Insights From My Virtual Mentors

Oct 26 to Nov 1 Edition

My Virtual Mentors

Radio Talk

Laws of Marketing

Bewitched

This is the cover story of my story, "Insights From My Virtual Mentors," which  appeared July 7, 2013 in Philippine Panorama magazine of The Manila Bulletin. It features stories on Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, Matthew May, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn and Eric Arceneaux.

There is an element of clairvoyance in talking face to face with someone on the other side of planet (in Skype), or watching an event that happened in the past (in YouTube). The wonderful World Wide Web takes us beyond time and space.

This the essence of transcendence, sought by yogis and mystics even before the birth of history.

We surf an ocean of knowledge, with our moral compass as the only guide. We go where we want because of who and what we are.

This new special feature, "Insights From My Virtual Mentors," is the distillation of the wisdom of some of the greatest motivational speakers who ever lived, whose videos can all be seen online

(See their videos on Huggybear's Playshop)

The Law of Exclusivity is one of  The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. "Two companies cannot own the same word in the people's mind," according to Al Ries and Jack Trout. Volvo is synonymous with "safety" so other car manufacturers should promote theirs using a different approach, emphasizing a different advantage.

The Law of Leadership means "It's better to be first than it is to be better," says the book. "The basic issue in marketing is creating a category you can be first in."  The first man on a solo flight across the Atlantic is Charles Lindbergh, who is one of my spiritual mentors in writing (His autobiography The Spirit of Saint Louis, named after his famous airplane, won the Pulitzer).

The Law of Category says "If you can't be first in a category, set up a new category where you can be the first in." That's why Amelia Earhart will be remembered as the first woman who made a solo trans-Atlantic flight.

The Law of Sacrifice says "you have to give up something in order to get something," like how FedEx focused on overnight delivery of small packages and their forte solidified their position.

The Law of Singularity says "In each situation, only one move will produce substantial result."

"History teaches that the thing that works in marketing is the single bold stroke," says Ries and Trout.

I enjoy radio talk shows because oftentimes they're more substantial than their soundbite-driven TV counterparts. It calls to mind a line from my favorite Sharon Cuneta: "Radio's fine, it helps forget for a while..." No, Virginia, video did not kill the radio star!

Radio is great especially if you're doing something else. Though Huggybear is a DZMM baby, I got the habit, when I was in Mulawin, Tanza, Cavite during the first quarter of 2012, of tuning in to the talk shows of 92.3 NewsFM, aka Radyo5, the radio station of TV5.

I have friends of all ages and among the eldest is C, a senior citizen who had spent 25 years working in Saudi Arabia in the 70s after doing bit parts in some of the movies of the late filmmaker Ishmael Bernal. C is the most reliable when it comes to texting inspirational quotes, jokes and even chain letters. Now in retirement, he spends a lot of his time listening to the radio, mostly the call-in so-called counseling show by a famous deejay named Papa Jack which I don't listen too anyway. So I sent him list of radio shows which I do listen to, and I'm sharing them here on my blog by Copy-Pasting my text to him:

Here are some of their shows I enjoy, and no, I'm not getting paid to endorse. Hurray for radio: my text messages has been read on air in 6 out of the 8 shows below. Hurray for cell phones too!

~Night Chat, 9 p.m., weekdays, hosted by Tsongkibenj: positive stories from listeners and non-gossip entertainment. My story, a true story about Tony Robbins, was read by Tsongkibenj around Feb 2012; I won the Hammerhead and Royale Business Club business pack.

~Remoto Control, 10:30 p.m., weekdays, hosted by Danton Remoto: history, literature, culture and current events.

~Healing Galing, 6 a.m., Saturdays, hosted by Edinel Calbario: natural healing, healthy living and wellness.

~Magbago Tayo, 8 a.m., Saturday, hosted by Anthony Pangilinan: leadership and change management.

~Chillax Radio, 9 p.m., Saturdays, hosted by Lourd De Veyra: relaxed conversations, interspersed with rarely-heard timeless original Filipino songs, from such diverse artists as Sylvia La Torre and Tito, Vic & Joey.

~Chink Positive, early Sunday mornings, hosted by Chinkee Tan: financial literacy and wealth management.

~Iba Yong Pinoy, 9 p.m., Sundays, hosted by Maricel Halili and Mike Templo: OFW-related topics. I would tune in here after switching from Inner Mind On Radio, hosted by Jimmy Licauco, DZMM 630 khtz, the AM

Radio 3 the AM station of ABS-CBN.

~Kasindak-Sindak, 10 p.m., Sundays, hosted by Tsongkibenj: scary stories, historical intrigues, dream interpretations, and other unexplained phenomena.

