FOR people who are considering bankruptcy as a way to get out of debt, some questions constantly arise. Am I doing the right thing? What other options are available? If I decide to file bankruptcy, should I file now or do it later? Filing for bankruptcy is a serious decision to make. Unfortunately, a lot…
ASIDE from the Christmas feast, Christmas carols, and gift giving, one of the highly anticipated parts of our family Christmas celebration are the games — particularly the Christmas trivia. Those who answer correctly win a prize while those who do not will have to do something crazy as ordered by the game master (my husband),…
Among the top resolutions people make when the new year comes around is getting their finances on the right track. The promise of new beginnings and the burden of self-improvement help people look back to a year’s worth of regrets. Aside from spending more time with family or trying to be healthy, we all certainly…
In both fiction and reportage, I’ve always made known that the winding down of autumn and ushering of winter puts me in a heavy and philosophical mood. I’m thinking about the deep and very private personal needs of people — a need that when met, gives us a sense of well being, one of them…
I HAVE read a lot of posts on social media bidding 2016 goodbye in the context of “good riddance” to all the challenges, losses, disappointments the year that is about to end has brought on both the personal and collective levels Indeed, it is hard to fathom how our loving God would subject us to…
ONE of the holiday anthems often played is the song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Judy Garland. But not everyone knows the story behind this song. TIME magazine contributor, Wook Kim, wrote: “The original lyrics for this lovely holiday song—written for the 1944 musical ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’—were too depressing for the…
A BLESSED and Merry Christmas and New Year to all of you! For my column this Christmas, I’d like to quote Bishop Robert Baron in one of his Advent reflections. Contrasting our personal will to God’s will and purpose in our lives, here’s what he says: “We are dominated today by the ego-drama in all…
AN important part of Christmas is buying gifts for loved ones. Filipinos are busy filling their balikbayan boxes with pasalubong, to send to their families “back home.” The pasalubong may consist of clothes, food items, electronics, or other useful items, given as a way of “sharing one’s blessings.” However, many Filipinos forget about what could…
In the early 1990’s, news travelled fast about the irony behind the label “Made in the U.S.A” attached to famous brands of clothing because it was misleading. The apparels were not actually made in mainland U.S.A. but in Saipan, a U.S. territory, one of the 14 islands in an archipelago in the Pacific ocean also…
I CAN never quell a stir of fascination, dread and longing, when the house lights dim and the curtain parts in every Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO’s) gentle riot. It is spellbound. “Enjoy whatever music floats the boat, never question your own tast. There is a world of music out there both old and new,…
DESPITE efforts by President Rodrigo Duterte to vociferously fight the drug crisis in the country, many still refuse to see its success. Whether they are guilty or not, the staggering numbers of people who have been killed cannot hide the growing level of violence and impunity in the country. The gruesome photographs of blood-soaked corpses…
CHRISTMAS is my favorite season of the year because it just makes us look at what matters most in our life, be thankful for them, and yearn to spread the joy and love with others. A fitting prelude to New Year, Christmas also serves as a good time to look back to the year that…
National tour at Hollywood Pantages Theatre until January 21 Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I” prevails as a timeless musical production that has undergone several revivals since it first premiered in 1951. Based on the novel “Anna and the King of Siam,” the story follows British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens who was hired to teach…
Thirty-two years ago, my husband left me. He died, leaving a house full of daughters, young and adorable, innocent, with the world on their side. In the face of adversity, we were not permitted to ask, “why me?” You can ask, but you won’t get an answer. Through the years, I’ve learned the hard way….
