow travelers from the Parish Renewal Experience (PREX), Batch 6 of the Nuestra Senora de Guia Shrine, Ermita Parish Church. Continue reading

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Ethel & Ernest: A Gift Book


I bade goodbye to my colleagues and friends at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore in December 2010. After 10 ½ years of working abroad, I had decided to go home to the Philippines. A good friend gave me a copy of Raymond Briggs’ graphic novel, Ethel & Ernest, as a parting gift. Continue reading

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“Impeng Negro:” His Journey from Pushover to Conqueror


“Ang pagsulat ay pagtuklas. Lakad ka na. Writing is about discovering. Get on with your journey.” This was from Rogelio Sikat’s letter to his student, Benjamin Pimentel, at the University of the Philippines. It was a three-page handwritten letter dated September 27, 1982. Just as writing is about discovering, so is reading. What have readers been discovering about Rogelio Sikat’s short story “Impeng Negro” since its publication in 1962? Continue reading

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A Tribute to OFWs Cash Gift: Love Made Tangible


Whenever Overseas Filipino Workers go home to the Philippines, they share their hard-earned money with family, friends, and strangers generously. Continue reading

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