Maria Teresa Antonietta Ubiadas Coronel

TELUS International Philippines – Mobility | Issue 8 | March 2011 The leaf turns green Dear Readers, Usually I start the editor’s note with something catchy or witty, a trivia or two about the edition. The Spring Edition of The Maple Leaf can speak for itself that I need not iterate why it’s green and everything blooming. It is what it is, because Spring is what it is, or at least how it appears to be: green, and full of life. Did I mention that it being green is partly because it’s St. Patrick’s month? Happy reading, Mobility, and gear up for Summer. The Maple Leaf TELUS Internal Philippines – Mobility’s Online Magazine Contributors: Catherine Abreu | Gladys Nebres | Louis Robinson | Maricihie Coronel | Myles V. Holar | Twilight Venus Begnoche | Victor Mike Catanghal Lay-out & Design/Managing Editor: Jano Giveron Boscher Editor-in-Chief: Joyce Dimaano Maitre Amour Glenda Felio Hi There mob folks, Glenda here signing in! Katie had some other stuff going on, she decided to fly away somewhere, so I’m the one taking over the pleasure of helping you resolve those heart issues. I’m just as thrilled as you are, so let’s start: Single Lady asks: “I have been single for the longest time. I do want to celebrate my birthday on April with a special someone, but I’m too scared to go out on dates. What are my other options? I’m tired of being single, and I know I am too naive about matters of the heart.” Glenda Answers: Before anything else, Happy Birthday Single Lady! There’s nothing bad about being single –really. Like you don’t have to answer to anyone if you’re out and gets home late but having someone to share your birthday with and/or maybe the reset of your life with would be much better. If you’re too shy to go out with someone, here’s some things you may want to do instead: keyword: FRIENDS! 1. Have a house party. Invite tons of friends, have them bring their acquaintances over and mingle with a lot of people if you don’t feel too comfy going out on your own. 2. Have a group date. Have your friends and/or family find you a match, since they’d know your type best and would probably look for a good guy for you. I don’t think your friends would get someone that you won’t appreciate. 3. Don’t stress yourself too much in finding a partner. Don’t think of the long-term and-they-lived-happilyever-after ending yet. Just enjoy yourself and be with the people you love to hang out with and try to get to know new friends and try to be in new places as well. Who knows, out of all the fishes in the sea, you might find yourself a good catch in the end! ;) Married Guy asks: “My wife wants me to court her like how I did when we were still dating. Frankly, I don’t have the time but I do love my wife very much. I don’t think I still remember the routines of courting even if my life depended on it. Help!” Glenda Answers: Awww.. that’s so sweet! This may sound like a silly whim to others but women do want to be pampered, to feel special and being cared for, though others may not want to admit it. ;). That Includes having their partner court them again like they used to just to reminisce the feeling of ―kilig‖. You don’t really have to do the sweep-her-off-her-feet move like to bring her a truckload of flowers, chocolates and all that jazz..girls appreciate small things you do for her too you know. Say, if you do things you don’t normally do for her like giving her a card in the morning before you leave for work just to say something like ―You look pretty even when you snore‖. LOL :D Kidding aside, you can do small things like surprise her by cooking dinner (if you don’t normally do that), help around with the housekeeping, or saying random ―I love you‖ in least expected places or times. 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: In Salutation of the Woman In 1911 in Europe, March 8 was first observed as International Women’s Day. In many European nations, as well as in the UnitedStates, women’s rights were a political hot topic. Woman suffrage – winning the vote – was a priority of many women’s organizations. Women (and men) wrote books on the contributions of women to history. But with the economic depression of the 1930s which hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and then World War II, women’s rights went out of trend. In the 1950s and 1960s, after Betty Friedan pointed to the ―unidentified problem‖ – the boredom and isolation of the middle-class housewife who gave up intellectual and professional aspirations – women’s movement began to revive. With ― women’s liberation‖ in the 1960s, interest in the women’s issues and history developed. And so in the 1970s, many universities began to include fields of women’s learning and history. In 1978 in California, Women’s History Week was started on, and was chosen to coincide with the March 8 International Women’s Day. It got a positive response thus in 1987, at the request of the National Women’s History Project, Congress expanded the week to a month, and the U.S. Congress has issued a resolution every year since then, with wide support, for Women’s History Month. The U.S. President has issued each year a proclamation of Women’s History Month with the purpose to increase awareness and knowledge of women’s history – to take one month of the year to remember the contributions of notable and ordinary women. Here in the Philippines, the Filipina, who has kept pace with the best in the world, will be commemorating the whole March, as her month. International Women’s Day started in the Philippines in 1988, when then President Corazon Aquino signed Proclamation No. 224, declaring the first week of March of every year as Women’s Week and March 8 as Women’s Rights and International Peace Day. The celebration provides a venue to give due recognition to the immense contribution of the Filipinas in our country and their achievements:           