Life's Trials

We all have our down moments and they happen for a number of reasons. Like everyone else, I also have my own set of issues or problems to deal with. Some, you can say, were of my making. Some, on the other hand, were not. Some arose out of stupid mistakes while others were the unintended consequences of actions done with the best of intentions. And finally, some became my problem simply because they were thrust upon me as a matter of moral and family responsibility.

We try our best to deal with the issues before us and we deal with them in the best way we know how. But sometimes, our personal limitations that result from factors such as our upbringing, education, and life experiences hinder us from arriving at the best possible solution. Such limitations often lead us to frustration and despair.

Thinking of some of the issues I have in front of me, I couldn't help but be in a bit of despair earlier today. Music is one of the things I seek refuge in in such moments. And thank God for the following song for it reminds me that a time will come when the issues we all face will eventually come to a resolution.

All my trials, Lord, soon be over.

I had a little book was given to me,
And every page spelled liberty.
All my trials, Lord, soon be over.

If religion were a thing that money could buy,
The rich would live and the poor would die.
All my trials, Lord, soon be over.

Too late my brothers, too late, but never mind.
All my trials, Lord, soon be over.

There is a tree in paradise
The pilgrims call it the tree of life
All my trials, Lord, soon be over.

Too late my brothers, too late, but never mind.
All my trials, lord, soon be over.
All my trials lord, soon be over.

As I have done in the past on this blog, I will be remiss if I don't at least provide you with some information on the song.

The song is called "All My Trials", an American folk song. A number of music artists such as Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Peter, Paul & Mary helped popularize it during the 1960s . The song became a popular protest song during that time, a period when protests erupted around the world clamoring for badly needed social reform and an end to the disastrous Vietnam war. The fight in the United States was over civil rights and the Vietnam war while in the Philippines and a host of other Third World nations, the fight was over social and economic reforms and non-alignment with the superpowers.

Going back to this song, it was never clear as to who originally wrote it. The Peter, Paul & Mary CD I have simply classifies the song as "Traditional", meaning the song's been around for generations that it was difficult to determine its origin with finality. The lyrics I posted above also came from the said CD. The folk singer Joan Baez added some verses to the original lyrics while Peter, Paul & Mary stuck with what seem to be the song's original words.

Regardless, the song captured the imagination of the protest movement because it helped hold out the hope that in spite of the challenges they faced fighting for what they believed in, they knew that someday, their struggles will be over.

A Lifestyle Change

One truly learns something new everyday.

I got back to New York City last Saturday night from my one-week visit to Manila. Since I was at an airport that I don't normally use on business trips because it was located more than 60 miles (about 96 kilometers) from my place, I took a car service home. As I often did on such rides, especially long ones, I struck up a conversation with the driver.

I found out that the driver had been a bar owner prior to working for the car service company. He was in his mid-forties, 44 years old to be exact. He was a Portuguese-American whose family migrated to the States when he was about four years old. He told me that he had owned and operated a bar in the town of Harrison in New Jersey for 20 years before closing it down a month or so ago.

I was a bit surprised by what he said. What? Closed a bar down? Why? Bars, especially one that lasted as long as this person's bar did, must have done pretty well. So I asked him, "What happened to your bar? Aren't bars pretty much recession-proof? Don't people drink in both good times and bad times?"

"Yes, they are recession-proof," he replied. "But a lifestyle change occurred in the last 10 years that has adversely affected the bar business."

"And what was that?" I asked.

"The internet and the gaming consoles," he said.

"What?" I asked again for I wasn't so sure if I heard him right the first time.

"The bar business got impacted by the internet and the gaming consoles," he repeated. He then went further to explain that up until the mid to late 1990s, a lot of people, especially college students and young professionals who were in their late teens through their early 30s, used to hang out in bars for hours after work or school to socialize or to watch ball games.

However, he said that that's no longer the case with young people today. He said that young people these days often stay home or hang out at another friend's house to either go online and chat with their buddies or play games on their PS3s, XBOX 360s, and Nintendos. He cited Shaquille O'Neal and a few other NBA athletes as examples because those guys had said in tv interviews that their favorite past time was to stay home and play on their gaming consoles.

