Saturday, February 20, 2021

Rest Today and It's Okay

It's okay
Remind yourself that
When you spend time
Alone
In your little corner
Of peace
Oblivious
Of the seemingly 
Hundreds of things
To do
In your task list
Remind yourself that
It's okay
To rest 
To be quiet 
To be away
Even if 
It's just that 
Little corner
Because 
Tomorrow is
Another day
And it's going to be 
Okay

#selfcare
#selflove
#urbangardening

2021.02.20




Tuesday, March 03, 2020

I did not know zucchini rots so easily


-->I bought one, I think for 50 cents
A week ago from a farmer's market
Something like market day back home
Quite an event, in this part of the world
Two days a week
You can buy farm produce
And cheese
At much lower prices than they would
At supermarkets
But of course, you can get some rotten tomatoes
But a few out of a lot
It is still a bargain
Anyway, I bought this zucchini
And forgot about it
I didn't know it turns liquid when it rots
I had to scoop it out of a bag where I put the vegetables
I cannot put all the vegetables that I buy in the refrigerator.
We share the refrigerator with a house mate
I am amazed that we have a large refrigerator
And still have not enough space in the cooler.

=====
Again, something from my past life.
Wonderful days.. Wonderful days... 


Thoughts After Viewing Akasha's Friendster Photo Album

I have forgotten
That I was drawn to you
Precisely because
You can give words
To seemingly unfathomable
Thoughts
and
Feelings

That I should not have

Because

I am Joy.

I have forgotten
That it was the colors you painted
That made me understand
To let mysteries be
Because they are not meant to be understood

I have forgotten
That I have lost joy
Because I turned my back on grief altogether

You see,
I thought I have grown tired
Of feeling lost
And that I'll work my way out

And yet,
I am still not found.


=======
This is another something that I found in the draft bin. Obviously, again, from so many years ago - because there's no such thing as Friendster now.

I'd say - if someone said this is actually theirs and not mine - I would believe them.
The muses have left me for so long... I don't remember anymore.




To Be Heard

I wasn't really back.
That newly published post has been in the draft folder for the past - - - five years.

But I just might be getting my muses back... just might...

Today, I read the story of a security guard.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1236292/greenhills-hostage-taker-refused-p1m-from-employer-insisted-on-being-heard

He just wanted to be heard.

Such a sad story.
That we should resort
To extreme measures
So that our voices could
Be discerned
By unhearing kings
Or callous lords

That we have to beg
For an audience
In a world
That claims to be
Free

And yet
To be heard
We have to lose
Our freedom.

He just wanted to be heard.

Coming Home



... and I'm back. Lets get this blog out of the dusty storage bins and bring it back to life. 
What better way to come back than by writing about coming home - and paying tribute to people who matter most - my parents. 

*********
We moved into our old/ new home recently. Old, because we lived here some years back before moving somewhere else outside the city. New because we've come back after so many years and as a gift my parents gave the place a new look, adjusted the layout of the old structure and gave it new dimensions. My husband and I are basking in the new paint, and the significantly greater space. More importantly, we have come home to a place we call our own. 

It is not an impressive structure. No architect was involved in the designing. No fancy fixtures. No big construction. It is not something that could be featured in magazines. It is a mix of concrete and galvanized iron, bits and pieces of materials brought together, almost like a mosaic of the old and new.  The frontage is the remnant of what used to be a sari-sari store - with galvanized sheets covering the grills, and a foldable door converted into a wall. 

I walk around, opening the doors, going up and down the small, wooden spiral staircase that didn't use to be there. I couldn't help but well up with emotion feeling the love that my parents have for me in every corner and crevice of this house. Here I am, already an adult, supposedly capable of earning my way to have my own properties and yet, here are my parents - bona fide senior citizens - giving what they could to show their affection. This house was literally built with their own hands. My father is a carpenter and along with my ever entrepreneurial mother, they held the hammer that placed a nail in place, carried a shelf to put into position, and held the broom that swept the dirt to get the place ready and clean. To expand the floor area, they gave up their own private space. They did not tell us about the renovations nor asked for money that was necessary to see it through. It was meant as a surprise. Surely they have used a portion of whatever savings they had, and my brothers have certainly chipped in one way or another. My youngest brother willingly gave the tiles which could have been used for his own house. Thank you my dear brothers - older sister will try to make it up someday, somehow.

