Filipina Soul

In our President’s intent to provide families with long weekends, our official holidays (since the beginning of her term) have been celebrated not on its real day anymore. Filipinos find it confusing already. To set the record straight our upcoming Halloween Holidays are as follows:
November 1: All Saint’s Day
November 2: All Soul’s Day
In addition:
November 4: Eid’l Fitr or Feast of Ramadhan
However, the President’s Proclamation No. 839 declared the following dates as Special (Non-Working) Holidays throughout the country:
• 31 October 2005 (Monday) in addition to 1 November 2005 (Tuesday) which is also …read more

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Monique Wilson is not only playing the lead role, but also directing the musical Aspects of Love. The said musical is also being produced by her own New Voice Company (NVC) that she too will put-up in the UK very soon.
Monique was Lea Salonga’s understudy as Kim in Miss Saigon’s Original London Cast.

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In lieu of PinoyExpat’s anniversary issue, I just wonder about if I’d give up my citizenship, given the chance.
What about you? I’m interested to know.
!++42++!

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I remember a Dutch friend years back (while having a short stint here) commenting that he always had to ask the local restaurants/cafes for that extra knife so he can have dinner comfortably, until he has discovered that we have sharp spoons (joke context).
I can eat with my bare hands as far as I can remember, but I don’t exactly recall when I’ve learned to use the spoon and fork, the common eating utensils here in the Philippines. Though it’s most common for Filipinos to be able to eat with their hands (maybe because the staple food is rice …read more

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Don’t you just wish chocolates grow on trees? They actually do, but not after undergoing a laborious process: a series of drying, roasting and grinding of the cocoa beans taken out of the cacao pod.
My parents’ yard is now surrounded by cacao trees. We don’t earn from it at all. But my father must have preferred it over coffee, so he replaced the existing coffee trees (grown by his grandmother) with cacao when we moved back home in 1983.
Since they’ve started bearing fruits, my mother has been making chocolate balls or blocks out of those cocoa beans we locally …read more

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Lately, we (me and other colleagues) were busy visiting sick workmates confined in hospitals for major ailments that needed surgery. While my German boss was quick to suggest bringing flowers when we visited; our big boss (a Sudan national who has worked some 15 years in the US before moving to the Philippines) had always asked what Filipinos usually bring when visiting a sick person.
In all cases, I was quick to reply cheekily from the top of my head: fruits! An assortment of them. And maybe cakes and pastries with added refreshments?
It’s not that bringing flowers is not …read more

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Not in Germany, but here in the Philippines is a month-long (beer) party in Oktoberfest, brought to you by the country’s top beer brewer.
There’s one more week to go, check out for remaining gigs here. Tagay na!

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My jaw just dropped when this was brought to my attention:
DJ Fatboy Slim and Talking Heads singer David Byrne are writing a musical about former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, to be shown next March.
Billed as “a timeless story with more contemporary resonances than are comfortable”, it will premiere at Australia’s Adelaide Festival.
Read the full report here.

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I admit I am an ironical bookworm. Because I hate the library: I hate the stale, old-book aroma that usually lingers the air and I most especially hate the unusual quietness. I am one of those that enjoys reading and studying with a soft music playing in the background while I can recline or lie down whenever I please.
So I steered clear of libraries in most of my student days. I’d usually take out (or copy) the books (or pages) that I need; and go browse them in my own bunk where I’d be most comfortable reading while …read more

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Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez reigns once more with her upcoming concert entitled Reflections, which she herself will direct. The show is slated on Nov. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19 and Dec. 9 and 10 at the Aliw Theater.
I’m not one of her big fans; in fact I’ve only got to see her perform live in one of those free concerts over at Star City sometime in the 90’s. But I do love what I’ve seen of her in most of her concert re-runs on TV and my Sunday afternoon wouldn’t be complete without watching S.O.P. where she …read more

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