THE WRITE CONNECTION

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder why it is so hard for Filipinos to band together for a cause. It is almost as if it’s endemic in our character to be passive. So we just go with the flow, look the other way, remain invisible, endure as much as we can or simply deny that something is wrong. Continue reading →

At a bridal shower I attended two weeks or so before the Philippine Week Committee (PWC) Fundraising Pageant, I spoke in defense of the organization to a known leader of its archrival, the PIWC. The lady commented that PWC shouldn’t be calling its contests beauty pageants because everyone knows it’s a money contest. Instead, they should call it popularity contest, she said. Continue reading →

Every now and then we come across people with interesting, sometimes even inspiring life stories to share, which was what exactly happened to Bart and me this past Memorial weekend. I was sitting next to a couple at the wedding reception of two special friends when Bart asked the man how his son who had had an accident was doing. I knew I had met this couple somewhere but it was only until Bart asked the question that I remembered where and when. Continue reading →

Bart and I had waited a long time for a grandchild that when our daughter announced a baby on the way, we were super excited. Before long, in fact, months before the baby was due, Bart blurted out we would do the babysitting ourselves. Knowing he isn’t the type to commit to that kind of responsibility, I was impressed. Continue reading →

What’s up? It’s a two-word question we often use like a knee-jerk response to a stimulus, such as a phone call from someone we have not heard from in a while, or a convenient way to strike up a conversation as you jump into a discussion between or among friends. But for a really short expression, “What’s up?” packs in a lot of possibilities for a good exchange, a half-hearted banter, serious dialogue or just a casual chat. There’s a wide range of topics and subjects you can explore as well. Continue reading →

Speaking at the recently concluded 2nd Global Summit of Filipinos in the Diaspora at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City, Loida Nicolas Lewis called for the registration of one million more overseas Filipino absentee voters who will vote in time for the 2016 presidential elections. Her call, according to reports, drew an immediately warm response and support from hundreds of conference participants, most of whom are overseas workers and residents, who travelled from across the globe for the 3-day conference. Continue reading →

To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. Continue reading →

Going home to receive an award seemed such a preposterous idea to my brother when first I broached the subject to him of Bart and myself doing it. “I wouldn’t go home just to accept an award,” he said briefly, albeit dismissively. Though it didn’t surprise me that he felt that way, I also knew I couldn’t let his remark and thought go unchallenged. Continue reading →

How often has something like this happened to you? You’re driving in the highway and after following a slow moving vehicle for a while, you decided to change lanes only to find out the lane you had left would ease up and move much faster than the one you changed to. And before you know it, you’re left eating the dust of the cars behind you from the previous lane. Worse yet, you couldn’t get back into that lane as no one would let you in. It sucks, right? Continue reading →

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.— Anonymous
Last year’s Christmas was the happiest I’ve had in years. Though it was only the second Christmas I had been away from my kids, the time I spent with my siblings and their families on this most celebrated Christian holiday more than made up for this one occasion that I had to miss my children. Continue reading →