ERIC’S SONGBOOK

Each day is a brand a new day and each minute is a chance to turn it all around and start anew.  Christmas is fast approaching and another year has gone by.  Truth be told, I want this year to be over.  It is a prolonged nightmare where the dreamer is already fully aware and conscious of his state.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that 2008 will usher in a breeze of good fortune and a new beginning that I have been yearning for lately.  As this year ends soon, I am hurriedly anticipating a brand new chapter in my life.  The writer of one’s life is the most underappreciated author of all but I am ready to take chances.  After all, that is what life’s all about–taking chances and bearing the consequences of them all. 

My life is not picture perfect and there are things that I wish that I never should’ve experienced.  I sincerely do not wish to be a magnet for misery despite the fact that it loves company.  But so much for wishful thinking, I have come across a bunch who have added fuel to the fire as if I haven’t had enough yet dose of self-esteem torpedoes yet (yup, there is too much fire, I know).  It is really funny how easy it is for others to tear you up easily.  What even hurts more is that these are people whom you have looked up to for a long time during your formative years as a child and as an adolescent.  Now that image has been shattered irreparably, I guess I have learned to accept reality in a whole new way that no one is perfect.  It must have been so imprudent of me to have thought of them that way–with too much adulation and respect.  Since they are capable of criticizing with words that you have never expected to come from them, now I am ready to go back where I once came from.  They are no different from the ones I met seven to eight years ago.  I now know that I have the heart and the balls to hear those words from people I have no respect for from the very start.  They just don’t know when a foul is both offensive and technical.  I sense that to earn their tiniest iota of respect or even be worth their time, I must be as old as Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter, or better yet as ancient as Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings.  Unfortunately for me, I am neither of those characters and I am glad that I’m not one (just yet).  Honestly, it feels good that there are people out there who think I still look ten years younger my biological/chronological age.  Thank God for good genes, I am no cryptkeeper at age 28 irrespective of the dilemmas I had to face.  Again, everyone is alone when facing their own battles.  Others may give you a shield, some may offer an armor and a weapon, but at the end of the day it is still going to be your tale to tell.

In anticipation of my new beginning, I draw inspiration from the trailer of the forthcoming motion picture, The Bucket List, starring Academy award winning actors, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.  In this story, both men are terminally ill with cancer and they meet for the first time in the hospital ward.  To make the most of their time left on earth, they decided to accomplish their wishlists.  The Bucket List is directed by Rob Reiner, the genius behind When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle, The American President and more.  Nicholson plays Edward Cole, an affluent man who quips "Just because I told you my story, does not invite you to be a part of it!".  Heck, that line cuts deep.

As for Eric’s bucket list, there are four that I am willing to unearth them for you.  Again, I don’t give a damn what other people think, dreaming carries no price to pay.

• Write and publish children’s books and songs.  I have always considered myself to be a writer long before I have discovered my penchant for numbers.  My relationship with Mathematics is just platonic.  Math feeds me physiologically but writing creatively feeds my soul and intellect.  Math makes me dull and lifeless, it just pays the bills but writing makes me commune with life.
• Travel and settle in Provence, France or Tuscany, Italy.  I don’t want to live in the Philippines all my life.  I do believe that I deserve better and when that time comes, I want to find myself in Provence, France or in Tuscany, Italy.  I want my own villa with a vineyard and orchard and with the view of a sprawling plain.  This is where I want to retire at age 40. 
• Raise a big family.  Here comes my biggest frustration in life.  I come from a small family and I always wanted to have a large one.  I can never emphasize how hard it is to be the eldest son and be the surrogate father at the same time.  It can get really lonely more than you’ll ever know.
• Learn Portuguese.

Forever Young - Bob Dylan

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

Forever Young - Rod Stewart

May the good Lord be with you down every road you’re on
And may sunshine and happiness, surround you when you’re far from home
And may you grow to be proud, dignified and true
And do unto others as you’d have done to you

Be courageous and be brave
And in my heart you’ll always stay
Forever young, forever young, forever young

May good fortune be with you, may your guiding light be strong
Build a stairway to heaven with your prince or your vagabond

And may you never love in vain
And in my heart you will remain
Forever young, forever young, forever young

Forever Young
Forever Young

And when you finally fly away, I’ll be hoping that I served youwell
For all the wisdom of a lifetime, no one can ever tell

But whatever road you choose
I’m right behind you
Win or lose
Forever Young, Forver young, forever young

Forever Young
Forever Young
Forever Young
Forever Young