free…

 after two long weeks in  a self-imposed hiatus, i finally tasted freedom.

cleaned up and finished everything in my to-do list, and off i went to let sun’s rays kiss my skin.

we had a lot of meetings in our planner.

we started with the "jeepney pictorial," somewhere in buendia, makati. jeepneys had, indeed, transformed a lot–from the camouflage-style jeepney of the post-war era, to the pimp-my-ride look of the 90’s to a more sophisticated style and tourist-friendly jeepney of the new millennium. air-conditioned, 20-seater, jumbo jeeps are not new to "snaking" manila’s complicated streets. these huge jeepneys have started to become a staple in the crowded streets of the country’s capital as an answer to tourism needs and hotter climate. when we arrived at the terminal, i saw the excitement from mommy ri’s face (considering it was 12:00noon). she was so amazed to see these new PUJs.

after taking some photos, which we will send to disney-singapore for approval, we went back to greenbelt to kill time before our 4pm amway meeting. never did i know that in that afternoon, i’d see r*an. what a surprise! and it was nice to see him again after a long time. and it’s even nicer to know that he’s responding well to medication.

we then went to meet lori to give her the materials for a project mommy ri asked her to do. she was so happy to be working on another project. she’s planning to go to boracay this summer; extra income…yehey!

then, off to lasalle for danz dish, DLS-street’s concert. i left my alumni i.d. that’s why i had to wait for a savior. and she arrived. thanks to andrelou i was able to get in in the heavily-guarded campus of ours. the dance routines were great. the stand-up comic was hilarious. but the lighting was terrible. i literally had a headache after.

after the show, we went to greenbelt for our late-night dinner. there, we met up with mimai, chuckie, mario, and ivan. we had a looong chat especially about heath’s sudden death; who didn’t?

aaahhh…the joy of mingling with friends again!

but, of course, i enjoyed that half-month hibernation. i practiced my parenting skills (or the lack of it), and i arrived at a realization that "the more i go through parenting, the more i say i owe my parents an apology."

it was great to be out there again…especially, as how my magic 89.9’s boys (sam-y-g, slick rick, and tony tony) put it, "single and ready to mingle."

*sparkles!

many thanks, loi

argh! this is a total a**hole! almost finished with my 800-word entry tonight, and everything is gone.

haaa….for the love of loi… i’ll repeat everything and hope to recapture that emotional entry.

***

ate luisa–or loi, as what i prefer to call her–will leave tomorrow. her temporary stay here in the white house (not the one in washington) ends as the training of the new yaya ended. she doesn’t know about this, but i’m terribly saddened by this temporary split. (i don’t know when i’m going back to caloocan, but am sure it’ll be a long time before it will happen). she doesn’t know this also, but i know she feels devastated also. (might be an exaggeration, but it’s true).

loi has been with the family even before me. she left the house for quite sometime to build her own independent life somewhere in aklan. but her earnestness brought her back to us. she had her shares of heartaches with lola who’ve caused her pain (but, believe me, it’s a matter of geriatric than anything else). but she chose to remain with us whom she considered family–more than blood; more than birthright. we likewise considered her a part of the family; specifically myself. i see her as my second mother. she takes good care of me–looking after me every time i arrive late at night, attending to my needs when i eat, travel, have events, etc. more than the extra hand, hands actually, i learned a lot from her. and those valuable lessons make our bond more special.

i‘ve learned a lot of things from her…the power of integrity…the beauty of simplicity…the value of honesty…

episode 2: blame it to the house

OFFICER: Hanggang 10PM lang dapat sa daan. Ang mahuhuli, babarilin.

(Officer: Curfew starts at 10PM. Violators will be shot.

GUY: 9:45PM pa lang ha, bakit mo siya binaril?

(Guy: It’s only 9:45PM. Why did you shoot him?)

OFFICER: Alam ko po bahay niya. Di siya aabot!

(Officer: I know where he lives. He won’t make it!)

days after

it’s already the 17th of january, 10 days after i decided to primarily rewind my body clock, and thank heaven, i’m still in the program.

I wouldn’t claim that it was a smooth sail all throughout and i had a perfect attendance, but i’m hanging on to it. i’m starting to see, feel, and experience, albeit slowly, the benefits of this early-to-bed, earl-to-rise, self-preservation program i imposed upon myself on january 7, 2008.

now, i’m keeping myself healthier. every morning i do exercise; in the afternoon, i join my brother’s children in their activities (i.e. "monkey, monkey, annabell," "patintero," and the likes) — not to mention, more bonding moments with them.

i’m more informed. by having an ample time to brief myself with the latest news (thanks to www.inquirer.net), i’m back to my old, socially-aware self.

i have more time with the kids. oh, yes, i’ve mentioned that already…

and so many good things are happening…and i know, a lot more will happen… i’ll just update you with that.

*sparkles x 2!

new series to read

recently, a friend started sending me joke messages via sms. on the first few days, i thought those were insignificant joke messages like the "inday’s-over-the-top-english" series, which my best friend collected for quite some time until the "perpetrators" behind that series, stopped converting inday and amo’s conversation into a glorious, intellectual discourse.

then, when my friend continued sending me those short, funny messages, the idea hit home. i may find them not important but still, the fact remains the same, i laugh, if not giggle after reading the message. so, i decided to share this with you.

i’m expecting that you will be, like myself in those un-enlightened days, will find this one inconsequential. but, hey, give it a shot. and it won’t hurt you if you laugh.

and, oh, this is in filipino… but i’ll try to offer free translation.

episode 1: THE MISSING STUDENT

Guro: Sino si Jose Rizal?  (Teacher: Who is Jose Rizal?)

