Maria Teresa Antonietta Ubiadas Coronel

TELUS International Philippines – Mobility | Issue 6 | January 2011 2011 Dear Readers, It is 2011! Some of us may turn the leaf come February – dragon dance, moon cakes, fireworks and all – but for most people, January is the start of the New Year. So, let’s celebrate some more! We can expect new trends, new clothes, new style, new food, new phones, new everything as we greet the New Year. Before we feast our eyes on the newest of the new, let’s all pause for a minute and bow our heads for the departure of 2010. They say when one door closes, another portal is opened. Or window. No, door. Whichever, we are giving a heads up that as we celebrate and commemorate, The Maple Leaf editions will keep on pouring. Happy New Year, Mobility! Maître Amour Silence, Emptiness, And Confusion Katie Abreu Silence builds an awful wreckage of a girl It feeds on loneliness Here‘s another love-filled edition of Maitre Amour! Love oh love is such a crazy thing...so let your Love Master help you fix your issues to start 2011 filled with nothing but good old fashioned sweetness: and creates a void Gray shadows haunt and torment and Insecure Lover asks: torture A teenager is stricken and destroyed “My boyfriend talks too much on the phone with his ex. They were best friends and all even before they became lovers, and now I’m noticing they’re become closer when they broke up. I am a bit jealous and worried that their spending too much time on the phone together. What should I do?” There is no sound of laughter or happiness here The little one has thrown in the towel today Somber, melancholy moods decay the soul It is futile to hope and dream and pray Katie answers: Emptiness builds a home in this woman You may want to apply reverse psychology: exert an effort to befriend his (bff turned-ex-gf turned- bff again) instead of him talking to her, she will eventually find a friend in you and you may go girl bonding and earn a friend in each other, this way, you will overcome the jealous feeling and lead a healthier and loving relationship with your boyfriend. James20 asks: In this girl, this child where hollows have bred A deepening sea of nowhereness consumes And eats away at every connecting thread Confusion feeds like a savage inside her, Leaving nothing considered worthy too often. On weekdays she would come over bringing in food usually, and she would stay up till around 10-11 pm. My parents are getting worried (and uncomfortable) that she spends too much time at our house. How do I tell her about this? I do not want to give her the idea that I do not want her at my house.“ Katie answers: Just tell her outright that your parents are not quite ready to have (grandkids yet), and seeing you guys a li‘l too comfortable gives them a different impression, if she really loves you, she will understand. After which, you can come up with an arrangement, like instead of her visiting you often , why not initiate that you visit her instead. remains Destined to walk through life less ordinary Alone, exiled, different and disdained. - Catherine Perez “My girlfriend visits me at home a little 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. Pieces of my mind Marichie Coronel Piece # 1: New Year Traditions New Year is the day that marks the beginning of a new calendar year and in many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner. In many countries, the celebration begins in the evening of December 31 – New Year‘s Eve – and continues into the early hours of January. Revelers often eat specific foods that are believed to bring good luck for the coming year:      Grapes in Spain Suckling pig in Austria Soba noodles in Japan Rice pudding in Norway Black-eyed peas in United States. Also, in this country, is the tradition of dropping a giant ball in New York City‘s Times Square at the stroke of midnight. Here in the Philippines, New Year is one of the major holidays commemorated with great pomp and splendor, and also observed with a few superstitious beliefs. We observed the occasion with our family and have a great meal together. For some, this signifies good luck and prosperity in production in the year ahead. Considered a special ingredient of the meal is the 12 different fruits symbolizing the 12 months of the year. Hearing midnight mass is one of the important custom which is believed to offer good luck all over the year and drive away evil forces. Fireworks is a major part of the fete which represents happiness and prosperity throughout the year. Greeting and wishing each other to mark the New Year designates good luck and happiness. Another unique custom is jumping up and down to grow taller in the year ahead. Dressing in dotted clothes and carrying coins in pockets signify prosperity. In almost everywhere, people dance and sing in the street while doing the countdown. Traditional performances like rural dances, musical events and other shows are held in malls, theaters and other cultural hot spots to greet the New Year and welcome the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months. Piece # 2: New Year Recipe This is just a recent discovery. It is of an unknown author and I find it inspiring thus I decided to share it with you: ―Take 12 fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories and bitterness, rancor and hate, cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past, have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouses of Time. Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time. Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like salad dressing, do not do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor:‖ Piece # 3: 2010: Personal Reflections There is an apocryphal Chinese proverb and curse that says,‖May you live in interesting times.