High Blood

A thing called life is beautiful

The provenance of this veritable thing called life is the Almighty, who has endowed it…

Loneliness remembers what happiness forgets

“All by Myself.” “All Alone Am I.” “Alone Again, Naturally.” These songs with their melancholic…

Group chats across generations

My enterprising younger sister, Marlyn, and I used to have a small gift cheque business…

A rocking chair, cane, and magnifying glass

And a lot more gifts of all sorts; not that I’m some sort of a…

Seven ways to simplify life at 70

I had been looking forward to being 70, as I would be receiving my monthly…

Of babysitters and domestic helpers

I hired my first domestic helper, now called “kasambahay,” when my firstborn was seven months…

Old man river

My dream of you jolted me awake, just as it often does nowadays. I searched…

Remembering early 1960s Ongpin

A far cry from today’s Ongpin, Chinatown’s main street, it had much more character then…

Yesterday, when I was young

I was on top of the world. I would wake up refreshed to welcome a…