Why it's so hard to convince some people to have a Facebook account.

After so many months of persuasion and convincing to no avail of my brother to get a Facebook account for himself, I finally created one for him using one of my "extra" email addresses just recently. However, only family are his "friends" there though, but I always wonder why some people after so much convincing still say "No" to social networks such as Facebook. (My brother in this case is still loyal to Friendster, my grade school friend only has hi5, Twitter and Formspring and is highly selective on her social networks to join.)

The reason why I created a Facebook account is that it was, by the time I first signed up, already the "new in thing", that was also during the time Friendster suffered a host of problems and they caused a user exodus, first to Multiply and now Facebook. And also my cousins in the U.S. use it (Friendster and Multiply are not popular with the youth there, there was only MySpace and MyYearbook before Facebook became popular.)

I don't know why some people don't want to join Facebook after all these years and all that convincing and forcing to let them join. Because my brother doesn't want to join my sister, my father and I in Facebook, I almost wanted to run away and eventually live on my own, somewhere far away from southern Metro Manila and northern Laguna. (There are other reasons why I want to live away from my brother, but they comprise a long story.)

Some people say that Facebook takes the focus away, and they may be right. (My blockmate is one of them, I believe.) Others say that their former enemies might add them up there, and they fear that, that's why they still haven't joined until now. But either way, let's face the reality: For the younger generation, most don't want to live without a Facebook account. You should join too. If you still don't want to, leave me a comment.

Also read this useful article if you still aren't sure if you're serious and willing to join Facebook or not.

Why I disdain Spanish names

Ever since I was a child, I have had called Spanish-sounding names "old-school", "outmoded" and "outdated". That still rings true for me today. When I was in grade school, I had only a few friends with Spanish names, with the rest having creative or English names.

If you could still remember my former blog post here about my impression with names, here's a follow up. Some Pinoy celebrities now name their children from different and/or contrasting cultures. Sometimes the naming isn't really good (say you have a Biblical name and a Japanese name - they are from contrasting cultures and that's not a good meaning to the person).

My friend gave birth to a son two Wednesdays ago. Earlier, when he was still in the womb, I predicted some name combinations for him - mostly English and American names. Only one or two were Spanish-sounding, which means to say that I really prefer American to Spanish names. But in the end, my friend and her husband gave their son two Spanish-sounding names, which in my opinion, will make him be the subject of bullies later in life. (Diego Alfonso is his name.)

Why the subject of bullies? Because not too many famous people have the name Diego and the ones we know now are of not-so-good influence. Alfonso is too outmoded, so to speak.

My opinion from two and a half years ago still hasn't changed. These are the following:

1. I think there is a trend here that ever since Martial Law, parents have started giving their children English and other non-Spanish names and over the years, they have started going creative over these (e.g. Arnel, Cheska, Paolo/Paulo, etc.)

2. Even our Muslim countrymen go with their own flow as well, also following a similar trend that sets them apart from us (Christians). But I do not count that fact here.

3. I really like the style of Chinese-Filipinos naming their children English names. They tend to follow American trends as the names from those trends are easier to pronounce, spell and translate to Chinese.

4. Last summer, when I was taking Comm III in UP Diliman, we were asked to prepare an impromptu speech about "If you were to legally change your name, what would it be and why?" I selected Morgan Grace because I like the name Morgan for some reason (I usually forget it) and Grace is a Christian value which I wish to have. But it's a fail; I don't know any Morgans.

5. Ever since the Spanish era up to around the 1950's or 1960's, Filipinos tend to name their children after saints, values and Spanish nobility names. That's not the case anymore because of globalization and baby naming by Filipinos should follow a trend - that is, in English names.

Any questions? Post comments below.

My Sacrifice for My Church

Fasting is done by Christians for various reasons such as it being a tool for enhancing the power of prayer. Even fasting as a topic in itself is found in many Biblical books and verses. Also many great Biblical characters and historically significant Christians were also men of fasting.

The church I'm currently attending is celebrating its 27th anniversary this month. This week, our pastor enjoined everyone to fast and pray every day from Monday until Sunday for a certain topic (e.g. school/work, nation, etc.)

My mom and I have chosen not to fast as in the skipping of meals or whole-day abstinence from food or drink but we chose to skip rice for the entire week until the breaking of the fast on Sunday. So far, my food bill suddenly shot up because my school's cafeteria always serves meals with rice (not too many non-rice choices), so I go outside to eat. And this fasting comes in the middle of exam week - what we call as "Hell Week" so I haven't been able to pray much and focus on my spiritual life lately - all that I have had focused is on my academic and social lives.

I think I am still not fit for fasting. :(

The Day of Labor

Last July 28, my blockmate's nephew was born and my friend had her son on the same day. Their births inspired me to do this poem.

The Day of Labor

When the waters break,

It begins the end of an amazing journey

And it is also the beginning of another one,

One that will last, hopefully, for a long time.

While this may take long,

This experience is only witnessed by those close to her

And we also experienced it when we began our lives.

The mother keeps on waiting and then pushing

Until her fruit comes out

That she has nurtured all her nine months.

When the baby finally arrives, it is the start of a whole new world

Be him the first child, or maybe the fifth or more

The parents see to it that he should develop to what they have seen

As the "fullest potential".

While we may not know what he will really become

Until he is older

Life should be appreciated by all, even the smallest ones

So that everyone gets his or her fair chance to appreciate our brood and breed.

A poem I made for my mom's cousin

To begin with, one of genealogy's wonders is what you imagine (or see) is not really what you get. I once imagined all my mom's cousins are from their 30's to their 60's. (My mom's already 60 years old as of this writing.) But, judging on these relatives' recent visit and later family discussions I only found out that my mom's youngest uncle's children (her cousins) are around my age (23 and 20 respectively as of this writing).

This poem is dedicated to all Filipino-Americans, especially the American-born descendants of our fellow countrymen, among them my mom's cousins.

Lurline

Until you came to visit us

You were one of the many "anonymous" Filipino-American children

Who never knew where your parents' or ancestors' homeland is located

Or perhaps you never know what's in store in this country.

But then, you also have not visited all the regions of your home country

You told me, you had only been up to Nevada before this trip

And now, you have visited us here

Which means to say, your family made us their top priority to visit.

I really can't believe that you're my age

We are only separated by one month

And your nephews and nieces are even older than you are

But you're still part of our extended family.

I hope that you'll make our homeland a place to visit

Later in your lives, when you have a family of your own

Even if we may have already left to work or live elsewhere

You should remember us.

I can prepare an interpretation of this poem upon request.