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.

If there’s anything that I am very proud of my rustic hometown, Mangagoy, Bislig City, it’s that even when it is right in the middle of a great jungle in Mindanao, it has never failed to produce some of the best and the brightest in the Philippines. And what I am prouder is that my kababata, JUDE THADDEUS GITAMONDOC, who hails from John Bosco District has managed to do what most of us music lovers would dream of — compose music and write lyrics for the biggest stars in the Philippine Music industry. And not once nor twice, but THRICE.

The first set (2 songs) was for Gary Valenciano: Wait Forever and In Another Lifetime. These two songs hit the billboard charts so high that Jude was nominated in the Awit Awards. You can search for it in Google! Here’s the video of Jude’s song for Gary V:

The latest song was for everyone’s girlfriend - KC Concepcion. Jude wrote the lyrics and composed the music for IMPOSIBLE, by KC Concepcion. Here’s the video:

Hey Jude, we’re looking forward for more songs! Congratulations!

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.

Finally got back from months of not being able to use Linux because of my extra work with the Platon Martinez Law Firm website.  And lo and behold!  A new virtualization program that promises to run Windows on your Linux box without having to dual boot your computer and rebooting it when you need another OS for your work.  Now why would i use 2 OS for my work?  Well, I use Windows for my office work while I use Linux for my website creation work!

Just this afternoon while Me-ann (wife), Rod (younger bro) and I went to a seminar by PEAC-FAPE in La Union, we dropped by Mocha Blends to grab a jello frap (which tasted like it was poured with sushi seaweed, by the way…yuck!).  While waiting for my coffee, I quickly read an article about Virtualization — a software which allows you to open another operating system inside another operating system.  When I went home, I checked out www.ubuntuforums.org and was so happy to hear that a VMWare totally FREE alternative is ready for downloading and installation — VirtualBox!  Saw the screenshots and got convinced by it!  Wow, imagine the time you’ll save from booting and rebooting your computer just to run another program.  This is a revolution my friends! Totally awesome!

Right now, I’ve just installed VBox with no problems whatsoever…and I’m installing WindowsXP…I hope this would offer no problems.  Just a thought by the way, do I need to install an antivirus in Windows?  Will my Windows installation in VBox be virus-prone?  I never had any virus problems in Linux before…but virtual Windows in VBox in Linux?  Is it another story?  Let’s soon find out…hehehe.

For now, I’ll be exploring and installing lots of stuff in it, especially cool Windows games.  I have long accepted the fact that Windows has way more cooler games than Linux.  But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that gamer-developers (those who code and play at the same time) will get so envious that they’ll come up with Linux-ready games, and big game companies will follow suit, too.  I’ll test a few PC games later on.

Check www.ubuntuforums.org for more VBox installation info.

I was cleaning my hard drive just this afternoon and found this video. Me-ann and I enjoyed watching this vid! Hehehe.

This should’ve been blog more than 3 weeks ago right after Argee’s birthday.  But anyway, it’s here…clips from my son’s first birthday party at the Star Ocean Restaurant, Star Plaza Hotel.  Peopled by our families, relatives and friends, it was one helluva party.  Kids raiding the mascots rendering them motionless sa dami nang batang nakakapit sa paa.  Kakaawa si Mickey di makalabas sa lungga dahil sa mga makukulit na bata. hehehe.

‘nuf said, here are the vid clips:

Argee has now graduated from his usual ‘duck’ talk and has now moved on to ‘clock’ after he has mastered sounding ‘c’. Just a while ago, he called me ‘dad’ because he wanted to sleep beside me…syempre, nagseselos si mommy. hehe. Below is a video of Argee on the morning of his first birthday bathing on his brand new pool c/o lolo & lola bisaya.

Tomorrow’s my first time to participate in the usual tiangges.  Matagal ko nang pinag-isipang sumali sa mga ganito. Nakaka-inggit kasing tingnan yung mga mama’s ale sa tiangge na may suot na beltbag na punong-puno ng pera.  Siyempre, to the dismay of me-ann ito.  She has to let go her ‘priceless possessions’.  Hehehe.  But I told her it is for a good cause.  “You can’t just give dole outs!  It’s an insult to their capacity to wield cash!  Besides, if you just give it to them, they won’t value it because they didn’t pay for it.” — I reasoned.

The clothes were in perfect condition…better even those sold in ukay-ukay shops. And i’m happy that she agreed with my proposal. I hope bebenta ang clothes, otherwise baka isipin ng mga tao old school na ang clothes.

My son, Argee, has finally spoken his first word which he learned from his tiny books — DUCK! Yes, of all the words…DUCK! It was at around 5 in the morning (he is our alarm clock, by the way) when he first spoke the word and we instantly woke up to ask if he really did say it. And a few seconds later, he couldn’t stop saying DUCK! Syempre, I was so happy because Doogie Howser’s (Remember him?) first word when he was a baby was ‘DUCK’.

When we got back to the office, Argee and I got my new toy, switched on the web cam and recorded the video below:

So, what’s up?  — That was the question a blogger friend asked me thru e-mail asking about updates.  Been a long time since I last wrote.  Been so busy lately with plenty of things in school…especially the forthcoming concert on December 8 by the Kundirana.  Yes, it’s final.  The KUNDIRANA are coming to Dagupan City and we’ve finalized all the preparations, sponsors, and the like.  Now, it’s ticket selling time.  I hope we can dispose all of our tickets…it’s for our scholars, you know.

Anyway, click the posters below for the sneak preview of our tarp designs.

My bro, Rod, sent me a message to check out Andy McKee…a musician who makes magic with his guitar. Years ago, I only bow down to Tuck Andress’ (of Tuck & Patti) with his rendition of Man in the Mirror. Now, there’s 2 of them.

Check out Andy Mckee’s performance: