By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo I always take brewed coffee at home, from freshly-ground beans bought from various places, and those sent to us by friends from their travels. On very rare occasions, I have my coffee at McDonald’s. Whenever I do, I remember Philippine National Artist for Literature F. Sionil…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   WHEN I think of the many things I have left undone, I am overwhelmed. For example, if I die or get incapacitated tomorrow, what are the most likely things I want to focus on doing now? Often, I find that the things I want to…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   GO ahead, fall in love. It’s an experience others only dream of, a rollercoaster ride. Treasure the moments, including the falling out, when it happens. If and when it happens, because whether you believe it or not, others do fall, and never get up.  …

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   NO matter how willing you are to help, there will be times when you can’t. Especially when the one you are helping has to perform on her own certain required steps critical to making help possible, and she is unable to comply. Some suggested the…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IT was about ten o’clock in the evening and we were told that The Patio operates only until eleven. We had the option to go home, but his mother wanted to treat him to a good meal at the University Hotel where dining was recently expanded outdoors, among…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   EVEN under the extreme heat of the summer sun, the trees were smiling. It is a smile made brighter by the red flowers of the fire trees and the yellow flowers of the narra trees that overwhelmed the green leaves, firmly holding on, with the…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IT was just another one of the regular visits. After six months, he was no longer crying like a lost child. He is becoming more and more, relaxed, forgiving of those who wronged him. After a while, he was used to the uncertainty of his…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THE morning smells of newly-cut grass. Maybe it is the scent of rebellion, or the agony of being cut. Or maybe it is the scent of hope, the kind we cling to, when we are about to lose it. I breathe in the scent slowly,…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   MIRA was the kid, who, along with another nephew, Nico, experimented with the matches and burned the wooden floor in one of the bedrooms. The smoke escaped through the small space of the door, so I knocked. It was all quiet so I took the…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   A MUSEUM embodies the soul of a people. In order to fully comprehend the identity of a people, a museum depends on two important components. Firstly, the people who curate, gather, preserve, interpret and tell the stories. Secondly, the depth, the breath and the quality…