I wrote this pieace around July 2012 when I was living in Vanguard in Moonwalk

Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman) is a witch, like, you know, a real cast-spelling broom-flying witch? But she wants to be a normal person.

"I want a man who needs me," with whom she won't have to use her powers to make him love her, she tells her warlock father (Michael Caine).

Then she meets the movie star Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell), whose last film was a flop so he's doing a remake of the TV show Bewitched to go back to the limelight. He'll play Darrin, originally played by Dick York, the mortal lead character who is married to a witch. He wants someone obscure to play Samantha so he won't be upstaged.

Isabel, with the witchy nose-twitch made famous by Elizabeth Montgomery, is perfect.

"If I can act, you can!" he tells her in the sidewalk cafe where he came up to her.

The passing waitress says "Amen!"

"Don't you want to be rich and famous?" asked Jack in disbelief.

"I just want to be normal," Isabel tells him sincerely.

But he's relentless. "Acting is better than normal!"he enthuses. "You could pretend to be normal!" He continues: "And if you're good, and you become a big star, guess what happens?"

"What?" she eyes widening, enchanted by his sweat, the exhilirating aroma of mortals.

Jack says: "You snap your finger and everything you want materializes!"

Isabel is horrified at the thought, but she is attracted to him. "You're sweet, unkempt and troubled, and I think the fact that you are a hopeless mess is refreshing!" she tells him. "It moves me!"

Bewitched Trailer

In the pilot episode, Samantha would confess to Darrin, on the night of their honeymoon, that she's a witch. Her mother, Endora, played by film legend Iris Smythson (Shirley MacLaine) appears at their bedroom, literally. Endora feels sorry for her daughter; witches can never be like ordinary mortals.

"We are quicksilver!" she says. "We are fleeting shadow, we are distant sound! We live on a wind, in the sparkle of a star...!"

Jonathan Aquino's Journal

July 21, 2013

5:49 a.m., Sunday

I am genuinely happy when I see people achieve their dreams and find fulfillment in their lives. But I don't understand why there are those who keep insisting that other people are envious of their accomplishments.

As a traveler and a keen student of human nature, it's part of my character to try to understand why people act the way they do.

Still, I can't imagine why there's a lot of people with this comparison mentality: "I have a car and you don't so I'm better than you!"

What I find more tragic is when people raise themselves through others: "My brother has a car and you don't so I'm better than you!"

I understand we live in an external-oriented society and we are surrounded by insecure people. That's all I can do: to understand. I can't change them nor am I interested in doing so. There's another thing I can do: avoid judgments. But I'm sure they all feel superior to me, and to everybody else

September 2013 Diaries Part I

October 19-25 Edition

Jonathan Aquino's Journals

September 1, 2013

Ayala Mall, Cebu City

The glass doors slid open as I walked out to the mall terrace at the third level. A gentle afternoon breeze caressed me as I gazed across the classy landscape and the people below. I leaned across the railing, absorbed in the present while in deep contemplation. I looked at the tree in front of me, admiring its elegance, communing with its soul.

I'm happy for the kind of person I've become, and I'm filled with gratitude about the way my life has turned out.

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,” says the King of Salem in Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist, which I just finished reading in the bookstore.

I'm a traveler. I feel the same spirit that gave strength to the shepherd boy Santiago to cross the sea and the desert. I came on the verge of tears many times throughout his mystical adventures: the teachings of Melchizedek and the Alchemist are the very same lessons I learned in my own spiritual journey, long before the book found me.

"If you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get," writes Paulo, "then you become an instrument of God, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here."

I felt my mind open up to encompass everything. I can't turn lead into gold, but I know now that the true purpose is to purify the one who does. I can't transform into a wind, but I know there is life in all the elements of nature. I used to scoff at omens, but I now know I should listen to what the universe is telling me.

“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”

I've been on the desert, in another time, in another life. I have climbed her mountains of sand and crossed her oceans of sand. I have endured the merciless heat of her days and the deathly iciness of her nights. Under the shrould of her terrifying silence, she has told me her secrets.

Paulo Coehlo's "The Alchemist"

Santiago: Huggybear

Melchizedek: Anthony Hopkins

The Alchemist: Robert Pickup

Fatima: Kristen Stewart

The Englishman: Orlando Bloom

Crystal Merchant: Morgan Freeman

Camel Driver: Michael Sheen

Sheik: Christopher Plummer

Seer: Ian McKellen

Gypsy: Brenda Fricker

Caravan Leader: Rey Stevenson

Wise King: Sean Connery

Boy: Hailey Joel Osment

Refugee: Viggo Mortensen

Monk: William Marquez

Baker: Tomas Milan

Baker's daughter: Selena Gomez

Father: Robert Redford

Angel: Elijah Wood

Santiago's Father: Spanky Manikan

September 2, 2013

Cebu City

Cute, I thought, looking at the puppies for sale under the footbridge across Robinson's Fuente mall. I walked past and stood at the corner of Mango Avenue. I saw an archive photo of it on the front page of the Cebu Daily News. Mango Avenue during the 1940s was an idyllic road lined with luscious mango trees on both sides. Now it's the center of the night life with bars and videoke joints. Everything changes. We often tend to forget how ephemeral the world is.