The conversation was an eye-opener for me because I myself used to hang out in bars with co-workers and friends after work to relax and unwind. There was even a point when the stress at work was a bit much that we hung out in bars on a nightly basis just to de-stress. Our favorite bars in Makati City at the time were Larry's Bar (Greenbelt), Jazz Rhythms (Jupiter Street), and Rhythm and Booze on Makati Avenue.

Although I kind of felt bad for the driver because he lost his old business, I don't see the young people's switch from bars to the internet and gaming consoles as necessarily a bad thing. In fact, in my opinion, the internet and the gaming consoles could help drive home the message that one does not need to be drunk to have a lot of fun. I don't even think a lot of parents would mind seeing their child at home having fun with his/her friends rather than he/she be out in some bar somewhere getting drunk. I just think it's also much better from a safety standpoint whenever one thinks of the thousands of people that lose their lives in the United States to drunk drivers and drunk driving every year.

According to the latest statistics compiled by the organization called Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 17,602 people died in the US on alcohol-related traffic crashes in 2006. This figure translates to one death every 30 minutes. One life lost is too many. Thousands is an outrage.

Some parents and members of the older generation have expressed concern that spending too much time on the internet and on the XBOX or Playstation could negatively impact a child's social and emotional development. Their concerns are valid. However, there are other alternative activities that young people could participate in and enjoy such as team sports, theater, music, civic groups, and other activities that would help kids develop their social skills.

Man is a resilient being and gifted with strong survival instincts. He's been on the planet for millions of years and has survived a host of wars, diseases, pestilence, and disasters both natural and man-made. He has learned to tame his environment and make it work for his benefit. Given all that Man had accomplished in the past, he should still end up fine with this latest lifestyle shift. By moving his social activities away from the neighborhood bar to cyberspace while in the comfort of his (or his parents') home, he is simply replacing one form of socializing with another.

The Boys Named Goo

And even though the moment passed me by
I still can't turn away
Cause all the dreams you never thought you'd lose
Got tossed along the way
And letters that you never meant to send
Get lost or thrown away

The first time I heard both this band and this song was on my car radio as I was driving home from work one summer evening back in 1995. The song is called "Name" by a band called the Goo Goo Dolls. Up to that point, I had never heard of the band and thus I was quite unfamiliar with any of their songs and their music. As I've stated on a previous post, I tend to love songs that create a new and original sound and once I heard this particular song, I felt that it was no exception.

What impressed me was the lead and bass guitar playing. The song's guitar intro impressed me and piqued my interest. Thus, I listened to the entire song as it played out and became more impressed with the musicianship that I became an instant fan. I felt those guys were pretty damn good. Plus, the band also had a pretty cool name. Although I don't profess to have an eye for talent, I felt at the time that this band was very good and could hit it really big.

I was quite impressed that I did some research on the band. I eventually found out that the Goo Goo Dolls were actually a trio of musicians named John Rzeznik (vocals and guitar), Robby Takac (bass guitar), and Mike Malinin (drums). From the sound I heard, I had expected them to be at least a quartet. Mr. Rzeznik was both the singer and songwriter for both the songs featured on this blog entry.

To this day, I'm not sure if "Name" got a lot of airplay or even became a hit back home in the Philippines. But what I was pretty sure of was that sooner or later, one of their songs will eventually get the band the attention and admiration it deserved.

Well, the band didn't disappoint because two years later in 1997, they finally gained worldwide fame when they released what would prove to be their biggest hit song "Iris". The band was commissioned to write the song as part of the soundtrack for the movie, "City of Angels".

Both the music and lyrics were great on this song. I felt the song perfectly captured the film character's feelings of love and despair. In my humble opinion, the best words were in the first two stanzas and the chorus.

And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

I Was There

I'm proud to say that I was one of its regular customers when this place began back in the 1980s. :D The photo below was taken one weekday morning last week at GoodAh's Valero Street branch in Makati City.


I didn't realize until I saw the signage above that hung on one of the restaurant's walls (if not its only wall) that the company was marking its 25th year of existence this year. Boy, time surely does fly.

I remember that it was back in college when I became a regular GoodAh customer. It was born out of the desperate need for a very satisfying meal while on a tight budget. I was a student at the time and whatever money I had were those that I managed to save from the allowances I received from my father.