‖ It means: May you experience much upheaval and trouble in your life. The clear implication that ‗uninteresting times‘, of peace and tranquility, are more life-enhancing. These are certainly interesting times, whether we look to the turmoil of the financial markets, the conflicts erupting around the globe, calamities around the world, or even more narrowly, to the developments in the microcosm of technology. It has certainly been an eventful year for me personally, but on the whole I do not feet the cataclysm as a curse. I certainly am not ending 2010 the way I came into it, and that is the whole point of living. The biggest changes have been on the personal front. I lost my father to cancer last 2009, and this 2010 was his first death anniversary, a memory that is especially poignant on New Year‘s eve, which was our family‘s sacrosanct holiday. I will think of him then as we commemorate the New Year with a paella, a tradition I inherit. I became jobless last November, but I did not let that setback limit me to do what I can, with what I have. The situation made me realized more how still fortunate I am sans the work…The planned long-awaited quality time with my Mom, siblings, nephews and nieces finally came into fruition during my unemployment. The other change is that you are reading this/these articles and someone out there deserves the credit for getting me to start on this (again)… So, you have no choice but to live in remarkable times. Whether you are happily contented with your present status, or blessedly forced into a circumstance not of your choice, just make the best out of it. Just reflect upon your present blessings – of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. ―Life is not certain that you shall win, but make it certain that you shall try.‖ A Happy New Year to all. Things under the sun Arkel Sagubo Do you know Vonetta Flowers? First African American woman who won a GOLD MEDAL in a winter Olympics (2002) Do you know Halle Berry? Do you know that she is the FIRST African American who won the BEST ACTRESS award in OSCAR( 2002) Do you know Anousleh Ansari? 1st female ―SPACE TOURIST‖ , on September 18,2006, she paid $20million dollars to ride the Russian Soyuz TMA9 space capsule. Also, 1st IRANIAN in space. Also the FIRST MUSLIM woman in SPACE. Quick bits: According to News Week Daily, for every 200 people you see everyday, 1-2 of them are ghosts. Scary eh? Twelve Seconds of Self Infliction Part One Joyce Dimaano ―Hey, you want to take this along with the sheets?‖ I turned around, his back on me, carefully folding his clothes, making sure not to crumple even a sleeve as he checked his huge traveling bag if it still had space. I looked at him, almost aching to walk towards the edge of the bed to hand the towels myself, but went cold feet when he caught my gaze and mouthed, ―Nah. You might need those. Besides they do have a spare that they have offered to me.‖ I excused myself to get the remaining ones on the clothesline, and to breathe. It was our last day together; tomorrow, there will be no more breakfast in bed, or a puppy curled up beside me when I wake up. I‘ve had days when I didn‘t have both, and the ones when I did, somehow have become forgotten. Either that or I have become a case too interesting for Jung. I remember being a college senior, and while I was busy wrapping up recommendations for my resume, I was manning the school paper, revising my thesis for final defense, and laying the foundations of a budding romance. My friends once said that I was being melodramatic, that I was romanticizing everything even if it is uncalled for, and the more I loved, the harder I fell. Except that I have this innate ability to be a control freak. Everything had to be managed, even when it is quite impossible. There wasn‘t really any special connection when we met, even when we started talking. I would not exactly classify it as mind boggling, let alone life altering, but for some reason he grew on me. Like I could not go through a day without hearing from him, and when he started playing with words and dishing out things that only a lovelorn sucker would buy, that was when I realized that I was under his spell. I was under a spell. I am under a spell. I am under a spell. I had to keep repeating that to myself; consciously, I was aware that I was not making any sense at all. Then again, I don‘t easily fall. But when I do, I don‘t just fall. I plummet. And that was what happened. The usual followed: what course are you taking, how old are you, what kind of music do you like … they all sound so ancient to me now. I have a pretty good memory; funny, because I have forgotten my well-rehearsed replies but I can recite every answer that came out of that forgotten phone. Did I mention that I cling to promises like a child? My eldest sister used to reprimand me for being too fanatical of fairy tales, and thinking how we ended up, he and I, I‘d say my sister can usually target a bull‘s eye from a mile away. ―What time is she picking you up?‖ ―I don‘t know. I said four. But she‘ll be coming from Cubao so … ― I wasn‘t even listening and he knew it. He pretended not to care. I tried my best to not care. I sorted through the pile of clothes and heaps of sheets and books, trash even, pretending that I was looking for something. It didn‘t work. You can‘t fool someone you‘ve lived with for two years. Or maybe you can, if you didn‘t wear your heart in your sleeve the whole time. ―What are you looking for?‖ ―That a trick question?‖ ―Huh?‖, confused and finally looking at me in the eye. ―What do you mean?‖ ―Nothing,‖ I turned around and started folding my share of the sheets and blankets, carefully placing one atop the other. ―You better take a bath. Don‘t make her wait when she gets here.‖ Before he could say a word, I walked out of the door, out of his sight. Out of his life. Send your literary contributions to-