By Dyan Cuevas

SO THE stressful academic days have ended only to be replaced by the dog days of summer. A tidbit written somewhere states that the phrase “dog days” comes from the fact that Sirius, the Dog Star, was at its brightest during summer in ancient Rome. If that were the case, people would be rioting the streets right now to have their encyclopedia edited as they know this phrase is actually derived from the fact that everybody pants like a dog during this arid season.

The joy and agony of nothing

Sure, nothing beats two months of doing nothing, but even doing nothing requires at least a maximum temperature of, say, 10 degrees. The truth is, summer is great, definitely, but the heat that comes with it is just too much to handle. What does a young person in search of the meaning of life do to cope with the rigors and tribulations that the summer heat brings? The answer is a lot.

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By Darwin John Moises and Michelle Mendez-Palmares
Singlestalk

Michelle: Have you been on a blind date? I have. It happened a long, long time ago. But I can still remember it because it was my first and only blind date. I will spare you the details of a forgettable experience that I still can’t forget because it was one of the most uncomfortable moments in my adult life. Anyway, for the uninitiated, a blind date is a date where two people who have never previously met or seen each other meet for the first time. With the Internet, blind dates are not uncommon as people who have “met” in chat rooms or forums or IMs decide to take it to another level by seeing each other personally.

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By Evelyn R. Luab
Light Sunday

My naughty grandson easily says “sori, sori” (sorry) if his small, tin car lands on Kates’s head or his big fire truck hits my toes. However, we always tell him it’s not enough to say “sorry!” Make amends!

Peter denied Jesus Christ no less than three times and he made several blunders in his early life, but after the crucifixion, Peter became the strong one. He preached the word of God far and wide, and showed his strength in his faith. He more than made up. He died a martyr.

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By Tara Cantones

Cancer. One word and everything else changes. Anyone who may have been diagnosed or has a loved one with this grave illness could only think of any one of these — pain, anger or death. It’s a plague that seems to just create havoc inside a family’s life. It can cause financial drain, bring emotional trauma, and even raise spiritual challenges.

My dad had been diagnosed mid of last year with Follicular Carcinoma with Bone Metastasis-Stage 4. In layman’s term, thyroid cancer, which has spread to his bone structure and the doctors, only gave him five months more to live. It all hit me so sudden. The news seemed like a big wave that washed all my senses away. I just cried and cried for days, without letting my mom and dad see. I wanted to appear strong for them and that we have so much time still even if I felt my dad seemed like a walking time bomb.

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