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Caffeine-induced daydreams

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - February 27, 2008 - 12:00am

The inadvertent tourist

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - May 7, 2007 - 12:00am

One of the perks of being a litigation lawyer is the opportunity to see the Philippines and to be a tourist during the period between the end of a hearing and the flight out. This could mean going to places...

Radio gaga

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - April 30, 2007 - 12:00am

I was riding a cab one very hot afternoon. The driver was listening to a radio show. The hosts were discussing the dearth of choices among the candidates running for government posts. No one is worth voting...

The instant gardener

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - April 16, 2007 - 12:00am

I used to think I had a green thumb. As a child, my friends and I would make mini-gardens on patches of earth outside my house. We got cuttings of mayana (coleus) from yards around the neighborhood. A few weeks after,...

How to pass the bar

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - April 9, 2007 - 12:00am

"Ma'am, how did you pass the bar?" a stranger once asked me. He had earlier asked to see my ID (it was his job to check) and I had handed him my Integrated Bar of the Philippines card. "Study hard and pray...

How to spend Holy Week

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - April 2, 2007 - 12:00am

"Mommy, you're eating meat!" my son had admonished me last Friday. I smiled sheepishly. He had remembered the priest's reminder, given at the beginning of Lent, not to eat meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. ...

Traipsing in Tagaytay

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - March 26, 2007 - 12:00am

Sonya's Garden has been in my list of places to visit since 2000. Back then, it was necessary to make reservations weeks ahead as it had limited seating capacity. It was also hugely popular among couples...

Summers in Sitio Pondohan

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - March 19, 2007 - 12:00am

The pink and white bougainvillea blooming profusely across the Capitol Church is my official signal that summer is here. Well, that and the announcement that Cebu has recorded its hottest day for the quarter and...

Lawyers who lunch

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - March 12, 2007 - 12:00am

My friends, Chariz and Misty, and I had just come from a meeting. It was nearing lunch but we were not that hungry yet. We were in the Lahug area so I suggested that we try CafÃƒÂ©...

Career vs. Child

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - March 5, 2007 - 12:00am

"So, what are your childcare arrangements?" the only female in the panel during my first job interview had asked. "My son is staying with my parents until I've adjusted to work," I answered. It was the...

Other deceits

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - February 19, 2007 - 12:00am

I was fourteen when I first consulted someone about the future. She was one of my mother's patients and she offered to read my palm. She found an omen of misfortune and proceeded to remove it by performing...

A ballpen that wouldn't write

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - February 5, 2007 - 12:00am

Had I not known that it was a funeral mass, I would have thought that it was the high mass for the Boljoon town fiesta. The town's Nuestra SeÃƒÂ±ora Patrocinio de Maria Church was filled...

Art, roses, and pan de sal

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - January 29, 2007 - 12:00am

"Unsaon man na ang painting ba? Dili man na makaon." A few years ago, a local official allegedly uttered these words after some artists requested government support for their project. I could just imagine...

Pilgrim

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - January 22, 2007 - 12:00am

My earliest memory of the Sinulog Festival is watching the parade near the Abellana National High School in Jones Avenue. My sister and I wore "Indian" headdresses made of dyed chicken feathers similar to...

To whine, or not to whine: That is the question

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - January 15, 2007 - 12:00am

It's finally happening, I thought to myself. Newspapers and tv news shows were filled with reports about the ASEAN Summit. After its postponement last December, I had doubts about whether or not the summit...

Cultural Heritage Program for Cebu City

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - January 8, 2007 - 12:00am

I love Cebu and I enjoy showing off my city's heritage every chance I get. In my quest to be a better tour guide, I have asked almost everyone I consider an expert on Cebuano culture on what the must-dos...

Starting 2007 right

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - January 1, 2007 - 12:00am

In my sophomore year in law school, my Labor Law teacher asked our class what the rationale for holiday pay was. He was not able to coax the answer out of the person reciting. I remember him saying that...

Christmas, Crime, and the Constitution

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - December 28, 2006 - 12:00am

A few days ago, I saw a television clip of a "saturation drive" that took place in a slum in Tondo, Manila. It must have taken place quite late at night or in the wee hours of the morning because the surroundings...

Aesthetics of a Feng Shui-year

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - December 11, 2006 - 12:00am

The first painting I bought was a watercolor by a young artist who told me he was very broke. At the time I bought it, I thought I was buying a painting of multi-colored mushrooms. When a friend saw it,...

Being a Cebuano Catholic

by Kay Malilong-Isberto - December 4, 2006 - 12:00am

I am a Catholic by default. My parents and grandparents are Catholic and this is the religion I was born into. Except for one year in kindergarten, I never went to a Catholic school. Probably because of...

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