I spend my week days at the American-style public library on Jones Avenue. I would arrive before lunch, leaving when they close at five. The first book I finished today is The Time Traveler's Wife. I'm impressed by the originality. I love the story.

"Clare swings a leg over me so she's sitting exactly on top of my cock," says the time traveler. "It concentrates my attention wonderfully." That's one of my favorite passages.

The hero, Henry, can travel in time. He's 24 when he takes his 5-year old self to the museum. He's 27 when he teaches his 9-year old self how to pickpocket. When he's 15, he hangs around with his 15-year old self.

"I'm in my bedroom with my self," he narrates. "He's here from next March. We are doing what we often do when we have a little privacy, when it's cold out, when both of us are past puberty and haven't quiet gotten around to actual girls yet."

Audrey Niffeneger's "The Time Traveler's Wife"

Henry DeTamble: Huggybear

Clare Abshire: Winona Ryder

David Kendrick: Leonardo Di Caprio

Ben Matteson: James McAvoy

Gomez Gomolinsky: Owen Wilson

Richard DeTamble: Robert De Niro

Lucille: Glenn Close

Philip: Kevin Costner

Ingrid: Uma Thurman

Charisse Bonavant: Giselle Toengi

Helen: Britney Spears

Celia Attley: Rihanna

Sharon: Lindsey Lohan

Alice: Dakota Fanning

Mark: Mark Wahlberg

Jason Everleigh: Chris O'Donnell

Lizardface: Shia LaBeouf

Etta Milbauer: Rosemary Harris

Nell: Whoopi Goldberg

Roberto Calle: Al Pacino

Elizabeth Meagram: Maggie Smith

Aunt Dulcie: Judi Dench

Madame Simeon: Helen Mirren

I'm really back in time. I was still a kid when I first read The Greatest Miracle In The World. I was too young to understand the idea of dying while still living. I've known a lot about human nature since then. I have seen it, and it's not a pretty picture. But whatever happens, I'll never forget Simon Potter.

"You see Mister Og, most of us build prisons for ourselves," he says. "As soon as that belief takes hold of us, we abandon hope of ever doing more with our lives and of giving our dreams a chance to be fulfilled."

Og Mandino's "The Greatest Miracle In The World"

Og Mandino: Huggybear

Simon Potter: Sean Connery

Pat Smith: Helena Bonham Carter

Johnson: Queen Latifah

Janitor: Delroy Lindo

Sargeant: Colin Farell

I love Og Mandino. I'm one of the countless millions he has touched and uplifted. More than any other person, he has shown me that even writers can make the world a better place. Og Mandino is a part of my life.

"Today I begin a new life," goes The Scroll Marked I. "Today I shed my old skin, which hath, too long, suffered the bruises of failure and the words of mediocrity." That's from The Greatest Success In The World, which also contains The 10 Scrolls of Success from The Greatest Salesman In The World, the touching story of the camel boy Hafid and the message of the star over Bethlehem.

"How regretful it is that man becomes such a slave to his occupation or his career that he forgets he was created to enjoy this beautiful world and he quickly becomes blind to the miracles of nature that takes place before his eyes, everyday!" says Zaccheus Ben Joshua, the selfless merchant in The Greatest Success In The World, the third Og Mandino book I read today at the library.

There's a scene where he climbs a sycamore to see a young miracle worker from Galleli named Jesus. When Jesus saw him, He asked him to come down so they could stay at his house.

"I am now convinced," says Zaccheus towards the end of his life, "that life is just a game, here on earth, a game where no one need be a loser, no matter his plight or circumstances."

Og Mandino's "The Greatest Success In The World"

Joseph: Huggybear

Zaccheus: Warwick Davis

Pontius Pilate: Ralph Fiennes

Ben-Hadad: Ian McKellen

Marcus Crispus: Ryan Philippe

Jesus Christ: Kenny Loggins

Kenny Loggins as Jesus? Watch this:

Convictions of the Heart

Kenny Loggins

(See also Huggybear's Favorite Songs from Kenny Loggins)

"One with the earth, with the sky,

one with everything in life..."

