The would-be American

After 15 years, my younger sister finally received notice of an immigrant visa available for her so that she can start a life in America.  I’m sure that her initial reaction was one of ecstasy and excitement.  Where she comes from, such a visa is akin to the unreachable star. 

However, I had misgivings about it.  First of all, she’s 44 years old now.  Taking advantage of that visa would mean uprooting herself from everything that’s old and familiar and transplanting herself into a new world.  Where she grew up, there are only two seasons during the year, either wet or dry.  Where she’s headed, there are four seasons.  It’s a climatic challenge that she will find very uncomfortable considering that with the two seasons in her country, she gets sick a lot!

It took her sometime to decide to not pursue the visa application.  I‘m proud of her decision.  It was both wise and proactive.  Most people her age are looking forward to retirement, not spending their life savings and dropping everything to pick up a new lifestyle.  It might be a fun adventure, but not if good health is not one's personal asset.  Unfortunately, my sister has lived all her life battling episodes of bad health.  In America where she would start a new life, medical care is far from cheap and affordable.  Without a good job, or an employer that offers great health care benefits, how will she thrive?

I believe that many immigrants here have come hoping to chase the “American dream.”  But, you see, the realization of that goal comes with so much sacrifice.  Newly arrived immigrants, unless they have outstanding skills, typically start at the bottom rung of the corporate ladder.  If someone is a manager or executive in his country of origin, starting all over might be a bitter pill to swallow.  One time I was at the dry cleaners when the manager suddenly screamed, “I’m an architect, for goodness sake!”  At that moment it was obvious that it suddenly dawned on him that he had a degree in architecture because his dream was to build beautiful homes.  What was he doing with dirty laundry?

Many end up stuck in work situations that hardly pay enough.  So they usually end up with two or three part-time jobs.  It’s a crazy way to handle life going from one job to another and not getting enough rest in between.  But there are bills to take care of and resting the body, mind and soul can take a back seat.

One evening I heard an excruciating wail from a man inside a car at the parking lot outside my home.  The screams went on until the sounds became unbearable.  The police came to check out what was wrong.  It turned out that the man was a non-English-speaking immigrant from a war-torn country and it became apparent that the stress of living here where he couldn’t understand what was spoken was too much for him to bear.  There are many more such cases of new arrivals breaking down from the challenges they face as the “new kids on the block.”  Others who are flexible can immediately blend in and carry on without any hardships.  But those who can’t even speak English will have a hard time appreciating life in an English-speaking community.

A couple of years ago, I met a woman named Julie at the Park-n-Ride where I catch my bus to work. Her home country is somewhere in Europe, but because her English is limited I've been unable to find out exactly where.  Then for a long time I took a different route to work and didn't see Julie for sometime.  Just before Christmas, we bumped into each other and I was amazed at how her English has improved.  I still have difficulty carrying on a casual conversation with her, but I noticed that she has added more words to her vocabulary.  At least Julie tries her best to speak like the "natives" unlike other foreigners who can't be bothered and who require an interpreter.

People from other countries who have the opportunity to come here to start a new life need to ponder hard if they should indeed make the giant leap.  If they already have great stable jobs in their homeland, why halt their personal progress to walk into the unknown?  Let’s face it, relocating to America does not guarantee that life will be good and abundant.  The last few years have demonstrated that it would be risky to take such an adventure.  The new arrivals are fighting for the same jobs that the citizens who might have lived here all their lives need for their own survival.

If I didn't make the giant move almost three decades ago, I would have been retired by now.  Many of the folks I shared an office with in the country I left behind have quit the corporate jungle for quite sometime.  We make personal choices that we believe will work for our situations.  I strongly believe that I made the right choice for myself.  Thankfully, my God rewarded that sacrifice!

Many of us who came long before the current economic crisis were blessed with good fortune.  We had gainful employment, and even if we lost our source of income at one time or another, another came along.  We managed to save enough to afford our own space in the neighborhood and drive cars that took us to places.  We made enough that allowed us to visit our countries of origin and to travel to other foreign places.  We are truly blessed and we should be grateful!

