birthday postponed

If you were here, we’re probably having a good time now…or at least you’d probably be. All it takes for you to enjoy this day is a ball and a court, or (better yet) a mug and a beer. Solb na.

But you are not here. In fact, you are a thousand miles away, surrounded by the golden sand, instead of the green fields you grew up in. You are in a place where beers are expensive and pork is a luxury. (At least you wouldn’t need the best weight loss supplements to compensate for your lack of physical exercise). I don’t even know how birthdays are celebrated in that part of the globe, absent friends, absent families.

But we all here are wishing you a happy birthday (happy birthday, ngetfa!!!) and a good life… and since you can’t be here, your friends and family will just celebrate it for you! haha! Sarap ng alak. :p

Nah! They won’t do that. Can we just move your birthday on October?

the drunk poet

Because all things Chinese are famous today, I remembered being quite amazed in my comparative literature class while a professor was teaching us about a great Chinese poet. His name was Li Po.

Li Po is best known for the extravagant imagination and striking Taoist imagery in his poetry. But what interests me more is his great love for liquor (though I learned sooner that this isn’t so strange for a poet). There were many legends about the man, especially his artistic skills. It was said that he composed poems incredibly fast and with zero errors. His best poems speak of nature, friendship, and his love of wine. Our professor said, if I remember it correctly, that Li Po liked being drunk because it is then that he feels truly free. A bit true, I might say. One of his more famous poems is Drinking Alone by Moonlight:

    A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;
    I drink alone, for no friend is near.
    Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,
    For her, with my shadow, will make three people.

    The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;
    Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
    Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave
    I must make merry before the Spring is spent.

    To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
    In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
    While we were sober, three shared the fun;
    Now we are drunk, each goes their way.
    May we long share our eternal friendship,
    And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.

I remembered enjoying classes on Asian literature compared to the Old English ones, probably because of the similar heritage that I can relate to. Unfortunately, some of them already slipped my memory; I probably need to brush up on them again (instead of doing atro phex reviews). Asian literature is a good read. Some are characterized with seeming simplicity (like the Japanese haiku), yet with timelessness. Maybe if I get drunk, I could create one. What do you think? haha.

rocking the double celebration

The mood is festive for most people, doubly festive for the Chinese. The heart’s day and the lunar new year happen to fall on the same day (not to mention Kris Aquino’s birthday). The malls were probably ridiculously filled with people, and Tagaytay is probably a bit warmer because of the numerous lovers dating in the romantic city. I heard there’s a pyromusical today. I was on our Outer Banks vacation homes (of course, it’s not true). PJVP and I spent it rocking — playing the guitars and drums, like this:

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heart’s day trivia

Prompted by an Inquirer trivia on this commercial holiday, I looked for the origin of this day (instead of doing the usual freelacce job search) and found this on the web:

The origin of the Valentines Day is shrouded in mystery and there are varying opinions about it. Its origin has become theme of many legends. St. Valentines Day as we celebrate today has remnants of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. According to some legends Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying his decree, which outlawed marriage for young men.

There is an interesting story portraying the love affair between St. Valentine and the jailor’s daughter. St. Valentine left a farewell note for her, the note read –  “from your Valentine”. Valentine’s Day is said to have started in the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans regarded her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the festival of Lupercalia, in honor of Lupercus, the hunter of wolves. Legends aside, the popularity of the Valentines Day rose manifold among the people and in tune with it Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine, the patron saint of love and romance.

Waiting for Skye

I just arrived home from one of those baby shower invitations. As usual, the attendees were all excited for the baby to come out. I am specially excited because the soon-to-be mom was one of my constant companions during college and even after. This night was the first night I saw her big belly (hahaha), and well, I just couldn’t imagine that she will already be a mother.

She was my partner in crime. Whenever a drink is all I need, she was always the first one I’d call. We laugh at the silliest things, and yet we talk of the serious questions in life. Of course, there was, at first, fear that we could no longer go to those smoke-filled places where bands go, or to those convenience stores in gas stations to grab a beer or two. (Perhaps this is what one feels when most of her friends are settling down.) Or that we are no longer of the same frequency. But, what the heck, we’ve outgrown (or outgrowin) those stuff. We can’t stay that way forever. And I’m pretty sure, there would be new experiences with this new chapter in our lives. After all, we’re all very excited to see Skye. She’s gonna be well-loved by all of us, her mom’s sisters.

Eric, our gift

Today is Eric’s 7th birthday. Some of you probably remember him from some of my posts. He is my cousin, who when he was 4, was diagnosed with leukemia, not to mention he already has Down syndrome. I could no longer recount the first few months he was confined in the hospital because it was really painful to see a child suffering. It’s even worse when you love the child so much. Anyway, that is all behind us now, and I am very happy that he had already finished all his chemo sessions and he only goes to the hospital for tests, no longer for treatment!

They said that children with Down syndrome are a gift to the family because they bring luck to business. Well, that isn’t the case for us. But we are definitely blessed because of him. He made his father a great man, bringing out all the patience, and perseverance, and selflessness in him. He brought the family closer — all of us supported in every way he can during the time when he was really sick. I don’t know a time when we were that supportive of each other. Best efforts.

He brings joy to my heart. He is very sweet to me. Whenever we see each other, he never leaves my side. He sleeps in my room whenever he can. He kisses the phone whenever he talks to me. And there was genuine excitement eveytime he sees me. He runs toward me while saying over and over “tete” (meaning ate) then hugs me.

