Life, Day by Day

I am not superstitious but when a day like yesterday happens, when one bad thing happens one after the other...then, I start thinking that negative forces in my immediate universe is working in an optimal pace. My tuesday started uneventful enough...I woke up late, as usual. The Ms. Universe 2007 was being shown live on cable TV and so I did not bring my Mom to her CWL seminar. A few minutes later, we got a call from her saying that she must have left her folder full of seminar materials in the tricycle (a motorcycle with a covered sidecar that serves as the main transport in most provincial towns and small cities) that she rode going there but she was not able to get it's number. So the househelp had to go chasing after similar looking tricycles which more or less comprises 80% of all tricycles plying the city route. The Ms. U would not have interested me anymore since the Philippines did not make the cut...but Korea did and being a true fan of Korean cinema and dramas...I dec...

I really don't like Mondays...why?  Because it is the day that comes after my usually busy weekends. For most people, weekends are meant to be rest days but for me, these are the days where I try to squeeze in all activities unrelated to my regular work...and since these are only 2 days, it's no wonder that I'm busy and tired when Monday comes.  In other words, I don't get a free weekend. So I got in late for work today and my day did not start well at all.  But, since I never let anything bother me for long...and I have this great ability to filter out the noises around me so that by the end of the day when everyone has gone home except me, I find that my day has ended in a positive way.  Frankly my work week really starts on a Tuesday...Mondays are blah days and I'm part zombie, part robocop...so be afraid...be very afraid ;)

It's a good thing that I did not promise to keep this blog updated, otherwise I'd be paying for broken promises now. But today is a new beginning because I have decided to seriously make time to do this not only for today, but each new day :) After the elections last May 14, I think the days just went by...not slowly but it is more like "days that were over before you know it but you don't really remember doing anything significant or worth remembering" kind of days. This troubled me somewhat because it seemed to me that something as important as the election was no longer important to most people...including myself. But on after thought, something did happen during Election Day itself and the fact that people were empowered enough to complain is a good thing. I volunteered as part of the transportation team of the PPCRV (Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting) of San Diego Parish and at around 8:30 AM of Election Day, I was tasked to drive some peopl...

I have been so busy...with work, work, work...then some more work. I guess you are now picturing one very harassed woman. Truth is...you're probably right. But I don't let it get to me...it's just one of those months where everything is happening all together. It's no big deal. Really. Okay, so now where was I the last time?...Oh yes, I was talking about the kids in my life. When I reached 30, I used to wonder if I would ever settle down and marry or if not, then what would my life be when I grow old. Now I know. I have 3 wonderful kids in my life, my adopted son, my nephew and niece, whom I adore and who adores me back. Where are the parents, one might ask? Well, my son knows his birth mother and my nephew and niece live with their father but it is me, their "Nanang" whom they consider "mom". I used to say I did not want children because I had no patience for them. Oh sure, they were fun to be around with, but not all the time. Then my ...

Is maternal instinct inherently found in every woman? I ask this because my brother's wife from whom he has been separated from more than a year ago, doesn't seem to have any. I have never known a woman with so little maternal instinct that the very rare moments that it shows goes unrecognized and undetected. The care of her children has been delegated to a caregiver since infancy. So it is no wonder that the children rarely miss her. I act as a surrogate mom because I love them and I feel so sorry for them. I thank God that in spite of their parents' weaknesses and faults, they seem to be happy children. Maybe because they are only 8 and 6.

I know I said I don't dwell on the past and I don't. Sometimes though, like today for instance, I get to wishing I was 20 again. I don't remember much about being 20 but if one could go back and do things all over again, this is the age I want to be. Being 20 means you're past your teenage years and all its uncertainties, but still young enough to be open to all kinds of possibilities. Of course if I do go back, I would keep everything I know and learned about adulthood and mid-life, otherwise what's the point of being young again when you will be as clueless as the first time. So what would be the first thing I'd do? I'd be friendlier, less judgmental and take people for what they are and not what I'd like them to be. I'd also learn to be a more gentle person, and expand my horizons. Of course, if I want to be all those things, I really don't have to go back in the past, do I?

I live in a country that's humid and warm most of the year and so when cool weather comes, I welcome it with gladness and joy....but,... not when this cool weather comes as a result of rain. When I woke up at 7 this morning, I thought the alarm went off early because it was still dark outside. My son came rushing into my room...loudly, I might add, asking me to bring him to school since it was drizzling outside. Well, being the good mom that I try to be, I grudgingly got off the bed, washed my face and went into the van in my night clothes. As I dropped him off, I told myself, cool weather at last. It's past 2 in the afternoon and that slight drizzle is turning into a little typhoon. Here I am sitting in my office and I have not done any real work today. I don't know about other people but rainy days makes me lazy and sleepy. I know someone who feels sad when it rains and my friend who used to live in London told me that winter depresses her. I like rain but probably not wi...