Lights On!

After 19 days, curtains are finally up. Theatre owners and producers have come to a tentative terms with the stagehands union to open Broadways shows starting tonight. As Broadway comes back to life, the 84-foot Norway spruce Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center with more than 300 lights has been lit for the holiday.

Broadway Dims Lights

One of my friends from college is supposed to drive down from upstate to watch “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway with his teenage daughter this weekend. He and I have planned to meet up before the evening performance this Saturday. Haplessly, he has to cancel the trip because stagehands went on strike - they have been picketing outside the theatres for weeks now. Most Broadway shows were cancelled. Although unused tickets were subject for exchanges and refunds, the saddest part is that Broadway has been in the dark on this approaching holiday. It has impacted big and small businesses losing $2 million a day.

The major dispute is a set of new work rules for stagehands involving the number of people to be hired for setting up a particular show and for how long, as well as what duties they perform. If I think about it this is incomprehensible. Shouldn’t be the producers or theatre owners decide how many people to be hired? Also, they have to pay for long stretches of idle time if stagehands decide how long they will be working.

I wish they could settle this dispute for the sake of the holidays.

JPLSHS - Foundation Day

This following testimonial speech was addressed to the young students, faculty staff, and alumni of the Jose P. Laurel Sr. High School in Project 4, Quezon City on March 9, 2007; it’s 39th Foundation Day.

I would like to address myself to the ocean of young men and women before me right now. But you, young people, I would like you to benefit from my experience. And as I relate to you my experience, a slice of my life, I will be telling you a thing or two—for your benefit, I hope.

When I moved to the United States in the early 1980, I enrolled in Pace University in Manhattan, New York. In the United States, especially, it pays to be a college graduate. You more than double your job opportunities when you are a college graduate—and as a rule, you also more than double your paycheck.

Because I was a college graduate, and because I continued learning new things—especially computer technology—I lived well, I lived comfortably, and yearly I vacationed in many places in the world, like Mexico, Israel, Argentina, Costa Rica, Yugoslavia……

On top of all that, I managed to send to medical school a younger brother of mine, who, I'm happy to report, passed the recent medical board exam, and is now a full-fledged physician. He stays in an exclusive and upscale townhouse that I have bought, costing millions of pesos.

I'm telling you these not to brag to you, but to testify to you that a graduate of Jose P. Laurel Sr. High School can make something of himself—provided he perseveres and he does well in school.

And that brings me to my first point, POINT NO. 1 is: STRIVE TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE. Kahit mahirapan kayo, pagsumikapan niyo na makapagtapos ng kolehiyo. If lack of money should force you to enroll in a vocational course, just the same enroll in a college course when you are already employed—be a working student if you must. Betteryet, while you're in college, set your sights on graduate education. Obtain a master's degree, or even a doctorate degree. I did matriculate in a graduate school, and earned my MBA in Finance at New York University.

When I set foot in New York, I made full use of my knowledge of, or facility in, the English language. Most probably you think everybody in the U.S. speaks or writes good English. That's not true at all. There are many Americans whose grammar is nonexistent and whose spelling is atrocious. And you should see their penmanship—many of them write in big clumsy letters like you did in grade one! Besides there are many immigrants in the U.S. who can only speak their native language, especially the Latinos—they can only speak Spanish.

Because I could speak English well enough—thanks to all my insistent and patient English teachers here in Jose P. Laurel —I enjoyed a big advantage over a number of other immigrants like me, in fact even over some Americans themselves.

And so I come to Point No. 2: DEVELOP A MASTERY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. You need not attain a level of English competence that will qualify you to be a professor of English. Just continue learning more and more words each day, not necessarily by reading a dictionary from cover to cover, but simply by reading. The more you read, the more you absorb correct grammar, and the more your English becomes notonly correct, but also idiomatic. Of course, nothing beats painstakingly agonizing through a hard-core grammar book.

English is now the universal language. No other language can come close to it in terms of universal usefulness—especially now that the Internet is upon us. How would you like to get employed right after graduating from Laurel, and earn double what your hardworkingteachers here get? That's perfectly possible, if only you knew your English well enough. Call centers will literally be knocking at your doors begging you to work for them.

But there is one thing I would like to underscore, though: I think every cell phone sold in the market should carry a sign that says, TEXTING IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR ENGLISH. I must admit that my spelling deteriorates the more I send or receive text messages. We Filipinos are a very clever people when it comes to contriving ways to shorten the spelling of any word.

When I was new in New York, I tended to dislike certain people simply on account of the color of their skin. I tended to discriminate. Fortunately for me, I live in a city where you are bound to mingle with all sorts of people. You encounter Hassidic Jews with their longbeards and black robes, members of the Hare Krishna religion who dance on the streets in their tangerine gowns while singing to the accompaniment of cymbals. You meet punk-rock people, you run into Neo- Nazis, transvestites, Wall Street executives—and yes, occasionally you overhear a strange group chattering in Ilocano. There is an Italian village in New York, a Chinatown, a German town. There are Latinos who come from places like Uruguay, Paraguay, San Salvador, Puerto Rico, Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries. And when you live amidst a variety of cultures, your tendency to discriminate gets eroded.

