Inspiring Anecdotes

Have A Blessed Season of Lent

Inspiring Anecdote:

The Woman And The Hurt Spice 

Hilda (in white jacket) enjoys her time with her friends abroad.

By Pepin 

As from the words of Erma Bombeck, “There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.” Yes, woman, despite being considered as the most beautiful above all creation, possesses a fragile heart. 

Hilda, a 37-year old Filipino mother and wife to a chef, sees herself as a woman, who has experienced the discomfited effects of hurt and defeat. The predicaments that she has encountered in the past dwindled her self-esteem and brought her at the welcoming edge of recoil. “It is very difficult to raise yourself when you are engulfed with problems. Often times, I just let myself experience defeat so that I can start all over again.” 

Hurting is a natural process, yet people regard it as an awful-tasting medicine for kids. No one would dare to experience it, and many would find an alternative route to avoid it. But reality will not be reality without it, and no absolute escape plan can junk the process. 

After all, life won’t be as delectable as it should be without the “hurt spice”. Even the greatest women of history were all products of abrasions that remain imperishable. 

Defeat is rough, but it leaves marks that reinforce the person. As for Hilda, her positive outlook towards hurt and defeat shaped her to what she considers herself right now – a firm person. “I want women to remember that in every challenge, there is pain; and in every pain, there is a lesson learned. This entire experience will help mould a more mature and positive person,” she added. 

When asked what would possibly hurt her at this point of time, Hilda thought deeply and found a cliché response, “Betrayed by my husband.” She hid her face with an embarrassed laugh, but she admitted that it is one of her greatest fear. 

But despite the leeway, she remained optimistic. After all, her husband considers her as his strength and their love will reign supreme. “I feel blessed because I have him. If ever there will be another major trounce in my life in the future, I already have someone beside me to help me conquer the test.”

Inspiring Anecdotes:

The games I used to play

By Pepin

It’s a pity to see children getting hooked on their laptops and PSP’s playing online games. Kids these days do not get too much of enjoyment as what I have experienced when I was eight years old. They are often seen locked on the four corners of their bed room during weekends, and their after-school schedule on weekdays is mostly dedicated to fantasy games.

Departure time at school was at four thirty in the afternoon when I was in the second grade. By the time I reached home, I usually spent an hour playing tumba patis, tintin-bika, pityaw, sikyo, and other local games that were passed on to us by our elder brothers and sisters. Those were the days that I used to enjoy a lot because playing with other kids defined my childhood years.

However, I have seen tremendous changes nowadays. With the technological advancements getting more advanced and with every software and password-secured sites easily accessible to children ages seven to ten, the native games we want to teach to the younger generation today is slowly losing their mark and their cultural value is fading away as well. Kids do not mind not learning these stuffs because they are being spellbound by the colors and incredible visual effects of online gaming, and they do not have to get sweaty and change their shirt from time to time unlike when they will be running in the street or in a vacant lot.

Playing outdoors gives more benefits for children. From my personal experience, I’ve learned how to interact with other children and I have become unbiased. It also allowed me to use my critical thinking skills, especially in employing strategies to win against the opponent team. In addition, I have developed my leadership skills and I have become more organized in my day-to-day living. It also helped shaped my values and armed me with skills to face everyday challenges.

So what will happen for kids getting too much of the indoors? I believe that they would simply grow up with so much hesitations and insecurities about the world around them. Not to mention, they will have poor interaction skills, and when they will become professionals, they will truly regret of not getting much of the sun and fun during their childhood years.

I hope to see another group of kids aiming for a tiny tin can on a rough ground; running to save their team mates and saving their home base. Tumba patis, tintin-bika, pityaw, and sikyo is more than just a sweaty game, it will make every kid believe that their imagination can actually work in reality.

Inspiring Anecdotes:

A Blossoming Business And 

A Tradition To Keep

By Pepin

Panay Mud Pie embarks on the blossoming month of May with Babes Flower Shop on the spotlight. Located at Iloilo’s City Central Market, this sixteen year old business establishment has brought a lot of colors to the lives of the Ilonggos for many years now.

“Roses, Anturiums, Malaysian Mums, and Chrysanthemums – we’ve got all the beautiful flowers that you could ask for,” exclaimed Nanay Jackie, a 40 year old flower vendor who is more than proud of what her small business had attained in more than a decade of existence. She considered herself as a flower expert and an effective businesswoman. 

But her business has not been as vivid as her pretty flowers. Often times the profits are insufficient to feed hungry mouths back home and to pay for overdue bills. Increasing prices of flowers from her suppliers in Cebu, Baguio, Negros Occidental, and Guimaras also cause a terrible distress on her business. Not to mention, oil price hike and the nonstop increase in the cost of basic commodities and services prompted her to keep tight on her budget and do well on her business. 

“People think that we earn more during Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, but they do not know that it is really hard to convince customers to buy our products,” she added. She was quite upset because she can’t do anything about people who already ignored the flower-giving tradition during special occasions. For years, social media and the mobile phone technology have simplified this old habit in various ways. 

In fact, the young generation right now can just upload a photo of red roses, add a three-word greeting on it, and tag it to fifty friends in their social media page. This is an ultra-modern concept of flower-giving that allows them to save time, effort, and most of all money. 

