Where is Christmas?

It's almost Misa de Gallo and I've been waking up feeling the cool morning breeze but missing that special feeling that comes during this time of year. Where is Christmas?

The Agony of Waiting

I went out of the office for my doctor's appointment. She was supposed to be in by 12:30. Apparently, she started her consultation at around 2 and with 4 more patients before me, I wonder if I could make it back to the office by 4.

Some days, the odds are just not in your favor.

To a Fruitful 2013

2012 has been a good year for me and my family.
Work has challenged me to do things that I have never imagined I was capable of doing.
I've been to places that I would have not gone on my own.
I met new friends made my transition very smooth and easy.
Despite some medical emergencies, we've managed to stay healthy.
Life is good. Life is indeed good.

For 2013, I pray that I could give back to the universe the good things that it has bestowed on me
May I be kinder and more patient when people test my resolve
May I give more and share more of what I have to people to need the most
May I love more and care more to family and friends near and far
May I value more and treasure more the people who I hold dear to my heart
and may I grow more and learn more so I can be a better person for myself and for others.

Cheers to a good year ahead!

17 Years and Counting

The View From The Other Side

Now that I am on the other side, I can't help but feel relieved that I am no longer part of the "breathtaking events" that have transpired in the island. I guess the Lord knows how much pain and disappointment I can handle and so He gave me a way out.

I pray for deliverance.
I pray for patience and understanding.
I pray for hope.
And most of all, I pray for guidance
That amidst all these people will find it in their hearts to trust in You.
Keep them safe, O Lord.

Eclipse of the Heart

Here's our picture of the December 10, 2011 total lunar eclipse. It's a first time for our little boy and it fascinated him.

I remember when I was young, lunar eclipse used to be a big thing. I grew up in a house where the doors were closed at seven in the evening. I could not see the sky from my bedroom window. The towering kaimito tree with its flourishing greens covered my view. So when we hear in the news that there will be a lunar eclipse, we had a reason to stay out late at night. And all for a moon that is partially hidden behind a shadow? I did not quite get it. I wish my parents were more creative and told me exaggerated stories about the dragon eating the moon or something, it would have been more interesting. Being outside the house after seven was more interesting for me. Seeing everything glisten in the moonbeam, my neighbors looking up the sky as if waiting for something spectacular to happen, children my age running about chasing one another, it was a sight to behold.

False Positive

My Christmas came with the good news that I was going to have a permanent job in an office by the following week. It was not only good news; it was great news. After six months of sabbatical, my husband felt that I needed to find work already so we can move on with our lives financially. I was happy about the news but I did not let it get the better of me and at the back of my mind, I was still worrying about all the other commitments that I started during my sabbatical. I kind of find it hard to just forget about all of them. I have been enjoying the lot. And I can't believe I was putting them all aside and making them my back-up plan.

Then, yesterday, right when I was already processing my entry requirements, they called me in to take back the good news. They said they still had to request for my position to be funded and all. There and then, I felt nothing; not even the least disappointment. It must have been my guardian angel's hands over my shoulder that got me through the whole situation without having to feel pain or even self-pity.

The news, I know it broke my husband's heart and it got him worrying again as to how we will survive the following months. But I have faith and I refuse to be a victim in this situation. We WILL get through this. I know.

What If God Answered His Prayer?

I asked my son to include my intentions (to find a job within the week) in his prayer before bedtime. Instead, he asked God to give me a job next year. When I asked him why, he told me that he likes having me at home. Now if only we're not heading towards difficult times, I would have liked that too.

What is your favorite color?

I was playing 20 questions with Koy this morning and I asked him about his favorites. He gave me the usual answers:

• favorite person in the world - Mama and Papa
• most favorite cartoon character - Optimus Prime
• least favorite cartoon character - Catman
• most favorite cartoon hero - Crimson Chin
• favorite breakfast food - N-Rich Noodles
• favorite lunch food - Molo Balls
• favorite dinner food - Pork

until

• favorite color - cerulean

Huuuuuuuuuh!!?

I wasn't aware that there is even a cerulean until The Devil Wears Prada. But my 6 year-old son tells me it's his favorite color. Cool kind of blue, he says.

My son, you never cease to amaze me.