SAN FRANCISCO – You think they’ll go away. They didn’t, they haven’t and they won’t. They are not just a passing phase with cultural mileposts. They are here to stay in the heart of the Castro. The district is a world of its own: a special enclave, their home habitat where they are out and…
The city looking to combat Trump’s deportation threat IN conjunction with city officials and philanthropists, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the installation of a $10 million fund dedicated to assisting the city’s undocumented immigrants facing deportation. The announcement comes amid the historic election of President-elect Donald Trump, who has proposed stringent immigration plans, including…
LOS ANGELES — Roughly 2,000 demonstrators gathered in Pershing Square on Sunday, December 18, before marching to the steps of City Hall, where lawmakers and community leaders pledged to resist proposals by President-elect Donald Trump. Immigration was the most prominent topic discussed at Sunday’s rally, which coincided with International Migrants Day. At the event, demonstrators,…
Senior seeks Chapter 7 relief for $100K credit cards CLIENT is 52 and married. Her husband filed for Chapter 7 relief for $30K of credit card debts two years ago. At that time, I suggested to her that she should just file a joint Chapter 7 petition with her husband so that she could also get…
(And can employees use their paid sick time to care for family members?) Q: I AM a part-time hourly employee working in retail. I work between 20 to 30 hours a week. I recently got sick and had to be out for three days. I was told that I was not entitled to paid sick…
ARE you worried about your future due to having too much debt? You’ve probably heard the saying, “The failure to plan is a plan to fail”. And yet so many of us don’t realize how we so easily neglect to plan for our financial future. Ask a few people you know what kind of financial…
FOLLOWING the postings and counter-postings on Facebook of folks whom I regard as righteous and intelligent, I have frankly begun to sense that there is a new standard of right and wrong that has emerged in the Philippines with Rodrigo Duterte’s assumption of the presidency. Duterte has been widely criticized, not only by the local…
SIMBANG GABI, or dawn mass, heralds the official start of Christmas among Filipinos, kicking off in the wee hours of the morning of December 16, for nine consecutive days. This dawn mass is also a novena, and completing all nine days has been a “panata” or offering/ sacrifice as a way of preparing one’s heart…
It is not Christmas fever or holiday blues, but a full spectrum of a human condition of what is to be sick, to be cured, to lose and to triumph. This bronchial curse, you can hear inside the church, meetings or theaters like some coughing symphony that starts on cue. Some call it the sickness…
While everybody’s feeling jolly and bright, the world of beauty pageants is gearing up for the Miss World 2016 event which will be held on Sunday, December 18 in Washington D.C. It is with pride that I express my support for our candidate Ms. Catriona Gray. This 22-year-old Australian-Filipino model, singer, and blogger has been making us proud since she rose…
THERE were a lot of people at the LA Cathedral on Thursday, December 15. The rain did not stop them, mostly our kababayans, from coming to the opening Mass of Simbang Gabi. By the time that representatives of different Filipino organizations and ministries paraded their parols, accompanied by the triumphant voices of choir members from…
If the world is a stage and each has to play a part…easily then, a camera is one imperative device that will capture every single facet of one’s performance. Its importance isn’t mainly in the gadget but in the wonders it produces. Since we consistently wanted to record and preserve monumental occurrences, there ought to…
EACH month, the Visa Office of the State Department publishes, in the Visa Bulletin, the priority dates for that particular month, for the various family and employment based categories. A priority date is a person’s “place in line” for a visa, meaning immigrant visas (or green cards) would be available for persons whose priority date…
IN this day and age of health consciousness and the appreciation of the value and role of weight on longevity, interest in weight control and dieting is greater than ever, especially during holiday seasons. This leads to the question as to what controls our appetite. What triggers hunger and satiety? The urge to eat (hungry…
WHEN a legal permanent resident files for citizenship, one of the questions being asked of the applicant is whether the applicant has ever been convicted or charged with a crime. Depending on the nature of the crime committed, a criminal conviction may result in a permanent bar to an applicant for citizenship. If an applicant…
These are Filipinos who are living and working in the United States without the required immigration papers, while some have benefitted from President Barack Obama’s DREAM Act — deportation relief measures that protect these young people brought to the United States as kids and have considered America their home. However, President-elect Trump has vowed to…
