FOR Nellie Hizon receiving the Papal Benemerenti Award for her exceptional service to the Catholic Church from Pope Benedict XVI came as a shocking, big surprise, to say the least.

“At first, I did not know such an award existed,” a speechless at times Hizon said in an interview with the Asian Journal. “It really did come as a big surprise especially receiving it from the Holy Father.”

IT’S AN extraordinary experience to sit and dine with people of importance.  As a young professional exploring the “real world,” these brief encounters are unique and vital -- for they leave you with valuable life lessons.  My encounter with Faith Bautista is quite unique -- especially since we both experienced calamities on the road.

I guess we were just severely unlucky at that time. Who would have thought that we would be stuck on the road for almost ten hours, choosing Baguio over Boracay to avoid Typhoon Pedring?  We had to return to Manila the following day, because Typhoon Quiel was on its way to Baguio.