Most Valued

The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie de Paola

The Legend of the Bluebonnet is currently my assigned book for this week among my tutorial students.  It talks about a girl named She-Who-Is-Alone who loved her most valued possession of a doll.  The doll was the only reminder of her past and of her family, like a shadow, from the distant past. 





There was no rain so the parched lands had brought famine and drought to the People called Comanche.  When they summoned the Great Spirits, they were told that a sacrifice was needed.  That sacrifice was to offer their most valued possessions.   When a sacrifice is made, the drought and famine will cease and life will be restored to the Earth and to the People.

Sacrificing her most valued possession

While the rest of the People were debating whether to give a new bow or a special blanket for burning. She-Who-Is-Alone went up the hill, burned her special doll and scattered the ashes to the four points of the Earth.  Miraculously when the girl woke up, the whole land where the scattered ashes had fallen had turned into a field of blue flowers.  This became a sign of forgiveness from the Great Spirits. 




As I grow older, the material gains diminish its value compared to the more abstract things in life.  The images of friendships, love, forgiveness, empathy and gratitude comes into mind.  Of most valued would be my ongoing relationship with the people around me be it from work, from blogging, or from my friends around the globe.  Of most prayed would be love, not for myself but for all. Of most asked would be forgiveness from all the things I have done to others and to those who had done me wrong.  Of most practised would be empathy to model to others a more open heart towards many social issues. Of most shared is thankfulness, of gratitude, to those who have been with me throughout and to all the blessings in life. 

This Christmas, make a difference.  

When it is difficult to forget, we could probably forgive.  

When it is difficult to laugh, we could probably smile. 

When it is difficult to move on, we could probably do our first step. 

When it is difficult to find love, nurture friendship.  

When it is difficult to have peace, offer a prayer. 

When it is difficult to live, stop and see in your heart why you are still alive. 

Have a lovely weekend!

What a Day-saster!

I had a health check up in a hospital that I frequent and what a day! I believe in being on time because it is an impression that people will have of you so I was there at 8. After all the necessary documentations and lah lah lah, I was asked to have my blood taken.  While waiting, a group of four people came ten minutes after me and guess what happened next. They were called in first!

Knowing me when I am the epitome in school on how people should never cut lines, I was furious.  So the test for my high blood pressure skyrocketed and the nurse was asking me if this was ordinary.  Yeah Miss! Wanna rub it in? Then because of my splitting headache, I couldn't read any of the numbers on the board.  I was able to read the number 5 as it was projected on the screen about three inches big.

Then I heard the names called for x ray examination and I was in the middle pile, after two persons. When we proceeded to the exam room,  I was called last again. God knows how difficult it was for them to pronounce my name, JO- NHUH-THUN!

I was so pissed that I went to the International Relations Services for translations and complaints.  After some breathing exercises in front of a beautiful lady who speaks English, I decided to have their 'free' healthy meal before going on my next hurdles.  There were no seats available, no spoons and appalling breakfast of cereal and milk of which I have an intolerance to. I wonder if I could actually mix my coffee or tea with my finger and sue them for burn.

I left the hospital and devoured on McDo breakfast meal of Sausage McMuffin with egg plus coffee. Heavenly grease and arteries clogging combination for stroke and Alzheimer. Phew! Another trip to a hospital in the future.

As they needed a urine analysis, they gave me a plastic bottle to fill. I could have filled the small bottle with beer as my urine sample so as I be labelled alcoholic. So after filling it with my very own liquid waste, off for my eye and dental exams.  I hope they both check my eyes because it says, eye exam.

While waiting for my name to be called, I received a call from the same hospital asking my whereabouts.  I told the person on the other line that I was on the third floor, just two floors below where I was earlier.  Then I was told I will never be called because I do not have the correct papers with me, what the 'pack'! If the translator didn't follow me, I will be typing this in the hospital because I ended staying there for a night.

The results of the tests were scheduled at one in the afternoon and of course as it was a day-saster day, the doctor came in late and I was finally called at 2:10. Some more checks from Dr. Tardy and the verdict: normal with everything except for less intake of carbohydrates and sweets.

Sigh, after my most memorable Sunday escapade at the hospital, I went to the nearest mall and bought jellies, bread with mayo and pork floss, and roast pork with butter bread. Yum! Did I say I listened?

'Pack' this Benign Positional Vertigo I am experiencing!

P.S. The kind lady was named Fah and she helped me throughout. Fah is literally translated as heaven and she was angel sent. I gave her a bar of dark chocolate as a token of appreciation. 

