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From Francis Miranda
Chief Operating Officer at Tagline Communications Inc. Philippines
Philippines
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I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.
- Francis
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 Death is the inevitable consequence of aging. The recent deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett for example got me thinking about how much older I am now. With these celebrity deaths, you feel bad for a moment but then you kind of move on. Honestly, when I heard that MJ died, I really felt the sorrow of realizing that an icon of your youth has passed on but despite that grief I never was brought to tears.
Fast forward to today. The whole country is grieving for the death of our former President Cory Aquino. I won't pretend to add any more to what has been already said. Cory Aquino represented for me the finest ideals of leadership. She was far from being the perfect president but she was the ideal role model of a statesman (or woman) For us Filipinos, Cory was more than a president. She became the mother of this country and for this, the grief I felt at her passing was intense. For once I was mourning the death of a president with tears. I felt a pain similar to losing my mother a couple of years ago.
I suppose the one tribute I can give her was the memory of my meeting her when i was still in college. I was involved at a Pro-Life group called SAVE (Student Action for Values Education) and we had a meeting at Cardinal Sin's residence to prepare for a Pro-Life symposia. Cory Aquino dropped by and said a few words to us and I had the privilege of shaking her hand and exchanging a few pleasantries with her. She told me that we should continue fighting for life and that she will be praying for us. I remember how motherly she seemed and how I couldn't shake the disbelief that I was standing before a former president. This was a short meeting that etched itself into my mind. More than a president it was her motherhood that called out to me. Her concern and her piety were sincere.
As I wrap up my short story on Cory, I offer a prayer for the eternal repose of her soul. Christian piety dictates this however, I am more than convinced that she is up there in heaven enjoying the celestial embrace of God and her the reunion with her husband Ninoy. Cory is a saint that I can only pray our leaders emulate.
Requiem aeternam dona Cory Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.  You know how much we have degraded as a culture when we start espousing cannibalism. Not only do we want to cook David Archulueta, we actually want to do it live in Manila!   The Matrix has spoken. I am no longer Francis Miranda. I am now Franciscus Prime!
Till all are one.
Okay, enough distractions. Back to work!  Those looking for spiritual guidance can consult this good book for the answers that can help them live upright lives. Since last week I have been listening to the soundtrack of Songs for a
New World. The opening theme talks avoid that one unexpected moment
when one's life takes an unanticipated turn and suddenly you're faced
with a future that you are unprepared for.
When I woke up this morning, my mind was set on lazily going to work
and accomplishing the tasks that are due for the day. As I was near
Filinvest I got a call from my sister with the words that no brother
wants to hear: "Kuya I got into an accident."
I made a quick u turn and headed for the site of where the accident
occurred. I was nervous because there was so many unswered questions
in my head. Was another person involved? Did somebody die? Is my
sister okay? The panic in my sister's voice said that much.
I arrived at the scene and there was my faithful black Mazda3. The
first car I ever owned. On top of it 47 steel bars. The roof
flattened, windshield shattered, the wheels dropped down and the paint
scarred in a thousand places. But my eyes found my sister walking so
Praise God indeed.
Apparently, as my sister was driving to work the stupid Adventure
which was in front of her made a complete stop in the middle of the
road. My sister with her fast reflexes was able to stop in time.
Little did she know, a truck carrying metal bars was right behind her.
Since the bars were not secured they went flying though the air and
landed on the roof of the car causing it to cave in. My sister
litteraly didn't know what fell from the sky.
Analyzing the site I gave thanks to God and her guardian angels.
Timing is everything. If the truck has braked maybe a second earlier
the metal bars wouldve penetrated the rear windshield thereby impaling
my sister. Instead all she got was a mild head concussion which was
validated by the hospital CT Scan.
It's all about that one moment. One second of difference that couldve
spelt the difference between a blog written at a hospital and one
written at a funeral parlor. The lone casualty of the day was our dear
trusty Theodore who died an ignominious death. Thankfully, cars can be
resurrected and the owner of the truck has agreed to have Thwodore
restored. So hopefully in 2.5 months a new Theodore will emerge reborn
from the repair shop.
