I have these two pics taken when I accompanied my nephew, Deen, to his Christmas Party last year. Deen is another tot, a 3-year old brilliance who can already read. In fact, he was the one who read the opening prayer before their party began.
As a toting Tita, since his parents where both indisposed at that time (sis was in US and bro-in-law was on an urgent business call) I asked Deen to pose for a souvenir picture.
Fact: Mula noong pagpasok ng 2009 (2% ng 2009, hehe), hindi pa ako naabsent sa beer. Ewan ko ba, parang gabi-gabi na lang, sa mga napupuntahan ko, laging may sesyon, e hamak na tapos na ang Oktoberfest. Jan 1, New Year's celebration; Jan 2, 70s Bistro sa pagbabay sa berdey ni bossing Mara; Jan 3, wedding preps kila Annie; Jan 4, wedding ni Annie; Jan 5, 8liens sa Bahay ni Juan; Jan 6, DNS sharing ni Junior; at kagabi, naunsyaming Email Server sharing ni Roz.
Fiction: Lasing Philosophy pa rin. Hindi maipaliwanag ng "utak kong lito" (henyo, pahiram ng iyong legendary phrase... hehe...) at mananatiling higanteng question mark ang katinuan ng isang tao kapag nalalasing. Although may mga basis na ako tulad ng nangyari kay Roz ("Hindi ako lasheng!"), at kay JR (kunwari hindi tunay na pangalan, haha!) na kumakanta ng "Di Ako Iiyak" habang nanglilimahid sa luha ang mga mata.
Fact: Nakakuha na si Momsy ng US NIV. Na-aapprove siya for a 10-year multiple entry under non-immigrant status sa US. Ang saya nga e. Nagtambay ako sa Baclaran Church, nakapagnovena kay St. Gerard, at naka-attend ng misa para sa 3 Kings. Hayan, sana hindi na mamroblema ang ate ko habang tinatapos yung kanyang grad studies. Ngayon pa lang, sobrang namimiss ko na si Momsy. Five months kaya siya dun! Ibig sabihin, 5 months akong walang ina. Waaah! Walang adobo, walang dinuguan, walang seafood curry... at walang bantay ang Popsy ko?! Oh no!
Fiction: Matuto kaya akong magluto in five months?
Fact: Isa na akong misyon. Kahit saan yata ako mapadpad -- sa trabaho, sa reunion, sa salu-salo sa barkada, nagmimistula akong nakakatawang tampulan ng tukso. Kulang na lang, ipost nila ang profile ko sa lost and found section ng mga dating sites sa internet. Kaya nga nagsenti mode ako sa Walang Malay. In fairness, hindi naman ako choosy (hindi talaga!!!). Sila ang choosy. Hehe, palusot.
Fiction: Malas daw ang mga taong ipinanganak sa year of the rabbit ngayong year of the ox. Ibig sabihin, malas ako. Pero sa nagdaang 2% ng 2009, hindi pa naman ako minamalas. Pero hello, last year kaya, swerte daw kami. Ngee, hindi kaya. Kung swerte ang mga rabbits last year, sana nakapagbreed na ako. Haha!
Fact: Solve ako sa ilang natanggap kong holiday gifts. Si SciPhone, si Baguio shirt, si Pink VS perfume, si Red jacket, si Sagada bead bracelet, at si lucky door charm. At siyempre, pababasbasan ko na rin si crystal bead rosary. Sa mga nakaalala, sobrang daming salamat. Sa mga makakaalala pa lang, thank you in advance. Hehe.
Fiction: Huwag ko kayang ibigay yung mga hindi ko pa naiaabot na holiday gifts ko? Selfish.
Whew, and 2009 came! 2008 ended with a blast with our Sagada post-Christmas venture topping my list of unforgettables. The 8liens, I mean, me and my 8layer colleagues, invaded Sagada again last 26-29 of December (twas this time last year that we were there). This time, instead of Sagada surviving us, it is we who survived! Especially, our dear Kuya Willy, who almost peed in his pants trying to hold on to dear life in one of the tricky part of the cave connection trek. Sad to say, I wasn’t there to see it. Our group came a bit later, not fast enough to overtake the first group. I had to rely on the very detailed recollection of the 8liens about the rescue mission. (Lester of Saggas, you’re a hero!) Haha!
