let me count the ways

I’m happy with my new home I just had to share it.

It only takes about 3 minutes to walk to the LRT2 station, and about 7 minutes to reach school. Meanwhile, it only takes about 10 minutes from school to house. (before, it takes 20 minutes to go to the FX terminal, and another hour to go home)

There are abundant stores nearby, including bakeries, ihaw-ihaw, lomihan, and suking tindahan. (before, a few stores, all closing before I get home)

The streets are well-lighted, with tanods around, so it feels safe walking home at night. (before, also lighted, but the street is deserted at night)

There are many Internet shops around, complete with scanning software and printers. (before, a long walk before the nearest shop)

There are vendors who pass by our street selling vegetables, sapin-sapi, taho, and grapes at half the price! (before, none at all)

The community is generally happy, with very active barangay participation. (before, people are aloof, mostly because they’re strangers [mostly just tenants] to each other)

I got wifi for free! =)

when a door closes…

my door for 6 years

another one opens…

Yeah, finally, I have moved to my new home! We started loading things to the vehicle at around 5 pm.

We finished half of the unpacking at around 3:00 am. I think my leg muscles are as big as those of a male athlete already. haha. We were SO tired. There were so many things to build again (the shoe rack, the cabinet, etc.) and things to put in their proper place, one by one (plates, clothes, shoes, food, soaps, toys, books — it’s as if I was making hundreds of health care job postings). We continued again at 10 in the morning and finished about half past 4 pm. If I were doing things other than arranging the new house, I would have rested several hours earlier or would have complained on and on. But I was enjoying doing this! My former apartment was so small, there’s really not much space to decorate on. Everything was always one layer from the other, like that in a salad bar. But since this new apartment is bigger than the old one (strictly speaking, this is still a small apartment), I was able to have a sala, a dining set, a cooking room, and finally, a room—all in minis!

I also have a mini terrace outside my apartment. I imagine myself sitting on a comfy chair there when it’s raining and drinking  my coffee. The carinderias are very near and are open until 11 pm. I no longer have to eat 711 food every night. haha. My favorite part is I am just one ride away to office and one ride away from school to home. I think I’m going to love this place. =)

P.S.

As a joke, I told my uncle who helped us transfer that I’d call him again in 2 months. He said, “I hope next time, it would really be our home.” Who knows? =)

bees

These past few days, everywhere is hullabaloo in Manila. The world noticed the hostage-taking incident and the inarguably mishandling of the incident. Like a standard protocol, finger pointing is now the name of the game (if you ask me, it’s the brother’s fault). Then, Venus Raj reached Top 5 of the Miss Universe pageant. The whole nation is thrilled by her victory. She is the topic of all forums in the net, proliferating much more than laptop reviews. Some who weren’t expecting her to win at all is now complaining she should have won the crown if only she answered the question brightly. They felt like it was a major, major blunder. Well, she’s a winner.

In every venue I am these days, these two incidents are always the topic of conversations. We really all are political persons, politicizing things in our own way. Presenting different angles of the story, and we are all sounding like geniuses who should have ruled the world. We really all are social persons, informing ourselves of things happening in our society if they hit the headlines.

Nowadays, we are buzzing like bees everywhere, never losing our energy. In truth, sometimes we are just noisy.

On a lighter side: Venus Raj

For a while, let us forget about the hostage incident, and share the joy of the triumph of Venus Raj (4th runner-up, Miss Universe). Hoorah!

I found this REALLY funny video of four Filipino gays who had been watching the beauty pageant intently. Each had his own bets, and their every reaction is framed like in a slideshow. But all of them had one thing in common: they love Venus Raj and sincerely wish that she wins the crown! (I like Venus also; she has this fiery desire to win and seems a sincere and honest person, hence her answer in the Miss U question.)

Anyway, here’s the video from YouTube. If you’re the impatient type, start at 2:00 minutes, it’s the best part. But hey, the whole video is just 4 minutes, so if you want the whole light and funny experience, do watch it all. Enjoy!

Paalam, Palanyag*

Finally, I am giving up my connection to the last 6 years of my life. In other words, I am now leaving Paranaque behind.

I’ve been itching to leave Paranaque ever since I started staying there. It was mostly because most of my friends live in Makati or Quezon City, and Paranaque seemed to them like the end of the world, not to mention the horrible traffic every single day. As time passes, the city had witnessed the not-so-good things that happened in my life, and I want to shrug it all off by leaving the city behind. I guess I have adapted the belief in swerte at malas, and too bad, I have associated my old apartment to the latter. I guess people just have to devise ways of justifying things or providing themselves with hope, just like quotes in promotional mugs.

By the end of the week, I will be saying goodbye to Paranaque. By the start of next week, I’ll be saying hello to my new home, and hopefully, to a new good fortune.

P.S.

In my selective memory, the good times and the good friends found in Paranaque will never be forgotten.

*Palanyag is the old name of the city, which means “my beloved”.

dressing up

There just comes a time in a lady’s life that she wants to dress up. When I was a kid, I would throw tantrum whenever mom practically forces me to wear a dress for an event. It felt like wearing shame itself. haha. Even in my high school and college days, I seldom wear dresses. I have always been comfortable with jeans and shirt and my ever-dependable Birkenstock. But I no longer despise dresses as much as I did as a child.

