FASHION | Cebu's Monique Lhuillier, Amparito's daughter, wows world

Gwyneth Paltrow, Taylor Swift, Eva Longoria, Tandy Newton and Sofia Vergara in a Monique Lhuillier dress.

FAITH | The Child and the Cross

BY J.D. VELEZ | Published in Sun.Star Live

Christianity came to our shores in the form of the Cross, which Magellan planted at the site of the present kiosk that house and commemorate it, and more successfully in the little statuette of the Holy Child, the Sto. Niño.

There is so much violence and love on the cross. I can imagine the original cross splattered with blood and bits of flesh probably from Jesus’ body, bloodied and wounded from lashing. He must have writhed in pain from fresh cuts as well as dried up ones. I think Mel Gibson was right in realistically depicting the violence on the cross.

It must have been so hard to endure such a sight for His loved ones, and much more for Him to withstand all that pain. And with a human body, He breathed His last on the cross, giving in to pain, exhaustion, violence.

Yet the cross, now we look at it, was overcome with so much love. All the ill will, hatred, conspiracy, envy that had Him crucified, were washed away (together with all the blood that dried) with His love for them who persecuted Him and for mankind. He lived as He preached. He turned the other cheek.

But apparently, it was easier for the Cebuano natives to embrace the new religion as symbolized by the God-Child. It’s hard for them to grasp why would Jesus, the Man-God be so seemingly powerless as to endure pain and death on the cross.

Like a child with less than remarkable parents, Christianity came crawling into our shores and tugged at our hearts. It doesn’t matter if men with dubious purposes carried the child on their shoulders.

The Sto Nino triumphed because we see the idea of the loving, forgiving God in the innocent child who holds no rancor and makes us genuinely happy.

Love is central to the message of Christianity. To love is to see the face of God (Les Miserables).

It’s not so hard to understand it. Love is like a flower blooming. It blossoms beautifully, quietly because it is. The birds fly because they do. The tide rushes to the shore and recedes back to the sea. It doesn’t need a reason why. It just does.

One loves. One just does. And lives like a palm swaying to the wind’s whisper. Or like the brook murmuring as it meanders down among the rocks.

It made us see Him in His creations and not worship them no matter how beautiful they are like the moon and the stars that illumine the night, or the sturdy tree that gives ample shade.

Let us just remember God didn’t stay a child. He grew up and was crucified on the cross. There is as much love on the cross as in the face of the smiling God-Child.

TOURISM | World's 7th Best Island Destination

Cebu has been adjudged by the Conde Nast travel magazine as the 7th best island destination in the world in an elite list that include Maldives, Bali, Phuket, Seychelles, Koh Samui, Mauritius and Langkawi. The island's hotels and resorts include such world renown names in the business such as Marriott, Shangri-la, Hilton, Marco Polo, Waterfront and Radisson and local names that give equally excellent services and facilities such as Plantation Bay, Parklane, Costabella, Maribago, Crown Regency, Montebello, Fortuna, Midtown, Elizabeth and Paragon, to name a few.

HISTORY | Deconstructing Filipino Heroes

BY J.D. VELEZ | Blogger

Pinoy Mestizo ilustrados in trenchcoats

Heroes confuse the issue. It's, as if, all is well because we have heroes. They even have titles to match, among them: Mabini, the sublime paralytic; Jacinto, the young general, and Marcelo H. del Pilar, the propagandist. These mostly Tagalog heroes who belong to the indigenous elite class of the 19th century seem like deity when, in fact, they were just ordinary men. Well, many of them were Masons. That probably explains the mystique sorrounding them. (Wrapped in secrecy, those European-educated ilustrados who converted to Masonry mixed with local anting-anting-weilding natives resulting in  a potent mix of urban legend, superstition and shamanism. But I have digressed from the subject.)

We have heroes, hurrah, we are better off. But are we?  Have our problems been solved? Heroes confound the issue. History is far more complex and personalities obscure the bigger picture.Our problems didn't end because we have heroes. Far from it. Our heroes were the children of rich elite Mestizo-Sangleyes and Creoles who, as a logical consequence of increasing economic strength, wanted more say in the affairs of their homeland or in the running of the colony.

