carabao year

I think it's wonderful to be in a country with a large ethnic Chinese population and that therefore celebrates two New Years, one Gregorian or Western, followed around a month later by the Lunar or Eastern. One is given a second chance to implement resolutions, to begin again, to reinvent oneself.

The difference I see between the two stems from the image and symbolism of one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac and its cyclical quality: while personal circumstances dictate that one's fortunes- in love, health, or finances- may fall in one year, it is nature's law that they will rise again, and vice-versa. The poet Kipling expressed it best when he said that part of maturity is to "meet with Triumph and Disaster/ And treat those two imposters just the same." Or as Vicky liked to advise, This too shall pass.

Moreover, in the Lunar New Year, one can pro-actively shape one's fate: certain acts, food, or lucky charms are traditionally believed to enhance good luck or guard against misfortune. As a Christian, I can't- and don't- believe that rituals or objects themselves possess magical or divine powers- nonetheless, they can be powerful symbols for hidden aspirations or psychological needs that produce real effects in the world.

In the Lunar calendar, yesterday marked the beginning of the Year of the Ox, though in my personal zodiac it's really the year of the carabao. I remember now my ancestors, especially my paternal grandfather Tatang, a strong farmer who lived close to the earth and plowed rice fields with the help of this resilient and gentle creature. As a child, I didn't like the farm or carabaos very much- I thought they represented underdevelopment or a lack of progress. As a college activist, I romanticized rural life and brought friends to Bukid (The Farm), sometimes dreaming of wading through mud to plant rice with the farmers. Now, with a more grounded vision, I see how my grandparents simply used the knowledge, skills, and resources available to them to create opportunities for themselves and their descendants to lead more comfortable lives.

Of course, some financial authors believe that developing sensitivity to the earth is the next big wave in business, with many companies standing to reap billions after the current crisis for going green. The oxen constellation is coming full circle: first hovering over farms, then towns and cities, and back again to nature.

What Are You Doing New Years Eve - JED MADELA

Thanks to Jed Madela for "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve."

zeitgeist

Umagang Kay Ganda - Nyoy Volante

Thanks to Nyoy Volante for "Umagang Kay Ganda."

name

Voltaire, Miro, sa collègue et moi avons pris un café dimanche matin dans un sympathique café parisien, dommage que tu n'étais pas là pour discuter dans la langue de Molière, Racine et... Voltaire avec nous!

These French words were from an email message I got last year from my friend Romain- I had mentioned to him during a chat that it was difficult growing up with a French name in a country full of Spanish and American ones, but that I had "grown into" its Versailles-like grandiloquence. When I first read them, I thought they formed the most beautifully constructed sentence (probably because I wasn't sure of what they meant!):

Voltaire, Miro, his colleague and I had coffee Sunday morning in a nice Parisian cafe, too bad you weren't there to converse in the language of Molière, Racine and... Voltaire with us!

The second Voltaire he refers to is the nom de plume of a philosopher of the French Enlightenment, François-Marie Arouet- a high school security guard once surprised me by calling him "the great agnostic." Was this evidence of the famous French wit?

Anyway, let me introduce you to the person who gave me my name and unwittingly tied my fate to that of France. He is my tatay or father Jaime, a historian and a professor: he looks so young in the picture above, it's a wonder how he raised the fireball he held in his hands.

My aunt Melia, Tatay's elder sister, twice told me that it was very quiet in the Quezon City hospital where I was born, only two days before President Marcos declared Martial Law. She and my Mom called me "Sonny Boy" and deferred giving the nurse a first name for my birth certificate until Tatay showed up: he was in hiding like many intellectuals during those days of disquiet. Hence, in my birth certificate, only my first name "Voltaire" is handwritten, proof that it was only added later on. (Actually, I have a second name... The generic Sonny Boy also stuck as a nickname: it is what members of my extended family and our friends call me up to now.)

I believe that a lot of parents unconsciously make their children, for good or ill, repositories of their dreams and our names can give us clues of what these are.