To all who helped us out: Mike Gan who provided us with the
appropriate legal advice, the policemen who efficiently took care of
us and the countless prayers, calls and messages given by my family SE
friends, facebook buddies and officemates. You have our thanks! Most
especially, we thank God, Mama Mary and Kris' guardian angels who
watched over her and kept her safe.
Theodore rest in pieces for now. We'll see you in a couple of months.
    This picture was taken exactly a year ago today. The venue was Starbucks in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. I was waiting for my return flight to Manila. Today, Labor Day marks also the first anniversary of my return to Manila after spending a year in Kuala Lumpur. Wow, who would've thought that a year would pass by so quickly? May seems to be my transition years. I arrived in Spain to live there for two years in May 1! I left for KL in May 15 and I returned to Manila in May 1 again.
All throughout these transitions, I underwent the same anxieties and fears. I was nervous about what the future would hold and what adventures or misadventures I would have for the year to come. Upon my return to Manila, I asked myself if it was the right decision to give up my expat life and return to a smaller agency? Will I flourish here? What will the future hold?
You plan your life and God does a rewrite, but amidst all of this, the one thing i've basically learnt is that one shouldn't fear the future nor fear change. Our future is written by Our Lord and whatever happens will always result something good and beautiful. My KL experience brought with it new friends. My return to Manila cemented my relationships with my old friends and gave rise to some more new ones.
As change is looming once more over the horizon, I know in the deepest recesses of my heart that whatever it will be, will be for the good.
Cheers to change and happy anniversary to me! I just HATE SLEX TRAFFIC! This stupid Skyway construction is getting to my nerves. It's as if we don't have respite at all from the traffic no matter what time of the day we get home. Well for all you Southerners reading this, here's a suggestion that I'd like to get your buy in from. Shouldn't we all demand from OMM-Citra and PNCC a Toll Holiday?
After all, the reason that we pay for toll (and quite frankly AN EXORBITANT ONE compared to our neighbors like Malaysia) is to avail of the services of an EXPRESSWAY.
Now I don't know what OMM-Citra and PNCCs definition of an expressway is, but in my dictionary expressway means EXPRESS, meaning fast. There's absolutely nothing fast about that F-ing highway. So if we don't get the EXPRESS, then we shouldn't pay. After all that is part and parcel what we are supposed to be paying for.
So I do hope that OMM-Citra and PNCC lowers their bloody toll feels at least until the bloody Skyway is finished in order to PAY US for the loss of gasoline and time that we poor Southerners have to suffer day in and day out. In the mean time what on earth can we do to let our dismay be felt?
So what are your suggestions folks? Last Saturday I met up with a friend Will over at dinner in Greenbelt and the topic of conversation went to stories of our childhood. Will was narrating to me how he grew up in Dagupan and how town life was. He narrated stories about fields bursting with fruits and how as kids they never had the comforts that we had but they were still equally happy. How nights ended at 8PM as the town shut down and everyone went back to just telling stories all night long.
Our discussion then went to how life in the city moves by so quickly and how despite having material things we often as not as happy as we were when we were children.
We concluded that the reason why life moves so quickly is that we tend to pollute it and clutter it with thousands of things to do. We complicate our own lives and wonder, why is it so complicated?
How do we complicate our lives?
1. We compare ourselves to others. Will was sharing that when he was a kid, he never had newfangled toys. The trees suffice and the creeks were more than enough to keep them happy. It's visiting Manila and seeing what the kids here had that started that feeling of discontentment. I suppose most of us would be genuinely happy if we just fixate on what we have and not on what we don't. The happiest people are the ones who do not crave what they do not have but are thankful for what they do have.