__________


Cerulean on the Web

Wikipedia:

• Crayola issued cerulean in 1990
• HEX Code: #1DACD6
• RGB: (29, 172, 214)

Webexhibits:

It's a cobalt stannate which was introduce as a pigment in the 1860s. Very stable and lightfast greenish blue with limited hiding power. Cerulean blue has a fairly true blue (not greenish or purplish) but it doesn't have the opacity or richness of cobalt blue. It was not recommended for use in watercolor painting because of chalkiness in washes. In oil, it was particularly valuable to landscape painters for skies.

Our Baby Finally Came Home

After three months of waiting, our baby is finally home. At some point during the long wait, we've lost hope. Until finally we got the call. HP is going to be okay. He's finally up and running after undergoing a battery of tests. He survived a major procedure and a transplant.

So here he is now, our baby. Fully functional and ready to rumble.

HP with Compaq inside.

Tatay's 9th

Has it been 9 years since we last held your hand, talked to you and leaned over your shoulder. We've moved on but we haven't forgotten.

My Brain, My Brain

Mama: Boz, indi ka ka play kung indi mo ni mabasa

(Boz, you can’t play if you can’t read this)

The Word: NEOPETS

Koy: Ne

Koy: Ne-o

Koy: Neodex?

Mama: Nope

Koy: Neopex?

Mama: Nope

Koy: Neo… ano man?

Mama: Sige na, indi ka gd ka play kung indi ka kabalo

(Give it a go! You can’t play unless you know this!)

He curled his hands into fists and started to pound on his temples while squinting and chanting, “Brain, Brain, buligi ako!!!!!” (Brain, brain, help me!!!!!)

Everybody broke down in laughter, especially Koy.

AboutThePhoto: taken over a year ago, filed under ways of entertaining yourself on a slow weekend with kutsinta cups as props.

It's Complicated

An officemate shared with us this interesting scenario:

(Note: Names used here are a figment of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to actual names of people, living or dead, is purely a coincidence).

Peter’s son, Matt, by his legal wife, Marge, falls for the sister, Eleanor, of his common-law wife, Gigi. By some cosmic intervention, Matt and Eleanor, fall in love. And despite all odds, get married and start a family of their own.


Here are a few questions:

1. How does Eleanor address Peter, who is Matt’s father and her sister’s common-law husband?
2. How does Matt address Gigi, his father’s common-law wife and his wife’s sister?
3. How does Eleanor address Gigi’s children who are also Matt’s siblings?
4. How does Eleanor’s children address Gigi who is their Granpa Peter’s common-law wife and their mom’s sister?
5. How does Eleanor’s address Grandpa Peter and Aunt Gigi’s children?


And if that doesn’t muddle the concept of a family tree with the invention of new concepts such as Lola-Tita, Tita-Sis and Tito-Cous, imagine the torment that the children of this complicated relationship will go through when they will be asked to present in their elementary class their genealogy.

photocredits: The Juggler originally uploaded by sumrow @ flickr.com

Hayden Kho - Katrina Halili et al Sex Videos

So what happens now?

Old sins coming to haunt you. A smear campaign, character assassination to the core. Challenging the denials made in the past.

What becomes of the man from whom all filth derived?
Of the women whose consensual participation to the acts now put them in the seat of public scrutiny.

What of the lover who took in the man, the voyeur?
Has she really forgiven him?
Or is it just part of the brilliant plan of a woman scorned?

So what happens now then?

The man owns his doings? Swears by whosoever that he is currently taking steps to reform? Will he get away with it?

And the women? Or what’s left of their self esteem after the horrendous expose. Who’s to forgive, lest, forget?

And what of the families of all the parties involved? Friends, enemies, frenemies and acquaintances?

And of the society that feeds on the scum of every sordid detail?

Abangan....

Expecting

pregnant .1
Originally uploaded by moggierocket

No, I'm not talking about me. But a college friend of mine who was in the neighborhood to visit a friend. Tin's eight months pregnant, a wife to a stroke victim and a mother to a twosome little boy who happens to be my inaanak. I was happy to see her pregnant (and I'm happy that I'm not, harharhar!). But she told me that they actually didn't plan on having another child so soon.

And she said, "Abi ko kay kaagi si hubby stroke, ok lang, kay indi naman na makabuo."

Te abi? abi-abiha abi?

Photocredits: moggierocket@flickr

Skye had a Plan

Standing in front of the gate, the two boys and the girl, Eman, Ejay and Skye, had their heads full of thoughts of the toys that they would play with once they make it inside the house.

But how? Skye had a plan.“Let’s ring the doorbell and dash inside. That way they won’t have a chance to shoo us out.” The boys agreed.

