Royal Botanicals.

What better way is there to celebrate the waning days of summer than a visit to the Royal Botanical Garden.

The RBG, located in the Burlington/

Hamilton areas is just an hour's drive away from Toronto.

When visiting royals, got to tread carefully..

The weather was on the cooler side, with a slight drizzle, which required a light jacket and a baseball cap.

Back in Manila, the weather report talked of a hazy and blurry day. Too many crossed signals in the Universe; confusing forecast in the horizon.

Of course, I am hoping to see clear skies when I visit Manila this September. I don't want to be grouchy, just happy.

I love the twisted..

Where art thou Sunflowers?

by Gener

Around the bend in Oglebay

I drove years and years ago,

To deposit the boys in a boarding school, such a place near Ohio,

Then I got into a plane, slipped away in a hurry

Boasted 'was in Big Apple's neigbour

In many years before.

Whence I moved to Toronto

On a red Isuzu,

The border patrol looked at my visa

And said you, there go,

I drove past the line, yelled on top of my lung

Here, I am past Buffalo

'Thee dream just finally came true.

Why, here, just now

I'm 'bout to fly again in 'morrow,

'Am taking a Northwest jumbo

my body's got used to,

Tho' still sick to the stomach I must

bid an adieu,

My momma waits for me

she's sick,

Momma is, you know.

Must this fellow be a huge clueless

In a scheme he 'tempts to,

Sleepless, directionless

how can it be so,

So?

'Fortnight he told himself, alas

Surely I must go,

To recite a lovely song

In commune with divin'in pro.

But the wind changed its course 'ruptly

and hit like a hurricane,

On this eve of my sail

I hope to surmount 'tis will,

My compass has jammed ill

My map's a bit wet

My boat's stuck in the mud

Better be back on a plane.

Lead 'ee to a point, where I go,

In the mountain

Or train depot?

Across a tall building, in a mall,

In layers of condo?

Under a bridge,

In a meadow?

Surely gotta know -

Could it be below a pass?

Beneath a hospital, perhaps

Along a racetrack,

Within hotels?

Past a church, near a bank

Beyond the north or the south,

In the hills or the mound?

Ain't it funny,

Oh no!

My clock runneth low.

Simply mind the woes I wrote

Which received 'ee promise of gold,

Take the words which kept aflowin'

And got the future clearer,

The omen 'ee once told

Thine be pursued with an amen,

The passion of 'mee poems

Shall be lived in soul of 'thee each other.

Clueless. Sleepless. Honest.

Without a clue.

Without sleep.









Without a doubt....not wild.

Where is the new Luneta or where do folks meet in Manila?

LEFT - Not Luneta.

Pinoy Balikbayans visiting Manila find it hard to resist the urge to go to Luneta. The last time I saw Luneta was in 2005, during the tail end of the Holiday Season, when we stopped briefly by the Bay, on the way home from an evening at Intramuros.

Relatives boasted of the new and improved Intramuros where, during our incursion there, a "rondalla" was playing Filipino classics by an old Church, and a mini fair of food, art works and "parol" display was taking place.

One time when a sister and her son from Ohio came visiting, I took them to Luneta and Fort Santiago and gave my Fil-American nephew some lessons in Philippine history.

But my precious memories of Luneta are those from my childhood. Those occasional early Sunday mornings when my father drove the whole family in his 50's Pontiac so we could " maka- sagap ng hanging dagat."

Yes, if anyone in the family had a serious cough, then a trip to Luneta to breathe and savour the salty air from Manila Bay was the solution.

And it was really very pleasant and cold to stroll at the Luneta those years. I remember Luneta being a vast expanse of trees, clear blue waters, and a whole wide stretch of clean highway, then known as Dewey Boulevard. There was even a ferry ride in the Bay (we called it lancha) that I remember taking as a child.

Farther from the main Luneta, one could see the night club strip, there was the original Aristocrat's Restaurant and the once famous Bayside.

The next time Luneta entered my consciousness was in early high school when the Japanese Garden had been constructed; it became a main attraction at the Park, together with the fancy skating rink. My cousin who acted as my father's driver would sneak us out in the evenings and we would watch grown up guys and gals do their tricks at the rink.
Then, Doroy Valencia made Concert at the Park happen.
We saw it live occasionally but watched it regularly on television.

When Imelda Marcos built the Cultural Centre and the Folk Arts Theatre, these structures and their countless productions became the new reasons to visit Luneta

But for some young folks who owned cars, the area around the Cultural Centre became an attractive place for trysts with the beloved. And of course, there were the ever present "balot" vendors.

When one reminisces about Luneta after a long abscence from the Philippines, one could not help but hear Rico J. Puno's Tagalog version of "Memories....Namamasyal pa sa Luneta, kahit walang pera... "

I think Rico J. was singing about a Luneta which later deteriorated into a cheap, sometimes sleazy park, where vagrants slept, where illegal vendors peddled, where lovers settled for few stolen moments - the time when the "classic" memories of Old Luneta had faded away.

But in 2005 and more so now, Luneta had been resurrected and reinvigorated, so I heard.

But for folks who only frequent the sassy cafes and resto of Makati and Bo-Glo, where is your new Luneta?

Tale of Irony.

About six months or so ago, I discovered the pleasure of reading. I was not looking, I just stumbled upon a beautiful book and I started gazing, then seriously taking upon the new found love.