Juan: Di ko po alam.  (John: I don’t know.)

Guro: Ikaw, Pepe?   (Teacher: How ’bout you, Peter?)

Pepe: Di rin po!  (Peter: I don’t know, either.)

Guro: Di nyo kilala si Jose Rizal?  (Teacher: You don’t knot who Jose Rizal is?)

Pepe: Ma’am, baka ibang section po ‘yun!  (Peter: Ma’am! He might be in another section!)

Postscript: Jose Rizal, is Philippine’s National Hero.

Lesson: Miscommunication may lead to something else.

it’s a new day!

indeed, it is.

this is, probably, the 100th time (okay, okay, just the 89th) that i tried to rewind my body clock. today is another attempt to open my eyes as the clock hits 06:00AM. thanks to SJP, to the new year, and an inspirational message from a friend for reviving my "early to bed, early to rise" desire.

and, oh, let me share with you the message:

"FACT: it takes 18 repititions before an act becomes a habit.

so, if you want to change something about you,

now you know the possibility of making it happen."

this is just the first day. i have nothing to be proud of yet. let's check the trend in the next few days.

one down, 17 to go!

*sparkles!

diq talks

it was a great party to start the new year right.

well, i'm referring to jackie's surprise party, which later surprised those involved in the surprise party, at alexIII - tomas morato. got it?

hats off to my dear "ninong," magsy who was a pure gentleman; a class act the whole evening. despite the endless teasing, he managed to carry it all–with flying colors.

after the dinner, jackie invited us to a late-night coffee. let me guess, she wanted "matamyes," as how she would utter it. (it's better that you hear it straight from her "biko-filled" mouth). 

although not all of us accepted the invitation, those who remained had a fantabulous post-surprise-party-slash-comedic-late-night-coffee.  

we started talking about furby's (spell-check) unmatched vainity.  our conversation touched almost everything from facial care to elbow care; from eyebrow threading to resuscitating a dead nail (would you believe that?); but one: what's our take on VANITY as a lifestyle. something serious? well, it's a matter of perspective. 

that's why i'm here to say my piece. call it, even-late-than-a-late-night-coffee rant.

to begin with, i have nothing against being vain. yes, it has been defined as "an excessively proud of or concerned about one's own appearance", but  let's face it, it has been a way of life for most of us, me included, plus those who are still in denial. vanity maybe an anti-thesis to our "macho-gwapito" definition of a guy, but do we really care? who knows, behind those bathroom doors, the people who keep on attacking the vain ones are, actually, vain themselves? as long as you can support it–honey, it really is an expensive way of life–and if it's transporting you to nirvana, go for it. (just check-out your vanity-meter, you might be pestering even your best friend). 

but make sure you will not let the physical be the foundation of how you see yourself. been there, done that. i remember those days when i put to much weight on how i look. and when puberty struck–hormone imbalances, stress, breakouts and those that came in between–my world almost fell six-feet under the ground.

why shouldn't i be surprised?  

when a flesh-eating common disease started to appear, i almost said goodbye to confidence and self-esteem. why it happened? i was clinging to something temporal–the outer cosmetic. it crumbled. did i expect myself to survive? 

i was just lucky that i have this never-say-die attitude. i am more stubborn than those pesky bumps.  

what i'm trying to say here is that, if you're vain, so be it. but make sure to strike a balance. to put  equal, if not more golds on the other side of the scale: your inner self; the one that's often left unchecked and untouched. 

before, i wouldn't even dare say these things. i would rather say that i didn't believe that confidence should come from within. i would always ask, "what if you didn't have clear ski;, you didn't have all the other things that qualify you as pleasant looking, how can you be confident?" i was wrong; terribly wrong.i invested on something that's transient; on something that age and nature can take away; on something physical. 

now that i have found the (true) light, i rebuilt the way i view myself–clear skin or not. let's face it, despite your tireless effort of achieving that elusive flawless skin, there are times that bumps do appear.

before, i would pray to death to have clear skin like the movie stars. now, i want to dare them. cut your connection with your overrated dermatologists. buy your own kit and do your own thing (without the support of doctors) like me, and let's see who can survive the challenge. considering their line of work, i bet who's going to win. 

before, i was hesitant to look at the mirror. i didn't want to be constantly reminded that i didn't have clear skin. now, the mirror is my best friend.

before, my view started outside then inside; if i didn't have breakouts, i was confident. if i had, it's always low self-esteem. now, whether clear or not, i can face the world.

at this point in my life, i have already embraced the imperfect me who have been suffering because i let the dictates of society to rule how i see myself.  well, why would i let something or someone to judge me based on its or his/her own prejudices?

i love me for being me–the talents, the strengths and weaknesses, and the flaws. these things make up the fabulous me!

to those of you who are still in the journey of finding that potent potion, you're not alone.

to those of you who have already embraced themselves, i celebrate with you. together, let's welcome more souls who will be joining us very soon.  

now, i ask you: look at the mirror and tell yourself what do you see on that piece of glass.

in the final analysis, it's all a matter of perspective.
 

*sparkles!

seen from the other side

i was leisurely scanning some pages of my reading material du jour — reader's digest — when i encountered a quotation by ray romano. reading the passage opened up a lot of room for realization. and i want it to immortalize here.

and i quote:

"the more i go through parenting, 

the more i say i owe my mother an apology."