Stranded in Coffeeshop

Stranded in our village at the height of the storm and after, this painting came about.  During evenings with no electricity, candles were my source of light, a symbol of hope that kept my mind at ease.  I'm soon turning them into notepads and proceeds will go to Ondoy typhoon victims.

Ende--RUN to the Rescue!

What started out with only 3 bags of groceries and 5 kilos of rice brought by 2 students has ballooned to over 21,000 packs of hot meals and 6,000 sandwiches, delivered from the kitchens of Enderun Colleges, to many points in Antipolo, Pasig, Rizal, Taguig and other areas that have been affected by the wrath of typhoon Ondoy.

It’s amazing how a tiny spark can lead to many lighted candles.

According to Enderun faculty, Bel Castro, it was just a one time big time idea that grew.  “One phone call, one text message, one Facebook post is how we were able to scale the relief efforts.” This, together with good-hearted people who just kept knocking on their kitchen doors without even wanting to be named, plus the enthusiasm and passion of the students behind the stove, Bel says, was a winning combination.

The campus is now a heartening and lively image of kids on relief mode. Many of the students who are in the middle of suspended classes who could easily while away time by just hanging out in coffee shops, searching the net, or keeping warm at home with their respective families, have chosen to act and make a difference.

They’ve rolled up their sleeves, donned their chef’s gears and enrolled themselves to help without thought of reward, additional credits from their respective professors or being exempted from laboratory hours. Just the thought of lending a hand and helping those who are not as fortunate was enough to keep the (kitchen) fire burning.

“I am so proud of our students. The idea of a relief center for the flood victims was initiated by them and the faculty and staff merely gave their support,” says Tricia Tensuan, Enderun’s director for marketing.  “It is overwhelming how friends of the school community also helped out – donations from individuals, corporations and associations just poured in after receiving messages through SMS, social networking sites and word of mouth,” she added.

Truly the Pinoy youth of today can rise to his fullest and finest self during trying times.

Tensuan also recalls coming in last Tuesday morning (the second day of relief operations) and the students said they needed more meat products as viand for the hot meals they were cooking. Before lunchtime, there were more than enough canned goods from donors to produce thousands of meals.  “I am most proud of our Enderun students because of their will to help their countrymen in need, and they acted on it quickly.”

The school specifically asked for canned goods as donations and those that are processed for the reason that these kinds of food do not spoil easily.  Another kitchen guideline they strictly followed is not to use dairy products or mayonnaise in any of the meals so that the shelf life is longer, considering there will be time consumed to transport them.

Aside from students, the school likewise credits kindhearted donors who responded to the call really fast – individuals, families, groups, organizations, industry partners and many others who just wanted to help. “If not for them, our students won’t really have anything to chop, mix, cook and concoct so we truly owe it to them and they know who they are,” Castro shared in high spirits.

The Enderun community is also very thankful to be equipped with the proper commercial kitchen facilities that can help produce quality and quantity meals.

“Even the most well intentioned human being won’t be able to come up with such big volume and we are indebted to the school facilities and students whose adrenalins are fired up in our kitchens with enthusiasm, passion for cooking, and the training that they’ve learned and applied so far,” she added. 

Say for instance, the rice cooker in one of Endrun’s kitchens can produce up to 1000 servings in one cooking and as of last night, if you do the math, about 60 students were producing as much as 1 meal per 10 seconds. 

Organizations such as Gawad Kalinga, The Philippine Red Cross, the Philippine Army, government agencies, NGOs and many others have gone to the Enderun to pick up hot cooked meals for relief operations and distribution to over 1,500 families and still counting!

And if there’s one person who is really, really proud of what these kids have accomplished in such trying times, that can’t be anyone else but Dean Lorraine Villanueva, who was called by The Mighty Executive Chef to that big buffet in the sky, now smiling down from the heavens.

Circled on a Map

And with the passing years, what had once seemed like a miracle or the luckiest of chances does have a deep, meaningful purpose. This place we are in right now, it's been circled on a map for us.

"Sprits"

When my spirits are high, "they" simply fly by.
When my sprits are low, "they" really show. Boo!!!

My Michael Jackson story

A 13-year old story just has to be told. Here's my fascinating, and unforgettable experience with the King of Pop...

When I was then a PR officer of Manila Hotel, I headed the annual Orphan’s Christmas Party of which 300 children from different orphanages around Metro Manila were to be treated to a day of fun and surprises. It was one of the biggest projects on my plate and was such a challenge to focus on work the day before the big event knowing that Michael Jackson was billeted in the hotel. Two nights before, I had been fortunate to be part of his welcome line at the hotel lobby together with the rest of the PR and sales staff but was content enough to see him walk by amid a huge crowd of fans and well-wishers.

