Catching Up

Hello there, everyone!

I’m sorry I’ve been gone for a while. But I’ve been awfully busy and a lot of things have happened to me since the last time I posted an update. I’m so excited to share them with you!

First, I got into the Stock Market. Though that doesn’t sound very exciting, well.. it is to me. Second, I have this, what other people call spiritual awakening. Though I have felt it for almost twenty years now, it has only dawned on me that I’m actually having it. Third, my daughter already got his notification from the US Embassy and I went with her on her medical examination and interview for US Visa. Fourth, I was invited to attend a Writing seminar which might give me an opportunity to find a publisher for my self-published book, The Old Guitar and Other Stories. Finally, my daughter, after receiving her US visa, flew to the USA and got married two weeks ago. And oh! I just finished crocheting a dress which is actually the second crocheted dress I made in my lifetime.

I’ll be posting about those things I said above for more details.

Have a great week!   

No Comparisons, Please!

To those who have been asking who is smarter between my two daughters, there is actually no exact answer to that. Generally (not absolutely) mothers believe (with great conviction) that all their children are smart, good looking and kind. But to answer that question, Mika is good in English and Math (I suck in Math) but she is extremely shy, while Candid is good in communication. She has a way with people that even I, myself, don't have. She is funny and can make people laugh. However, she can be very gullible that she still believes that her Tito Long bought all those CHUCKIE (chocolate drink) when she was young. It was actually me who did. Either that or Tito Long was too convincing. While Candid can talk to all kinds of people, Mika would run away from them if she has a choice.

To parents out there, there is no smarter, nicer, better-looking, or more talented. Each of our children has something he or she is good at. Help him or her find that out and encourage him or her to get better. Don't compare one child with another, any child, yours or someone else's. Doing so can break a child's heart. Surely, no parent wants to see his or her child heartbroken.

My Plans for 2019

Honestly, I don’t have any. Rather, I don’t have any new plans. I just want to continue what I do every day: my household chores, my book reviews, and my crafts.

BUT, I want to, kind of, upgrade. Instead of doing my usual chores, I would like to do more, like instead of mopping the floor every other day. I’d like to do it every day. Then, I’d like to do my laundry when the basket is full instead of when it’s overflowing.

Then, I like to write more paid reviews instead of free ones. I like to do good deeds, yes, but I need money to start something, so, I would go back to being generous once I raised enough money for my plans. I don’t need much, just enough.

Then, I wish to finish the cross stitch of my son’s face this year. It’s long overdue. Other people or crafters might say I should simply forget about it and start something new. But no, I have to finish it. I love it so much to just abandon it.

Well, that’s it. They are quite simple and that makes them doable. So, I hope (and I’m keeping my fingers crossed here) that I would be able to do them.

Wish me luck!  

Busy Bee

Yes, I have been too busy lately. No, I've been busy forever and I envy those who have so much time in their hands. But when I think about it more seriously, I think I should pity those people especially when I see the look of boredom in their eyes. I'm like.. 'what??? you don't know how to use your time wisely?'

Anyways, I guess I'm just.. jealous? Because I can't seem to do even half the things I want to do. I have more than a thousand books in my reading list and the list grows long every day and I can't even put a dent to it no matter how fast I read. And I keep adding more 😄 

Then, I have a huge folder of tv series that I've been meaning to watch. Ohhh! If I could only find time to watch even one episode a day. Would you believe it if I say I haven't finished the 'Legend of the Blue Sea'? That bad, huh?

Then, I haven't finished the dress that I've been crocheting since March 😧. But the good news is I'm nearly finished with the new bolero that I started three weeks ago 😃  

Oh yeah, I have a problem with priorities. I guess that's the real problem why I don't get to finish things, right? But believe me, I'm trying. 

Anyways, I'll be posting some of my work here for promotion. When I say work, I mean my book reviews and crochet products. 

Well, got to go! 

Too Many Things to Do, Too Little Time

I know, I know. It’s cliché. But still true. But that’s not actually what bothers me this very moment. I’ve been busy for as long as I can remember. I can’t even remember any time that I wasn’t doing anything, so it isn’t a big deal anymore.  

