Philippine holidays in 2010

USE this to plan your weekend vacays. Thanks to Ivan Henares for sharing the info.

* Feb. 22 (Mon) - EDSA Revolution Anniversary (holiday for schools only, three-day long weekend from Feb. 20 to 22)

* April 1 (Thu) - Holy Thursday

* April 2 (Fri) - Good Friday (four-day long weekend from April 1 to 4)

* April 9 (Fri) - Araw ng Kagitingan (three-day long weekend from April 9 to 11)

* May 1 (Sat) - Labor Day

* May 10 (Mon) - National Elections (three-day long weekend from May 8 to 10) GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

* June 14 (Mon) - Independence Day (three-day long weekend from June 12 to 14)

* Aug. 23 (Mon) - Ninoy Aquino Day (three-day long weekend from Aug. 21 to 23)

* Aug. 30 (Mon) - National Heroes Day (three-day long weekend from Aug. 28 to 30)

* September - Eid'l Fitr (to be announced, calculated Sept. 10, possible three-day long weekend from Sept. 10 to 12)

* Nov. 1 (Mon) - All Saints Day (three-day long weekend from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1)

* November - Eid 'l Adha (to be announced, calculated Nov. 16)

* Nov. 29 (Mon) - Bonifacio Day (three-day long weekend from Nov. 27 to 29)

* Dec. 24 (Fri) - Christmas Eve/Non-Working Holiday

* Dec. 25 (Sat) - Christmas Day

* Dec. 27 (Mon) - Rizal Day (four-day long weekend from Dec. 24 to 27)

* Dec. 31 (Fri) - New Year's Eve/Non-Working Holiday

* Jan. 1, 2011 - (Sat) New Year's Day (three-day long weekend from Dec. 31, 2010 to Jan. 2, 2011)

Happy New Year

(Scene from New Year 2008. This year's celeb was more sedate bec. of the rains. But I still woke up hacking from inhaling all the smog from everyone else's fireworks. Erg.)

No exclamation point in the greeting there because I think I'm in a food coma. I'm still super sleepy after staying up past 3 am to finish that Harry Potter movie on HBO.

I didn't want to go to bed muna because I was so full from the media noche...roast beef, spaghetti, a not-so-Chinese ham, fruit salad, chocolate eh, and ensaimada (the last two I'm supposed to be saving for merienda later). I'm so scared of dying from bangungot...just 'cos it's so unglamorous. And I imagine the snickers at the wake..."ayan, ang takaw kasi..." ick.

Just thinking about eating another feast this lunchtime doesn't make me wanna get up from bed. It will be paella valenciana, lengua sevillana, and prawns in lemon butter sauce today. Ugh. I think I'm going to sleep again. And I don't want to eat another bite until Monday.

It's here!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Thanksgiving and the turkey

I'VE always liked turkey, even if some people think it's a totally tasteless bird. I suppose it all depends on the stuffing and rub used on its skin. I have been eating it since I was little, so even today, I eat it as a sandwich, although usually what restaurants serve in their sandwiches are white meat.

Anyhoo, every time Thanksgiving in the U.S. comes around, I always get caught up in the news stories of Americans trying to rush home to their families, the dishes served and the various recipes used, and try to catch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade broadcast by some U.S. news shows. (One of my favorite films on this American holiday is Home for the Holidays, starring Holly Hunter and directed by Jodie Foster. It's a funny take on the kind of homecoming people get from their families and how one survives all the weirdness.)

Btw, Thanksgiving is a common celebration in a lot of European countries and in some form or another in Asian and South African countries as well, because it traditionally celebrates good harvests.


But why turkey on Thanksgiving? One web site I read said when the Pilgrims/Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621, they had other food served than just turkey. One story goes that roast goose was actually the traditional bird to celebrate good harvests in England. But in America, there were more wild turkey available than geese, so turkey became identified w/ Thanksgiving.

In Saipan, where I worked for a year, I was able to attend a Thanksgiving feast w/ some Pinoys. I was happy for the turkey, which was served along w/ lechon and leche flan. Coolness. Hankering for a more authentic American Thanksgiving dinner (okay, I just couldn't have enough turkey, yumm!), I went to one of the restaurants and ate turkey again w/ some pumpkin pie. (It was so long ago I can't remember if I liked the pie.) Stuffed, and happy at experiencing some kind of American holiday, I went home w/ still more turkey in hand, for the next day's baon at the office.

Here in the Philippines, we don't actually have Thanksgiving as a tradition in November, although some hotels and restaurants capitalize on it and offer turkey dinners to their dining patrons. But we do give thanks for our blessings during Christmas. So there are families, like mine, who've served turkey, alongside the regulatory baked leg of ham, lengua estofada, quezo de bola, chocolate eh, and ensaimada.

This year, we decided to forego the turkey (sniff!) primarily because we have yet to find someone or some establishment in the Alabang area (where we celebrate Christmas) w/c roasts it well. (Santi's last year was just too chaotic and couldn't give us a straight answer when we could pick up the bird.) The only other roaster I know of, and w/c we've used in the past, is in Makati w/c is just way too far for Christmas Eve pickups. For a few seconds, while my sister and mother were discussing the Christmas menu, I did think of roasting the bird myself. As an amateur cook, I always like challenging myself to experiment w/ certain difficult dishes. The thought, as I said, lasted no less than 10 seconds as I realized that roasting a bird would just be too much stress for me.

So I will not have my roast turkey this year, and will have to get my fix some other way. How depressing. Meanwhile, if you want to read up on the pressures of cooking a Thanksgiving dinner, the NYT is hosting a Live Thanksgiving Blog by one of its food writers. The entries so far are quite amusing, and makes the reader feel thankful we don't get that crazy on this day. Except during Christmas boo-hoo.

And while it's not a Filipino holiday, I still want to wish everyone, especially my friends and family residing in the States, Guam, and Saipan, a Happy Thanksgiving. And I give thanks for my loving weird family, my crazy fabulous friends, and all the great blessings I continue to receive through the year.

September na!

TIME to make that Christmas shopping list ghels and gheys...araykow!

Just to remind you all how close it is to D-Day, check out the Christmas countdown widget on the right. (Lord, pls. give us strength.)

(Snoopy image from i-love-cartoons.com)

Preparing for Holy Week

(Holy Week 2007: A caroza bearing the arrested Christ, as St. Peter denies him. To his right is the Virgin Mary. I took this photo during the Good Friday procession in San Pablo, Laguna last year. More of my Holy Week 2007 photos at Flickr)

FR. VIC, our priest for the 6 pm Mass at the chapel in the village where I live, made some interesting points during his sermon tonight, which I wanted to share with you. I hope I can deliver his thoughts as well as he said them.