For those who have the opportunity to establish roots in this country, the best of luck to all of you!  It’s going to be a bumpy ride from the time you get off that ship or airplane.  Everyone deserves to make a giant stride to wherever they think would bring them success.  I sincerely hope that just like the gazillions before you, the right job and eventual financial prosperity will be yours to enjoy.  If that happens, please remember to be thankful.  Not everyone like you might have been blessed with the same good fortune.  Good luck!  You will be needing lots of it!

Mount Believe

Yesterday I had a good excuse to play hooky from work because I turned 59.  Actually, it was a scheduled vacation leave and everyone in the office was aware of my absence.  You see, where I work, we are encouraged to send an inter-office notice via email of our out-of-office schedule.

As far as I know, I seem to be the only one religiously complying with such unwritten corporate policy.  One of the women went on a trekking tour in Machu Picchu, Peru last year, but didn’t notify the entire company.  Her notice email reached only those who were expected to take up the slack during her two-week absence.

Somehow that didn’t quite sit well with everyone concerned.  I resented the fact that my own work in the office hardly allows me the luxury of being away for more than one day at a time.  During my orientation with the Human Resources representative almost seven years ago, I was told that a two-week vacation wasn’t encouraged.  If he was joking, I don’t think that my first day at work was the appropriate time to make such a long-lasting impression.  You see, I tend to absorb and store everything I’m told during my training period.   Therefore, even now I’m almost scared to take three consecutive days of leave unless I’m on my deathbed!  Obviously, being laid-off in my previous employment has had a traumatic effect on me.

Back to yesterday’s away-from-work adventure… The highlight of my day was my bus trip up the mountains.  The start of that journey had an auspicious start actually.  As I reached the bus stop, a suited gentleman sat under the waiting shed and greeted me with “God bless you.”    I thought that was really sweet and I couldn’t help but respond with “God bless you, too.”   Then I noticed that he was carrying what looked like a mini bible.  Everybody who passed by received the same “God bless you”  greeting.  Blessing people obviously is that man’s way of saying “Hello” or “Good Morning.”

Not many people have the habit of greeting strangers with “God bless you.”  I’ll mentally say it to everyone, but not out loud.  Or I’ll say it to friends and people I know… people I’m familiar with  It might be uncomfortable saying it out loud to strangers because I’m not sure what the reaction might be.  If that gentleman’s goal is to spread goodwill and God’s blessing to every man and woman who comes in contact with him, then God bless him for his “God bless you” mission!

The one-hour trip up the mountains was what I needed to get away from the office “no yearend bonus” blues.  The negative vibes at work haven’t done much for my morale and it’s just the start of a new year!  I needed to break loose from that unhealthy environment even for just one work day.  What better way to do it than on my 59^th birthday!

I sat on the bus like a little kid on a field trip.  Every passing view was like a fresh experience even though I've taken the same bus ride so many times in the past.  The recent snowstorm didn’t leave much evidence on the scenery.  The blankets of snow were absent from sight!  We passed by a lake that looked like a mirror.  It was obviously still frozen because countless pigeons sat still on its center.  It was an awesome picture!  Truly a Kodak moment.

The mountains that normally wear white at this time of the year were in a brown mood.  Pine trees and all kinds of vegetations stood majestically through the rocks.  Every time I make the trip and see that sight, I always recall that long ago time when two fellow passengers were looking out the window and marveling at the trees-on-the-rocky-mountains postcard view.  The woman was gushing over the beautiful landscape and how the trees looked awesome growing in between the rocks.  Then she wondered aloud:  “How can that be possible?”  The man’s response:  “Because God takes good care of them.” 

We believers say Amen to that profound observation, but the atheists among us don’t get it.  Someone has to be designing the landscape and watering those mountain growths so that the scenery remains lovely to look at.  Only Someone with boundless talent and infinite power can accomplish such an amazing responsibility.

I hope that others share my personal view that looking at the mountains is one more reason to believe.