But when I had my first boyfriend, I started appreciating dresses, especially when I realized he appreciates me more when I wear one. Kidding! Of course, my day-to-day clothes remain the comfortable ones, but there are rare days when I just want to dress up, and from time to time, to look like a girl. =)

Whenever I go to malls, I appreciate the dresses on display, especially the simple, oldish-look, the bohemian, and the unique ones. I also fancy the weird ones. haha. Sometimes though, I search for women’s apparel online and look for comfy but fabulous dresses. There a bunch of clothes to choose from, and my eyes delight on seeing them. On special occasions, I dream of wearing one. Though at times, it makes one feel good wearing a nice, not-your-average-day clothes on an average day, like the delight you get from eating ice cream! 

our president’s pastime

I didn’t know our president loves fancy cars. I should have guessed it, considering up to now, he’s still a bachelor. Perhaps he likes cars more than women. Kidding!

Noynoy said he is “deprived” nowadays of his favorite pastime — driving fast cars. Maybe he could do that if he didn’t ban the wang-wang. haha. Anyway, I was surprised, well more like it did not come to my mind, that P-noy knows a lot about cars. He knows their makes and models and histories, perhaps even the types of Ferrari parts. In a car show where he was invited, he speaks of one of the cars in display:  “here is Lancer, [I think it’s an ‘80s model], that was driven in the Great Lake … rally in Finland, if I am not mistaken.” A news web site describes P-noy as follows: “Known to be meticulous in the maintenance of his cars, Aquino would sometimes even drive his aides back to their hotel after campaign sorties.”

Much to my amazement of a president who loves cars and driving fast, a good friend of mine was agitated with this news. In this car show, Noynoy came early. My friend pointed out his tardiness in more important official events due to stomach ache, traffic, etc. Haha. Oo nga naman. Much as I understood his fascination over cars (I love cars!) and his early and eager attendance, he should exercise more diligence in the far more important (but stressful or boring) matters.

But if he really wants to drive as fast as lightning and get to his appointments on time, I suggest he tries this:

Satisfaction guaranteed.  

the epitome of strength

My mother has been bugging me to tell my grandmother to go see a doctor. My mother said Lola has coughs for several days already, but I haven’t heard her cough for the day that I was there.

Ever since I can remember, my grandmother hates going to doctors and hospitals. Whenever she gets sick, my mother always tells her to have a checkup or take some lab tests, etc. But all my mother’s ramblings fall on deaf ears; Lola just wouldn’t go to a doctor’s clinic. She is my mother’s complete opposite. She dismisses every headaches, muscle pain, flu–every sickness–just like that, and it works for her. Up to now, she’s relatively stronger than most people her age. She still enjoys washing clothes (despite objections!) and going to the market. She’s active in senior citizen’s meeting and joins their every parade. When outside our house, she’s a happy person, and most people enjoy talking to her.

I admire this personality of hers. She doesn’t really need a time to relax or spa filters. She just loves doing things. Some people are just born hardworking, I guess. And in her case, some people are just born strong, physically and emotionally. She doesn’t want to go see doctors because she thinks she will, and she does, get well soon. She believes that going to doctors would only make her worse, especially when they tell you that have this or that sickness. Up to now, she remains visibly healthy, except for slightly slower walking.

She has a small frame, and yet she’s very, very strong. She has endured so much pain, and yet, she’s still standing tall. I hope she remains that way for a long, long time. I wonder if I will get that from her. I hope all of us her grandkids would.

asking too much

I’ve been looking for a house nearer school or office for the past year already. My travel time in a day takes about 4 to 5 hours. Yeah, it’s like I’m going home to the province everyday. Finally, my father had found an old 2nd-floor apartment which is just 30 minutes away from school and is within my budget. It isn’t fancy at all, but at least I could live conveniently, and at least an hour less from my travel time.

So, even if I hadn’t seen the place, I was already excited to transfer. I was already thinking of bringing my college sofa bed and study table or perhaps buy mattress for my cousins whenever they visit. The prospect that I could already let my little cousins stay in my apartment makes me happy. My old apartment is just a little studio type, so there isn’t any place for sleep overs.

Much to my dismay, my mother disapproves of the place. Totally, if I may add. She hadn’t even seen the place, and yet she despised it already. She has dozens of reasons why she doesn’t want to live there. Since the time she got sick, she’s always in a state of paranoia, thinking of the most negative things that could happen. On my part, I have dozens of reasons to move there, but how could I just ignore my mother’s objections, especially now that she’s sick?

All my excitements are all turning into frustrations. And it feels like, am I asking too much?

the toughest week

I had the toughest week of my life last week, physically I mean.

To start with, it was midterms week. I’d already crafted a schedule and squeezed in all the backlogs I’ve had starting Saturday last week.

Alas! Starting Saturday, I already had a flu. I dismissed the idea, thinking I’ll be okay within the day. I rarely get a flu. I continued studying, but when the night came, I was already chilling, my head was aching, and my eyes were burning. I had to stop reading… In law school, there are no excused absences. If you miss an exam because you’re sick, even if you were hospitalized, you wouldn’t be excused at all. It’s either you get a 50, or the lowest grade minus 10.

The exams were for the whole week, and for the whole week, I was sick. I must have taken several dozens of paracetamol and vitamins and used kool fever to lower my temperature every night. I was wearing jacket and jogging pants and socks so I could sweat. And for the whole week, I never rested. My classmate was actually worried about me. She thought I might have dengue, and she insisted everyday that I go see a doctor. She knew someone who died because of dengue, and well, she doesn’t want me to die. haha. My parents became worried as well. So on the 4th day, I went to the doctor, despite my apprehensions. It felt like I was wasting time. When the doctor saw my lab results the following day, she asked me to undergo blood culture. Why? She thought I might have typhoid fever. Argh! Another distraction!

The exams were over last Saturday. Up to now, I do not have the results yet of the lab tests. It takes time. But after I opened the door knob and went out of the room after my last exam, I never had a flu again. Great.