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What I learned from spending 75 minutes with Hyun Bin
I was never into KDrama until Crash Landing On You happened. At the height of the lockdown, I was swept up in the love story between the hardheaded businesswoman from South Korea and the idealistic soldier from the North, transporting me to another world outside the four corners of my home. It was like a…
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How I reinvented myself as a farmer
A decade or so ago, I bundled up my brood and went to Tarlac. Our destination: a house on top of a hill with my good friend Myra Salvosa’s arms wide open in welcome. While the kids went swimming and chasing after farm animals, us adults breathed in the fresh air, stared out to the…
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How it’s like to be a teacher in the midst of the pandemic
I’ve always admired teachers. As a young mom, I tried tutoring my kids. I failed. I wasn’t patient enough, and my kids knew how to push my buttons. It was a disaster. The heroes of my younger years were mostly teachers. Soledad Reyes, who unboxed for me the nuts and bolts of writing English, easily…
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How to approach midlife gracefully
It was perhaps one of the most exuberant celebrations of midlife that I have ever been invited to. Most 40th birthday celebrations are feasts of fancy, with themes and costumes, entertainment numbers, and video messages from the celebrant’s loved ones near and far. There were none of these at Ichel Alignay’s coffee and chikahan milestone…
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How I snagged a kick-ass job at 51
I met Rocky Batallones Esguerra a lifetime ago. She was a junior, I was a freshman, and we both worked in the Student Council. I always looked up to her because she carried herself with grace and strength. She would go on to become an executive at P&G, spending most of her years in the…
LULA LAND 