Savoring Sixty

On this date next year, I’ll be celebrating my Big 6-0.  Perhaps like many millions of women, I’m confronting the occasion with so much anticipation.  For me, getting to that age doesn’t necessarily mean getting old as in getting antiquated.  Rather it means getting sharp as in getting seasoned.

It’s just a couple of digits, really.  It’s nothing compared to my paternal grandpa’s age when he laid resting in his coffin: 103 years old! 

Age 60 represents a lifetime of good and bad memories, warm and forgettable relationships, noteworthy accomplishments or none at all.  I count myself lucky that I might actually reach that age healthy and in one piece.  KNOCK ON WOOD!  Up until now, I haven’t spent more than half-day in the hospital.  I’ve never been under the knife, so to speak, unless you can count the dermatologist's extraction of a rose thorn from my finger in that category.  

My youngest brother was only 50 when he passed a few years ago.  He went to a post-Valentine get-together one evening, came home to have a late dinner and dropped to his death in his bedroom.  Although it was a sad situation, my consolation was knowing that he was in a happy mood that night, and that he succumbed to the end quick and painless.  No emergency trip to the hospital nor having to stay there for surgery and recovery.

My deceased brother was an award-winning artist.  I have two of his paintings hanging at home.  One captures an eagle in flight which obviously summarizes what my life has been.  Before his death, he planned on doing an art exhibit of his work, but it wasn’t meant to be.  I’m sure that there are other things that he could have performed had he lived longer.  One would have been trying out a new life in America.  You see, his immigrant visa notice came three years after he died.  Talk of really bad timing!  Had he lived to take advantange of that opportunity, who knows what he might have accomplished?  More paintings for my house… or personal success for himself.

My brother’s passing is another reason, besides sharing my God-given gift,  that I have committed myself to pursue my real passion.  Writing might not pay my bills like my 8-to-5 job does, but it’s where my heart is.  Since late last year, I’ve overcome my perpetual writer’s block and have devoted a few hours of each day putting my thoughts in writing.  Call it my daily journal… on the world wide web!

Although I can’t boast of any world-shaking accomplishments right now, I can be proud of the following:

     *   Never having the state I live in take care of me.
     *   Never applying for food stamps even at a time when I had a reason to.
     *   Faithfully giving to my church and the charities I believe in.
     *   Homeownership at age 43.
     *   Starting over in the workplace at age 52 and loving it.
     *   Minding my own business and calling the cops only once when I feared for
          someone’s life in an apartment parking lot.
     *   Always paying my taxes on time. 
     *   Never littering our streets and commonly shared areas.
     *   Disposing my weekly garbage properly so that the contents don’t spill on to
          the driveway.
     *   Cleaning up after somebody else’s mess.
     *   Looking back to where I came from and doing all I can to uplift the souls who
          need help.
     *   Being grateful to my mother and father for raising me well.
     *   Being blessed to have a Catholic education from grade school through college.
     *   Being fortunate to have all my friends, both those who stayed only for a few
          seasons, and specially those special people who stayed for a lifetime.
     *   Being thankful to all my significant others (boyfriends in college and
          thereafter) who taught me not to depend on them for my personal happiness.
     *   Being grateful for the family I have, even if we’ve often been separated by
          time and distance.
     *   Being single by choice and appreciating that my solo status is my path to
          fulfilling my authentic mission.

Life has been great!  There had been many roadblocks along the way, but the Good Lord has taken me to where I am supposed to be.  I’ve never been a big birthday fan, preferring to celebrate others’ getting-older occasions but mine.  Today on my 59^th, I'll give thanks to God for giving me a life of substance.  Then I’ll start the celebration going for next year’s birthday milestone.  Please wish me luck!

Cellular chatting unleashed

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed people’s need to be on their cell phones every waking hour of their life?

The other night, I sat with a woman on the ride home.  She originally sat two seats away, but when the guy across the aisle from me finished his cell phone conversation, the woman stood up to sit next to me.  Her purpose:  to borrow the guy’s cell phone.

