Early Christmas

This is a picture of the Davao City Hall. I took this last November 2007. It goes to show how Christmas starts early in the Philippines.

Mom and I did the groceries yesterday. We were in the aisle filled with condiments, looking for tomato catsup. As I was taking a bottle off from the shelf, a lady approached me. She was shorter than me, and she looked like one of those ladies in church that led the Bible study for kids. Conservatively dressed, armed with a black book with envelopes sticking out of it. To my surprise, she asked for donations for their foundation. She asked for money. In the supermarket. Gaaah.

Because I was in a major PMS mode yesterday, I raised voice in an attempt to let by-passers hear. “Ha? Donation? Sigurado ka pwede kayo humingi ng donation dito?” She said yes. She added she was from the Pentecostal church. I eyed her and I saw a twinge of deceit in her eyes. But somehow, it seemed as if she needed it badly. She spoke again, prodding me to give her some money for their church. From my wallet, I took a twenty-peso bill. As I  handed it to her, I told her to be careful in case a security guard sees her. I don’t think any supermarket would allow people to “solicit” money from the grocers. She took the money, greeted me “Merry Christmas” and took off.

Truly, in the Philippines, Christmas is more than a day. It’s a season. And since it is also dubbed as the Season of Giving, it is sad how some people take advantage of it. Nevertheless, the Man upstairs sees our hearts and our intentions.

Merry Early Christmas! :)

The Strangest Thing

Kaninang umaga, may nagring ng aming doorbell. Tumakbo ang house boy namin palabas at dali-dali rin siyang bumalik. Sabi niya, “Nik, ikaw humarap dun.” Aba inutusan ako. Pagsilip ko sa bintana, uy! Amerikanong naka-long sleeve, naka-shades at namumula dahil sa init ng tanghaling-tapat. Naka-gusgusin outfit pa ako nun, sando at punit-punit na short. Dahil ayaw kong ma-rape sa sarili kong pamamahay, dali-dali akong nagbihis.

Paglabas ko, kinamusta niya ako. Sabi ko, “Great.” Pero wala gaanong energy. Pagkatapos nun, naglitanya na siya tungkol sa kanyang produkto. Teleponong touch screen na may kung anu-anong features na hindi naman ginustong ilagay ni Alexander Graham Bell.

Pagkatapos niya maglitanya, sinabi ko na malamang interesado ang Tatay ko pero wala siya sa bahay. Sabi ko, iwan niya nalang ang contact number nila.

At dahil Pinay ako na likas na tsismosa, tinanong ko siya, “Why are you doing this? Are you an employee of some company?”

Sabi niya, “No, I’m the boss. I own the company.” Aw ah. :|

Naikuwento niya pa na tumira na siya sa iba’t ibang bansa sa Asia for fifteen years. Taga-California siya, umuuwi pa rin siya four times a year. One week pa lang siya dito sa Davao, dahil kaka-launch lang ng produkto nila dito. At dahil gusto niyang matuto ang kanyang employees kung paano magbenta, sumama siya mag-house to house.

Mula dun, di na ako nagtanong ng mga basic questions na binabato sa mga dayuhan.

Ano nga ba yung basic questions?

1.Your salary, how much?
2. Do you hab wife? Or girlpren?
3. Pilipina, you like?

But anyway, nakakatuwang makita na mismong dayuhan ang nagsisilbing “servant leader” sa mga Pinoy. Bihira ka lang ata makakakita ng CEO o boss dito sa Pinas na mismong magmamarket ng kanyang produkto. At in fairness sa kanya, hindi siya nagpaka-superior sa mga binebentahan niya. Hindi niya tinatratong ignorante ang mga kausap niya, kumpara sa ibang Pinoy.

Hindi Hollywood material yung Kano pero ang pakikitungo niya sa mga Pinoy ay mas mabuti pa sa pakikipag-kapwa tao ng mga mismong Pilipino.

Tagay,

Inspired

I was browsing thru Flickr the other day when I saw several dreamy photos that inspired me to do my own thing. These photos appeared lite and soothing to the eyes. I loved the concept so much. Hence, I went on a photo-editing spree for several hours and came up with some good stuff.

 This is my cousin Jap’s bum. Teehee.

I’ve always loved this. A Flickr user asked permission to use this on some art stuff. Somebody’s flattered. :)

For some reason, the “mist” above each photo is so eye-friendly.

Some street photos and a window.

For two months since my Dad left for Mongolia, I’ve been working on photo enhancement using lots of stock photos. If my Dad didn’t take the camera with him, I might not have realized that I actually have pictures that I can work on. Yaaay. :) Hope to do some real photography action soon!

Cheers,

COUNTDOWNS

When my days have suddenly become such a bore, I realized I have so many things to look forward to!

3 days before another reunion with highschool BFFs!
9 days before my Dad comes home with my Oly camera.
25 days before my sister flies to another country.
44 days before our family vacation!
50 days before Christmas!
57 days before a spanking New Year! Yeah!:)

Before we know it, it’s already 2010! I’m an excited kid! Woohoo! :)

The Week That Was

It was a loooooong and fun week for me! :) Highlights, highlights!