In the end, one group of revolutionaries led by Emilio Aguinaldo would butcher Andres Bonifacio who founded the Katipunan as the warriors inspired by Ilustrado idealism drifted far from the ideals of their cause.

The US snatched victory from the divided but would-have-been-triumphant Filipino revolutionaries. June 12 Independence Day celebration though significant is misleading. The Tagalog-led revolution was a failure. It ended in defeat as another superpower took over. Manila was designed by Durnham and he carved Baguio from the Cordilleras. The Americans made a lasting imprint on the capital and its public buildings as an American colonial city. So what exactly were we celebrating?

We honor heroes though America defeated them. Let's celebrate victories instead of defeat the way the Americans celebrate 4th of July and the French, the French revolution.

I prefer celebrating People Power 1 at Edsa when we removed a dictatorship. That was real victory. Years later we abrogated a bases treaty with the US. That's real independence from US neocolonial rule. June 12 is plain romantic longing Filipinos triumphed in 1898 and that America didn't arrive to colonize us further.

INSIGHT | Demystifying Jose Rizal

The Chinoy Jose Rizal

By Jose Velez | Blogger

In my peripheral Southerner's view, Rizal was simply a Mestizo-Sangley ilustrado born to a family who made money from the cash crop boom of the 19th Century. He is a descendant of Dominador LamCo, a Chinese immigrant from Jinjiang, Quanzhu in China.

He was better educated than his countrymen because of the privileges of his class just like many of the Mestizos from Cebu's Parian District, a rich mestizo enclave in the 19th century.

In 1840, the port of Manila opened to world trade, years ahead of Cebu and Iloilo. It paved the way for the cash crop boom in Luzon. Just like the rest of the country, Mestizo Chinese traders were the ones who took most advantage of this opportunity as they were the only ones who had the capital needed to engage in plantation farming. Rizal's Chinese ancestors were among those who benefited from Spain's trade liberalization policy in the Philippines during the 19th Century.

Spain was forced to allow freer movements in trade by Filipinos especially the Mestizos after Mexico gained independence and stopped its subsidy to Manila. Those wealthy Chinese traders or their children married native wives and sent their mestizo children to Ateneo, San Carlos, Sto. Tomas and Europe to study. This was the social context to which Rizal was born.

Spanish authorities became more and more insecure as many Mestizos became wealthy. They became more repressive especially in Luzon where Indios (those who have no foreign blood) who comprise the masses became more militant and revolutionary angered by the execution of Filipino priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora and later, said to have been inspired by the writings of Rizal. They were represented by the barefoot, bolo wielding Andres Bonifacio (as often depicted in many paintings and sculptures of the hero).

Spain martyred Rizal after Spanish soldiers executed him in Bagumbayan field (now Luneta).  The Americans, according to historian Renato Constantino helped promote Rizal as the country's national hero.They see in Rizal a more pacifist kind of hero. Others dispute this contention.

The question is, could Rizal walk the talk? Even in his writing, he debated with himself between peaceful reform and bloody uprising.  If Spain didn't throw him in prison and executed him, would he have become a hero? Or would he have vacillated between a a happy exile's life and a heroic one? Would he have pursued actively independence for the Philippines? Or compromised with mere reforms under Spain? Would he have fought the Americans or accommodated them?

All these speculations about Rizal are rendered moot and academic with his  death. All that we're left with is the moral superiority over Spain, who lost all justification to rule with the moral  bankruptcy of Rizal's execution. And that was Rizal's greatest legacy.

ARCHITECTURE | Symbols in Stone

New

Old

By J.D. VELEZ | Published in Sun.Star Live, September 7, 2008

It was a modern church. I long wanted to write about its remarkable design. And now, I finally have, only that the church has ceased to be modern..

Its pentagonal rendition in the traditional church arch was true to the geometric minimalism of modern architectural design. The previous facade and interior design was devoid of ornamentation. Its columns less emphasized (except in front where a cantilever should have been), its massive concrete beams repeat in consistent pattern, its form derived from its function.

Now the ornaments and a few columns are back in the Sto. Rosario Church. To express the church's intended image, the design has to be referential again to the past and to the familiar symbols of the Catholic faith.

