When September comes....

There is something different about September. I just can’t help but write it in my blog.



When September comes:

1. It’s my wife’s birthday next week. How time flies so fast! She’d be a year older but still looks 21. I want to surprise her and perhaps, celebrate it with close friends and families. (Any wonderful ideas?) I’d also like to take a leave of absence from work just to be with her on that special day.

2. My own birthday is fast approaching. In the next few months I’d be on the last day on the calendar. Whew! I feel too old already. Gone are the days when I enjoyed being the youngest in class, in the office, and among the middle executives in the company.

3. Though still more than 3 months to go, I felt the spirit of Christmas moving in my veins. Gift-giving, parties, holidays, etc…

4. The hope of another new year never fails to amaze me. Counting blessings and looking forward.

Ah, thank God for September! I feel so good today!

Coffee Breaks...

Coffee breaks

Here’s an interesting link about coffee breaks: Coffee-breaks sabotage employees’ abilities.

I love coffee breaks and I love coffee more than any other drinks available (save for water).

I’ve always been a coffee drinker since my elementary school days. Back then, I would get a large covered mug, put 2 tablespoon of Nescafe, and mix it with a half cup of sugar. Add some ice, and shake it. It will take me a couple of hours to consume the whole thing, while studying my lessons at the same time.

In college, I only drink coffee at home or in some dunkin’ donuts store where my friends would usually study. I cannot afford to buy those expensive drinks with only a P30/day allowance, inclusive of fare and meals. Coffee at home is cheap. I even bought rice coffee, and that “Dragon” coffee.

During my first job as an associate at PWC, coffee was free flowing. My buddy and I consumed more than half of the supply. No, we did not consume it on our first week. Between us, we drank at least 6 cups a day. After a few years, supply was cut. But we managed to sneak a few cups from our boss’ supplies, whenever we craved for a cup during overtime. Coffee is a good friend when I have plenty of work to do.

But my wife and I debate on the pros and cons of coffee. The Nestle ad about oxidants favored me. She, being of the medical profession, mentioned studies about caffeine. My replies were always the same: I only drink at most 3 cups a day, a safe figure mentioned in all the studies.

For me, coffee keeps me sane and energized for work even at very long hours. I can't really imagine a world (much more a workplace) without coffee and coffee breaks.

The Prophet

Twelve years ago, a classmate of mine talked about Kahlil Gibran and his famous "The Prophet". I bought a copy 5 years after trying to read, and reread it. The poetry is amazing (or was it the interpreter?). Even our class yearbook was full of quotes from that book. I even saw a quote in some donation cans somewhere.

Here are some of my few favorite lines:

"It was but yesterday we met in a dream...
And if our hands should meet again in another dream, we shall build another tower in the sky"

"Much of your pain is self-chosen"

"Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distate, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy"

"Your daily life is your temple and your religion" I considered this as a very practical approach to religion, and a must for every believer (of whatever faith). "Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?" But then, since He himself practices some new age (Bahai) religion, then the philosophies on his books are based on his religion. He did not and cannot separate his faith and belief from his writings.

But at the end of my readings, I could not help but notice this particular line: "A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me." It contradicted my religious convictions.

But I am not going to argue. Philosophers are entitled to their opinion, and those opinions, even though general in nature (and some obscure), are well accepted, because they are just poetically expressed.

So, let me try my own lines:
“You cannot see me through my scribbling, for my soul is not in there.”
“For now, you know me not. But I shall reveal myself to you one day, and we shall indulge in the same cup of happiness.”

Hey wait! Do I sound like a philosopher here?