I became a different person. Inside me there became an excited being, ready to read more. I was slow, I was choosy. But I started to dream again - to live once more, as the book(s) became alive in my mind.

But I was scared. Reading was not my passion nor I profess to being highly literate in the ways of writers and lovers of great literature. An ordinary person, I just wanted to enjoy, to discover new words and minds and merge them into my own world. I was not being pretentious, and saying, I am a great reader or lover of literature.

But, I found another happiness, at last. Could it go on? I sure wish it would.

As reading is new in my heart, poetry is something I've always loved.

THE ROAD TO A HEART
by Gener












They say it is laden with ice, your heart
Because it doesn't bleed,
But it pumps wild at prose and lit
Even bloats at the sight of knightly tales
Or future Gods.

How can one reach a bosom tool of life
Encrusted in diamond and gold?
Or weaken the veins that make them bold,
Warmth the red cells and make them drip
Bit by bit,
Until they coalesce into a new fruit of love?

It is paved with glory and aches, the road to a Lady's heart,
The trenches and spikes you've erected
Are high,
The moats and bridges
And guards carefully laid,
While you gaze from your castle's tower
A demeaning smile
In your lips.

A Nobody.

I don't claim to being anybody. I am just an ordinary being. A nobody. Being ordinary, I feel happy and sad, elated and downtrodden, at various times in my life.

I have expectations and dreams. I have failings and dejection.

I have faith and I have weaknesses.

I have revelations, rejections, reprisals, reprimands, rebuttals, rejoices.

In writing this blog, I have had discoveries, dismays, delusions, distant-ness, devotion.

I am someone. To myself. To those who love me, perhaps, I pray.

I am sad, for many reasons, I won't tell. Sadness is part of my being. I exist because there is always something missing. If we have everything, we will not continue to dream, then we live no more.

I wish I understood clearly.

Nothing can come between us.

by Sade

I always hope that you remember

We'll never really learn the meaning of it all

What we have is strong and tender

So hold on

In the middle of the madness

When the time is running out and you're left alone

All I want is you to know that

It's strong still

Can't pull us apart

Nothing can come

Between us

Nothing can pull us apart

Can come

Between us

I always hope that you remember

What we have is strong and tender

In the middle of the madness

Hold on

So it truly is a good thing

And I always wanted you to know

There is always this

And this is everlasting

Hold on

It's about faith

It's about trust, yeah yeah

It's about faith

It's about trust

Nothing can come

Nothing can come

Nothing can come between us

Nothing can come

Nothing can come

Nothing can come between us

Can come

Can tear

Can pull

Us apart

Can come

Can tear

Can pull

Us apart

Just Shoot Me.

Just Shoot Me is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced.

It had been based on an unproduced episode of "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992) in which Janeane Garofalo's character had to look after a fashion model Larry was dating. It had been nominated for 7 Golden Globes, another 6 wins & 16 nominations.

Janeane Garofalo is one actor whom I admire for her wit, beautiful face and petiteness. She was born in 1964 in New Jersey and stands 5 feet and 1 inch.

According to IMDb, "Janeane was inspired to write comedy after having watched David Letterman and by 1985 she was doing stand up comedy. As such, Janeane has become a cult figure, giving a voice to a generation, venting her frustration at TV, dating, relationships, life in general and anything that ticks her off in particular."

Janeane did sketches on "The Ben Stiller Show" (1992) (an Emmy winning, but canceled show). She would continue to collaborate with Ben Stiller in future projects. Janeane received 2 Emmy nominations for her work on "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992), developing her signature character: a smart, cynical woman with a

razor wit.

Transferring her persona from TV to the big screen, she moved on to movies, basically playing the character she had defined for herself. In Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) she portrayed a smart, cynical, successful businesswomen with a razor wit.

She married boyfriend Robert Cohen in 1992 at a Las Vegas drive-in chapel as a joke. They had gone to Vegas with the rest of the cast of "The Ben Stiller Show" (1990) and decided to get married along with some of the other crew members. After their relationship ended they never officially got divorced.

Hmm. Face and film persona. Could she have a twin? I sure want to meet one.

Day by Day.

Last Saturday, we had dinner with some friends and to end the night, we had fun singing karaoke. The friend from New York had an outstanding voice and I requested that she sing Besame Mucho in Spanish as she speaks it well, but unfortunately the selection did not have the song. The owner of the house had a Matt Monroe voice and even won in one of the "office karaoke contests' they had. I didn't want to sing but "peer pressure" made me, so I consented to sing some Frank Sinatra, like the one below.

I've Got You Under My Skin and of course, Fly Me to the Moon are my preferred jazzy songs.

Day by Day
by Frank Sinatra

Day by Day
Im falling more in love with you
And day by day
My love seems to grow

There isn't any end to my devotion
It's deeper, dear, by far
Than any ocean

I find that day by day
You're making all my dreams come true
So come what may
I want you to know
I'm yours alone
And I'm in love to this day
As we go through the years
Day by day

Im yours alone
And Im in love to this day
As we go through the years
Day by day

Clear as Mud.

It's not just annoying but maddening to be in a situation where you don't know what's going on. When you don't have control and everything depends on outside factors.

Look at how we've become slaves to the weather report. We sit by the television or read the daily report to check on the future weather. We prepare a light jacket, then next morning, it rains. Yes, there's always a probability of rain - no matter how sunny it looks.