The undecorated facade is now covered by more graphic expressions of Christianity. The rose ornament on both sides and the image of the Virgin Mary, with a rosary in the middle, signify that it is a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. At the modern belfry, an image of an angel is added, suggesting a scene from the Annunciation when Mary was informed of her motherhood, except that here Mary is already carrying the infant Jesus; a fulfillment of the prophecy.

Actually the transformation of the church began years ago with the replacement of the image of the Risen Christ at the altar with the usual crucified Christ. In the background is a scene depicting the people who were at the crucifixion-Roman soldiers, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Christ.

It is wrong to say that the church has gone back to its original classical design for it has not. Like a lot of things in today's world, it has gone postmodern. And its nowhere more clear than in those concrete globes separated by tall shrubs, similar to the postmodern San Antonio Public Library in Texas, USA.

Its present look we can say is more attuned to its surrounding architecture like the classic University of San Carlos building nearby.

HISTORY | The end of Cebu's frontier economy and the decline of Cebu's towns

Church  in Argao, another 19th Century southern Cebu boomtown

Without major industries and with copra production not as labor-intensive as the farming of sugar cane and other cash crops (with coconut trees taking years to grow), more and more people left the towns in the years after the second world war, leaving some of them frozen in time and looking like places that had seen better times. 

The migration to the city was partly responsible for the boom in Cebu City's population after the war. From 167,000 in 1948, it ballooned to 251,000 by 1960 or an increase of 84,000 people in just 12 years.

Many of the Chinese also left the towns. In contrast, in Cebu City, Chinese businessmen and their descendants started various business enterprises from the 1950s onwards. Many of them prospered and were the most visible drivers of the city's economy. They had at their employ Cebuano masses from the towns. Downtown Cebu City might as well had been called a Chinatown with the proliferation of Chinese businesses selling all sorts of things as diverse as spare parts, textiles, housewares, jewelries, Chinese cuisine, shoes, etc.

POLITICS | Margot Osmena for Cebu 2013 Facebook page launched

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Margot-Osmena for Cebu 2013


This early, there is a Margot-Osmena for Cebu 2013 (Click link above). After being considered to chair the City Council's powerful budget and finance committee, Tom's wife is now being eyed as probable candidate in 2013. What position will that be? Nothing is definite yet. The Facebook page just says Margot Osmena for 2013. If it's the mayorship, then it will be a Margot vs. Mike come 2013.

There was a time when Greg Sanchez, Gwen Garcia, Tommy Osmena and Mike Rama were all friends. Now, one is dead,  Gwen and Tommy still haven't made up. Mike is friends once again with Gwen. And Tom and Mike have burned their bridges. Now Tom's wife is poised to challenge Mike in 2013. What's next for Cebu's politics?

SPORTS | Less heralded Dirk Nowitzki leads Dallas Mavericks to win NBA title

Nowitzki (Photo from NBA. com)

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs' win over the Miami Heat's hyped star players made up of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. He got help from Jason Kidd and Jason Terry.

The German Nowitzki's spectacular Finals performance earned for him the NBA finals MVP. Fighting a 101-degree fever in Game 4 due to a sinus infection, he scored 10 of his 21 points in the final period. And despite a torn tendon in Game 2, he helped the team win. Who does he remind you of? Yes, Michael Jordan.

Everywhere in the metropolis where there's free TV viewing of the NBA finals, Cebuanos were hooked on the live coverage of the game. Inside expensive restaurants and along sidewalks, people watched the game. It's hard to see among Cebuanos that same enthusiasm and interest in the PBA Finals. But we loved the Cebu Gems.

HISTORY | Remembering the short-lived Philippine Republic in Cebu ca 1898.

The Casa de Gobierno across Plaza Independencia

(In celebration of Philippine Independence Day, here are a few paragraphs from my up-coming book on Cebu City's history.)

BY JD VELEZ | Blogger

Mestizos from Parian held various positions when the short-lived Philippine Republic reigned in the city after the Spaniards left and before the Americans came. Spanish control of the island ended on December 24, 1898. On that day, the Spanish provincial governor of Cebu, Adolfo Montero handed over the reigns of government to a caretaker committee of citizens headed by Pablo Mejia, a Spanish mestizo. On December 30, elections were held at the Casa de Gobierno, fronting Plaza Independencia (then called Plaza Maria Cristina). Elected president was Luis Flores and Julio Llorente as vice president.

