After the Storm

wrote this last July 14, 2010

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11599314@N00/2581774487

I was awake since eleven o’ clock in the evening due to the angry wind. I knew there was a typhoon. But like many that night, I was also caught unaware of the typhoon’s sudden change in direction.

I have experienced a lot of typhoons in my life; I guess I have been through the worst. But this one I could single out because of one thing: I was unprepared of what was about to come.

The typhoon’s name was Basyang. In the Philippine folklore, Basyang was an old yet kind woman who’s fond of telling fantasy stories to children so that they would never cease to learn the values in life.

I think the Basyang that I experienced also taught me a lesson during its wrath: one, I must be prepared for anything, for anything can happen. Two, God will never abandon us. I have never experienced such calm during a typhoon’s fury while praying.

When I woke up the morning after the wrath, I saw the damage that Basyang did. I immediately rolled up my sleeves for a major clean up.

Another storm has passed; I’m a new person again.

Jolly Treat

I wrote this last February 22, 2010

I consider myself as a Jollibee Kid. Blame my parents for enrolling me in the Jollibee Kiddie Club, which was the result of constant visits to the fast food chain. It was like I was bound to eat Jollibee only every time we went out. As a kid, I wasn’t bothered about it. The minute I enter Jollibee branch, I immediately envision myself already sitting in one of its chains, with my spaghetti in front in my area of the table (Jollibee really had something to do with my love affair with my comfort food).

Though I was a Jolly Kid (a Kiddie Club member), I never got to spend a Jolly Birthday Party. We tried inquiring once for my eighth birthday, but my parents thought that it’s still best to celebrate in the house. It was okay with me; my vision of Jollibee eat-outs was enough. It was still a treat for a kid.

Later on, I learned to go out and eat with friends. I learned to go and eat in other fast-food chains, and after that, fancy restaurants. Sure they were fun, but the Jolly memories were always with me.

It is cool to get invited in kids’ Jolly Birthday Parties. Now that I’m older, I now have a different perspective with kids’ birthdays. It’s fun, of course. It is fun to see kids participate in the games. It’s funny to see shy kids who never removed their grasps from the pants of their mom and dads. It puts a smile to my face to see them eat their food and laugh at Jollibee’s antics. It was fun to be a kid.

It was a Jolly treat.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/16071304@N00/3078531589



The Facilitator

wrote this last June 3, 2010.

It’s my first time to sit in the presidential table and be introduced as a training facilitator. It was so chilling – it was like I want to evaporate from my seat at once. While the assigned person who introduced us was reading my so-called “accomplishments”, I felt one hundred eyes – there were fifty participants – looking at me; I felt I was being seized up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16258917@N00/4323534986

 I wondered how seasoned speakers, facilitators, and lecturers ever get used to that kind of introduction, to that fame. Because personally, I don’t think I will.

On the other hand, I felt humbled. As a member of the convention secretariat on my previous work (it was one of the many tasks that I managed to juggle), I only prepared everything for a speaker. Now, I got to experience being prepared at – from my accommodation, food, and requirements, to making sure that I’ll get back home safe and comfortable.

I guess this is now my time. But I don’t think I’ll really ever get used to it.