There are very few afternoons like this. My bi-monthly luncheon friends and I had just wolfed down a tableful of unlimited dimsum at the C...

The eternal challenge (and joy) in writing for children is painting with words. Authors like kids to actually see and feel the excitement,...

Photo 1: by Rey Torres Photo 2: by Jay Ignacio Cartel Photo 3: httpmusicfromspeakers.com/page/3

“Is that you, Grace?!” she asked, gaping as though she just saw a specter from under the ground.   “Is that you, Irma?!” I asked, duplicat...

Papaya rhymes with Eia, my niece (a well-loved chef in a restaurant in the US), who posted this photo on her FB wall.  Eia is not really...

One of my friends shared the link of my blog, “ How Old Are You? ” on his FB wall. That post is an abridged version of my talk on how it is ...

Over coffee and croissants, my balikbayan friend shared with me her recent problem with her adult son. His 15-year marriage was on the ro...

"Teachers… ultimately determine our collective ability to innovate, to invent, to find solutions for tomorrow. Nothing will ever replac...

Counting out our common love for food, my family and I have disparate likes—especially in TV shows and books. When Tony watches TV, I sleep....

It's only September but carols are already playing on the air, and now I suddenly remember that Christmas. My Auntie Pat was still liv...

The excitement of winning an award always comes in two huge waves—like tsunami invasions. First, you drown and can't immediately come ...

What I love most about book signing is interacting with readers. They say the nicest, and often, the funniest things. From morn till night...

(In line with my newly launched book, What, Me Retire ? I was invited to the OMF Literature Authors' Fellowship at the MIBF "to e...

A measly 5% of all entries.   That's how few there were from writers my age to the Palanca Awards this year. Of the 1077 manuscripts i...

These two books, published by Church Strengthening Ministry ( CSM ), will be formally launched today at the Manila International Book Fair (...

If you've visited this blog at least once, you must have glanced at my books on the right. You haven't? Please look closely and woul...

This book took 12 years to write.  The actual writing was a little over a year, but my thoughts and feelings—validated through friends an...

Fretting over the most horrific traffic that mid morning, I forgot to check my mobile phone. When I finally did, I was surprised to find it ...

A funny thing happened on my way to speak before a crowd of 800, mostly students, in a big Rotary function. I was to be the second speaker o...

The single most important principle I learned from my long stint in advertising is KISS.  Just a bit of a background: KISS is an acronym f...

She was one of my most outstanding students in Business English. Her prose was clear and well crafted, with careful attention to good gramma...

I thought I had beaten this topic (Mommy) to a pulp, but something just keeps popping up and I keep falling for it.  Okay, so I am now res...

Eons ago, I cried buckets in this church—tears of fear and joy. As a 14-year-old college freshman, a promdi (from the province), uniniti...

It was with mixed emotions (a pinch of sadness, a glob of nostalgia, and a dollop of happy remembrances) that I wrote finis to the “Oh, Mat...

Have you ever wondered why the cat and the dog are perceived by mankind to be mortal enemies?  Man even invented an idiom—passed on throug...

With the unabated rainfall in the last several days, which has caused massive floods in Metro Manila, our well-ordered schedule has degenera...

Countless episodes that involve countless people shape our lives; but our brain simply can't remember them all. There are episodes, ho...

In July every year, I don the most ill-fitting and unflattering outfit in the world—the toga. But it somehow feels right. Perfect, in fact. ...

God answers all prayers; no single prayer remains unanswered.   This thought was as dim as a starless night for me. But as I study the Wor...

First, the photograph grabbed me. Then the caption grabbed me more: Grace before meals. I echoed to myself what advertising people say w...

The remarkable thing about Facebook is, everybody remembers your birthday—as in, everyone of your FB friends who are online that day. Hu...

Outside of my home church, I have a circle of friends who don't share my faith. But when we're together, they request me to pray for...

I thank God for His grace of stoking our passion for children's literature. Please celebrate with me National Children's Book Day!

Don't fall for statistics . . . don't fall for statistics . . . don't fall for statistics . . . This I repeat to myself whenev...

To say that Facebook is like a jungle may be accurate. In one reading, as you scroll down “Home,” you get  snapshots of all forms of inhabit...

Knowing I teach Advertising/Marketing, a friend emailed me a link to images of vintage cigarette ads.  I did a few ads for a cigarette com...