I hate it. Another time, you prepare for a 25 degree summer day, a beautiful picnic, or a day at the carnival and kaboom... the wind blows in the wrong direction. Your anticipated trip to the park turns into an indoor couch potato-eing.

How about if you prepared for a dinner and about to go , then your host cancels the last minute?
Or the hostess sends an invitation, you RSVP, then she ignores you at the supermarket the day before the party?

I'm sure like me, you'd feel like a kite suddenly losing altitude and plunging way, way out in the mud.

Wipe your face, loser. Yes, you cannot smack the face of the weather forecaster. Yes, you cannot sue your neighbour for cancelling the party. Yes, it's all right to feel awful and angry.

You can always switch channel and check out the other weather reporter. Or stay friends with the neighbour but don't give him/her a Christmas card. Or just call or email and find out what's going on. Hey, what's the real score?

Mr Sandman

My favorite scene in the movie Back to the Future is when Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) hesitatingly entered into the Hill Valley town square and the soundtrack Mr. Sandman bring me a dream (bung bung bung bung) suddenly played.

Marty wasn't sure if he was just dreaming or if he was really back in time. The first sight that caught his attention was the gas station where uniformed gas attendants milled around a car - pumping gas and wiping clean its windshield.

And the moviehouse marquee displayed the Cattle Queen of Montana, starring Ronald Reagan and Barbara Stanwyck.

That scene was magical. Marty was stepping into an unknown and it showed on his face. And what could be more 1950's than the song Mr. Sandman, sung in the movie by the Four Aces.

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream...was originally recorded by the female group, Chordettes, and became a #1 hit single on the Billboard United States charts and #11 on the United Kingdom charts in 1954. In November, 1954, The Four Aces released a version that charted even higher in the UK.

The theme song of the Back to the Future, however, is the Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News.

Memorable line from the film, " Where we're going, we don't need roads."

TOP - Young George McFly first kissed Lorraine Bates on the dance floor while Earth Angel played.

Pacific Blue.

In a beautiful bed and breakfast setting couple of weeks ago, I happened to gaze at the map of the world posted in the living room wall. There were tiny pins tucked in several countries, marking the places where visitors hailed from.

And I just stared, and just like in the movies, the two oceans seemed to move for a split second under my intent gaze.

I moved closer, searched and there was the country of my birth - S-shaped Philippines, nestled between Malaysia and Indonesia on the south and China on the north. To the west is China Sea, and to the east, the vast North Pacific Ocean. Topographically, the Philippines is broken up by the sea, which gives it one of the longest coastlines of any nation in the world.

When you are flying over the islands of the Philippines on the approach from the Northwest, you will not see the magnificence of the geography; to really appreciate the country's beauty, you must alight and then, travel by land and sea.

The water is Philippines' best friend; lots of it. But wonder of wonders, with the world's longest coastlines belonging to it, not many have been developed. Can you imagine, if just half of these coastlines were developed into major resorts and oceanographic endeavours (diving, marine biological tours, preservation, reservation, etc)? I bet Philippines could rival the world's top vacation destinations.

I will be flying over the Pacific blue sooner than expected. Philippines' blue waters, golden sunsets, and yellow-inspired movements.

Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee.

Just finished watching the movie Halloween.

This one is the sequel which was released on the 20th year anniversary of the very first Halloween, in which Laurie, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, now headmistress of a boarding school, finally chopped off Mike Myers' head with an axe after she drove the ambulance van down a hill.

Michael got pinned between the van and a tree trunk, and was pleading with Laurie to save him. Laurie looked at his eyes and was reaching for his extended hands.

Their hands touched briefly. And Laurie called out "MICHAEL" and with one massive raising of the axe, chopped the "evil's" head off.

This movie is old, released in 1998, on the 2oth anniversary of the first Halloween which was released in 1978.

The original Halloween was Jamie Lee Curtis' first movie starring role. Apparently, she was not the first choice to play the heroine Laurie; and that it helped that she's the daughter of Janet Leigh of the "Pyscho" fame.

The next time I saw Jamie Lee was in the 1988 movie A Fish Called Wanda - with that unforgettable scene in which she and John Cleese were supposed to make love and she stripped down to her panties and bra.

Also unforgettable was the court scene in which Archie (John Cleese), George's lawyer, was cross examining a witness, Wanda (Jamie Lee) and kept on fumbling as they were already lovers (Wanda seduced him to find out where George moved the loot from the jewelry heist). So Cleese kept on saying " Wanda, I won..da..." since his wife was one of the spectators inside the court.

Then Jamie Lee starred as the wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie True Lies. Here, she played Helen, wife to Arnold's Harry Tasker character. She was a suburban housewife mistaken to be a cheating wife by Harry, a spy. In this movie, Jamie Lee reprised the sexy bra and panty scene reminiscent of what she did in A Fish Called Wanda, when her husband (Arnold) duped her into doing a seductive strip act.

I saw Jamie Lee in yet another comedy, as mother to Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday, wherein Mom and daughter were switched bodies through a magic spell and Anna (Lindsay) had to cope with the neurotic patients of her psychiatric Mom and Tess (Jamie Lee) had to cope with daughter Anna's boyfriend.

No panty and bra scene for Jamie Lee in this one.

Jamie Lee is 51 years old. And happens to look naughtily girlish and sexy.