Another 2008 ender for me was the reunion of the V5 dabarkads last December 30 and held in our home sweet home. I survived it too! Imagine, fresh from Sagada and from the Autobus mishap (ran out of fuel, fortunately, we were already somewhere in QC!), I was dizzyingly still recovering from the cold (literally!) nights of Mt. Province, sleepy and battered from the long travel back.
I miss my “baby” Datdat too. I’m sure, Dada and Nellie misses her too. Lovely, she is. My “adopted” Christmas baby is one lucky girl. She captured two baby-less couples wanting to take her as their own. If only her true family can realize what an angel she is. Sigh!
It’s already 4AM and I am rattling my brain on what other things in 2008 have been quite unforgettable for me… Wow! Can’t list them down for now. All I can say is that 2008 was tons of blessing. Been with truly amazing people and every inch of them, every experience I had, every memory would take a whole lot of space… yehoy!
Well, I guess, it is better to look forward than look back.
2009, here I come!
A blissful and productive year ahead, everyone!
P.S.
This blog is supposed to have photos… still waiting for uploads… got no cam, yet. hehe.
The looming darkness came in the form of a client who just can’t seem to throw us the “I’m busy and I can’t afford you to be busy like me” and hangs up the phone when there are things left to be discussed.
But darkness too is warmly embracing. I guess this is why closing our eyes do wonders to ease our tensions and calm our nerves, why we sleep at night and feel rejuvenated in the morning.Basahin ang kabuuan
minsan, kahit ayaw ko, nagagawa ko yung mga bagay na ayokong gawin. tulad ng magpunta sa mall kung wala din naman akong balak bilin. ang kasunod kasi noon, napapabili din ako. at sa mga panahon ngayon, ito ang isa sa mga iniiwasan kong gawin. isa kasi akong impulsive buyer.
kaso, last saturday, after naming pumunta sa Joomla! Day Philippines, sa sm city edsa na kami dumiretso para doon sumakay ng fx pauwi ng bulacan.
at dahil naroon na nga ako sa mall, ayun, napasyal ako sa isa sa mga paborito kong tambayan. next to the bookstore, video store ang madalas kong itinerary. sad to say, na-leisure shopping na naman ako ng sangkatutak na vcd at dvd on sale. kay, ibinili ko na rin si popsy ng father's day gift--dalawang 2-in-1 dvd collection ni fpj.
naalala ko tuloy noong nakakita kami ni ate ng oil painting ni susan roces. hawig kasi sa rendering na yon si mumsy kaya hindi na ako ngayon nagtataka kung bakit number 1 fan si popsy ni fpj. hehe.
niwey, pagdating sa aking home sweet home (hello weekend!), after makipagchikahan kay madir (wala si padir, may bonding session with da big boys), nanood kami ng isa sa mga binili kong vcd. "i am sam" yung una kong isinalang. this time, normal ang aking madir. hindi kasi niya natapos yung movie. nakatulugan na niya. pero ako, sobrang na-touch. "i am sam" was simply amazing (hi smart, pahiram ng byline). same commendation goes to sean penn. at napatunayan ko na ang dali akong mapaiyak ng movies.
pero dahil ayoko namang matulog ng mugto ang mata ko (mahapdi kaya yun paggising sa umaga), nagsalang ulit ako. "the secret garden" naman. sa isip ko kasi, tutal napanood ko na siya, hindi na siguro ako maiiyak. kaso, sawi ako. hindi ko rin napigilang maluha sa ending.
tulad ng "a walk to remember" na everytime feel kong panoorin, kahit sampung beses ko ng napanood, naiiyak pa rin ako. haay, ambabaw talaga ng luha ko. ibig bang sabihin nito, mababa ang eq ko?
pero di na baleng matawag na iyakin, wag lang immature. :))
Hindi ka raw matututong magbisikleta kung hindi ka matutumba at magagasgasan. Kung nag-aaral ka namang mag-drive, normal daw yung mabangga ka muna.
Kapag naman nag-aaral kang magluto, dapat matalamsikan ka muna ng mantika. Kaya nga nung natalamsikan ako habang nagluluto ng tikoy noong Chinese New Year, naisip ko, siguro, pwede na kong sumabak magluto.
Pero dapat pumasa muna sa strict standards ng aking mga intestines.
Nakapagluto na ko dati ng sinigang na maya-maya sa miso. Malakas lang ang loob ko kasi ako lang naman ang kakain. Nag-iisa kasi ako noon sa BCDA. Masarap naman siya. Ok naman ang asim. Kaso, dahil hindi ako marunong magbudget, napadami ang luto ko. Nauyam ako sa sinigang na maya-maya sa miso dahil tatlong araw ko siyang ulam.