1. I did all my mundane tasks. Went to the bank, did the groceries and all the hoo-ha.
2. Mom and I went to Seawall for a stroll last Monday. Her walk is really improving.
3. My college friends, whom I haven’t seen in agessss, came to Davao last Tuesday. We hung out at my friend’s house til the wee hours of dawn. Good times!!! Ended up having an imaginary friend. Haha.
4. My sister turned sixteen last Tuesday! I cooked spaghetti for her, my own rendition. It rocked. :) Can’t believe my sister is ONLY sixteen when she’s several inches taller than me. Haha.
5. A few friends hung out in our house last Thursday. Yaaay. Haven’t done that in a while. :)
6. The Boy and I met for a fantastic dinner date and a ride home in his green Volkswagen.
7. One of my closest friends ever is leaving for London. She and my other friends had a get-together and I wasn’t able to come. :(
8. My bro drove me around the city for most of the errands I did. Buti nalang, I taught him how to drive. Haha.

It’s because of all these things that I’ve become a zombie just in time for Halloween. I didn’t get much sleep for several days because of the night-outs. Gaaaah. I’m not used to it anymore. I wake up grumpy and tired. But anyway.

—

I realized that when I pray, I always ask God to make me a better person. I love God for the seemingly endless chances He gives me each day. And I hope He will love me more in return as I try my best not to waste the chances He blesses me with. :)

Pencil

Earlier, I was looking for something in our warehouse-like bedroom. As I was searching for it, I remembered a peculiar incident.

Rewind. It happened two years ago. I was in the house of my guy bestfriend. Well, at that time, we were in the stage of finding out whether we should be together or whether we should just stay bestfriends. He wanted to be in a relationship and he liked me, but for some reason, he didn’t see me in a different light just yet. Boo. So yeah, it was complicated.

So anyway, we were in his house. We were on the couch and I was helping him out with his school project. He suddenly stood up and started looking for something. He was lifting the pillows on the couch one by one, checking his pockets, peeking underneath the table. I asked him what he was looking for. He said his precious mechanical pencil was missing. He told me he was just holding it earlier and he forgot where he placed it. He went to his parents’ bedroom where he went a few minutes ago. With this, his mom was bothered with all the searching and tried to help too.  After a few moments, he finally found the pencil just a few inches away from where he was seated earlier. To this, his mom said..

“Yan kasi, pag may bagay na importante sayo, huwag mo basta-bastang bitawan kung saan-saan lang. At kung may hinahanap ka, huwag ka na maghanap sa malayo. Madalas, nandiyan lang yan malapit sayo.”

And with this, his mom looked at me and I thought I saw her wink or something twinkled in her eye, I dunno. And upon hearing what his mother said, the guy bestfriend quickly looked at me as if upon reaction to what he just heard. I felt blood rush into my cheeks and I remember how my jaw dropped a little that time. It took me a few moments to realize how awkward the moment was so I proceeded with pretending to check my phone for any text messages. Sheesh!

Fast forward to a year later. Guy Bestfriend and I jumped into a relationship. We’ve been together for more than a year. If we “play” the current frame, we’re both still trying to revive what we found in each other. After all, you can’t simply let go of your valuables. And yes, in my doodle world, he’s known as “The Boy”.

It’s funny how ordinary day-to-day instances actually point out the valuable lessons in life and love.

Sigh. :)

Thursday

I think most people would agree with me if I say that 2009 wasn’t quite a good year for most of us. The country experienced a lot of typhoons, controversies and calamities this year. Personally, I hurdled one of the biggest challenges in my life and in our family so far. At first, I thought it was just me but when I looked around, geez. I see lots of people having tough times too.

But despite this, there are still lots of good things to pay attention to. First, I simply admire the Filipino spirit of facing trials and challenges with positivity. Only Filipinos can go through such hardships but still manage to crack jokes, sing and laugh. Though I’m not a completely positive person, I still thank God for turning my head to the brighter side of things all the time. Also, now that the worst is over, we can only be thankful for how our things turned out for our good, for how our lives have been changed by these tough experiences, and how all of us have remained sane and free from anti-psychotics. And probably, the best part of going through a long and crazy year is the thought that if this year wasn’t all good, the next one probably will be better. You know how they say, when you’re down in the pits, the only way to go is up. :)

**

I’m overflowing with good vibes today. I realized that giving value to superficial things kills the soul. As a person, I feel like I lose substance and depth when I engross myself too much with make-up, glamor, popularity and everything else that fades. For quite some time, I feel like I lost touch with my values, my beliefs, my dreams, and the other stuff that comprise the real me. It feels good to have the urge to rekindle my soul. Aaah basta.

I had a nice talk with a friend today. He asked me where I am in my life right now. It took me a full minute to come up with an honest but pa-deep answer. I recognized myself as someone standing in front of a gap. Beyond that gap is a dream that I have been yearning for. The gap is too wide to jump across and it’s making me think of the best way to get there. Although it seems impossible, all I know is that I have this incredible belief in myself that I will get there.

Woohoo. This is already 20 ft deep! :) So to anyone reading this, where do you stand in your life right now?:)

Come to think of it.