But Nanay Jackie is not losing hope for her business. Time will come that people will realize the importance of giving flowers as gifts during birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day. “It is still different when you give a stem of red rose to your love ones, because the genuineness of your intention is there and the essence of true love is there.” 

Today, Babes Flower Shop is not only selling individual stems of roses, carnations, and daisies, but it also offers flower arrangement for church weddings and other special occasions for a very reasonable price. Other products and services include bouquet arrangement, flower arrangement for funerals, and floral corsages.

Contact Numbers: 

(+63)920-6959108

(+63)918-4505044

(+63)999-5094473

Inspiring Anecdotes:

Early Morning With Oysters

By Pepin

How hard is it to prepare oysters? For this guy, it is as hard as waking up as early as five in the morning and scrubbing them one by one until they don’t have anymore mud on it. That’s always the case if you want to be the first one to get some customers and earn an income for the family.

Sad to say, but this guy will be working for almost eighteen hours just to sell his oysters. It is not that easy to do trade with these hard shells, especially that he has a lot of competitors who are also improving their business to lure buyers. Not to mention the risk of cutting his hands with a knife, which he uses to open these oysters after they were cooked. Moreover, any rain cloud up in the sky means that business will not be that satisfying as people would often not eat oysters during wet seasons for reasons that these are contaminated by dirty water (many would claim it that way).

But for this guy, life must go on, especially if selling oysters will feed his family three times a day, and will give his children a chance to experience a good education. It’s indeed a tough job, but definitely rewarding.

Inspiring Anecdotes:

Chances for Big Bucks

by Pepin

Business opportunities boom in Iloilo as two of its major festivals, the Dinagyang Festival and the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, draw near during the first month of the year. And for a business-minded individual, this means lots and lots of money at stake. It is inevitable that people who will be crowding the city will be buying something that will satisfy their needs, and a herd of vendors in the streets will provide them with that, of course for a corresponding cost.

This idea pushes a lot of ordinary folks to become instant entrepreneurs. Most of them will be selling street foods, bottled water, and other beverages. While some will be vending balloons, toys, and souvenir items. But going into business for the month-long celebration requires hard work, for the reason that competition in trade also rises as the number of consumers increases.

To be in the competition, a street trader must think of ways on how to attract consumers. Spectators roaming around the city will scrutinize one product from another, and the persuasive skills of the vendor really matters. Aside from business talks, some would put up banners and decorate their stalls as decently as they can. Others will try to utilize ear-splitting sound systems, and there are a few who will be coming up with unique names and slogans for easy recall of their business.

Any of these schemes works, but at the end, consumers will still be after the quality of the products being sold. It is still important that the value of the product will not be compromised, and that the consumer will really appreciate the worth of his or her money. Moreover, when the quality is preserved, people will keep on coming back to buy the product and that’s when prosperity in business begins. A bibingka vendor shared to me, “We are coming up with ways on how to make our product unique since there are at least fifteen of us selling the same product around the plaza, and almost all the bibingka being sold by these fifteen vendors may have a similar taste. Ours will be different.”

No matter how tough the competition is, it all boils up by saying “It is part of the business world.” The one-month long celebration may end, but the profits that these small businessmen have raised will go a long way.

Inspiring Anecdotes:

Touch and Sight

by Pepin

Ilonggo women are well known for their “consoling touch” that makes them lovable. But in the downtown streets of Iloilo, there is a woman who touched my life a lot. The way that she let me feel her is not thru the caress of her bushed hands, but by her inspiring story on how she survived life despite her disability and the demands of people around her.

She hasn’t seen how the world looks like since birth. Her sight is indeed her greatest downfall, but this did not stop her in believing for something greater and more rewarding. Her faith lies in God, whose image may be unclear to her at the moment, and to every penny dropped in her small tin can. The dusty and busy streets in front of her are still unfathomable pictures of how taxing these are to people with complete sight.

Whether I believed in her or not in the first place, for her, she is proud to share how she successfully sent her daughter to college. This was her most treasured story that made me consider believing in her words. No, this was not because she convinced me, but because she talked with her heart and I believe that the concept of pretence was not carved on this old woman’s discernment.

She touched me deeper that my heart and soul were besieged. This woman defined to me the real essence of a consoling touch that every ilongga is known for. And I believe that it is not with the use of the hands, but of the heart.

Inspiring Anecdotes:

For More Fresh Catch

by Pepin

Fishermen are common characters found around Panay Island. Their everyday task is simple – to gather some fresh products of the sea. An uncomplicated mission it may seem, but it requires brawny arms to paddle the banka (boat), and a sturdy spirit that is prepared to work against the mighty forces of colossal waves.

Work starts before sunset sets in and the waiting period until midnight maybe a waste of time for some. But for the reapers of the sea, every second of their cold night quests counts. Their patience matters most, especially when the foodstuffs in the ocean are gradually becoming scarce.

At the end of their duty, a bountiful catch and a cooperative weather are indeed big blessings. These are little things that most city-dwellers nowadays fail to appreciate. It may be a waste of time and effort, but the small amount of funds in exchange for their catch goes a long way – education of their children, daily expenses of the family, and financial aid in times of bad health.

So, the next time you pass by the talipapa (wet market) and you heard vendors shouting lukus (squid), bangrus (milkfish), or hipon (shrimp), remember that these are some of the gifts of nature that our brave fishermen unwearyingly gathered for us, and we should be grateful enough for their courage.