Faye's Thoughts

Letter to Luce, my seven-year-old

2010-09-24T00:34:00.010+08:00

“Seven na ko? Parang walang nagbago!”“I’m seven? Looks like nothing changed!”Nothing really changed, anak, iyakin ka pa rin! You’re still a cry-baby.Seriously, though, I want you to know that you’ve certainly changed. A lot!Seven years ago, you were born a month early. Your birthday would have been September 28. But like the child you’d eventually grow up to be, you were in a hurry, and showed

Morning Mayhem

2010-08-13T00:11:00.008+08:00

KRI-I-I-ING!Mornings, especially weekday schoolday mornings, definitely exemplify rousing moments. That hopefully-brief time of waking someone up can actually be an unforgettable bonding moment between a mother and her child.Let me share with you my morning moments with my own mother, before and after the Philippines became the SMS capital of the world.Twenty or so years ago, when I entered

The June Bride and other stories of Tatang Louy

2010-07-20T00:14:00.002+08:00

Vente-otso! Nagasat nga aldaw dayta! Twenty-eight! That’s a lucky day!I had heard these words tens of times, perhaps a hundred – each time when my grandfather embarked on his journey back in time, back to the years when he was young, much younger than his 70, 80, 90 years, his actual age depending on the instance when he would enchant me with his stories.I am the eldest grandchild. I grew up in

Save a peso, gain a future

2010-07-19T23:36:00.003+08:00

A centavo saved is a peso gained.Who among you had a piggy bank in your youth, from which you probably attempted to retrieve a coin or two on several occasions? Who had a Kiddie Account in your parents’ banks, for the free stickers and pencils if not the minimal interest? Who moved on to more complex financial portfolios like regular savings accounts, time deposits, stock options?Who knows the

Urban Dwellers, get involved! We can plan our future!

2009-10-21T14:58:00.005+08:00

delivered before the participants of the Public Speaking Seminar at the Pag-IBIG Fund Corporate Headquarterson October 7, 2009(upper photo)Speech No. 2 - Organizing your speechdelivered before the members of Butter N Toast Toastmasters Clubon October 8, 2009(lower photo)A day before typhoon Ondoy unleashed its wrath in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, I was preparing my and my six-year-old

The child giving birth to the mother

2009-10-21T14:28:00.005+08:00

Speech No. 1 – Ice Breaker delivered before the members of Butter N Toast Toastmasters Club August 27, 2009 Six years ago today, I held my baby girl in my arms for the first time. We did not expect her until September 29. My husband even hoped she’d have the same birthday as John Lennon, October 9. However, God had other plans for us. On my

Me Morphing Myself

2009-08-01T11:30:00.003+08:00

I turn 37 today. I read in the New World Encyclopedia that insect growth and metamorphosis are controlled by hormones synthesized by endocrine glands near the front of the body. I wonder, is a person’s desire to transform oneself controlled by hormones as well? Thus, the changes one undergoes when one reaches midlife, or nears midlife - a stage when hormonal levels lose their seeming steadiness