Just the thought of how much a labor of love this gift is makes me cry with gratitude. Thank you Daddy and Mama - for this precious gift - an expression of your great love for us. We could not ask for more, and pray to God that He would allow us the opportunity to bless you back. We love and honor you! 

 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” - Exodus 20:12  (NLT)

Friday, January 13, 2012

If blogs had feelings... mine would feel abandoned

It's exactly 23 months since I last posted here.
That's two years. Almost.
Blame it on Facebook.

Surely, I have a story somewhere that should be written.
In the time of social networking, it's so much easier now to just post an "update" to my status. Or post a photo album - which I trust blindly will do the story telling for me. Put a caption here and there, tag as many friends as possible. Click "like". Post a comment.

No more long emails.
No more blog entries.

Someday. I'll write you a story someday, or of one of the many lessons I learned in life since the last time we ever shared a good conversation. Or a meaningful email exchange.

In the meantime - you can check my Facebook page. Nah, just kidding. :)

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

My Chiang Mai Story

No, it's not Shanghai. No, it's not in China. Not Vietnam. It's in Thailand. Chiang Mai. Charming Chiang Mai.

These are just some photos during my Chiang Mai, Thailand trip from February 3 to 8, 2010. Enjoy!

Click on the picture to go to the album.

My Chiang Mai Story

Friday, February 19, 2010

Serendipitous Little Words of Encouragement

Nothing really, just appreciating how you get the same message from unrelated people and in various ways. It's sometimes creepy - but it's also mysterious. And that makes it beautiful.

 

click on the image to get a bigger view

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

My Barcelona Story 2

You cannot avoid the question, "How was the food?", when you have just come from a foreign country.

Unfortunately, I do not have much to say regarding the food in Barcelona.
For one, I brought my own food - my stash of instant noodles, bottled sardines. Not because I expected the food to be bad. I just expected it to be expensive. I ended up saving those Euros, but then you're shortchanged with the stories. :).

For another reason, my mostly Asian contingent was fiercely loyal to eating rice - and for all the other times that we had to eat in a restaurant - it was to be, without fail, a Chinese restaurant. And there was only one Chinese restaurant in the vicinity. So there we were, in Barcelona, eating Chinese.

Our room was also a recipient of left overs from restaurant meals by our other colleagues. Throughout the nine days that we were in Barcelona, we had more than enough food in our mini - ref. I actually ended up bringing food I brought back to the Philippines. That's a lot of food miles for those oatmeal packets. I still have not eaten them.

So I really couldn't say how the food was. We did try some. On our second day, we had our lunch in the hotel restaurant. It took around an hour (or maybe 2) before the food we ordered arrived. Lunch was also served at 1 PM, which was actually an hour early than their usual lunch hour of 2 PM. We started streaming into the restaurant at 12:00. We had to go back, of course, because there was no way lunch would be served at 12:00.


Two of my African colleagues ordered fish and rice, and chicken and rice. All of us agreed that they didn't look or tasted the 15 Euro each that they were worth. The one who ordered fish complained it was bland. The one who ordered chicken was so aghast at the "rice" part of his meal. It was probably a mound of just five tablespoons of rice.



I ordered paella (pork and seafood). I thought our paella tasted better. And my Asian and African colleagues kept on saying, "They don't know how to cook rice.", because  the rice in the paella was what we would normally consider half done.

On our second to the last day, we did get to eat in a Spanish restaurant. We were with an Italian colleague who did the ordering for us. We had steak on a sizzling plate, which did not seem to taste any different from the steaks that I did get to eat before. (Although I did not eat much because it was medium - rare). And then we had artichokes - which tasted pretty much like - the banana "heart" (What is "puso ng saging" in English?) Except you don't have to struggle with fibers when you eat "puso ng saging".

I did get to eat in a "semi - Spanish" household on the night before we were to leave Barcelona. I say "semi - Spanish" because it was an American husband with a Catalan wife who have lived in the UK (and probably other places in the world) with multi - lingual children. We were served vegetarian lasagna, pomegranate salad, and cake. I'd say it was the greatest way to culminate my food experience in Barcelona. It was the best food I ate throughout my stay.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Worthy Undertakings

"Indigenous peoples account for 5% of the world's population, yet they protect and care for 22% of the Earth's surface, 80% of remaining biodiversity, and 90% of cultural diversity on the planet. They are also among the poorest and most socially excluded people in the world. (World Bank, Social Dimensions of Climate Change Workshop Report 2008.)"