Up Yours!

Up yours, mister!

First posted 04:29am (Mla time) Aug 20, 2005
By Katrina Holigores
Inquirer News Service



Editor's Note: Published on page C2 of the August 20, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


COME rant with me. Has the past week (or weeks) been rife with frustrations? Have you or the people around you been screwing up royally? Texts gone unanswered, clients non-committal, phone calls never returned, delays, misunderstandings, plain old incompetence slapping you left and right?

Well, if you are like any normal hot blooded individual I can bet with my own blood boiling in my veins that you came pretty close to just losing it or fuhgeddahbout-ing whatever it was you wanted to achieve. I remember seeing a T-shirt once upon a time with the very funny (albeit pathetic) slogan, when all else fails …lower your standards. Well, today, despite what I wrote above, I’m going to tell you to up yours… standards that is.

Obviously, we cannot change the world in a day. Or even in a hundred, but we can certainly do our part to make sure that on our little patch of earth, we are contributing in a positive way to the rest of society. Unless you are born without any human compassion, or a conscience, then it may be time that you start throwing mundane excuses out the door. It’s not about living a normal life, it’s about living an extraordinary existence. Sounds too poetic, overly dramatic and damn near unachievable right? Well, as vehicular tycoon Henry Ford was once quoted “Whether you think you’re going to fail or succeed, you’re absolutely right.” If you don’t even try to be a cut above the rest, then you have already banished yourself to be just like the rest. So again, when everyone else has lowered their standards… up yours.

But everyone comes late you say, so? If you are to be known for something then let people know that you are considerate enough with the awareness of time to allow for more things to be achieved during the day. Hey, the world does not and never will revolve around you, bigshot, that’s what the sun is for. If people around you have lowered their expectations of time-keeping then up yours. If you are heading a group, whether as a manager, president, or just head of your school org then set an example. If you dictate a time and place to meet, make sure to do whatever it takes to be there according to what you have set. It doesn’t matter if everyone else lags behind, you look to yourself as the leader. If it happens often enough, the more valuable members of your group will take note of that, and hopefully up their own practice of time management. All in all, you set an example, and at least you can say you did your part, even in a perceived small way. Time is gold as the cliché goes.

Mean what you say. Paying lip service is such an ingrained way of life in our country, “I’ll call you,” “I’ll get back to you” is a promise, not a conversation ender. If you need to tell someone that you are not going to make it, not going to give them the job, not going to see them, then they deserve to know. If others have reduced themselves to saying just about anything in order to end something, then step up. Be a man, or a woman, and mean what you say. You have committed to someone else a response, and they in turn have trusted you to keep your word. It’s just a phone call, or a text to say yes or no, how much time does one need to do that. You have the hottest phone/PDA and/or iBook in the market with Wifi capabilities… and yet they never hear from you again. (Twilight Zone soundtrack) I assume that you don’t like to be kept hanging, or more appropriately termed made “bitin” so why would you assume anyone else would?

Oh, and as a footnote… flakes… should only belong in cereal, snow and uncared for scalps. You plan not to show up? Let them know… you have no intention of going? Let them know too, in the nicest possible manner. “I’ll try” I have come to learn is a very weak, tail between the legs “No.”

Maybe I am too idealistic, and maybe my expectations are too high. But honestly, I am convinced that there are loads of people out there from the very young to the very old who still believe in progress, and not just on the economic scale but on the maturity one. It is simply the awareness that there are others who have taken a risk in you by believing that you will deliver what you say you will. They have made the effort to be available when you say to be available and they also put their faith in your sincerity. So, as we enter into another weekend, you may want to look at the quality level of life of your peers and colleagues and decide if it’s time to up yours. End of rant.

