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More than a year has passed since I wrote the article “Words Matter.” Through that article, I shared how my kids would play a game where their powers are determined by the words they utter. My then eight-year-old daughter, with her significantly superior vocabulary compared to her much younger sibling, can say a lot more. She can summon fire to melt ice, make flowers bloom to signify a new beginning, and surround herself with a force field to protect her from the attacks of her sister. Her sister, who was only three at that time, can only summon “Ice”! This little one got annoyed so much, because her limited words hindered her from being able to compete with her sister.

It has been a while since I last went out on a date with any of my daughters. My wife and I have committed to taking our kids out on dates, but circumstances have always hindered us from doing so consistently. A couple of weeks ago, I was finally out on a date with my second daughter, doing the things she likes to do, eating the food she wants to eat and, most importantly, neither allowing me nor the past choices of her older sister to influence her.

While waiting to board my 12-hour flight, I browsed the web through Hong Kong International Airport’s free internet stations. I searched “things to do in Amsterdam” in Google to give me an idea of what I can do in the city in my spare time. This is atypical. I normally have my itinerary all planned out, either because I am travelling with my wife—who is such a great organizer—or I had already planned out my trip due to excitement. That was not the case for this Amsterdam trip.

Less than a week from now, we will have our midterm elections. One of the buzzwords we often hear from voters on who they would vote for is authenticity. Authenticity is defined as being true to one’s belief, character and personality. In short, we want our politicians to show who they truly are. It is the degree to which an individual’s actions are aligned with their beliefs and desires. During the campaign period, we try to determine who is authentic and who is simply faking it. Do they believe in honesty, or do they believe that lying can justify the end? Is eating using your hands being authentic?

Two days ago, we experienced a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in Luzon. Another one hit Visayas yesterday. From what has already been reported, there are a number of casualties mostly in Central Luzon and Eastern Samar.

April 16 or ‘the day after’: a day most auditors and accountants will consider as the start of their temporary emancipation because the tax deadline has passed. Temporary, however, because unless we shift careers, we will face the tax deadline again next year.

In this age of social media, where we have access to platforms that allow us to share our own content, we are becoming more aware of what has been happening to other people, regardless of where they may be. Though there are inherent dangers to this new level of connectedness, it also allows more and more conversations to happen, albeit in the digital space. It can cause envy, yes, but it can also spark hope. As we share our lives and engage in conversations that transcend distance, it now becomes more apparent to us that we are not alone in our daily struggles; that our sufferings are not unique to us; that there are others out there who may have something worse than whatever it is we are going through.

Over a decade ago, my wife and I agreed on how we wanted to pursue our respective career paths. We laid out where we currently were and where we wanted to go, what were the opportunities, and how we are going to pursue them. The plan we hatched involved being away from each other for most of the year. At that point in our lives, we felt this was our final chance to run as fast as we can with regard to our careers, that we needed to pursue exponential career growth while it is still just the two of us in our family. As soon as we finalized our plans, God blessed us with an unexpected news–we were having a baby. I could not remember exactly what words were said when we learned about my wife’s pregnancy, but I can still recall how non-jubilant we were with the news. The mood was somber at best. It was not in our plans. We had other plans.