What really gets to me is the fact that so many people, some of them I know personally, have so much time in their hands that they can actually post their entire itinerary on FB, and update it, too, from time to time. Where do they get so much time?

Is it because I wake up late? Okay, 8am is much too late to get up I’ll give you that. But I sleep late, too, like 12midnight, or even later. But even then, it seems like I accomplish too little at the end of the day. I don’t even get a chance to pick up the cross stitch I’m working on, or the beanie hat I started crocheting last May.

Could it be that I have more chores than they do? Well, I have the usual housekeeper stuff like cooking, washing the dishes, washing clothes, folding clothes, sweeping the floor (I mean, when I don’t forget), mopping the floor. Those are the usual stuff, right? Then, I update my blog, read books, two at a time, one from my tablet and another one from my cellphone when I use the bathroom (Ok you don’t need to know that), then write book reviews. And before I get to blink, the whole day is gone. Just gone. I am flabbergasted!

The problem is ‘TIME is not for sale’ and even if it is I wouldn’t have enough money to buy two hours to add to my 24.

Okay. What if you can actually buy time? What are you going to do with it? Seriously? What would you do if you have additional two hours on your day?

The Luckier Ones

This is a re-post. It originally appeared on another blog on May 07, 2014. It is re-posted for sentimental reasons.

It's summer here in the Philippines and it seems like the hottest summer so far, though we say that about every summer.

Everyone finds a way to get through the heat, from the most to the least expensive. The rich leave the country to spend the season in a much colder place while those who can afford spend almost everyday going to beaches and various resorts.

For us ordinary citizens, however, we hole up in the coziest part of the house with a pitcher of iced water permanently sitting on the table. Electric fans are turned to #3 the whole day and turned off only to cool the motor down.We are luckier than others.

I saw people toiling under the ruthless heat of the sun because they have no choice. I saw construction workers, street vendors and hired hands at the farm who labor the whole day to earn money to put food on the table.

And every time I think about them, I feel ashamed. I feel ashamed for complaining about not having enough money, about the pile of bills on my desk, about not being able to go somewhere, about the heat, about everything, when I should be grateful for what I have.

Lord, teach me to be thankful for the gift of comfort..

Lights Out Brings Back Memories

Last Saturday, we joined the 2014 Earth Hour. And since it was very hot inside the house with all the electric fans turned off, we preferred to stay outside while the Earth Hour was going on.

With the lights out, I suddenly remembered my childhood in the province, the quiet and peaceful nights usually spent singing and strumming guitar, playing guessing games, throwing around corny jokes and half-truths about everyone in town.

We had no gadgets to play with or watch on to keep us entertained, just the starry sky with all its secrets and mysteries. I know it’s not healthy to dwell on the past but looking back brings up happy memories to keep hopes up in order to look forward to the future..

My Childhood Games

I grew up in the province during the 80s. In those days, computers were unheard of yet. There were no gadgets except for Game N Watch which only the rich families could afford. There was no cell phone either, and even land line phones were scarce and only installed in the city which was an hour drive from our town.

So, what games did we play back then? Well, plenty! And absolutely much more enjoyable than the computer games kids play these days.

For girls, we played piko (hopscotch) on the street, we made mud pies and clay pots, Chinese garters, jump ropes and foot jump.

While for boys they played mostly black one-two-three which is simply running around and chasing each other, touching ball, luksong baka, baseball and other ball games.

For both boys and girl, we play sipa, patintero, hide-and-seek, luksong tinik, syetong, 7-up, touch the color, tug-of-war, and a lot lot more.

We may not have computer, tablet, DS, PSP, cell phone or whatever gadgets kids have today, but our childhoods were more memorable and I, for one, wouldn’t exchange mine for any piece of technological innovation.

Enveloped in Darkness

This is a re-post. It originally appeared on another blog on March 16, 2014. It is re-posted for sentimental reasons.

On Friday night, with my two kids already asleep and I was preparing to go to bed myself, the lights went out and we were enveloped in darkness.

