Happy New Year!

Great things are coming and I wish everyone a great 2014!

HAPPY

NEW

YEAR!

Wish Tag, Done!

Tags, I thought they are used to label shoes or bags or attached to your suitcases so as they reach their destinations. This tag is different, asking me what I wish for this holiday. I received this a day before Christmas and I was out so pardon for the tardy posting.

Hand made card by Natty.

Christmas cards as I file them since time immemorial. I was told I am from the dinosaur age so you can guess how many cards I had collected so far. They don't give them as much like they used to be. No thanks to FB and the net.

Peter Pan and Little Mermaid, priceless!

I collect books and I am actually eyeing Robert Sabuda's pop up books to add to my library. I have four of them now and they are all exquisite and enchanting, not to mention, very delicate.

Checking out Metaphorically Speaking

An iPad as I always want something light (Air) but wider, for me to check the net while I am travelling. 

Fly me to another land...

An air ticket so I can go somewhere during a break. It would be fun to see my friends again so I need to visit them. I wanted to be away!

Friends from high school and blogger friends galore!

Friends, not the kind where I go out drinking and eating with but those who will stick with you through thick and thin. It is difficult to trust people nowadays. 

A swan, peacefully lying under the shade. 

Peace of mind, for it is acquiring a mindset of peacefulness that I can actually be with myself and my world. So a short stay in a sanctuary for meditation could be a good thing.

I will not tag anybody anymore since this is a very late post. I am thankful to Cher Kat for tagging me. This wish list is already completed except for number 6 which is going to be an ongoing process.  

Many thanks to all those who come to visit and read. May God bless you and Happy New Year to all of you!

With gratitude to Andrew, Brace, Eleanor, Ella, Ji Min, Laura, Le Le, Lilly, Louis, Nate, Sofia, Sophie, and their parents. Your graciousness are unparalleled!

Homebody Not! : Travels in 2013

January -  Greater Bangkok Area

Celebrating: One added year.

February - Nonthaburi

Asking: God's provisions.

March - Saraburi

Appreciating: Nature's gift.

April- Phrae

Blessing: Monkhood in practice.

May- Rayong

Relaxing: Out of the norm.

June - Pattaya

Indulging: Once in a lifetime.

July - Sangklaburi and Kanchanaburi

Mesmerizing: Magnificent sceneries.

August - Hua Hin

Reminiscing: Summer escapades.

September - Chonburi

Lounging: Stress away.

October - Ratchaburi and Ayuthaya

Exciting: Sheep and boats.

November- Lopburi

Breathtaking: Opulence and humility.

December - Nakhon Ratchasima

Rejoicing: Being thankful for everything.

A Different Christmas

Nine years ago, I went back to the Philippines to be with my family. It was going to be my mom's 60th birthday and we planned a big event for her. She knew of the activities because it was sort of a request from her. We just made sure that everything was in order. 

That day when visitors started arriving as early as four in the afternoon, we were all in a frenzy for we have nothing prepared at that moment. Food were ordered but will be delivered at six so we got some ready meals for the two bus loads that my mom, apparently, invited from the province. I fondly remember calling a party rental place to supply us with more chairs and fifty chairs were delivered to the house. Since we do not have a lift in the building, the man refused to bring them up the stairs so I ended carrying them and it was gruelling. I was panting incessantly with the last three chairs. We had around 150 people in that party while simultaneously, a wedding was happening on the ground floor of the building for 100 people.

Anyway, it was the best party ever. There were plenty of food and entertainment. There were songs rendered by some solo artists, choirs, bands and dancing from pretty ladies to the amusement of the men. There were plenty of songs and my mom's favourite, karaoke singing. She was a belter as she used to sing in clubs and in radio stations during her younger years. 

After that memorable event, we decided to do away with the birthday/Christmas parties we do every year for some personal reasons. And for the last three years, it was just as simple as a small gathering of family members, not even complete, with some food and drinks. It became less and less frivolous but more and more sad. We knew that time was getting shorter. We had been anticipating something, not that we wanted to, but it sure did happen.

Last year, I opted not to go home for personal reasons. I didn't put any tree or ornaments in my house. It was like being a scrooge, not acknowledging the spirit of Christmas. But I was home in January and gave my mom an elephant necklace. She couldn't even put it around her neck. Her health was frail and failing. 

This Christmas, there will be no celebration whatsoever. It will be our first Christmas without her though we will always remember her as a co-celebrant of Jesus as they both celebrate their birthdays on the 25th. May the Lord bless the soul of my mom and may we be granted peace in our household as we start anew with our lives.

The Christmas Gift

I was asked what I would like as a Christmas present by one of the moms in my class last year and I asked for a book specifically from the country where they are from. It should also be a story about Christmas. According to her, it took her multiple visits to bookstores in Madrid to find that book but ended ordering it through the net because of the difficulty to find one.

