A Guest Post for Bing of I Love/Hate America

Viviene Coyne, fondly called Bing by her friends, is one woman you could not fail to notice in the blogosphere because of her undaunted style of presenting her thoughts and stories.


She talks about her life as an immigrant in the US , and many more in her blog I Love/Hate America. I feel honored to have been invited to be a guest writer in her blog with my story.

A Duet Back in Time - Martina Mcbride and Elvis Presley

Cutting edge technology has made almost anything possible now. We have witnessed how movies have evolved using the “green screen” where directors can virtually put the actors into the center of a scene without them going to the locations themselves. There was even a “rumor” about an actor doing all his dangerous and adventurous scenes in the confines of the production studio.

Here is one video in which MARTINA MCBRIDE is transported back in time to join ELVIS PRESLEY-The American Idol of All times (in the 1970s) in this duet entitled: “Blue Christmas”. Enjoy!

Video from: ElvisFanatic1

The Kreativ Blogger Award from Holly

This “Kreativ Blogger Award.” was given by Vivian Zabel, president of 4RV Publishing and author of the blog, "Brain Cells and Bubble Wrap", to Holly Jahangiri of the blog "It's All a Matter of Perspective: Mine"

Holly , also the author of the children's book - "Trockle" - has now passed on the award to me. Thanks, Holly.

The mechanics is to write "Seven Things About Me That People Might Find Interesting" and then pass on the award to bloggers whom you think are "kreative." The rules are found below. I lifted this verbatim from Holly's site:


Start of excerpt

The “Rules”

Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

End of excerpt

So here are the seven things about me that you may find interesting:

1. I love music and I could carry a tune. Perhaps if I had started training while I was still young, then I would have developed this talent. Unluckily, this was not granted so I just sing in the confines of my room, or in the comfort room....he he he...My favorites are Kenny Rogers, Carpenters, ABBA, Mariah, Celine, Westlife, and Savage Garden.

2. I have acrophobia, most people do. But it's different with me, I only fear high-rise buildings and not mountain peaks or flying; the ground seems to be beckoning, ouch!

3. I once wrote a sci-fi short story which I believed was my best. I had created an entirely new world for it, with matching vocabulary; but alas, it was rejected by all local magazines while some of what I thought were not so good were accepted. I don't know where that manuscript is now.

4. My next project after the Inspirational Book is a poetry magazine with three poets - Zorlone and Roy and of course me. I am still deciding whether to include other poets. I'm so excited about this, as this would be with colored pictures. I hope you'll reserve a copy. The first one will be available by first week of October.

5. I love crossword puzzles. Whenever I find one, I try to answer it, but I never bought a book on crossword puzzles. Come to think of it, perhaps I'll buy one soon.

6. I played the quitar when I was in college, sang James Taylor, Carole King , John Denver and even the Stylistics. I played for the church choir too.

7. I hate hypocrites. Pompous people who believe that they alone have the monopoly of all the goodness and virtues that God has handed down to humans. People who fulfill their religious rituals exceptionally well, but who are indifferent once they are outside the confines of their churches. Well, I am hypocritical too at times but I don't shout to high heavens that I'm better than anyone else.

So these are the things I hope you'll find interesting about me. The other more shocking truths, I have to keep them to myself.

I would like to pass this award to:

Aleluia Sanjuan a.k.a Punky Paige of PunkyPaige.com . Her blog is one creative venue for anything under the sun from political commentaries, to poems, to videos, to random thoughts and many more. It would surely take a very enterprising blogger to come up with various posts in different categories.


I also passed this on to anyone who thinks he/she can be creative.

Feel free to post this in your blog. Happy Blogging!

Incidentally, I have new posts:
My Blogging Friends.
A Poem for My Son (in Zorlone's Blog)

I Survived Raising My Teen

I got married at a very young age; that was why when my children were growing up, I simultaneously learned how to be a responsible adult and a good mother as well. It was a Herculean task! But I was an optimist (and still am), so I bravely faced all the challenges with a grain of salt and a smile on my face. I had to perceive these experiences as fun and joyful because they were peppered with humorous episodes along the way.

These are a few of those joyful memories that I and my son experienced in our quest for maturity.

When my son had his first crush, he went on all day and night, bugging me about what would be an appropriate gift for her on Christmas day. After we did our rounds at the mall, we decided on a cute pink teddy bear. He was so excited when we finally bought it. The party came and he was literally bouncing with joy. At last! he can now express his feelings. I was as excited as he was. He wrote his letter and tucked it into the arms of the teddy bear before requesting me to wrap it. He went to the party with a lilt in his steps as I waited anxiously at home.

