Punzi's Corner Blog

Honesty
by Bill Joel

If you search for tenderness
it isn't hard to find.
You can have the love you need to live.
But if you look for truthfulness
You might just as well be blind.
It always seems to be so hard to give.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

I can always find someone
to say they sympathize.
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve.
But I don't want some pretty face
to tell me pretty lies.
All I want is someone to believe.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

I can find a lover.
I can find a friend.
I can have security until the bitter end.
Anyone can comfort me
with promises again.
I know, I know.

When I'm deep inside of me
don't be too concerned.
I won't as for nothin' while I'm gone.
But when I want sincerity
tell me where else can I turn.
Because you're the one I depend upon.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

This says, sloth is the mortal sin that has done me in...

Geez, I thought it was lust...

Hijacked this from Ron Allan...

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com

I didn't make it to the Inquirer alone. La Vida Lawyer's article "When Tribes Clash" puts more meat into to brewing controversy and the Talk of the Town portion had none other than Manolo Quezon III as the guest editor/columnist, writing about the human dimensions of the story. And as you may notice, that was the fruit of a blogger conspiracy...

And as you can see, as La Vida Lawyer likewise observed, it's a blog lecture on a broadsheet/website...

I think Marvin is out there somewhere trying to collect on a bet...

Finally, Punzi in the mainstream press! All this blogging has finally paid off!

And it's not Youngblood, mind you. It's in the Talk of the Town portion.

Check this out.

On another front, Bea and I went to the Mall of Asia today after my friend's wedding.

Let's just say, if it weren't for the Imax theater that we truly enjoyed (though got a splitting headache afterwards), we would probably lay off returning there for a long time.

So am I entitled to a press ID now?

A happy weekend to everyone!

Our agenda for today is all about shopping. Have to buy some groceries and some last minute school provisions for Bea because I will be out of town next weekend for another planning session over at my government consultancy.

But the main agenda for today is buying a wedding gift for a good friend getting married tomorrow.

We should always give careful consideration when buying wedding gifts, especially for good friends. Sure, there's always the usual salad bowl and the set of dishes. But you know the couple will receive a ton of those. So here are some tips:

1. Get a background on the couple's plans after the wedding. Will they move to their own place or will they stay with parents. If they will move to their own place you could give them appliances (be it big or small). If they will stay their parents, appliance will be redundant and most probably, useless. But them personal stuff (like towels, bath robes, etc.) instead.

2. Get them something they can truly use. Of course, you could always give them silverware but those kinds of gifts only get stored somewhere. And if you buy them dishes, they'll have a lot of those so they will only choose one set to use and then store the rest. But of course, those other dishes would come in handy durings marital spats, if you know what I mean.

3. Get them something unusual, yet practical. In that way, you'll be sure they'll remember your gift.

From experience, the gift I appreciated most were the towels, the bedsheets and the ironing board/flat iron combo. We only had one of those and we really needed them.

And what about my friend? We'll be getting them the ironing board/flat iron combo. I already told the couple about it because I will not bring them to the wedding. Too cumbersome to lug around tomorrow. So I'll probably deliver them or have them pick it up...

It seems like a continuing saga in the little practice of mine for this week.

From a wily veteran, then a cocky newbie to a fake. What a week to run through the whole gamut of practitioners in the Philippines.


Anyway, I was in a mediation conference yesterday, representing a widow whose husband the other party ran over and killed with a mini-van.

He was now represented by someone from the insurance company. From his demeanor, I had a hunch we was not a lawyer. Because seems even more cocky and was ramming a paltry settlement offer down my client's throat. And even attempted to lecture me on the law.

I therefore had to ask him if he was a lawyer. He said he was a lawyer "to be."

That was when I blew my top. I told him, "That's the reason why you're still a lawyer to be. And that's the reason why you will not pass."

The nerve of that person.

Taylor Hicks is the new American Idol for Season 5. And I think the fourth one from Alabama.

It seems like Simon Cowell is always correct in his predictions. He said before the season started, he said someone from the South would will again this year. And recently, he was quoted to have predicted Taylor to win. He was right again.

Set up or what?

In this profession, you really meet all kinds of lawyers. But they generally fall into three kinds: the wily veteran, the cocky newbie and those in between.

You've read my adventures with a wily veteran. Yesterday, however, a cocky newbie came over (as he has been coming over for about three times since), to our small government agency to seek help for his urban poor clients.