WHY is the week called Mahal na Araw? In English it's called Holy Week so shouldn't it be "Banal na Linggo" in Filipino? He said the week is all about Christ's love (in Filipino, pagmamahal) for us, which made it possible for Him to suffer and die for our sins. Thus, Mahal na Araw.

The origin of the Visita Iglesia which is done every Maundy Thursday, he noted, was perhaps a way to keep churchgoers from filling up the Church to the brim as they keep vigil for an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, which represents the body and blood of Christ. As you know, it is only on Maundy Thursday that the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to the public. So the Visita Iglesia helps break down the hour into 10-minute portions so believers go to about seven (7) Churches to see the Blessed Sacrament, this way preventing an overflow of churgoers.

He also said that because the Blessed Sacrament is exposed just one day in a year, we should venerate it. It isn't the time to do the Way of the Cross, which should be done, instead, on Good Friday, because this is the day when the Christ Lord died on the cross.

Because the Visita Iglesia has become somewhat like a tourist attraction already ("Panay pa-picture sa harap ng simbahan kasi maganda", says Fr. Vic), it was better, he said, to just spend an hour in one Church praying and keeping vigil, meditating on the Blessed Sacrament.

The most important holiday, he said, should really be Easter Sunday, instead of Christmas, which is "the beginning" of Christ's life. Easter Sunday, however, is the day when Christ resurrected from the dead. This is the "culmination", he noted, of Christ's life and works here on earth. So actually, we should place more importance on it than on Christmas.

What do you think, guys?

A most blessed Holy Week to all!

List 'em down kids!

Something Like Life
Jan. 4, 2008

‘SO what’s your New Year’s resolution?” my ex-classmate H. jokingly inquired. We hadn’t seen each other in a while as she had been working abroad for a time, and I bumped into her—of all places—at the mall just a couple of days before New Year’s Eve. We immediately sat down for cups of coffee to catch up with the latest chismis about our former schoolmates.

Amid the screams and peals of laughter reminiscing over stupid college antics, we had some discussion if we still needed to make New Year’s resolutions and why people no longer made them.

In true skeptic’s fashion, I retorted, “Uso pa ba ’yon [Is it still in fashion]?” I don’t remember making any more New Year’s resolutions after I became an adult, and New Year’s Eve took on another meaning—lots of panic eating, binge drinking and partying on the beach with friends.

H. still believes in the concept—and that people no longer make resolutions out of plain laziness. I think people no longer make them because we’ve all become cynics and our own worst critics. We know we won’t follow through with our New Year’s goals, anyway.

Unfazed with my negativity, and with total seriousness, H. said she wanted to adopt a “more healthy” routine this year. To start exercising and eat more vegetables. She said she was going to go back to the gym and use the exercise machines at least thrice a week, instead of wasting her monthly gym membership fees. (Well, I told her she was an idiot for not using her gym membership, especially since New York gyms charge the most humongous fees! Hellow?!)

Anyway, I said I could use some more gym time myself, as per the latest mounting on the weighing scale showed me the impact on my gorgeous figure of the pints of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, a few shovelfuls of molten chocolate lava cakes, and recent bites of lechon macau and cochinillo.

But I know myself. I’m not quite the person who would stick to some commitment I’ve made (especially under duress and because a friend was just egging me on to come up with a resolution), even though I know I could probably push through with it if I really wanted to.

I’m also quite the contrarian. I’d probably violate my New Year’s resolution just to show myself I could do so, and then challenge myself to renew my commitment. Of course, more often than not, the violation stays and old habits are readopted out of laziness and convenience.

But H. was persuasive. She said a New Year’s resolution wasn’t “some kind of torture” one inflicts on oneself. To commit to goals that we know we can never accomplish and adopt certain behaviors which are beyond our limitations. Most of the time, she said, this is the mistake people make when they make their New Year’s goals, and that’s why they fail so miserably in accomplishing them, and then become disappointed with themselves for failing.

It’s more about changing one bad habit over time and choosing to be a better and improved version of oneself, she stressed. A New Year’s resolution gives us a chance to make ourselves over.

She insisted that the resolution doesn’t even have to be a big one. As most people’s experiences show, the more complicated the commitment you make (e.g. stop smoking completely), the more likely you will break your resolution. It can be as simple as resolving to start one’s day with a prayer, making up your bed before leaving home or, yes, even going to the gym twice a week.

We both theorized that the key to making sure one would stick to his or her New Year’s resolution is to make it as specific as possible and totally measurable. Like instead of resolving to quit smoking, it has to be more exact like cutting down from two packs of cigarettes a day to just a pack a day. (I went cold turkey, too, when I stopped smoking a decade ago, but then I wasn’t really a heavy smoker to begin with. I just think for some people, their bodies need time to adjust to the reduction in nicotine intake before they finally cut it off.)

Okay, so let me humor H. and come up with my list. If I believed in making New Year’s resolutions, these are the things I will resolve to do:

• Practice yoga more regularly, like twice a week. Since my latest trip to my doctor showed a slightly elevated diastolic, maybe it’s time I adopt a more regular de-stressing exercise routine.

• Set aside a travel fund. With the peso stronger against the dollar these days, traveling abroad has become more affordable. So saving up to be able to go on just one gigantic dream vacation abroad is something I’d want to do. Tuscany, here I come!

• Clean out the attic. Throw out all my college stuff. (C’mon, some people even keep their grade-school mementos!)

• I should give away clothes, shoes and bags I no longer need. Either use all the geegaws I’ve purchased in my travels abroad, or gift them to somebody.

• Organize my stock of photos over the years into albums and boxes.

• Get a glaucoma exam. The eye condition runs in my family and I’m at the age where it can start. Better start monitoring it now.

And finally…

• Redecorate my bedroom. I’ve been trying to do this for a couple of years already with not much success, primarily because I have no talent whatsoever in interior decorating. Never mind that I have a lot of fabulous finds from the flea markets I frequent, I just cannot organize all of them into an aesthetic and pleasing fashion worthy of my hours of watching Clean House and Extreme Makeover. I need a place that can really be a sanctuary so I can shut myself away from whatever’s happening in the real world. No TV allowed.

In theory, they all sound good, but the hard part, of course, is actually doing them. And thus, we still come to the same question: Do we still need New Year’s resolutions to beat back our bad habits, or give us more impetus to reach a goal that we have been trying to accomplish for years?

It works for H. Perhaps it’s worth a try.

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of BusinessMirror. Main photo from BusinessMirror. The rest, the author's)

100! and counting...

Something Like Life
Dec. 20, 2007

THIS is my 100th column for this super-excellent business newspaper.