I waited a few moments for the electricity to come back. Few minutes, several minutes, half an hour later, it didn’t. So, I brought out the candles which I kept for such situations and felt grateful that I still have enough to last for hours. I also brought out our rechargeable light with fan. It didn’t last long, however. Probably, someone used it before and whatever power it had was just a leftover of the previous charging.

The minutes turned to hours. It seems like our subdivision or probably the entire city of Caloocan was covered by a thick suffocating blackness. It was then that I realized how dependent we become to electricity to live.

During the 80s, when I was in grade school, some remote areas in our province didn’t even have electricity and they were living just fine putting up mosquito nets at night and opening door and windows to let some air in. But right now, sleeping without electric fan is nightmare and a day without checking out the computer (which requires electricity) for social media updates is depressing.

Five hours and six pieces of big fat candles later, the power came back and we were finally able to sleep.

What Do You Think of NOSY Neighbors?

Ah.. They are a pain..?

Well, I happen to have nosy neighbors and they are very good in what they do. I always find them chatting about everyone and everything in the neighborhood. Every time a door opens and closes, they stop talking and look as if their lives depend on what’s going on behind that door.

What I don’t understand and probably wont for the rest of my life is their irrational desire to know what’s going on with other people’s lives. Why it drives them mad not knowing what other people do, where they go and whom they go with? And when they couldn’t get the information on their own, they need to ask the person herself. Don’t they even realize that the person isn’t talking because she doesn’t want them to know anything basically because they don’t need to?

And the worse part? Whatever they learn or whatever they think they learn, they would share to everyone else. Don’t they know I’m not interested in what they have to say about others? It’s not that I’m callous or something like that, it’s not that I don’t care even a little. It’s just that I respect other people’s privacy so I tend to stay away from their business. And that I have better use of my time than to talk with them so that they could talk about me afterwards.

I know I’m being called a snob and so unneighborly behind my back but I’d rather be that than be like them..

Funny But Horrible

During the 90s, there were only a few people in our neighborhood in the province who knew how to use the sphygmomanometer, or commonly known as the BP apparatus.

Among such people was my cousin who lives in the house next to ours. One morning, right after breakfast, a neighbor a few houses away, called on him. She asked him to take the blood pressure of her husband who had been very sick for some while. My cousin packed the BP apparatus and taking my brother with him, he went to the neighbor’s house.

At first he had a really difficult time feeling for the patient’s pulse. Then, when he finally felt what he thought was the pulse, he wrapped the pressure cuff around the man’s arm and pressed the bulb repeatedly. He didn’t hear anything. So, he tried again.. Then again.. And yet again.. There was no sound. There was no blood pressure.

He took the earpiece out and said in a troubled tone…

“I’m sorry about this.. but I can’t hear any sound. He doesn’t have any blood pressure…'”

The woman who fetched him rushed towards her husband and put her ear on his chest. Then she looked up and said..

“He doesn’t have any heartbeat either..”

Well, obviously, the patient was already dead but no one realized it right away.

After a few years, when we talk about it, it sounded funny at first, the idea of taking the blood pressure of a dead man was hilarious, but when we think about a dead man lying on the bed without anybody knowing he was dead, well.. that sounds horrible..

We don’t just realize it but things like that really happen in the neighborhood.

The Jerk at the Terminal

My friend is a tricycle driver. Though he loves being a driver, he wouldn’t do it if he has a choice. I understand him, of course. Being a tricycle driver is difficult. It is tiring, it feels hot, it feels cold, it can be dangerous and a lot more. But then again, if you have no choice, then, just accept being a driver and be a good one.

So, my friend got irked when another driver approached him asking if he has smaller bills for a one hundred pesos. He said he had and handed the driver one fifty peso bill, two twenty peso bill and a ten peso coin. The driver took the money and left..

He didn’t come back.. at all. He took the money with him but didn’t give my friend back the one hundred peso bill. My friend waited. He waited until noon, then afternoon, then evening, but no… the driver just simply forgot to give him back his one hundred pesos.

Knowing how my friend worked for that money, I felt bad for him. But I also know that it wasn’t actually the money that irked him a lot, it was the attempt to outsmart him. It was the conscious effort to make a fool out of him. It was the malicious intent to rob him of his hard earned money.

