Hair Gel

Frodo sent me a SMS message, “Let’s jog tonight.” We haven’t seen each other for quite some time.

“Aren’t you going to the wake tonight?”

“We can proceed later after the jog.”

Quite predictably, after a few minutes, he sent me another message, “Let’s postpone the jog. I don’t have my hair wax or gel with me. We can go to the wake.”

I stared at my phone for a few seconds, not knowing what to reply. Apparently, he can’t run with a messy hair-do.

Frodo has this annoying habit of changing his plans at the last minute.

“No, you go ahead. I’ll go later”, I texted him back.

“What’s wrong with you? You’re still planning to jog? OK, I’ve changed my mind. Let’s jog. Just bring hair gel with you.”

How can it possibly be my fault?

Frodo is a good friend. But he can be a total anal-retentive sometimes.

We ran for about an hour. I understand his eagerness to jog. He’s put on a few pounds. He’s been attending dragon boat training sporadically.

During dinner at the Thai restaurant, our conversation turned serious.

“You’re gaining weight. At that rate, I think you might look like a night club bouncer soon.” I couldn’t help myself. I just have to jab him with it.

“Well look at you. I can see your scalp from afar.”

I had a message from Jun, "Wake scheduled for tomorrow night."

Anyway, Frodo paid the bill. Later he dropped me off at Starbucks where I had a mocha java frappuccino.

Final

The CGFNS Board in the US has decided with finality: the June 2006 passers of the leak-tainted exams must retake portions of the exam before they can be allowed to practice in the US.

Some people even had to fly off to the US to appeal to the CGFNS board to reconsider its decision. It’s embarrassing. Didn’t they see the handwriting on the wall? Maybe these guys simply want to make a side trip to Disneyland.

Some passers made matters really worse when they blocked any attempts of a retake, saying that they cannot afford the expense and psychological toll of preparing for another grueling exam.

This is true. Unfortunately, as I told my friend Johnny Bravo, a nurse, this myopic view may not sit well with US authorities. The only way to address the problem and to restore the credibility of the profession is for the examinees take the tests again in a credible manner. Those involved in the leakage should be meted out with penalties and charged in court as well. These will settle the issue once and for all.

Those who howled in protest and continue to do so still fail to recognize the ramifications of the leakage. The consequences will likely resonate far into the future, especially among the later batches of nurses who will be heading towards the US.

They should instead band together and work out a solution even if a lot of them really haven’t done anything wrong and did not benefit from the leakage. It is such a small price to pay to restore the credibility of the nursing profession that has opened up a lot of opportunities for young people abroad and provided better lives for their families back home.

Another Lease

Along with Jun, Andy and his girlfriend Zak, I visited Duch’s mom at the Philippine Heart Centre last night. She’s in critical condition and she’s waging a final life-and-death battle, with the dark shadow hovering ever so closely (I know, I get carried away by my hyper-active imagination sometimes).

When the heart rate speeds up and the blood pressure falls down, we couldn’t help but trade worrying glances at each other.

Stepping inside the Heart Centre brings back unpleasant memories for me. This was, after all, the place where, many years ago, I waged my own close combat with the Grim Reaper. Suffering a complication from typhoid, I underwent critical surgery to stem the river of blood oozing from my insides.

It’s amazing how something like this can mobilize people around you. My relatives, colleagues and friends scoured hospitals and blood banks around the metropolis and organized a blood drive. Having a not-so-common blood type, I almost didn’t make it.

Prayers were said, masses offered.

I was given a fighting chance just in the nick of time. In fact, complete strangers showed up to donate blood.

One doctor, I wasn’t even his patient, kept holding my hand in the recovery room. I can’t even remember his name anymore. But that simple gesture lifted my spirits up.

There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind: miracles do happen.

I was given a most precious gift: another lease on life. I am just grateful and happy to be alive. There’s nothing more I can ask for.

Emotional

In connection with her indecision whether to run for governor in Batangas or not, Vilma Santos this morning delivered a highly-emotional speech in front of her supporters in Lipa City. She talked about, well, being "emotional".

She said she needs more time, a week, to think whether to run against her brother-in-law who is the incumbent Vice Governor because she's still very "emotional".