Concurrent with his position in the province, Julio Llorente was made president of Cebu City and Pablo Mejia as treasurer of the port. Llorente was a Spanish mestizo, son of a wealthy sugar estate owner in Medellin.

On January 10, 1899 another election was held to establish the civil government in Cebu under the Aguinaldo-led Philippine republic. Elected were Florentino Rallos, another Spanish mestizo, as president and Alejandro Valle as vice-president. Rallos thus became, Cebu City's first ever elected chief executive.

The Mestizos took over the reigns of government left behind by the Spaniards, taking over such symbol of the Spaniards' 333 years of colonial rule as the Casa de Gobierno, (which the provincial government under Luis Flores and Julio Llorente took over) and the ayuntamiento (occupied by the Cebu City government under Florentino Rallos).

With the departure of the Spaniards, Cebuanos led by the Mestizos took over Ciudad de Cebu. It was no longer just the old Spanish city but “an area of one thousand square leagues, consisting of thirteen districts: Lutao, Pampango, Suba, Tinago, Maoco, Parian, Licod. Pili, Ermita, Zapatera, Carrta, Tejero, and Cogon.” (Mojares, 1983)

Also falling under the Mestizos' control under Aguinaldo's government was the entire province of Cebu. In time, Llorente would wrest control of the province from Luis Flores and Arcadio Maxilom, both active in the war against Spain (as compared to Llorente who only had a peripheral role in the revolution as Jose Rizal's acquaintance in Madrid where he studied).

HERITAGE | Great archaeological discovery of Phil Iron Age artifacts in San Remegio gets international attention

Photo from http://archaeosanremigio.blogspot.com/

Cebu's prehistory is getting its much-needed material evidence when a team of archaeologists led by Prof. Jojo Bersales of the University of San Carlos unearthed artifacts that could be traced back to centuries before the Spanish colonization of the island and probably even before the island's trade with the Chinese and other Asian neighbors.

Lately, the find has drawn the attention of an international mix of researchers and academics from the world over.

Here's a reposting of a news item from USC's website.

Joint USC-UoG-UPD Archaeo Field School Begins in San Remigio

Twenty-six students and five archaeology professors began a three-week intensive fieldwork in the town of San Remigio last Saturday, following a courtesy call with Fr. Pres. Dionisio Miranda, SVD.

Led by Dr. Stephen Acabado and Dr. John Peterson of the University of Guam (UoG), Prof. Jojo R. Bersales of the USC Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Dr. Grace Barreto-Tesoro of the the University of the Philippines-Diliman, the group is part of a joint field school conducted by USC in collaboration with UoG and UPD. The contingent is composed of American, Canadian, Thai, Cambodian and Vietnamese archaeologists, Henry Luce Fellows from the University of Hawaii, as well as Filipinos. The event is also supported by the Cebu Provincial Tourism and Heritage Council, which sponsored a two-day tour of the city and province for the visitors, free of charge. The group met up with Bersales who is currently winding up the excavations in Boljoon in order to join the group later this week.

It may be recalled that Prof. Bersales conducted a separate field school for archaeology and anthropology students of SoAn in March and April this year, which successfully discovered what may be the oldest archaeological site in Cebu today, comprising six burials with artifacts clearly indicative of the Philippine Iron Age (ca. 500 BC to AD 900). The joint excavation is a continuation of that fieldwork and is the first joint excavation between USC and UoG.

An exhibition of the significant finds made there during the March-April field school will be opened at the San Remigio Cultural Center this coming Saturday. The exhibit is jointly sponsored by SoAn, USC Museum and the National Museum of the Philippines. Dr. Ame Garong, who led the NM team during that excavation will be attending together with Malou Samson, USC Museum curator and Prof. Bersales as well as a host of other dignitaries including possibly NM Director Jeremy Barns.

HISTORY | The cash crop boom of the 19th century that gave birth to Cebu's towns

Sta. Catalina Church in Carcar, a 19th century boomtown

The trade with foreign markets done in the open port of Cebu transformed not just Cebu City but the entire Cebu island. The influential and wealthy Mestizos farmed out lands throughout the province, many of which, before the cash crop boom of 19th century remained idle for centuries.