So, whad'ya want?

Every time I see the yearly back-to-school TV commercial where a family is shopping for school supplies and Dad is ecstatically pushing the cart, while his two kids drag their feet behind him, I can't help but laugh. No fail. Ha ha ha.

Apparently, this classic commercial which first aired 15 years ago was created at McCann Erickson Worldwide advertising agency.

"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is a light-hearted take on back-to-school shopping that depicts an elated father bounding through a Staples store accompanied and contrasted by his two children, whose expressions are notably grim. The spot airs to the tune of the Andy William`s holiday-themed song of the same name. The contrasting perspective of parents and children returning to school is humorous and conveys an ubiquitous and fundamental truth about back-to-school shopping." To view the commercial, go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFsTPx5UrbA

This commercial started to air again in the U.S. last July and in Canada, last Aug. 4th.

Poor kids. Schools are opening after the Labour Day weekend, on Sept. 8th.

So, while not having any school-aged children, I am left to salivate over school items on sale, such as staples, pens and pencils, computers, notebooks and laptops, even the clothing at Gap and Old Navy's.

But I got ahead, and bought my own back-to-school item a couple of weeks ago, a Blu Ray High Def player.

Maybe now is also a good time to take advantage of the back-to-school sales for the forthcoming Holiday gift-giving. Christmas is just four months' away. Before we know it, Christmas carols would be floating in the air. And before that there's Halloween, and the Canadian and U.S. Thanksgiving.

So, what present do you want?

Go eavesdrop and find out subtly what your spouse, kids and loved ones would want for the most memorable time of the year. The back-to-school special sales going on could save you the trouble later on.

Wowowee...eek.

While I was visiting my sister and her family in Seattle, Washington a few months ago, I got to play with the baby and princess of the house, little Tam Tam a lot.

Then I watched children's shows that she watched (Dora Dora, and a thousand other baby shows featuring songs and the alphabets, not just Sesame Street stuff anymore).

Then I saw Wowowee. Then, I saw thousands of girls (babes) dancing and doing the "giling giling." And I asked my sister, Tam Tam's Lola, "why do you have TFC?" To which she replied, " so she could learn Tagalog."

My three nephews, all born and raised in the U.S.A, understand Tagalog. Their parents spoke to them in Tagalog so they could learn the Philippine national language. So you speak in Tagalog and they answer in English.

Whenever they visited the Philippines, their cousins spoke to them in both Tagalog and English and they understood and no merchant in Escolta or Santa Cruz could sell the Jones Bridge to them.

There was even a time in their pre-adult years that they enrolled in formal Tagalog classes back home to improve their facility in the language of their parents.

Second generation Pinoys in the US and Canada often do not speak Tagalog or the dialect of their old folks anymore. Unlike the Chinese or the Spanish people. Chinese and Spanish kids speak fluent Mandarin or Cantonese and Espanol.

So now, Tam Tam's parents would want to change that. They want her to understand and to speak beautiful Tagalog. Funny, because in Manila, parents pay a lot of money and enroll their kids in private schools so they could learn flawless Philippine English.

Back to Wowowee. " What is that? " was my next question to little Tam Tam who could unfortunately not yet answer me back.

How could a show devote six hours (??) in intro to gyrations and laughter? And to singing and theatrical segments and contests that seem to insult not just the contestants themselves, but the viewers.

I hope the TFC channel and now, GMA cable, would have included sane children's educational shows in their programming. First generation Pinoy immigrants want their children to speak their native language, but because of limited time with the kids at home, the learning process is not simple; so they need additional resources to reinforce the learning process.

The children in North America get exposed to the school system and mass media earlier and since the pre-school kids are often left in day care centres (and not maids nor Lolo and Lola back home), there simply is not much time for them to absorb and learn Tagalog.

The Grace.

I'm one who's slow to feel the sting of a rebuke, or of a disappointing end-result. It takes a while for me to digest, ingest, inhale, hear, see and realize the impact.

Because a lot of times the hideous are couched in sweet sounding jokes and the promised sales pitch coated in syrup.

Happened again this time. The sales pitch failed to deliver on its promise. And I am left scarred...literally, physically.

But thank God, the power of Grace has saved me from falling into the pit of sadness. The feeling will fluctuate for several weeks, up and down, like the stocks. But again, it will take its course and stabilize.

My faith is my saviour. I was flipping channels and stopped at the 700 Club to which I sometimes contribute, and heard portions of Gordon Robertson's reaction to an email - that Our God is like our earth fathers who want us to keep on asking and that He will give and answer what we asked for.

It was very timely because at that very moment I was looking at my scar.

From this point on, I vow to appreciate the dents, the scars, the moles, the jagged edges, all those ugly parts of my being together with the beautiful. And hope that others could love both the regulars and the irregularities of me.

If I were an advertising slogan, it would be Pepsi's
1969-1973 "You've Got A Lot To Live, Pepsi's Got A Lot To Give"
and 1984's " Are you ready to take the challenge? "

Our Matriarch.

La Madre.

My mother's 91st birthday is coming up in a few months, and we her children, and our families are all very excited and thankful for having her all our lives.

She's still as lovely and grand as when she was younger and taking care of us.

Gloria Torres Fajardo. That's my mother. She comes from families from Manila and Iloilo.