She clearly knows the position is hers for the taking. Maybe because a dramatic moment like this is a hundred times more effective in bringing in the votes than boring political sorties.

Giordano's Chenier

Half a century after her golden years at La Scala, Maria Callas continues to astound the senses. Here’s a highly-wrought performance of Umberto Giordano’s verismo masterpiece, La mamma morta, an aria from the opera Andrea Chenier.

The movie “Philadelphia” starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, in a poignant scene, used the aria to underscore the searing, dramatic intent of the movie.

Callas’ interpretation remains unparalleled. The recitative opening is full of pathos and grief, when she laments, “I bring misfortune to those who love me,” her voice dramatizes the despair and helplessness of her character’s (Madeleine de Croissy) circumstances.

Despite the turbulent times, Madeleine manages to survive mainly because she falls in love as well (with Andrea Chenier) and this provides her with a source of comfort and strength. This is displayed vocally via a shift to a major key after a brief interlude by a solo cello. The mood changes to one of defiant hope, a crescendo towards a shattering fortissimo.

Tiesa

One hot afternoon, I walked past my chubby Chinese neighbor's house and I noticed the sun-kissed golden colors of the tiesa fruits hanging like left-over decors hugging one corner of his yard. Apparently, no one, not even the kids in the neighborhood, craved for tiesa: the ripe fruits remain unharvested and a lot of these littered the ground floor that reminds one of... never mind.

Tiesa is an indigenous fruit which I suspect belongs to the mango family. The fruit is shaped like one but the flesh tastes like camote (sweet potato) mixed with chalk and cardboard.

Acting impulsively, I sent Raul a message, "Would you like tiesa for your birthday?"

I got a prompt reply, "No."

Well, why not, I wanted to ask.

Anyway, during his birthday dinner, he kept asking me why I wanted to give him tiesa, when the fruits weren't even mine to begin with, it belonged to my neighbor.

You know what, I do not know as well.

Jun had an interesting theory, "If tiesa were the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, then probably the "original sin" wouldn't have taken place."

We all agreed with him.

"I like tiesa. It tastes like camote," insists Helga, la Capitana.

Are you serious, I wanted to tell her, "Then I'll give you a bagful of tiesa", I offered.

All these talk about tiesa made us want to look for a suitable dessert to cap the evening, and so we headed for Coffee Bean and I ordered double vanilla latte to erase any thoughts associated with tiesa.

When Paranoia Takes Over

Equity markets all over the world plunged yesterday after a sell-off in Shanghai and Shenzen triggered a massive drop in Wall Street not seen since the 9-11 attacks, reverberating across the world, including the PSEi. New York fell 3.3% after an almost 9% nosedive in China. PSEi dropped 8%.

A fully-globalized world economy is out in full display here as relatively small, emerging but highly speculative Chinese equity markets made its impact in the world's biggest stock market, New York.

What happened was really a case of investor nervousness borne out of paranoia typical of people who have no clear grasp of investment fundamentals. The Chinese markets were up for a correction anyway, mainly because the high prices were driven by speculation, back-door deals and illegal trades, to begin with. Shanghai and Shenzen exchanges, in fact have more in common with Macau and Las Vegas casinos than with Dow Jones or the Nikkei.

There is no denying that China currently drives much of the global growth. In fact, prices of oil, steel, durable goods and equipment owe their current levels to China's insatiable appetite to fuel its rapidly industrializing economy. And so, when Chinese authorities announced a clamp down on highly-corrupt and suspect trading practices at both exchanges, naturally, market punters got nervous and fled the market.

Overseas markets, especially the US where a lot of companies now have huge exposure in China, misread what transpired in Shanghai and took this to mean that the Chinese economy might be heading southwards soon.

It came at a really bad time when unimpressive US housing statistics and the bombing in Afghanistan near where Dick Cheney was billeted added to the panic. It progressed to a frenzied pessimism when a seemingly innocuous statement made by former US Federal Reserve chairman Greenspan about a possible recession in the future was taken out of context.

Here in Manila, since foreign funds dominate equities, investors took their cue from New York. Consequently, PSEi suffered a massive setback as well.

But I believe Philippine corporates do have sound fundamentals to back it up. A low interest rate-low inflation-strong peso-narrow budget deficit scenario bodes well for this country. Let's just hope the politicians won't mess this up.