I never would have thought I’d have enough discipline to do this every week and talk about a topic which matters to us most: our relationships. After all, I’m more a politics and business kind of girl who usually rants over the latest insane idea of the government, despite my having turned more to lifestyle writing.

When my editor first proposed to me the idea of writing about relationships, I was amused. I think I asked him if everyone else had turned him down before he finally approached me. Frankly, I thought the topic was very limiting and felt I’d run out of ideas each week. Besides, who would want to read about falling in love (and out of it), dating, adultery (woo-hoo!) week after week? Besides what right did I have talking about romance when I’m currently unattached, except to my Mac?

But as Gerard spelled it out to me, relationships do not only mean romantic love and its many configurations, but also the bonds that tie us to our work colleagues, our bosses, our family, our friends and, yes, even those who are within our periphery who may not be any of the above but who still make our lives work, such as our secretaries, assistants, househelp, etc. (A couple of months back, for example, a few people told me how they enjoyed my piece on finding the right househelp, and sympathized with my plight.)

Helping me through this weekly commitment of column-writing have been my friends, some of whose life stories have also made it to the pages of this section. Well, what are friends for if you can’t mine their experiences and regurgitate them for public consumption, eh? Seriously, I just love my wonderful friends, some of whom have been closer to me than my own family, and I’ve shared some of their own stories with you, so you already know just how much I have learned from them, too.

'The Entourage' (foreground, from left): Fil, moi, Donna, Marianne, Tita Nel; (back, from left) Tito Mon, Pinky Poo, Badang

So this year, as I give thanks for the great opportunities that have come my way and to my fabulous readers, I’d like some of my dearest friends to take center stage and talk about their favorite Christmas gifts. This is my “Entourage” — the people who have been around especially when things weren’t going so great in my life. It hasn’t been an easy year for me and my family, but I’m glad I have these splendid guys and gals to hold me up and lift my spirits. This is my own little way of saying thank you to them and hoping that all their Christmas wishes come true. (Okay, I didn’t bother to ask the rest because they don’t believe in Christ-mas anyway…heathens! I still love you guys, though.)

Fil: Back in 1987 when things weren’t that big, Larry (my life partner) bought me a 29-inch Sony TV which had surround sound. Big TVs weren’t in fashion yet then. But it was the biggest gift he ever bought me. Until now it’s still working!

Tito Mon: I was five years old and my mom gave me a bicycle. We lived in the province then and we weren’t rich. So it was something big for me already. Also, I remember that same Christmas, my ninang (godmother) gave me a basketball. The ball fell down the stairs and out into the compound’s ground. I ran after it and the German shepherd of my neighbor clawed at me. I was given 24 anti-tetanus shots!

Marianne: Everyone knows I love vinegar. A couple of years ago, a publicist gave me different kinds of vinegar—red wine, tarragon, malt, balsamic, sukang Iloko, etc. I really appreciated it because I wasn’t even close to her but she took the effort to choose these vinegars in nice different bottles and arranged them in a gift basket. It may be ordinary to some but I liked it because she put a lot of thought into the gift, which is something that you don’t expect from most publicists, right? Napa-bilib ako sa kanya! Someone actually paid attention to what I wanted! (Anyone who can guess who this publicist is gets a special prize. No help from Marianne, please.)

Jun: I was 11 years old, I received a doll dressed as Santa Claus. It was a gift from my favorite kuya who died from bangungot in December also, three years after he gave me the doll. It was the best gift I received because I guess it was his way of telling me that it was okay for me to be gay. He was 24 then, and it was his first job, he bought my doll from his first salary. Of all my brothers, he was the one I was closest to, and he was the only one with an open mind to what I was, what I am. That’s why I don’t enjoy Christmas that much since he passed away.

Donna: Just last Sunday I received a Tommy Hilfiger watch from a really good friend. It’s lined in pink with Swarovski crystals. I really wanted that watch. And although it’s not really that expensive in terms of watches, it was expensive for my friend to buy it. The last time she gave me an expensive item was several years ago. But it’s not really the price that mattered; it’s who gave it.

Ted: I must’ve been nine or 10 years old and our “Santa Claus” got a bundle from his huge Christmas sack and called out my name, “To Teddy.” I walked up to him, got the bundle, ripped open the wrapper and couldn’t help letting out a delighted yelp, “Santa’s finally got it right!” when I saw what it yielded: all the titles of classics illustrated comic books I had written on the Christmas wish list which I and all my cousins in the maternal family compound I grew up in Bacolod were asked to make before Christmas Eve. A Tale of Two Cities, The Prisoner of Zenda, Robinson Crusoe, Man in the Iron Mask, Huckleberry Finn, War of the Worlds, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, etc.

Jun the fabulous, now based in Hong Kong.

Francine: Getting married two days after Christmas Day was the best Christmas gift I received…next to the sofa my husband (Peter) bought me today. Peter and I actually wanted to get married on Christmas Day but we wanted our friends around to share the day with us. People would still be nursing a hangover on the 26th, so we decided to hold it on the 27th. And also now (will be a good Christmas) because we have a baby, it’s his first Christmas. We just moved into a new house. We brought in a cypress tree from the garden into the house and decorated it with lights and Christmas cards. So we’re going back to trying to find meaning in Christmas. We want to make it more meaningful again, especially for us as a family.

It’s funny that as I was interviewing my friends for this piece, most of them had a difficult time remembering the outstanding gifts they received over time. I did, too. I sort of remember the food I ate more than the gifts. (But now that I think about it, the best Christmas gift I probably received was a dainty gold bracelet from an old boyfriend. He had come from Bangkok, where he attended a conference, and didn’t give me any pasalubong. Nagtipid ang gago — the bracelet was my pasalubong and Christmas gift rolled into one. What was interesting was that when we split up, the bracelet also broke…but then, of course, it’s 24k kasi. Confession: I still have the bracelet, repaired, which I still wear sometimes.)

But I guess as one gets older, the material stuff doesn’t really hold too much meaning for us anymore. We’re not as impressionable anymore as when we were little and all gifts were the best. These days, it’s the thought that counts, or whoever gave the gift that lends it some meaning. The fact that someone actually remembered and took time out to give us a present is quite heartwarming, more so if it comes from someone we really have great affection for. (Of course, if anyone gave me the stuff that was on my Christmas wish list published a couple of weeks ago, I will love him or her forever.)

So, with a gentle reminder to keep the Excedrin, Lomotil, Alka-Seltzer, apple juice and tomato juice on hand, my friends and I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror.)

Loveless on Christmas?