I remember at my graduation in elementary that she was wearing this light pink mini skirt and blouse - two piece suit - when she went up the stage to pin my medal of honour. My mom was an original fashionista, even then.

My father's and her closet were competing with clothing selections. My sisters would laugh at this memory, for sure. She wanted to have a new dress for every fiesta she went to. We love her very much.

To you Nanay. We love you very dearly and forever.....

I forgot about Spike...err...Shadow.

My sister who''d been baby sitting Shadow called while I was in Montreal and asked how I was. After I put the phone down, I realized I didn't even ask about Shadow. Poor thing! How ingrato his Canadian amo is ; totally forgetting the mini pin.

Now back in Toronto I suddenly realized I miss Shadow a lot. The only consolation I have is that when I entered the house, Tommy Boy welcomed me right away with his "clack clack sound." The curtain was drawn so I pulled it aside and turned the spot light on him and J-Lo.

I'm glad to be back in Toronto. The airport in Montreal was like an Eastern European port; security check was so heavy. Must be because of the travel season - a lot of folks travelling to Mexico from the Montreal area.

I thought travelling locally across Canada wouldn't have any security nightmare; was I wrong. In the U.S., if you're travelling across the States, you never go thru the same strict security check as when you are going international.

It was good I checked in my small luggage and just carried two small black bags (my CPAP) and a small backpack. The security thought I was travelling with the family behind me - Mom with three little tykes - and when I answered "No," he retrieved the bag he just let through and re-inspected it thoroughly.

Glad it was over, and I'm glad to be in the City of Toronto again.

BTW: The Brit guy, Murray won the Canadian Tennis while I was there visiting. Also while in Montreal I tried to send in some of my good ideas to a local post, but my log on was rejected. My only consolation - nothing.

Ma, I'm flying!

Here I am suddenly awakened from a half asleep half awake nap and I was dreaming. Must be the pain killer I took.

The dream was that I was flying somewhere East and my parachute was a giant coffee mug and I was propped by its ear.

Torture. I know I've used some air miles, but to be flying home 19,000 miles just propped by a giant coffee mug.

And then it was hugely funny. Who would believe it anyway if I told my tale. Huh?

Mercy. As Roy Orbison sings in Pretty Woman.

I still see Julia Roberts' character singing with the Walkman on her ears while at the bath tub and Richard Gere's character looking at her with amusement.

She scored at the end though, after a harrowing, humiliating experience.

As for Richard Gere, he thought he lost her forever until the hotel clerk told him where she lived. He finally overcame his fear of heights just to be with his woman. At least the fire escape/wall was not locked so he was able to climb up and enter.

If Pretty Woman happened today, Gere's character would've probably entered first a contest like Bachelorette to win her woman back. That is, if his entry gets to be accepted at all; might be firewalled or even junked these days.

But you'd have to allow the bachelor to keep his pride intact, you know. Merci.

True.

I lie in bed and get up, power the laptop and read far away blogs and gush to myself how others could write so flawlessly and captivatingly.

Then I realized something in me. I was writing, and then I was not writing. I was just typing to have some posts published. I do not take care to put much thinking on what I write.

Like what it is that I feel today and was feeling yesterday. The true.

I took an easy walk this morning in the park fronting a lovely river where across I could see the distant dome of a Christian church and set against the early sun, the twin tower of an old European house. I took pictures quickly. Then walked back slowly and behind an alley leading to the garden which I left after breakfast.

True feelings are hard to capture in one's heart or mind. How does one do it? How do I really feel today? When I looked into the view of the river and the church dome and twin tower, my heart was filled with some emotion - a memory perhaps of something I've already seen or someplace where I want to be.

I cannot pinpoint it exactly. What it is. It is just an itch - like when you pull out a band aid from a healed wound - it's an "ouch' sensation. A bit of sting, but refreshing.

Lutong Makaroon.

I remember one time getting a not so pleasant reaction from something I wrote eons ago, from my Boss. She hated it and told me to get lost.

Working in a creative department meant having to translate market research data into attention-getting print, radio and television ads. It meant 15 seconds, tops 2 minutes, of a consumer's time. Not too much time to make pa-cutsey ads and maybe too much for a very hard sell.

A lot of times, clever copies are not easily understood or do they get registered in the minds in 15 seconds. So much so if one's mind is awashed in pain killers.

Lately, even my dinner(s) have not sunk into my stomach either. Either too much flavouring, colours, dollar signs, or maybe it was not meant to be served to me.

How to go about serving great dinner? Prepare carefully. And as the female character of Mike Myers would say in a Saturday Night Live sketch (SNL) ... discuss.

Bird watching. Not.

Where I am staying, there is a nice window facing the sun in the morning. And today, as I rose up early at around 6 am, there was already a bird watching over me.

I remember that in the old office in Toronto where I used to work, birds were just simply swarming on my part of the window; an office mate then had to announce that birds love people who love birds.

It's beautiful. There's a little breeze that makes the trees sway a bit, but this morning is simply wonderful. I found a book titled "The Mists of Avalon," in one of the shelves, and it's about the magical saga of the women behind King Arthur's throne. Let me try to finish it before I return to Toronto.

I also am trying to finish this non-fiction, the Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

There's a river nearby, about hundred steps I guess, and two cabanas. Gorgeous summer day!

I've savoured the in-house coffee served by the cook but I think it'll be a good idea to stay outside and buy franchise coffee and just wait for the bird to show up.

