My AWESOME birthday for 2010

Yay! Happy Birthday to ME! 

     To spice things up and to divert from the usual (and to make my birthday week a bit more special), I've asked someone to write my birthday post for me.  

     So... just who is my guest writer?  She's an accomplished author, an editor-in-chief of a publication in Manila, a brilliant professor, a trusted friend, a lady and a confidante.  If you've read my posts, I might've mentioned her somewhere on here.  Here's what she has to say about ME.... 

This was my profile picture on Facebook (which she obviously abhorred) at the time she added me...

     He was a bane.  Until I got to know the real person behind the naughty profile pic then I came to realize that he was actually a boon.  Our common friend Butch Lotivio asked me to add him in facebook.  At that time, he wanted to gather all his friends so he asked me to add him in my list.  Butch must be kidding when he told me that his friend was a nice guy.  His profile pic showed otherwise.  But to do my friend a favor, I opted to add.  He did confirm days after and eventually changed his profile pic to something relatively amiable and ABSOLUTELY HANDSOME.

Real Name:     MICHAEL LOTINO MONTALBAN
Nick Name:     MYKE/BONG

     There he is -- Michael Lotino Montalban to his friends in Facebook, Myke to his more familiar friends, Bong to his long-time buddies but to me, he is the Chief Justice.  (Sorry peeps, I will have to leave out the part on how he became the Chief Justice as that part seems to be the most boring part of his prominently colorful life.)

Then i changed my profile picture to this after a few days...

     I barely know CJ (Chief Justice) -- given only a couple of months of sharing a love-hate kind of friendship with him.  What I am about to reveal here is just a small portion of how I see him but not a faint proof of how much I value this man’s friendship with me.  What I am about to say may or may not be true but I bet it would be totally interesting for those who want to know your kind of guy.

THE BOY IN THE MAN

     CJ is the total package of a man -- reserved, well-mannered, maturing, wise, and admirable in considerable aspects.  While he may be a total MAN, he is also a young BOY.  He can shower you with more attention than you crave for but will secretly (so childishly) want you to pay him the same intensity of attention that he showers you with.

     While he views life in a mature perspective, life to him is a big party as well.  Thus he loves fun and adventure.  Like a man, he can be trusted on tough stuff.  But like a boy, he may just want to stay on the side and see how things would work out.  CJ will always be a man although time and again, the little boy in him would always want to play some naughty jokes on life and people he wants to keep at bay.

THE MAN IN THE BOY

     At the moment of writing this entry, I have had a chance to dine-out with CJ on three different occasions — when we first met personally (Yellow Cab and Starbucks), after a chaotic tempest between us (Chef’s Quarter and Tutti Frutti) and my birthday celebration (Conti’s and Starbucks).  In all the three instances that we dined-out, I can’t recall a single pattern of conversation that I had with him.  We talked about anything and everything under the sun — from the most intelligent discourse to the most trivial errors like that of enunciation (Ps and Fs).  We went from serious tone to boisterous laughter at our own personal mistakes and ugliness.  That is the best part of being a MAN in this grown-up boy.  For only a man who is secure about himself, whatever he has achieved in life, is capable of laughing about stuff and himself.  He has proven that to me, and as of press time, he still does.

THE HEART OF HIS BRAIN

     “Mr. Nice Guy to Everybody” is a real BRAIN.  He can talk about anything with so much gusto and knowledge.  He is a walking talent—he is tech savvy, fashion guru, brilliant lyricist, excellent communicator and an emphatic adviser.

     By emphatic adviser, I solely mean that he makes it a point to see things in the perspective of his advisee.  He knows just the right words to say and the appropriate ideas to share with the person needing the advice.  Thus he provides comfort to his friends who need clarification on problems that cloud them.

     While he can both go with intelligent and dumb conversations as well, he expects stupid topics to be dealt with class and a certain degree of elegance.  Pedestrian topics bore him.  Not that he can’t handle notably mediocre topics but you can sense how he deals with these topics with a particular style that turns pedestrian talks to classy.

     CJ has kind words for every ugly situation.  He always views things positively.  That is one trait of this man that is so contagious.  His flaming hope radiates to encourage everyone to view life with optimism.

     And so what exactly is the heart of his brain?  WISDOM.  And he just can’t help but share it with friends who come to him for help.  For the heart of his brain is a selfless devotion to share his wise thoughts.

THE BRAIN OF HIS HEART

     Chief Justice can be the nicest guy you can possibly meet in your lifetime.  But he could also be the most annoying when annoying gets the better of him.  That is the yin-yan of this man.