2. We fill up our days with millions of things. Sometimes slowing down is much better than accomplishing a billion things at the same time. Our corporate lives have trained us to be efficient and to cram as much things in one day as possible. But sometimes efficiency can be taken to the extreme. When we are efficient even in relaxing, it tends to cause more stress for us. Slowing down is sometimes what's best for our souls.
3. We focus on having and not on being. Nosebleed moment but its actually true. Our materialistic world has dictated to us that we wont be happy unless we possess certain things, whether they be clothes, cars, properties or material possessions. I suppose in a way me and the industry that I work in has something to do with this. We focus our day to day lives on telling people to buy things that will make their lives better when we should be focusing on helping people actually BE BETTER PERSONS. We should encourage people to be kinder, more charitable, more cheerful and more optimistic instead of saying that they are losers unless they buy this shirt or own that phone.
Six hours of conversation left the impact on me that I should learn to simplify my life. My take home from that night out was that happiness is both a perspective and a choice. It's a way to look at things where you focus on the positive and choosing to be happy because you've seen that positive. Cheers to more great conversations like there. Here's to simpler and happier lives.  Yesterday, for some weird reason I woke up at 3AM and was unable to sleep. Since I was unable to sleep, I decided to do something productive and pop in a disk of House MD and watch an episode. Thankfully I did so because the episode taught me a valuable lesson.
Those of you who watch House knows that every case has a patient. In this particular episode it was a renowned cancer researcher who potentially had the cure for a rare case of eye cancer for kids called Retinoblastoma. As the episode progresses, we discover that this famous doctor decided to quit being a doctor and a cancer researcher to do the things that make her happy, i.e. become a chef and learn other things like painting and music.
To say that her decision caused an uproar is an understatement. Everyone started to condemn her saying that she was selfish for quitting her job to do the things that she wants. The argument of her detractors is that so many people can benefit from her labor and that she owes it to humanity to continue slugging it out in her job as a cancer doctor and researcher. Her reply stuck a chord within me, specifically 4 core things that she said.
1. Life is too short to be stuck doing something that you're miserable doing. 2. We should do the things that make us happy. 3. We do things for ourselves and NOT BECAUSE of what people may say or think about us. 4. People who judge us for doing the things that make us happy are probably people who are stuck in a rut and who are unhappy with their lives and this anger is what they direct at people who are happy.
Wow! So much lessons at 4AM! Near the end of the episode one of the doctors (Wilson, the oncologist) approaches this patient to apologize saying that she was right. The reason why he judged and condemned this patient is that she was able to do that which Wilson is not able to do which is do the things that make him happy. He wasn't really angry at the patient. He was more angry at himself because here was a person before him that got out of that rut.
Her reply is equally important. She said that there's only one WRONG THING to do in such a situation. And that's TO DO NOTHING.
So if you are unhappy where you are, I invite you to do something about it. Choose to be happy because life is too short. Before the episode ended, one of the other doctors asked the patient: "When you're lying at your deathbed? Wouldn't you wonder if you did something worthwhile with your life?" Her reply was: "I'm on my deathbed for only one day. What do I do with the other 50,000+ days I have? I choose to do things that are worthwhile to me."
This episode made me realize that I myself am approaching another major crossroad where I have to make a big decision. I hope when that time comes, I have the strength to choose the decision that's right because it's the one that will make me happy. Attention to all my model friends. I am looking for a couple of models for a tent card design for an alcoholic beverage. The budget is not quite big but, it's a good chance to add this work to your portfolio. I need Yuppie girls and guys between 20 - 30 years old. If you guys are interested PM me and I will submit your names to the client. If you're chosen, ayos!
Cheers guys and hope to hear from you!
It's the start of the Holy Week exodus as hundreds of thousands of
Filipinos begin their trek home to their provinces for the holidays.
Of course, we're here to work hard at making sure these people have a
good send off.
So here am I blogging live from Shell Magallanes where we have the
AmbiPur Stop,Sniff and Go activation. Ambipur is giving away tons of
fun prizes to lucky motorists who visit Shell NLEX, Julia Vargas, SLEX
and Magallanes! We'll be here until Holy Thursday so do drop by!
