Begin the begin By Virginia J. Pasalo   THE new year is here. What do we do about it? I found my wish list two years ago (2015) and realized nothing much had changed because most of the wishes I made depended on other people and circumstances beyond my control….

The Christians and the Pagan By Virginia J. Pasalo   FEWER people attended the fourth Simbang Gabi. Most were still sleep-sitting when a woman shouted, “Oh, no, the baby is falling!” and everyone suddenly shifted their gaze from the floor to her face, and she pointed her lips four pews…

Saradong Katoliko By Virginia Pasalo   THIS morning, I accompanied my niece Hazel to attend the first day of the Simbang Gabi (Midnight Mass) at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Church, the nearest church we can get to, within walking distance from where we live. Simbang Gabi is a…

Sangilo By Virginia Pasalo   MY mother told me that less than a month after I was born, I was taken to Sangilo, a mining community in Itogon Benguet. My childhood was spent in this place of wild sunflowers and sweet fruits from vines and trees, and root crops. For…

Women on the verge By Virginia Pasalo   HAVE you ever felt strongly for someone that he encroaches, without permission, in your consciousness? He is in your dreams. He is on your daydream. He is like the internet, he can find you anywhere, he is in Pet Rescue Saga, except…

“Hineni, hineni, My Lord” By Virginia Pasalo   LEONARD Cohen, a man I admired for his poetry and music, passed away on the 7th of November, he was 82. He is known for the genius of his compositions, the meditative quality of his poems, lust and spirituality. For such a…

Stairway to heaven, highway to hell By Virginia Pasalo   THIS morning, I was laughing at an FB post, about why in going to heaven, you travel in a stairway, and not a highway as provided in hell. “Stairway to Heaven” is a song popularized by Led Zeppelin and composed…

Kiew and the Poetree Festival By Virginia Pasalo   THE call for participation in an anthology of tree poems began 22 September 2015 under the working title, “Trees: Embracing a Starlight”. To reach at a least a hundred poems, the project team launched the Poetree Train on 06 March 2016….

Catching fish By Virginia Pasalo   ALMOST a year ago, in 21 November 2015, i was at the Capitol Resort Hotel watching a fish catch being hauled to shore. I wrote my observations then, took videos and interviewed those on shore about the status of the fish catch. Most of…

Sumalasu By Virginia Pasalo   THAT was what she said, on her birthday, 24 October 2014 , two years ago. This account was written at that time, and thanks to Facebook, for keeping this memory: “After confinement at the hospital, my mom, who loves to shop and eat, cannot get…