Mt. Pulag

Start:	Mar 31, '09 10:00p
End:	Apr 2, '09

with Xavier Colleagues. Am I physically prepared for this? We'll see.

To Batch 2008-2009: "Wear Sunscreen"*

Wear Sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience… I will dispense this advice now.

 

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You're not as fat (or as pimply-faced) as you imagine.

 

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

 

Do one thing everyday that scares you...

 

Sing.

 

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

 

Floss.

 

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind…the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

 

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

 

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

 

Stretch.

 

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life… the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds know still don't. (But understand that God and country come first, family second.)

 

Get plenty of calcium.

 

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

 

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll be separated at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary… whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

 

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own..

 

Dance… even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

 

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

 

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

 

Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.

 

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

 

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. (Be always in touch with your batchmates.)

 

Travel.

 

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

 

Respect your elders.

 

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time it's 40, it will look 85.

 

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

 

But trust me on the sunscreen...

 

Bless,

'Cher

 

*Note: stolen from an email from my brother with some parts editted.  I deemed it proper to post it for one of my first batches in Xavier: 2006's 2G, 2H, 2B CLE Classes and H4 Filipino Advanced 2008-2009. Good luck, you all!  

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

I had the chance to watch this superbly made film yesterday at Shangrila's Cineplex.

The story is set in World War II Germany and it deals with the Holocaust. A particularity that makes this film unique from, for example, Schindler's List is the fact that it is told from the point of view of a child. It is perhaps because of this that somebody compared the film to Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful." Maybe this person is right but I do not really remember the details of the great Italian actor-director's film so I can hardly comment on his statement. All I know for now is that the present film is fresh in its take on the Second World War since it is very seldom that us grown ups consider the effects of this ultimate manifestation of humanity's foolishness on the child. It is in a way similar to "Au Revoir, Les Enfants" minus the lost of innocence.

If a person wants to see it, it will take him 1 hour and 55 minutes to watch the film and it is showing at Shang Cineplex at 175 per ticket. Late afternoon and early evening shows are at 4:50, 6:55 and 8:30. They start on time.

Brace yourself for a horrifying but inevitable conclusion.

Mr. Deli - 13 March 2009

The Department, minus Pats and Ivy, but with Mel Manahan. I hope Mike was able to take more pictures (of us, not just of himself.)

Dana's Birthday Celeb

Late post... Been so busy.

It was a happy night! Although there were "some" members of the group that begged off possibly due to "heart problems."

Till We Meet Again, Father Tom

Today is my birthday.

And today, one of the most significant persons in my journey through this place of lights and shadows is gone.

Gone perhaps to a place that I see only in hope.

My teacher and guide, formator and friend, father of my soul,

I am happy for you, yet, I am shedding tears.