September 3, 2013

Cebu City

The girl at the counter was there but she wasn't. I was at a bakeshop at the corner of Gorordo and Archbishop Reyes, morning, kinda a bit lost. Again. I asked where to get a ride to Fuente park. She seemed unsure. So I asked about Robinson's and for a fleeting moment she looked alive, then gestured vaguely at the passing jeeps. I bought a bottle of 7-Up, asking for a really cold one. She ignored me, getting a bottle like a zombie. I said forget about the straw but she mechanically put one. She gave me my change without any signs of life.

I sat in one of the outdoor tables, took away the straw and drank my 7-Up like a beer in a bar. I asked the guard at the pawnshop next door for directions. He said he didn't know. I walked in the opposite direction, passing a vacant lot full of trees, invigorated by the contact with nature. When I saw Harrold's Hotel in the distance, I got my bearings. I'm glad I didn't listen to the zombie.

In Escario in front of the big bikers' Balamban lechon restaurant, I got a ride to the library, where I finished two Og Mandinos and a half Hesse.

"I'm going to stop this silly rat race I've managed to get myself into, count the blessings I already have, and let the rest of you keep running in your non-stop marathon to the rainbow," declares Mark Christopher, the hero of the The Choice.

Mark has left his job to pursue his greatest passion, writing, and to be with the most important people in life: his family. He suffered financially but his pride is intact and his soul is at peace. After the numbing agony of so many rejections, his inspirational book becomes a publishing phenomenon. Mark has touched the lives of millions.

"I'm afraid that you have only touched most of your readers for perhaps a day or a week or a month," says Alexander Anthony, the reclusive literary legend. "They write to us at the elation while our powerfully written ideas are still fresh on their minds. Momentarily, you have convinced them that they can be better than they are. But their renewed hope rarely survives their next failure, and they soon come to realize that they are not equipped to become champion race horses but must spend their days, instead, straining at plowshares in order to survive."

People "give up on themselves," he continues. "They quit trying. And why should we expect more from the vast majority of mankind? After all, the greatest instruction book of all has been with us, in one form or another, for thousands of years, and we still act more like animals than angels."

Mark gets hundreds of fan mails. Somebody named A.B. Salom sent him a note, written with great elegance, that freaked him out:

"Drink freely from the cup of joy

No man is more deserving than you

But prepare yourself mentally

Your moment of choice approaches swiftly"

Og Mandino's "The Choice"

Mark Christopher: Kevin Costner

Louise: Michelle Pfeiffer

Alexander Anthony: Sean Connery

Todd: Macaulay Culkin

Glenn: Hailey Joel Osment

Croydon: Maggie Smith

David Coronet: Anthony Hopkins

Charles Bergen: Timothy Hutton

Bob Boynton: Dan Akroyd

Donna Templeton: Renee Zellwegger

John Christy: Paul Giamatti

Steve McPherson: Gary Sinise

J. Melton Hadley: Max Von Sydow

Roger Meyer: Huggybear

A stranger walked up to Og Mandino in a barbershop. He said he was a dentist and they were talking about Mark's book in The Choice, titled A Better Way To Live. The conversation gave Og a brilliant idea: that would be the title of his next book! He knew, and I fully agree, that his chat with a dentist in the barber's wasn't a coincidence.

  

I believe in a Higher Power that guides us, though we're often too dense to hear, much less understand. After too many "coincidences" in my life, all my doubts have vanished like the morning mists of summer. 

Jonathan Aquino's MP3

October 12-18 Edition 

My digital voice recorder is dead again after I had it fixed for the second time. The first was in 2012 in Baclaran and the second was last July 2013 in Cebu. This was the replacement for the original one I bought from CDR-King on October 2011 in SM Manila. The original died just a few days after I bought it. Since it was still under warranty, I gave it back for repair. They said 3 weeks but it took almost 3 months. Lesson: Never buy from CDR-King. This MTV marathon is from my August 9, 2013 journal, a blog story I was supposed to include in our August 24, 2013 edition. I took it out at the last minute because it's a story that's in a category by itself.

I found a technician who fixed my MP3, which I bought two years ago when I used to be a correspondent for a newspaper. I got my MP3 going again, yehey! I chose the selections from from Awe, a friend who works in a download and cellphone repair shop in Baclaran, Parañaque. I wrote about it in my diary which I included in our January 26, 2013 edition.

I'll share a few of them here, just some of the songs from the soundtrack of my life:

Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles

"Little darling,

it's been a long,

cold lonely winter,

little darling,

it feels like years

since it's been here..."

My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

"I really want to see you!

(Hallelujah!)

I really want to be with you!

(Hare Krishna!)..."

Danny's Song by an artist I really love: Kenny Loggins

"Even though we ain't got money,

I'm so in love with you, honey

and everything will bring

a chain of love..."

