My life, writing in pandemic times
As one famous author said: “The ability to spin cocoons of language out of nothing.” It redefines news, the way it is reported, published and read. I MEASURE my life…
Category: Life & Style
Covering the week’s most noteworthy life & style news stories impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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Debunking COVID-19 myths
WITH novelty comes misinterpretation, misinformation, and myths rapidly disseminated via social media around the globe. This is what is happening with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV2 virus, the cause of the…
The Fork Initiative & Feed Our Warriors: Fil-Am groups in New York unite to feed the front-liners
For the past few weeks, we have seen small Filipino businesses and organizations come up with projects to send food and drinks to front-liners and first responders. Kabisera in the…
One and only Philippine cinema Superstar Nora Aunor turns 67 on May 21
SUPERSTAR Nora Aunor, who now resides in the Philippines, will celebrate her 67th birthday on Thursday, May 21. La Aunor, internationally known as the one and only Superstar of the…
The power of kindness
“Kind people are the best kind of people.” WHAT does it cost to be kind to others? We often think that being kind costs us something — whether it is…
Historic Filipina-owned Bay Area restaurant reopens for business
LOCATED along Bayshore Boulevard in Brisbane, California is a restaurant with a 162-year history that includes surviving the 1906 earthquake, the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak and the Great Depression in…
Despite the pandemic, Fil-Am chef Ria Barbosa’s Petite Peso opens for service in downtown LA
WITH the city of Los Angeles’ stay-at-home order that took effect nearly two months ago, restaurants have been limited to take-out and delivery, or faced the decision to close. Opening…
Our need for peace
PEACE! It’s one of the essential commodities that we need now. Unfortunately, it’s something that we cannot buy from the grocery stores or online. If we could buy it, it…
Seniors with COVID-19 show unusual symptoms, doctors say
by Judith Graham Older adults with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have several “atypical” symptoms, complicating efforts to ensure they get timely and appropriate treatment, according to physicians….
The flowers of spring
SPRING has sprung. It is upon us in a scent that grows deeper, dizzying, and improbable. It is too heady and too provocative to be diminished. Seeping through open windows,…
Protect yourself from COVID-19: Stop smoking and vaping now
By Elisa Tong, MD, MS, Associate professor of internal medicine, University of California, Davis DOCTORS like me and many other health professionals are working to treat sick patients for the…
More on COVID-19
THE international medical community is still examining, observing, and learning about this novelCorona virus, SARS-Cov-2 virus, the cause of COVID-19. Since it is new, the virus, which belongs to the…
Mindfulness as a survival skill in today’s tech crazy world
“Be present. It is the only thing that matters.” — Ways of the Peaceful Warrior I NEARLY had a vehicular accident three years ago. Operative word: Nearly. I was minding…
P-A-S-C-U-A
THIS Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday. Let’s keep imploring God’s Mercy to end this coronavirus pandemic so that businesses, governments, schools, and churches can open. We’re all eagerly waiting to…
On the throes of fear
IN some ways, getting older is an odd blessing because we have already faced some of our biggest fears and discovered that we’re actually bigger than our fears. Looking back,…
From ube drinks to lumpia: East Coast Fil-Ams feed health care front-liners
With health care workers fighting on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, several Filipino American restaurants and groups are expressing their appreciation by delivering meals and other essential supplies….
Fighting COVID-19 with C-O-V-I-D
THE curve is starting to flatten. A major factor that has reduced the viral spread, the infections, and hospitalizations is people’s final compliance with the behavioral modification recommended by the…
Jollibee brings joy home with the launch of nationwide delivery via DoorDash
As the world navigates through a turbulent time, popular fast-food chain Jollibee wants to bring some joy to customers who are staying safe at home. With the brand’s dining rooms…
Filipino supermarket chain Island Pacific launches ‘stay home, stay safe’ campaign
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Island Pacific has made the health and safety of its customers, employees, and community its top priority. Island Pacific Supermarket has launched its “Stay Home, Stay…
The power of prayer
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” —Pierre Teilhard de Chardin AT a breakfast after mass at the Holy Family…
The cross of COVID-19
HAPPY Easter! This year’s celebration of Holy Week and Easter is unprecedented for all of us Christians, for we could not gather as a community to hold masses and services…
Fil-Am restaurants band together to feed SF’s front-liners, low-income families
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Filipino Americans around the country — particularly small business owners and those in the health care field — are trying to navigate how to…
Your COVID-19 queries
FOLLOWING our columns about COVID-19 the past several weeks in this paper since the Wuhan outbreak, we received dozens of questions from our readers, which we have organized, consolidated, and…
LA County expands free testing to anyone with symptoms
Any Los Angeles County resident exhibiting symptoms of the novel coronavirus can now be tested for free, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Monday, April 7. The previous guidelines limited testing…
After COVID-19: Doctors ponder best advice as patients recover from coronavirus
by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez WHEN David Vega fell ill with the novel coronavirus in mid-March, fever, chills and nausea left the 27-year-old Indiana medical student curled up in bed for…
Love as the center of gravity
“… And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is LOVE.” THIS Holy Week when the churches are empty because of mandatory shelter-in-place isolation…
A nurse’s firsthand account amid the pandemic: ‘It’s not a matter of if, but when’
Written by Jessica H., an acute care registered nurse in Orange County I found the usual path too hectic. The walk from the parking structure to the main hospital building…
Fil-Am designers shift from dress making to sewing masks to fill shortage
For several Filipino American designers, the spring season usually brings in orders for wedding dresses, debutante gowns, and outfits for other special occasions. But amid the coronavirus pandemic, cities like…
An unprecedented Holy Week ahead
This Passion/Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. Sadly, we will not able to celebrate Holy Week in our churches because of the carnivorous pandemic. It’s a huge cross…
This is World War III
The fight against the C-19 pandemic is a war, a war of global proportions. It is World War III, although it does not follow our stereotypes of combat in wartime;…