Nine Lives

Many years ago, I attended a three day workshop in a nearby province and I was on my own. On the night I arrived, I ended in an accident as the motorbike I was riding collided with another one. Both motorcycle drivers were fine but I wasn't. I sprained one of my foot as well as receiving bruises all over. 

When I was lying on the ground, someone came to me and told me he was willing to send me to the hospital if I pay him two hundred baht. I agreed because I have no other way to pick myself up to go to the hospital. I was bleeding and I couldn't stand up. It was saddening that a man came not to offer assistance but to pry on helpless people by asking money in exchange for a ride to the hospital. I was in a cast for a month. 

Three weeks ago, I was involved once again in a motorcycle accident. This time, I was the one driving. I wasn't able to pull the brake levers on time to stop for a crossing cat so I fell sideways on the ground. The things I bought from the market went splattering on the street along with my purse and phone. 

There were cars passing and a couple of motorcycles came but none stopped to help. To my right, I could hear some people playing basketball since it happened adjacent to a court but none came running to even care. In the middle of the street, I cried for I cannot stand up but I summoned my strength and told myself that being weak was not the solution to my dilemma at that time. I needed to be strong.

I drove myself home with blood and bruises while feeling pain on both hands and fingers. I hailed a cab via phone, sent myself to the hospital and was treated for my minor injuries. I arrived home feeling numb in both hands and pain on the right side of my body and leg. It was a minor accident and I was a lucky chap. 

I was hit by a school bus when I was six, fell down from a tree when I was twelve, bumped my head in two different occasions and received stitches on my forehead, thrown from an elephant in one of my trips, gone through a laparoscopic surgery with no one around to take care of me, and so on. I am still alive and I learned that most people are not kind nor caring. It might be different if I was a movie star or someone wealthy but I am not. Nevertheless, these unfortunate events made me aware of my safety. It also made me think that I might be a cat. With nine lives, I get to live and tell my stories. 

My Birthday 2015

Another birthday, another moment celebrated and cherished.

The Hammock

Still, they maybe from where they were hanging as no wind gave life to what they were for. Mere objects for decorations what with their majestic curves and craftsmanship. It was one lazy afternoon when a man strolled around the sandy beach and saw these hammocks of beauty. Their presence at the resort gave a bucolic but warm feel to the surroundings.

He gave one a push, just a gentle one, and the hammock started rocking. Left and right, left and right and continued until it gave a weak stop. He pushed it again, this time harder than the first, and the hammock moved with a forceful motion. 

"This is like me", he said to himself as he looked at how the swaying bed made a swinging pattern. The man was nothing when he started, with only a few hundreds in his pocket when he left. He willingly left the comfort of his home so he can make his own life, to find himself and his meaning.

All throughout his new found life, he was rocked right to left, back and forth. All the bad things gave him more strength while all the good things gave him validation. Without both forces, he will merely be an ordinary being. Without the 'push' from friends and foes, he will merely strive for mediocrity. 

Life is not just about having something to eat everyday for it is more than that. Life is giving meaning to our own existence. I am, how about you?

My Google+ Awesome Photos of 2014

Since I signed in for Google+ and synced all my gadgets into one, I had been receiving posts and updates from them particularly of photos I took. Afterwards, they will send me a notice of an awesome photo taken from wherever I was. 

A beach scene from Banglamung, Pattaya, Thailand

A national forest in Mae Hong Son, Thailand

A pot filled with orchids from Lychee Resort, Pai, Thailand

The pond at a reasort I stayed in Mae Sot, Thailand

Maekasa Hot Spring in Mae Sot, Thailand

A ferris wheel at Wat Bua Kuan in Nonthaburi, Thailand

Nang Rong Waterfalls in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

A man made lake located in Khao Bin Cave, Ratchaburi

My garden!

None of my jump shots made it nor some posed shots, ha,ha,ha. It seemed that Google+ doesn't recognize ugly faces. Anyway, my fave was the last one since it is my own: sweat, blood and labour of love.

People Focus Two: Vlad

If there is an epitome of friendship, then my friend Vlad's friendship is one of them. We met at a church function and became part of a group of Filipino scholars studying in Thailand. 

He spoke in a gentle manner whilst all-knowing about the affairs of the world. He was into politics and until now, he is. 

He is my complete opposite. While I am shy and introverted, he is the sociable and all friendly kind of person. While I allow myself to disappear in a crowd, he is the one that stands out.

