Jonah

For five years, Jonah has been my housekeeper and has taken good care of my 3-storey townhouse in the Philippines while I’m based in New York. I go home once or twice a year to check out the place and I’m always amazed how she has managed the townhouse spotless; the furniture always looks brushed up.

I let her handle my Philippine bank account and pay all the bills. I authorized her to directly communicate with the personnel of Montgomery Place for any issues that might come up concerning to the unit. And over the years, she has exhibited a knack of dealing with people. Her interaction with the personnel in the administration office (and especially neighbors) has earned her great admiration and respect from them, considering her social status in a gated community.

Jonah once told me that some of her fellows were envious of her free will to go out and in into the guarded community. Because for most (or perhaps all) of them are not allowed to go out beyond the gate without homeowner's permission to show to the guards.

With her around, I have less worry to think about and with full confidence that my properties are in good hands. Today I’m saddened that Jonah is leaving me for a job opportunity in Hong Kong. It is hard for me to let her go, but I don’t want to hold her up and steal her chance and dream to go abroad. Nevertheless, I wish her the very best of luck and success!

Lucky Day

I routinely checked my mailbox before stepping into my apartment and surprised to discover three gift cards loosely sitting in my mailbox. They were not packaged in an envelope - no return address and no recipient. Whether someone set up a prank on me or mere luck to find three Macy’s gift cards with $100, $50 and $25 value in my mailbox, my first instinct was to find out if they were outstanding cards.

I dialed the 800 number that was indicated on the back of the cards and checked the remaining balance, surprisingly enough the cards haven’t been exhausted. Unconvinced and disbelieved, I redialed the number and this time cautiously reentered the bar codes.

Two months ago I found a Metrocard with $20 in it.

An Evening To Remember

It was truly “An Evening to Remember with Kuh” on April 19th at the Bible Church International Main Hall in New Jersey; it was an incredibly unusual concert. I wish I could talk about her music, haplessly, it was overshadowed by the endorsement of her high end club share business and her preachy tone. But yes, I’m still a fan of her music.

Over two decades ago in Carnegie Hall in New York City when I first witnessed Kuh Ledesma’s concert, by then she was feisty with great energy accompanied by Music and Magic Band and of course she was twenty-something younger. She was undeniably one of the Philippine’s treasures and sought-after singer when she rendered her own powerful and emotional version of “Don’t Cry for me Argentina”. Popularized by Patti Lupone on Broadway’s Evita, that song became Kuh's signature. And with her fashionably two-sided-braided-hair that made every young Filipino girl wanted to be look like her.

Kuh is a prolific singer. She can still deliver great performances on the stage even minus the band and she is certainly aged beautifully, but that Saturday night was weird to me. In between songs, she openly talked about her failed marriage life. She thankfully acknowledged her strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ that made her a better person leaving behind the “mataray” life she had; reading the bible has given her the strength to embrace challenges and hardships in her life. Though those were incessantly (sometimes whiny) not music to my ears, she sounded profound and inspiring to everyone in the hall.

Adding insult to the injury, the second hour was a turn-off when she pitched in to endorse the “Hacienda Isabella” in the Philippines where she is the President and CEO. I thought this concert was peculiar enough because I paid to listen to her music. The fact that she was singing on a karaoke-type-stage and turning-into-a-preachy concert already, the last thing I would expect from her was to feature her club share business.

Because Nessie and I were VIP ticket holders, we got invitations to have a “Tea Time” in the Blue Room with Kuh after her so called “concert”. Needless to say, it was a bait to watch a power point presentation of “Hacienda Isabella.” Of course we had option to leave the room, nonetheless we elected to stay and listen of what they could offer for potential club share members.

It was unforgiving using her celebrity status to lure concertgoers (if that was the case) in buying a club share. Concert should all be full of music and entertainment.

Dumb and Dumber

When my friend/colleague introduced me two of his favorite reality-shows on CBS, I wasn’t enthusiastic about it at first. But I gave him a chance and did find myself hooked with these shows – Amazing Race and Survivors – since then I’ve never missed a single season. Even I’m away on vacation, I will ensure that I have time to watch those shows on the internet.

Last night’s “Survivor” was, to me at least, the best ever. I almost felt the show was scripted because the dialogue was perfect. When James talked about Jason and said, “I thought I was the dumbest Survivor ever.” Of course he was referring from last season when he got blindsided and got voted out because he didn’t play his immunity idol. The same mistake Ozzy made. Officially, James' no longer the dumbest!

Ozzy was dumbfounded that someone from his formed-alliance betrayed him. He evidently showed bitterness and dissapointment leaving the tribe while Eliza, who was sitting in the jury box, was totally shocked and could not believe it.

And Erik, he’s fun to watch. He’s so real. When he got all drunk at the reward feast, he threw up and joked about it. “I partied a little too hard, Micronesian-style.’ He realized that never mix betel (medicinal plant that found in South Asia for chewing) and beers.

I would love Jason to win though. I feel for him for being an outsider and being not part of any alliance. He tries to make friends and knows that his only way to survive and finish on top is to win every immunity challenge. Peih-Gee from last season had similar fate. She fought hard to stay but fell short of being on final three. Unfortunately, the women are playing the girl-power.

Weigh In

A cell phone will soon be allowed in European flights (only for leading airlines). I cannot imagine myself sitting next to a passenger who will be talking on his/her cell phone through the duration of the flight. There’s always a chance that I may encounter an annoying arrogant inconsiderate passenger who will not stop talking to his/her spouse, friends or business partner on his/her cell phone. I hope this will not be implemented in the U.S. However, I think text messaging is acceptable as long as they silent their cell phone.

As the Olympic torch arrived yesterday in San Francisco, security was heightened because several protesters aimed to extinguish the flame to protest China’s human rights record. Torch bearers got in the midst of bloodshed and violent protest in Athens, London and Paris already. But I’m hoping Tibetans and supporters should also think twice if this kind of violent protest can resolve their purpose. I strongly support Tibetans independence and truly sympathize their perseverance and suffering under Chinese rule. Nevertheless, the Olympic spirit had nothing to do with the Chinese government treatment to Tibetans so let the Olympic torch burns.

Traveling

Spring is in the year and so traveling season is already upon us. Lately I have been feeling uneasy to travel because of the airport delays, flight cancellations, overbooked flights and crowded skies not to mention soaring air fare. All these reasons can make me feel anxious to refrain from flying and it's not getting any better. For the last past few months, it’s been a miserable experience for most air travelers. During those times when you travel by air, the convenience and efficiency of flying was the highest priority in the airline industry. They assured everyone to get to their destinations on time with their luggage. Customer satisfaction was their number one concern. This time you are lucky if you don’t experience flight delays or your luggage won’t get lost. So this time I have planned to take the bus or the train to the north.

My friends and I are scheduled to take the bus to Boston, Massachusetts for a weekend in May. The Mega Bus Company has offered a one way ticket to Boston for only a buck for the month of May. Yes, that is not a typo. Though it is about five hours ride from NY, we thought it would be fun to do sightseeing as well on the way. In July, we also planned to take the train to Montreal, Canada to attend the International Jazz Festival which I haven’t done it since 1998. Ten years after I’m sure there will be new things and should be more fun. Also I get to see some of my old friends from Montreal.

I still love flying. Don’t get me wrong. It’s fast and convenient.