Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Simbang Gabi at the Gesu - "Something's Coming"

Message from Saturday night's Simbang Gabi at the Gesu- "Something's Coming", from Sunday's homily - "Hurdling Adversities."Lines I picked up from the Parol description: "The Christmas Parol like the Star of Bethlehem conveys a message of hope, faith and victory over darkness."

Info I picked up from Edsel
Mga kaibigan. Updates on how to ship DONATED goods to CDO/Iligan via Abotiz/Negros Navigation.  Emergency/Relief goods and equipment bound for Cagayan de Oro/Iligan-we have ships ready to transport them asap. For bulk items, bring directly to Abotiz/Negros Navigation, Pier 2, Manila. Call +63 2 211 5484 for more information.   Manila collection centers for relief goods: NN-ATS Express Center at Pier 2; NN-SuperFerry corporate ticket outlets in 1) Robinson's Ermita, 2) Araneta Center Cubao, 3) Victory Mall Caloocan and 4) Pier 15 and 5) Pier 2.





Ateneo Dream Team processing station last 18 Dec

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Black Friday night

Last Black Friday night, the night after Thanksgiving Thursday, I was in a company of product distribution experts on a drinking and food eating trip along the strip of Manila Bay at MOA (Mall of Asia) San Miguel by the bay.

Traditionally in the U.S., Thanksgiving has been an institutionalized event where the family recognizes appreciation for the blessings over sumptuous dinner. Our local version is an office gathering with shared billing. One came from the river bank of Rizal, another from Laguna and the rest from Paco in Manila. The prime mover earlier shopped for the fresh "pusit, tahong, tilapia, tuna" at the nearby wet market and had it cooked (paluto) at the selected outlet. Beer was order as much, food almost like "eat all you can" as the prices are affordable to a company of mid managers.

Talk point that evening did not center on giving thanks neither on what's working. Instead it dwelt on what is not working, routines not followed, regulations ignored. At some point, some raised the solution of "ethnic cleansing" to address the root cause. No wonder I said, it was a Black Friday. It turned out to be a ranting session to cope with situation not according to norms, by the group's standards. Talks were on violation, sleeping on the job, conflict of interest, etc. I selectively listened but did not contribute. I savored all the seafood servings but did not drink as much San Mig Pale Pilsen. Discussion extended for hours until way past midnight.


Grabbed from http://manila-photos.blogspot.com/
Did the activity have any value? Yes it has as the food was good. Yes as it was with a pleasant company. At the end of the session, it felt good to have attended a gathering, thankful that that the four of us were still around looking forward to more sessions hopefully with more pleasantries than stories on failed responsibilities.

Kailan ulit?” Happy Thanksgiving Day!