Kanina, nagluto ako ng adobong manok. Isang linggo na kasing nasa freezer yung kawawang manok at walang pumapansin sa kanya. At dahil nag-iisa lang naman din ako, naglakas-loob na rin akong magluto.
Ang turo ni Mumsy, dapat sankutsado ang manok. Gisado sa sarili niyang mantika. So after kong isankutsa si chicken, hindi ko na alam ang gagawin.
Buti na lang, may cellphone si Mumsy! Nagising ko pa nga e. Pero natawa ang aking madir nang malaman niya ang pakay ng aking tawag. Kaya after niyang sabihin ang susunod na step para maging successful ang aking adobo, hinayaan ko na ulit siyang matulog.
All in all, I feel accomplished. Na-appease ko naman ang aking tiyan. Hindi naman masama ang lasa ng aking adobo. Next menu ko, tinola. Tutal, may manok pa rin sa freezer.
My sister just can't help feeling ecstatic and worried at the same time.
Their 4-year old son, Yno, started building with his lego blocks when he was three, of edifice structures, boats and cars, and draws them, especially churches, schools and nature views, and colors them in complimentaries.
Their 2-year old son, Deen, can already read words like "puzzle", "dinosaur", "father", "mother", "suddenly" without attending any pre-school.
My sister, when I called her, was all problematic and jubilation. "My hands are full raising two kids, and now I have two geniuses! How does one raise them?"
She and Kuya Dino bought Yno fingerpaints and coloring books, then. But he had outgrown the paints and the crayons and went back into drawing much more complicated ones for his age (said his summer arts teacher). Now, Yno has just finished his 3x a week swimming lessons.
Deen is now the youngest in a free play school which is just three floors below their unit at Residencia.
I haven't visited them lately. But I'm itching to. The last time I got in touch was five days ago. I spoke with Yno and Deen over the phone and they were trying to update me on what they were watching on TV and what they had been doing.
"I go swimming, Tita Jaja", said Yno when I asked him how he is. "Mommy and Daddy in the office", said Deen when I asked where they are.
Goodie, miss them so. The kids, I mean. Haha!
It’s been two weeks now that I’d been getting help from melatonin to induce myself to sleep. And now I know why.
No, not why melatonin induces me to sleep but why I can’t seem to fall asleep even when I’m all spent mentally and physically.
Quite hard to believe the reason maybe, but now that I have at least an iota why would make me even more sleepless. But at least, I won’t be nursing “kaba” and “kutob” as if someone’s preying on me.
I come from a town that few people know and fewer still have been to. Long years ago, it had been “famous” for a spring resort and bowling lanes but something close to mismanagement had send it to finally stop operations. Now, the place is one big jungle of weeds and wild-others.
Yea, i'm blogging again. The reason being, i'm sleepy. The reason maybe, i snatched a bite at Annabelle's singkamas!
But my sleepiness is seemingly more physical mainly because my mind is still a whirlwind of things to do and tasks waiting to be flagged as DONE...
And i promised to do a brainless sharing on "the virtue of evil"... haha.
And i planned to blog about my week-long celebration of existence.
And i thought of those people and things i planned to blog. About dreamcatchers, about 8liens, about wishes and falling stars, about new songs in my head, about my new brainbench certification, about 2.3 to 2.4, about pursuits and long vacations, about ABOUTs.
Got to go. Real sleepy.
Biyernes pa lang ng gabi, nagte-text blast na si Kj. Saan at kelan daw ba gagawin yung kamitingan namin sa V5. Sabado na ko nakasagot. Suggestion ko, sa badmintunan. Tanong nya, "treat mo?" Sagot ko, opkors not, di ko pa naman berdey. Sabi niya, si pgma kasi inilipat ng 7. Ang V5, pinapalipat ng 6.
O di ba, mas makapangyarihan ang V5?Basahin ang kabuuan
I ask him via sms, for lack of nothing to do, if it was love at first sight. He readily answered, no.
"It was love at first talk," was his reply, with matching umlaut (uhm, the letter u with a pair of dots above it often called "smiley").
Love at first talk. Nice. My brother has a lot of sense, really.
Mischievously teasing sister that I am, I pushed asking him yet again on how long after realizing his feelings that he was able to confess his love.