Fire and Rain by James Taylor

"I've seen fire and I've seen rain,

I've seen sunny days

that I thought would never end,

I've seen lonely times

when I could not find a friend..."

The Leader of The Band by Dan Fogelberg

"His hands were meant for different work

and his heart was known to none,

he left his home and went his lone

and solitary way..."

Annie's Song by John Denver

"You fill up my senses

like a night in a forest,

like a mountain in springtime,

like a walk in the rain..."

Is It Okay If I Call You Mine by Paul McCrane

[From the Fame OST]

"What I'm trying to say isn't really new,

it's just the things that happen to me

when I'm reminded of you..."

The Longest Time by Billy Joel

"I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall,

and the greatest miracle of all

is how I need you

and how you needed me too..."

Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder

"Though you don't believe that they do,

they do come true,

for did my dreams

come true when I look at you..."

The Best of Me by Olivia Newton-John and David Foster

(my favorite duet)

 "No one will ever touch me more,

and I only hope that in return,

I might have saved the best of me

for you..."

Survivor's Moment of Truth is a personal anthem, one of my childhood favorites that I will never outgrow. That's the theme of one of my favorite movies, the original 1984 The Karate Kid with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. It's a landmark to my martial arts obsession that gripped me like the iron tentacles of Doctor Octopus.

The Moment of Truth by Survivor

[Theme from The Karate Kid]

"If you can do it,

get up and prove it,

get up and show them who you are...!"

Go The Distance by Michael Bolton

[Theme from Hercules]

"To look beyond the glory is the hardest part,

for a hero's strength is measured by his heart..."

My MP3 won't be complete without OPM. I'll share just some among a lot

Reaching Out by Gary Valenciano

[Theme from Hotshots]

"Reaching out to you,

do you feel it too,

loving you

is all I want to do..."

Girl Be Mine by Francis Magalona

(See my tribute story)

"Let the sun shine,

let the rivers run away

'cause it's a beautiful day now..."

The Promise by Martin Nievera

(See my Martin story on our September22, 2012 edition

"When I say 'always,'

I mean 'forever,'

I trust tomorrow

as much as today..."

Saan Darating Ang Umaga by Raymond Lauchengco

(From the "soundtrack" of my short novel Jukebox)

"Bakit ba pinagtagpo

pala'y maglalayo

tayo sa ating buhay..."

Tanging Yaman by Carol Banawa

(See my story on our June 15, 2013 edition

"Ikaw ang aking tanging yaman

na 'di lubusang masumpungan,

ang nilikha mong kariktan,

sulyap ng 'yong kagandahan..."

Harmony and balance: that's why we're all here for. So I'll share a Gary V. Tagalog song from my MP3, the theme of Tayong Dalawa (See Huggybear's favorite soap operas in Slumbook. See also Huggybear's favorite Gary V. songs in Tagalog and the songs of Rey Valera)

Tayong Dalawa by Gary Valenciano

"Hindi ko na hinahangad ang yaman sa mundo,

pagmamahal mo lang ang tanging hinahanap ko,

ma'ari bang sana'y patawarin mo ako

pagka't tayong dalawa

ay sa isa't-isa..."

I'm such a big fan so I'll end this piece with another song from my idol. This is one of my all-time favorites that brings back happy childhood memories.

Growing Up by Gary Valenciano

[Theme from Bagets]

"I'm growing up, getting down,

thank God reality came around,

not just waiting for the daybreak,

expecting the sun to shine,

it doesn't shine all the time..."

August 2013 Diaries (3 of 3)

October 5-11 Editon

Jonathan Aquino's Journal

August 24, 2013

Downtown Cebu

I didn't know why I instinctively looked at the man approaching from behind. He passed me by, half-running, wearing a white shirt and brown shorts.

"Snatcher!" somebody shouted. The crowd seemed excited, like a celebrity is coming. It was past one in the afternoon. I was at the corner of Osmeña and Gullas streets in downtown Cebu. The man ran into Gullas.

"Ten pesos," the avocado juice vendor said as I stood under her giant umbrella. She said the thief grabbed an earring as the victim was about to board a taxi.

"Is that the victim?" I asked her, pointing to an elderly lady surrounded by people. She has the aura of a retired school teacher. I felt sorry for her. There she was right in front of me, touching her right ear.

"Yes, that's her." the avocado juice vendor said. Some people began buying avocado juice too when they saw me having one. I bring luck to stores. Or maybe it's just psychology.

"So where's the snatcher?" I asked.

"He got caught," she replied. That's good. A lot of people are talking simultaneously, complete strangers suddenly becoming close. There were no police.

I followed the snatcher. I went into Gullas, an alley with mostly Muslim food stalls. It's as if nothing happened. There was no scene, no crowd. Nothing. That's strange, I thought. I got to the next street. I looked back. Everything seemed normal. A coiled snake is also normal.