As I have found out, he passed the bar fairly recently and it really shows. First, he was very cocky, obviously still has that "passing the bar" hangover and a feeling of invincibility. Believe me, I've been there. Coming from an ego-breaking experience which was law school, you could imagine what passing the bar could do for one's confidence. And he was no exception. He was still in the "I can do anything and everything, nobody can stop me" and "I've passed the bar, I must be good" stage of his career and probably his life.

Second, with this oozing confidence came his overly flirtatious demeanor with girls. That guy was a piece of work. He was, as we call, like a match. Why? Because he strikes anywhere. And the girls in our girl office mates ate all his bull up. Or did they see through what I saw? I don't know.

I just remarked, "If this guy experienced what I experienced, that will suck out all that cockiness and flirtation right out of him."

And my advice to them a year ago may still hold true.

Let's give it a rest for now. The Americal Idol finale is coming up and I want to catch it live. I'm not making any predictions between Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee because it's always wrong.

But that Katherine McPhee sure is a hot one, if you know what I mean...

Had another round with that wily veteran lawyer I blogged about here.

There were procedural/technicalities that constrained me to have the hearing yesterday postponed. To that, he could not impose any objection, because it was really his fault.

But of course, he had to be paid his appearance fees for that day. He had a lot of his clients there yesterday and he had to show that he deserved to be paid.

So what did he do? He raised a technicality of his own to "try" to win his case in one swoop. That accomplished two things. First, he could say a mouthful in court to justify his fees. Second, he tried to distract us and the court so he could appear to have fought us all the way and appear to be the hero for his clients.

Fortunately, the lawyer of the other party he tried that pull that stunt against did not buy it. And neither did the judge. Hearing was postponed despite his "rantings."

But knowing his style, he will make it appear he was the "hero" in the hearing when he talked to his clients afterwards. He would probably say to them, "I have them by their balls."

Well unfortunately for him, the other lawyer is a lady.

I would probably let his antics slide if his clients could really afford to pay him.

But the reason why I blogged about him twice is the clients he represents probably had to sacrifice a daily meal for their families to pay for his appearance fees. And his acceptance fees already cost them a month's wage each. All to feed his fat ass and put gas in his phat car.

And what else did I discover? He is not really a veteran, at least compared to me. I was admitted to the bar a year before he did. He probably took the bar as a second career (because he looks way older than me, he could pass off looking like my father, you know) or he was in the fringes of the law profession and/or took the bar lots of times, just passing the year after I did.

And as I said before, it was a lost cause and it would have been better for this lawyer to settled rather than antagonize us in the first place. Because when they lose, they're going to lose hard. And by that time, we would be so antagonized that his clients could no more seek concessions from us. They're going to loose their homes and they will have no place to go.

When this case is over, that lawyer will still have a place to come home to and a big plate of food at his table. His clients will not, thanks to his grandstanding.

I'm not really keen on suing a brother lawyer, because in the end, we're all just trying to earn a living. But in his case, I like to make an exception. And I like to make an example of him.

It really appears that there are a lot people sowing in the country and only a few are reaping.

What I heard sometime during the last elections on the radio really got to me. There was a typical working man commenting on a AM radio show and he said: "Hindi naman po kami tamad, bakit hindi pa rin kami uaasenso?" ("We are not lazy. So why are our lives not improving?")

That question so cuts through the core of what is hapenning today that I bet, even the wisest of economists, the President included, cannot give a a straight answer to such a simple question.

The most existential answer I got to this question came from a retired Hong Kong based engineer who plays violin at our neighborhood choir. "Perhaps God wants the Philippines (and Filipinos) to be perpetually poor so we would never forget Him."

But I'm not talking at the level. At least not yet.

That sentiment is no longer exclusive to the working man. Personally, I too, have that feeling. The hours put in is no longer equal to the compensation given. And the rising cost of living, gives us extra pressure.

I think society's value of work has already been skewed into unbelievable distortions. You see college educated waiters, but at the same time you see undergrad people who make a living being slapped around in some TV show earning more money and acquiring flashier stuff than that college educated waiter.

You see CEOs being paid unbelievably obscene salaries, money that they can never spend in their lifetimes, when in the end, they are being paid just to order workers around. Then you see workers virtually committing suicide for their jobs, being paid only half of what they and their families need.

Now, even a law degree is no guarantee of economic prosperty. Believe me, I know. We're becoming a dime a dozen.

That is why going abroad becomes so aluring. There, it appears that what you reap is still reasonably commensurate to what you sow. But I don't know if this is true. Never worked abroad.

I believe this society has placed too much value on entertainment. It has already become a drug. Never mind growing hungry and/or having instant noodles everyday for the entire family, as long as we can watch our daily fix of soap operas and/or watch a bunch of people living in an aquarium.