Three Christmases

Christmas is a season of joy for many but I know of some people who find this holiday of cheers a normal, regular day for them.  Not for me!  Though I stopped decorating the house like I used to, blame it to my laziness to put them away later, I still find some time to put a few.

I don't usually walk inside malls as I have no intention of doing any shopping. However, the festivities inside the malls are the first indication that Christmas is arriving.  I don't hear any jingle bells or sleigh ride songs as this is predominantly a Buddhist country but mind you, come December, the air will be filled with the holiday songs.

This Christmas, I took time to re-read the story of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and thought of writing a blog post about Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future.  They wouldn't be in any way a written post about regrets, aspirations and goals or even ghosts, but merely a summary of my Christmas in three time periods.

Since we were never rich, I get my Christmas presents from two people every year when I was young.  My aunt would usually give us a present each, shipped from her hometown that we get to open on the eve of Christmas.  A godmother from abroad would send me a small package during this special holiday and I often get toys from her. We would have a small gathering of sort at home with family members and relatives to celebrate the holiday as well as my mum's birthday which also falls on the 25th. This was Christmas Past.


I celebrate Christmas by putting up small decors without the big tree.  I stay home during the break as there is nothing much to do. I believe that a visit to the church and temple suffice the celebration I intend to do.  I don't even go out for dinner or get-togethers as most of the families I know are also away for the holidays.  I have not been going 'home' since my mum's demise.  This is Christmas present. 

I will probably be the recluse though not the scrooge for the next 'few' Christmases I will be experiencing.  No celebrations of grandeur will ever replace the joy of family get togethers and filial relations of Christmas Past.  It will then be a more quiet and subtle way of celebrating at home, and in my heart. This will be Christmas Yet to Come.

Though I long for Christmas Past, it can never come back but the vibrant and vivid memories linger throughout.  Though I don't see Christmas Present as joyous, I still find solace in the peacefulness it brings to men's hearts and mine. Though I still have to see Christmas Future, it wouldn't be bleak because it is my most awaited time of the year, thus I still get excited. 

All then is to be merry and bright this coming Christmas holidays.  For now, happy weekend!

People Focus Three: Josefina

Little are the things I know about my mum's childhood.  Growing up in a big family of four sisters and one brother, she was the second child in the brood.  My only recollection was that they were from Gapan, Nueva Ecija and that I visited the place thrice in my lifetime.  I do not even have much information about her relatives or closest friends. 

My mum did not have a chance to finish schooling. Her high school stint was enough as education I supposed, was not a big priority in the family.  All I knew was that she worked at an early age and started her career as a singer. She used to sing, along with her sisters, in many different functions until she began a career performing at clubs and radio stations.

My grandmum would always tell me that among her children, it was my mum who will always take home the best presents, the most enviable baskets of goodies, for she isn't just pretty but a good singer as well.

Josie, as she was fondly called by others, was my first teacher. My fondest recollection was when she taught me how to draw a cockroach.  It was very easy and from that sketch came a hundred more drawings from me. She was a quiet person and my dad, being aristocratic and Chinese, had the voice that all had to listen.  There were bouts of disagreements and I had been a witness to many altercations.  One day, I refused to listen and obey my dad because he wanted me to buy a bottle of acid water.  I knew what he was planning to do.  I ran away in fear and disgust!

My mum's favourite desserts would be ice cream and soda.  That lethal combination made her vulnerable to diabetes.  It wasn't bad in the beginning but after so many years, it made her a regular visitor at the nearby hospital.

Even with her condition, she was always alongside my dad in taking care of their business.  Whenever I am in Manila for a visit, I would see her seated inside the store with weary eyes and a sad demeanour in her.  She was like locked up in a cage, a veritable cell of patterned existence.  There wasn't much joy in her words nor any sense of fulfillment to utter.

She suffered a stroke on her birthday and she was confined in the hospital where I got to bond with her.  I was visiting that year and it was a week long Christmas holiday in the hospital for me and my mum.  It was mostly laughter that filled the room and never did we talk about depressing things.  Not knowing it will be her last birthday and Christmas, we made those seven days fruitful with words of wisdom and reminiscing.

When I received the news of her demise, I was the most sullen person enveloped with grief.  I couldn't talk because I was just in tears.  I arrived Manila the next day and immediately went to the wake.  When the priest asked for her relatives to bless her with the holy water, I succumbed to tears once again.

But the real awakening was when she was finally buried and I was filled with emotions.  It was mostly regrets, for being away for a very long time.  After some time though, I made some closures and I am more at peace to myself.

As in every mothers around the world, my mum is the epitome of calmness and love.  She may not be well educated but I made that lack of education on her part to fill mine.