Production of cash crops required vast lands for plantations. As a result, there was in the 19th century, a scramble for land. The rich Mestizos had sugar, tobacco, corn plantations throughout the entire island.

At the beginning of the 19th Century, there were only 12 parishes and towns in the entire island of Cebu. By the end of the 19th Century, there were already 50. The rise of towns is proof of the extent of the Mestizos' economic activity and how it benefited the entire island. Towns and parishes required considerable resources to establish and sustain.

SPORTS | Who are you rooting for? Mavs or Heat? Or is it the Azkals?

Jason Terry, Mavs hero in today's game against the Miami Heat. (photo from NBA. com)

Move over Azkals. The NBA Finals is here and this basketball-crazy nation is again frantically following its original beloved sports, basketball. The Mavs are up 3-2 in what is turning to be one of NBA's best Finals series.

In today's game, Jason Terry's crucial three-point shots in the dying minutes of the play nullified strong defense put up by the Miami Heat. What the Mavs couldn't do inside the paint, Jason Terry did excruciatingly well from the perimeter. Terry's shots were the type that could break a team's spirit. The Heat faded away in the final minutes of the game.

The present Finals Series is quite unexpected after the usual finalist, the LA Lakers were edged out. It's hard to predict who will be this year's Champion. There are no clear favorites as both teams are hungry for an NBA title, especially the Mavericks who had never won an NBA crown.

As for the Azkals, they were in Cebu last week. Tall, white Filipino-Briton Phil Younghusband stood out among the players. Fans swarmed him more than any other member of the Philippine soccer team. Report had it that work stopped at the Cebu Provincial Capitol after employees trooped to the Governor's office where the team went to give a courtesy call on Governor Gwen Garcia. Phil, said many Cebuanos, could very well be a good basketball player, relatively tall that he is. But it would be bad for Philippine soccer which never had a celebrity player until Phil came along.

DOSSIER | Interview with Rep. Tomas Osmena

(Photo from Freebase.com)
Sometime in February this year, J.D. Velez interviewed Congressman Tomas Osmena for a book project. Here are a few excerpts from that interview.

J.D. VELEZ: What would be the defining achievement of your administration? You served five terms as Mayor of the City.

CONG. TOMAS R. OSMENA: You name it. I don't know. You tell me. Mactan Bridge I've done that.

JDV: The Second Mactan Bridge?

TRO: Yeah.

JDV: Your father sir, also pushed for the development of the area around the city.

TRO: Hmmn. When Lito was governor and I was mayor of the city, we really worked well together. I took care of problems which were urban in nature. The widening of AS Fortuna, the circumferential road of Mactan, even the trees going to the airport, those were all from Cebu City, F. Cabahug, MJ Cuenco in Mandaue, those were my projects, the road from old Mactan Bridge to Marigondon...

JDV: In a lot of your projects, you had synergy with Gov. Lito Osmena at that time.

TRO : He (Lito) was able to get national attention to the investment climate in Cebu. He started when he brought in Ayala.

JDV:  Ayala created a new urban center which also spurred development in the Banilad area.... The province got a lot of properties in the Banilad area which was once part of the Franciscan friar estate.

TRO: Not only the Banilad but everywhere..... When the city was formed, the province retained ownership. The one you can ask more about this is Atty. Ben Militar.

JDV: The province just chose what property it will retain?

TRO: When the US Govt. took over the Philippines, what was once friar lands was transferred to the Philippines, and then it was transferred to the province.

Read the rest of the interview here... soon...

INSIGHT | Split in Cebu City LP

By J.D. VELEZ | Blogger

(Rama bolts BOPK - local papers banner today in their headlines. The mayor said he doesn't have to affiliate with a local party as he is with the Liberal Pary)

When Pnoy first came to Cebu to campaign for the 2010 elections, the BOPK and the Rama clan were in full force at the Sacred Heart Center where the welcome gathering was held. However, two personalities were ominously not there. One is Tomas Osmena and the other is Noynoy pointman and former Kusug stalwart Totol Batuhan. Both had issues about that event. Little did we know their absence was a telltale sign of things that were to unravel a year later.


