Blood contact

    She was 15, he was 17. They met in one of the family reunions. Instant attraction for her. They got along very well and since then she didn’t missed a chance of attending their family reunions. They communicated regularly. Though they don’t share common interest and ideas, he always acted like a big brother to her, reminding and expressing his concerns.  He left for US and did not come back since then. For the first 2 years they kept on exchanging mails but she eventually stopped answering it.

The more the merrier

Another weekend, another fantastic event to look forward. Tonight, the whole family of my sister including her husband and 3 kids will be arriving from the province to buy things in preparation for the holiday. It would be a riot in my place for 3 days. Good thing its weekend. We don’t get along very well with my brother in law but we could use some muscles with the shopping (are we bad??!!). They are usually in the city twice a year, before holidays and before the opening of school year. Anyways, I am sure we will be out most of the time and they will be home only at nights (I will not be home at night since I am on a night duty).

My place is just small and limited only for a number of persons but my sister refused to get an apartelle this time saying it would be a hassle to and pro for the things they would be needing.  Beside, the kids are not in their best behavior when staying in one place (they can play and make a noise as much as they want in my place) and my brother can look after them when my sister and her husband need to go out without the kids). My brother will be set to perform at home haircuts for my nephews (they kind of imitating the haircuts of my brother).

Nevertheless, it feels good to have them around.

The Biter not the Barker

 My day off…time to get together with those I seldom see. One of them is Jay, a distant relative, who is lovely to hug and whose life is interesting to blog. We used to work together but eventually he figured out where he wants to be. Anyway, he just arrived yesterday from 1 month vacation in UK. He visited his married sister with 3 kids and his mother. Usually, whenever he is in Manila, he stays at my cousins house and we sort of hang out together to catch up everything.  

 He brought with him a story of his whirlwind romance fresh from UK.  Met somebody from Latin America (LA) and they hit it off from the start. Meeting like LA used only to be a fantasy for him and he allowed himself to be drawn into a fantasy world like no other. Claimed LA is a “real biter not a barker” (I choked on air & almost fell from my chair). LA swept off his feet through body language. We bursted out “Of course, you have different language, how do you expect to understand each other?”  

Jay related that with his past relationships, he used to be scared of doing things outside of what is normal. But upon meeting LA, it is the only time that he experienced an overwhelming love and no words necessary for what they feel. Action speaks louder than words (..and I cant imagine what he means by that), LA don’t know English much. They fall suddenly and completely in love with each other. They both want to fill spontaniety and surprises, not to know what is next but happily anticipating whats to come.

Jay plans of going back to UK and contemplating on accepting LA’s proposal to get married next year. Oh!!!…..did I mention that Jay and LA are both guys and gays???!!!

What is in store for me?

Let us see what’s in store for me…. I’m already old enough and realistic about my chances.  I may not be able to get my mind wrapped around my current big concern, but I don’t need perfect clarity just now, In fact, I ought to find that people are willing to cut me major slack. 

I am being sold something that isn’t what it’s cracked up to be — but I haven’t signed the dotted line yet! I tend to pull back and ask tough questions. I may still dive in, but at least I’ll know what I need to know.

Toxic Monday!!!

     Its toxic Monday again, time to be in full gear and be ready for a battle.  It’s not that it’s not going to be any good, it’s just going to be underwhelming. I work days, nights, weekends, holidays.  You name it, I could be working.  Usually, when we are extremely busy, our days go by very quickly and we often don’t have time to think of whether it’s manic Monday o toxic Tuesday or thanks God Its Friday. Workload believe it or not will increase our immunity against Monday Blues. 

We are doing something that we entertain us while working…we are playing games in computer and watching movies. Like last night, we had 4 movies in a row…Unbreakable, Van Wilder, Jennifer’s Body and Ice Age…. while eating pizza, pasta and chicken that we ordered from Yellow Cab. Not bad, hmmn?

Nowadays, all I think about is what I have to accomplish and when it needs to be done since it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s the weekend or weekday anymore.  And speaking of accomplishing….I better get ready for work.

Everything happens for a reason

     This afternoon, my cousin’s wife left for another 10 months contract in Middle East. She is working as a Nurse in a government hospital. This would be her 4^th contract and her 3^rd 2 months vacation after every contract. She left my cousin, who has myelogenous leukemia. They have a 10 year old kid who is also being taken care by his sister. Their other sibling is in Australia and also working as a Nurse.  