I got it last January and just recently read the book to one of my student as part of her writing exercise. The book is called The Christmas Gift / El Regalo de Navidad and it talks about Panchito as a one of the sons wanting a red ball for Christmas. The parents are poor and they are migrant workers who move all the time to find work. It is a story about making ends meet. In the end, Panchito received a box of candies instead. 

Panchito was sad as he was hoping for a ball but it was the scene that Christmas morning that made him realized that Christmas was not about presents, it was about being together as a family. The smile on the face of mom, after the father wiped her tears with a cheap handkerchief as his present was the trigger. The author Francisco Jimenez's poignant Christmas memory celebrates the true spirit of Christmas. This is what we should be aiming for. 

This Christmas, the parents of my students decided to give me something else. Different in a way that it wasn't wrapped or boxed just like a usual gift. They gave me a token, to buy myself an airplane ticket, as a gift this Christmas.

And in that card were the words most important to me as a person.The words were just uplifting and reassuring that I am doing a great job as a teacher. It was the best gift and better because I get to be home for the holidays.

So no matter how challenging life was and how down I had been feeling this year because of many things, I continue to believe in Christmas. Just as the Grinch in the book of Dr. Seuss says, " Christmas cannot be stopped." And a realization at the end of the book that, "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more! 

Yes, Christmas is not just about togetherness. It is also about renewal and faith. May this holiday be a beacon to lighten our minds and a welcome rest for our weary souls as we prepare to greet the birth of Jesus and the coming of a new year.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Hate To See You Go

I used to live in a smaller house, wooden in structure where the lower part housed the store. I had a small bedroom, partitioned with a curtain as one part was used as a walkway to another room. It was one simple set-up. There was one table, one bed, and a zip in closet for my ample clothes. That was many years ago.

I was offered a job to work in another country when I was finishing up my studies in one of the universities in Manila. When I left, the room became a storage of sorts for some industrial parts that we sell. My things got lost. Although I was able to save some when I placed them in boxes though most were inundated by flood as they were stored downstairs.

In my many years away from 'home', I never knew that my family built a bigger place for themselves. One Christmas break, I went home and was surprised to see where my parents and siblings were staying. It was a far cry from the humble wooden house we used to live together.

There wasn't a space provided for me when I toured the building. I was told since I wasn't permanently living in the country, I can crash with one of my siblings whenever I needed a bed to sleep during my stay. I was broken hearted because I wasn't part of the 'plan', I was a mere' extra'.

To cut the story short, I was reluctantly given one of the units because of a personal issue between my siblings and my father. I took the offer and in three years, made the empty space grand. 

The doors leading to the main and the guest bedrooms. 

The guest room with the Mongolian artworks from one of my travels.

My bedroom with my precious quilt of which the story is another blog post.

The living room and the dining area in one big space.

My mementos housed in three glass cabinets and
the custom-made dining table decorated with clay food

The kitchen I had never used.

My priced Batibot table and chairs by the balcony.

Then one day, I was told that we owed a lot of money from the bank and that the building was made as a collateral. My brothers and I took the obligation to pay the debt in no time. We wanted to save the place and we did until one of my sibling offered no more help with the cost leaving only two of us paying our dues on a monthly basis. In other words, we weren't able to even tickle the principal cost. We were just paying the interest so we agreed to sell the property.

My grand abode is gone and this is one of the sunsets of my life. I feel defeated by the fact that I tried my best to give my share but some did not even bother. I don't even live there but I was paying a large sum so that I can have my space, an empty one before, and now, literally empty as in air. 

Little by little, my heart breaks as I part with my things since I do not have anything of my own to store them again. I learned a big lesson in here, that I should love myself first, save for myself, and not continuously give unselfishly. I should learn how to say no, and not rely on what is given. I should have kept the money to myself so that I could be living comfortably now. 

So even if my family relationship is not great, I took chances of helping them because I am still a part of them. I wanted to belong but I became a castaway. I wanted us to be together again just like in our old house, but instead, it made me run away for the second time. 

So I say goodbye to all my material things back home and say hello to a new start. It isn't late because I am still strong but I am hoping that by standing firm this time, I will become smarter and braver to face my own realities. 

Sunflower Shots

It wasn't that bad when I left the house at nine in the morning to traverse almost three hours of riding time. I was to visit Lopburi, another province located along Central Thailand. The province boasts of many attractions most prominent would be their annual sunflower display. Saraburi, which I visited some months ago has the most photogenic sunflower fields but it is in Lopburi where fields of sunflowers cover around 300,000 rai ( one rai is equal to 1,600 sq. metres or 40mx40m).  

I arrived past noon time at this magnificent field so all of the sunflowers were in drooping positions. The best time to visit is in the morning where the flowers are actually facing the sun. I managed to take some photographs even if they were shy.

So sunflowers for everyone in this wintry season. May all strive to be better in their lives and be kind to one another. Thank you for the visits and I wish you all happy holidays!