Mere Books, My Treasures

With a meager salary received from teaching back home in the Philippines many years ago, I started buying books from bookstores, not second hand ones, but brand new ones. I received the book The Giving Tree, which became my favourite, and I knew in my heart that the cost was equivalent to our one month's salary, that's how low we were paid that time.

Whenever I get an opportunity to visit Manila, my suitcase will be filled with books. I fondly remember buying them from a bookstore in Makati where the prices of Scholastic books were much cheaper than others. I always go there but in one of my visits, I was being followed by a salesgirl as I pick one book at a time until I had a pile of around fifteen books. Her shadowing irritated me so I left all the books and bade farewell to that bookstore.

I became a fan of Book Wagon, a specialty store owned by a friend. I discovered one bookstore along Boni High Street but my first and only visit wasn't a pleasant one. Three employees of the store were chit chatting and when I went to their small group to ask for a new copy of a book I need to purchase, their smirks were so obvious. What bad service for such a posh bookstore!

After accumulating more than a thousand in my collection, I discovered a haven for second hand books at the Weekend Market here in Bangkok. The owner of the shop usually sold the books for a mere fifty to a hundred baht when I started buying them. Later, he doubly raised the prices as he found out that a lot of people had been telling him the books were so cheap. Lesson in economics!

There had been an intense interest to collect Caldecott Medal Winner books and I had around 40 titles in a span of 77 Caldecott years. I started collecting Dr. Seuss and even got two nice versions from Beijing when I was there, in Chinese Mandarin. I completed the Elephant and Piggie series of books and I had nineteen of them, some were given as gifts. I am eyeing collecting Robert Sabuda's pop-up ones and I already had four at present but they are pricey.

Whenever I am asked what I want as a present, I always say a book. I got an Australian book and a Spanish one about Christmas. I received one from France and a beautiful book about friendship from Canada. I also have signed books by famous authors such as Jeannie Baker, Julia Wirdheim, and Janice Santikarn to name a few. 

While dusting off the shelves, I recalled why one of my books from Malaysia was enclosed inside a zip lock bag. I got the book for 39.99 RM some fifteen years ago which was a luxury at that time. My last one came from Germany which has the same theme and costs me thirteen hundred baht.

Books are my friends. They are primarily a source of great ideas and information as I teach young children. I am so pleased to have grown as a person surrounded by books. They are my priceless treasures. 

Feeding the Fish

Part of a restaurant's attraction is to be standing beside a river or a lake aside from their good food. Part of being near the lake or the river is the abundance of fish. While waiting for your food to be cooked and served, you could buy a bucket of fish food or a big loaf of bread to feed the carps and turtles. Fancy feeding some with thoughts to ponder.

ONE

Survival of the fittest

Life is harsh as one blogger pointed out, and we need to arm ourselves with qualities to survive. Be it knowledge, courage, or heart ( Wizard of Oz), we do seek a position in this world where we should be proud of ourselves. 

TWO

The early fish catches the pellet.

When a good opportunity presents itself to us, we should take a look as soon as we can because they come in trickles. I don't believe in a rainfall of blessings. I believe I can be supported by my faith but it is up to me to make my own life. I should do NOW, rather than wait for it to pass.

THREE

You owe nothing to no one.

We owe nothing to anyone if we work for our subsistence. Nobody owes our lives because we made them ours. We might had the opportunity to be helped along the way and we need to be grateful. But remember that we build our own lives, they were just instrumental to our growth. 

FOUR

We won't find any if we just go around in circles.

We find contentment and solace within our comfort zone that we dare not move out of our circle. Sometimes, a big step is what we needed. I am being encouraged by a good friend by letting me see options on how to be happier and fulfilled and I am listening.

FIVE

The less able getting the last.

Whether we feel threatened by others or lacking in confidence, we should not make them as hindrances to look for opportunities. Just like love, there will always be one for you. 

Have a blessed day my friend!

Angry Birds

Since it was spring break, I took an eight hours trip to the North to visit some acquaintances. It was a tiring trip but seeing all the yellow flame trees lined up along the highway was soothing enough to kill time. 

The house that I visited was tucked in a small road that led to a very small village. There was a commotion going on where we parked.  I happened to witness a real cockfighting derby and it was my first time to see one. I asked permission if I could take photographs and so I did. I do not condone the fight because I am not into bloody sports. But I was having a hearty laugh seeing the reactions of the men surrounding the makeshift arena.