Sometimes, we wonder why the person closed to us has to leave and take care of others when in fact, we need their caring. But let us understand the reasons for being away are primarily economic, however, they too suffer the impact of being away from their family and loved ones. They feel helpless from knowing the present situations of who they left behind in order to provide for them (no, the sacrifice is NOT made in favor of the country — it is a personal and family affair). 

No treatments necessary for my cousin, it was diagnosed on the end stage and he is just having pain management. Through it all, he has stayed strong…preparing everything. He talked to his wife before she left to be prepared for anything, and to his daughter not to cry if he is already gone. Their brother will also be home first quarter of next year. He even gave instructions on how he wants to be finally settled. 

He might already accepted his destiny but  we’re not yet loosing hope, and still praying for his full and  quick recovery.

Really 75 years old

    Been there been here been everywhere…hay! I was up and about …straight for 24 hours, no sleep not even a wink.  After my all night shift, my cousin and I directly went to Antipolo to visit our Aunt who is here for a vacation from San Diego. For a 75 years old person she looks younger. She was a widower at the age of 45, with 4 kids, all married. She married again at the age of 55 and was divorced at the age of 65. Now, she is here for a vacation, and guess what…she is dating again. She is inviting us to accompany her on a date this weekend with a General. We asked her where are they going, and she excitedly informed us, they are going to a disco bar. Disco!!!! My foot!!! 75 years old, disco? We thought she might be referring to a ballroom but she insisted that it would be a disco bar, with live band somewhere in Timog. All right, we cant wait for her stories after the date. Of course, we will not be going with her. Who needs a chaperone, anyway? She still has 1 more week before going back to US. Well, let her enjoy her vacation….and I will let myself sleep all night and day and enjoy my off.

Both sides of the world

 Starting tomorrow, my world would be on the other side again. I will be sleeping at day and working at night. I’ve been working for quite sometime on ordinary office hours and I thought its about time to change my world a bit.  More than a couple of my friends have raised their eyebrows with my decision to choose this shift (I am privilege to pick up a good shift). “Is that going to be, um, okay?” they asked skeptically.  It will.  It’s nothing new, really.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life, it’s that it constantly changes

He is the Man!

  Today, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao defeated Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico on Round 12. Pacman is simply amazing, a living legend. The majority of Filipinos stayed at home this Sunday noon to wait for the fight which was televised by GMA 7 I think 3 hours late full of commercials.  It was worth watching, every punch by Pacman to Cotto made an impact. No punch wasted, all delivers with purpose.

My sister made a bet with her officemates in favor of Cotto and of course she did not won. My sister is simply crazy!

Labyrinth

    It’s not easy, it’s really not easy….. I usually do not leave the things half way, this makes it much more difficult to amend later on.  Just a bit of my confidence turned into efforts can make my dreams come true! Things are getting out of hand and I try to just take a deep breath. Things are getting weird beneath the surface and I might not be able to figure it out. It is a good time to ask probing questions and look for odd answers.  

Well, nothing is obligatory, everything is permitted” motto. I try my best to look at the main issue intently — it’s safe to assume I am missing something! It doesn’t mean I am dumb, just that there are hidden variables and I have to consider some areas. And my amazing energy pretty much guarantees that I will get through this.

                   As my fortune cookie says “Be the first to the field and the last to the couch”

Let there be light….

I stopped counting…this would be the _th year that I was not able to go home to our province to commemorate the souls of my relatives but I always include them in my prayers. And whenever I have a longer vacation I see to it that I visit the grave sites.

And since we are far from our province , we just lighted candles in front of our door and offered prayers for the souls of our loved ones.  In honoring our dead, we also prove that we know how to live.

I remember when I used to celebrate All Saints Day at the province, it seems more like a  reunion to me. We usually go to the cemetery in the morning and there we meet up with our other relatives. I usually look forward to this because this means I will be meeting up with my other cousins and be able to catch up what is happening in our lives. The elders would reminisce on the good old times with the departed and at the end of the day, we would pray the rosary for the spirits of our friends and family who passed away. The mood was festive and we always end up at the house of one of my uncle who happens to celebrate his birthday on Nov 1.