My Philosophy of Life

Romanticizing Choleric Temperament (Not Much Between Its Ears part 2) Image courtesy of Alamy by Ronald Michael Quijano Toyo - not the typical condiment you have in mind. I am not referring to soy sauce, rather the term that we - Pinoy - are using pertaining to being hot-tempered, moody, or being capricious. This is the term most likely you will see on Facebook nowadays, people posting about how toyoin they are. You know social media, as long as the subject trends, all users are seemingly required to be part of it.  From Ice Bucket Challenge to Hot Water Challenge, from Harlem Shake to Tala Dance Cover, from hating pineapple in a pizza to sudden Lumpiang Shanghai fever, - you name it - you are just crowd surfing. It's as if your life would not be complete, or your personhood would not be whole without you participating in trends. I wonder why there is no Symposium Challenge, Live Stream Debates, Read As Much Books As You Can In a Month Challenge, Math Challenge, or li...

How Christmas Has Changed Throughout the Years Image courtesy of Vanjuan by Ronald Michael Quijano, LPT It was Christmas Eve of 2005; I used to wake up at nine in the evening to help my mom to set up the wooden table, on it, our humble  Media Noche  comprised of fried chicken, bread, spaghetti, shanghai, and a sandwich spread. Our room is dim, we are living in an old apartment so we need to lower down the volume of our sound system since the other tenant is listening to their own Christmas playlist. Some, prefer a quiet evening. Before dinner, my mom would bring us to church to attend the  Misa de Gallo,  as we went through the streets, I see kids of my age wearing new, colorful, and simple clothes. Each house has its own Christmas design; lights, trees, garlands, Santa Claus statues, and paper greetings. Some are elegant and expensive while some are simple yet beautiful. After the mass, we are stopping by the streets to buy either  puto bumbong  or...