Something Like Life
Dec. 14, 2007

YOU have just renewed your membership to SMAP (Samahan ng Malalamig ang Pasko). Every time you hear the song “Pasko Na Sinta Ko” played on the radio, you want to go out and shoot your neighbor’s dog. Okay, so you don’t have a boyfriend this Christmas. What are you going to do, short of hiring your gardener’s macho dancer-son as your boyfriend to present to the relatives for the Christmas Day reunion?

Well, first of all, make sure you pay him at least a thousand bucks. Just kidding!

I know a number of people who have husbands, boyfriends, or family who still don’t feel the Christmas spirit at all despite the grand day being just 11 days away. (A friend’s status on his Facebook profile reads “Holidying”.) So I can just imagine what it must feel like when one is all alone with no one to share a special romantic gift over the holidays. It is true that this is the time of the year when suicide rates spike up as people either don’t have money or don’t have loved ones to turn to. If you let the Christmas blues get to you, you will likely feel empty, wretched and miserable.

I, for one, have always been thankful that, despite some years when I have to cough up my membership dues to SMAP, I still have my family around me. It will be a bit different this year, primarily because my father had just passed away, but I know we will all pull together to make Christmas still meaningful despite his absence. Having kids around helps as their wide-eyed innocence and belief in some bearded fat man in a red suit bringing them gifts just makes us work harder to make the holidays extra-special.

There is no reason, however, to feel lonely on Christmas just because Prince Charming seems to have lost his way trying to find your house. (Baka na-traffic.)

Focusing on other people instead of yourself eases the loneliness. If you become self-absorbed and keep obsessing about your loveless plight this season, you will likely need more than a bottle of Paxil to lift your spirits.

You can:

Spend the day in an orphanage. Bring some buckets of greasy breaded fried chicken or cartons of sweet spaghetti to share with these unfortunate souls. Or ask donations from friends for used toys or children’s clothes to donate to the children. Seeing these kids’ faces light up from sheer joy at the goodies you’re bringing is a feeling so precious that you will forget, however temporarily, how depressing (you think) your life is.

Visit a home for poor senior citizens. Next to orphans, old people whose own families have abandoned them are the most pitiful creatures imaginable. After giving their lives to their families, they are cast aside like used plastic bags. People who are forgotten need someone to talk to. I find it a real learning experience to just sit down and listen to seniors tell stories about their youth. It’s better than any reality TV show (or telenovela) and you get a history education to boot.

Spend Christmas Day with orphans. (Photo from stadonfamily.com)

Invite others for a Christmas get-together. Whether your friends are alone like yourself or have families, ask them to come over for a meal and some merriment. If you want to slave over a hot pot the whole day just to forget how alone you are, then go ahead and do the entire menu. If your friends are up to it, then go potluck and ask them to bring some special dish. Christmas is all about sharing. For sure, you will all be closer to one another when you all come down with intestinal flu. What fun will it be for all to investigate whose dish caused your brains to run out your ass.

Okay, so you can be a little self-absorbed, too.

Splurge on yourself. Plan the entire day around the most important person in the world. You. Whip up a really delicious meal from a recipe you’ve been dying to try. Relax and book yourself for an entire day of pampering and wellness at your favorite spa. Go watch a Christmas movie or rent your favorite video (except those goo-goo Meg Ryan romantic comedies) to watch at home. If watching a video isn’t your thing, settle down in bed with a nice pot of tea and read a good book while your favorite music plays in the background. God knows you haven’t had much time to read except magazines, or the news online, during the entire year that you’ve been stressed at work.

Indulge. Go ahead and buy yourself a great big Christmas present—like that 40-inch Plasma TV set you’ve been ogling every time you pass by the appliance store. Or perhaps the new MacBook Pro with the 13-inch screen and 2GB memory. Sure, these items are expensive but, hey, they’re gonna last longer than a boyfriend! So go use that credit card and swipe away. It’s zero-percent interest anyway.

Go on a holiday trip. Who says you have to stay at home in this country on Christmas? Right now, go online and start surfing. What destination have you been wanting to travel to all these years? This is a good time as any to go there. And, hey, just think of the cultural education you’ll be getting. Try another country’s Christmas traditions for a change. It doesn’t have to be as far as Alaska (but on second thought, you might have better luck getting a boyfriend there, like Marian Frisk in Men in Trees). Check out New York Times’ 53 places to go to in 2008. There are a lot of exotic countries just within the region that really look like exciting places to visit (e.g., Laos, the Maldives, Lombok in Indonesia, Barossa Valley in Australia, and—believe it or not—Iran).

Go to church on Christmas Eve. There’s nothing more uplifting than to join others in celebrating Christ’s birth, which is the real point of the holidays anyway, and not just maxing out the credit card to buy everybody gifts. Most churches these days celebrate Christmas Eve Mass with some play on Christ’s birth with the neighborhood kids as the main characters, or feature an honest-to-goodness choral group that has endlessly rehearsed the traditional Christmas carols in harmony or other sacred arias. These traditions just make Christmas Mass more extraordinary and inspiring.

While shopping malls have all but eroded the real meaning of Christmas, try to remember that the season is all about giving love and joy to all, and making peace with others. It is also the time to count your blessings and realize just how lucky you are. You may not have Prince Charming by your side, but you’re healthy, are able to eat three meals a day, have a roof over your head, and good friends (or family) around you.

You have every reason to be happy.

(My column Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of BusinessMirror.)

Holidays take over

THE holidays have taken over my life, thus, the relative slacking in my blogging these past couple of weeks.

There was much last-minute shopping to be done, wrapping of gifts, and I had to help coordinate the food, refreshments, and gifts for our gang's Christmas party this Saturday. In between all that, I still had to write my stories for the different publications I work for, squeeze in an appointment with my dermatologist, as well as a checkup with my doctor.

Well the good news is...I'm done. As in I've officially completed my shopping and all those nice people on my Christmas list will have gifts this year. Their presents are all wrapped, the bows have been tied, and gift tags inscribed with my most heartfelt dedications. I intend to send out all of these gifts (except those of my family) by next week. So get ready kiddies!

With regard to my checkup...TADAAAH! my blood sugar is normal. Yay!

Because diabetes runs in my family, I've had to monitor my glucose level at least once or twice a year just to make sure I don't go the way of my elders who have become insulin-dependent. Thank God I'm not really a lover of sweets (except for certain times of the month, ehem), and aside from pigging out on Cyma's Skolatina for the last couple of weeks, I've really stayed away from the sugary stuff. I suppose it helps that I've been using Splenda for the last couple of years in my coffee, tea, even in my champorado.

