Being Bitter with Ampalaya

I used to abhor ampalaya (bitter gourd). I don't remember if it was the bitter taste that traumatized me first, or the jibes of my teasing brother about how awful it tastes. What I do remember is that I never dreamt of taking a bite of it - even had a lot of bad fights with my father because of it.

Gazing at the National Battlefield

I was just randomly checking the stream of posts when I got curious about a certain article.

While the story was actually focused on the presidential candidate Richard 'Dick' Gordon, what caught my attention was a reader's comment - which simply said "Dick Gordon, is pretty much becoming Roco of the last election… are we going to mutter this word “the best president that this country never had” again???" 

Raul Roco. I don't know if people still remember him, or even know him. But I do know that he was beloved by most of us, Bicolanos - enough for him to totally dominate the more than three million votes of the entire region. He was popularized for his usual Hawaiian get up, but he was a man of great but silent achievements - which sadly may have been one of the reasons why he lost the bid for presidency.

Echoes on Love's Empty Corridors

It's just my speculation, but I think love is the most talked about, written about, researched about topic in the whole world. And despite all these things, it still is one of the most elusive things we'll ever experience.

Just for the record, I'm talking romantic love.

Ten Things to Do this 2010

I’m not really a fan of making New Year’s resolutions, but I realized it’s not that bad. In fact, it is a good practice. We often joke that New Year’s resolutions are not meant to be kept, but who said so? Did we simply resign to that belief, because we can’t keep ours? Or is it a personal challenge to discover a virtue that we need to work on ourselves: resolve?