The hotel atmosphere was filled with excitement. Much as I hate to divulge the info, I sensed that nobody really seriously worked from the time Michael Jackson arrived. Everyone was waiting for him to either cross the lobby, walk along the hotel hallways, be in the elevator, pass by the backdoor to avoid the crowd or even the employees walkway and entrance. I saw a colleague with an esteemed position literally press the down button to make sure the elevator door opened on the same floor she was in so she’d get a glimpse of MJ when she knew he was to pass that way.

Callers heard songs from MJ’s History CD while put on hold, mainstay lobby pianist Joselito Pascual played MJ ballads and our corporate print ad which was published in the 3 major dailies read, “Another King sets foot at The Manila Hotel and makes History”. The hotel entrance signage read “Welcome to the King of Pop and the King of Beers” as Budweiser had a big event at that time too.

The day before our orphan’s affair, a guy who claimed to be Michael Jackson’s aide from Mamarao Productions came into our office. I couldn’t recall his name but he looked for the ‘person in charge’ and said that his boss had read the announcement about the event in the Dear Guest flyers we had circulated to all the rooms a week before, and Michael wanted to know how he could help. So his aide found himself going up the Penthouse Suite and coming down again to our office several times, as both of us suggested how he could participate.

Michael offered to fill up the 300 loot bags with goodies and toys, candies and chocolates but having been able to solicit close to 50 sponsors, it was actually a problem for us to dispose of everything.

So I thought hard…how can the King of Pop meaningfully join the affair? I couldn’t possibly have him be with the kids in the palayok game or the pabitin as he might end up getting mobbed! And since the annual event was really all about giving, I mustered all my courage and told the Mamarao guy that the best thing I could think of was for him to literally be present to help distribute the loot bags, be available to sign autographs and pose with the children for photos. Say it was far fetched but really, it’s the only way I could think of for him to bring genuine smiles and joy to those kids. “Wow, that may not be easy. You’re talking about handing goodie bags to 300 children & I can just imagine the chaos. We’ll see Ms. Jacinto and I’ll get back to you,” he said.

Lunch break came and it was the most hurried one I ever took in my entire life. The afternoon hours passed and no aide was knocking at our office. It wasn’t until after 5pm that he came back and said, “Michael is more than happy to do whatever you suggest! How do we go about it tomorrow?”

I wanted to scream. This is the living legend – the only meteoric person in the planet who could have that kind of a marriage with one’s emotions just through his amazing music! And here you’re talking of a girl who collected MJ albums, magazines, and painstakingly got the lyrics of his ’Off the Wall’ and ‘Thriller’ album songs by playing and pausing over and over the tape from her boombox in her elementary days! But I had to calm myself and get composure as the Lizzie Maguire in me said “Get real, get back into focus!”

We agreed that Michael would join after the games, musical program and snacks --- at the last part to give out the loot bags. My colleague Annette Africano and boss Dulce Agnir requested for additional security around the event venue and its stage area where we decided to distribute the gifts so that we could get him as far away as we could from a possible crowd. We made sure we have a line for the children to come up orderly.

Then it came. The moment arrived. It was at the Champagne Gardens in December 7, 1996. I was surprised to see The King of Pop walking towards us, guided by his aide he came up to me knowing I had to brief him. “Hi, how are you? Thanks so much for letting me join. I know I’m early coz I didn’t want to miss the program!” I said, “Are you kidding? Thanks so much for volunteering! Here’s what Michael, why don’t you just sit here and watch the musical numbers before we get into the gift giving. I will have to tweak the order of the program a bit.” He replied, “Sure, anything you say….(pausing to look at my name tag) Gwen!”

I was stunned at how incredibly sweet and modest he was. And in my mind it was, “Oh my God, this is really happening!!!

Amazing how he patiently sat through the whole program. Carol Banawa, who was then an Ang TV mainstay couldn’t believe that THE Michael Jackson was watching her perform! She had her red blouse signed by him right after her number. Then followed Stefano Mori’s dance number. Later on, his back up singers and dancers came up on stage followed by select kids from different orphanages who all danced to the beat of “Billie Jean”. Oh the smile in Michael’s face was just amazing, seeing those kids perform.

Then we announced that Michael would be distributing gifts onstage. I explained to him that there’s a loot bag for the younger kids and another for the older ones and he nodded. It was really the thrill and excitement he gave those children that was incredibly touching. And it was, too, in between the gift bag distribution that I saw a glimpse of not the performer in MJ, but the person that he is.