When he came home however, he was sad and sullen. "What happened? She didn't like the gift?" I asked worriedly.

" Well, she didn't want to accept it," he replied sadly

"Why?" I inquired, surprised.

"You see mom, it was not her name on the gift card" he exclaimed , and there were tears in his eyes.

My heart stopped for one interminable minute. What name did I write? Was it Cindy? Or Claire? In my haste and excitement, I didn't double check with my son.

"I wrote Cindy," I said mortified. "I did."

"Well mom, her name is not Cindy, it's Claire!"

You could just imagine how I felt. I was thinking how dumb I was not to have verified her name! I reprimanded him for not double checking the card himself. But eventually I had to apologize because it was clearly my fault. We were both so excited and I had inadvertently made a mistake.

I was worried that this first "girl- experience" might traumatize him . My worries were unfounded however, because after two days, he came to me and said: "Don't worry about it now , mom. If she couldn't understand a simple explanation, then I don't think we could hit it off as friends," and with that, the matter was conveniently forgotten.

We had learned a lesson though. In his succeeding gifts, he made sure he wrote the cards himself. He still asked for help when deciding on what to buy and when gift wrapping; and yes, sometimes I still wrote the names, but he always double-checked them before handing them over to the recipients.

Another event that made a mark also in his teen years was the time that he was establishing his adulthood. He was a college sophomore then and fraternity was the "in" thing. The concept among his peers was that: you were not a "man" unless you belong to a fraternity. The problem was that in previous cases, the process of their "neophyte initiation," serious injuries occurred and some even resulted to death.

This made me very nervous and I was praying to high heavens that they would leave him alone. He; however, was not spared. He came to me one morning with that dilemma in his mind. A classmate was recruiting him for a certain fraternity.

I had to consider that he was no longer a young child whom I could command according to my wishes; that in the end, he would be responsible in deciding what course of action he would be embarking on.

It was serendipity that one of my students was an ROTC officer and they were enlisting new recruits for officer's training.

" You don't have to prove you're a man, " I said with all the confidence I could muster. Earlier, I had talked to my husband about this and he had assured me that we had brought up our son well and he would have to decide correctly on his own.

"Only those who are not sure of themselves will have to prove themselves, " I said to my son.

"I know mom, but I would like to join primarily because I want to strengthen my physical stamina and learn how to be a good team player."

"Okay, I have a more attractive alternative, " I winked at him. " The ROTC will be training new recruits for their staff. I don't have to enumerate the benefits you could reap from this, if you pass their intensive training."

To make the story short, he opted for the ROTC officer's training. He had undergone one month of rigorous physical and mental training. The last day of their training was what they called the "Hell Day", where they would have an overnight stay at the school grounds. I have heard that they were physically manhandled and severely exhausted by their training officers on this last day. Whoever could not make it on that particular event, would be eliminated.

So there I was, so high strung , even summoning my student to ask if the rumors were true. He just smiled and said: " Trust your son, Ma'am."

I could not relax though. When it was nearing midnight I stormed the school gates demanding to be allowed inside the campus. The kind security guard allowed me in when I refused to leave.

My son's face was a mask of embarrassment when he saw me. The Officer In Charge however was accommodating. He even offered me a seat as their guest of honor and I had a bird's eyeview of what was happening in the entire field.

They were going from one training officer to another and they were made to do exercises (crawling below a barbed wire fence, kneeling on peas for several minutes, running around the field until the officer told them to stop, etc. etc.) I felt exhausted just by looking at them.

After sometime, there was a nudge on my shoulder. I turned to face my son who said: "Mom, don't worry about me. I'll be okay. You're the only parent who's here, please don't embarrass me. "

He bent, kissed me and whispered :" I love you," and before I could reply, he was off in a flash, back to his marathon.

I stood up and felt hot all over. What a fool I was! Indeed, I was the only parent in the oval. I waved at their OIC and left hurriedly, assuring myself that my son would be fine, that I had nothing to worry about. He came home the following morning with raw bruises and minor wounds - but he was alive!

Of course, he graduated from the ROTC officer's training the following week , with flying colors! As I stood there proudly, pinning his medal, I learned another lesson: I was there to guide him, but he has to tread his own way to manhood.

Presently, at age 31, he is the youngest major in the regional military camp here in our locality; and had been assigned as the OIC of one big division.