Well, what can I say but there are a lot of jerks in the neighborhood..

Life Isn't Easy

Arman* and Julia* had been married for nearly 20 years. Without tertiary education, it had been difficult for both of them to get a job. Eventually, Arman found work as a porter in a wet market. Julia, however, didn’t find any, which was for the better as she had to stay home to take care of the kids.

Things seem to be going well. But then, Arman developed an ugly vice, drinking. Half of what he earned went to the bottle. Moreover, Julia developed an even uglier vice, card betting, and that in addition to the expanding family.

A few years after the birth of their 6th child, Arman got sick. He got it from too much alcohol. Julia was too distracted to find work. Then, she became pregnant for their 7th child.

What to do?

The family had to interfere. Arman’s parents helped him to get proper medication. And when the baby came out, the family decided to put the child up for adoption. With Arman under medication and Julia out of focus, the family sought for a distant relative who, they believe, would take care of the baby as if it were his own. Fortunately, they found one. He was a cousin who wasn’t blessed with a child of his own. He and his wife took the baby in.

That was 2 years ago. The baby has grown up to be a healthy child. Arman has gotten well and is now back to work. I just hope that Julia would get cured of her card betting and start thinking of her family.

*not real name

Don't EVER Drink and Drive

Last Christmas, my friend had the traditional drinking session with his buddies back home. Naturally, they got drunk. One of his drinking buddies tried to borrow my friend's motorcycle but since they were all drunk, he refused.

The night wore on and my friend got so drunk he fell asleep. He woke up late in the afternoon with a splitting headache. But there was worse than his throbbing temple. His motorcycle was gone and so was his key.

He was gripped with fear, and in his mind he begged the Lord not to let whatever was in his mind happen. But the arrival of a grim-faced friend was almost a confirmation.

As my friend feared, his drinking buddy stole his key from his pocket, rode his motorcycle and crashed against a checkpoint. He was taken to the nearest hospital but was transferred to another, bigger one because of the severity of his injuries. The motorcycle was a total wreck.

Though I am thankful that it wasn't my friend who had an accident I felt sad and bad for his drinking buddy. He should've known better than to drink and drive..

The Most Assuming Guy.. EVER!

We’ve been living in our subdivision for exactly 11 years now. We moved her on February 2003. So, not surprisingly we have numerous acquaintances as is common in an ordinary community.

Among our ‘nickname-basis’ acquaintances is Don*.Well, as far as I know, Don is known around the subdivision because he is a tricycle driver, so, chances are, most of the residents know him by face.

But one thing I noticed about Don is that, he is very friendly and he assumes that he is close to everyone, especially girls. He has a habit of greeting someone and talking to her as if they are grade school classmates that sort of thing.

I also learned from others that he has a habit of hugging a ‘friend’ as he greets her with overly enthusiastic and exaggeratedly cordial '’Friend!!” which is how he calls everyone.

But on New Year’s Day, as he was waiting for passengers outside the church, he actually saw an acquaintance and as is his habit, he approached and hugged the ‘friend’ in his usual sunshiny tone. But the warmth in his voice was stopped short by the icy palm of his friend on his face. He was, in short, well.. slapped.

He immediately got on his tricycle on drove home. He never showed up for the rest of the day.

Well.. Isn’t he assuming or what?

*not real name

When Water Gets Thicker Than Blood

Fernan* is the youngest of 8 children. Their father was an austere and tough man who believed everything could be settled by fist fights. Uneducated but hardworking, the old man did not send all his children to college and none except the one who supported herself for a higher education made it through tertiary level.

When the old man got too old to work in the fields, his children began to fight among themselves over the big parcel of land their father has accumulated through hard work. So, the old man decided to divide the land. As soon as he got his part, each sibling turned his back on his family and went on with his own life, including Fernan.

All of them did well except for Berto* who happened to be a little sickly and therefore physically weak. When problem arises, Berto would try to ask help from his siblings who were willing to help him out as long as he would give them back whatever he borrowed. Berto tried, but somehow he failed to pay his siblings back so they turned their backs on him.