J is for Just You.

Shadow Fajardo, the house Mini Pinscher, is presently vacationing in Ohio, with his Aunt Aliw and Uncle Carl.

He's let loose in the backyard during the day and sleeps inside the house, either in his padded cushion bed or at the foot of the bed of his former amo.

Now, that Shadow is away for awhile, the two house budgies, Tommy Boy and Ugly Betty have taken my full attention back.

It's not that I neglected Tommy and Ugly Bets. It's just whenever I was playing with Tommy, Shadow was barking his lungs out to get my undivided attention.

Now, Tommy is happy again. And Ugly Betty, too.

Ugly Bets has gotten all her hair and feathers back and as lovely as before, I am calling her J-Lo once more.

Tommy says, " Just You." And I say, "forever."

The Love of God.

Psalm 103

Praise the Lord, my soul!
All my being, praise his holy name!

Praise the Lord, my soul,
and do not forget how kind he is.

He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases,
He keeps me from the grave
and blesses me with love
and mercy.

He fills my life with good things,
so that I stay young and strong
like an eagle.

Wish List.

Seems everyone has a wish list. I got one of mine granted by me. I finally bought a Blu Ray, a Vizio, which was on sale at a Walmart in Ohio. I think everybody's got a Blu Ray already.

It's a 1080P High Def Blu Ray Disc player with HDMI connector.

I've postponed getting one because there's not much Blu Ray movies available in the market; most were old movies converted into Blu Ray. But lately, I noticed more and more new Blu Ray selection at Blockbuster's so I decided it was time to get the machine.

Last night, I watched Inkheart starring Brendan Fraser and it was awesome. Crystal clear!

Perfect timing makes a lot of difference in many things. To investors, when to buy and sell stocks. For the tech geeks, when to get rid of an old cellphone and buy a new one; when to buy a new gadget. To the lovestruck, when to make the first move in a relationship or when to get hitched. Or when to call it quits. To families, when to buy a house, when to have a first baby. And to seniors, when to retire. Etc. Etc.

In offices, employees make a wish list during development seminars. In blogs and social networks, wish lists are regular features. At the end of the year, people make up their wish list for the new year.

Come summertime, Canadians wish for a great weather throughout the season, a nice vacation package and money to spend for it. A super holiday maybe traveling locally in Canada or south of the border in a U. S. destination or a Caribbean get away, or to Asia, or for an immigrant, visiting one's birthplace.

To an immigrant, there's nothing better than coming home to see family relations and friends, and catching up on new tourist destinations in the home country.

For instance a good vacation idea in the Philippines would be the new resorts which have been developed in the South - Bohol or Cebu. Even if you're not a beach person, historic Cebu City boasts of many attractions.

Then, for the gastronome in you and me, a good idea is to explore new restaurants and fine dining in Manila. For those who've been out a few years, you'd need someone to point you to the right direction; check out the blogs on hotels and restaurants or ask friends.

I heard there's a resto called Tangerine Mediterranean Restaurant in Greenhills where they play classical and jazz and Pilita Corrales sings certain evenings, and another one called Manila Grand Opera House Hotel (I suppose this is the old theatre) in Santa Cruz, where they have the PAGCOR Casino and the President Restaurant which serves great seafood. Both worth checking.

But hey, those knowledgeable in the ways of the stomach would be the best to pick the place.

Or a side trip to the island of Macau - the Monte Carlo of the Orient- will be a welcome change, too.

Why We Always Pine for the Oldies.

I keep on hearing the "good Ole days" phrase. "I miss the good o'l days; I want the oldies music; Oldies is goodies."

If you watch long enough, you'd see commercials playing on TV selling CD and DVD special editions of 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's music. Reader's Digest Music division started this idea, but now we see Time-Life and other independent producers coming up with such products.

Down at the PBS (Public Broadcasting Station), they give out special recordings of musicals to those who contribute to the station's fundraising drive; usually the musicals are those by oldies groups or bands. Just think Lawrence Welk or James Last ( although Mr. Last still holds new concerts).

And at Walmart, you'd see old TV show episodes ( I love Lucy, Gun Smoke, etc) recycled into new DVDs. Then there's TBS (Turner Broadcasting System) running endless oldies' westerns, B & White movies, and other vintage classics.

Why do the oldies music and shows appeal to us? Simply, I think because it brings back sweet memories of days past.

Yesterday, we watched a show called "Twist and Shout" at the Avalon Theatre at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara, and obviously by just the title of it, the show reveals its "oldies" flavour.

It was a short show - just 1 hour and 15 minutes. But it was fun. The musical numbers ranged from the 60's of the Four Seasons (Franki Valli's Cherry, Talk Like a Man, Can't Take My Eyes Off of You) to Aquarius and Hair, to the 70's of the Beatles' era (Twist and Shout, Sergeant Pepper Lonely Hearts' Club Band), and even Patsy Cline's Crazy, Nancy Sinatra's These Boots are Made for Walking and Presley's Viva Las Vegas, the finale.

I have a particular inclination to the music of the 70's and 80's. Somehow the new wave of music I just hear but don't really stick to my senses.

One writer, J. Zafra wrote, " I believe in the importance of the music surrounding an event." Music is really a force in shaping or furthering ideas, and in capturing moments. Look how Amazing Grace became an anthem of the Black protest movement, or how we Pinoys sing Bayan Ko during the 70's rallies against Marcos and at all those at EDSA's.