On Needs and Wants

When I was young, I am fond of collecting TEX cards though I didn't get a chance to trade them with my neighbours.  It was something I kept just to have something in my treasure box.  

We were never rich and since I am also not so lucky to be blessed with presents, I had this fascination with toy trains. I asked my father if he could get me one but to no avail.  I asked my aunt, who is also my godmother,  but she doesn't have any money to buy me that expensive toy.

When I was in the university,  I was fascinated by the sound of the piano and when I hear people playing it, I wanted to learn it as well. My cousin had a piano in their house and so in my spare time, I would ask my aunt if I could use their piano to practise some music pieces. My cousins loathed my presence in their house and I knew how much they despise me from using the instrument. So after some sessions, I surrendered since I am more onion- skinned than thick-skinned. 

I left the country because I wanted to buy myself things that I cannot have. After some years, I actually rented a piano for two years and I gave myself the opportunity to learn some musical pieces on my own.  I also bought three sets of trains with rails that goes up and down, fancier than ever.

From my own earnings, I got myself a number of material things.  I was able to furnished my own pad with custom made furnitures and expensive decors.  I was able to send money home to help out.  I purchased a car, got myself a motorbike, and built a garden worth enjoying. I went on trips locally and internationally without any support from anyone.  

In my life there were more wants than needs, I wanted these and I wanted those.  I did not have the luxury to buy expensive things when I was young.  My being a teacher is not a passport to accumulating wealth.  My being all giving and stupid to requests made me vulnerable to failure.  

For now, I look at my immediate needs and that would be a comfortable home, food on the table, money for emergencies, and an innate desire to live a peaceful and comfortable life.  No more trains, no more expensive appliances and decors, no more long trips and unwanted ones.  I am an awakened person. The attraction of having more and more is a thing of the past.  The need to supply the needs is most pertinent.  

Choice of the Day

It only took four months for me to visit Kanchanaburi again.  I was actually in Sangkla Buri but I couldn't find any accomodation because it was a Thai holiday. I was on the road for 12 hours going and then returning back just beacuse I needed a place to rest for the night.  It was nine in the evening and the road along the mountainside was pitch dark.  It was a nightmare travelling to a destination that you are unsure of and cannot see.

It was so good to finally see some lights and as we were about to give up, we finally reached our destination called Ban Phasawan Resort.  I do not really care where I will be settled for the night as I was indeed so tired from the journey.

The morning was different because I could still hear the water from the nearby river of the hut where I was staying.  The water lilies that adourned the top of the water was picture perfect so was also the surrounding area of the resort.

This was one of my featured resort in June when I visited Thong Pha Pum.  I saw this resort from a distance but now, I am inside. There were fruits and vegetables all over.

Pick your choice.

Kung mahilig ka sa amoy, dito ka!

Kung malabo mata mo, kailangan mo ito!

Kung mahilig kang dumura, dito ka!

Kung "mahilig" ka naman, dito ka!

Kung mayaman ka, dito ka bagay!

Kung gusto mo ng kiliti, eto ang sa yo!

Kung medyo may edad ka na, in na in!

Kung feeling foreigner ka, dito ka nararapat!

Kung makati ka naman, dito ka.

Kung ikaw si Malakas, nandiyan si Maganda!

Kung masakit kang magsalita, bagay sa iyo ito.

Kung babae ka, dito ka na!

Sangkhla Buri for the Second Time

A grueling seven hours ride just to see the famous Mon Bridge... again.  The bridge is the longest wooden bridge in Thailand and was built for mobility purposes between the people of Sangkhla Buri and the Mon Villagers.  Cars and trucks were no longer allowed to pass but the bridge still ranks as a famous place to visit for photo opportunities, sunset and sunrise, as well as for bathing.

Mon Bridge Entrance

No entrance fee was asked but there were donation boxes at each end of the bridge. There were also some photographers willing to take your photo and frame it for a fee. 

A bridge made entirely of wood.

Longest walking bridge ever!

There were a lot of people since it was a Thai holiday when I was there.  The first time I went  was a weekday and it was almost empty. 

The temporary bridge at 450 metres.

The second bridge that runs parallel to the upper one was built to enable locals and visitors to cross the river. It was intended as a temporary bridge after the original bridge was washed away by a storm. 

Throngs of Local Tourists

More than 500 residents spent six days building the floating bridge after the collapse of the Mon one.  Expected to be done in two to three weeks, the people of the two villages, Thai and ethnic Mon people, showed they were a united community and finished the job in record time. 

Swimmers!

High Jumpers!

Picture Perfect! 

Will I go back for the third time?  

Yes, I will! 

Probably a refreshing swim is what I need.