I likewise believe that the Philippines has already acquired first world values. Such values in a third world country is a recipe for disaster.

I also believe there is too much inequality. The irony of it is, the only people who get rich in this country are the people with money to begin with.

And the rich may not want to share their wealth (and just wants to acquire more). As if they could ride two cars and live in two mansions at exactly the same time. As if wearing two gold Rolexes will become fashionable someday.

And even if the rich do want to share, they don't know how. And whether what they share will truly have an impact in society.

This has to end. But I don't know how. So I'm just writing about it.

I was watching a news feature in a foreign news magazine show just this morning, stating that everyone these days goes about their ways with a sense of entitlement.

I think that hits the nail on the head, even here.

Filipinos also go about their merry (or not so merry) ways with a sense of entitlement.

Public utility drivers drive around with a sense of entitlement, as if they bought the road and thus, are entitled to bully their vehicles wherever they wish. That goes the same for private drivers.

Informal settlers and squatting syndicates put up their homes on property that some other worked hard to buy, as if they are entitled to these properties for the simple reason they are poor.

Government officials ransack government coffers with the same sense of entitlement, as if they truly deserve the money they, in the final analysis, are simply stealing, for lending their precious talent and "contributing immensely" to government and society in general.

Speaking of generals, some retired military officials likewise assert rights over government housing with this sense of entitlement, as if the money they have already acquired from their "fruitful" government service will never be enough to cover the "sacrifices" they have made for the country.

Some people file libel cases left and right with this sense of entitlement, as if they deserve redress and restitution of their honor that they did not have in the first place.

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with asserting one's right.

But please, be sure you are truly entitled to it. Or truly deserve it.

Bought a bike helmet yesterday.

But do check out my other blog and the entry I made on the La Mesa Dam controversy. La Vida Lawyer provided the links to the materials.

Have a safe weekend.

Thought I save a ton of gas by going to a meeting via the MRT (Metro Rail Transit, for those who don't know what I'm talking about, the mass-transit railway that goes through EDSA, the main Metro Manila highway).

Good thing I had my iPod to keep me company. And I played The Velveteen Rabbit throughout the trip. This was an "audiobook" precursor with Merryl Streep reading the story against George Winston piano solos as the score.

I have to tell you the combination of a great kid's story (narrated brilliantly by an award winning actor) and a great piano score was mesmerizing. I was so moved that I had Bea read the story, while listening to this album.

I don't know how this story affected her but I hope she liked it.

You can read the story online (with the original illustrations) here.

Just now, I'm beginning to feel the impact of my fall yesterday. My face hurts. But I have to do some errands...

And remember the "issue" of "national importance" I told you about involving a libel suit? Just blogged about it over at the Semper Fidelis site.

That's all for now...

For the first time in my entire life I fell from a bicycle going to the corner store in a big way. Face first. With no helmet.

Don't worry, I'm alright. I don't need my face anymore, anyway.

Seriously, no major injury, except perhaps to my ego. But you wouldn't think so if you ever saw how I fell. Fortunately, now one saw it.

Anyway, I'll probably rest a bit before getting back to work. I feel like I was assaulted by a professional boxer. In a few hours, I'll look the way I feel.

Nevertheless, it's my parent's 42nd wedding anniversary today and we're all going out tonight.

Fortunately, we'll go out at night. My bruises would be less visible.

So if you'll excuse me I'll rest for a while.

Who would have thought that my day will just end now?

Who would have thought I had four meetings/appointments, some court work and about a ton of paperwork I disposed today?

If this day is any indication, I'll be in for another interesting week.

Now about that "development" I was talking about, I'll probably discuss it when the news gets out. Don't want to blog about it just yet. But let's just say it has something to do with a libel suit. For now...

That girl was due for a visit today. It would have been perfect because it was Mother's Day.

But just as I expected, she was again a no-show. For the 13th time. As you know, I blog about it for record purposes. Come the 18th no-show, I'll make another court manifestation because our arrangements are subject to review every nine months.

Anyways, a friend of mine texted me about a brewing development in an "issue" of "national concern." But I'll save that for tomorrow.

In the meantime, Happy Mother's Day!

Even to me...

Been renewing acquaintances with George Winston, that fantastic new age pianist, whose music was the soundtrack of my life during law school and my turbulent relationship with my first girlfriend. I highly recommend you score some of his music (especially Colors/Dance from the "Autumn" album and Living Without You from the "Summer" album, though they're very hard to find now. Believe me, I tried to get some for my iPod, but it was hard.

