Business as Usual: An Open Letter to the Corporate World

"It's nothing personal. It's purely business," you say. That's complete BS. To you, maybe. But to the people whose livelihood you took, whose future you made uncertain and whose world you just turned upside down, it's very personal. The least you can do is afford them the courtesy they deserve. Accept they're hurting. Acknowledge your role in it. Reach out and make them feel you once cared (you did right?). I get it that it's a business decision. But I'd like to believe that in this corporate jungle of cost-benefit analyses, margins for profit and sound investments, values like loyalty, hard work and leadership still count for something.

"It's nothing personal. It's purely business," you keep on saying. Funny, isn't it? A while back  you were telling a totally different story to these very same people. "We're more than just a business. We're a family." Whatever happened to that? Or did they miss out on the terms and conditions? Conditions that state us being a family is only up until a clash of interest is reached, in which case you will put yours above theirs, their lives be damned.

"It's nothing personal. It's purely business," you harp on. Still you demand commitment, loyalty and trust. Still you manage to look at them in the eyes and smile. Still you stand in front and make a 10-minute speech on how much you care.

Yes this is a direct attack to your character (or lack thereof). This is a challenge to your leadership. This is a statement to your callousness. But no worries, it's nothing personal. It's purely business.

The Woman Behind the Podium

"When you've worked hard, done well and walked through the doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed." - Michelle Obama

She's a woman of class and substance. I want to be like her when I grow up

Blush

I don't easily blush. But he's succeeded in making my cheeks scarlet red thrice now. The first time was when he introduced himself. All he did was hold out his hand and say his name. He's cute but not a head turner. He's doesn't stand out in a crowd and is not the most fashionable guy out there. But there's something about him that just gets to me. He has that subtle air of confidence. He looks very self-assured. No, he's not arrogant. He's just comfortable in his own skin, I guess. And it shows; the way he stands, the way he talks and just the way he carries himself. He's also very funny in that self-deprecating and endearing way. There's also an air of mystery about him. He looks every bit of a nice guy at first glance but at the same time, his witty quips and his crazy stories make you think he's not as nice as he seems to be. And that intrigues me.

The second time he made me blush was when we bumped into each other, literally. I was hurriedly going out to make an emergency call when he came out of nowhere. Before I knew it, there was a thud. He politely apologized and I just nodded, not taking my eyes off my phone. Because if I did, I wouldn't be able to look away. That  and the fact that if I looked at him, he'd see my pink-tainted cheeks. He just has that effect on me.

The third time he made me blush was when he said goodbye in a meeting. He had to run to another commitment so he had to leave early. Truth be told, I didn't even notice him saying so because I was busy checking the documents his team submitted. Then all of a sudden he tapped my shoulder and said, "alis na 'ko ha." Strengthening my resolve, I looked up and waved goodbye. But inside I was burning. He just took the effort to say goodbye. That made my day :)

I haven't acted like this since high school. But I really don't care. Judge me if you want. Everyone's entitled to a dose of immaturity every once in a while. And while I'm at this giddy state, I can only hope that I make him blush too.

My Kind of Love

A wise man once said, "There are only two kinds of love: the wrong kind and the right one." I beg to differ. Love is too colorful and too multi-dimensional to be reduced into these categories. As a matter of fact, I would go as far and say that I don't think such dichotomy exists in love. Sure, there's a love that works and a love that breaks. There's a love that lasts and a love that ends. But there's no wrong or right love. The heart wants what the heart wants. And the heart feels what the heart feels. We can't judge that.

But if I were to classify love, this is how I'd do it:

First Love: Experiencing anything for the first time is exhilarating. It's scary and special all at the same time: First kiss, first touch, first I love you. Because everything is so new, every sense is heightened. Every emotion is magnified. Joy becomes ecstasy. Pain becomes torture. We will probably never believe in the innocence and magic of love as the first time we fell for it. This is probably why this is the love we always remember and the love we always try to recapture.

Peter Pan Love: The love that never quite grew up. Peter Pan love carries with it all the youthful exuberance of first love but it's petty and immature. Peter Pan love refuses to acknowledge the more serious aspect of love like responsibility, compromise and patience - stuff that makes love work and last.

Summer Love: Summer is a season for play with nothing but sun, sweat and skin. This is what summer love is all about. It's sensual. It's fun. It's careless. We leave everything behind and throw ourselves into the moment. We do what we want to do, all consequences be damned. But just like the season, summer love is fleeting. Sooner or later, we have to go back to the real world. But as temporary as it is, summer love is the kind of love that never fails to make us smile.

Friday Love: Friday love is brimming with possibilities. The excitement comes not from love itself but from the anticipation of it. There's mystique in Friday love. What's next? Where are we off to? It doesn't matter if the actual result is underwhelming, the thought of everything that could have happened is enough to last us through another week

Mirage Love: It looks like love. It tastes like love. It even feels like love. Only it isn't. It's funny how we mistake every intense emotion to be love. We misconstrue infatuation as love. We interchange lust with love. Sometimes we even think hate is love. Until one day we realize that we are not in love. We never were.

Drug Love: It's explosive. It's intoxicating. And it's a disaster waiting to happen. This is the kind of love we feel when we fall for someone who's the right kind of wrong. This love is so dysfunctional, it leaves everyone wondering if we'll even make it alive. When it's good, it's pure bliss. When it's bad, it's utter hell. We bring out the best in each other. The only problem is, more often than not, we bring out the worst.