(The worst really is taking the fasting blood sugar test. You can't eat nor drink water for nine hours before the test. And I drink water a lot...right before going to bed, when I wake up to go to the bathroom, and upon waking up in the morning. So it was extreme torture not to have some midnight snack or a drink of water before bedtime. The next day, I had to bring a big bottle of water with me to the testing clinic, and as soon as I gave my blood — this was at 8:30 am — drank like I had just traveled through the Sahara desert! I felt that parched. Ugh. Also hungry. Thank God there was a Pancake House nearby where my mom and I could eat our breakfast. I had the Salisbury steak and garlic rice. Not a great combination actually. I had to order the potato salad instead. Yum.)

Aside from my normal blood sugar level, my cholesterol levels are all in check, even my triglycerides, uric acid, and creatinine levels are within the reference values, so the doctor gave me a clean bill of health. Well, almost. I had my blood pressure checked and it was 130/90, slightly elevated (my normal BP is 110/80). So he told me to exercise. Hay!

Well, I must confess, I've been remiss in my yoga practice these past two weeks (due to the weekend bazaar shopping sprees), so I'm not surprised my BP has risen. Then again, my mom was with me at the doctor's so that could also be the reason for my higher BP hehe.

Anyhoo, I'm really thankful for my good health (and my mom's too). I think this is the best Christmas present anyone can receive.

September na!

AND you know what that means...Christmas is upon us! But is there anything really to be excited about the Yuletide season? But of course there is. Call me a nut job but I enjoy the Christmas holidays for the family reunions, the endless joyful eating, the giving of gifts, and sharing of hearts. Hopefully, there will be more love and peace to go around this year.

So bring out your pen and paper and start making your shopping list. I'm starting the Christmas countdown today – see the counter on the left. (Tip: Do your Christmas shopping early while most department stores are on sale. It will save you a bundle!)

And why not do something different this year? Instead of just emailing your Christmas greetings to your friends and relatives in the provinces or abroad, why not send them an honest to goodness Christmas card for a change? It will mean more to them that you took the time out to write down your thoughts and wishes for them instead of sending a pre-written email greeting via Internet. So avoid the rush at the post office...mail those Yuletide cards early!

A Holy Week blessing

Something Like Life
April 13, 2007

SCENES FROM A ‘RETREAT’. Memorable images from a Holy Week respite, including Boots and An Alcantara in front of the charming, Casa San Pablo. (Photos by Stella Arnaldo)

THERE’S nothing like honest-to-goodness Lenten traditions to remind us of Jesus Christ’s sacrifices to save mankind from sin. Unfortunately, here in Manila, there are very few places that still stage cenaculos, hold pabasas, or even have processions depicting the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.

Good thing we took up an invitation to stay at Casa San Pablo, a quaint inn in the heart of San Pablo City, Laguna, operated by gregarious businessman on a perennial laugh attack (and I had the daily gas pains to prove it!) Boots Alcantara and his warm and winsome wife, journalist and author An Mercado. Their good nature and hospitality are part of the charm of staying at Casa. Along with Boots’ equally entertaining mother, Mommy Vinia (who delighted us with an impromptu mini-piano concert on Easter Sunday), the couple interacts with their guests, treating them like long-time friends.

(Aling Puring and her papier mache molds in Paete, Laguna.)

We instantly bonded with this family which has been so blessed by God, not only materially but spiritually. An said she was leaving us in the capable hands of her husband for the weekend as she was going on a solo retreat in Tagaytay after having been directly touched by God’s hand. She recently had a cancer scare, discovering a lump in her breast, and the only decision she had to make was whether to have a lumpectomy or mastectomy. Then one day, she heard a voice in her head urging her to pray for a miracle. “All the while I was praying for strength so I could face this, then suddenly I was being told to pray for complete healing.” So she did, and asked everyone to do so.

According to Mommy Vinia, when she first received the text from An asking to pray for healing, she felt embarrassed that she should ask anything as great as that from the Lord. “But then why are we putting limitations on what God can do?” asked Boots. He and his mom and I were talking late into the night about An, who had already left for her retreat by then, and marveling about God’s power and love for us, His children. And so An was healed, completely free of the lump, much to the amazement of her doctors. She went on the retreat to give thanks to the Lord. “Kung si Lazarus nga patay na nabuhay pa Niya, etong buhay, hindi ba Niya matutulungan?” Boots asked again.

(Row of Ugu Bigyan creations at his pottery studio in Tiaong, Quezon.)

The next day, as I opened my battered old copy of Our Daily Bread, this passage leapt off the page: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” It was a passage from the Book of Jeremiah, which I felt was a reiteration of the conversation I had with the Alcantaras only the night before. The reading also added, “When we pray according to God’s will, He may choose to do that which the world with its limited perspective deems to be hedged in by the impossible. But many of us have proven that God is able ‘to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think’ (Eph 3:20).”

It was the loudest wake-up call I heard from Him in the longest time. I thought of all the other crises in my life and those of my family’s where I was too ashamed to pray for His healing and instead merely asked Him to do His bidding. For the next few days, every time I opened that little book, the readings and passages spoke to me, directly addressing some issue I had with other people or events.

Good Friday procession

There are two Good Friday processions in San Pablo. One is the traditional, albeit shorter, parade of images depicting the passion and death of Christ, which is handled by the Catholic Church. The other is the bigger and more “touristy” procession of some 50 santos, which Ado Escudero has been holding in the last few years. Naturally, there has been some tension between organizers of both processions, according to Mommy Vinia, with the Catholic Church hierarchy in Laguna insisting that Escudero’s procession was improper as it includes images that should only be paraded on Holy Wednesday, not on Good Friday.

(Workers put finishing touches on the image of the Christ Jesus during the Good Friday procession in San Pablo, Laguna.)

While we did marvel at the beautiful images and the carozas that were paraded during the procession, it was not as solemn as we had hoped for. There were a couple of times the crowds rushed in to steal the flowers off the carozas in the belief perhaps that these were blessed. It was truly sad that such an occasion meant to commemorate the sacrifices of our Lord would be diminished by the unruliness of those who profess to be believers.

While the event was more of a show than anything else, I must admit that the annual procession has been able to bring in the tourists that Laguna needs, and the images paraded are truly remarkable feats of Filipino craftsmanship and design. The elaborate detail in the santos’ clothing, like those of the Blessed Virgin, for example, are also testimony to the adoration of its owners and the dedication to their faith. For those reasons alone, I was willing to overlook the blatant commercialism that may have moved the organizers of the event.

We watched the entire procession from the balcony of the ancestral home of my friend, newspaper columnist and AM radio host Alvin Capino and his siblings. His sister Maris accommodated our ragtag group and fed us with simple fiesta fare. It never fails to amaze me how fiestas bring out the hospitality and friendliness of Filipinos, especially those living in the provinces, so it is indeed a delight to take part in one.