So they reached for the bell. Stretched their arms as far as they could. Jumped...Stretched and Jumped. But to no avail. The doorbell was too high for a kid’s reach.

What to do? Skye had a plan.“Piggyback! I go on your back and ring the bell.”The boys obeyed.

The boys docked. And Skye went up. The doorbell went teeeeeeeet!

Skye jumped down. And they waited for someone from the inside to open the gate.1…2…3… they all poised to dash inside.4…5…6…no one answered the door.

Why not? Skye thought, "They must have known it's us!"

What now? Skye had a plan.“We pick the lock!" The two boys looked at her, quizzically.

She scanned around and shouted, "Aha! A wooden stick! This will do the trick!” The two boys nodded. They shove the stick into the keyhole. Then they twisted it to turn until... oooops! it broke.

Skye gulped. The boys froze. “We had to get that out.” The boys hesitantly agreed with her. So they wriggled and they wiggled to get the stick out.

From afar, the nanny of the little boy who lives in the house, eyed the three kids huddled at the gate. "What are these kids up to this time?" she thought. And then she shouted, “What are you doing? What are you doing? Stay away from the door!”

The kids stopped...And Skye had a plan. "Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!"

__________

The kids broke the lock. Good thing Superman was around. Else, we would have had to find a handyman to change the lock at 7 in the evening!

We never saw Skye again for another three days.

Eman, Ejay and Koy remain friends.

And Superman, my Superman, saved the day.

photo credit: Door Lock Originally uploaded by RayDS @Flickr. Door Lock Originally uploaded by RayDS

Of Future MILs

Boz @ 4.9

Tita Rhea: Boz, din ka makadto? Where are you going, Boz?

Koy: Mapuli sa Bacolod We're going home to Bacolod.

TR: Pwede ko ka upod? Can I come with you ?

Koy: Kung gusto mo. If you want to.

Koy: Galing sa balay kami ni mommy matulog. But we'll be sleeping at mommy's house.

TR: Te pwede man ko to ka upod sa imo? Can I join you?

Koy: Basi kigan ka ni mama mo. You're mom might not approve of it.

My son, a gentleman in the making!

Eating on His Own

photocredits:whimsystudios@flickr

Last Sunday we attended the hubby's high school reunion at Hotel Del Rio. We met some of his batchmates who brought their families as well. During lunch, we sat Koy in between us. Without any supervision, he managed to eat on his own finishing every spoonful of rice and sotanghon with egg on his plate. One of the hubby's lady batchmates asked how old is Koy and when we told her he is 4, she was surprised at how young and independent he is. An observation shared by every one else on our table.

When we got home, we shared this info with Koy, congratulating him at how he was able to impress his papa's batchmates.

"Te kay may pulis to!" (There was a police officer there!)

Amo gali?

The Seamstress

My sastre told me things about herself that I wouldn't ask about on a regular day.

1. She swears by Dove soap. That's the only brand she uses for her body and for her hair.

2. She gets a yearly supply of 16 bars (not less) of Dove soap from a seaman relative.

3. It's been a week now and her yearly stash hasn't arrived yet because there was no one from the relative's ship coming home to the province yet.

4. She won't buy any other soap. But she didn't say what she's currently using in the absence of her favorite brand.

5. She may not use shampoo on her hair but she buys Johnson's No More Tears shampoo and use it on her eyelashes. She says it's the best way to get rid of those morning glories that plague her thick eyelashes.

Of course she also told me about work related stuff like

1. She never missed a deadline

2. Her customers are very contented with her workmanship

3. She gets stressed when there is a brownout since all her machines are motor-driven

4. Her clients love the way she makes sleeveless dresses.

5. She need not to Alaska or California. Her creations can do the tour around the world for her.

FVW 303

I will remember this license plate for as long as I can and the driver of the Molo Baluarte jeep whose face I saw from its side mirror. I won't forget what you did. Not when I almost fell to my knees when your jeep pushed me while you were backing. Of course I didn't see it happen, I was facing the opposite direction awaiting my turn to cross the street! It didn't hurt, really, but I felt my innards churn from the impact. I felt numb for a sec. And when our eyes met, there wasn't remorse nor guilt in your eyes. You just moved out as if nothing happened.

I would have ran after you or call the attention of the traffic enforcer 10 meters away but I was too stupefied to do any of that. I just stood there see you go. Damn!

Sige lang, as my folks put it, wala na subong gaba, merese na lang!

I will let fate deal with you and your minions. You'll get a dose of your own medicine! You'll see!

photocredit: gem