Totol and Mike's cousin, Ricky Rama Poca had ties with Pnoy through their Ateneo friends. Both are Ateneo alumni and both became key persons in Pnoy's first visit to Cebu during the campaign.

Totol organized the following day in the same center another event - the launching of Noynoy Aquino for President Movement (NAPM). Both Pnoy and Mar attended it. It was during a lull in the event when Totol told me about Chiz not running anymore for president, days before Chiz withdrew his candidacy.

I'm talking about these as I see a realignment in the city's LP leadership. Rama is emboldened to leave BOPK  as he sees support from LP which is far from unified itself. I won't be surprised if Binay's group is supporting him. I know for sure Tomas is with the Mar group as he was first loyal to Mar, and for sure the NoyBis would not have approached him.

I won't be surprised if Totol runs as BOPK candidate for congressman come 2013 and Tomas makes a comeback bid for city hall. As for Rama and his probable NoyBi backing, I still have to see what they have up their sleeves. It won't be surprising, that's for sure. Things like these are cooked up for quite some time.

FITNESS | Urban Fit

By J.D. VELEZ

Published in Sun.Star Live, June 24, 2005

I used to walk a lot. My feet took me to rivers, hills, shores, rice paddies and marshlands. Then, life’s twists and turns made me stop those nature treks.

Recently, I took up walking again. But this time, I traveled two kilometers and never really got anywhere. I did sweat profusely though, something I’ve not done for quite sometime.

I walked for 30 minutes on a treadmill, and lost some 167 calories. I missed the green trees, the blue skies, the ever-changing pattern of clouds I associated with walking. But such is the paradox of modern urban lifestyle. There’s always a virtual equivalent to what we leisurely or meaningfully do in the suburbs or boondocks. It has the same effect though of reinvigorating your body but minus the being-one-with-nature part.

I’ve done mostly cardio exercises lately, some light weights to tone my arms, and crunches to rid myself of an unhealthy, not to mention unpleasant-looking belly.

The first time I worked out, I stared at my reflection in the mirror and with all honesty, saw myself for all my obese glory. I sort of denied I was getting fat, always compensating the unsightly bulge with the clothes that I wear.

I’m a newbie to all this getting fit business. Although I’ve always admired those with the discipline to keep their body fit.

I never really saw myself as health conscious. But when one gets older, you try to fight the inevitable aging process by exercising.

I was naturally fit before. The American writer Henry David Thoreau had such a profound effect on me that I did try on a Walden-like existence. That was some 14 years ago.

There was nothing much to mark that point in my life, except for some eastern influenced poetry, a journal and watercolor paintings of frogs, shores, sunsets, (most of which have long disappeared or have been given to friends) and unintentionally, a better though lanky physique and a nice tan from all those walking under the sun.

Fast forward into the present, at thirty-something, I’m walking inside a gym covering more than two kilometers and never getting anywhere. That seems to be a good metaphor for the lives most of us live.

Divorced from nature, catching my breath, shedding off excess fats I find myself the typical urbanite living a sedentary life and keeping fit by working out in a gym. There’s something quite unnatural to it. I wish I developed muscles from say, lifting nets or plowing the fields, a natural consequence of living and not an end all by itself.

But such is the reality of contemporary life. It’s exhilarating being one with nature but society’s warm caves offer comfort from the night’s biting cold.

FITNESS | Life is a salad

By J.D. Velez

Published in Sun.Star Live, June 17, 2005

I woke up lately feeling like an alien, an extra terrestrial.

I’m no fitness enthusiast, and for several years, I lived my life pushing myself to the limit, testing how much abuse my body can take. I have a secret fanstasy of being like the Bruce Willis character in the movie Unbreakable who no matter what he does, never gets sick.

For years, I slept for barely three to four hours, ate fatty and salty food or with high uric acid content, and stay strapped to my chair for hours staring at the computer monitor.

I love eating lechon sold at Bernadette in Minglanilla. I like most especially the part near the lechon’s belly where most of the spices are. At night, after work, with colleagues, we would often eat paklay made from goat innards in Sikatuna St. or tapsilog at a diner across the office.

Then last week I ate only fish and veggies, and some chicken.

Salads at KFC became my favorite. They have Caesar salad peppered with slices of chicken and an oriental style salad (meaning, Chinese). I find the latter’s sauce too sweet.