The love that sticks: It's not perfect. It may not even be the love you dream of. But for some reason it works. It makes you smile. It makes you cry. It makes you mad. But more importantly, it makes you want to  keep it working.

See? Love is many things. But it's never wrong or right.

Dear Prague...

I haven't even met you yet and I'm already smitten. Who wouldn't be charmed? You have a glorious aristocratic heritage, a colorful political history and a fascinating culture that inspired the likes of Mozart and Kafka. And quite frankly, I just love the way your name rolls off of my tongue.Prague. See?

I can't wait to meet you on a summer morning. I imagine myself hopping down a train in my sundress ready to bask in your beauty. I will cross Charles Bridge, stand in awe of the majestic Prague Castle and explore the Old Town. I will visit every quaint shop there is and once I get tired, I shall sit by the fountain of the Town Square. In the afternoon, after visiting museums and galleries and street exhibits, I will drink tea in one of the little coffee shops, watching life unfold right before my eyes. Then at nightfall, I shall witness the city come to life as lights illuminate every building and every vista. I will probably end up dancing with the locals at the Palace Akropolis and enjoy a bottle or two (maybe even three) of  the world famous Pilnser Urquell. Then I will go back to my hotel and be more than content to do everything again the next day. Just the very though makes me giggle with excitement.

Soon Prague...soon. Pockej na Me!

Laughing and Loving

It's a collection of love stories except none of them have anything to do with love. Laughter and Forgetting will always be my favorite Kundera book but Laughable Loves come in close second. It's a book that uses the idea of love to mock, well, the idea of love. Or rather our (mis)interpretation of it. As the different short stories suggest, we seem to have a habit of calling every  intense emotion we feel love. We mistake infatuation as love. We misconstrue lust for love. We even think anger, guilt and insecurity to be love sometimes! And we pursue this perceived love with such passion (to the point of insanity even) either because we are so certain it's real or because we desperately want it to be . Either way, it's quite funny.

Read the stories; some are simple, others are crazy but they're all laughable! 

I'm a Woman. And I Support RH Bill

There are causes I deeply care and feel strongly about, RH Bill is one of them. Yes, I'm a woman. And yes, I support the RH Bill. Let me explain why:

It's time we pass a comprehensive bill about "other" family issues
It's grossly inaccurate to say we don't need the RH Bill because we do not have a population problem. Looking at the overwhelming gamut of statistics, we know that's not the case. Furthermore assuming, but not conceding such statement is  actually true, the RH Bill goes beyond population management. It addresses family education, parental choices, access to better health facilities and women's health & empowerment - issues that have been ignored for far too long. We cannot afford to continuously look the other way and pretend these issues don't exist. If we are to move forward as a nation, it's time we address these realities and act on them.

Women must have a say on what happens to their bodies
Here's one harsh truth: rape happens even within marriage. Women (particularly among the urban poor) are being forced by their husbands to have sex out of "duty". How many unwanted pregnancies have resulted from such? Let's admit it, for a country who claims equality between men and women, women still have very little say on what goes on in a marriage, more so, with their bodies. Here's another harsh truth: 11 Filipinas die of childbirth every day due to poor health care. Women put their life at risk each time they get pregnant. This entitles them to have strong opinions on the matter, don't you think? Passing the RH Bill empowers her to have control over their body and to have a choice on planning their family. We belong to a society that have always honored mothers. Let's go past the lip service and pay them our highest respect by giving them a stronger voice. We owe them, at least, that.

RH Bill will not tear our moral and social fibers to shreds
I do not believe that RH Bill will lead the Philippines into a Sodom and Gomorrah lifestyle as others paint it to be. For one, the RH Bill will not inject a completely foreign concept. Condoms and pills are readily available in clinics, drugstores and hospitals. What the RH Bill simply does is make it accessible to the poor - to the people that need them the most. Secondly, RH Bill clearly distinguishes between contraception and abortion. The bill, itself, says that abortion is an act punishable by law. What it does push forward is the medical and psychological treatment for women post-abortion which I think is humane and necessary. Instead of treating these women as pariahs of society, why not help them through the ordeal? Thirdly, it's unfair to compare RH Bill to China's One Child Policy. RH Bill does not inhibit or limit the number of children a family ought to have. On the contrary, RH Bill respects and supports a family's choice. Should couples want a big family, the choice is theirs to make. In the same manner, should couples want a small family the choice is also theirs. It encourages, not discourages, a family's freedom. Lastly, I can't help but ask: if pillars of our country are doing such a good job in preserving the moral fibers of our society, we wouldn't be here, would we? Yet, here we are.

The separation of church and society must be upheld
It's easy for the church to rise to the pulpit and preach what is moral and not. After all that's their job. The same cannot be said for the state. The state is responsible for running a nation and in ensuring its people's well-being. It takes more than pedantry to do that. Difficult decisions have to be made. Tough shots have to be called. Not everyone will agree but the state has to do what will be good for the majority. After all, it does not kowtow to one sector. The state is accountable to all Filipinos.

On August 7, Congress will not only vote for the RH Bill's fate. Congress will vote on the future of women's health, the future of the Filipino family and the future of the Philippines as a nation and as a people. I can only hope they choose to do the right thing.