Follow the sun

(A caroza bearing the Blessed Virgin Mary makes its way around the plaza of San Pablo City, Laguna.)

There were a few other places we visited on Black Saturday that constantly reminded me of how great are the works of the Lord.

At the home studio of celebrated ceramics pottery artist Augusto “Ugu” Bigyan in Tiaong, Quezon, I was awed at how he could make art useful for everyday life.

On the way to Paete, Laguna, I joined the pleasant and engaging family of Mike and Lizanne Alcazaren, friends of the Alcantaras, who were also shopping for quality woodcraft. The nonstop banter, peppered with Boots’s humorous anecdotes all throughout the drive, certainly made new friends among us. Talk about bonding!

While there, I had the pleasure of befriending fiftysomething woodcarver Mang Abel, who was working on a four-foot image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as well as two smaller images of the Virgin Mary and the crucified Christ.

Another stop was the home of Aling Puring, whose family makes papier-mâchés. In Paete, the men are wood sculptors, while the women make papier-machés. She had shelves and shelves of wooden papier-mâché molds in the most elaborate designs, some of them probably antique.

Considering the masterful creations of Bigyan, and the artistry of Paete woodcarvers and papier-mâché makers, how can one not attribute such talents to some higher power above? For sure, there is some divine inspiration involved in crafting those works of art.

(A wooden sculpture of leapfrogging children, Paete, Laguna.)

Must all good things come to an end? We had to return to Manila after Easter Sunday Mass, but we came away renewed and refreshed by our own Lenten “retreat.” Most of all, we were grateful for making new friends like the Alcantaras, Alcazarens and Maris, and for being inspired by how His hands work through man.

Sometimes when we get caught up in our busy lives that, no matter how many times we read the Bible or open our daily readings, we don’t hear Him. The din of the city and our noisy activities interfere with His thoughts for us. So I was extremely fortunate to have been able to go to the provinces for the Holy Week — where the skies were clear, the air was clean and cool, and the people around were just the happiest and most enjoyable I have met in the longest time — allowing me hear His messages loud and clear.

• Casa San Pablo is located in the Gomez compound, barangay San Roque, San Pablo City, Laguna. For inquiries or reservations, call Boots Alcantara at (0917) 812-6687 or check out the web site at www.casasanpablo.com

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. More photos of my Holy Week vacation at Stella's Flickr fotos.)

Victor Mature on my mind

Something Like Life
April 5, 2007



HOLY Week has never been a big thing for my family.

For us, it usually just meant the annual Visita Iglesia, where we were rounded up by my super-religious father and hauled off to seven different churches in the evening of Maundy Thursday. But we were never forced to go to confession, although we did see our parents disappearing behind the mysterious purple curtain hanging over the confessional boxes. Nor did we ever go and make the Way of the Cross, while everyone else in the churches we visited did. Our parents just told us to pray seven Our Fathers, seven Hail Mary’s and seven Glory Be’s. I made it like a game and rushed my prayers to try to beat my siblings or our parents out the church door, all the while trying to look very solemn.

We were never big on fasting and abstinence either. If we wanted to, we could abstain from eating pork like the old folks, but we never felt we were going to hell if we pigged out. But on Good Friday, we always looked forward to the delectable Bacalao ala Vizcaina my grandmother (and now my mother) cooked for us. We ate it at lunch with steaming white rice, then once more at dinner. Then on Easter Sunday, we would have the beef and chicken pochero.

Growing up in an era when cable TV and iTunes were still to be invented, Holy Week also meant being bored out of our wits. It meant no TV, no radio, not even newspapers. This was an era when going on frivolous vacations to the white sand beach of Boracay to party ‘til the wee hours of the morning was still unheard of. I remember gingerly sneaking off to switch on our humongous black-and-white Radiowealth just to see if the Good Lord above had taken pity on a restless little girl like me and somehow miraculously aired my favorite TV programs.

But, of course, I would be crestfallen as there was only the characteristic “snow” showing on all three channels then. I would stare at the screen for what seemed like an eternity trying to will Sesame Street to pop up on the tube. No such luck. It was a good thing, though, that Poltergeist had yet to be thought up by Steven Spielberg; otherwise something else might have made its presence felt on that TV screen.

Sure, it wasn’t all snow and static—and, yeah, I may not actually have been bored until Good Friday itself. During the first few days of the Semana Santa until Holy Wednesday, then again on Black Saturday, I would be tormented by Fr. Patrick Peyton and his beloved Family Theater “Rosary Crusade” series. To the young kids who have never heard of him, Fr. Patrick was the priest who tried to promote the praying of the rosary through dramatizations of the different chapters in Jesus’ life. Of course, the series had no effect whatsoever on me, not even if I did study in an all-girls Catholic school. I still don’t know how to pray the rosary on my own.

After the short dramas usually featuring some well-known celebrities of those times — was that Raymond Burr playing Simon of Cyrene? — Fr. Patrick, in his cracking whiny voice, would make a little speech about the lessons we were supposed to have learned from watching the episode, then he would pray the rosary which we were all obligated to say with him. Then each episode would end with the line—say it with me, people...“A family that prays together, stays together.” Oh, brother!

(Victor Mature...ooof! From IMDB.com)

But if I wasn’t suffering in silence from Fr. Patrick’s melodramas, I was secretly swooning at the swarthy good-looking Victor Mature as the Greek slave Demetrius in The Robe, then in its sequel Demetrius and the Gladiators. Who cares that Richard Burton was in both films, and that he won an Oscar for his role as the centurion Marcellus?!?! Yeah, so Jean Simmons, Anne Bancroft and Ernest Borgnine starred in those films, too! For me, both films were all about Victor Mature...such strength of character...and the way he carried himself (this guy never looked one bit the slave that he was supposed to be)...and oh, how he tried to resist the charms of the hussy Messalina played by Susan Hayward, wife to the emperor-next-in-line!

Of course, watching those films now, I realize that Victor Mature was no great shakes as an actor. In fact, his face hardly changed expressions from one scene to the next. He looked constipated most of the time. Yeah, much like Kris Aquino in all her movies. (Now here are some fun facts: The Robe was the very first movie ever filmed on Cinema Scope, and Demetrius and the Gladiators was actually released on TV seven years before The Robe due to some business kinks in Hollywood. And you thought George Lucas was the genius who created prequels! Hah!)

To make me guilty for secretly pining for Victor Mature, there was of course The Miracle at Garabandal. The film was creepy and frightened the daylights out of me because of the seeming supernatural events that they documented.