Filipina Tycoon Loida Nicolas-Lewis Miss America Angela Perez Baraquio Beauty Queens Gloria Diaz, Miss Margarita Moran, Gemma Cruz , Aurora Pijuan, Melanie Marquez, Ines Zaragoza, Gloria Dimayacyac, Lorna Legaspi, and Michelle Aldana. Dotcom CEO Cecilia Pagkalinawan The President's ( Bill Clinton ) Doctor Eleanor ―Connie‖ Mariano Fashion Designer in New York Josie Natorie Broadway Diva Lea Salonga and other famous singers like Jocelyn Enriquez, Regine Velasquez who was once considered as "Asia's songbird" while Pilita Corales was also tagged as "Asia's Queen of Songs" Glee Star Charice Pempengco The Hurricane Anna Marie Julaton and that is just to mention a few… On this month of March, women all over the world celebrate International Women's Day -- looking back to almost ten decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace, and development. It was a time to reflect on their progress and an occasion to call for more change and action. But mostly, it was a day to recognize and remember the acts of courage of ordinary women who have stood their ground and fought for their rights and independence. Women have arrived from an almost century-long march to their current station in society. They have become presidents, leaders, and prime movers. They are significantly contributing in the home, workplace, and community. They have managed to rise above their chosen fields in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties. And they are now enjoying the fruits of their labor. To all Filipinas, congratulations! PIECE # 2: Profile of a Filipina – A Study ―In the Philippines, the best man is woman.‖ as per Leonard Wood, the late Governor General of the country during the Spanish era. For centuries, Filipino women have thought themselves of being dominated by men. From the Spanish epoch to the American colonization, they were brought up to believe that men are leaders in society and that they are just subordinates. This therefore affects their views on femininity. In an article which I had read, it described that Filipino women are probably the most fortunate in Asia. This has been so because men in our society appreciate and honor them. In fact, it is being shown on how the Filipina are permitted to educate themselves, work, and own properties / material things which are prohibited (or not a normal exercise) in neighboring Asian countries. What is the real core of a Filipina? A Filipino woman is described as shy, reserved, prim, discreet, cautious, bashful, charming, meek. She could either be a Mestiza, Chinita or Morena. By nature, she posseses strong faith. She may not admit her piousness but she devoutly and deeply trusts in God’s loving power. She always put herself in the care of the Lord and pray for everybody she loves. She thinks of other people first before herself. She is a considerate daughter, a loyal friend, a supportive and loving wife and mother. She is the driving force in the family, in a marriage or in a relationship…and also a dignified individual. The Filipina has transformed herself from a simple house maker to a working mother or to an executive in the business centers. She has proven herself to be an asset in the professional field, rising in the echelons of the corporate world for her various achievements. She has no reservations of working abroad for any job, disregarding her educational attainments for the best intentions for her family. A Filipina loves with all her heart, an Amazon at heart, and a survivor… I am a Filipina and am proud to be one. PIECE # 3: The Essence of a Woman I was really depressed one time because of a personal problem and this story uplifted my gloomy spirits when it was narrated to me by my cousin who is now a priest in one of our towns here in Bulacan. Though am not a mother, and simple it may be to you, I hope that it will bring the same feelings of encouragement that I felt, upon reading it… A little boy asked his mother, ―Why are you crying?‖ In which the mother replied, ―Because am a woman.‖ ―I do not understand,‖ he said. His mom just hugged him and said, ―You never will.‖ Later the boy asked his father, ―Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?‖‖All women cry for no reason,‖ all his dad could say. The boy grew up and still wondering why women cry. Finally, he answered his calling from God, and during one moment in his regular commune with the Lord, he asked Him his question, why do women cry so easily. The answer came flowing into his thoughts: ―When I made the woman, I made her special. I gave her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times would come from her children. I gave her resiliency and determination to keep her going when everyone else gives up, the patience to take care of her family through illness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the insight to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when they hurt her. I gave her the fortitude to bear her husband’s faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart, the wisdom to know to understand him and stand beside him unfailingly. And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed.‖ ―My son, the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she was endowed with, or the face that she has. The beauty of a woman is in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart – the place where love resides.‖ The Musician’s Apprentice Joyce Dimaano I watch you Just to hear From afar. Your voice. Looming Wooden figures talk. Like a shadow Hooded mist When keys And a curse Of black and white Seem more Red Than a Rose Petal. Faster than The Wind Itself --- For every word Sung. Can we dance And circle the Sun? For I sink As I destroy, Pray, And I create more than I pray I can enjoy. On my knees By the window like Them tongues Will not have words For watchers Us. 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