If I Could Rewrite The Back Description of The Next Queen of Heaven

Contains spoilers! 

Because I am a fan of Gregory Maguire;

Because I picked up the lessons the book had to offer;

Because I believe that this work of variation is a gem and a product of the author's sweat and effort and writing and brainstorming and all the other things that come between;

Because the description of the book cover utterly fails to reflect what is in the true contents of the pages;

Because I believe that we have different perspectives when it comes to religion, Christmas, family and all that have special meaning concerning the season;

I think that the back cover description of The Next Queen of Heaven should be rewritten.

There are a few things that have to be straightened out:

1. Mrs. Leontina Scales does not speak in tongues, in fact, ommitting the beginnings of her sentences and utterances is barely speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is considered by some to be more profound and sacred.
2. Her children do not attempt to surrender her to Jesus. They abandon her in the basement of a retirement home for nuns and leave her to God's mercy on Christmas Eve.
3. The ancient Sisters of the Sorrowful Mystery adopt a gay singing group, and gain a family and socialize in the process.
4. A Christmas concert is hardly a pageant.
5. And there is nor clear illustration of which child or whose child is born (figuratively or literally). Does Tabitha really find herself pregnant?

Themes/ Lessons learned from the book:

Although the style and language is very different from Gregory Maguire's previous treasures, the lessons and themes offered in its pages still make it a keeper. Here's what I have learned from the book.

• Whether it comes sooner or later, we all have to forgive and let go. This circles Tabitha as she lets go of Caleb and for Jeremy as he gathers courage to do the same to Willem. 
• Family is still family. Family members accept you for who you are. Mommy Leontina may be the single mom, but she fights and lives for her children as she raises three teenagers all on her own. Sean Riley's parents may not come to terms with his homosexuality and having AIDS but they show up as a family just the same. And whether or not the Catholics and the Radical Radiants are on different sides of the spectrum, they do help out each other in the case of the Scales family. 

My favorite character in the book would be Sister Alice Coyne of the Our Lady of Scarcese Parish. The Nissan-riding outgoing nun is too smart for her age and reaches out to anyone belonging to her church-even those who are not. And she does not condemn nor chastise anyone.

There. Now, I will be moving to another book. 

Even after reading, I still don't know exactly who is the Next Queen of Heaven. But I'm still keeping it on the shelf between Confessions and Mirror, Mirror. 

Any thoughts? Share them below! 

Start. Share. Save.

I'm finishing this post, because like what happens all the time when the year is about to end, everything else becomes hectic. So this will be the time to look back on 2011 and do a little review.

Here are some important lessons the year brought for me.

Start

It's best to start the day right. I used to get up late during my college days and show up late for classes because they all started in the afternoon. It meant that I had leisure time to cook for myself and sit back in shorts at home and read. But lately, I had to practice time management and this taught me to wake up early. This is especially true for travels when I am usually booked on a morning flight (6:30 AM) and most call times for assembly and road trips are around the same time.

I used to be nocturnal, believing that all my creative juices came with the dark. However, lately I spend all my sleeping hours at night, usually retreating to bed at 8PM and getting up the following day. I found out that I can do more and finish tasks earlier if I get a good head start. A good cup of coffee and a hearty, simple breakfast makes it more inspiring for me too.

Share

I have learned to share this year. I shared my skills and time to some kids and gave them tips about writing, became a speaker to some engagements. I have actively shared my thoughts and opinions and also other resources that I fully have access to. I'm proud to say I did my part in sharing what I could.

Save

This is the most important lesson yet for me. There are many things I want, and a secret ambition I yet have to fulfill, the only means I can attain is by saving. So I'm starting and continuing this year. I do hope I am able to accomplish soon.

Full speed to 2012 and thank you to those who have been part of my 2011.

Misa de Gallo

This is Tetuan Parish, the nearest church from our house, but this photo was taken during the fiesta in our village. (Will be uploading what it looks like in Christmas soon!)

Only nine days before Christmas morning, Filipinos get up earlier to complete one of the long-standing traditions of the season, the Simbang Gabi. Beginning on December 16 and ending on December 24 with the Misa de Gallo, the Simbang Gabi or translated in Evening Mass is attended at 4 or 5 in the morning. The Simbang Gabi is a devotion to the Blessed Mother. In some churches on Christmas Eve, the panuluyan is re-enacted showing Mary and Joseph looking for a birthplace for the child Jesus.

The panulayan is a re-enactment of Christmas Eve, when Joseph and Mary were searching for a place for the night.

According to age-old beliefs, if a person has an important wish he wants to be granted, he has to complete the nine mornings of Simbang Gabi. Many stories can be heard regarding the personal wishes and fulfilments of those who have attended and completed the nine mornings.

The Simbang Gabi was adapted from Mexico and other Spanish colonies. It was first held in the evening, and the clergy noticed that most of the churchgoers no longer have energy from attending to the fields all day, the archipelago being an agricultural country by region, have decided to move the masses during early morning just before sunrise to make it more convenient. Filipinos normally begin their work early in the morning to beat the harsh temperatures of the weather.

The Simbang Gabi is a tradition which strengthens the bonds between family members, where prayers and Christmas wishes are prayed over during observation of the mass. After the mass has been offered, a common sight is the vendors selling native delicacies to bring home and enjoy such as the putong bumbong, suman and puto to be savoured with hot chocolate. And each morning, as Christmas Day gets closer, so does the ties between family and friends become.

Yummy Puto Bumbong (photo from dubaichronicles.com)

This is hot chocolate, Pinoy Style 

Simbang Gabi is not only practiced year after year to continue tradition. It is observed as a Catholic community to intensify our faith through spiritual preparation of Christmas. Its significance is whether or not the novena is completed, but the personal disposition in order to receive the Lord’s blessings. 

Cum. Meh. Etc.

It comes as a personal curiosity and I have decided to read up on the following words which we might have heard or read, but do not necessarily know the definitions or origins. This is a simple etymological overview though. 

Etymology is the study of the history of words,their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. It is a major branch in linguistics.(m-w.com) Read more here.

Cum

Cum, as in, cum laude. Cum means "along with being". It is regularly used to form usually hyphenated phrases. The term was first known to be used in circa 1869, with Latin as its language of origin, akin to Latin of com-. 

Meh

I have encountered this word only yesterday. Online coach and entrepreneur Marie Forleo explained in her  How to Deal with Overwhelm video that meh means anything "that basically kind of sucks", like anything you're not passionate about, feel guilty about or pressured to do. 

Urban Dictionary defines meh as an interjection when there are no right terms to describe your state, often used to express boredom. It is also used when you aren't ok but are not too bad either. The use of this word arises when the person who says meh does not want to talk about how he is feeling because of not being in the mood. 

Scenario 1

person A: "hey dude! you ok?" 

person B: (feelin a bit pi**ed off but not at his/her worst and aint in the mood for going into detail!) "Meh!"
person A: "Oh its like that is it?"
*person-B doesnt even have to explain him/herself, person-A has established hehe!

Scenario 2

Person 1 - 'hey, how was your day'
Person 2 - 'Meh!'

Etc is a Latin expression that means "and other things" or "and so forth" which reminds me of the King and I's Etc, etc. It is expanded as et cetera, et meaning "and" and cetera means "the rest". 

If there are some more words you want me to hunt and research for, kindly drop them at the comment box below and I will get back at you! 

Where do you want to party? Play the #RIOMintsLab games and you might just end up in Republiq.

Where do you want to party? Play the #RIOMintsLab games and you might just end up in Republiq.