for monette

The Things My Best Friend Taught Me:

1. Two people can work side by side together, even if one is listening to Maroon 5 and the other to Air Supply.

2. It is all right to go crazy about a guy if one has a friend nearby.

3. A father can cry. (That's a whole different story.)

4. A woman with no kid can dispense the soundest motherly advice, if she’s taking up an M.A. in Teaching in the Early Grades.

5. One can juggle a masteral degree, an obsessive-compulsive boss, a globe-trotting husband, blogging, laundry, and thrice-weekly swimming sessions, and still be beautiful.

6. Best friends finish each other’s sentences, whether you’re drafting minutes of the meeting or talking about sex.

8. Best friends look beyond huge mistakes.

9. Brutal honesty can hurt, but coming from a friend, it can heal.

10. You may part ways, but time and distance matter little. The heart will always remember.

Because Monette is very different from me, having her as a best friend is like living another girl's life. Read her blog at http://monette.sumulong.com/ She writes beautifully-- like me. :-)

Why do girls need best friends? They will be there when you cry over philandering boyfriends (and later, husbands); they will help you with your term paper if it meant staying up the whole night; they will get drunk with you on your bridal shower and become your child's godmother; they will convince you to wear two-piece bikinis, bulges and all, and even make you feel good about it; they will celebrate your first published work and promote you in their blog. Hihihi. The best friend tells you to be tough, to take chances, to stop being stupid, to laugh some more.

Yes, there's a best friend so you can have someone to giggle with about the funnier things in life. But more importantly, there's a best friend because she will allow you to be you.

be hands on!

Last night I attended the book launch of Be Hands On!, a book sponsored by Hands On Manila Foundation, Inc. (http://www.handsonmanila.org.ph/). It was held in Powerbooks Greenbelt. Hands On Manila held a writing contest last year for the most inspiring volunteer stories. They received about 120 entries, then they decided to publish a book that contains the ten winning pieces.

I was not feeling well, but I came. I also had not taken my lunch. But I forgot my flu and my hunger when I saw the names in the book. Aside from the winning entries, the book featured celebrities and well-known people who were involved in volunteer work. A broadcast journalist, a beauty queen, a surgeon, a stage actress... and they are real people, selfless volunteers whose stories are testimonials of the power of giving.

And they were there for the book-signing. I was starstruck. I was also in awe of the people who attended the by-invitation-only launch; they were high society, and they were so passionate about Hands On Manila. I tried to act cool; I had every right to be there. But by 7pm I could not resist it-- I had my picture taken with Marc Nelson and Chris Tiu! Hihihi.

And why was I there? My contribution is in page 149.

It was my first book-signing. It felt good to be up there on stage with all the others whose names are in the pages of the book. We signed about 150 books and none complained of tired fingers.

The book is now available at all Powerbooks branches. It would make a perfect Christmas gift, and you'll be helping a worthy cause.

As for me, for four hours I knew what it felt like to be a celebrity. I would like to believe that the day would come when I will autograph my own book and give it to my friends for Christmas.

One can dream on.

on writing

When I was in high school, I told everyone that my dream was to become a Nobel Prize winner in Literature. Big deal. Most of my classmates have not even heard of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. My grandmother was outraged and told me that writers die of hunger, and I should be a lawyer instead.

And since my parents would be the ones to pay tuition, I obediently took up Psychology in college.

But I wrote. I still think that some of my best stories and poems were written when I was in high school. True, most of them were influenced by Mills & Boon love stories, but I also read Gabriel Garcia Marquez when I was 14.

And so time and fate interfered, and my forays into writing were little adventures, depending on who I read: The Guardian was done after I read Pet Sematary. I wrote less poetry as I grew older, and the stories matured. I also got married and had children, and by that time I was keeping my diaries in the computer. I also blogged. :-)

But I kept them all hidden. I wrote for my own pleasure, and very few people knew about them.

Then last year, I came across an article written by Butch Dalisay in Philippine Star, about 'Writing for Others' (see http://www.penmanila.net/). I wrote him an email and he wrote back. He inspired me to submit what I wrote. He said that the real recognition would come from my readers.

My submission was for Reader's Digest's My Story section.  I got the surprise of my life when it was accepted.  I bet Butch Dalisay won't be surprised.

On Monday, I went to National Bookstore to get the November issue of Reader's Digest. My story, 'The Grand in Grandmother,' is in page 11.

And yes, I bought five copies for posterity's sake.