I decided to do a major overhauling in the house last weekend–driving everyone crazy, of course. My weekend hero was Fantastic Ning who was brave enough to utter only two words whenever I was around. “Op” which I finally discerned was a shortcut for “opo” (the polite way of saying ‘yes’ in the Filipino language), and “Op” which again, I decoded, was an expression of surprise. So the reply to all my requests and what I would hear when a stack of plates would crash on the floor sounded exactly the same. Fantastic Ning was a woman of homophones.
Artwork by then seven-year old Niccolo Sebastian Beldia |
“Room for Rent” was published in The News Today on August 2, 2005.
The new urbanites make up almost half of the population in this city (I picked up the stats at an abandoned coffee table so you don’t have to believe this). However, that little piece of information suggests that people have been spending a lot of time looking for comfortable temporary homes, from the nearest to ones sitting on the dusty outskirts of the city. The farther it is from schools and the popular malls, the cheaper a room will cost. That’s one must-know for anybody who is still homeless at this point.
VIA Ready Brew by Starbucks Company |
Manufacturers often make sure their packaging says it’s “instant coffee that tastes like brewed coffee”, but then you end up getting the same odd coffee flavor. The words ‘aroma’ and ‘flavorful’ painfully shy away from flimflam coffee, and I have experienced this over and over again for years. Everytime a new brand of instant coffee comes out in the market, I’m the gullible buyer who brings every hope with me to the cavalcade of consumers, thinking “Maybe…just maybe I’ll finally have my ‘this is it’ moment”. The wait was quite long; not damaging, however frustrating.
Betis Church (Pampanga, Philippines), by Frances Beldia |
From the age of seven until I was about 25, I’m guessing I must have prayed the traditional Catholic devotion called the rosary approximately 365 times. Many times for small-time swearing in grade school, one hundred times for the failed attempts to cut class in high school; the other hundred times to accomplish what the nuns had required me to do, and the 365 I may have prayed in wakes of people to whom I may or may not have an affinity.
The universe will simply give you what you’re asking for the moment you invest on positive thoughts and emotions.
Poor health, an empty bank account, arrogant bosses, gossip mongering officemates, low-paying job and a career that can’t get a ride to success top the list of incessant complaints thrown by people from all races, cultural and psychological background. You, being the hapless victim you think you are, complain endlessly, an addiction that comes as naturally as dependence on caffeine. The inquiries you make on life improvement prove futile. What gives? What if on one ordinary day, 24 of the world’s best teachers go up to you and tell you, “You can change all that and design your life to perfection. The secret has been with you for so long”. Would you take the chance and ask to know it?