In The Miracle at Garabandal, the four young girls to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared apparently never scraped their knees even though they knelt in a swoon on jagged rocks. Their heads would tilt back and their faces enraptured in what many described as “angelic.” I distinctly remember the hairs on my forearms and nape standing as the host miraculously appeared on the tongue of the child Conchita, as she received communion from some invisible being. So scared I was of these otherwordly happenings that I prayed never ever to be chosen by the Good Lady for an “honor” such as the children received.

My suffering would eventually end, much like Jesus Christ, on Easter Sunday, when all three TV stations returned to their regular programming. Thank God that these days, cable TV has given us more viewing choices for the Holy Week. And with the our DVD players handy, we can choose to ignore the idiot box’s offerings altogether. Hmmm...now where did I put my Jesus Christ Superstar DVD?

(My column, Something Like Life, appears every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror.)

The big birthday bash

(YATS Chef Philip Golding gives me a cleaver to slice our delectable birthday cake. Photo by Dudubel)

I turned another year older last Saturday, and as expected, it didn't turn out to be a quiet walk towards impending senility.

The gang and I motored over to the Clark free port over the weekend and engaged in a few days of mayhem. It was actually a joint birthday celebration for a number of us, starting with Mago and Dudubel in January, and me in February, along with Buntis who celebrates her natal day on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, Buntis couldn't join us due to a previous appointment...achuus.

While the resort we stayed at was clearly a shadow of its former self, we still managed to enjoy ourselves mainly because of the really super nice people we met in several establishments, and the fun activities we had. Some played the slots at the casino, while the others stayed in the villa for some card games. It turned out to be a mighty profitable weekend for some of us hehe.

(The gang at play poses for a 'beauty shot'.)

We had a surprisingly inexpensive lunch at the YATS Wine Club co-owned by Chef Philip Golding who served as vintage beer for starters, some Chianti to go with our main course of salmon, steak and risotto, and port to close our meal. Advised earlier of the dietary restrictions of a few in the group, Golding served us some delectable sugar-free white chocolates, and thereafter gifted us with oh-so-heavenly sugar-free cheese cake. The cake was so good even the non-diabetics in the gang devoured it when there were three other sugar-rich cakes just waiting to be eaten. Ang kapal nyo ha!

Philip showed us his extensive collection of wines and two of his wine "cellars", which were actually not cellars but temperature-controlled rooms chockfull of absolutely gorgeous vinos from everywhere imaginable. I asked if I could live in his cellar where I would be very happy just drinking all the good stuff. The wines don't come cheap, of course, and he proudly showed off his P1-million wine, a bottle from Chateau Margaux. There was also another Chateau Margaux bottled in 1803 (P125,000), and I asked Philip what it would taste like considering it was really old and that it had probably been subjected to massive temperature fluctuations before it finally landed in his hands. He said he was dying to find out, and I of course had the temerity to rain on his parade by saying that he could have also ended up with a rather expensive bottle of vinegar! Hahaha!


(I'm not very partial to carbonara, but this version at C' is lusciously creamy with some earthy notes.)

Aside from the casinos and the indoor card games, some of us managed to do a bit of shopping and I for one, finally found Aquafresh Extreme Clean at Puregold, and rather inexpensive Carnation Hazelnut Coffee Creamer in larger containers unlike those sold here in Manila. Duty-free shopping of course is not what it used to be in Clark, and the goods are no longer as inexpensive and varied as before. Time was when I used to buy all my toilet paper at Clark (or Subic) because they were imported and more reasonably priced than our local brands, and what's more they were thick and absorbent. Okay, so I have a thing for plush toilet paper...shoot me.

But it wasn't just fun and games for us over the weekend as we were able to sit down and chat with Chicos Luciano, president of the Clark International Airport Corp. who gave us a rundown of the exciting new developments in the aviation field in Clark. For a government official, Luciano is one heck of a regular guy. He drove himself from Quezon City on a Sunday, without any bodyguards in tow, just to meet with us. He is so amiable and kind, constantly giving in to snickers at our antics, but he definitely knew his stuff. He rattled off facts and figures like they lived in his head and was generous with the information we needed for our slew of Clark stories. If all government officials were like Mr. Luciano, we would have one heck of a super efficient bureaucracy.

(Oooh, panizza! Yum!)

Luciano thereafter treated us to an ultra-sumptuous meal at the "C" Italian restaurant on Fields Ave., said to be a favorite of my favorite presidentita GMA, Imee Marcos, Luli Arroyo, Sharon Cuneta, and a few other celebrities, as well as CEO expats now living in Clark. Some of its fans actually drive to Clark (now a very fast one hour drive on the repaved NCLEX) from Manila just to have a meal there.

Its best seller is the panizza, the creation of its Swiss-born "Chef Patron" Chris Locher, which is really a super-thin crust pizza sliced diagonally, and which you can top with alfalfa sprouts and arugula. Chris tells us that a few times in a month, when the presidentita has her "cravings", PSG guards would turn up at "C" to take out panizza for the madam. Our meal last Sunday consisted of deliciously creamy risotto, very tender slices of angus beef, a different take on Pasta Amatriciana, and yummy yummy flavors of gelato. The strawberry and lemon-mandarin gelatos are really to die for.

Too bad that Chef Locher doesn't want to put up a branch in Manila. He tells me that while he has been with the Philippines for quite awhile, he absolutely abhors Manila. So grab your cars people and take a trip down to Clark soon if you want to have a taste of Chef Locher's brilliant dishes, designed to please every foodie bone in your body.

Props goes to publicist Mike Marasigan (my ex-boss at BusinessWorld, imagine that!) who was able to facilitate the great getaway, along with Clark Development Corp. tourism officer, the ever cheerful Noemi Garcia. Thanks guys! We really had a blast!

Happy New Year!

To all my gay (and non-gay) friends, have a great 2007!

Here's a hilarious MTV from Michael V. to entertain you through the New Year celebrations. (I swear this guy is a frikking comic genius!)

Bus riders get gifts from Secret Santa

SPOKANE, Washington - A woman hopped aboard buses, greeted passengers with "Merry Christmas" and handed each an envelope containing a card and a $50 bill before stepping off and repeating the process on another bus.

She did it so quickly that descriptions of the woman varied among surprised Spokane Transit Authority passengers on several routes Thursday, The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported Friday.

"She kind of kept her head down. I don't remember ever seeing this lady before," said bus driver Max Clemons.

"I had a young man in the back of the bus. He looked like he was going to start crying. He said in broken English, 'She don't know how much this will mean to me at Christmas,'" Clemons said.

Read the rest of this heartwarming Christmas story at GMANews TV, Dec. 24, 2006.

Hey people!

A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

WARM HUGS...

STELLA :-)

What's your favorite Christmas tradition?