The man told her that he was getting off at the next stop.  I read that statement to mean that he didn’t want her to use his cell phone.  That candidness was lost on her.  It didn’t keep the woman from telling him that it was OK because she won’t take long.  As it turned out, the guy’s stop was three minutes away and the woman used all that time to chit-chat with someone on the other line.  The call wasn’t an emergency from the sound of it.  She wasn’t having the person on the other line pick her up at her stop or meet her someplace.  She just called to find out how that person was doing and that pretty soon they’ll see each other when she got home.  She said her “goodbye” only because the cell phone owner stood up to get off.

That whole incident didn’t make any sense to me.  First of all, the call hardly qualified as an emergency.  Second, the call might have cost the cell phone owner roaming charges.  Third, it was obvious from her chat that she would be seeing the person she called when she got off the bus.  Was she perhaps alerting that person (a significant other maybe?) that whatever she or he might be doing at that moment should cease pronto if the activity would upset her because she’ll be home soon?  (Sorry, it’s my creative mind at work here!)

OK, so maybe I read too much into that call.  My point is that many people use cell phone conversations for nonsensical reasons.  As a result, more and more wireless communications companies are sprouting up because of the huge market and revenue potential for the cell phone business.

I don’t care if people love to spend money chatting away on their cellular telephones.  What can be annoying is the growing lack of privacy and conversation boundaries for this type of interaction.  Cell phone users have covered a gamut of subjects under the sun, from what they’re thawing out for dinner to what will happen in the bedroom for their nocturnal activity.  People have fought during cell phone chats, carried on a gossip marathon, romanced the beloved despite the countless pairs of unwilling ears nearby. 

What has happened to individual space and privacy?  Are today’s people not giving themselves permission to care about the sanctity of their private lives anymore?   When has it been acceptable to broadcast someone’s dating patterns and clandestine relationships in commonly shared areas?

Sadly, respect for others’ space is fast becoming an anachronism, getting irrelevant and out of place in today’s world.  I really pine for that time when public conversations were carried on in whispers so as not to upset the folks nearby.  In that almost faraway era, certain topics were off-limits in public places.  In today’s society, it’s become a free-for-all, nothing’s sacred anymore!  In addition, screaming and verbal abuse over cell phones in the guise of carrying on a conversation has become the standard that many people conduct their cell phone usage.

I yearn for the long ago old-fashioned time before man made headway with cellular connection.  I wish we could see that quiet public time come back.  But everyone is different and our views on what’s correct and appropriate public behavior don’t always match.  Perhaps the only recourse for people like me is to carry a pair of earplugs.  Or simply tune out the wild and disturbing distraction.

When the New Year comes without a bonus

A couple of days before the New Year was a day of gloom and doom at the office. Not only was the heavy snowstorm dampening everyone’s holiday spirit, the news became official:  we were not getting the yearend bonus we had been annually accustomed to.  Although I thought that our commercial real estate business didn't do so bad, there had been multi-million dollar expenses that didn’t make last year's annual profit performance shine.

The other day on the ride home, I mentioned my disappointment to my bus buddy, Doug.  Instead of commiserating with me, he reminded:  “We’re lucky to have our jobs.”  

That statement, short and no-messing-around-to-the-point, from The Voice of Reason, promptly brought me back to Planet Earth.

Wasn’t it only last year when every time someone complained to me about their work, I would immediately remind them that they’re lucky to have a job?  Do I not practice what I preach?  Or have I developed amnesia that fast? 

So I didn’t get a yearend bonus.  But the other amazing truth is that I have a steady paycheck all year-round!  When I wake up in the morning, there’s one place I know that I have to go to that pays me well for my time.  Not like in the old days (those dark days of unemployment) when I would open my eyes each morning and wonder if some company would call me for a job interview.  Or wish that Monster or CareerBuilder would have postings that I could submit my resumes to.

Last Monday (the first work day after the New Year holiday), one of the women called in sick.  Please note that she's healthy as a horse.  Another came to work after lunch and made no bones to hide the fact that she was unhappily dragging herself to her office.  I suspected that both women did it purposely to express their disappointment and resentment over the no-bonus corporate decision.   After all, actions do speak louder than words!  I don’t blame them because I know for a fact that they worked harder last year than any other due to a few layoffs in our corporate environment.  When attrition happened, everyone had to pick up more work load than we’re used to.  That includes picking up beyond-and-beneath-the-duties outside of our official job descriptions.  I’ve been doing out-of-my-comfort-zone responsibilities myself and that’s why not getting the extra compensation before the New Year was totally heart-breaking.  To me it felt like not even getting the Thank You that I absolutely deserved!