(Pardon the language)

"Nagkita rin tayo sa wakas, tang*^#mo! Ibalik mo syota ko!"

"Taran#%*@ ka ba, akin siya, AKIN!"

The men were constantly shouting, "Ugh! Ugh!" whenever one of the cock was being attacked by the other. I cannot make sense of what they were shouting and how they were doing the game. All I knew that the cocks were probably being encouraged by the spectators to be more aggressive. 

" Ganun, sige magtutuos tayo ngayon!"

"Etong sa yo!" 

The cockfight is an intense sport,  recreation, or pastime. But to the men in that village, it was a fun way to gather together and show off their prized cocks (no malice intended). There must be great pride in the prowess of their birds and in winning (illegally).

"Hindi pa ipinanganak ang magpapatumba sa akin!"

"Ang daldal mo!"

"Dugo! Magtago ka na sa pinanggalingan mo!"

I took very few photos because when I saw blood oozing out, I bowed down and left the arena. It was a real experience to see cockfighting as a blood sport but something I won't encourage people to practice, unless it has religious implications. 

Who won? I don't know, told you I left. Make your bet!

Where the Road Leads

When we are given things in life, we do not know how to proceed. We either stop and stare, make small steps, or jump into the bandwagon. Whatever we do, it is still our own decision whether we will move on, go forward, or step back.

Some people are happy being alone while others cannot make do without someone around them. Some people struggle with their decisions whether work related or personal issues. Some give up easily for small things while others pushes themselves to their limits.

I am in many ways push myself so I can actually survive. When not so good things come, I try to study the situation with a clear mind though admittedly I am clouded by negative thoughts. Rather than carrying the burden, I try to focus on the now and let what is happening at that moment to momentarily freeze. Then I go back with my intention of solving my problems rather than dumping my issues to others or to myself. I seek but solutions. I thrive in freedom rather than breaks.

The road to success is not always a smooth ride. The driver in me knows that as a fact. So when things go crazy in my personal and professional lives, I slow down and sometimes, I stop and rest. I start driving again when my sanity is back, when the fog drifted, and when the sun dries up the rain.

(Dedicating this short piece to a blogger friend)

Terrariums

Some time ago, I went to different bookstores scouting for a book about indoor gardening. Not the type of covered roof enclosing the plants in a greenhouse because that would be ridiculously expensive but, something like a bottled terrarium. So after tending a fairly huge garden for many years, I thought of doing something smaller in scale but to no avail.

Then out of nowhere while I was reading the local papers, a short article about glass terrariums sparked my sleeping interest anew. Since it was going to be a friend's birthday and I wanted to surprise her with something different. This is going to be a nicer surprise.

Off I went to visit this small cafe that also served as the hideaway of a man whose hobby was to create miniature glass enclosed plants. He wasn't there the first time I visited so I was entertained by a younger lady who spoke with a British accent ( and I'm a sucker for accents).

"How lovely are the bottled terrariums!" I spoke as I was meticulously eyeing the samples laid on the table. "May I inquire as to the cost of this one? (while holding a small bottle). I almost dropped it because it wasn't inexpensive. The bottle was even smaller than my fist but the price, my dear, is equivalent to three hours of a Thai massage and they don't look nice to give as a present.

Since I don't want to be taunted as a cheapskate, I asked for something bigger, even bigger than my head, or ego perhaps, to give as a gift to my beloved colleague. Oh, surprise of all surprises, I cannot get it on the same day as they needed a week to organize the materials and set them up. I was very sorry for not being able to give it to my friend on her special day but a week wasn't that bad as a wait. So off I went lighter, wallet-wise. 

I received four e-mails in a span of six days from the owner until I was asked to pick up the coveted present. I was giddy because I get to look first hand the masterpiece the artist had created as I had seen it only on the net. The owner of the shop was there and I finally met the apple of my eye, I mean, the man behind the e-mails. 

"Hello!" And some handshakes and of course another set of bills to pay in full. Off I went to my friend's house and she was ecstatic to see the gift, a garden of her own, in a huge mayonnaise jar. I was so scared that I might drop it along the way since I was riding a motorbike. 

I am signing up for a course or may look up on the net about terrarium gardening. So if I find some spare time, I will be just home cooking up something new, a terrarium of my own.

My gift to my colleague.