On a sentimental note, it was a favorite place to take girlfriends out to lunch or for a dinner date. As a student going out on dates, I also operated on a rather tight budget. All of the date money I had then were culled from my savings. Not once did I ever ask my parents for money to spend on dates. Aside from an independent streak, I was also careful not to let my conservative parents know that I was going out on dates. But if there's a will, there's certainly a way. I made sure that my romantic operations were conducted with utmost secrecy. :D Naks! Anyway....

The GoodAh restaurants back in the 1980s were not airconditioned as they are now. Dining was of the "al fresco" Filipino-style type. (Naks! That means dining out complete with the ever present langaw or "fly" hovering over one's plate. Hehehe) My favorite GoodAh locations were the ones on West Avenue and in Greenhills. My favorite dish was the Longsilog (with extra orders of both the fried egg and garlic rice) while my girlfriends often preferred the Tapsilog.

Romantic dinners by candle light at GoodAh became possible courtesy of MERALCO, NAPOCOR (National Power Corporation) and sometimes, even the New People's Army (NPA), whenever these folks decided to tinker with the Luzon Power Grid.

Looking back, I was glad that my girlfriends at the time were very understanding of my situation. Given that they were Chinese girls who came from rather well-to-do families, I appreciated the fact that even if eating at such a place must have been quite an adjustment for them, they remained very supportive and didn't mind that I took them to such a place. To a person, not once did I hear a complaint from them. To this day, I give them a lot of credit for that and I remain proud of them for the understanding they showed me. Plus, I give them a lot of credit for dating a less than average looking, middle class Filipino boy like me period. Hehe

Because of those dates, GoodAh brought back a lot of happy memories for me. And by having breakfast with the SO at its Valero Street branch last week, I simply added another event to my list of happy GoodAh-related memories.

Photo Credit: MQ

A Place My Heart Will Never Leave

A part of me will always remain in this city.


Makati City, the Philippines. I started working here right after college. In the four jobs I held in the Philippines prior to migrating to the United States, three of the jobs were in this city.

The place has changed a lot since the last time I was here. There are a lot more tall and impressive skyscrapers. I remember back in the day when the 28-storey Pacific Star building (the white building at the left of the photo above) at the corner of Makati Avenue and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia) opened its doors to the public. The Republic of Nauru was one of the building's owners and representatives of the island republic's government were present at the building's inauguration. The newspapers hailed it as the country's tallest skyscraper.

Now, 20 years later, what used to be its magnificent white paint has turned a rather shoddy gray thus making the building look old and neglected when compared to the shiny new skyscrapers that have reshaped the Makati skyline.

There are a lot more restaurants and high-rise residential condominium buildings. The presence of call centers have turned Makati into a 24-hour city. A city not unlike Manhattan where finding a place to eat at any hour isn't a problem, a feature that's near and dear to yours truly's heart. Hehehe

The old Schwarzwalder restaurant that used to stand at the corner of Makati Avenue and Dela Rosa street is gone. An expanded Ayala Museum now stands on its old spot. My old office building on Dela Rosa street is gone too and on its old spot now stands a tall and impressive residential condominium building. Old carpark buildings now house 24-hour restaurants on their ground floors.

The Greenbelt and Glorietta shopping areas have changed a lot mostly for the better. What I used to know as Greenbelt is now known as Greenbelt 1. The old Makati Supermarket is gone and on its old spot stands Greenbelt 3.

These days, one can pretty much walk from EDSA all the way to Paseo de Roxas without having to expose one's self to the sun's rays. That wasn't the case when I worked in the area years ago. There were no pedestrian underpasses then and the shopping centers were a lot less crowded.

Traffic hasn't improved though. Countless cars still clog its streets. The fact that a lot of Makati CBD's streets are curved and narrow do not help improve the traffic flow situation at all. Parking remains at a premium and a number of taxicab drivers still discriminate when picking up passengers.

But anyway, I was glad to spend some time in this city even for just a short while. I love the city in spite of its imperfections. Anyway, every other city in the world has its own problems. Makati City and its buildings awed me as a child and I still remember the joy I felt the day I found out that I was to work here. For me, and a lot of others who dreamt of building a career in the corporate world, Makati City was the place where one set out to make a name for one's self. And as I looked at the changes around me last week, I still believe that Makati City remains as the place to be for those who want to make a name for themselves in the Philippine corporate scene.

Photo Credit: MQ