However, my no-nonsense friend Doug was right.  We’re very blessed to even be able to keep our jobs.  We’re fortunate that there’s a paycheck still coming to help us with our living expenses.  We should feel lucky that we can wake up each morning confident that our companies need our input and support.  It’s a blessing that is far more valuable than a yearend lump sum!

A bonus would have been really, really, really appreciated.  But, come to think of it, like everyone else in the universe, I would rather be perpetually gainfully employed than enjoying yearend ecstacy!  Thank You, Jesus!

Laughing our way through the New Year

Yesterday was my first day at the office in 2011.  I woke up upbeat and raring to go to work despite the storm of snow from New Year's Eve that still covered the roads.  I guess all the members of the shoveling crew gave themselves the holiday as an excuse to not do their job!  It was a stressful chore just trying to get to the bus stop when ice was all over the sidewalks.  My concern wasn’t so much as possibly scratching my snow boots from all the hardened snow they made contact with as the paranoia of falling.  A couple of Christmas Eves ago, I fell on block ice just outside the church.  For two weeks, I walked with a lot of pain and with the slowness of a turtle.  Therefore, the likelihood of falling wasn’t something I looked forward to.

Because of all the strategic steps I did to maneuver the icy patches, what typically would have taken me mere five minutes on a normal day, took me a quarter of an hour to reach the bus stop.  My reward was getting on a bus that had only me and another passenger in it!  Usually, during school days the bus would be half-packed by the time it picks me up. 

I walked to my workplace feeling motivated to get back after three days of not thinking about my job.  Then as the morning progressed, a colorful pad caught my eye as I stood three feet away from the photocopier.  It’s a pack of sticky notes called Stuck On You Laugh Notes by Hallmark.  Its primary function is to be a post-it note, but because it has “100 laugh-filled ways to brighten someone’s days,” I couldn’t help but look at it as a stress reliever too.  Someone in the office (bless their heart!) obviously thought that the copy room was where that thing belonged.

Let me quote some of the lines and maybe each funny expression will bring a smile on your face too!

Why is it when we talk to God we’re said to be praying, but when God talks to us we’re schizophrenic?  (Lily Tomlin)

Don’t’ stand for gossip!  Sit down  and make yourself comfortable for gossip.

Stress Cure:  Take two cookies and call in sick.

My idea of super bowl is a toilet that never has to be cleaned.

Massages feel great.  Too bad they can’t find a way to do it without touching us.

Love means seeing each other at your worst and not running for the door.

Every cloud has a silver lining.  And soon they’ll figure out a way to tax us for that, too.

Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company.  (Mark Twain)

The secret to great home-cooked meals is getting someone else to cook them.  In their home.

You can’t choose your relatives.  (You can choose to ignore ‘em, though.)

Never trust a psychic who has caller ID.

I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals.  I am a vegetarian because I hate plants.  (A. Whitney Brown)

It’s already happened.  The previews on rented DVDs are longer than the movie.

Driving an ice-cream truck wouldn’t be so bad if you got to take home your work with you.

If we could all clone ourselves, we finally might be able to get everything done.

Gas prices are higher than a dog’s hopes at a cookout.

If they redesign our workplace, I hope they don’t change our hide-and-nap places.

They call it fast food because that’s how long it takes to regret eating it.

The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax.  (Albert Einstein)

Work is where you go after you’ve developed one or two bad habits like eating and buying stuff.

Everything’s funny as long as it’s happening to somebody else.  (Will Rogers)

Weren’t robots supposed to be doing all the crap job by now?  What happened?

In the beginning there was nothing.  God said, “Let there be light!”  There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.  (Ellen DeGeneres)

Life is better with a sugar buzz on.

On days when your hair is perfect, you will see no one.

