Dispatches by Adrian Conoza

Whenever I see girls and boys Selling lanterns on the street I remember the child in the manger as he sleeps The Philippines is very much known as a country that anticipates the Christmas season as early as September, the first of the "Ber Months" (the last four months of the calendar). This anticipation is very much seen on social media, especially when you see memes of singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan (JMC) sitting beside his piano on a backdrop adorned with a Christmas tree. Surrounding the picture are words that goes: "Kontrolado ko lahat ng speakers sa mall". One would definitely react with "Haha" because he/she must have heard sometime in his/her life Jose Mari's Christmas songs playing on the malls, markets, or on radio as early as September.  From Google Images Since his timeless songs like "Christmas in Our Hearts" and "A Perfect Christmas" are in the Christmas playlist of public areas, JMC is now

Dear Reader, I wanna speak — nay, write — up about these "share this lucky mango", "...lucky whatever" (and even a "sad genital"?!) posts. First of all, I understand how much we want to pass semester after semester. We want, we aim, and we work to the best we can to pass our subjects, and even go beyond that (isn't it?). There's this motivation. There's this fear. I had that too.