Maria Teresa Antonietta Ubiadas Coronel

TELUS International Philippines – Mobility | Issue 5 | December 2010 Dear Readers, Any beginning has an end, and anything that ends signifies something that begins. A phoenix knows what rebirth is all about. A reindeer knows what reemergence means. So do we. This is the newest edition of The Maple Leaf, redder and greedier for more. With a red maple leaf comes a smaller yet grander scale-of-a-dose from Mobility with more reasons to stay glued and googly eyed to our pages. Filled this time with all things Holiday, the redder leaf sets off with pure fun and information just for you. We all speak of the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome, but have you seen any other leaf worth reading? You haven‘t? Didn‘t think so. This one‘s about to create a new perspective. Happy Holidays! Maître Amour Katie Abreu Holidays are in and the air just gets colder by the day—and that makes this season perfect for warm cuddles and sweet hugs, setting itself as the season of love too! True enough though, the holidays will never be as warm with some us having heart issues love can often bring all of us. At this time of the year, feeling love-sick is the last thing you will enjoy...let your Maître Amour (Love Master) help you! Dear Chocolateblossoms_24, Falling for a team mate is not something unlikely, in fact, it happens 98% of the time. It‘s the constant togetherness, you share together. As friends, you get as cozy and warm as you can get. Then, it just hits you. You can‘t smile without him, can‘t eat , tosses and turns pillows at bedtime, you just can‘t go through a day without him. You miss him. You are in love. Totally. Thus, you have to express yourself in ways that can get you what you hope for. You can choose from two major approaches: 1. Be a risk taker Ask him for a couple of drinks and at the right moment, spill it. Say,‖ I really like you, I want to know if you feel the same way..‖ If he says yes, then you are no doubt successful, if he turns you down, then you have to be gracious enough to accept it and get on drinking some more and pretend it never happened. Its going to hurt bad, but as they say, No Guts, No Glory! 2. Play Catch Exert an extra mile to look pretty and nice and well-groomed. Wear a nice feminine scent. Sit beside him, Lean on his Shoulders and drop a simple, sweet lines, such as ―Your shirt looks good on you‖ or ―You smell really nice.‖ With regard to your commitment issue, I‘d rather that you take it stride, first be lovers, then see if it works, then you may consider your take on ―commitment.‖ Hi Mr. Romantic Guy, I must say, guys who are really thoughtful are a rarity these days. You are a great find. I‘m sure that as much as you are worth the keeping, your girlfriend couldn‘t be less greater. The value in giving is really not on the price tag, it really is on the amount of effort you put in to come up with special ideas that is just fitting for a very special someone. You can try one of these great ways of showing the love that she ( your girlfriend) can‘t easily find anywhere in the world. A Vintage Box that contains 100 ways to make her smile. Contents can be one of your old photos together, a nice film quote from Jerry Maguire, A piece of her favorite chocolate, it can go on and on and the more you think of it, the more meaningful it can get too. Or pro‘ly, arrange a special dinner for her, where you‘re the Chef, prepare a nice entrée and after your meal, you can have wine and ask her for a dance with Usher playing in the background. That, for sure would just the sweetest, most romantic thing ever. Miss him? Miss her? You like him but he doesn‘t like you back? Having troubles understanding your girl? Let me know all of your love problems and I‘ll help all with those! Send me an email —- Confidentiality of your personality is 100% guaranteed. In one with the spirit of the Holidays Marichie Coronel In my way to the office one cold morning last week, the feeling of the Yuletide season overcame me. The hopeful expectation of the one December event that is a constant and ties years together remains – the Holidays. Though I no longer crave stuff from Santa, I still appreciate and enjoy the season. The mystery and magic is gone but the sights, sounds and scents have comfortable familiarity. ―Puto bumbong and bibingka‖ vendors sprouted like mushrooms out from almost every corner of the street, and one can unfailingly predict that demands for their specialties would abound when ―simbang gabi‖ starts. Firework manufacturing has started as early as September to comply with the customers requirements for town fiestas, baptismal events, birthdays and the much-awaited New year‘s eve. And the long traffic in Bocaue tollgate would attest to its popularity. ―Tiangge‖ or ―Baratilyo‖ stalls plying different wares of imitation perfumes, toys, pirated CDs, clothes and other items one can buy for as low as 2 items/Php50 or 3 items for Php100, is a common sight almost everywhere. And it has been common knowledge that Christmas is for giving. One of the entertaining aspects of the season in this Internet age is the amazing range and uniqueness of gifts to be found out there in the nether land. Since the first time the joyful yearly event has been celebrated around the world to remember the arrival of the Christian savior, the idea of sharing and receiving has become its most significant Christian doctrine. The tradition of good-natured exchanges of tangible and intangible gifts has continuously went on through the years that one can only imagine how many presents have exactly been distributed and accepted by individuals, in all of history, who have religiously observed the festive occasion. Monitos, monitas, kris-kringles, exchanges of gifts…whichever way one sees and views it, one common denominator holds true – that each and one of us would find and exhaust all means and ways to get through it, even if it means borrowing loans, or using any cash at hand, however inadequate and meager the income or resources may be. This realization reminded me of a movie that showed that we can spend and enjoy the season sans the expensive gifts and related material items. The movie was the animated version of Dr. Seuss‘ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It is about the Grinch who is a bitter, cave-dwelling green character living on top of Mt. Crumpit, a steep 3,000-foot high mountain just north of Whoville. From his perch, the Grinch could hear the noisy festivities of the denizens of Whoville called the Whos. The Grinch was so envious of the Whos‗ happiness that he planned to descend from the mountain to steal all the presents, decorations, and the sumptuous feasts from every Whos‘ home. He decided that by destroying all these material trappings of Christmas, he would be able to obliterate Christmas. However, he learned in the end that despite his success in stealing ―Christmas‖, it came just the same. In fact, by doing his dastardly deed, he inadvertently helped the Whos gain an even deeper perspective on the true meaning of Christmas. And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling, "How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!” And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. From the rich first world down to the third world countries, even in our own non-fictional milieu, the highly commercialized Christmas phenomenon is meticulously attached to the Yuletide season, and that is that. Maybe we could use a pilfering Grinch in our lives as well. A Grinch who would steal the material concept of the Yuletide season from us even for just a bit, enough for us to see the true meaning of Christmas, in case we have forgotten it. Then the Grinch thought of something he had not before! “Maybe Christmas “, he thought, “does not come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” Indeed, Christmas is a little bit more than the brand-new clothes, items, accessories, more than the hi-tech toys we hope to find in our stockings, more than the ostentatious Yuletide decorations or the lavish feast. Christmas, is a season of love that is constantly re-echoed in the many acts of human kindness and selfless giving. There is nothing I can give you which you have not got, but there is much, that while I cannot give it, you can take. The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see – and to see we have only to look. I beseech you to look! The Holidays is so generous a giver. Beneath the gifts you will find a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power. Welcome it, grasp it, and touch the hand that brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, sorrow, or a duty, that hand is there, the gift is there and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Our joys too conceal diviner gifts. The Holidays is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven. And so, at this time, I greet you. Not quite as the world sends greetings, but with profound esteem and with the hope that for you now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away. Happy Holidays. 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