During the ISM Scholars' interview after 5th Grade, an interviewer Mrs. Cheng asked me if I knew after whom I was named. I had looked it up in Tatay's Encyclopedia Brittanica: I said I was named after a famous French philosopher. When I got home and proudly told my parents about my answer, they laughed and said, no, I was named after another Voltaire: Enrique Voltaire Garcia III, a former Editor of the Collegian, who was also an international debater, student council chairperson, and martyr during Martial Law.

Later, my friends Tricia baptized me "Rev" and Peter called me "Voltz" (with a "z") and they seemed better suited to me at certain stages: I liked them and sometimes still use them. After I myself became a Collegian Editor and a writer, however, I felt comfortable wielding the power of a name I share with two heroes- one of 18th century France, the other of 20th century Philippines- and I now use its cultural and historical narratives to enhance my life and those of the people around me.

. . .

In our walking tour yesterday, Carlos mentioned that "Lupang Hinirang," the Philippine national anthem- born of the first nationalist revolution in Asia- took inspiration from and is an "upside-down" or mirror version of "La Marseillaise," the rallying call of the revolution in France and now its national anthem. Listen for yourselves: "LH" is here and "LM" is here.

panuloy

2009 year is the year of the earth Ox and 26th year in the sixty-year cycle. As Chinese astrology tells us, the Ox sign is the sign of prosperity found through fortitude and hard work. Such a year has a straight and unprejudiced nature, though it sometimes reveals hidden secrets without due thought, inadvertently hurting someone's feelings and offending others. It should turn out to be a prosperous year for those hard thinkers and active planners who believe in and rely on teamwork, run their own business, or work independently. -2009 Horoscope

Isang Masaganang Bagong Taon at Maligayang Kapistahan ng Tatlong Hari sa inyong lahat!

Nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng biyayang natanggap natin noong nakaraang taon, kung kailan sama-sama nating isinilarawan sa ating isipan ang isang dalisay na bayan at mundo.

Noong Bagong Taon ng 2008, ipinagdasal ko na magkakaroon tayo ng kasaganahan. At sa gitna ng mga problemang pinansyal na bumalot sa mundo, nanatili ang karamihan sa ating may trabaho at nakaranas pa nga tayo ng kaunting paglaki ng ekonomiya. Maging ako'y nagulat dahil umabot sa kalahati sa kinita ng aming kumpanya noong nakaraang taon ay mula sa ibang mga bansa. Ayon sa When Markets Collide ni Mohamed El-Erian- tinaguriang pinakamahusay na librong pangnegosyo sa 2008 ng The Economist- patuloy pa rin ang paglakas ng pumagitaw o emerging na mga ekonomiya tulad ng Pilipinas, kung kayat magandang paghandaan ang mga oportunidad na dinadala ng pandaigdigang pagbabago.

Dahil may iba akong nais pagtuunan ng pansin dito sa Café Voltaire ngayong taon- halimbawa, ang mga maaring maging Pangulo sa Halalan 2010 at mga pagsubok ng ating mga kababayang tila di makasakay sa tren ng kaunlaran- humihingi ako ng inyong tulong sa patuloy na pagdarasal o pag-aasam ng kasaganahan nating lahat. Ayon kay Mateo 17:20, "Kung kayo ay may pananampalatayang tulad ng butil ng mustasa, masasabi ninyo sa bundok na ito: Lumipat ka roon, at ito ay lilipat. At walang bagay na hindi ninyo mapangyayari." Sa pananampalataya, tila mas epektibo nga kung isa-isang bundok ang ating tatahakin- ang "bundok na ito"- imbis na sabay-sabay.

Mga resolusyon sa 2009:

1. Mag-ehersisyo ng lima o anim na araw bawat linggo (inspirasyon ko rito ang programa ni Barack Obama sa Men's Health)

2. Pagsusuri ng mga oportunidad sa Tsina at Rusya, dalawang malalaki't may impluwensyang mga bansa sa hilaga.

Pinoy Ako (Pinoy Big Brother Theme) - Orange and Lemon