The Spirit of Volunteerism

One of the most significant marks of the new millennium is the resurgence of the spirit of volunteerism which has not been that strong and emphasized in the past few decades.  In the Philippines alone, the corporate world has been advocating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and a radical looking back to the roots of their once humble beginnings before becoming an empire whose assets is enough to buy the whole Philippines.  In fact, there is a whole new school of thought and paradigm which has sprouted from this…it’s called Social Entrepreneurship (but I’ll reserve this for my next article).

In the high tech world, the free open source community (i.e. as in free computer programs or software; as in free beer) has threatened the great empire Microsoft into opening itself up to the open source paradigm.  And so we see hear about the completely free Linux operating system in everyday computers at home, in the offices and in schools.  In the Church, we are humbled by the active involvement of the lay men and women through partnerships with CSR projects in sheltering the poor through the Gawad Kalinga.  We see ordinary people becoming overnight heroes during the worst typhoon disasters that hit the Philippines in which Pangasinan was not spared off its wrath.

What is so incredible about the spirit of volunteerism is that its ability to “infect” people and turn it into an “epidemic”!  Pardon the figure of speech but volunteerism, like any positive vibe, feeds on itself.  It nourishes itself with positive output of feelings of people as they help one another.  The feeling of being affirmed of one’s being able to help urges one to help even more, in any way you can.  Of course, we are talking about normal people here.  Sadly though, there are still people in our community who still take advantage of other people’s goodness.  But still, it has not in anyway discouraged nor stop people from becoming their best and consequently bringing out the best in others.

The spirit of volunteerism is very much alive in Rotary.  Rotary has been successful for years not just because of the millions of dollars in its disposal but by the spirit of volunteerism of its members.  Through their actions, they are able to teach the minds, touch the hearts and transform the lives of people around the world.

PAID IN FULL WITH A GLASS OF MILK

Recently, I overheard my brother coin the phrase “Paid in full with a glass of milk” whenever his close friends would ask how much he charges for the legal services fee. After his friend left smiling, I asked him how and where he got the phrase. He told me that he got it from a forwarded e-mail and that the story – a true story – made such an impact on him he used it in his dealings in his firm. The next day, he e-mailed the story. Here it goes:

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.
He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said….. “Then I thank you from my heart.”
As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.
Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won.
Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words….. “Paid in full with one glass of milk”
(Dr. Kelly is a founding doctor of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.)

In my experience in the Rotary, I have noticed that those who share themselves without strings attached are those who have gained the respect from other Rotarians. Sharing and respecting are two intertwining virtues which is present in charitable situations. The lesser is the string attached, the bigger is the respect given to people who share.

This is the miracle of giving. And this is the value I always want to impart in the school where I’m at. Values are very important in the school setting: they are the fuel which drives a child to work hard and eventually succeed, not only in his own profession but in touching the lives of the people around him. This in turn inspires others to be good and do good as well. And the “paid in full with a glass of milk” syndrome spreads and does it magic again and again.

This, I see exemplified in true blue Rotarians. Truly, “Rotary Shares, Rotary cares” is not just a motto for them. It is a life lived, a life fulfilled. May we always strive to be true blue Rotarians.

Bye Harry Potter!

After more than 7 years and 7 books, FINALLY, the Harry Potter series comes to a close.

Wow! Grabe! I first read the first 4 books of the HP series when I was in the seminary. And I read it for 2 straight weeks reading and hiding it under my scriptorium while pretending to be listening to the discussion of our philosophy professors. And I almost was disciplined (meaning, detained…and no pass for our usual sunday outing) because of that.

Harry Potter 7 (Deathly Hallows), I should say, is probably the most dark and thrilling of the 7 books because Voldemort has already taken over most of the magical word and Harry and the gang spends most of their time running and hiding. I like how JK Rowling was able to weave and connect all the seemingly fragmented events mentioned in the first 6 books: Harry as the 7th horcrux, the cloak as the 3rd of the Deathly Hallows, Snape as always with the DA all along, Snape as Lily’s (Harry’s mom) mean-time guy, Voldemort’s soul in Harry’s and Harry’s soul in Voldemort. Dang, just brilliant. As you read towards the end, you get to look back at the other Potter books and relish its memories like a catharsis after an inner-child session with your spiritual formator. Bwehehehe.

But I was a bit disappointed at how Harry Potter defeated Voldemort. It seemed like it’s so easy. I was hoping that Harry would have used pure magic, fought bravely, and end up in St. Mungo’s with a comma after a near-death experience dueling with the elder wand used by Voldemort. Feeling ko tuloy, napagod na ata si JK Rowling sa kakasulat kaya gusto na niyang patayin kaagad si Voldemort. hehehe.

And the ending is so Pinoyish…it’s like Lito Lapid finishing off 1 batallion of NPA with a huge machine gun while covering his stomach with a helmet to avoid his innards from coming out. I am not saying that Harry finished all the Death Eaters just like Lito Lapid but why is it that all surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix has to be encircling Voldemort and Harry while they duel to the death? It’s so grandiose and predictable, in other words. Sana man lang may konting twist on how Harry defeated Voldemort. But I guess if it just happens, Dumbledore wouldn’t be there to explain everything afterwards. That’s probably the reason why Harry has to be the one explaining why he’s the master of the elder wand. Nagmukha tuloy na bobo si Voldemort because he didn’t figure it out.

And the wandlore explained by Ollivander seemed a bit vague and needs more explaining. I actually read that part thrice while they were discussing it at Bill & Fleur’s house. I think the author was able to veer away with explaining much about wandlore by putting words in Ollivander’s mouth that wandlore is very difficult to understand.