Things of old, not just audio and video, remind us of the way we've been. But I guess more people think of the future more.

It's easy to think of "oldies" because you're already familiar with them, and to think of the future, while exhilarating, is still uncertain.

Even now, I suspect you are thinking of tomorrow. What place(s) you want to see, what purchases you like to make, what movies and books to read, what pieces to write, your dream house, your dream car, your dream job.

People think of the future, and dream. It's always refreshing and beautiful. It's what makes beautiful songs, poetry, novels, films and works of art. Future is more powerful.

Baby I'm Yours.

BABY I'M YOURS
by Artic Monkeys

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the stars fall from the sky,
Yours (yours) until the rivers all run dry
In other words, until I die

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until the sun no longer shines,
Yours (yours) until the poets run out of rhyme
In other words, until the end of time

I'm gonna stay right here by your side,
Do my best to keep you satisfied
Nothin' in the world can drive me away
'Cause every day, you'll hear me say

Baby, I'm yours (baby, I'm yours)
And I'll be yours (yours) until two and two is three,
Yours (yours) until the mountains crumble to the sea
In other words, until eternity

Baby, I'm yours'
'Til the stars fall from the sky
Baby, I'm yours
'Til the rivers all run dry

Baby, I'm yours'
'Til the poets run out of rhyme.

"Baby I'm Yours" loosely translated into Tagalog would be " Mahal, Sa Iyo Lamang Ako." Tagalog is always refreshing to hear and to speak; it's the only other language I speak fluently aside from Anglais. Don't speak Mandarin or ever attempted to learn it.

Opposite of this would be "Baby Ko, Sa Akin Ka Lang, Ha?" That'd be one request Emily Post would consider polite.

Where's my coffee, Babe?

I bought a bottle of red wine and beer and the sales clerk asked for my Air Miles card. I didn't have it with me so I guessed 10 points flew by me.

A lot of business establishments give you air miles points when you purchase from them, and a lot of people have flown to places by redeeming air miles.

The only air miles I've used are the Northwest and now, that of Delta Airlines.

Yesterday as I was driving back to Toronto from Ohio, and stopped for gas, food and bathroom, all the rest areas were full. Yes, it's the height of the travel season - by land, by air and by sea.

When booking for air travel, it is best to do it early; you'd get your ticket at a much cheaper rate, and if you book yourself, you can choose your seat. When going home to the Philippines, I've always flown by Northwest; once I tried Air Canada and the old Canadian Airlines. And then another time, I flew by Cathay.

One time, the Northwest flight I took made its stop at Narita and experienced engine trouble, so we were checked into a hotel for an overnight stay; the bad thing became a good thing, because we got rested and were feeling refreshed when we made a midday instead of a midnight landing at the NAIA.

Toronto, Canada to the Philippines is about 8,220 miles or 13, 228 kms. or 7, 143 nautical miles. The direction is north west.

On this 19-hour flight, I get to drink about 7 cups of coffee. And then once in hot Manila, I get to drink more.

Manilans (or is it still Manilenos) love their coffee, that's why the pick-up line "Can I buy you coffee? " sounds perfectly normal. The only trouble is finding that person who'd buy the line.
Here's a guide for tourists planning on using the coffee pick up line.

There are about 1,581,082 individuals living in Manila right now (gender breakdown unknown). There are about 100 Starbucks in the Philippines; there's a Starbucks at Rockwell mall and one at the Glorietta 4 ; there's a Starbucks at a Fully Booked bookstore. Other Starbucks locations are in Greenbelt ( 1 and 3), Shangri La, SM Mega Mall and Metro Walk.

You'd need a week and tons of coffee to scout all these coffee places. Your Air Miles could not be accepted in these places. Your dream date maybe in some other coffee place. Or drinking another fluid. Or may not even be in Manila.

If you'd drank enough coffee to fill up two airplane gas tanks, you'd be better off cancelling the coffee pick up line, and better heading to a drugstore to buy a sedative or laxative. There are plenty of big and small drugstores in Manila; there's Mercury and Commander and the no frills types. You might be better off dating a pharmacist. Or a sales clerk. At least they're already opposite you at the counter.

But if you really want to find a coffee-drinking girl, I suggest this: start flashing your passport at a Mall, and if you get arrested by security and taken to jail, you might get published in a tabloid. Then you can announce that you won't leave the country without your Manila coffee mate.

Schlitz or Slits

Beer or red wine? It's lunchtime and I'm circling the mini mall in search of an unblocked second cell phone, and passed by the LCBO. So I went in to get a bottle of red wine and a 12-pack.

What beer to buy? There's Corona, Bud, Schlitz, Coor's, Heineken, Bush, etc, etc.

Red wine. There's a whole section of French wines, Italian, Australian, Californian, Canadian, Spanish, etc. etc.

There's the hard liquour section, too. Vodkas, Rhums, etc, etc.

So I settled for a French red wine, Piat D'or and a 12-pack Schlitz.

It's nice to have a cold beer on a summer afternoon, especially if you are reading and wondering what the hell those articles and blogs in the www's mean.

A lot of times, can't figure out what the author is talking about.

What the heck.

I'll drink my beer, and pretend I'm on the beach and that everybody loves me.