He is a man but he could be a boy.

He is a boy but he behaves like a man.

He is smart but he is eternally a learner.

He thinks solely using his brain but he feels perfectly with his heart.

     Allow me to share with you a short excerpt from one of my most favorite novelettes that talk about adult life.  This is from Chapter 21 of The Little Prince by Antoine Saint de Exupéry.  This is about the taming of the fox and how both the fox and the Little Prince learned from the taming.  Please read on.  With this, I hope to show the analogy that can best describe the brain of his heart.

"I am looking for friends.  What does that mean -- 'tame'?"

"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox.  "It means to establish ties."

"'To establish ties'?"

"Just that," said the fox.  "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys.  And I have no need of you.  And you, on your part, have no need of me.  To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.  But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.  To me, you will be unique in all the world.  To you, I shall be unique in all the world..."

"I am beginning to understand," said the little prince.  "There is a flower...  I think that she has tamed me..."

"It is possible," said the fox.  "On the Earth one sees all sorts of things."

"Oh, but this is not on the Earth!" said the little prince.

The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious.

"On another planet?"

"Yes."

"Are there hunters on this planet?"

"No."

"Ah, that is interesting!  Are there chickens?"

"No."

"Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.

But he came back to his idea.

"My life is very monotonous," the fox said.  "I hunt chickens; men hunt me.  All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike.  And, in consequence, I am a little bored.  But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life.  I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others.  Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground.  Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.  And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder?  I do not eat bread.  Wheat is of no use to me.  The wheat fields have nothing to say to me.  And that is sad.  But you have hair that is the colour of gold.  Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me!  The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..."

The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.

"Please-- tame me!" he said.

"I want to, very much," the little prince replied.  "But I have not much time.  I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand."

"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox.  "Men have no more time to understand anything.  They buy things all ready made at the shops.  But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more.  If you want a friend, tame me..."

"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.

"You must be very patient," replied the fox.  "First you will sit down at a little distance from me -- like that -- in the grass.  I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing.  Words are the source of misunderstandings.  But you will sit a little closer to me, every day..."

The next day the little prince came back.

"It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox.  "If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy.  I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances.  At four o'clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about.  I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you...  One must observe the proper rites..."

"What is a rite?" asked the little prince.

"Those also are actions too often neglected," said the fox.  "They are what make one day different from other days, one hour from other hours.  There is a rite, for example, among my hunters.  Every Thursday they dance with the village girls.  So Thursday is a wonderful day for me!  I can take a walk as far as the vineyards.  But if the hunters danced at just any time, every day would be like every other day, and I should never have any vacation at all."

So the little prince tamed the fox.  And when the hour of his departure drew near -- "Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."

"It is your own fault," said the little prince.  "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"Then it has done you no good at all!"

"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." 

And then he added:

"Go and look again at the roses.  You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world.  Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."

And he went back to meet the fox.

"Goodbye," he said.

"Goodbye," said the fox.  "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."

"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.  "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

"It is the time I have wasted for my rose --" said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox.  "But you must not forget it.  You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.  You are responsible for your rose..."

     So there. Did you miss the analogy?  It’s simple. The brain of his heart is LOVE.  And this is no simple love. Like the fox in the story, CJ needs to be tamed and loved. He needs love that goes beyond his smooth skin, handsome face, signature apparel, wit and wisdom, fun company and everything else that is good about him.  What he needs is a love that sees his true self -- his needs, wants, tantrums, insecurities, aspirations, depressions, past and maybe an insight into his future.

     Now you have a glimpse of Mr. Michael Lotino Montalban. The rest of the story about him is for you to find out. Girls, guys, and all those in between: trust me when I say, he really is yourkindofguy.  Good luck!

---

     WOW! Is she really talking about ME??? Hahaha! Anyway, it's my birthday so I'm not gonna say NO to all the wonderful things she has said about me. ☻

     When people say nice things about you and you feel that they really mean them, it's priceless. I'm thankful for the friendship that I share with my guest writer. I'm going to remember everything she wrote about me for the longest time... And when there are bad times -- I will go back to this and remember that my life, with all the wrongs and the flaws, is still a blessing to be thankful for. God is good, people! I am alive, and I feel blessed. I have my family, I have my friends and I have opportunities. Truly this is a Happy Birthday!

     Thank you for visiting my blog and maybe next time, you will  
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*Little Prince illustrations and the cake photo were found thru Google Image search. 

tags: the most wonderful birthday gift, the little prince story and its meaning