Come to think of it, I've carried a lot of baggage from those years, perhaps until now. But if there's one thing that was good about it, friends have always told me how great I carry my load. If I didn't open up, they wouldn't know I had a lot of problems.

I think it's just my jovial disposition and my faith that keeps me going on. And then, of course, there is the music (the soundtracks of my life), plus my gadgets...

Oh, because of a conflicting appointment, I could not show up for choir duties over at the EDSA Shrine yesterday. That's two in a row. I have to make up for these two no-shows somehow...

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, that day invented by commerce to stir up sales. I believe that day, like Christmas, should be everyday. While we're at this subject, that girl is scheduled to visit tomorrow, if at all. I'll tell you what happened tomorrow.

Have a happy weekend.

On the professional front, I have been stifled by some setbacks. But on the whole, they are still manageable. I just received the decision I was expecting from the Court of Appeals. It's a loss, but it's also a gain in some fronts. Just have to go up to a higher court, I guess. At least the Court of Appeals was kind enough to give me that openning.

But the work is mounting. And the pressure builds.

The financial front is just as gloomy. It's very hard to collect nowadays. Everyone's a penny-pincher, which is understandable. But so annoying. But there are still some prospects.

On the personal front, I'm likewise not feeling well. Maybe I'm just tired or just lacking in one biological need. You know, the one single parents usually have.

Well, at least the week is drawing to a close. Hope the next week gives better news, for all of us.

If there's one thing I hate more than wily veteran lawyers, it is wily veteran lawyers with their clients present in a hearing.

I spent yesterday afternoon at a hearing with one just like that. It's bad enough that he employed all the "wily veteran tactics" during the hearing such as, but not limited to, testifying for his client/witness and attempting to take over the court interpreter's job (Just imagine translating the Filipino word for "none" ("wala") into "none yet" ("wala pa") and hoping to get away with it.)

But then he had to go all dramatic on us. He appeared to be almost in tears and about to have a heart attack in the course of arguing for his clients' so-called cause.

But we could see through that. It was all an act for his clients. And I think they bought it, hook, line and sinker. For sure, he was paid his appearance fees yesterday.

Unfortunately for these clients, they have a lost cause and whatever cr@p their lawyer peddled upon them (that they could win and that they have a valid case to being with) was totally untrue, for reasons I cannot blog about. The only one that would benefit from this entire experience was that over-acting lawyer, because he was the only one paid insofar as that case is concerned.

The world needs less of those lawyers in the world.

What's the reward for complaining of a lot of work without being paid?

MORE WORK!

I thought I had a major hearing this week. Turns out it will be for next week. Whew!

I thought I would be very busy this week. I was wrong. Whew!

I thought I would be in a lot of pressure this week. I was correct. WAAAAAAH! In a lot of pressure to collect since the obligations are mounting.

I really hate it when clients heap a lot of work at you but when it's time to collect, they give you all the reasons to delay paying. Makes you think what your service means to them.

Anyway, I renewed my fondness for new age music yesterday, listening again to the likes of George Winston and Keiko Matsui. But I basically caught some zzzsss for most of the day.

Anyway, have a great week.

Since my mother had someplace to go yesterday afternoon, I could not unwind after my mediation hearing. We just ordered a family peperoni double cheeze pizza with that "cheezy volcano" crust... from this place. Yummy!

So instead of going out, I volunteered to fix a court sheriff's computer over the weekend. His OS was failing so I installed a new one. I was the one that originally installed its OS when it was new (about three or four years ago).

Started at around 4:30 p.m. Ended at around 5:00 a.m. today. Just got up and here I am blogging about it.

What took that much time are three things (that are basically my fault). First, I forgot to bring with me the hardware discs so I had to rely on guesswork to figure out the hardware specs and download the appropriate drivers. Finding the ones for the soundcard alone wasted most of the time. Second, I did not know that even a Pentium 4 2.4Ghz considerably slows down if it only has 128 Mb of RAM, especially on multi-tasking jobs... When I tried to do multiple things at the same time, I wasted time instead of saving some. Third, for some reason, internet was slow last night and/or I was downloading huge files for this machine...

Anyway, it's fixed now and I'm just putting it through its paces. Nothing fancy. Just word processing, spreadsheet and internet functions.

Plan to rest afterwards because there's choir tonight.

Maybe I could do this for a living in a first world country. I'd probably get better pay that being a lawyer in this country. At least, I have a back-up profession...

Speaking of professions, you may notice this blog having more personal content. That's because I usually keep my commentaries and law stuff on my other blog now... And it's not as if I closing off to the outside world. I have commented there on the stuff that keeps the legal profession abuzz with activities these days...

A great weekend to all.

