Proud Uncle at Angela Yasmeen's Debut Party

Today, Oct 29 is a holiday. It's the barangay and Samahang Kabataan elections. But I will not talk about it. I would just like to share pictures of a happy occasion in the family last Saturday, Oct 27. It was the debut party of my niece, Angela Yasmeen, given by her father, Jun, who is my elder brother. It was the first big party in the family for a birthday occasion. My brother must have really planned this for Angela, who is an only daughter in a brood of four. Angela stays with me in Mandaluyong. She's a second year college student at UP Manila taking up BS Bio-Chemistry.

(The entire family of my brother in the picture on the left - Daniel Cesar, eldest son; Jun, the father; Angela; Norman Angelo, the youngest; Vivian, the mother; and Mel Francis, 2nd from the eldest).

I arrived from Cagayan de Oro on Saturday morning, brought my things to the house, then hurriedly went to Calamba. Everyone was busy cooking, making additional souvenir give aways and other preparations for the evening party in Pansol, Laguna. I wasn't really of much help as I just ate and tried to catch some sleep before the party.

Here are some of the photos. I'll post the rest in the gallery after I have resized them (around 300 pics). Pasensya na I'll fill up the entire page with the photos. "Proud kasi!"

Kaye, wife of Mel Francis and mother of Hycee.

Norman Angelo is 15 yrs and 4th yr High School student. He's 6-footer now.

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Glorietta Bombing

Classmates, this is a letter which has been circulating in the web, written by Carlo Cruz, husband of one of the Victims

Let's all pray for Leslie, Carlo's wife.

The email from Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan:
----------------------------------
The Discovery Weekend family lost one of its own in the Glorietta Mall
blast.

Leslie Cruz was waiting to be fetched by her husband, Carlo, in the lobby of Glorietta 2 when the bomb exploded. Carlo and Leslie had so
generously volunteered their time in the DW.

A few minutes ago, I spoke to a very distraught and inconsolable Carlo
on the phone. He asked for prayers for Leslie. He agonized if she had
been in pain. He was holding their two year old Amber in his arms,
trying so hard to explain that her mommy is gone. He sobbed that he
did not know how he would get through. But what was most heartbreaking
was this: he said that this was not in their plans, because they were
supposed to grow old together.

Please pause for a minute to remember Leslie's beautiful life. Please
say a loving prayer for her beloved Carlo and Amber. Lift them all up
to the One who loves us all. Please also spare some time to visit
Leslie. Carlo says the wake might be at Mount Carmel.

And please remember to always be loving to your own spouse. Remember
always how lucky you are that you will grow old together.
----------------------------------

The email from Carlo Cruz:
----------------------------------
Good day everyone,

I wish I were writing under different circumstances.

I would like to inform you that my wife Leslie Cruz
was part of the casualties in the Glorietta 2 Mall
bombing in Makati City, Philippines. She was supposed
to have a minor out patient surgery at Makati Medical
Center at 230pm.

I had taken a leave from work to accompany her there.
We dropped off our daughter, Amber, at my parents
place in QC to babysit at around 10am. We then
proceeded to Makati and was there at 1230pm. Since she
had been fasting in preparation for her procedure, she
wanted to move around and listen to some music while I
grabbed a bite to eat. We parked at the basement of
Park Square 2, and headed for the Glorietta 2
entrance. We parted at the top of the escalator, she
turned right towards Filbar's while I went left
towards the restaurants. That was the last time I
would see her.

Around 120pm, she had called me so that we can meet at
the Glorietta 2 exit just in time to make her
appointment. As I made my way there from Glorietta 1
through the connecting hallways, and was about to turn
the corner, I heard 2 deep thumps and the shock-wave
from the blast hit me. At that moment my heart dropped
as I knew that the origin of the blast came from the
same place where we were supposed to meet. I tried
getting to where my wife was, but the dust was too
much and it was as if I was staring at a white wall.

I still tried to convince myself that she was able to
make it out, and that after ringing her mobile without
a response only meant that she dropped it in the
confusion. After 6 hours of searching from Makati Med.
to Ospital ng Makati, the blast site, and back again
to MMC - with the help of all the people I could get
hold of, that I was able to get confirmation in what
the state of my wife was.

My Dad and Uncle signaled me in from the ER of MMC. My
Uncle (who's a doctor) asked me to describe Leslie's
appearance to another group of doctors. I saw in the
eyes of one that the description made sense. Instead
of confirming it to me, they huddled together, then
brought me to a small examination room. It was only
through a digital camera that I was able to confirm
(and deny) that she was indeed gone.