Near the office is Kissbone restaurant where a lot of gourmet and healthy food are also available. I found myself ordering some Caesar salad there too.

I was surprised a mix of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, egg white slices can actually fill one’s hungry stomach and make one not feel hungry for hours. The food is so light I couldn’t believe it can take the place of the usual meat and rice that I eat.

At home, it’s Quaker oatmeal for breakfast (the one with an attractive red packaging).

I find everything really queer at first. Added to the diet change is my transfer to a day sked instead of the graveyard shift I’ve been used to for years. The timing is perfect. The paper’s “soft pages” have been redesigned and working days, instead of nights, has become a must for me.

I feel like a different person, like some good ghost has taken over. I feel light, healthier.

And that’s not all. I’m introduced to a new byword lately – stress management. I’m finding a new dimension to what pop shrinks have been saying, “being happy is a matter of choice.”

One can still be happy, even if the ideal eludes you. Life is like chopsuey or Caesar salad. It draws its impeccable taste from the mix of ingredients. Salad isn’t all lettuce, and chopsuey isn’t all cauliflower.

LIFE/MUSIC | Night life with friends and Missing Felimon

By J.D. VELEZ | Published in Sun.Star Live, Feb. 4, 2005

I’m not a sports-oriented guy as I’ve said here some time ago. But one doesn’t have to be in order to take a chance at some sports. One can put on a pair of sneakers and be off running at the City Sports complex. Or hie off to a billiard hall somewhere say, the one at Fruits and Foods behind Iglesia ni Kristo Church.

So after work, one cold dawn, me and my friends rode on our colleague Khalil’s multicab nicknamed Joel (after some smart aleck pasted a sticker of a political candidate during the last elections on its glass windshield and door.)

The multicab, which had its share of misfortunes at the no parking area near the office - and for that, had been in and out of the CITOM compound - managed to transport us to Fruits and Foods. If it were an animal it could have coughed and collapsed at the sheer weight of five artists and three writers.

We took advantage of its functional presence for we know not when is its next trip to the kulungan. We are therefore enjoying its Laya days. I don’t intend to be using a lot of Tagalog terms here but (I don’t mean to be condescending) it is the language of Visayan ex-convicts and domestic helpers who’ve been to Manila and returned to the province afterwards.

Anyway, we were at Fruits and Foods and played billiards with three players playing at a time. For a few hours, one forgets ground problems and just concern oneself at sinking the ball in one of the six pockets. There’s just the sheer joy and exhilaration as one with the right trajectory successfully pockets the balls one by one.

We were kids again. For every remarkably difficult shot, a yell of acclamation, for every blunder for what would have been an easy shot, a guffaw of amusement.

In between shots our friend Insoy would treat us to a few dance steps (like maybe when he’s on his Missing Felimon concerts). We in the group are particularly fond of his song Inday. I told him he should be writing more love songs. We would sometimes break into a rendition of the song. Read these: "Inday please don’t say to me goodbye/unless you want to see me cry a river/ tanan nga gusto mo inday ihatag ko / maputos man ko sa utang okay lang / sulngon ko ang panggubatan / pakamatyan ang buwan / kabukiran latason adlawng tanan… "

We went outside the billiard joint at around three in the morning to a deserted street named after my great grandfather Peping’s sister’s husband, Don Felimon Sotto. He never had a child with my lola’s Tia Carmen but had three illegitimate children. He stood as godfather in my Tio Venal’s baptism. There are many stories in our family of the past and they’re passed on like heirlooms. And I too would pass on the stories to my kids as I share a few here.

We rode aboard Joel and headed for Abuhan restaurant where Jobanni treated us to Pochero. I often wonder where is the Abuhan everytime I’m there. I miss that ash-filled hearth where one cooks with firewood. One goes there to eat beef or pork like pre-Spanish natives maybe with a bowl of huge bone chunks and gorge on the morrow and the rich meat that remain on them. Then take a sip of the hot soup filled with young corn, some chopped bamboo shoots, squash and cabbage.

We don’t know what exactly we were celebrating. It was just one of those times one breathes the city of our ancestors, family and friends before life’s journey take us to new lands, new lives, new beginnings.