Something Like Life
Dec. 22/23. 2006

IS it just me or can you smell it, too? I don’t know, but there’s just something superspecial in our carbon monoxide-laden air these days that gives me an extra high, with just a few days to go before Christmas. Sure, we’re all probably tapped out right now, having exceeded our Christmas budget again…or suffering a splitting headache from the vocal contortions of the blind woman with the mic outside the mall…and maybe a bit frazzled from managing the maze of pasilyos at the tiangge and shoppers meandering like they were walking under the moonlight in Luneta!

But gee…Merry Christmas! It’s a wonderful holiday that should be celebrated throughout the year (sans the traffic). Let’s take some time to reflect on the birth of the Christ Jesus who has made all our blessings possible. And for that, we should offer our grateful hearts to Him and share the bounties of the season with all. As my gift to you dear readers, here are some friends to share their thoughts on their favorite Christmas traditions. Happy Christmas to you everyone!

Mayor Jojo Binay, Makati City

When I was still in high school (I was living with an uncle’s family then), I was supposed to go out with my cousins and my barkada. May karnabal pa noon, at ’yon lang ang pinaka-happening ng mga panahon na ’yon. I really wanted to go but I begged off, saying I had lots of books to read. The truth was, I didn’t have any money. This experience encouraged me to establish a tradition of gift-giving, especially to indigents in our beloved city, and treat them with free entertainment during Christmas/New Year.

Gov. Say Tetangco, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

Besides family reunions, what’s my favorite Christmas tradition? Ah, it’s the golf circuit; I play with friends between Christmas and New Year. We’ve had one scorekeeper all these years, and only he knows how the tallies of wins and losses are made...but that has never seemed to bother any of us. We let him have his way, all in the spirit of friendship and camaraderie that fills the Christmas air.

Jimmy Bautista, president, Philippine Airlines

My favorite Christmas tradition is the Noche Buena, when after going to Mass all family members, from grandparents to grandchildren, dine and drink together and exchange gifts and pleasantries. When my parents were alive, we made it a point that my family and my sisters’ families spend Noche Buena in our parents’ home. It’s like our annual reunion and everybody, especially the kids, looks forward to it.

Lance Gokongwei, president, JG Summit Holdings Inc.

My favorite Christmas tradition is decorating the tree with my wife Jay, my daughter Hannah and my son Jacob. Basically, we use the same ornaments every year, but this year Hannah, who is four years old, added a Dora star on top of the tree. I love seeing my children’s faces light up as they watch the tree disappear under all the lights and colorful decoration.

Fritz Kahler, general manager, Alegre Beach Resort

Back home in Austria, our Christmases were mostly white, with a large freshly cut fir tree set up in our living room, beautifully decorated and lit by real beeswax candles, which altogether created that very special Christmas scent. My father then would walk through the house on Christmas Eve with pieces of hot coal from the fireplace on which he put some incense, which further enhanced the atmosphere. Christmas out here in the tropics is a bit different but we’ve kept some of the traditions. We always have a natural “Christmas tree” which could be a local bush or small tree “adapted” by my wife Cynthia and decorated with ornaments we’ve collected from the numerous countries we’ve lived in. We have real beeswax candles from back home which we light on Christmas Eve.

Macel Fernandez-Estavillo, legal counsel, Yuchengco Group of Companies

My dad would make wonderful paella that he’s famous for, my mom and aunt would make chicken salad and potato salad, and we’d eat at 12 midnight after our 10 pm Mass. When my sister Andion is in town (from Berlin), she’d sing Christmas carols during Mass (our family’s gift to Jesus). Now that it’s our first Christmas with our baby Javea, we’re hoping to start our own traditions, too. We got a trinket for the tree to celebrate Javea’s first Christmas, and hope to get one each year, so that when my husband, Karlo, and I are old, we’ll have a tree filled with trinkets for each year. We’re excited to be spending Javea’s first Christmas in Berlin with family, including Andion’s baby Jeffrey Jr., who is celebrating his second Christmas.

Nilo Cruz, managing director, HP Philippines

After Simbang Gabi on Christmas Eve, we’d stuff ourselves during Noche Buena with home-baked Chinese ham, pasta, fruits and French garlic bread, downing it all with either hot chocolate or freshly popped champagne. It’s gift-giving/opening until the wee hours. On Christmas Day, we visit relatives and friends, and in the evening we call those who are abroad. We also sponsor an orphan through our parish-church project during the holidays.

Ruby Gan, co-owner, Schu

We usually start our Christmas shopping when the school break starts. My sons Martin Francis and Raphael and I would scour the malls and shops armed with our lists. This is also the time when they would choose their Christmas cards for the rest of the family members. This time of the year, I tend to spoil my sons because I try to get everything on their lists. But hold your horses! These are not long lists—only about two to five items between the two boys, and they’re not really that expensive. On the 24th, after the 6 pm anticipated Misa de Gallo, we celebrate Christmas Eve with a nice dinner, usually at the Peninsula Manila, dressed in all our finery. Then at exactly midnight, we would open all our gifts!

Prandy Yulo, managing director, Hella Phils.

As a born-again Christian, I attend a Christian service normally before midnight of the 24th in our local church where we remember the birth of Jesus as told in Scripture and focus on the reason for the season, the coming of the Messiah. After congregational songs of worship and prayers, we proceed to the reading of Scripture. The highlight of the service is our pastor’s sermon on the significance of the season. My family would then spend some time after the service in fellowship with our churchmates, then go home to sleep.

Joey Bermudez, president, Chinatrust Commercial Bank Corp.

On Christmas Eve, we always hold a talent contest where we—my wife Ester, my kids Miggy, Anjo, Jeff, Gabby and Christine, and myself—perform individually with the househelp as our audience. The househelp also act as judges and they select the best performers. Of course, we give the househelp their Christmas gifts before they do their judging chores to ensure that they will be neutral. I have never won in any of these contests.

* * *

At no better time of the year can we give of our hearts to the less fortunate among us. I would like to enjoin all to remember the Guimaras oil-spill victims, whose futures are not as secure as most of us in this Holy Season. You may send your donations, either in cash or kind, to:

PROJECT SUNRISE (http://www.projectsunrise.org)
c/o Land Bank of the Philippines Guimaras Branch
Account Name: Provincial Government of Guimaras
Account No: 1922-1000-35
Bank Swift Code: TLBPPHMMAXXX

VISAYAN SEA SQUADRON
c/o Lette Teodosio
Cell-phone Nos.: +63919-225-3262, +63928-231-3193, +63915-7854-035
E-mail: cleanupoilspill@gmail.com

(My column, Something Like Life, appears every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. Photos from BusinessMirror.)