I have so many regrets. I should have met her sooner.
I should have ran instead of a brisk walk. I should
have not chose to park where I did. I should have
braved the dust and went in the blast site. I should
have ...

Today's the 4th day. It is still terribly difficult to
breathe, let alone wake up realizing that your source
of strength, your best friend doesn't lie beside you
on your bed. That my deepest worry is when Amber
starts asking for her Mama.

I am glad that Amber's too young to understand the
loss and pain. In time I would like to tell her the
details of how her mother died, but more importantly I
would like to raise her as how her mother lived - a
loving person, strong willed, decisive, caring, and
nurturing. She has always cared for her family and
friends, and sacrfied her career for being a full time
mom and home maker.

As with all couples we had our ups and downs - none of
which I regret not going through. The sweet is never
as sweet without the sour. For almost 4 years of
marriage, we've finally hit our balance in life only
to be taken away in an instant. I have no regrets
about our marriage. She has loved me and Amber beyond
her capacity. I will always love her.

It is my first time to write to egroup as I've lurked
and watched emails being sent to and fro. All I want
now is that for each of the couples here is to cherish
each moment that we spend with our loved ones. Pretty
simple to say, very easy to take for granted.

Thank you all for the prayers. I would still like to
ask you to please include Leslie in them until her
40th day so that the path to God's kingdom is well lit
and she is no longer in the dark.

Sincerely,

Carlo Cruz

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Happy Birthday Alan and Cheers to All October Celebrants!

October 26 - Happy Birthday Alan Mulligan.

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October 28 Celebrations

It's still several days from Oct 28 but let me now greet the celebrants lest I forget about it. I'm leaving for Cagayan de Oro tomorrow and will be busy when I get back on Saturday, which is the debut party in Calamba of my niece, who's staying with me.

So, to our youngest classmate, Men, happy, happy birthday. And to Alot and her husband Ric - Happy Wedding Anniversary.

I also read from Maryna'ts email that Oct 26 is Alan's birthday, so please greet him for me since I believe Alan doesn't read the emails and the blogsite.

Welcome too, to Vivian (why is it bchisano not vchisano?)! We hope that you'll share your thoughts, updates and chikas with us.

I'll post the discussions re: february reunion preparations on sunday, i still have to prepare my powerpoint presentation for tomorrow.

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Love Being Old!

Another take on ageing, dedicated to Men, Alot, Alan and other October celebrants.

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I wastaken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed,or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before theyunderstood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I,at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body,and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite thepitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just aswell forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody'sbeloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strengtha nd understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about whatother people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I likethe person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I amstill here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If Ifeel like it!)

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A Day After the Glorietta Blast

A day after the bombing incident, there was a semblance of normalcy in the Makati Shopping District. Except for Glorietta 2 where the blast occurred, the rest of Glorietta opened (Glorietta, 1, 3 and 4). Likewise, all shops in Greenbelt were open, too. But there were few shoppers.

The original venue for our meeting was Super bowl in Glorietta (is it 1?) very near Oakwood. It was quite far from the scene of the blast. Even if we held our meeting there last Friday, we would have been spared. But the resulting panic and confusion would have been traumatic.

While we condemn the bombing, and condole with the families of the innocent victims we should not forget the issues that are hounding GLORIA before the Glorietta incident.

I thought the ladies would be intimidated by the bombing and request for a postponement of the meeting. But no, they agreed to go on with it. Until the late hours of Friday evening, Alot was busy looking for alternative venue and confirming our attendance. Ok talaga tayong mga gurs… ano, malalakas ang loob!

We met at 12 noon at Fish & Co at the third level of Greenbelt (?). I was the first one there ahead of Alot by just a few minutes. Then Lina came followed by Mendy, who was escorted by her two lovely daughters (who also left after making sure that their mama was already safe in our company). Last to arrive was Susan, who had to pass by LandMark to buy something (hale pa lang Bangkok yan, nagpara-shopping na, pero dai pa nagsawa). (By the way thanks to Mendy and Susan for the pasalubong of pandesillos and pili.)

This is the first time Lina was able to join us since the despedida for fechie. She’s in mourning because of the death of her father last month. She didn’t notify any one of us about it. We had good food at Fish & Co (which is on the cover of Inquirer Magazine today) even if we did not order fish. Except for the seafood paella, we ordered pork and chicken – we’re still meat lovers.

