MOVING ON

What gave you trouble when you moved to a new city/town/area? by Jerome Espinosa Baladad https://www.quora.com/What-gave-you-trouble-when-you-moved-to-a-new-city-town-area/answer/Jerome-Espinosa-Baladad?share=d72e0740&srid=XZZf

A good friend was texting me after a long while, and has told me he has been in the midst again of thinking of moving from New York City (NYC) after seeing that he's becoming bored in what most people believe as the cultural capital of the USA.  What do I really tell him? Not much. I just have to listen very well. I did listen and thought I could agree with him; he consulted with me many times prior to his moving from Los Angeles  (LA) to here years ago. It does not matter anymore what I told him then. What matters is this moment. Of course,  there's more to this development.  I have other ideas. Who am I to live his life for him? I just believe he doesn't want to agree to the fact that there are people like me who have decided not to retire for good in the Philippines where he and I hail from and have known each other as we went to many super exciting mountain trips together with many more other good friends.  I'm not regretting to say I am retiring here, so I am be

That picture is from one of those moments when I figured out a selfie would represent what was running un-clearly in my mind. I would be always out and about here in New York City (NYC) where I have been based for the past 10 years. Among accomplishments I've completed, I've been able to grow, expand my online business while I have been doing part-time jobs to continuously provide for fodder to folders in my mind where I draw materials to write about. Hence, this posting is one of those very pleasurable days when I have finally been able to write and share something here online (again). I continue to write for my own pleasure. I really just want to read and write, practically almost everyday. But that's not possible right away if I choose to live and stay very well here in NYC. Yesterday's unplanned meet-up with a couple of retired Filipino teachers who have their own house somewhere in a relatively expensive neighborhood in Queens, NYC has mainly prompted this post

I'm still somewhat affected by what I heard from a cousin told me while we were heading back from our trip upstate NY to New Jersey. Of course, he meant well but I'm still somewhat disturbed that certain people couldn't help but be prejudiced against gay people like myself. I won't repeat anymore the details here as they're still hurting. Suffice it to say that one of my cousin's friends shared him what she's thought of me as a person because she, most probably, couldn't stand my being a gay person. Of course, she added that she has her own share of gay friends, who apparently are not like me. And, of course, she didn't tell me directly---most Filipinos won't do that. They do it through channels, which was just like what she did when she told her husband who is also a friend of my cousin, on what she thought of me. I happened to have accepted their invite for me to sleep at their place in New Jersey, and she apparently doubted if my cousin and

Today's my last day from this job that I was doing for over 5 years in return for board and lodging with someone in Stapleton, Staten Island, NYC. He thought of me mainly as a housekeeper. I would cook, clean, do some other odd jobs so I'd have board and lodging in his 23-room house that he proudly says he rebuilt when he bought it over 22 years or so ago. Oh, well, I'm greatly relieved and grateful that this arrangement has stopped effectively today. How it ended wasn't really that positive, and so I won't dwell with that anymore. Suffice it to say that he tended to deal with me as his employee, more than anything else, so his very capricious tastes of running his household would be followed. To do otherwise would mean that I'd feel bad over the kind of work that I do, despite the fact that he's really abusive as a human being. Also, he's made it a point to contact someone who replaced me whom he has never regarded as someone worthy of meeting his capri

There is one way to know that you are doing exactly what God wants you to do: you will be at peace. Not every day, not all the time, but even in the midst of hard times and confusion you will feel good about what you are doing. Even when it seems like you are getting nowhere, you will know there is absolutely nothing else on earth you can do other than what you are doing. ( Iyanla Vanzant ) I was meaning to write this last night but a long phone talk with a good business partner got in the midst while I was about to share here the details, even briefly. I was being bothered by the thought that I couldn't do as much as I could after hearing someone whom I don't know personally is expected to die so soon from the ravages of cancer. She is a mom, the sister-in-law of a friend from high school years. My friend's flying today with his daughter to be with his wife who has been away for at least a month in Los Angeles to attend to the woman who's dying. I wanted to shar

On my way to my part time weekend job this early morning, I was caught in traffic while in my bus on the way to the ferry terminal. The bus driver won't back up to take another route after finding his bus stuck in place and right in front of another bus that was parked in a manner that gave not much space for big vehicles like our bus to get through. We, the passengers, soon found out we had to get out quick and run for the next bus available, which we found at leat a block away. Cursing, I was just so angry about having to run at that early part of the day. I was soon chatting with one of the passengers who would turn out to be the wife of Bill, one of the numerous acquaintances I've met here in NYC the past few years. He's a drunk, and I would soon get confirmation from his wife, who is also from the Philippines like myself, that Bill died at least 7 months ago as of this writing and from complications brought about by his fondness for drinking. Bill's wife, Elena

Labor trafficking is a very much a reality here in the USA, in case most of you readers haven't read much about it. Although not as heard much often about nor as intriguing as sex trafficking, labor trafficking is one of the ails that continue to grease the machinery of suppliers of much needed labor so businesspersons would continue to earn profit in capitalistic USA. It persists up to this day, an example of which I remember reading in the Bible when Joseph's brothers sold him to Egyptian traders who were then passing by in Canaan (I may be mistaken about this location). And I have a very good friend who recently got his proper papers to stay and work legally here in the USA. He'd tell me details of his experiences every chance we've got as I would cover for him whenever he takes his days off from his 7-day full time job as a caregiver in upstate New York; I could fill a book just by accounting for what I've heard from my friend "J". What's laudab

My landlord said 'that's great!' as he sounded happy to hear me telling him that I joined a trip the previous night in visiting 7 churches in the occasion of the Lenten Season . After 4 years of receiving invites (probably), I managed to join the Catholic Fellowship of Young Filipino Professionals ' VISITA IGLESIA. I soon found myself a bit under-attired as the weather was chilly and was soon grateful we kept on doing a trek to finish the goal of visiting 7 churches that are mostly in the Upper East Side (UES) nabe of Manhattan. I must have counted at least 30 people who showed up to join an activity that demands participants to walk some distance; I was happy to meet with Bel, Michael, Victor and some immigrant Filipinos who I usually meet from time to time here in NYC. And I took the chance, too, to chat with Marge, AJ, Jessie, and others whose names I fail to recall now. Other than the extra benefits of getting myself exercised and the chance to engage with others,

It surely was just the right time, having been actively attending Friday evening prayer meetings at the St. Paul the Apostle Prayer Community in Corona, Queens, for over a year now. The "Life in the Spirit Seminar" which I attended the first time over this weekend brought me a host of (what I can describe as) spiritual experiences that I may take some time to absorb and learn from, the effects of which maybe felt better and click on the title for more...