A New Horizon.

Filipinos have been so saddened by the death of their former president, Cory Aquino, that they started to dream (again) of things that might have been if their leaders followed through on the promises of the original and first EDSA Revolution.

EDSA I catapulted Cory Aquino to power and it signaled the world that the tiny Asian Republic was once more attuned to the tempo of modern day democracy. But after three more presidents following Aquino, the Philippines is still a nation in tatters; yes, it has modern edifices such as new flyovers, new condominium developments, new huge malls, but alas, no needed sustenance for the majority of its people, like affordable education, health care, housing, and enough jobs.

It's like back to pre-EDSA I all over. Politics is as dirty as before and politicians as wily and vacuous to people's aspirations and needs as before. Look, a Catholic priest wants to run as President in the next election - a sign that times are so desperate that people are only wishing for miracles to save them from man's ugly creations.

We Filipinos who live outside the country, are wishing that apart from miracles, real change could happen in the Philippines. Of course there's the 2010 national elections to pin one's hope in, and the renewed fervour for universal goals such as "equality, magnanimity, government for the people," by the populace.

I wish the citizenry would reexamine the way they view their leaders and see that the politicos are servants of the people. If this would be the mindset, then people would demand and not beg their leaders to come up with plausible economic, social and financial solutions to the ills of the country. And to choose the servants, the people should select based on the skill set of each candidate.

Hope there is. It is like in building personal and business relationships, you choose carefully the partners and people with whom you would create a lasting bond; you start with a clean slate, you nurture each other, you hope and work together to achieve the goals you set for your union.

A new horizon looms. It is looking clearer and rosier. It is an amazing image.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

BELOW - Shadow aka Santa Claus.

I started to prepare Shadow for the cold winter months ahead.

Here, Shadow is shown looking splendid in a red sweater, just like Santa.

Well, Santa is coming to town, and he's prepared to do his duty on a summer month. He hopes to bring joy to replace your grief.

Look at him, eyes glazed with excitement.

Movie Teasers Of Life.

Romance at its best. Wacky. Spellbinding. Spies at their spiciest form. Perfect music!

If you're a regular movie goer, you'd guess right that these are movie teasers used by producers and cinemas to lure the public into seeing their films.

But we, the public, are also always being asked to make up teasers for our lives.

In a lot of situations, we are summoned to describe ourselves or to give a brief run down of our experiences and lives. In social situations such as parties, or in business meetings, people are always asked where they work, what school they go/went to, status in life, etc.

And then in most intimate gatherings such as religious revivals or testimonials, people are asked to disclose of their lives or "share."

In the most social of all settings, the networking sites and personal blogs, people post their personals and stories. But even though "socializers" and bloggers talk about their jobs, hobbies, childhood, personal relationships, political and religious views, and the mundane and the important, not everyone discloses fully. Not everyone goes full Monty....in public.

Shadow? A regular guy. With irregular edges.


LEFT - Shadow does a full Monty. Bad dog.

A Caravan.

Caravans fascinte me. That's probably why I love old Westerns, where you see the pioneers of America journeying to and exploring new frontiers.

Caravans of the Wild West were a travelling population. Families, individuals, beasts and animals, possessions and lives transported and transformed.

In the pioneering days of the Americas, people moved from place to place to find their own land to cultivate and settle on permanently. It is much like today's immigrants - leaving their places of birth, travelling thousands of miles, to seek employment, and residence in alien surroundings.

In movies, you'd see carriages drawn by horses led by a bunch of cowboys or horsemen, traversing desert, mountains, rivers, snow, sun, storm and hiding from unseen and unforeseen enemies - usually depicted as the Native Americans.

The cowboy - the leading man (Gary Cooper, John Wayne, etc)- guides the caravan and his Lady to safety and to their final destination - where they'd marry and settle down permanently.

The beasts of the caravan, the horse and the cattle, deserve as much credit as the pioneers for America's leap into expansion and progress. Without them, the pioneers could not have reached the farthest and the most unreachable terrain.

In the Philippines, the nearest thing(s) to a caravan that I've seen are those travelling traders composed of several carriages or wagons drawn by cattles - laden with cottage products. There'd be furniture made of bamboo, craft such as handwoven baskets, bags, hats, kapok or rattan beds, bangkitos (miniature chairs or footstools), armoire, and cabinets.

I believe these caravan(s) were headed to Metro Manila to deliver and/or peddle their wares. The traders would stop to feed the animal and themselves, to sell at a town plaza, or to take rest and then continue with their journey the next day. I imagine this travel was not an easy one. It was not for pleasure; it was to earn a living.

The caravan - a dusty scene from an old western movie and a memory from a small town in the Philippines. But today's caravan that I see is the throng of refugees escaping from areas of violence; or those from civilized nations escaping the wrath of poverty or persecution.

Enshrined in Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the right "to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution." This principle recognizes that victims of human rights abuse must be able to leave their country freely and to seek refuge elsewhere. Governments frequently see refugees as a threat or a burden, refusing to respect this core principle of human rights and refugee protection.

Or it could be decent men and women just following the call of their minds or hearts.

Some getting into places where their profession and expertise are needed.

While others are individuals who are seeking to reunite or forge fresh union with their loved ones.

Caravan fascinates me. It depicts a dream; a dream of hope and love.

In my own caravan - my personal journey - I continue to hope.