August 26, 2013

5:44 a.m. Monday

I had a dream: I was dying from a fatal disease. What I find revealing is I was telling myself I'll get cured through sheer willpower. I was walking in a distinctively European town, like Vienna or Frankfurt, wearing an old-fashioned white shirt like a character from a Jane Austen novel. In my dream, I remember thinking about the many times I've refused to buckle to what seemed inevitable. And I survived.

 I agree with Edgar Cayce and Jaime Licauco that dreams are symbolic of your inner mind. Only you can interpret your dream. What a dragon means is what you believe it means, to you and only to you. That's why I don't believe in dream dictionaries and their generic interpretations. For me, my dream of dying is neither an omen nor a subconscious rant. Its meaning may not be fully clear for now, but I know it's as significant as visions of my previous lives and my astral travels in other dimensions.

August 26, 2013

6:18 p.m., Monday

Good graces are flowing unto me. Blessed be. I believe in the law of attraction. Like attract like, what I sow so I shall reap and as above so below. I'm convinced that if you do something good for your fellowmen, you don't brag about it.

"True genius," says William James," is knowing what to leave out." You can proclaim your charity to the entire Milky Way, but with the freedom of choice comes the responsibility of facing the consequences of one's actions. In this case, it will stop the flow of the universal forces that is set to bring you the reward from the good you've done.

"To gain knowledge, add things everyday," says Lao Tzu. "To gain wisdom, subtract things everyday." No work of man can possibly contain everything that happens. One needs the wisdom of discernment. A diary is not the Akashic Record.

August 27, 2013

8:05 a.m., Tuesday

"I just woke up because I was kept late," I replied to a friend's text message. It came in at five in the morning but I always turn my phone off when I go to bed. "The singer of a 90s pop-rock band came to visit a neighbor. He has a really good voice and plays guitar better than me. But the idiot spent half the night on a beer concert below my balcony."

One of my dreams was taking my pants off in a garish cabaret-like stage dressing room. I was wearing a black and gray underwear. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a crowd.

Another dream is sitting in the backseat of a Ford Fairlane convertible. I can read the Caucasian driver's mind: he knew I was there but he couldn't see me. Riding shotgun is a boy. They're both strangers to me. It was thrilling to skid around on a freeway as large as Saint Petersburg Square. Our car went straight to the sea at the edge of the road.

"Go!" I sent a mental signal to the driver. We plunged into the water. Our car forged relentlessly like a boat. Up ahead, a flyover lies half-submerged. We zoomed up to dry ground.

"That's how it should be!" I thundered. I distinctly remember saying that. I forgot the exact words of what I said next, but it's something about taking risks and defying your comfort zones. If that's the message of the dream, then I got it loud and clear.

August 28, 2013

6:26 p.m., Wednesday

Cebu City

The woman walked across the roof, unaware of me watching her. I was riding shotgun in a jeep shuttle in Escario waiting for the green light, looking at the houses below the bridge at my right. She was sealing a crack at the corrugated iron roof beside the TV antenna with an aluminum scotch tape.

It's chilling because earlier, I was reading a novel where the narrator had to deal with stalkers. Coincidentally, these guys can control minds and last night I was re-reading a book about telepaths. It's a subject that's close to me: the hero of my next novel is also a telepath, like a Jedi without a lightsaber.

 Today is a day I can be proud of, from the standpoint of positive karma and long-term financial security. Before going home after doing some groceries, I've been at the library doing research for my article about modern bestsellers. In one sitting with lunch in between, I finished Hush, Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick's Twilight-like tale of Nephilims and fallen angels.

"I put the words and images there, but it's up to you if you believe them," says Patch. That's "Fallen angel power," he continues. "Any other kind of angel wouldn't invade your privacy, even though they can.”

Naturally, I was directing my mental movie version. Except for Chauncey and the boy with the V-shaped scar across his back at the opening scene set centuries before, which would be a spoiler, here's my cast:

Becca Fitzpatrick's "Hush, Hush"

Patch Cipriano: Huggybear

Nora Grey: Emma Stone

Vee Sky: Laura Ramsey

Elliot Saunders: Paul Wesley

 Jules: Alex Pettyfer

Dabria Green: Rosario Dawson

Blythe Grey: Michelle Pfeiffer

Dorothea: Meryl Streep

Coach McConoughy: Samuel L. Jackson

Detective Barro: Lew Diamond Philips

Detective Holstijic: Josh Brolin

Marcie Millar: Lindsey Lohan

Bo's Cashier: Vhing Rhames

Portland Waitress: Julianne Moore

Cart Lady: Viola Davis

Hotel Clerk: Will Ferrell

Miss Sully: Sharon Beiste

Whitney: Julianne Moore

Bartender at Borderline: Luke Wilson

August 29, 2013

A dwarf makes a deal with a demon. Vamana asks Bali to give him all the land he could cover in three paces. Bali laughs and mocks. Three steps? That's less than a meter! Bali agrees, humoring the pipsqueak. Then the little runt reveals himself as Lord Vishnu and covered the entire world in three strides. The Lord Shiva also loves disguises. As Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance, legends says the world will end once he stops. I'm glad he hasn't.