I remember spending birthdays together since we were born on the same month. We would visit our doctor friends and have simple get togethers at their university's laboratory. Our weekly eating spree by the sidewalks were always fun and germ-filled. We even embarked on trips to Kanchanaburi and Chiang Mai spending the little money we had to buy matching vests. We even visited a zoo dressed in our office garments. It wasn't  the expenses or the tight budget, it was the growing friendship that was most invaluable.

Vlad and I had petty arguments regarding friendships and there had been bouts of jealousy since we were all immature at that time. But with all these differing opinions, our friendship was made stronger. 

Vlad molded me in many ways. He is God loving and God fearing and his devotion to the Lord is overpowering. He guided me in my daily devotion. He showed me how to be a good friend. He exposed me to diligence as he is very scholarly. Knowing some years ago that he was finishing his graduate studies in Taiwan and later on learning that he was at Harvard University, what a feat!  

Vlad taught me valuable lessons about friendship. His admirable traits are deeply missed. And for almost sixteen years of not seeing him, I miss him big time. 

Happy birthday buddy!

People Focus One: Yu Dian

I am starting the year introducing and celebrating the people who had played a big part in my life as a person, as a teacher, and as a friend. They will be random so as not to be boring. They will be in segments as some deserved more space than others because of our stories. Some will be short and sweet yet all these people played an enormous part on how I became Jonathan Yu.

"Bulutong!" was the name he was often called by his neighbours. This wasn't his name because it meant chicken pox in English. It was rather name calling and I grew up hearing that every now and then. 

His real name was Yu Dian and he hailed from Xiamen which is a part of Mainland China. Married to Lim Teng, they had five siblings and I was the first grandson of the Chai family. My grandfather started life in the Philippines after fleeing the mainland by opening a small store and later on a restaurant where I grew to be diligent and responsible.

I attended a Chinese school which means that I had voluminous assignments when I reached the house at half past five. However, I needed to be present in the restaurant's kitchen so that I could help my grandparents in preparing ordered food. Not that I learned to cook, I was the errand boy and errands had to made in split seconds. "We ran out of soy sauce, go get some!" and off I would go. 

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After a few visits to the market with my grandfather, it was now my turn to do the marketing myself complete with a list with very specific instructions. I remember being asked to purchase flat noodles with the shrimp brand, and no substitutes were allowed. I would be buying peanuts, hot buns, Vetsin, salt, vegetables, candles, and other things. The best part of going to the market was the way home. I get to ride a 'calesa', a horse driven carriage from Paco Market to our place. It was so cool!

My grandfather was very creative and inventive. We used to have a cook stove heated by either wood, charcoal, or wood shavings. The delivery man would come on a regular basis with sacks of wood shavings. I would help my grandfather unpack the shavings in a brick room and sometimes would have fun jumping in the stack. A great find would be a giant scorpion running away from my grandfather as he was to hit it with a wood plank. The storage room, with its cold and dry condition, became a habitat for scorpions and giant millipedes. Awesome!

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The best story I had shared with my students would be my grandfather's cockroach killer. He taught me how to use a Flit gun, a manual insect sprayer used during my golden days. Rather than the usual insecticide, we used kerosene and then we attached a lighted candle secured by rubber bands in front of the air nozzle. Once you pull and push the plunger, the spray of liquid creates a fire blast that can instantly kill multiple batches of cockroaches. Dangerous but effective!

At age ten, I learned so many things in life. When my Angkong ( our term for grandfather) showed me how to do groceries, it was my first real experience of math. When we played with the sprayer and hunted for dangerous bugs, it was a hands on experience in science. When we communicated, it was a dialogue in a foreign language. When I helped out and enjoyed it, it was my foundation for life. 

I love him dearly and his last material gift is still with me, hidden in my cupboard.

Major Fail!

So you might be thinking how wonderful my jump shots were where in fact, there were some major fails when it comes to clicking right after the jumps. I don't blame myself, I blamed the photographers who took my jump shot photos, lol!

Presenting my not so good jumping positions!

One, two, click!

Not so fast!

One, click!

I just counted one!

Did you actually click when I jumped?

Not really, I did it when you landed.

Hmmmm....

I want a jump shot, not a Maria Clara pose!

Bully!

You missed it isn't it?

He,he, sorry!

Sorry? Again!

Now you can see that I will always aim for perfection so my friends never want to be around when I asked them for jump shots. So demanding I was told! But my simplest joy is to make myself high in the air as if I am floating. Is it too much to ask?

Winter Escapades

A road trip is the best way to end and start the year.

Travels in 2014

Road Trips Aren't Measured By Mile Markers, 

But By Moments.

                                                                                                               Author: Unknown