Global Statistics

#235: On Uppers

We take up similar stuff in my International Business Strategy in Non-Market Environments class but our prof can't do it like Prof. Hans Rosling. You gotta love this guy. (Or whatever he's taking.)

Manna

#234: What is it?

Exodus 16 gives us an account of the 15th day of the Israelites' second month out of Egypt as they arrived in the Desert of Sin. They started grumbling about not having enough to eat, to the point of saying that they would have preferred to have died in slavery in Egypt where pots of meat and food surrounded them than to be led to the desert where they were free to starve. Immediately, the Lord answers.

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?" 8 Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."

9 Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.' "

10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.

11 The LORD said to Moses, 12 "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' "

13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' "

17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.

19 Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning."

20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, "This is what the LORD commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.' "

24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 "Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."

27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out." 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.

The Lord reminded me of the word, "manna" the other day as I was thinking of the things I needed to bring before the Lord. There is the issue of the visa for residency in Australia; there is the need for clarity on my employment after my MBA; there is the desire to finally go home - wherever home may be, after close to 3 months of displacement; there is the need for certainty on where I'll be between the time I finish my studies and the time I get married. Will I be sent home to Manila? Will I be allowed to stay in Sydney so I can have a bit more negotiating power with prospective employers? Will I need to be unemployed for a long time while the papers are getting processed? Is it really four to six months of processing? Of course, when I start making a laundry list of things I lack or things I need, I easily get sucked into stressing about how to address them... which leads to anxiety - which the Lord warns us against in Matthew 6.

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Just a few verses before that, in the same chapter, Jesus teaches us how to pray. One of the lines says:

11Give us today our daily bread.

For many days now, I've been praying, "What is it? What is it Lord, that you want me to do? It's surprising to discover (or at least re-discover) that "manna" in Hebrew is literally translated, "What is it?" Manna confused the Israelites. It was provision, but they could not comprehend what it was. It was bread from heaven, food from the hand of God. I didn't know that as I was asking the Lord for answers to my never-ending list of supplication, the Lord was in essence, bringing me face to face with the simple yet powerful truth that He is the giver of our daily bread. I was asking for my bread. I would say, in words borrowed from just a few verses down in Matthew 7,

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

"Lord, you wouldn't give me stone, will you? If we who are evil know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will you, My Father, give good gifts to your child who is asking from You now?"

The problem is, I was focusing too much on the bread. I overlooked the importance of the Person who promised to give it, the timing by which He gives it, and His intention for giving it on a daily basis rather than as a lump-sum.

Going back to Exodus, we see specific instructions from the Lord to gather manna that was just enough for the day. The Lord wanted them to obey as a manifestation of their trust in Him - trust that He will provide for them, that this provision will be enough, and that He will provide daily. Those who violated His instructions by finding ways around them were shown their foolishness in the form of maggots which literally spoiled their schemes. What He really wants is to drive home the point: He wanted them to trust Him and obey.

When I ask for my bread, here is His answer: Obey. Obey His command not to worry about my life. Obey His command to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness... and all these things will be added unto me. Obey to take one day at a time, daily trusting Him for my sweet manna.

One for the Bulls

#233: Chicago Bulls' First Win in the Playoffs

I was picked up form my apartment Sunday afternoon, driven to United Center, given my free ticket for a seat that was so close to the court that I had no excuse not to pay attention, and ushered to a spectacle that was bigger than the game being played. Here are the pics.

01: This scoreboard is so fancy, it's easy to keep your eyes fixed on it instead of watching the game itself.



02: The whistle blows and I take that as my cue to get my picture taken before people at the back start throwing popcorn and beer cans at me for blocking their view.


03: The jump ball. This is where Detroit Pistons' defeat began.


04: Benny the Bull in one of his many forms. Seems like some marketers got carried away in creating someone who can be bigger than Michael Jordan among the Chicago Bulls.


05: Their timeouts always have intermission numbers . Apparently, Americans need to be entertained at every possible point - even when they're just sitting through a 30-second break. And so they start bringing out the freaks. Here is Dancing Granny who's giving the Pussycat Dolls a run for their money.


06: Age wasn't enough to entertain so they got America's biggest preventable problem and turned it into a dance number. Here are the Matadors showing us that obesity makes for a good show.


07: And what will a basketball game be without perky cheerleaders? Here are the LuvaBulls keeping the guys from focusing too much on their beer and their chips during intermission.


08: Thanks to all the heart-thumping music, the tantalizing visuals, the ridiculous marketing gimmicks and the unbelievable freak shows, the Bulls finally win their first game in the 2nd round of the playoffs. It was a good game - if anyone actually noticed.


09: Here are the guys after the game. I think Hinrich (#12) was the best player in all quarters. He reminds me a bit of Kukoc. Luol Deng however, is their Michael Jordan hopeful - but without MJ's charm. Wallace is a Rodman cut-out while Nocioni is eerily like Paxson. I think the recruiting team is trying to resurrect the 90's.


10: Outside the United Center after the game. As you can see, the "D" is missing. And that's why they needed The "D"ikya to stand and pose.