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.  (H.L. Mencken)

Old friends are the best friends.  Not the same with doughnuts.

A good friend won’t tell anybody if your hair color is fake… or if anything else is either.

We’re never late.  Everyone else is way too on time.

I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.  (Mae West)

I don’t make jokes.  I just watch the government and report the facts. (Will Rogers)

All the best diets have one thing in common.  They start tomorrow.

The secret to looking young is to having friends who look older than you.

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.  (Mark Twain)

Anything worth doing is worth hiring someone else to do.

Don’t interrupt your mother unless you’re offering to clean the house.

Time flies when you’re running around doing ten damn things at once.

We don’t have time for impatient people.

I’m not afraid to die.  I just don’t want to be there when it happens.  (Woody Allen)

This too shall pass.  NOW would be good.

The last one’s my favorite!  If we all find something to laugh about, we'll just might make it through another year.  Just kidding!

The hallelujah mentality

With the holidays that came and went, many people are now sighing with relief.  The presents had been opened, travel suitcases had been unpacked, and folks who took time off from work are heading back to their work week daily grind.

We needed the yearend break to get away from the stress we call our jobs.  People who work in sales or in positions that require recruitment of new clients for the company business certainly qualify for a breather from that madness.  It all makes sense why those kinds of jobs have commissions or huge bonuses attached to the job descriptions.  People in those kinds of work are frequently under a lot of pressure to perform and meet quota or the job on which their paycheck depends might be in jeopardy.

It’s a fact that generous salaries come at a high price.  Work performance results need to meet high expectations.  Just meeting requirements will hardly cut it for the company.  I work with men who are generously compensated, but lately, I notice so much unhappiness on their demeanor.  The commercial real estate industry where my employer belongs has been struggling for a few years now.  We’re very fortunate to keep most of our tenants, but those who prematurely abandon the lease contracts they signed can cause some replacement challenges.  No one can blame those tenants for defaulting on their contracts.  Business has been really bad and before they can make the landlord happy, they have to make themselves happy first.

We know that there’s a domino effect when something isn’t doing well.  A chain reaction is bound to happen.  But there’s no sense rubbing the bad news on everyone’s face.  It might feel like rubbing salt to the wound.  We get it, but we can also use some bit of good news.   

Mind over matter might be our saving grace at this time.  If we all collectively send positive thoughts to the Universe every single day of the year, by the next holiday season we might have some really great news to celebrate.  Our President might have fulfilled some of the promises he made during the election campaign.  The people who run our country might cease their political kung fu fighting and accomplish more to alleviate the citizens’ sufferings.  The economy might see a much-needed improvement.  The housing market might present an upbeat (foreclosure-free) picture.  The employment statistics might show a positive hiring report. The mom and pop retailers might have a reason to keep their businesses because people are spending again.  In other words, industries everywhere will be good.

Great things can happen from little deeds.  Our nation’s success not only depends on the great job our national leaders do, but on the collaborative efforts of the masses.  Citizens are certainly tired and frustrated because everyone’s hurting right now.  But if we all try to hold each other’s hand and walk the extra mile to make a difference, our communities will see an uplifted energy.  Right now who won’t appreciate the view of a happy colorful balloon going up to the skies?  Even a bumper sticker that screams, “SMILE!  It’s not the end of the world” will bring home the positive message of hope.

Hope.  That’s what we absolutely need at this time.  We need to hope that gratifying news are coming our way… that the worst has already happened, not about to come… that we will all come out of this rough time better and wiser for the experience.  If we keep the hallelujah mentality alive, we just might see a much-needed miracle take over.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see a miracle unfold anytime soon.

Loving the snow

Instead of a white Christmas, we had a white New Year where I reside.  The occasion prompted me to reminisce the 1990 article about the snow that was published in The Denver Post.  I wrote this piece which made me an instant celebrity in my workplace at that time.   Hope that you’ll enjoy reading it!

Lure of Snow

Winter is a subject of fantasy in Manila

A fragment of winter hangs in my office cubicle:  snow frosting on a naked tree with a promise of sunshine sparkling through the frigid branches.  It is not a vision anyone would care to look at on winter days when temperatures are chilly.