Although I had a few disappointments with how the 7 books ended, the HP experience was one of the best. But, mas maganda pa rin ang Lord of the Rings Trilogy + The Hobbit ni Tolkien. I’m now waiting for the Harry Potter 7-book set to be sold in Powerbooks. I would love very much to share this with my son, Argee, when he grows. Even Homer Simpson turned his spider pig into Harry Potter. hehehe.

Lastly, if there’s anyone who should be properly credited for all the 7 books, it’s Voldemort. Harry’s just an ordinary kid. If Voldemort didn’t kill Harry and made him into a living horcrux, then Harry wouldn’t be that powerful. But the reality is, the good always win in children’s stories. hehehe.

* * *

Since I was so taken by this HP 7, I searched wikipedia and found out that due to HP’s immense popularity, the Chinese even made their own version of the Harry Potter book. The title is…drum roll…HARRY POTTER AND LEOPARD-WALK-UP-TO-DRAGON. I couldn’t help but laugh at the article I found in Wikipedia. Look at the cover image, it’s a chopsuey of famous characters in the cartoon world: the dragon is Malfecient of Sleeping Beauty; and Harry appears to be riding a Centaur. The drawing is not even nicely drawn. Hehehe.

According to the article, this is a 198-page book written and published in 2002 and a verbatim translation of Tolkien’s The HOBBIT, with most names changed to the Harry Potter characters (except Gandalf who still appeared in this book). The only part which is original, according to the article, is the first and last chapters when magical rains turned Harry Potter into a hobbit. Towards the end after all the adventure, he returned to the original Harry Potter. Syempre, daming intsik ang naloko nito. hehehe.

And syempre, the publisher was sued by Rowling’s publishers and they paid around US$3,400 (that’s roughly Php170k). To date, the identity of the anonymous author has not been discovered.

Read BBC’s article.

The Simpsons

Spider pig…spider pig…

I just finished watching Simpsons the Movie…and my wife cringed to death. hehehe. She never liked my taste for comedy movies. I love to watch Bean, Simpsons, American Dad and the like. They’re all satires about life in general. Satires are social commentaries about how we act in real life and mirrors them in a rather weird funny way. To put it in another way, the Simpsons is more than just a funny cartoon. It reveals truth about human nature that rivals the works of great philosophers like Plato, Kant, Hume and the like. And it presents this while Homer plays around with his pet pig: “Spider pig…spider pig…” hehehe.

But really, it does take a different look at life — Homer style:

Life views: “Because sometimes the only way you can feel good about yourself is by making someone else look bad. And I’m tired of making other people feel good about themselves.”

Religion: “What’s the big deal about going to some building every Sunday, I mean, isn’t God everywhere?”

Here’s another for religion: “And what if we’ve picked the wrong religion? Every week we’re just making God madder and madder?”

On Debate: “Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true.”

Makulay ang Buhay

I have always asked myself why children, kahit makulit, mahiyain, maingay, are universally loved. Watching our pre-schoolers dance in school makes everyone stand up from their seats and applaud them like there is no tomorrow. And while everyone smiles and laughs at them, these kids all the more jiggle and dance!

Peter Pan refuses to grow up…I couldn’t agree more.

Tag! You’re it!

Clare, from RockEd Manaoag, tagged me.  Since I don’t know anything about this game, I checked her website and found out that: “It’s like this little game going around the blogosphere - perhaps to get bloggers to open up a bit more or maybe spill some secrets (Haha, if you haven’t already).  It’s  fun, besides, it helps to get to know people more.” Well, let’s give this a try!

Here are the rules for “8 facts”:

• In the 8 facts about [name], you share 8 things that your readers don’t know about you. At the end, you tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going. Each blogger must post these rules first.
• Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
• At the end of the post, a blogger needs to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
• Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

And here we go:

Truth #1. I never really liked rollercoaster rides. Call me chicken but I just don’t get the idea of paying huge sums just to be scared.

Truth #2. I love watching horror films but turn around when it comes to demonic possessions. Why? Because the latter is true. My former spiritual director in the seminary is an exorcist…and he tells us stories about his experiences. *nginig*

Truth #3. I have a miniature R/C helicopter which I play in my office after work…something to help me manage stress. (But, my wife said that it’s my ‘back subject. hehehe.)

Truth #4. I never really buy brand new stuff. I would prefer buying mint condition, second hand stuff. Reason? I don’t want to bear the depreciation cost. hehehe.

Truth #5. When I was a toddler, I just don’t thumb-suck…but I also toe-suck! And, I think history repeats itself since my son is starting to toe-suck!

Truth #6. When I have a chance to visit Manila for DLSU meetings, I spend 1 hour in Quiapo buying a minimum of 10 DVDs.

Truth #7. My friends and I have this messianic goal of someday going home to Bislig and turning it’s fate around.

Truth #8. Whenever I play basketball, I usually have this wish to get back my high school varsity endurance and stamina. Unfortunately though, 10 straight minutes of basketball is already torture for me.

Hear you go! Those are the secrets I can let go. And, I am tagging:

Joey, para maiba naman ang iniisip at hindi yung project sa work
Malou, the hot mama from Cebu
Ria, the future 1st Lady
Kris, the future President
Rowena, to relieve her of her stress at work
Gara, to give her a reason to blog again (like me, hehehe)
Doyoy, para naman madagdagan ang blog articles mo
Amee, para malibang kahit wala ka na Pilipinas

Tag! You guys are IT!