I am now going around town with three strong-willed, intelligent, lovely women, with millions to spend in my pockets. I am in Hoi An near Central Vietnam where, in their dong currency, a million is equivalent to around 2 thousand Pinoy pesos. In a tourist destination like this, you sometimes win by haggling and, in other times, by just surrendering to the lure of fine food or exquisite craft.

IN VIETNAM WITH 3 WOMEN

MOROCCO--  Travel could expand your mind bigger than a tumbling trek across the Wikipedia universe can. It could lift you to cloud nine quicker than a two-hour deep tissue massage.

THE JOYS OF TRAVEL

I wonder how the disillusionment over the recent presidential elections will affect the millions of young people who gave their all to an ideal? Will the pain turn into anger? Will the anger prod them to seek quick answers? Will they get impatient over the slow burn of an NGO program? Will the poll loss eventually radicalize them?

SOUNDTRACKS OF OUR LIVES

Inspiration is waking up at 3 a.m. despite the weariness of travel, aching body and hunger to write this piece.

INSPIRATION

The pandemic is apparently waning, but many employees are resisting the call to physically report for work and instead opt to continue working from home. Productivity has not been adversely affected, they argue.

The pros and cons of work from home

These past years, our lives were festered by bullies. By a country just across our shores. By a leader whose speeches were laced by expletives. By a new army called trolls whose armaments are lies upon lies.

BOO TO BULLIES

“Only for peninsulares, insulares” went the broadside of Boy Sili against the De La Salle University. What was wrong with this claim is not that he got it wrong that the Spaniards were the ones who established the school, but the insidious populist attempt to draw another line against perceived “elites” It could be worse than red-tagging. It is an old Communist line that could endanger lives.

DEMONIZING EDUCATION

My true reaction to the recent elections took three days to manifest, much like an awkward ten second delay to a joke. The wife rushed me to the ER because I was breaking into a cold sweat, hyper-acidic tummy, and was having a blurry vision. The nurses and the doctor took my BP and applied ECG but found nothing wrong. 110/70 and no irregular or sudden spikes in the needles. “Must be stress,” the physician said. Indeed, I just walked off feeling fine.

THE FAR TURN

Walang pera sa pagiging artist! How often do you hear that from parents telling their kids to be doctors or engineers instead. And yet you hear from Filipino writers that artists are in a better station because they earn much more moolah than them. And, yes, I know of more millionaire artists than of writers.

Third Zone

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