Then, a few years back, Fernan got sick. He needed an operation but he didn't have enough cash. He approached his much wealthier siblings who were willing to lend him money IF he would give his land as collateral for the loan. Fernan had no choice but to accept his siblings' condition. He needed to get well so that he could support his family.

That was a few years ago. Fernan is now completely recovered from his illness but his land is lost altogether to his siblings who are now enjoying the fruits of their brother's land.

I don't know but there is something sad about this. And the worst part? They are my distant relatives.

*not real name

A Little Bit of Tact

I know several people who have issues concerning tact. I, myself, have problems controlling what comes out of my mouth every now and then. But compared when I was in my 20s, I think longer now before I talk which saves me a lot of embarrassing situations.

So, when I heard about Mr. Naga*, an old and stern preacher, I felt vindicated(?) well, better off. Mr. Naga is a severe and very outspoken preacher who felt it his Christian duty to remind each and every one of his or her fault, IN PUBLIC.

It was for this reason that my cousin, Rica* started to miss masses. She felt that he was picking on her. Then, Rica started having marital problems which led to a painful separation and which was aggravated by her miscarriage. Rica nursed her bruised and bleeding heart by refraining to talk about it with anyone except her family.

Then one day, Mr. Naga came and asked about her condition. It seems a very sweet and humane gesture.. at first. Because before he left, Mr.Naga said that Rica’s separation from her husband and her miscarriage were punishment for all her sins.

Rica hasn’t set her foot on the church again until now.

 *not real name

No Record

My aunt has been living in the United States for decades now. She helped me and my cousins through college and helped my sister come to the US as well.

Last year, my aunt suddenly decided to try to file a petition for her siblings to come live with her in the US. It was such a marvelous idea my cousins sprang up to apply for their parents’ passports. But the promising world came crashing down on them when they learned their parents have no birth certificates.

Well, how did it happen that two old men near their sixties don’t have any proof of their birth?

It seems like, during that time, women usually gave birth at home and not in hospitals. As soon as the baby came out, the local midwife would ask a neighbor who was going to town to ‘have’ the baby registered at the municipal hall. Now, if this neighbor was not able to do it because he had his hands full of errands and forgot to mention the little detail to the mother, the truth would stay undiscovered until such time as this, getting a passport.

Quite common but undeniably annoying, this is an issue that we can only solve by late registration.

To avoid such inconvenience, I got copies of my children’s birth certificates early on to make sure there was no mistake in names, birthdates, names of parents and so on. Because it may sound funny if it happens to other people but seriously inconvenient when it happens to you..

Accident or Negligence

This happened last year. I decided not to post about it because it made me feel very sad but for some reasons I feel I should, at least to warn other people about it.

Back in our province, washing clothes in the river is still done. One day, this young mother brought her laundry in the river. Since she had no one to leave her son with, she brought him with her. While she was doing the laundry, the boy was playing around, running by the riverbank, picking up pebbles and splashing water.

The mother probably got too busy she didn’t notice that her little boy was no longer around. She waited for a while hoping that he would come running back from his hiding place, but he didn’t, so she started looking for him.

She found his lifeless body several meters from where she was washing. It seems that he slipped on a mossy rock, fell and drowned in the knee-deep water.

If only she found him sooner.. But nobody knows, right?

A Pair of Shoes

Several years ago, I was getting ready for the christening of one of my goddaughters. I was almost ready when I realized I didn’t have nice shoes that would match my nice dress. I felt sorry for myself. If only I had a lot of money I could buy several pairs of shoes to match every dress I wear. But since I hadn’t, my only pair of sensible and old shoes will do.

Then I went out of the house to wait for a tricycle out of the barrio. As I was at the waiting shed, I caught sight of a trio of dirty and big-eyed children walking with, presumably, their mother towards me. I recognized her as one of those who lived in a compound somewhere in the interior of the barrio. All the kids had hollow cheeks. They were skinny and dressed in oversized old shirts and they were, all of them, barefooted.

Knowing how hot and rough the pebbles on the street were, I, impulsively, asked the mother..

“Why are they barefooted?”

“They don’t have any slippers..”

And that was that.

I looked at my old shoes and realized how ungrateful I was a while ago.