For those of you passing by Shell NLEX and SLEX until Holy Thursday
make sure you drop by the comfort rooms because we also have the
Sanicare Customer Lounge there. You'll be treated to a beautiful good
smelling bathroom. Plus you get free Sanicare samples from our
beautiful and handsome Sanicare Handmaidens and Butlers.
So we've got a ton of fun stuff for all you travellers out there! Drop
by Shell and enjoy fun games and lots of cool freebies!
Happy Easter and have a safe journey!
Driving this morning, I saw a Mongol truck with a rather disturbing
image which I just had to capture with my camera phone.
 Everyday we go through a marvelous transition as the day bows out to
the night. Dusk, that mysterious time when the sun starts to set and
give way to night is my all time favorite time of the day. I love how
the sky gradually darkens and the stars come out like little eyes
waking up after a long slumber. It's a pity that I have very few
moments when I enjoy this time. Being stuck at work I normally am just
surprised to see that the day has passed and I missed the coming of
dusk.
This weekend I am greatly blessed with the opportunity to go up to
Tagaytay and enjoy precious moments of respite as we administer the
I'm No Moses seminar of our church. Ideally I'd cringe at the thought
of working on a weekend but when it comes to serving the community I
love I'm all game.
Serving just gives me so much great joy. I guess it's a mixture of you
spending great times with friends coupled with the thought that God
works miracles through your flawed hands that makes it so worth the
effort. Seeing the candidates and their passion and love for serving
definitely takes the tiredness away.
God is such a good God. He has chosen to reward my efforts with the
simplest of things. A chance to observe a beautiful sunset in cool
Tagaytay amidst an atmosphere of prayer and fellowship with some of my
dearest friends and my sister. Thank you Jesus for this opportunity to
serve you. Thank you for this wonderful dusk. Thank you for allowing
me to rest in you. Thank you for this unexpected blessing.
Your gifts come at the most unexpected times. Mine came today at 6:18pm
I pride myself with being a moderately healthy individual. Despite my growing waistline, I have no other serious health concerns (I hope) other than the occasional sniffles I normally do not get sick. My first bout with serious illness happened last week when I was plagued by the intestinal flu which brought with it four days of fever, chills, loose bowels, lethargy and malaise. Not a very pretty package.
On the one hand, I was glad for the respite illness gave to my body. I was able to stay at home and rest, catch up on some sleep and just try to concentrate on getting better. But on the other hand, I realized that good health is really health. Being sick is no joke. Illness always takes its toll on you physically, mentally and psychologically.
Two weeks ago a friend of mine died at a young age, then by the end of that week another Francis M died. These two deaths combined with my illness made me suddenly feel vulnerable. I used to think that I would live forever, and now there's a jarring realization that I could really go anytime.
So it's resolution time. All my time in bed made me scribble down a few of my thoughts on how I can better take care of my body.
1. Get ample rest - People say that I tend to push myself too much. I never realized how true that was until my body collapsed from sheer exhaustion. I really need to find some me time to just breathe and not do anything. Rest is absolutely essential to the good maintenance of our bodies. 8 hours of sleep is good and Sundays not doing anything is essential.
2. Water is Your Friend - Not Colas, not juices. My illness demonstrated to me the full effect of dehydration. My lethargy and malaise is generally a fruit of a lack of water in my system. And yes, Coke does not count. So here's to drinking more of this precious fluid.
3. Exercise - I really need to exercise some more. Tiredness is never an excuse because ironically exercise instead of draining you actually energizes you some more. I think my ballooning belly and my lethargy should be a signal for me to exercise some more.