When you enter the house of Pi, you'll be greeted by the image of Lord Ganesha, the god of luck with the head of an elephant. Above the TV on the living hangs an image of the Holy Kabaa in Mecca, and beside it is the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Today I began and finished reading the Life of Pi. I'm super-impressed with his courage, intelligence and the way he was transformed by his remarkable adventure. It's reminds me of one of the very first novels I read when I was in grade school: Sandy and The Rockstar, about boy and a cougar. Pi is actually a real person: Piscine Molitar Patel from Pondicherry, India. From July 2, 1977 to February 14, 1978, he really was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat with a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.

I can relate to what the author Yann Martel had to go through to light the creative spark. I'm doing now what has done when he heard the amazing life of Pi: writing fulltime away from the masses and distraction; he in India and I in Cebu. But he's from Spain and I'm from España in Manila, so the voyage and the quest for inspiration are also part of the story behind the story.

"Swami Jesus, are you going to Mecca?" is my favorite line, from Pi's brother Ravi.

My favorite scene is when the pandit, the priest and the imam discovered that Pi is a practicing Hindu, Catholic and Muslim. In my mind's movie version, the religious debaters are played by Steve Carell, Will Ferrel and Sacha Baron Cohen. It's a riot!

Here's my complete cast:

Yann Martel's "The Life of Pi"

Piscine Molitor Patel: Huggybear

Santosh: Ben Kingsley

Tomohiro Okamoto: Ken Watanabe

Ravi: Kal Penn

Yann Martel: Antonio Banderas

Gita: Lena Olin

Mamaji: Anthony Hopkins

Satish Kumar The Teacher: F. Murray Abraham

Satish Kumar The Baker: Javier Bardem

Father Martin: Steve Carell

Muslim Imam: Will Ferrell

Hindu Pandit: Sacha Baron Cohen

French cook: Jeremy Irons

 Atsuro Chiba: Lee Min-ho

 Taiwanese Sailor: Kim Bum

Meena: Mila Kunis

August 30, 2013 

Ayala Mall, Cebu 

Dance music blasted from the giant speakers as dozens of people do the zumba at the mall's open grounds. It was like a street party. Chad and I were near the stage, watching the dancers and all the good looking girls going by. People from around the world were there it's virtually the United Nations meets the Miss Universe Pageant. It's a Friday night and salary day for most people. I'm not an employee but I'm here to chill, and I have more reasons to celebrate.

We just had dinner at the foodcourt with his brother Kit, a cool guy who works for a giant telecom firm. I got a lot of inside tips. I also found out how the public, blinded by celebrity endorsements, are getting bamboozled. Cellular networks lure you with exaggerated ads, then they spring a trap by forcing you to sign a contract, called a "lock-in period." If you cancel because of bad service, they charge you a penalty. In other words, they have a legal right to screw you.

I like the crowd here, I thought as we strolled around the mall. Chad just bought a new Samsung, his third mobile phone, and left the box at the store. Kit had to leave for an appointment. Chad and I went hunting for dessert. We got some ice cream with halo-halo, the popular Filipino concoction of milk, yam, gelatin, fruit bits, crushed ice and lots of other sweet stuff. We were at Ice Castles, probably named after the skating film

"And now I do believe," sings Melissa Manchester in the movie theme, "that even in the storm we'll find some light..."

There's a scene where the heroine has just finished a beautiful performance that left the audience in awe. She was so exquisite. Then she stumbled and couldn't get up. Her mother bravely went down to get her. Everybody was crying when they realized the truth: the figure skater was blind.

Looking Through The Eyes of Love

Melissa Manchester

[Theme from Ice Castles]

"Napoles surrendered last night to Noynoy," Chad told me. Noynoy is President Aquino. Janet Napoles is the controversial lobbyst with a bounty on her head.

"How does she operate?" I asked, starting to attack the halo-halo by picking the faux corn chips off the ube ice cream like cocktail finger foods.

"Okay, I'm a congressman and you're Janet," he explained. "We will sign an agreement where I'll give my PDAF to you. Then you give me half and you take the other half."