The picture was once abandoned in a vacant work station among boxes and all sorts of office paraphernalia. I took one look at the lonely picture sitting in the corner, and it held me captive.  Not that I am a big winter fan, but I needed a picture to hang on the bare brick wall of my work station.  On summer days, I can steal glances and feign stoic indifference to the heat.

This past winter, I indulged in a little time for introspection.  I found myself staring at this image more frequently, which was kind of strange because all I had to do was step outside to look, feel and touch real snow.  Perhaps, it was because this winter scenery served as a constant reminder of my very first day in America.

A few years ago, I stepped out of a United Airlines airplane after a prolonged stopover in San Francisco into a crowded Stapleton Airport.  Outside, I walked into a chilly, snowy night, the cotton-ball like flakes kissing my cheeks.  Denver literally gave me a bitter-cold reception!

Snow was what lured me to this part of the world.  In Manila, where I am from, snow is a topic of conversation that can bring a dreamy twinkle to the eye.  There, winter is synonymous with America and a pleasure trip to the land of snow is a luxury that only the financially well-equipped can afford.  My friends and I fantasized about wearing wool overcoats and building a snowman.

My initial fascination with snow came from my mother, who spent her adolescent years in Baguio, a city in the mountain province where the climate is similar to San Francisco’s.  She said that one day, to the thrilled amazement of everyone, it snowed!  It was not a 24-hour spectacle, just a passing moment, but the recollection froze in my mother’s memory.  My countrymen who have never been to countries with four seasons have a longing for those immaculate white flakes that turn our Rocky Mountains into pristine, white-capped skiing slopes.  Almost everyone I knew back home dreamed of a “white Christmas.”  It was a childhood image that nurtured our Christmas dreams and made the children and children-at-heart look forward to this annual festivity.

As a child, I remember wishing that a miracle would transform my 7,000 islands into a snowy wonderland.  My mother is long dead and I now carry this suspicion that she might have made up that snow incident to fuel my childish imagination.  I never found the courage to confront her with the truth because in my young heart, a retraction would have a rather rude awakening.

These days when I hear of an attempted coup d’etat to overthrow the government of my homeland, something inside me wants to curl up and die.  Whatever happened to my fellow dreamers, the children who once believed in Santa Claus and the infant Jesus in the manger, the flower children of the ‘60s who wanted love, peace and brotherhood?  Has their optimism, like the snow on the yard, melted in the sunlight?  Have the long, weary years of dictatorship robbed them of the appreciation for a decent, democratic way of living?

I can understand their cry for change because, like them, I once lived under a dictator.  I once vicariously suffered and suffocated from the stench of poverty that contaminated many areas of that once lovely land.

Recently, I have been longing for white sand beaches, palm trees, refreshing coconut juice and dry, humid weather.  No, not Hawaii.  I have been thinking of going back to familiar haunts where everyone is a friend and where friends can be family:  home in Manila.  But I am a coward.  I would panic in the midst of a revolution.  But my heart aches for the children caught in this ugly battle, the children who may not have had the same sheltered upbringing I cherish, the children who may never have heard of snow and do not have dreams of building a snowman.

That is why the snow means a lot to me.  It serves as a personal point of reference.  It played a very vital part in the childhood I once enjoyed in a land across the vast Pacific Ocean.

Once in a while, when the luxury of democracy gets to my head, I dig deep into my roots for an ounce of humility.  I remember to be grateful for having been able to cross the barriers that none of my friends and acquaintances have been able to overcome.  They can only dream about the four seasons.  I have basked in the glorious Colorado sun in summer, watched the turning of leaves in autumn, felt the snow on my cheeks and feasted my eyes on the marvelous colors of spring.  And these days, when the bitter cold gets under my skin, I will pinch myself and perhaps remember to smile.  After all, I am not just looking at a picture view of winter.  I am living in it.

A new year for abundant blessings

Wasn’t it only yesterday that we were in the old year wondering if the new one would get any better?  Today it is the New Year!  We should all wear our happy faces to manifest our intention of making this one better than the last. 