There are still numerous events that we both encountered in his growing up years, but suffice to say that raising my son was a great learning experience not only for him, but also for me. I would like to categorically state that I had survived raising my teen, and what a wonderful journey it was!


Photo by: mikebaird

Are You Afraid to Die?

If this question would be asked, what would be your answer? To be honest about it, my answer varies according to the mood I am in. At times, I would tend to say yes, there are times, I simply do not care.

I am afraid to die because I don’t know the method in which the scythe of death will take me. Will it be painful or painless? I have very little tolerance for pain and this is what I fear the most.

I don’t want to die yet, because I have several things in mind to do –“My Bucket List” of sorts. To give you an idea, here they are:

Publish a book on Inspirational Stories – ongoing – the Publishing house says it would be ready before the month ends.

Write a novel Umma Ayam Sinsana – still on chapter 15 and –writer’s block; but I’ll keep on for sure. I sure congratulate Holly Jahangiri for her Trockle, which has been published.

Publish a compilation of poems (Doc Z, Roy, Elmot, Jan, Luke, Holly, Lyle, Reyjr, Dee, Kelvin , Yatot...Perhaps Ever would like to join too? Everyone is invited)

Publish a bio (maybe of mine or a family member?)

It seems the above-mentioned are all in the “writing genre”. Well I have other plans as well:

To tour the world and document these travels as @thirdworldgeek and Ceblogger usually do; locally at first, and then Europe, Spain, the US, and India. I wish money would fall from heaven for me to be able to do this.

To skydive (wow – I would like to feel how it is to fly, with the fresh air on my face and the wind whipping against my body! )

To record a song (The Will of the Wind, Solitaire to name a few…) I would be contented doing it the privacy of my room. I'm a frustrated singer. (ehem...)

The rest in my bucket list concerns family which are too personal to reveal. If you insist and would like to email me, I might...he he he… (Just kidding.)

And the next thing that comes to mind is how do I like my wake to be?

I want it to be solemn but not sad. I want all my blogging genuine friends to be there. I want my adopted son Sir Arvie – to sing “The Warrior is a Child “and Rey Jr - “Stand by me”. This I personally wish it could happen before I die, so I could admire it with both of my mundane and ethereal self.

Of course Doc Z can belt out the song:” Bed of Roses”, he he he… although it is not pertinent to the occasion. It would be refreshing to hear his ululating notes of the song. This dynamic person is a poet, writer and a singer all rolled into one.

Roy could also sing: “Malayo ang tingin”? Ang tanda Na ng kanta…he he he…

Lyle could croon: “Words” for me too, with the permission of his wife, of course. The melody and tune just fits perfectly with his mellifluous voice.

Jan, third world geek, would just sit, listen and enjoy the entertainment, while hopefully where I lay, I would be able to “ listen” in peace.

Then, I want my body cremated and my ashes gathered in a special urn. They could spread my ashes eventually in the mountains where I had previously dreamed my dreams and rejuvenated my soul and being – just like what Eric of Ruminations of a Small Town Mountain Boy usually did/does.

I would permit crying…lol… what is a wake without this expression of loss? Am I too presumptuous to believe people would mourn my loss? Perhaps the world would be a better place to live in without me? But I believe in encouraging my wards instead of terrorizing them so I guess the CC bloggers would not wish me dead even when my back is turned. (Wink) (I know they said hi to Holly.)

But, I would like to emphasize that crying should not take forever. Life goes on, so everyone should move on, I – to whatever awaits me – I hope it’s not the burning furnace. Mea a culpa.

I remember the story of the publican and the Pharisee; the Pharisee being so proud and judgmental of the Publican, proclaiming in his self-righteous way that he is impeccably pure and without sin : “ I am not a sinner , like this Publican beside me” . Little did he know that God had cast him into the fire and had uplifted the Publican to heaven.

No one is perfect, we all have our imperfections, and in our quest for perfection, we should always treat others as we expect to be treated;”The Golden Rule” - the mother of all rules should be our guiding tenet. If we observe this, then we could always have our motivations pure and honest and we usually don’t go wrong.

My tombstone? Let it be written:

Here lies Jen, the dreamer.
Who dreamed big with hopes a-glimmer,
that one day all of her aspirations
Would be fulfilled till her last exhalation.

Where are our poets? (Doc Z, dragonblogger, summerbreeze, elmot, Holly, Luke)

Would this pass?

I know these are meandering thoughts and I rambled away from the topic. Allow me to express them as they have occurred in my mind.

Am I afraid to die? that I prefer to keep you guessing as to what my definite answer would be!

Photo by Tammra McCauley