Sounds fair, I thought. It is, actually, in a diabolical sort of way. The PDAF is the Priority Development Assistance Fund, a discretionary fund for members of Congress to fund social projects for their districts. Napoles has a lot of non-government organizations, all of them only on paper.

"I think they should get rid of the pork barrel," I said. "Senators and congressmen should just stick to legislation." I really don't give a hoot about politics. I used to, but that was before I totally got disillussioned with the human race.

"Why don't the local government make a project that will benefit the people, then send a proposal to Malacañang?" said Chad, who has also written an article about it. "I agree that we should abolish the pork barrell, but I don't agree with abolishing the President's social fund."

"Yeah, Noynoy is the only clean person in the government," I said. "One of the best Presidents, ever," I continued, thinking about the excesses under Estrada and the flagrant criminality under Arroyo.

"Do you know who's the best President the Philippines never had?" said Chad. "Ninoy."

The late Senator Ninoy Aquino, the President's father, was the fiercest critic of the strongman Marcos during the martial law regime in the 70s. Ninoy was sent to prison for 8 years for trumped-up charges, 5 of them in solitary confinement. He was thrown in exile after he almost died in prison. Ninoy returned on August 21, 1983 and was shot dead even before he stepped on the airport tarmac. The assassination rocked the world and ignited the historic 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution that toppled Marcos and catapulted Ninoy's widow Cory to the Presidency. She became one of the most beloved public figures in modern times.

I cried as the entire nation mourned Cory Aquino’s death on August 1, 2009. I was there on the Manila Cathedral as the funeral convoy emerged. The people asked her son Noynoy to run for President in the elections the following year. The rest is history.

"I can think of two more," I said. "Roco and Gordon."

I was one of the student volunteers when the late Senator Raul Roco ran for President. I saw former Senator Richard Gordon in action as a Red Cross volunteer. I lived for a while in Olongapo in the mid 90s when Gordon was chief of Subic. Roco and Gordon are part of my "League of Extraordinary Filipinos," a story I wrote in 1997 just to show that, even more than a century after Jose Rizal and Gregorio Del Pilar, there are, and there will always be, heroes in every generation.

"Of all the things I've ever done," sings Dennis Lambert on the radio in the ice cream joint.

That's my all-time favorite station: 96.3 W-Rock. It's still here in Cebu but already gone in Metro Manila. There, 96.3 is now Easy Rock, which is owned by the Manila Broadcasting Company located beside the CCP in Pasay where I used to jog on Sunday mornings last year. MBC's flagship is DZRH, the iconic Tagalog AM station that's been on air even before I was born in my present lifetime.

 I have written more than a dozen drama scripts aired in DZRH before I left Luzon last February. My mentor was the radio living legend Salvador Royales. In front of the recording studio are the booths of two other MBC stations: 90.7 Love Radio and 101.9 Yes FM.

The Easy Rock booth is down the hall in front of the cashier and beside the employees' entrance to Star City, the popular year-round indoor carnival. Easy Rock is 102.7 here in Cebu; but in Manila 102.7 is StarFM which is on 95.5 here. Speaking of radio, I used to tune in to Rob Rider, one of the local deejays here with a call-in advice show in 93.3 iFM, just to learn the native dialect. Tididit Ana! Whatever that means.

Of All The Things

Dennis Lambert

"Ah!" I took a sip of the green iced tea, then I realized there's a tissue covering the straw. We were now at one of the outdoor cafes with those ridiculous candles; I took a picture, made a wish and blew it out. It was around nine. The zumba dancers are still going strong.

"This is delicious," said Chad about the thin pizza with a dough like pita bread. "Tastes like shawarma!" It does, come to think of it. You can even fold it like tacos. Strange.

"Yeah," I agreed.  The menu is bigger than an x-ray plate. There's a story on the first page, illustrated like a children's book. Sumo-sam was adopted by the people when the baby-carrying crane accidentally dropped him. He grew up to become a legend for his skills and huge appetite. Something like that. It takes a village to raise a sumo wrestler.

 "Catherine!" Chad called out to the girl who was passing by our table. She looks like Kylie Minogue. Chad made the introductions like a true gentleman. But he called me Jonathan, not Huggybear.

"Hi!" we smiled, shaking hands. Catherine is from Canada and she's one of the trainers in Chad's company. She's really nice but she's in a hurry. She gave us a smile as she disappeared inside TGI Friday's.

"Are we still in Asia?" I joked. There are two guys on the sofa behind us and on the next table is a couple and their young son. They're all Caucasians. I've been exposed to foreigners since I was a teenager, and some of them are a lot nicer than most of the natives, if you ask me.

I got another slice of the taco-shawarma pizza, tasting it and savoring life, giving thanks to all my blessings and enjoying the moment.