April 30, 2011

Amazing

*In my trying hard British twang* I must say it was a splendid, splendid wedding. ^^

Congratulations to the royal couple, William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Their wedding was a refreshing break from the not-so-pleasant news that has inundated media over the past months -- the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the execution of our kababayans in China, the anti-monarchy demonstrations in different Middle East nations, among others.

At some point I almost got fed up with the attention given to the wedding preparations.

But as the wedding unfolded on television, I finally grasped the reason for all the fuss.

Never before has the monarchy been so cherished. The faces in the crowds around the Abbey and the Palace can be described by Piers Morgan's one-liner, "I have never been so proud to be British."

And man oh man, what a nice parade of great cars!

***
Nothing is perfect, however.

Kate's gown and make-up, her sister Pippa (woohoo hotness!), the cars, the formations of the royal guards, the groom (shame on those who took shots at his vanishing hair -- bald is sexy!), the bond between William and Harry (great lip-reading job by the reporters), the iron-clad security setup, Mr. Bean, the two lovely kisses, the cute not-so-traditional couple get-away on a hot Aston Martin -- only a royal, fairy-tale wedding can deliver all these sorts of perfections.

As it did.

Even the weather was perfect.

But on the other side of the globe, hundreds died and thousands are still missing from the tornado onslaught in Alabama.

But hey this is just me over-thinking. My officemates had to shut me up because of the morbid scenarios I kept bringing up as we watched the wedding -- sniper shots, a desperate William fanatic breaking through the security cordon, bazooka fire from the crowd, or a grenade from an anti-monarchy activist -- those sorts of wild, far-fetched doomsday stuffs.

It's like me watching a wonderful Pacquiao fight, but half-expecting a lucky punch to hit him at any moment.

But deep inside I was enjoying everything, and feeling good about it.

In the end, it was an amazing moment for a lot of people.

April 24, 2011

Most important

Fifteen years of doing applied survey research taught me to not only respect diversity of opinions, but to also recognize that the majority opinion isn't necessarily the right one.

The First Quarter 2011 SWS survey found that about 6 out of ten (57%) of adult Filipinos "consider Christmas as a more important day than Easter Sunday".

Which is why I'm glad that Fr. Jun Sescon, Chaplain at the Greenbelt chapel, pointed this out in his homily.

Without discrediting the survey results (unlike the favorite reaction now of certain people in government), Fr. Jun set the record straight that Easter is the most important Christian holiday. While Christmas is the beginning of Christ's mission, Easter represents its fulfillment.

"It is what gives meaning to everything."

Joan and I like how Fr. Jun always say the right words. ^^

The majority preference for Christmas over Easter reflects the people's closer affinity to all that is traditionally more joyous and merrier.

Plus, as Fr. Jun also mentioned, it's during Christmas that one gets to receive gifts.

I'm not religious nor am I well-versed in my own faith, but somehow I believe Easter gives us a more important gift -- hope.

Happy Easter to all!

April 10, 2011

Choco

There’s a small portion along EDSA that treats me to a different kind of journey.

I call this little stretch of road Cocoa Drive. It’s where the Ricoa factory is located along EDSA, near Boni Avenue.

The factory is obviously still brewing chocolate big-time – the deliciously rich chocolate scent surrounding that area at night is strong enough to penetrate air conditioning.

So to heck with smog, I’d roll my window down and, for a few seconds, imagine champorado, Flat-Tops, tablea, and hot chocolate.

That little burst of sensory overload is all it takes to make the rest of the drive a little more pleasant amid monster bus drivers, bukas-kotse gangs, rugby-sniffing kids, and motorcycle riders who think they’re made of adamantium.

Mmmm… I’ll have Milo tonight.

I want these back

I can't recall the last time I doodled, and out of nowhere, this came out today during our flag ceremony. Okay, maybe not ou...