Life, Day by Day

By now, I should have learned that phrase by heart...God knows I have said it to myself a hundred...no, a thousand times for years now. But somehow I never quite got it. So many things still disappoint me...People most especially. I don't know if it's me...or them. Maybe I expect too much, hope too much or I'm just a person who is very hard to please. I know that to a lot of people I may come across as a "difficult" person...because I follow certain standards that are different from theirs. I used to wonder if my standards were too high or hard to do...and someone told me, not really...it's just that they are different. Through the years, I believe I have mellowed. This does not mean I have lowered my standards, on the contrary I think my standards of behavior, ethics, my idealism etc...have even grown higher and stronger. I still get exasperated and frustrated everyday of my life...I still have the propensity to try to solve every problem that comes to...

After Dr. Seuss, there's Spencer Johnson . I first read...well, scanned actually his book Who Moved My Cheese approximately 2 years ago when this was given as a reading assignment in a seminar where I was one of the facilitators. At that time, I thought it was a cute little story but did not really impress me. Last month I bought a copy and this time gave it a good read and suddenly, what I was reading was making a lot of sense. I guess that what was written in the book was something I needed to hear at this point in my life when I feel that I am at a dead-end, and therefore I need to get moving or else! Not everyone who reads this book the first time will appreciate the message...like me, for example...unless it relates to one's life experience. I finally understood the wisdom of it's message because for the past few years my life's direction has not been going anywhere. I feel like I have been going around in circles day in and day out. This year I had a light ...

Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there." With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street. And you may not find any you'll want to go down. In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town. It's opener there in the wide open air. Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you. And when things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too. OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! You'll be...

I got caught in the middle of Typhoon Frank (international codename: Fengshen)...something that I never expected when I left for Bohol via Cebu on a sunny warm Sunday last June 15. I've been caught in storms before but those were the days when I was much younger and energetic, so it was more like an adventure then. This time, I'm older, well rooted in my comfort zones, predictable...and so, it wasn't exactly the kind of adventure one middle age lady would like to find her lonesome self in.

I don't remember doing anything in my entire life just because ...from the time I could remember, everything I did (or at least 99%) had a purpose and a reason. Spontaneity was or is not one of my strong points. I always looked before I leaped...I was the type who would analyze things...in other words, I thought too much. But the funny thing is, I also have an impulsive nature...that's why I don't go shopping in the mall unless I really have to, if you know what I mean. So, does that mean that I'm impulsive but not spontaneous? Is there a difference? Definitions I've come across say they're the same but I don't think so...I know that I am impulsive in many ways (like shopping when there's a sale) but it's not easy to get me to do things on a whim. I found these definitions on the internet which I feel are more correct... SPONTANEOUS implies lack of prompting and connotes naturalness while IMPULSIVE implies acting under stress of emotion or sp...

Last Saturday, May 31, 2008 was a momentous day in my son Ramie's life. After 7 years of training in Taekwondo, he has finally earned his Black Belt, 1st Dan. He had trained hard the whole summer and with some help from me completed his thesis requirement on time(earning for me about 5% of his black belt). The anticipation was high during the past week but he never showed that he was nervous even during the promotion date (although, afterwards he said he was actually very nervous). We left the house at about 1:30 PM and I dropped him off at the La Salle covered court where the promotion tests will be held. The whole process for the black belt involves demonstrations of all forms learned from yellow to high brown belt, a sparring session with 2 black belts and the braking of boards and blocks. There was also a welcoming ceremony which I had no idea about. I was the nervous one and was not really keen to watch the sparring because Ramie warned me that it could be scary. But even ...

Last May 7, my mom, brother, son and I boarded a plane to Manila for a brief "vacation", if you could call going to the big city that. It was my mom who needed to be there for an annual CWL convention while the rest of us were there only for the ride. The last time my mom traveled to Manila was about 3 years ago and it's been about 4 years ago for my brother and son. At that time, my mom although already suffering from hip osteoarthritis was still quite mobile but lately, it has really been getting more difficult for her to get around and this has become more evident during this latest trip to Manila. Although I see her as growing old, this reality did not seem to be very apparent to me maybe because life in the province is more laid-back, or maybe because I refuse to dwell on the fact that my mom was indeed aging and sooner than later, so will I.