When Holiday Turns Into Grieving

It's one of those weird and ironic things that happens in life - death and holiday celebrations culminating at the same time - it simply isn't right. Not at all. And when you're at the receiving end of it, "tragic" wouldn't even begin to describe it. It also inevitably makes you question all intention to celebrate a supposedly joyful and thankful holiday. Holidays like Thanksgiving. Honestly, how does one find the inspiration to celebrate? Simple. You do not. And it's alright! Grieving is a process that makes no exemption even if it's the merriest of Holidays.

You just grieve. Period.

Wanted: Someone Who Believes in Me

My title probably sounds like a desperate call but it could well be to a certain degree. Both professionally and emotionally. I think we all do one way or the other. Take Bill Gates for example. If it wasn't for his friend Paul Allen who believed in his abilities and who kept pushing him to open a new software company, we wouldn't have Microsoft today. Steve Jobs wouldn't have Apple today if Mike Markkula, former Intel Executive, did not believe in him and have not to invested $250,000 into Apple in January of 1977. Then there's the rags to riches story of Arnel Pineda, the new lead singer of Journey, who happens to be Filipino - ahem! His story digs deep into the heart of having someone truly believing in you.

Life Hack: What Divides You and How You Can Bridge the Gap

We were on our way to North Lake Mall to do a short errand when this mind-blowing realization smacked me right on the head. As we cross the bridge that connects us to the other side, where the mall is located, I, for some reason, suddenly stared far ahead at highway I-485 which seemingly looked long and endless. A highway that will soon come full circle. Then it hit me! This highway is a gap that divides. Just like all the other highways and rivers in the world, they create a chasm, a divide...

As I ponder on that, I took a quick memory check. In the city I grew up in, we have this enormous and sometimes tumultuous river that separates us from the center of the city. To get to it, I have to either cross a bridge or ride a canoe, we call "baloto" in Ilokano ("banka" in Tagalog)  across the river. There again, a divide.

The Concept of ll

You're probably confused as to what those two vertical lines that seemingly look like either two lower-case "L's" or the Roman numeral version of 2 in the title truly represents. Have a guess? Your perception could be totally unrelated to the truth. Take a moment right now and think? What does your mind tells you?

I will give you the answer at the bottom of this post. I shall make this short and sweet. After all, this is all about perception. Nothing serious. Just a mind-boggling exercise at how we all perceive the things around us. One classic line that correspond well with perception is the infamous "the answer/or right person, is right in front of me but I'm too blind to see it!" Yep. Perception.