Of course we did not forget to discuss the main agenda (the highlights will be posted in the email). At 2 pm we moved out of the resto to go to Dulcinea in Greenbelt (?), first level, for coffee and pastries courtesy of Bert and Marie. The place was quite far from where we had lunch. Good exercise but this got Tess peeved because she parked her car near Dulcinea, had to walk to Fish & Co, then back to Dulcinea. Baby (Banaria) who went to Tagaytay and contacted Marie when she came but we have already disbanded by that time.

For the complete set of pictures visit our photo gallery at http://picasaweb.google.com/gold50/Oct20MeetingAfterTheBlast
(The place where Danny treated us for lunch was in Greenbelt, while Rudy’s treat and the Despedida for Bruce were both in Glorietta).

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WANTED IMMEDIATELY: A highly creative Scriptwriter

Malacanang urgently needs a good scriptwriter to be able to spin a credible story on what really happened in Malacanang Thursday last week. It is obvious that until now, they still don't have an official storyline. Hence, Gloria has remained silent, while her sub-alterns are speaking in different tongues, making incredible statements that nobody really believes.

"Galit na galit, si Presidente. She was asking because there were different statements coming out. None of us knew what was going on, honestly. So people were making statements, and she was wondering where everybody was getting their comments from, and wanted to find out what, if anything, anybody knew.” - Sec Ronnie Puno

"She ordered the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) to conduct a “thorough investigation” The parameters laid out by the president are very clear: The PAGC is mandated to find out, first, the source of the funds and second, who are responsible for giving the funds. No timetable was given by the Pres but a definite finding will be forthcoming." - Presidential Spokesperson Bunye. Yet, he already said “We would like to assure you that at this point, no government funds changed hands.” (So, tapos ang imbestigasyon, may conclusion na.)

"The money did not come from us. We can not give cash, what we give out is only a piece of paper which authorizes or tells government agencies that they can implement projects. And there is an election ban right now, so bawal ito." - Sec. Andaya

"(Giving cash gift is) Not, per se illegal. None of those who got the money said they had been asked to do something illegal in return. The element of any crime, would be for example, I am giving the money to bribe. But nobody has said this, she said. It must be specific, that it is being given to undertake something illegal. (A ganun, bright naman, meron bang magsasabi niyan?) The person was not identified so how do you do it? I can not run after a John Doe.... I have no personal knowledge of where the money came from – Acting DOJ Sec Agnes Devanadera. (Anong K nitong maging acting secretary?)

On Gov Panlilio's plan to return the money to Malacanang, “He should return it to her. Why return it to us? We don’t know that you ever talked to that person. That’s unfair and a little bit weird. I find it strange for us to find for them the people that they dealt with." - Sec Puno - ang galing, clueless sila sa nangyari sa loob ng palasyo. Kung wala silang alam, anong tawag sa kanila - MGA TANGA!

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DOES GLORIA THINK SHE CAN FOOL THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME?

Arroyo orders probe into 'cash gifts'
10/17/2007 03:07 PM
From GMA-NEWS

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered an investigation into the alleged bribery attempts inside Malacañang Palace, a matter which the administration previously dismissed as a "non-issue." (IS THERE ANYBODY HERE WHO BELIEVES IN THIS MALACANANG PRESS RELEASE?)

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye on Wednesday said Mrs Arroyo tasked the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) to look into the controversy mainly to determine two things: the persons responsible for making the offers, and the source of the funds. (YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASSIGN PAGC TO DO THIS. ASSUMING BUT NOT BELIEVING THAT GLORIA DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE BRIBERY INCIDENT, IN A MATTER OF MINUTES SHE'LL KNOW THE TRUTH IF SHE ORDERS ERMITA TO FIND OUT! OF COURSE SHE KNOWS THIS!)

The money that changed hands last week reportedly amounted from P200,000 to P500,000 per recipient.

Interestingly, Bunye said the probe began on Friday or just a day after the alleged bribes were handed out. (THE BUNYE WHO PERJURED HIMSELF IN THE HELLO GARCI TAPES, SAYING THIS? )

Some local officials who had claimed to have received the money had pointed to Palace staff members for giving them paper bags with cash inside.

