Birthday 2014

A week of celebration and a lifetime of friendships and great memories.

With a Heavy Heart...

Hello! As the man walked in his house, he knew that his days were numbered. Not that he was to slip away, but his stay in this beautiful abode he made his own nest for the last number of years was to expire. 

He took a look at the three glass cabinets made exclusively for his place. It was filled with knick knacks and curios from all around the globe. He took a glance at the dining table, with its display that changes in season. Then a short glimpse at the living room set which was used for a few hours by his friends who came to visit once upon a time and celebrated a birthday, the first and the last of a celebration.

The house was filled with memories, both happy and sad. It was where he found his one and true love, someone who is missed whenever he visits the place. It was where his cousins came for pictorials as the interior itself was like lifted from a page of a house design magazine. It was where he dreamt of his late grandmother visiting by the entrance of the bedroom door smiling and saying, "Welcome back!". It was where he sought refuge during his down days. It was where he spent his summers and some winters of his life. And it was where he  remembered vividly his mom crying and saying, "No, no, I don't want to sell this building!", which was her last conversation with him.

Gone! No more drinking glasses or the ornate plates purchased from a well known ceramic factory. No more mug collection that toasted stories of friendships and successes. No more of the wooden tables that became display areas for artworks. No more of the prized table and chairs that became a resting space during bouts of loneliness in the veranda. No more of the paintings that were collected from his numerous trips abroad or the quilt that draped the beds to warm the bedrooms. It was now devoid of colors. It was saddening.

His last day was chaotic, running errands and doing what he must finished in due time. At the crack of dawn, as he pulled the last of his two suitcases filled with clothes and books, he stopped and listened once more to the eerie sound of the empty hallway. 

Goodbye...and an echo reverberated within the room. With a heavy heart, he bade farewell not to all the material things but to the memories and stories of his life. 

The Two Trees

Majestic and towering were two of the words I used to described this tree that was planted in the school's garden a year ago. There were some leaves and colours of spring green when it found a home in the corner of the school. It was a great addition to our garden. 

The tree produced ample leaves in the beginning of its stay. The new environment made it susceptible to adjustment. The ground must be constantly watered but it wasn't the case. Weekends meant no water as there was no gardener present during those days off. The tree started to turn weak, spurting sparse of leaves, and believed to be dying.

After this winter break, I came to school and was appalled to see the magnificent tree that became my model in most of my sad stories in life. It was trimmed to its half, leaving only one side that had bore leaves during the span of the past seasons. It looked terribly scarred, hurt, and desolate though there is hope that it will grow.

My grandfather used to be a happy fellow when he was still living in our place. He settled in Santa Ana and met friends even if there was a language barrier. I remembered him always alert, laughing and filled with life until he needed to moved. In his new found home, he tried to adjust but the place was not conducive to neighbourly chatter. He lost his friends, he became quiet, and the sadness in his heart made him weak and longing. He passed away many years ago but I will always remember how jolly he was in the company of others.

Currently, my dad is being encouraged to move in with my brother and I do believe he knows in his heart why he does not want to leave Santa Ana. It is his home and it is where he established a family and found solace through happy and sad moments. Taking him away from his comfort zone might not work thus his decision to stay. 

In my life I learned how to stay put when I am happy in a situation whether it is personal or professional. The convenience is there and I do not need to constantly adjust and change things. But I also learned that if I stay put in a place where I am not happy, I will be like the dying tree. I always question myself if I will find solace in a new place or in a changed situation. There is always no answer, not even any assurance so it takes a lot of courage to accept and make changes. 

So when I left the country I took in me three things: hope, courage and will. Hope, that I will make a positive change in my life by doing the right thing. Courage, that I may face the challenges of being in a different land. And will, to experience great things in life by making the bold step to leave. 

I will stay like the first tree, strong-willed and brave but making the second tree picture as a reminder to continue with life's viccisitudes. 

Five in Half a Day

Chinese Checkers is one of my favourite games of all times. It can played by two persons or a maximum of six. It has a very simple rule. The aim is to race all the same coloured pieces to the opposite side before your opponent does. Once you reach your 'home', you win. 

During my short stay in Manila, I had the opportunity to meet fellow bloggers who are of different educational backgrounds with different life experiences. When the six of us met, I felt that we were in a skilled based game of Chinese Checkers. Each was represented by a colour and I will be assigning them one and will speak of them giving short descriptions.