Let’s face it, too much bad news have been getting in the way of our personal happiness.  If the stock market crashes, so be it.  If our 401(k) or pension plans aren’t growing as fast as we hope, let it be.  If the commodity prices go up and our paychecks stay the same, what can we do?  Chalk it up as part of the perils of our ever growing process.

My friend in Oregon is one person I know who’s most happy to see the old year go.  The year 2010 for him and his family was fraught with sadness.  One day last fall his beloved sister (a retired physician) stopped taking telephone calls and didn’t return any messages.  When a police broke into her home, she was found dead from a heart attack.  Apparently, the cardiac arrest was caused by too much worrying over losing the assets she had accumulated from her long years of medical practice.  Years ago, she had co-signed a mortgage loan with a younger sister who defaulted on the loan for many months.  Obviously, the deceased doctor worried herself sick over the possibility of losing all of her hard-earned assets.

The lessons I gathered from this unfortunate event are:  (1) Never co-guarantee a loan even for a blood relative; (2) Don’t get too attached to material possessions as worrying over losing them can have lethal consequences.

I felt my friend’s pain over losing his older sister because they were joined at the hips.  But I told him that she had served her purpose in this world and it was time for her to go.  Besides, she went to a better place without bills to pay and problems to worry about!

On the other hand, I’m sure that the other sister (the one who caused the financial worry that resulted in the older sister’s demise) must be blaming herself for the death.  She, too, was very close to the older sister.  She was going through a rough patch the past few years because her husband left her for a younger woman.  Interestingly enough, the husband came from another country and she was responsible for his legal entry into the United States.  Obviously, gratitude and loyalty were not two of his character traits!  I’m sure that his spouse now wishes that karma will catch up with him and she probably wants to see it happen in her lifetime.

Besides my friend’s family, I’m sure that millions of folks can’t wait to welcome the New Year, hoping to see positive changes in our world.  The past year was full of unhappy news in government, finance, and employment.  My personal belief is that every bad financial news that had happened was the consequence of pure human greed.  Somehow man’s desire is insatiable when it comes to money.  If only we can be satisfied with just enough or even less rather than reaching for more, maybe our world won’t be in this downhill spiral.  But there’s no sense pointing fingers at anyone.  It’s clear that we, in our own little way, have contributed to the financial mess we’re in. 

It’s not too late to cure the gnawing disease of greed in our midst.  Everyone has to step in and do their part to right the wrong.  Certainly, one of the world’s personal problems is the out-of-control credit card debt.  People need to restrain their beyond-their-means spending and retire that plastic.  I know that having a credit card can be empowering, but it can be a financial disaster waiting to happen.  In many cases, the credit card bills get out of control!

If everyone can flashback to the good old days when credit buying wasn’t the fashion, we’ll all appreciate the meaning of financial responsibility.  Back in those days, people instantly paid for the goods they bought… not after thirty days nor on installment basis that can go on for years.  I think that upfront payment is a very sensible way to purchase low-end merchandise.  First, save money to buy the goods.  Not get the items now and pay later.  Home purchase and car buying, even the cost of education and medical care, can be handled on the enjoy-now-pay-later plan for the obvious reasons.  But the other stuff, like a $19.99 all-weather jacket, should not be paid for by plastic unless the purchase cost will be immediately settled when the bill arrives.  If not, that $19.99 jacket will end up costing more than double the price after a few years! 

It brings so much joy to not have to be burdened by financial obligations, especially those small amounts that can mushroom into four or five, even six, digits on the credit card bill if not handled responsibly.  My personal goal these days is to use a credit card only to keep a credit history going.  My debit card can perform the same purchasing function, but its use poses great risk in this age of identity theft.

My fervent wish for 2011 is to see millions of unemployed folks go back to the work force.  Seeing this become a reality will certainly take care of many of the economic woes the world has been experiencing recently.  People everywhere cannot take care of their needs without jobs to support them.  Let’s all hope that a financial miracle makes this an immediate reality.

A Prosperous and Happy New Year to all!