Another Day

Having a house is the ultimate dream.  I have dreamed about it but never thought I would have it so soon, thanks to parents who have generously thought of providing for their children while they and the children are still young and the parents can see and feel the gratitude of the children for that wonderful (and needed) gesture (okay, dole-out).

Indeed why wait for death, or why imagine that your children are waiting for your death, before giving your children what you are thinking of giving them anyway?  But this is for another story and for another time.

In the year 2009, the world was rocked by stories of foreclosures, foreclosures which have been instrumental in bringing down the single most powerful economy in the world – that of the United States.

» Read more of "To Foreclose or Not to Foreclose (Part 1)"

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Flow

At one point in your life, you will be given what you think will be a golden opportunity – investing in someone else’s business.  Before you turn giddy and give your yesses and your checks, think.

My husband and I, we are very enthusiastic persons.  The idea of getting into a new business – except when it involves multi-level marketing, which does not float our boat – is enough to send us to euphoria.  But of late, we have been a little selective and a little wary of the businesses we get into.  We have been burned some of the time and if added up, those investments would run into the hundreds of thousands.  Okay, okay, some are not yet “dead” but we worry about them constantly and we do not think that worrying is very good use of our time and our money.

» Read more of "Investing in Another Person’s Business"

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Making the Wheels Turn

Let us face it.  It is not everyday that we see the world with rose-colored glasses.  It is monotony that that kisses our faces day in and day out, like waves that do not fail to come to the shore; it is the humdrum of everyday life that besets us and pummels us into submission; the unexciting coming more often rather than the exciting.  And yes, there is some comfort in that.  The heart can only take so much – of happiness, of excitement, of something happening all the time.

But when you need to, how do you inspire yourself?

» Read more of "How to Spark Inspiration"

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No Business Like Show Business

It was not my first time.

I remember.  It was more than 15 years ago when I produced my first show.  It was in a southern province, accessible by land (8 hours) and by air (45 minutes).  We partnered with someone who was introduced to us as the wife of a Brunei prince.  Such was the rage at that time and many young women – some described as desperate, others gold diggers, others still victims of their own beauty (and another’s greed) – fell for the charms of dark-skinned princes, giving birth to scions of royalty.

Indeed she was beautiful and was moneyed and was very much interested in bringing to her hometown some showbiz denizens.  “To make my mother happy,” she quipped.

The show was a moderate success and we learned a lot.  One partner made some unnecessary trips by plane which added to the expenses; the people that we tapped to get sponsors did not deliver (they got zero sponsors); the souvenir program was overpriced (we ended up hauling the whole lot back to headquarters); it was not easy.

I was reminded again of these lessons when we did “Love in the Key of R”.

» Read more of "Lessons from the Business of Show Business"

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Delve Deeper

I have a confession to make.  I have not written my will.

I do not know what is stopping me – not the thought of invincibility because slowly I am finding out the truth and fact of my humanity.  Not for lack of knowledge – I have drafted wills for others and other more complicated – and more sober (sobering?) – documents. Not for lack of having given it thought – because I have.

Then what?

Because writing a will is an emotional exercise and I am not sure if I can handle the enormity of it.  It is half love letter, half goodbye letter, transmitting all of your hopes and dreams to people you hope not to leave behind too soon.  It is a practical letter, an inventory of your life and what you have accumulated in terms of the material and the familial and the emotional.  It has a potential to be controversial, leaving in its wake disappointments and tensions and conflicts that you no longer can put under control.  It is a testament to what your life has been, to what you valued and continue to value.  It is a last heave before you and your life and your words says caput.

And how do you say goodbye?

» Read more of "Writing Your Will and Making an Inventory"

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Flow Like Water

I remember some years ago, in one of her yearly visits to our homeland, my mother dragged me and my husband to the premiere destination for cheap finds.

We call it Divisoria.

Now, Divisoria is a shopping mecca, comparable maybe to the night markets of Thailand or the street-side shops of Hongkong, that is, equal in color, in confusion, in aroma, in the cacophony of sounds that makes it almost the modern Babylon – of people speaking in different tongues and gesturing wildly to alter the balance of power between the seller and the sellee.  It is scary and alluring at the same time.

» Read more of "You Get What You Pay For"

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Attaining Greatness

One day you are on top of the world and the next you are down in the dumps.

Whether I believe it or not, I think I need to experience this some of the time.

There are reasons, and there are reasons, of why sometimes it feels that the floor is suddenly giving way: unexplained fear, insecurity, a buckling in the face of adversity, a cowering, a fraying of the nerves, other people making you feel small that you are entertaining thoughts that they are probably better than you and feel threatened about that somehow, a praise that was left unuttered, a change in the direction of the wind, the weather, a tiredness that would not go away, a capitulation of the soul.

» Read more of "Some Words on Humility and Stillness"

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Life is a Celebration

You can read the first part here.

I am waxing nostalgic about some trainings and seminars I attended in the past. (some of them do that to you, you know)

A memorable one was the training I received for voice and dance (a scholarship) - it was through the generosity and kind-heartedness of Dong Alegre (of Miss Saigon fame).  In that “school”, I met many wonderful and talented people,  including two people whom I still consider my best friends, M and A.  The people in that school rose to great fame in theatre, both locally and internationally (and sometimes I catch myself wondering where I would be now if I had pursued that path).  I will always remember those years as one of the most exciting.

Then there are others I still want to experience:

» Read more of "Do You Stick to the Path that You Know? (Second of 2 Parts)"

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