Fiel's elusive personality came to life with this meet of ours. Bubbly and always with an infectious chuckle, he has a charisma of his own. In his blog writings, he is always the one with positive vibes. I finally met the one eyed profile picture of fiel-kun and it was a fitting honour. Devoid of frivolities and false pretenses, he is going to be white.

When I dropped by Geosef's blog, I felt I was in a world of lust. The stories were naughty and filled with life. It was like "Damn, how come he got all the good stuff?" But it was his words that made me stay. I thought that he was a literature graduate but he wasn't. He is just good with it, a person to look up to. That's why he is red. 

Mine is black because it is the absence of colour. I was a mere bystander to their blogs early of last year till I started making my presence known. I am more of an observer, studying the underlying meanings of their posts and trying to learn how to write better. I am learning a lot from these five people. 

Rix's blog is filled with humour and life. He is known for his mosquito coil lines at the end of each post. What you read is what you get, this saying sums up the personality of Rix. He is not only a great person to speak with but also a man of wisdom. With all those laugh trips and jokes, he exudes a commanding stance when he starts to speak about life and friendship. He is going to be blue. 

I visited Arvin's blog since early of last year but his postings were very minimal. In a way, his blog has been like a mirror of how I am in Thailand since both of us are working out of the country. I assigned him green based of his latest postings but joking aside, green means growth and he has been instrumental in bringing growth to PBO.

And to complete the board, Kat is going to be yellow. Although the only rose amongst the thorns, she was the glue to this meet up. I don't know where she gets her powers waking up early in the morning and staying late at night. I started calling her the "Queen of EB" since I see her everywhere. her jovial personality and rich stories will surely make you in awe. I bet the boys are hooked to her because she is witty, sensible and animated.

The pegs of the board are the stories and experiences we shared with each other. Turning, jumping, avoiding traps and giving way were all part of that wonderful day. We took turns, we paused, we listened and learned. We became silent, we shutdown, they made glances (to their phones) and smiled. We were shy, we were bold, we laughed but we didn't cry. 

While each peg of the board continuously move towards their "home" during that day, we finally bade farewell. We have possibly moved towards winning the game we call friendship or losing it. Whatever came out of that meet, I emerged a winner because I got five to hold on to. 

I send you love and gratitude for one, fine, wonderful day.

Ngayong Taon

Bago ang lahat, nais ko pong magpasalamat sa lahat ng mga nagbabasa nitong blog na ito. Kung wala po kayo, eh ok lang. Pero kung lagi po kayong nandiyan eh saya saya rin. 

Buti pa si bulinggit, nagbabasa ng blog ko.

Maraming dapat baguhin ngayong taon na ito. So bago ako magsimula, maghuhugas muna ako ng kamay para naman malinis ang maging simula ng taon.

Pag hindi pa naman luminis pati budhi ko, ewan ko na lang.

Babawasan na ang pagiging emo dahil nga maikli lang ang buhay. Dapat laging masaya at napapaligiran tayo ng mga magagandang bagay at mahal natin sa buhay.

May gaganda pa ba sa subject?

Magmumuni pa rin naman ako kung ano ba ang mga dapat kong gawin ngayong taon na ito. Ano ba ang matutunan ko at saan ba ako papunta?

Sabi nang huwag nang mag-emo, ayan na naman!

Ngayong taon kinakailangan ko nang matutong tumayo sa sariling paa. Hindi na dapat umasa sa iba. Ako ay dapat ng mag-aral magmaneho. 

Sobrang bagal na kasi nito, lagi na lang akong huli sa klase ko. 

At sayang naman kasi kung naka-park na lang palagi ang sasakyan ko. Baka naman mabulok.

Sori, hindi po tayo kakasya, pang dalawahan lang po ito. 

Hindi na rin dapat nag-iinum ng kape at tsaa baka naman hindi na dugo ang lumabas sa akin kung hingan ako ng blood sample. In moderation baga.

Hindi ko kayang ubusin ito, gusto ninyo?

Kailangan na ulit mag-ipon para naman makatira na ako sa Toscana. Sosyal naman po ang mga bahay dito. 

Welcome po sa aking village. 

At hindi na dapat namamasyal kung saan saan, tipid tipid na muna. Peru Peru bukid na lilipad lipad!

Naka-tsinelas ka lang? Oks lang yan, ang bigat yata ng bulsa ko, ha, ha,ha!
Puro barya!

At sa mga hindi naniniwalang kaya kong gawin ang mga ito ngayong taon, kayo na po ang bahala sa buhay ninyo.

Talon talon lang kung may time... bangin po yan!

Have a great year!