Home Is

#232: Where the Heart Is

When I was in 6th grade, we had to make this cheesy music video about a song that had meaning to us. The girl in our group who had the best voice chose "Home is Where the Heart Is." I was supposed to be some back-up singer so out of that whole experience, I retained memories of walking dramatically from Bohol house to Vigan house in Nayong Filipino while wailing, "Hoooooo-oooome is where the heart is... Home is where the heart i-hiiiss.... Ooooo, hooooo-ooome is where the heart is... home is where the heart is..." Not a stellar video as you could imagine.

As frustration was starting to build up over the absurdly long readings being required by one of my courses, the apathy being displayed by my group for a paper due this Friday, the stubbornness of one of members of yet another team (this girl doesn't smile and shifts from looking at me blankly, to looking at me in a measuring way, to looking at me with condescension - all within 3 seconds), and the sorry state of my life in this dorm (along with a very unsanitary flatmate), the key thought that kept on ringing in my head was "I want to go home." I can't wait to go home. If I can, I will go home now.

Thinking about it more, it seems like all I'm really saying is that I want to get out of this place. Now. I started by counting the days till Sydney but then it took too long to go from 80 days to less than 50 so I re-framed my countdown by looking at the time I'll get to Manila. But then, even that seemed long so I changed it to days till I leave Illinois. As of today, I have 30 days till I head back to San Francisco to see my brother and Ninang for a week before I fly to Manila. And that is a comforting thought.

See, Illinois is not that bad. It can actually be pretty - especially now that spring is in full bloom and there are blossoms and leaves where there was only brown dead stuff a month ago. I've met some nice people - fellow exchange students, fellow Filipinos and fellow Christians from Evanston Bible Fellowship. I've taken part in some fun activities. There have been moments that I've truly and sincerely enjoyed. But they cannot offset the displacement I feel.

Sometimes I wonder if it's merely a matter of effort. I can actually ditch my readings and have a bit more fun. (All my subjects here are after all counted as pass/fail in Australia.) But I can't bring myself to turn in shabby work. I'm not a perfectionist (because I don't pursue perfection) but I doggedly pursue excellence. And given that my purpose in coming over here is to study, I can't de-prioritize that to elevate my social state. Come to think of it, studying has actually become a good excuse to avoid situations where I'd have to give the same shallow introduction of myself over and over to different people I might never even see again anyway. "Hi, I'm Gladys, exchange student from Australia but originally from the Philippines. You?"

Truth is, I think it's a matter of heart. Jim Elliot said, "Wherever you are, be all there." I don't know if I'm able to do that under my current circumstances. I can't be "all here" when my heart is somewhere else. The past year or so, I've been leaving people I love to live in different places. How much displacement can a heart take?

I thought I would love Kellogg more. It is after all the mecca of the study of branding. But while the classes are brilliant and the learning doesn't disappoint, the experience seems to fall short. I even question my love for branding now. I used to be passionate about it - accumulating books, talking about it like it was some noble cause to anyone who would willingly listen. I don't know if I'm just going through a phase but it doesn't appeal to me so much now. Not when people around me talk about it all the time while all I really want to hear is "Welcome back baby!" above the buzz at Sydney airport on the 30th of June.

This is not home. 11 weeks here would never have made it home. Not even close. Not even with the presence of things I once thought I loved. Home is how that cheesy 6th grade song defined it. Home is where the heart is - be it in California with my brother & relatives, in Manila with my parents and friends... or in Sydney where my beloved is.

Valley Girl

#231: The Problem with Highs

The problem with highs is that there's bound to be a low. You plant your foot on a mountain peak, and the next step is a step downward. The problem with mountains is that valleys await you on all sides, 360 degrees around.

Should one prefer plateaus or plains then for the simple reason that they are predictable, constant and manageable? I don't know. I just hate being on a downward slide now. Especially since I don't have skis.

Guess what I got in the mail today!

One Year On

#230: A Full Year

It's been a year. A full year. And I have a full heart.
It was a year ago when my heart decided to take the leap of faith in full trust - not of this friend who had expressed the desire to take the next step forward, but of the God we shared who had control of all the steps we've made thus far and all we are yet to take. I could not have chosen a wiser, gentler, kinder, sweeter, a more understanding man if left to my own devices - even armed with all the personality & compatibility tests available to man. The Lord's ways are truly higher than our ways, His thoughts, higher than our thoughts. As I look back on the year that was, I am filled with gratitude to Him for saving me from myself and my preconceived notions of who I should be with or in what form or what time frame he'd come.

I remember one line from Ally McBeal that has always resonated with me:
"It's funny how we set qualifications for the right person to love while at the back of our minds, we know that the person we truly love will always be an exception."

How wise The Little Prince was when he said:
"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret:
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Indeed.

Happy First Year, my beloved!
And while we cannot go to Doyles this year, we still have 120 years together to do that.

********************************
P.S.
Below is his gift. It's enough to make Chicago bearable for another 5 weeks.



It Is You (I Have Loved)
There is something that I see
In the way you look at me
There's a smile, there's a truth in your eyes

But an unexpected way
On this unexpected day
Could it mean this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along

There were times I ran to hide
Afraid to show the other side
Alone in the night without you

But now I know just who you are
And I know you hold my heart
Finally this is where I belong
It is you I have loved all along

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved all along

Over and over
I'm filled with emotion
Your love, it rushes through my veins

And I am filled
With the sweetest devotion
As I, I look into your perfect face

It's no more mystery
It is finally clear to me
You're the home my heart searched for so long
And it is you I have loved
It is you I have loved
It is you I have loved all along