It was one in the afternoon and Santa Claus (David Endriga, a friend of fellow PR officer Francis Capistrano) joined us on stage. The heat was scorching and I was worried that he felt so hot with his black long sleeved signature attire and hat as I was already feeling the heat. “Are you alright Michael? We can let you take a break.” He said, “I’m cool Gwen, just imagine how Santa feels inside his velvet suit and beard! We’ll be fine.” I never heard him complain or say a word about how hot it was or how long the line is. He had the most beautiful manners. He didn’t even ask for a drink or a towel to wipe his sweat but one of our banquet staff made sure he got a glass of fresh orange juice.

At one point, when I mistakenly handed him the wrong gift bag for an older kid, he kindly reminded me that the 10-year old won’t enjoy the goodies inside the bag intended for the younger ones. I thought it responsible of him. An hour had passed and we were halfway through gift-giving when we noticed that the garden was getting filled up. There suddenly were people from the media, politicians, officials, hotel guests including guests of a wedding at the nearby Champagne Room who all deserted the bride and groom to get a glimpse of Michael.

“Uh oh, this isn’t supposed to be, I’m so sorry,” I said. “It’s alright, we’ll get through it.” he said smiling. And as we finished giving out the last loot bag to an 11-year old orphan, a new line of more kids and adults formed. Michael’s bodyguard, Wayne, said “We can leave now!” And calmly he replied, “We can’t leave when there are still people in line. It’s Christmas dude.”

Wow, I felt my heart beat faster and the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood up. He wasn’t just the most electrifying performer, but the most generous person!

One of the most memorable moments was when a lady came up to him for an autograph. Laughing and holding his tummy, he said “Hey Gwen, you’ve gotta check this out! He whispered, “It’s a blank check. The lady is making me sign on a blank check.” We laughed hard and little did we know that it wasn’t even half of the comedy. He later showed me and Wayne other stuff people would use or pick up on the ground when they couldn’t find paper for him to sign on. One lady made him sign at the back of her elegant, designer, Filipiniana gown. One teenager came up to him holding a dead leaf and another one, a popped balloon to sign on! Imagine how much our laugher ballooned as well. It was an unbelievably amazing and genuine experience. At one point he asked if I was going to catch his History concert and I said “Tomorrow night.” “Oh you’ll have a blast!” was his immediate remark.

At this point he became concerned about the stage as adults literally outnumbered the kids and became too crowded. His face had nervousness written all over but still didn’t complain. He tapped the wooden floor with his left foot several times making sure it was sturdy enough not to fall apart. “I’ve experienced the stage collapse and I just want to make sure we’re all safe here.”

Half of me wanted the line to finish coz we were literally melting and worried about our safety, but half of me didn’t knowing that once the line ended, he was also going to leave.

And at some point it did end. I managed to get an autograph for me and my sisters before our general manager, Clem Pablo, requested him to sing “Give Love on Christmas Day”. Cesar Sarino, one of the hotel’s officials addressed his thank you note to The King of Pop then I saw his guards and aides whisking Michael off stage. I said in my mind, “Oh man, I didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye.”

Suddenly, I saw Michael return on stage and say, “Thanks so much to you and your team, Gwen. This really means a lot.” Then he held me beside him and said, “I’ll see you at the concert.”

Michael stayed in Manila Hotel for four more days after that. When he had to leave the hotel, aside from his two-night concert, they were all visits to cancer wards, hospitals, to the sick, the poor, and the needy. Not a single guesting in any of the noontime variety shows or television specials.

When he left on December 11, Annette and I immediately ran to the Penthouse Suite where he stayed. We were very curious. There we found an empty Paperoo popcorn bucket, about 3 or 4 flavors of Haagen Daaz ice cream inside the fridge, and Snickers chocolates wrappers on the table. No wonder Sir Paul McCartney called him a “boy man”, and it’s not surprising that he saw himself as Peter Pan. He was such a child.

As Michael Jackson is laid to rest and returned to pristine condition in the afterlife, two incredible acts of the King of Pop – volunteering for charity, and unselfishly spending time with the less fortunate, will forever be the way I will mirror this man.

Can't imagine a world without Walt Disney

"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new things because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." -- Walt Disney

A quote from one of my favorite movies, Meet the Robinsons, that constantly keeps my spirits high no matter how low I may feel.

A world without Walt Disney? Can't ever imagine.

Band Aid

Look into the thing you were afraid to see before. The truth is ripping off a Band Aid. There's a sting, and then it's over. One realization could turn your mood from mediocre to...fantastic.