I have told you of the week to come. And it's almost the end of the workweek and I have to say, it all went according to plan, at least up to this point.

So Bea will be attending Grade 2 this year, that's already assured. I even bought her books and school supplies already. She can still make do with the uniforms I bought just last year and perhaps the shoes. But I may buy her new ones.

That alone is the most important concern I had for this week. After Bea's enrollment, it was all downhill from there. Apparently, my resume is already with the school that is interested in having me in its faculty. Watch out for that development.

Just have this one mediation conference to attend to this afternoon. After that, I could, perhaps, unwind a little.

Anyone care to join me? Perhaps I could text Ron or Cat later...

I learned a new word just now. It's a medical term for an infant's misdeveloped esophagus that could be fatal.

You can read about it here.

I know about it now because my cousin's newborn just died from it.

I was actually excited about her baby because I gave her all of Nico's baby stuff (the crib, the stroller, etc.) about a month before she was to give birth. I even actually wanted to volunteer as a godfather...

But all that was not meant to be. Now, all of Nico's stuff with them would be a source of sadness for my cousin and her husband.

May God have mercy on her baby's soul. And may God's comfort come to my cousin and her husband in this most trying of times.

While I was enrolling Bea yesterday, I overheard some parents' complaints about scrambling for money because their educational plans failed.

One of the so-called "subterfuge issues" my ex-wife allegedly had with me is my failure to get my children educational plans.

But don't get me wrong. I believe in the concept. But only the traditional plans where these companies allow you to choose the school you want your child enrolled and they pay for the tuition in that school.

The plans that came after (the ones that just give you a set amount of money after a while) appeared to me as raw deals. I could not fathom the concept of sacrificing a huge portion of my present income that I could really use for a sum money that appears to be big now but could become chump change when I'm supposed to get it.

Add to that the stories I heard about the overcharged commission structure, bloated executive salaries, the people that got rich selling these babies and the bad/mismatched investments...

My goodness! Thank God I did not bite!

I remember all the spin the pre-need companies had against treating their business as insurance and hence, handled by the Insurance Commission. Did they hate this because insurance law (and hence, the Insurance Commission) is more strict and the Securities and Exchange Commission is more lax? Just asking.

But think about this. Insurance law mandates that a portion of total potential liability be re-insured. If this was done in pre-need, it could have saved a lot of people this present heartache.

Whew!

I've completed my mission for today and collected the money I need to enroll Bea tomorrow. It was just in the nick of time.

I have also collected some more to take care of the other bills, but only by a hair. Any unexpected expense (knock on wood...) would be the end of me. So I still have to double my efforts, both in work and in collections. Luckily, there are still some more...

Met a client this afternoon and he informed me that this school (run by a high school and college classmate) was interested in offering me a teaching position.

I have always wanted to teach, both for payback and to harass students (Joke!). And if all goes well, I will get the chance to try my hand in teaching this school year.

Wish me luck.

After working like a dog last Monday and Tuesday, I spent the rest of my workweek up in the northern part of the Philippines to attend a hearing.

I was not really feeling well when I took the trip because my car's air conditioner chose a fantastic time to break down. So I basically spent my Wednesday there resting, attempting to recover some energy for the Thursday road trip to my hearing.

My cousin could not accompany me to that hearing (which is a good 2-hour drive away from where I was) because he had appointments, so he lent me his gas-guzzling SUV and I drove myself there. I always get lost the first time I drive to an unfamiliar destination and this was no exception. Missed it by two towns and it was a costly mistake (in a gas consumption point of view).

But I arrived at my destination just in time, only to discover that there was no hearing because the judge just had an operation. Oh, well... But these things don't bother me. I'm still getting paid for going there.

Getting back to my cousin's place, I was trying to decide whether I will make a stop-over at a friend's place which was on the way. I figured I let fate decide and gave my friend a ring. He was in the area and insisted I visit.

It was a good decision. Spent a few hours with him in his clinic and then stuffed ourselves silly with the native grilled dishes (grilled pork spareribs, grilled squid plus crispy pata, which is deep fried crispy pork leg and knuckles) ... Had trouble concentrating on driving on the way back to my cousin because all that food made me sleepy...

I would have been on a bus going back that night but I wanted to help my cousin drive back to Manila the following morning. Let's just say I have a new-found respect for him since he makes those road trips on a regular basis and he alone drives that 10-hour way (even if he has a cool SUV with an automatic transmission).

So that was last week. This week will be spent on recovering the time I was away. I also have to step up on collection efforts because of tuition month. I have collected enough for Bea's enrollment, but not much for everything else.

Hope this week will be good to me...