I haven’t posted for quite some time due to a very busy workload but I’ve found something really worthwhile to post … that is, Whoohoo! We’re on NYT! Yes, the New York Times! Ateneo and La Salle!
Sports A Nation’s Passion Lives in a Rivalry of Green vs. Blue
By RAPHAEL BARTHOLOMEW
Published: September 23, 2007
In the basketball-crazed Philippines, Ateneo and La Salle are the most prestigious private universities and have also become fierce rivals on the court.
This makes me so proud in being a Filipino, and being an Atenean.
I haven’t posted anything for quite some time due to being in a state of being gigaswamped. At any rate, when I saw this, I decided that I needed to post it.
De la Costa’s so right!
Jewels of the Pauper
by Horacio de la Costa, S.J.
There is a thought that comes to me sometimes as I sit by my window in the evening, listening to the young men’s guitars, and watching the shadows deepen on the longs hills, the hills of my native land.
You know, we are a remarkably poor people; poor not only in material goods, but even in the riches of the spirit. I doubt we can claim to possess a truly national literature. No Shakespeare, no Cervantes has yet been born among us to touch with immortality that which is in our landscape, in our customs, in our story, that which is most original, most ourselves. If we must give currency to our thoughts, we are focused to mint them in the coinage of a foreign tongue; for we do not even have a common language.
But poor as we are, we yet have something. This pauper among the nations of the earth hides two jewels in her rages. One of them is our music. We are sundered one from another by eighty-seven dialects; we are one people when we sing. The kundimans of Bulacan awaken an answering chord of lutes of Leyte. Somewhere in the rugged north, a peasant woman croons her child to sleep; and the Visayan listening remembers the crane fields of his childhood, and his mother singing the self-made song.
We are again one people when we pray. This is our other treasure; our Faith. It gives somehow, to our little uneventful days, a kind of splendor; as though they had been touched by a king. And did you ever notice how they are always mingling, our religion and our music? All the basic rite of human life — the harvest and the seedtime, the wedding, birth and death — are among us drenched with the fragrance and the coolness of music.
These are the bonds that bind us together; these are the souls that make us one. And as long as there remains in these islands one mother to sing Nena’s lullaby, one boat to put out to sea with the immemorial rowing song, one priest to stand at the altar and offer God to God, the nation may be conquered, trampled upon, enslaved, but it cannot perish. Like the sun that dies every evening it will rise again from the dead.
Often asked where I’m from, I proudly reply, “the Philippines.”
IBM China’s 2007 Blue Pathway internship and Extreme Blue premier internship programs are now open for applications. You may apply at http://bluepathway2007.chinahr.com/ . Good luck!
Architectural texture on Gulangyu Island in Xiamen, Fujian, China. I personally love the amber-toned ambient lighting throughout the island at night and its effect on structures of the island. Photo Friday entry. Part of the Xiamen Nightscapes collection.
i’ve been nursing a flu since the start of the week and took a sick leave yesterday. was supposed to take one the other day but a client from the u.s. came so i couldn’t. to make things worse, i accidentally spilled a cup of water on my thinkpad’s keyboard and for the longest time, it wouldn’t turn on. since i couldn’t sleep all night with the thought of having a broken thinkpad, i dashed to the huaihai rd office of ibm where the thinkpad service center’s located. i had ‘em analyze the severity of the situation and they said that i’ll have to replace the entire motherboard! now, that would cost me a whopping 7k rmb (currency converter)! shoot! … i, of course, didn’t budge. had them assemble the thinkpad back to its original state and was ready to face the music. while waiting for the 11:50 service to bring my sad life to fenju road (r&d facility), i prayed hard hoping that my thinkpad would work … so i gave it a try and hit the power button and voila! it works! just imagine how ecstatic i was. now i can be a workaholic again! haha
here’s a pic (stolen from lenovo blogs’ design matters) …
I figured that today was a lil boring ‘coz of the heavy downpour this morning. Thus, that uber-extra will is needed to force yourself out of bed and just go out. At any rate, I was craving for some juicy burgers which were at least at par with Brother’s Burger, Hot Shots or Wham. Answering to this craving, I headed off to City Diner. For 65 RMB — I know, I know, it’s expensive but … — I was able to get two patties (thick!), complete with bacon, melted cheddar cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, etc … and french fries with my very own choice of dips … plus A1, HP sauces, Heinz tomato ketchup and French’s mustard. Absolutely amazing!
Being at the Jing’an area, I thought that I’d go give Windows Too a try. Reading earlier about it made me want to see the place for myself. Bracing myself in the midst of the rain and the cold (I was wearing a t-shirt, a thin jacket, jeans and sandals — NOT a good idea!), I looked for Windows Too at Jing’an Plaza only to find out that they’ve moved across the street! Now, I found this out from a security guard at Jing’an Plaza who, wasn’t too friendly in giving directions. Dragging myself around Jing’an Temple and its surrounding malls and resto’s, I was finally able to find Windows Too, tucked in the second floor of a mall.
I was … well, disappointed with what I saw. The place was, needless to say, deserted. I could count the number of people there with my fingers (with hand-flipping a couple of times) where people were concentrated around the billiard table. This was completely O.K. compared to what I got next … I ordered a Black Russian which cost me 20 RMB, tierce of how much a drink would usually cost around Shanghai. What I noticed was that the waitresses were all old hags! I have nothing against oldies but … to have “ayi”s serve drinks at bars? What taste do these people have? To add injury to the insult, let’s just say that they didn’t have any idea of what “customer first” or “hospitality” meant.
After my glass of Black Russian, I looked at the menu displayed atop the bar and thought I’d like a glass of peppermint for 15 RMB. I tried ordering and again, the old hags were more interested in blabbering with their fellow old hags than serving people who in the end pay their wages. So, I call on the bartender and have myself the surprise of the century — he/she’s gay! Things just get better and better! I don’t have anything against GLBTs but I hate bitchy people, even if they’re straight; well, bitchy gay people is like vinegar on a wound.
Then again, two good drinks for a total of 35 RMB. Who am I to complain?
PS. This entry’s sort-a PG-rated but hey, this is a personal blog anyway. Hehehe.