Like all kids, he also has a naughty side. I say, his naughtier than most kids his age I know. But I couldn’t bring myself to be mad at him. When all the adults are angry when he did some naughty stuff, I couldn’t help but laugh. I always wonder where he gets his ideas.

He loves one pose—the Mr. Pogi pose. He likes having pictures.  Most of them aren’t developed yet, whereas some were just printed from a tm-t88iv. I’ll try to post new pictures here when the two of us get to celebrate his birthday.

Happy birthday, Eric! We love you!

who NOT to vote

Interesting how this election has turned out for me and my friend to be on who not to vote. The surveys and the ads all made us think that there are only two candidates fighting for the presidency. Though there are good reasons to believe that it may be true. I am thinking of voting the lesser evil (and lesser experience) of the two. If the VP candidates were the ones running for the chief executive, I would have voted on the basis of who to vote, not on who not to vote.

Last election, I voted for all the candidates to the Senate from the Kapatiran party. I believed in them, though I knew there’s a tiny chance they would win. Relatively, they got a higher number of votes than expected, but of course not enough. Most of the time, I vote according to competency and good reputation. I voted for Flavier, though not really a politician. He was a physician who knew a lot about rheumatoid arthritis information and heart attack prevention, but also knew how to manage and provide good services in the DOH. I wouldn’t forget his encouraging, Let’s DOH It! I voted for Yasay and for Monsod. I knew them to be good in their fields and to be good in their dealings. Last election, I voted for Villanueva.

But I guess we are too cautious now. We’ve had too much difficulties in the government during Erap’s time. GMA’s time was so much worse and seemed too long. This is realigning our perspective, becoming very careful not only on who to vote, but on who would become president by reason of our vote.

leaders by example

I asked a taxi driver last month who he would vote for president, he started a whole litany on why it is not good to have an intelligent president (i think he meant cunning). He said that what happens in the Big League (i.e., Malacanang) also happens in the Little League (barangay levels). He said that when a fund is coming, the barangay captains already know what to do and how to misappropriate the funds, which cannot be imputed to them. In short, they already know how to steal the money, spend it for themselves alone, and still stay in power — and get re-elected.

Look at Arroyo, he said. They said she’s intelligent, an economist, etc. Look at where we are now. (All the time, I was just asking questions to let him know I want him to continue.) He went on to describe poverty in his eyes. Then, I asked him, “Who would you vote for president?” Well, the one I voted last time. The one who really is for the masa.

What the driver said about what’s happening in the national is also happening in the local levels, I believe, is true. As the Obama administration was speaking of grassroots democracy, manong was talking about grassroots corruption. Leaders are effective only if they lead by example.

The next election, I hope we would have better leaders (or none at all). Not a senator whose always on ski vacations in North America, always part of the entourage. Or not a representative who’s always absent. Or a representative whose only bill is to change the name of a street. Or a senator who repeatedly refuses to attend investigations in the House. Or a president who just says “sorry”.

cheers to the new nurse!

Last year, speaking of missing celebrations, I recounted the story of my kinakapatid who took 10 long years before finishing college, starting from engineering and ending with nursing. Well, this year, I am just so proud of him! He is now finally a registered nurse! Yey! He used to be (and still kinda is) so preoccupied with barkada, alcohol and women that education didn’t seem to fit in his list. Now, he is a certified nurse! I asked him if he’d work right away, as I thought he’d want to try working since most of us his age are already working and supporting ourselves. But he told me that he’d study for NCLEX first and for the English tests or maybe take some other medical coding training courses. Tuloy tuloy na kumbaga.

I just admired him for his perseverance. This he did even after he seemed to have “lost” his way. He found his way back, when he decided to look for it. This is what makes him special among other graduates. I find inspiration in him. No matter how long he had been out of track, he was still able to find his path.

a decade over a cup of coffee

Last night, I met up with an old friend. We hadn’t seen each other for almost a decade already. She has been going back and forth to the States since she she became a citizen in high school and started studying there. Our meeting wasn’t really planned; she just found out that I am here in our hometown, so she contacted me right away (When she’s here, most of the time, she stays in their house in Cubao). We couldn’t have Branson vacation packages or other trips together because of physical and time constraints, so this was the only opportunity to meet her again, especially when she informed she’d be leaving again for the States on Wednesday.

She was 4 years younger than I am. When we first met, she was still in grade 6 and I was in my first year in UP. Although she was so young then, she was really matured for her age. It  was like we were of the same age. Her activities were already for girls of my age, plus she’s really beautiful. She already looked like a full-grown woman, whereas I still looked like nene (hahaha).

Anyway, as I’ve mentioned earlier, it has been almost 10 years since we last met. We only know bits and pieces of news about each other, and we seldom chat because of different time zones, not to mention I seldom log in to networking sites. But when we saw each other last night, it’s as if there weren’t any years that passed. We were like when we were before. She was that matured high school kid, and I was the naive college girl. There were no awkward moments. Immediately, we tried to catch up on each other’s life, telling stories of 5 years ago. She shared me her pregnancy experience and how it was a miracle that she got pregnant. I was truly excited to see the kid she’s carrying in her belly. The coffee cups were already long empty, but we were still long before we could finish the night.

She had to go home because she and her mom would be leaving for Manila early morning the next day. We kissed each other goodbye and embraced each other tight. I sure am gonna miss her again. She told me that, even if it’s gonna be years more before we see each other again, it would still seem like the way we were before.

But of course, I hope it wouldn’t take 10 more years again. hehe.