Four Golden Tickets

Four Golden Tickets

First posted 02:58am (Mla time) Aug 06, 2005
By Katrina Holigores
Inquirer News Service



Editor's Note: Published on page C2 of the August 6, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

YES, BY now you’ve probably watched Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and yes, there were five, not four, golden tickets. It’s not a typo but yes (sheepish grin) a cheap trick to get you to read this. If you have not had the opportunity to watch Tim Burton’s adaptation of Roal Dahls bittersweet storytelling of a rather dark Peter Pan type character (and I don’t mean Michael Jackson) taking five different kinds of children into his Chocolate filled Neverland then go. At the very least, it will be a venerable feast for the senses, and you may enjoy the incredible CG effects the movie has in store. Today let’s explore a different kind of factory, one that is held up by four golden pillars. Pillars, which if left uncared for, will cause a serious meltdown.

The first pillar is the body. What have you done to it lately? For every gym and fitness center that opens up, about ten new fast food outlets open right along with it (or right beside it). It seems to be a vicious cycle. What do you do to your skin? Have you checked the ingredients of the products that you use at least once a day? How much exactly do you know about proper nourishment and stress relieving practices? Fad diets, accessibility to dietary medication, technology that promises to give you a whole new you in an instant has whittled down the discipline of working things from the inside out.

Second pillar

The second pillar is the mind. Like TV addict Mike in the movie, we have become fixated on the box. The convenience of being visually spoonfed dramatic stories, gossip, violence, sex, new musical idols, etc., has caused deterioration in our own imagination. Because of the availability of entertainment via the boob tube 24/7 we have turned our mind into a vacuum rather than a machine of creation.

The third pillar is the heart. Do you feel that you may have lost the ability to express yourself? Or is there a general feeling of numbness within you? The word that may describe this is “manhid” or indifferent, even apathetic. The heart that normally bursts forth with emotion is now subdued and waits rather miserably within your chest. Due to the increasing instability and bad news blues brought to us via every media vehicle out there, we would rather not say or feel anything that will bring us more grief, or cause more hurt.

The fourth pillar is the soul. Spirits may be on an all time low. Sure there are a lot of party places to relieve you, but these are temporary fixes. Yup, you know the feeling, you’re pretty much flying until you wake up the next morning, and you have to trudge your way through the rest of your day.

Awareness

I’m going to stop now, because my intention is not to depress, but to raise awareness of certain issues that you may have swept under the carpet instead of facing them. I’m here to offer you alternatives and there is no better time to explore your options than now; in fact, these may be wonderful ways to celebrate the last quarter of 2006.

For the body: The Wellness Institute offers classes on Herbology, Bionutrition, Aromatherapy, Homeopathy, Anatomy and Physiology as well as serves as a center for holistic diagnostic and inner health checkups. Have your blood analyzed, get a biological terrain assessment (BTA) and see how your systems are (or not) performing to their optimum. Check them out at www.wellnessinstituteinternational.com or call 6317794

For the mind. Get inspired, start to create. A group of cinematographers, photographers, painters have come together to form the Blacksoup Artspace which offers a chance to see exhibits, short films and to take courses in digital photography, filmmaking and storytelling. You can e-mail blacksoup_projectartspace@yahoo.com or call 4398838 to find out schedules.

Feel again

For the heart. It’s time to feel again, and this October, the prestigious Writing Salon Workshops is coming to the Philippines. American poet James Navé and American screenwriter Allegra Huston (daughter of legendary director John Huston) will conduct workshops in Boracay. To see what’s in store go to www.thewritingsalon.net or e-mail info@thewritingsalon.net.

For the soul. The possibilities are ENDLESS. But start with a cause. Yours. There are so many people in need of your special skills. Perhaps your guidance, your strength, your talents, abilities that only you possess that could ease the lives of others. There are many institutes out there that will welcome your presence with open arms, but first you must decide in what way you want to give BACK. Think bigger than yourself and, maybe, create a personal mission statement. Find inspiration in this. And soon, you will inspire others. Your four pillars need care and attention so that the factory that is you will not have to close down anytime soon.