Interviewed last Sunday, Bunye said that, "There is nothing wrong with receiving a donation, provided it is put to good use." (GANUN NAMAN PALA E, DI WAG NG MAGLOKOHAN NA MAGPAPAIMBESTIGA, UULOLIN NA NAMAN NYO ANG MGA TAO!)

The development comes in the wake of separate statements by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and a senior military official Tuesday expressing concern over the reported bribe offers.

"With this sort of thing happening, our country is not only suffering from economic bankruptcy but also moral bankruptcy, disappointingly being shown by our leaders," said Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, CBCP president. (I HOPE THE CBCP, AND THE AMRSP WILL PURSUE THE ISSUE. WITH SUCH A MORALLY BANKRUPT ADMINISTRATION, TAKE A MORE PRO-ACTIVE STANCE.)

For his part, Major Gen. Ben Dolorfino, Philippine Marine commandant, said the Armed Forces soldiery has been "affected" by the controversy.

Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio, a Catholic priest who first spoke about the matter, said he got P500,000 after President Arroyo's early morning meeting with 200 officers and members of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP).

After the ULAP meeting, another one was held between President Arroyo and about 190 majority congressmen.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr, who was among the 190 representatives, confirmed that the impeachment complaint against Mrs Arroyo was discussed during the lawmakers' meeting in Malacañang. - GMANews.TV

THROUGH THE WEB AND OTHER POSSIBLE VENUE, LET'S TELL GLORIA THAT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! EVERYTHING WILL COME TO AN END. UNLESS SHE'S GOD ALMIGHTY, SHE'LL SOON MEET HER COMEUPPANCE!

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Retirement Quotes

Retirement is still several years from now for most of us. Although occasionally it's mentioned in our messages. Marynat at times probably fed up with the ways of the bureacracy thinks of retiring soon. Danny also says he is thinking of retiring in the Philippines.

I'm not thinking about retiring yet but I do get frequent reminders about my age. Dati, ang apud sako 'manong' o 'kuya', ngonyan pag malunad sa tricycle an hapot kan driver - Saan pa kayo 'tay? One time when returning from Calamba to Manila, I was surprised when the conductor gave me my change, akala ko sobra nin P10 ang sukli. Then I noticed that the receipt had "senior citizen" indicated! Papasalamatan ko ba o mumurahin iyong konductor?

Here are some quotes about retirement. Still a respite from the serious matters that we've been discussing. As usual, there's no closure yet on the broad band issue. Now, there's a new one - the impeachment complaint "suhulan" issue allegedly by the Deputy Sec Gen of KAMPI, which is GMA's political party. Nothing's new as far as the dirty tricks of GMA are concerned. Rather than dwelling on this matter this morning and lest our blood pressure shoots up so early, just enjoy the quotations below. May tawad na joke pa sa huli!

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.
J. Lubbock

Retire from work, but not from life.
M.K. Soni

Don't simply retire from something; have something to retire to.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

There are some who start their retirement long before they stop working.
Robert Half

The best time to start thinking about your retirement is before the boss does.
Author Unknown

Retirement means no pressure, no stress, no heartache... unless you play golf.
Gene Perret

Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money.
Jonathan Clements

When you retire, you switch bosses - from the one who hired you to the one who married you.
Gene Perret

When a man retires, his wife gets twice the husband but only half the income.
Chi Chi Rodriguez

Retirement kills more people than hard work ever did.

Malcolm Forbes

The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.

Abe Lemons

Eto naman iyong joke, pang-senior citizen din.

Old lady goes to Dr. "I have a problem with gas, but it really doesn't bother me too much. The farts never smell and are always silent. As a matter of fact, I've farted at least 20x since I've been here and I bet you didn't even notice.

Dr: I see, take these pills and come back next week.

Next week, lady goes back. "Dr., I didn't know what the hell you gave me. But now, my farts, although still silent, stink terrible!"

Dr: Very good! Now that we've cleared up your sinuses, let's work on your hearing.

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Survey on the Planned Class Reunion on Feb 2008

To all members of DPS Class 67, please answer the poll questions on the right side of this blogsite.

Thanks

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Message for Marynat and Tess

Since this message also appears in our egroup, I am writing this instruction.

To open our blogsite, click the link below:

http://dps-class67/blogspot.com/

Once you're inside the blogsite, save it to your favorites folder. In your subsequent visits, just open your favorites folder and click the dps-class67 address.