Gamely, he replied, "Three years."
They went steady for six more years and got married, the product of which is a naughty-talky-witty Elai, now 4 years old.
And yesterday, we exchanged text messages again. My brother, Rhey, is in Zamboanga and was asking me if I know a flower shop that can deliver flowers for his one and only "Lav" on the 15th.
"On the 15th?!" I asked.
Haha! My brother said flowers are cheaper after Valentines.
And so, after a heavy meal at Bahay ni Lola (Pidoy's to many), the scouting for a nearby flower shop was en route.
The Royal Flower Shoppe was were I finally placed the delivery for Rhey's Lav. Then, there was the card. Hmm. I texted him and asked what to put there. Within minutes, he was able to compose his love message which I, in turn, carefully transcribed (adding more lines to even the space, hehehe).
By the way, the spring roses were delivered this morning, in time for Valentines, and he texted me his thanks.
Lav loved the flowers. =)
nagkakaroon lang ako ng pagkakataon ng mahaba-habang panoorin sa tv 'pag umuuwi ako ng bulacan ng weekends. doon, sarili ko ang remote ng dvd at tv. hehe. hindi naman sa selfish ako. may sarili naman kasing tv si ama sa kwarto at si inang naman, hindi mahilig manood, unless, bubble gang o mga gag shows ang palabas. o di ba, iba ang trip ng aking madir?
ang downside nga lang, hindi ako makarelate sa mga teleseryeng pinaguusapan sa opis. nung minsan, pinagkukwentuhan nila si kamandag. sabi ko, si richard gomez yun, di ba? ennnnggg. ang nasa isip ko pala, si tuklaw. haha!
dati din, halos araw-araw akong nagbabasa ng dyaryo. updated nga ako sa current events. pati sa mga current off-the-record events. pero ngayon, manakanakang balita na lang. mga snippets na lang ng headlines mula sa rss feeds ko sa inq7.net ang nababasa ko.
niweiz, noong sabado, nakinood ako ng tv at nakibasa ng dyaryo sa room 221 ng cardinal santos memorial medical center. libre kasi ang dyaryo dun at tv kung naka-check in ka. i mean, included sa bill.
napunta pala ako dun kasi may sakit si deen. naka-confine. pero that saturday, wala na siyang dextrose at di na rin naka-oxygen. actually, ang term ni atenggot, ginagawa na lang hotel ni deen ang cardinal. punta daw ako para masawata ko ang likot ng aking beybibeybihan. pero syempre, nakilaro lang ako. at nakitapdance kaming tatlo (ako, si deen at ang kuya ni deen na si yno) kay mumble. ipinalabas kasi ang happy feet sa cable habang nandoon ako sa room 221. tapos, nanood ng blue's clues sa laptop ang magkapatid kaya nagkaroon ako ng time na magbasa ng dyaryo.
at headline doon ang testimonya (and other nbn-related stories) ni lozada. matapos kong maghimutok, masuya, mafrustrate, manggalaiti at muli't muling mawalan ng tiwala sa kanilang dapat na pinagtitiwalaan ng bawat pilipino ay ibinalik ko ang tuon sa tv. nagsawa ako sa mga commercials (marami na palang bago, hehehe).
hanggang ginabi na ko. actually, nagpagabi talaga ako. hinintay ko kasi ang sine totoo sa gma 7. at lalu akong nagngitngit sa gobyerno. ifineature kasi ulit ang "batang kalakal" at "engkuwentro". parang binabalisong ang puso ko habang nanonood.
sino ba ang hindi? nagkakagulo sila sa kaituktukan dahil sa milyun-milyong komisyon at kontrata habang ang mga musmos e nagpipilit na kumita ng beinte pesos araw-araw at ang mga sundalo na kakarampot ang sweldo e nagbabakasakali sa kani-kanilang mga buhay.
naiinis ako. nayayamot. naiiyak. nawawalan ng pag-asa.
As soon as I stepped out of my friend's car, I had no iota how happy I was. The rain had just stopped but there were drizzles still. I didn't mind.
The night was dark, the path was muddy.
I stepped in a puddle, and still, I walked on not minding that the edges of my favorite pair of pants were clingingly wet and slimy on my ankles.
I guess I was smiling when Jecjec and Jocjoc growled, which became excited barks as I came nearer our front door.
I am Home!