The third Point I want to make is: PRACTICE TOLERANCE AND AVOID DISCRIMINATION. I say this because there is I think a growing problem worldwide between Muslims and Christians—and we are a Christian country with a growing Muslimpopulation.I hope you don't fall into the error of concluding that because a few Muslims have turned into suicide bombers, that therefore all Muslims are prone to violence. More than 99% of Muslims in our country, I believe, are peace-loving people. The Abu Sayafs are Muslims, but the Muslims are not the Abu Sayafs—PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND.

Also, please bear in mind that in line with globalization, we will see more and more Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese, and of course Chinese moving into our beautiful country and living among us. As our country becomes a melting pot, we will do well to be open to other ways of dressing, or eating, or worshipping. Instead of discriminating, start learning to eat kimchi, sushi, shawarma, and other delicacies.

In the United States, the rule is that everybody pays their taxes—their income taxes especially. And that's because a big number of those who cheat on their taxes get heavily fined or even jailed. In much of the United States, you observe speed limits, you don'tattempt to beat the red light, you actually come to a full stop and not just slow down if the road sign says Full Stop. Because the Americans appreciate the value of actually enforcing the laws, they are more law-abiding than we Filipinos are.

The change I want to see, whenever I visit our beautiful country, is that Filipinos are becoming more and more law-abiding, because the authorities enforce the law more and more regularly. May kasabihan tayo na mahirap nang turuan ang matandang kabayo. And so I now pin my hopes on you, young people.

For starters I want you to observe this, which is Point No. 4: DON'T EVER MESS WITH THE LAW. You mess with the law when you use prohibited drugs, when you purchase a fake diploma in Recto, when you buy a stolen cell phone, or worse, when you steal a cell phone. You mess with the law when you spray-paint your neighbor's gate in the middle of the night, when you undergo or undertake hazing after joining a fraternity, when you keep a paltik gun, or when you cheat during board exams.

In acts big or small, be law-abiding. In the more than 20 years that I've been living in the States, I am proud to say I have never broken any law there. In that respect at least, I did not cause the image of the Filipino to be stained. If at all, I only had sinned against chastity—but you're too young for that kind of talk.

The last point I would like to make is this: REMEMBER TO BE GRATEFUL. Should you migrate to some other country like I did, remember to look back to your family, your province or city, and your country. Remember Jose P. Laurel Sr. High School, and think of what you can do for it.

I am grateful that I had been allowed to have a chat with you for a few minutes. I am grateful that I could meet a number of my former classmates and teachers on this day. I am grateful that although I am now a U.S. citizen, I have this beloved country of mine to come to whenever I find life in America too stressful—or bitingly cold, as itis right now.

And so, to you lovely young people, let me say again the five points I wanted to impart: FINISH COLLEGE, MASTER YOUR ENGLISH, BE TOLERANT OF OTHERS, DO NOT MESS WITH THE LAW, and REMEMBER TO BE GRATEFUL.

THANK YOU, AND I HOPE YOU WILL ALL BE SO SUCCESSFUL YOU WON'T FIND IT NECESSARY TO LEAVE THIS LOVELY COUNTRY OF OURS.

Thank you very much and I'm proud to be class of 1979.

Kuma Inn

Though we had a hard time to locate the street and practically prowled the area, it was worth a trip. We found Kuma Inn that is tucked away in a small renovated apartment on the second floor in a lower east side tenement building. Once we got up those stairs, I feel as though I stepped into an oasis of warmth; a small and cozy tapas-style restaurant. The setting is great for chatting with friends or a casual date. The interior décor flares with Japanese lights mounted on the walls with exotic Philippine handicrafts placed in the receiving area.

The chef/owner's mother is a Filipino and his father is a Thai that explains the blend of Philippine and Thai dishes. A tapas-style – Spanish influenced in the Philippines - is expected to be small servings so we ordered more than one small plate of tasty morsels to share. A bottle of sake sufficed our close to a perfect restaurant experience. But I particularly enjoyed drinking the water from young coconut and I asked the waiter to split it for me to scoop out the flesh. The service is young and energetic, unpretentious, and zero attitudes. An affable service continued throughout the dinner.

http://www.kumainn.com

My Best Friend Forever

I called my long time best friend in the Philippines (she even reminded me through her recent e-mail that we've been friends for almost three decades). Though we only spoke 45 minutes on the phone (and I felt not enough), she said it was alright because we had quality time. Nonetheless, I was disappointed in myself to cut short of our insightful conversations. My phone card only allowed me to talk 45 minutes and it had to end our interactions. When she thanked me for my time, I thanked her even more.

She and I have rich common bond that nobody can break us apart. Through the years that we've been friends (since high school), just like any other relationships, we have ups and downs. We have some petty arguments but we always manage to keep our differences set aside. Mutual respect and understanding keeps our friendships even stronger and healthier.