4. Watch My Diet- Mahirap but I must do it lest I shorten my life.
So here are just some of my resolutions. Here's to hoping that I manage to make them become realities!  Whenever I watch spy flicks like Mission Impossible or James Bond, it always amazes me how the good and bad guys use satellites and the GPS system to locate friends and foes alike. During those times, such a service seemed only at the realm of the imagination. It's amazing how technology changes everything. Take my iPhone for instance, this evening after suffering from cabin fever due to a 4 day illness, I decided to take a stroll out with my iPhone. While breathing the fresh air in the park, I decided to twiddle with it's Maps function which utilizes GPS and cell site triangulation to map out your location. I used to think that it would probably just give a general idea of where I am and not the exact coordinates of where I would be.
Surprise surprise! Upon clicking the GPS locator function, the phone successfully identified where I was. Sitting at the park right across my house. It marked my location with a blue dot and showed me a satellite image from Google maps to correlate my location.
I love technology! I used to dream of having things like the Tricorders of Star Trek lore and now I have my very own Tricorder in the form of my iPhone. Sure it may not be able to scan for radiogenic particles in the atmosphere or for alien life forms but it sure does a good job in organizing my life and keeping me entertained with stuff like this!
Hence endeth this random blog. Early this week, I discovered that one of my friends in the Singles Apostolate passed away of a heart attack at a young age. Reading Jolina's email that Jem had succumbed to a heart attack sent shivers down my spine after all Jem was at the prime of his life.
Once more I was reminded of my own mortality. Time really flies. It's incredible how the sands of time seem to flow quite fast these days. I guess one of the realizations that I got from this death was that we really do not have a lot of time. The Bible calls death like a "thief in the night." It comes when you least expect it. The fact that it is currently Lent reinforces this thought because during Ash Wednesday we were all reminded that "from dust we came and to dust we shall return."
Our humanity is defined by our mortality. That's what Captain Picard said in one Star Trek movie and yes, it does make sense. Our very mortality is what also defines our existence. It's the period by which the story of our lives end. The question is, what words do we fill in between? What meaning do we put in our lives? How have we lived it?
At the end of this blog, I guess what I want to just share is that I have decided to live life to the fullest. To enjoy different experiences and to quote one of my favorite songs in Rent, to measure my life in love. How many people have I shared my love to? How many people have I cared for? And it's not the romantic love that I'm talking about but simply Fraternal love that should be due to everyone and anyone.
Since life is short, let's live it to the full.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescat in pace, Jem.  Dinner alone on a Saturday! In the past these were words that could have caused me to break out in a cold sweat! After all, the extrovert in me always craves the company of other people to draw strength and energy from. However, tonight is a night where I decided to have some precious me time. All my friends and my sister have things to do this Saturday night thereby prompting me to go to ruins to receive my DVD fix. While walking alone I realized that sometimes we need to retreat within our own thoughts, to recollect and gain strength from within. I guess after a really hectic and harrowing week of giving myself to other people I now need to give some loving to myself.
So here I am now. Enjoying a nice steak dinner in this quaint
gelateria that Ellen and her sister recommended to me. Away from the
concerns of the week. Gathering my strength and bracing myself for the
storms to come.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm due to get a nice foot massage to relax
my tired feet and it's off to the house for either a date with the
Tudors or go back to the world of CTU.
 Want to hear something creepy? Our office seems to be kinda haunted. Hasn't happened to me yet but two of my office mates already had some sightings. One saw a guy in blue in the creative area working when she was doing OT on the office alone on a Saturday and another girl saw a chair move on its own when she was alone last night. Furthermore she heard knockings on the wall.
Truthfully, I'm not that scared about ghosts. I guess they've never really bothered me because I know that a well said prayer is more than enough to vanquish unseen spirits. Besides my God is a mighty God indeed.
However, there is a positive side to these hauntings. No more OT!!! Since everyone wants to leave the office by 6PM, OT has become a thing of the past! Far be it for me to complain about it. So here's to making lemonade out of spooky lemons!
Boo!  Another SE wedding was culminated today. This blog post is live from
chilly Tagaytay city where members of our SE family gathered to
celebrate the wedding of our friends Pilar and Steve. We're about to
dance! Have a fun weekend folks!
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