An hour before, I was on a bus which I spent looking out the window, unconsciously mindful of the giant billboards along Edsa and NLEX. These, I thought, causes visual pollution. But I was too busy whiling the time to even bring that out to my companion. Then, she asked why I seemed so far away. Without a blink, I recited the advertisement on the streamer that we passed by. Then, she slept on.
A text message nudged me out of reverie. It was from one of my Kuyas. He said he'd wait on us, anyway, he was also waiting for his wife. So we hitched our way to hometown.
It was a lively ride where, in the middle of it, I also received a call from my brother. He told me that "XXX" was featuring the modus operandi that victimized me a few months back. Well the story was, I parked my sister's car along Aurora corner Gilmore and when I got back, the rear window was in smithereens, and my laptop, gone.
Anyway, the trip back home abound of what has been happening since my troop of friends decided to put up the small resto. Tomorrow, I mean, today, at 6am, we're officially in business!
Oh how I missed my friends! But I have to wait till this morning to see them and the place. They've sweated so much to put it up--from planning to finally having the "house blessing" just that afternoon. My meager contribution was naming our business, V5 Sizzlers and Stuffs. Aside from laying out an initial plan of SOS, SOSME and SOSYAL business phasing.
Putting up the resto is a risky big leap considering that our town is a sleeping town where almost everybody is dead to the world by 10pm--except us, I think, who spends until way past midnight when we're together--dvd time, mahjong, videoke, food trips...
But then, the resto is just the start of things to come. No need for "wait and see". It's not me. I hate long waits. I tend to lose patience. Maybe that's why I rather live in the present.
And presently, I'm home. A while back, I couldn't contain how moved I was when my mom's first greeting was, "Are you hungry? Dinner's waiting." Her smile was contagious. It always is. Hers is one of the smiles that infects me no matter what mood I'm in.
My dad's first words totally blew me out: "Let me take a look at my favorite daughter and see if she's changed." The next thing I knew, I was faking a model's pose. Dad was laughing, and mom, shaking her head in giggles.
And I knew then why I didn't mind the drizzles, the puddle, the muddy stains--
I am finally home, sweetly home.
Dear Ateng,
Naalala mo nung nag-ym tayo tapos nakikipag-appointment ako para makahingi ng legal advice? Umoo ka nga agad. Hindi ka nga nagtanong kung tungkol saan o kung bakit o kung sino... Ganyan ka kasi, basta kapamilya, kapuso na rin. Yun lang, sobrang saya ng pinili mong oras at araw. Breakfast sa Figaro, sa Baywalk! Tama ba yun? Alam mo bang ganung oras pa lang ako pauwi non?!
Pero siyempre, go na rin. Tapos, pagdating don, nabadtrip ka pa nga kasi wala na pala yung mga kiosks at stalls sa baywalk. Remember, na-on-the-spot interview ka pa tungkol sa sentimyento mo sa pagdedemolish sa mga establishments na nakapagbigay ng trabaho, tambayan at pasyalan sa marami?
Teka, hindi tungkol sa bagong kaso o sa plight ng baywalk ang sulat ko. May magandang balita ako!
Kasi di ba, tinanong kita kung paano ako makakabayad sa walang pag-iimbot mong pagbibigay ng iyong kaalaman sa batas?
Dalawa yung sinabi mo di ba? Parehong payment in kind: Tickets at Rackets.
Ayan, makakabayad na ko! Ihanda mo na 'yung brochure at dadalin ko sa Lunes. Bibili na raw ng pangpaseksing undergarments si Girl Bawang. Pangdagdag sa racket mo.
And most marvelously, TICKETS!
Sa September 10, sa 70's Bistro, may libre kang ticket para mapanood mo ulit ang De Kada. Oo, sasabihin kong ihuli nila 'yung Hele para makatulog ka ng mahimbing habang nakikipag-race sa EDSA si Kuyang.
Tinanong mo rin ako kung kakanta si Choks? Hmm, di ako sigurado e. Pero sa pagkakakilala ko dun, game naman yun. Tipong pumito ka lang at isigaw ng malakas ang pangalan ni Choks, magnanakaw na yun ng mic at mic stand. Sana lang, magdala siya ng music sheet. Nakakahiya naman kung didiktahan pa siya ni Deng ng lyrics, di ba?
So, pano, sa Lunes... At long last, magkakasama tayo ng matagal tagal.
Bakit kasi hindi tayo magtagpo sa bahay... pareho naman tayo ng tinitiran.
Nagmamahal,
Japot
Proud to be a
