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​Ever since people found out that I'm an author, they kept coming to me with a idea for my next book or a story that 'should' be considered for my next project.


I can't write for you. I'm not a ghostwriter, some are, just find them over the Internet.

I can't accept a story just because you think it's worth including in my next project.

You do you, I do mine.

Let's keep that very clear.


Another one came with a rebuttal of my book, telling me what else I could have added or elaborated.

Thank you for the comments but I haven't thought about that, that means it's forever out of the book.

Maybe you write your own and take your favorite systems models and give it a fresh bath.

How about that? 

​You do you, I do mine.

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Two playdates in a row this week.

A progress from a few months. 

I asked if she had friends in school.

"I don't have any."

"Why?" 

"Because they don't want to play with me."

"How long is this going on?"

"Couple of days now after the spring break."

"Why do you think is happening?"

"I don't know. They want to play with other kids not, with me."

A wants to play with E. 

Al wants to play with Av.

"E, Av, and A are all nice to me but sometimes, they play with each other."

"So what do you do when you're not playing with anyone during recess."

"I just walk around." 


There must be one, or two, or three.

Sometimes, no takers but in generally, there must be one. 

If you want a playmate, play with older kids, younger kids, play with boys, play with a teacher, a class monitor or an intern, play with a board game or a toy that you can play alone.

Find something that will keep you occupied and interested. 

I didn't grow up with a lot of friends in school and in the neighborhood, but I tried to busy myself with play stuff I can do around the house and in our yard. Plus I have a sister and a younger brother just in case I find playing alone boring. 

I caught butterflies and dragonflies, severed their wings and release them with glee. I  destroyed  little plants that fold when touched and caught  insects and kept them inside a matchsticks box or hid them in a small empty bottle. I painted my nails purple from the nectar of the purple plants and I tried to climb an aratiles tree and take the biggest, juiciest red fruit as snack. The rest was sold by my grandfather in the market for 10 pesos. 

I shoot birds with a make-shift sling from a skinned shortened bark of a tree with a big rubber-band tied to each side and a small pebble as an ammo. I saw this from my older brother and his friends with big wooden slings shooting birds all over the place. And I thought, "why do they get to do all the fun stuff?"

Who needs a playmate if you can conjure some adventures without rules? 

You can quit anytime you want and there'll be no disputes for sure.

You get bruises and wounds and nobody to blame for.

Two playdates in a row this week but in no-friends-day, find your thing.

Live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, and find eternity in each moment - Henry David Thoreau 

Some days are sublime.

Some days are so bad you just wish that that the day would end soon.

On both days, one thing is for certain: You only have that moment to live and after that, it's done.

A new day and opportunity appears or so we hope. 

As the great poet and writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez said in his autobiography and memoir, "I didn't know that that was the last time I would see my friend. My last hug."

I lost a great friend from cancer. She was just 35 years old. 

And some people in my life: family members, friends, colleagues, co-workers, one by one are  passing on and will never be replaced.

Because the Now Zone is what we have. 

The future is unknown. 

The past is a done-deal. 

Whoever can hold the present and contain its beauty or ugliness or its messiness is a person that is truly alive.

Being alive is choosing against many choices to let it all run through but not sink on it. 

Make mistakes and take risks.

Don't let small issues and events ruin your overall standing. 

One day, my daughter came to me, crying about the imperfect set of legs of her otherwise good drawing of Bluey. 

I told her, that those legs work for the drawing itself.

And the drawing from which she based her work is not even great, just average.

Average is alright. 

Now is the time to create. 

Tomorrow is for something else. 

Get into the Now Zone because it's the only place we can really live on.