Also to all the rest of the visitors who have not seen the Holdap video, click the link in the "Holdap" blog. Once inside the picasa album, click the thumbnail. Gary Granada's music is good and there are lots of pictures of Danny's favorites - erap and pgma. Okay ba ang pang-aasar, kuya danny!

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Scenic Views of Caramoan in Camarines Sur

Take a breather from the serious discussions in our egroup.

I gathered some beautiful pictures of the undeveloped, virgin beaches of the municipality of Caramoan in the northern part of Camarines Sur. It can be reached by car for more than an hour from Naga City.

In 1995, when I was first assigned in Camarines Sur, the only reliable means of transportation going to the place was the small pump boat (may katig), which one could take from Sabang, San Jose. I've been to the place twice, unfortunately not for a vacation and not armed with any pang-kodak. It's really a beautiful place. Caramoan is not an island but a peninsula, but it has several small islands. I went island-hopping to do ocular inspection of some lands being covered by the Department of Agrarian Reform. Water is very clear, you could see the coral reefs at the bottom of the sea. There is even a portion where water is too deep, you could no longer see the bottom but only the dark bluegreen color. It's like a channel where big ships could pass, and probably they did so in the past.

By the way, on my pump boat ride from Caramoan to Sabang during my very first trip to the place, there was Typhoon Signal 1! At least 1 pa lang naman. But you're out in the open sea (Pacific Ocean) for a large part of the trip.

Here are the beautiful pictures which I found from the website of skyscraper. I've been trying to look for equally beautiful photos of Camarines Norte tourist spots but unsuccessful yet. Still searching though. I found beautiful pictures of other scenic views in Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate which I will later share with you.

Note that Mayon Volcano can be seen in one of the pictures.

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Filipinos Rage against Desperate Housewives’ Racial Slur

A few days ago, news about the racist statement against Filipino doctors in an episode of the Desperate Housewives was all over the television and the internet. The Philippine Medical Association, Department of Health, Congress, and Malacanang itself issued their statements and demanded public apology from the ABC network and the series’ lead star Terri (something, Teri Onor ang kilala ko). Surprise, surprise, the motor-mouthed Miriam Defensor-Santiago was also seen on TV advocating for the boycott of the series, so its ratings would go down. To think that just a week ago, during the ZTE Senate hearing, and in full view of the cameras, she lashed out against the Chinese (without any exception) when she said that the Chinese invented civilization in Asia but the Chinese also invented corruption. She referred to them as “ang mga INTSIK na iyan!”, complete with the dagger looks, voice (how do you describe it?) and hand gestures which Edmund Sicam of the Philippine Daily Inquirer said was a clear case of OVERACTING. To think, that she’s the chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Due to the strong reactions of the Chinoys and the Chinese Embassy, she had to issue a public apology, saying that it was not her intention to denigrate the Chinese (but she did not say what her real intentions were). Para bagang, pinag-sampal-sampal mo, pakatapos sasabihin mo, sorry, hindi kita gustong saktan.


Going back to the Desperate Housewives, without it landing in the news, I’ll surely never get to listen to that dialogue. I have never watched any episode of the series and I don’t have any intention of doing so. Ed Canela forwarded two articles from the newspapers to our egroup, complete with the link to the signature campaign.

I know it’s unfair to the Filipinos in the medical profession, who are regarded in the US or elsewhere as one of the best in the world. Let’s hear the reactions of Marybeth and Fechie on this.

It’s possible that the scriptwriter read about last year’s nursing exam debacle in the Philippines. The greed of two examiners led to the intentional leak of questions to equally greedy review schools. The stubbornness of the Professional Regulatory Commission and indecisiveness of Malacanang, resulted to the long drawn agony of the innocent passers, acrimony among pro- and anti-retake, until it was a US-based group that finally announced that it would not issue a certification for visa of June 2006 Filipino nurses unless they pass a retake of the exam. Still, the head of the PRC (said to be the dentist of the President, her closeness to GMA could have been the reason why she also lacked a sense of accountability) led a delegation to the US to make an appeal to no avail. Kaya, yun, nag-retake din, dapat noon pa.

So, while many of the best in the profession are leaving the country to practice elsewhere and in the process gaining the respect and honor of their host countries, the greedy among those in the PRC, Board of Examiners and the Review Schools are showing the world the other side of the picture.

That involved the nursing profession, not the physicians, but both are in the medical profession.

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Choices

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood.
I choose to be in a good mood."

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is" he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
He continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied!' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.

After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

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