Friday, October 06, 2006

Scoop!

i had a field day today, made a wave at the market for comments i picked up from central bank governor tetangco. it's about the possibility of a cut in the policy rates.
as usual, i didn't know the impact of what i did until it circulated in the market.
the guys at bloomberg did a terrific job, creating a headline-grabbing story out of the statements i fished out.
no other wire agency picked it up. i think the bloomberg manila staff was ecstatic because reuters, their main competitor, was left out in the game.
the wire reached singapore, where i guess the regional bureau centers are holding office, and only bloomberg carried those all-too important statements (because the market is looking for a definite sign for a policy action from the central bank).
i got a patting on the back from coco and company. tony jordan, the bureau chief, said what i did was "awesome."
to think that they had hesitations in getting me as stringer. just as i suspected, me a neophyte in the field would have to earn my stripes.
i'm surprised i did such a thing myself. i'm so happy, i made a good follow up to a scoop i made the other week.
but as i often say, i'm just as good as my last story.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Ecc. 12:1-7

Why, oh, why does man live as if there's no tomorrow or an end to this life?:

Remember your Creator in the the days of your youth, before the evil days come
And the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them;
Before the sun is darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars,
While the clouds return after the rain;
When the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent,
And the grinders are idle because they are few, and they who look through the windows grow blind;
When the doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill is low;
When one waits for the chirp of a bird, but all the daughters of song are suppressed;
And one fears heights, and perils in the street;
When the almond tree blooms, and the locust grow sluggish and the caper berry is without effect,
Because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets;
Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken,
And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well,
And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Feeling yellow

I watched with the millions for the outcome of the highly charged championship game between Ateneo and UST yesterday. I’m not an alumnus of either school and neither am I a basketball fan.
But championship games are such major spectacles that they could draw anyone from any indifference.
Plus, in the UAAP, before they turn into men of the pro league to play for money, the boys play for school and pride. This is the real game, much like the way Manny Pacquiao did boxing before he turned it into an enterprise.
There were about 10 of us in the room watching the live coverage of the match. Most were rooting for the Tigers, including myself.
I don’t know why. Maybe because I studied for a year in UST but didn’t finish the course. Maybe because I hear mass often from the Dominican Fathers.
But I also knew a bit of Ateneo. I studied Philosophy for a semester at the Loyola campus and the Jesuit Fathers left an impression on me, having been under their care for six months.
It if was a game between the Eagles and the Archers, I would go for the former, hands down. But this was a game between the Eagles and the Tigers and I would have donned a yellow shirt.
I joked the crowd before the TV set that the reason UST won was they had more prayer warriors than Ateneo. Why, besides the Dominican Fathers, there are countless congregations of nuns carrying the banner of St. Dominic.
By contrast, I don’t think St. Ignatius had a distaff side to count on.
But going back, I guess it’s St. Thomas who draws the line. The high school I attended was a Sto. Tomas and my hometown itself was founded by the Dominicans.
Closer to heart, I think I can identify more with the UST community than that of Ateneo. So that gives me the feeling that I belong even when I'm neither here nor there.