This is the second Christmas I am spending with the BusinessMirror as editor of the Envoys & Expats section.
Beyond all the issues, concerns and problems that I encountered, what I am most proud of is the fact that every Sunday, we are able to come out with a section that is always fresh and filled with articles and columns that we painstakingly gather and write from a new perspective.
At the end of the day, with every issue that we come out with, my only wish is for our readers to have fun reading the pages and, hopefully, learn something new from them, takeaways that they can carry around in their jobs and in their daily lives.
Over the last two years or so, I am proud of what we have accomplished here in this section. We have evolved the pages and our readers have continuously grown in numbers, even after the BusinessMirror web site had encountered problems.
You have seen the bylines in this section. Beyond our publisher T. Anthony Cabangon Chua and our Editor in Chief Jun Vallecera, I could not be thankful enough for the yeoman’s work done by Danielle Gabriel and Recto Mercene. I am also very thankful for the contributions of Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco, who always makes herself available when called upon.
Then there are our columnists, who double as real close friends of mine. Thank you very, much Cristina Moricca, for being there with me on this adventure almost from the start. Thank you very much, also to Mike Grogan and Tom Graham—two good friends who are more Filipino than most of us.
Not to be forgotten also are editorial coordinators Faye Pablo and Alleana Chua. These two are the best at multitasking, and are always ready to assist and facilitate any requests to the best of their abilities.
But beyond the names that you see appear in the pages of this section, there are people behind the curtains who make sure that we put out the best pages possible for our readers. They are people who I admire a lot inside the office, and they deserve a lot of credit for the success of the section.
So, maybe, even through this column, a little spotlight can be placed on them. And since today is Christmas, I asked Niggel Figueroa, our layout artist and the entire proofreading team, led by Maricel Davad, for their best Christmas memory and their wish this Christmas Day.
Niggel is such a talented layout artist but is really not big on words. He just lets his work do the talking. His best memory of Christmas was when, as a child growing up, he and his mother would visit all his ninong and ninang on Christmas Day no matter where they lived. Did anyone hide from them?
As for this Christmas, all he is wishing for are new motorcycle accessories. Now I do not know what they would be specifically, so you just have to approach him. You just have to be warned. He is the shy type.
I am lost for words as I am very much touched by what Ms. Maricel wrote. Read through it and you will understand.
“In 2013, Zoe, my daughter, who was 6 years old then, used to keep this Mr. Doolittle cookie jar that she uses as her money jar. She said she is saving up so that she can buy her dad a farm, animals and all, so that we will not have to go to work and we are just going to have to grow our own food. She would always tell this plan to us every time she puts money in the jar.
“‘Look,’ she would announce, ‘I think it will not take long before this fills up, and then I could buy you guys that farm!’
“In October 2013, Supertyphoon Yolanda struck, and thousands of people were made homeless. Lots of people could not celebrate Christmas like they used to. When Zoe heard that our church was accepting donations for children affected by the typhoon, she readily volunteered her farm money.
“When asked why, she said, ‘Just because.’ When pressed for details, she said, matter-of-factly, ‘The farm can wait.’ That moment was memorable for me, because, as a mother, I felt a sense of accomplishment in witnessing my child growing up to be a selfless and compassionate person, ready to give up her precious farm so she can help others in need, ‘just because.”’
And for this Christmas, we all want what she wants for her family. Get away from work and the maddening traffic in the city, even for awhile.
“Homeschooling your daughter while working full time is no mean feat and my family could all use a vacation on a beach without worrying about deadlines and the traffic. Specifically, it would be a few days on Batanes, or anywhere with a beach, no Wi-fi and no traffic in sight.”
For Angelica Faye Tolosa, Christmas last year was the most memorable. Faye is correct when she pointed out that beyond the celebrations, we should put Jesus in the center of it.
“December 25 is my grandfather’s death anniversary and my family yearly prepared food and we just stayed at home. That was until last year, when we spent Christmas in Baguio City. My mother and I were in charge of buying food for our noche buena.
“Everything seemed to go wrong. We wanted to buy pizza and roast chicken, but the pizza place was already closed. When we were trying to go back to our transient house, no taxi would pick us up. It was almost 9 p.m., it was getting too chilly, we were hungry and carrying heavy stuff. I was already getting upset, until I remembered that none of those things really mattered.
“What mattered is that I was going to spend Christmas with my family, and that these celebrations would be meaningless if not for Jesus—the reason for this season. After realizing this, we were able to contact others left at the transient house to fetch us.
“We prepared our noche buena, prayed and ate together. The following day, we went to Baguio First United Methodist Church for the Christmas service and then toured Baguio City. It is my best Christmas memory [to date] because I got to spend it with the people I love.”
This Christmas, Faye’s wish is to be able to forgive people who have hurt her and to be able to ask for forgiveness from those she has hurt. Trust me guys, we should all be doing this.
For Aira Igharas, it is all about friendship. It reminded me that I have yet to meet with my closest friends this holiday season.
“Christmas Day is probably one of the most celebrated holidays. But for us, we usually don’t celebrate that particular holiday, so I’ll just talk about the best memory I have a few days before Christmas Day last year—my good friend’s 21st birthday. We, Gab Gubler and I, planned a surprise celebration for Mona Urie. We blindfolded her, took her in a car, drove for hours and brought her to a place we rented.
“It was very memorable to all of us because it is an epic night. The car broke down, it was raining really hard and we got lost, a lot of times. But fail moments with these people is still an indelible beautiful memory.”
“We had blueberry cheesecake with lighted sparkling candles; gave her a box of her favorite stuff and a sunflower; and had a long, good sleep [what we really wanted to have]. I think, no matter what, moments with these two would always be memorable.”
Aira’s wish this year is to find genuine happiness and to be able to share it. She also wants to have good health, since she has been sickly for most parts of the year. Aira also wishes to explore the most beautiful places.
Meanwhile, Issa Quirante’s best memory of Christmas is about family. To me, they are far more important than the work we do.
“My best Christmas memory is the one when all my siblings were present to celebrate it with the whole family. That was before two of them had to go abroad for better opportunities. Since then we’ve never been complete again every Christmas, which makes it bittersweet, yet worth remembering.”
Issa’s wish this Christmas is good health for her family, friends and loved ones. She also wishes for a set of reading glasses for the proofreading department. Issa also wants more love and positive vibes next year.
Just like Issa, Jae Denise Adolfo’s best Christmas memory is about her family getting together to celebrate the special day.
“Christmas is my favorite season, because I love how everyone in the family gathers around the table and remember the birth of our Savior. My memorable Christmas is back around 2006, where my family is complete during Noche buena, because my mom, uncle, aunt and cousins are now staying in Dubai.”
Jae’s wish this Christmas is for everyone to be happy and jolly, especially her friends and family including her Lola Connie, Lolo Busoy brother Coby, boyfriend Ramon, and close friends Darwin and Michael.
Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to all of you. The work that you do have touched a lot of people’s lives.
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For comments, suggestions and reactions, e-mail raalzona@yahoo.com.