Death is something most people don’t want to discuss (like acne treatments). They shudder at the thought of preparing for their deaths. They think it’s bad luck or something.
When my wife’s grandmother died a couple of years ago, of course the family was gripped with sadness. But what made it better, I think, was that her grandmother had a funeral plan. It covered everything from the interment to the cremation. Everything was taken cared of, and the family was left to grieve and not be bothered with funeral arrangements. Death should be
My wife and I recently purchased a unit at the Serenity Columbarium, inside the Cathedral of Praise compound. We chose a unit with a capacity for 4 to 8 urns. Having a columbarium is a great alternative to traditional memorial plots (which are costly nad hard to maintain). As you can see from the photos, the place is air conditioned, simple, elegant, and clean.
The Serenity Columbarium is where memories of the dearest departed are kept alive. Strategically located along Taft Avenue in Metro Manila, it is a beautiful monument to the memory of our loved ones and the best alternative to today’s crowded cemeteries and expensive memorial parks.
The Serenity Columbarium is a contemporary response to traditional church cemetery. It allows for easy maintenance and convenient visitation. It can also be a serene spot for meditation prayer.
It’s that time of the year again. We call it rigodon. It’s when our manager squeezes some time from his busy schedule and devotes time to shuffle our work areas. The reason? We don’t know yet. Maybe it’s something so complicated or top secret that we aren’t allowed to know. It just happens, kind of like a tradition. One day, our very prestigious little team has the best work area (imagine beautiful and spacious boutique hotels), and a weekend after we’re cramped and packed so close I can my seatmate’s breathing (think LRT or EDSA during rush hour). Ok, not really. 
But I still feel like I’m invading her personal space sitting this close. Don’t get me wrong, I like our tight little group. It’s just that we’ve had a very spacious area during the last seven months, and now we’re packed. I’ll give it a few days to adjust. Of course it will work out. It always does.
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. - William James
Many times, we think that we are insignificant, that nobody notices us, that we are nothing. And when we think that way, I think it’s all the more that we should move and get going on what needs to be done. No matter how small we think we are, somehow, someway, we touch lives. We plant seeds. Seeds of enlightenment. It may not manifest itself right away, but someday, it will. Sharing something good about yourself or your experience, whether it’s buying farmhouse sinks or getting that really needed massage at a discount, while not spectacular, but good nonetheless, makes others have a sense of longing that they too should be like you. Showing and reaffirming to other people of how you live your life, no matter how hard it is, will uplift them (and you too!). Them seeing how wonderful you and your life is is enough for them to strive to be like you.
When I hear nothing but negative things from people, I tend to move away. These people dump garbage on me. Life is hard enough as it is.
I’m fed up with all the nasty things they’re saying about how their life sucks, how terrible their job is, her husband’s an alcoholic, etc. And if I listen to all the nonsense garbage, guess what? I feel like garbage too! It’s okay if these “dumps” happen once in a while. We all have bad days. But surely you aren’t so unlucky to have bad days all the time? Let’s do something else. Spread good news.
Dollhouse is a fairly new science fiction TV series created by writer-director-producer-occasional actor Joss Whedon. This series features Eliza Dushku as the character Echo, who is an Active or Doll. Dolls are people whose personalities and memories have been erased and are then imprinted with different personalities and memories, along with abilities, for different engagements, according to the client’s request or specification. The clients can then use them however which way they want, either for fulfilling fantasies or committing crimes. After every engagement, they are wiped clean again and then rest and live in a child-like state at a futuristic dormitory called The Dollhouse.
This new series was introduced to me by Zarine (thanks again for the copy). I was reading a lot of it in her blogs so I gave it a try. Frankly, it’s starting to become a favorite. I planned on seeing just the first episode the other night but wound up glued to the TV until the fifth episode.
The first episode is called Ghost, where Echo is hired as a negotiator by a wealthy businessman whose daughter was kidnapped. The second episode called The Target has Echo imprinted to be the female counterpart of an avid sportsman, who turned out to be a psycho and ended up dead trying to kill her. The third episode is called Stage Fright, where Echo goes undercover as a backup singer of a pop star who has this obsessed fan that’s trying to kill her. The fourth episode called Gray Hour is one of the coolest, where she was hired to perform a dangerous heist ala Ocean’s 11 on Las Vegas hotels. And finally, the fifth episode called True Believer has her sight replaced with a camera. That way, she would be blind, but the camera placed on her eye would allow her client to see what she’s not seeing.
The idea itself of being a doll or having a doll is cool enough to lure me in. And the imprinted personalities and abilities, tied with the mystery of Alpha (a rouge doll on the loose) and the research group handling The Dollhouse, has me yearning for more (though there are talks that they are going to pull the plug). If you aren’t watching this, then you better, you don’t want to miss out, do you?
eating a cricket
According to Wikipedia, the Philippine tarsier is an endangered tarsier species endemic to the island of Bohol, Samar, Leyte, and parts of Mindanao.
I have him here standing on my shoulder.
When we visited Bohol a few years back (I do hope to write about out Bohol trip someday), our tour consisted of tarsier viewing, among other things. But instead of viewing the tarsiers at the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary, our guide brought us to a private breeder and owner so we can get up close and very personal. Not that kind of personal you pervs. I mean like feed it crickets and touch it, which are not allowed at the sanctuary.
This time, he wa happily resting on my arm.
Anyway, I just read from the Pinoy Travel Blog about Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 38. The new policy restricts the public viewing of captive tarsiers in the island of Bohol, and only the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary is currently allowed to do public viewing. Much like we watch out for our weight loss pills, beware though of illegal owners and breeders that advertise tarsier tours. So when visiting Bohol, tourists might just have to restrict themselves to viewing the cute critters from their cages at the sanctuary. Let us all protect them. If we don’t, pretty soon they will all be gone.
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