May 12-18

A person, first and foremost, is a spirit. What happens to him is in accordance with his own spiritual path, which is perfect, even if it's a tragedy in this world. This was the answer of angel guru Noynoy Ozaeta to my question on why, despite having their own angels, kids die in freak accidents. Perhaps this explains why bad things happen to good people

I was in Antipolo when I was kid. I've lived in various places since then. I remember I almost almost fell off a cliff in Siniloan, Laguna and was chased by a giant goose in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. Just recently, I got my free Coke in Lubao, Pampanga during the Coca-Cola blowout. Thank you Mr. President For Happiness! But Manila is always special. Manila is where I first fell in love, where my heart was broken into a thousand pieces, the kind of pain when living seemed pointless. But Manila is also where I crawled back, got up, recovered and was able to move on again with my life

I used to work for a Manila-based newspaper doing special reports. On March 30, 2012, payday, I was informed by HR that I was fired. Just like that, no reason given. My salary was canceled and the backpay have been dismissed. I'm sure they would say that my writing sucks and that I haven't submitted my interview transcripts, which I was finishing when I was kicked away without even the courtesy of a prior notice. The truth is: the humorless and domineering head of the special reports team got rid of me because she knows I'm the only one who's not afraid of her. Even the publisher and the chief editor, whom I'm really close to, are submissive to her, impressed by her resume but blind to her abuse of power. This is office politics at its worst, with a work place under a culture of fear and intimidation. A company that encourages bullying does not deserve loyalty, and power trippers doesn't deserve respect

Abraham Lincoln inspires me a lot. Me and President Obama and countless others throughout the generations. Abe was one of the best leaders in the history of civilization and one of the greatest men the world has ever known. But the road was rocky. Rocky road! He lost the elections for vice president, senator, congressman. His first wife died. His son died. He suffered a nervous breakdown. His critics attacked him viciously. But he never gave up. He never surrendered. He overcame his self-doubts. He refused to think of himself as a failure 

I get a bit emotional when I think of Sylvester Stallone. So many times he has faced the most painful thing in the world: rejection. There was a time when it seemed that nobody believes in him anymore, that he has no hope of ever achieving his dreams. It's bad enough that a lot of film producers rejected his script for Rocky. Worse, they called him names and even insulted his dream of becoming a movie actor. But his vision for his desired future was crystal-clear, palpable and compelling: he will direct and play the role of Rocky Balboa, so he needs to find a producer.  That will establish his career and lift him out of poverty and the psychological hell of uncertainty. That will be the breakthrough that will change his life