why streaming mass isn’t enough: a reflection

after 10 months of whatever this is, people have begun to cope and adjust their lives and schedules around all the hoops and obstacles and requirements the government has given us. we’ve learned how to work from home, study without blackboards, and worship outside a church.

to some religious groups, perhaps, it’s easy enough to adjust: they see their pastor, the pastor preaches, they sing a couple of songs, and give their offerings via GCash or online transfers. sure, you miss your neighbors or ‘regular seatmates’ at the congregation but mostly, it’s the same. you can still prepare your biscuit and grape juice.

to Catholics, however, it is not. yes, we have the pastor, the preaching, and the praises and hymns but that physical thing that connects us to Him is missing. all faithful Catholics are deprived — even those in a state of grace!

typically, only those who aren’t “in a state of grace” must receive communion spiritually. now everyone must do it in their living rooms, kitchen tables, phones, laptops, TVs… and it’s just not the same.

perhaps to those outside our faith and some Catholics, it’s no big deal. i wonder why. being separated from Him for so long, we should craving to be united with Him.

they loved each other

nakakaloka ang lahat ng bilihin ngayon. sinimulan ng Taal eruption, nagmahal mga isdang galing ng Batangas. and the lockdowns made it worse. just when we thought things are getting better as lockdowns ease, swine flu naman sumunod kaya nagmahal ang baboy. tapos dahil sa sunod-sunod na bagyo, ito namang mga gulay! MY GULAY!!!

kaya “they loved each other” which translate to “nagmahalan silang lahat!”

matawa ka naman sa dad jokes ko… 😛

my desk isn’t mine anymore

i think this is my metaphor for what i am at the moment. nothing is really “mine” mine. i mean, look at it! how does a grown man nearing his 40s have a hello kitty tumbler as a pencil holder and a minecraft stone ore on his desk?!

see that hand holding the mouse? that’s not me, obviously. unless you think i have freakishly small  hands!

with me, right now, everything is shared. i share the desk and PC with my son as of the moment. i actually got the PC to be productive at home and some online learning for my son. little did i know it’ll be hijacked into a Roblox gaming machine. LOL

Tipid Tip: Don’t buy a webcam. Use your phone instead!

di ko alam bakit ako nagkukuripot sa webcam. well, kasi naman, yung relatively acceptable na quality ng C270 ay kulang para sa akin. for around 2k, yun lang ang kaya ng budget. a better quality webcam like the logitech C920 costs an arm and a leg (for poor me). so naghanap ako ng paraan. at ayun, nakita ko na pwede naman pala. gamitin lang ang DroidCam app and client sa PC.

install the android app and the client sa laptop or desktop. run both and input the IP address on the client to detect the android device and you’re good to go. pretty straight forward eh? well, yan ay kung may wifi pareho ang devices mo. paano naman ako na naka-desktop?

mas kumplikado ng kaunti. no need to root your phone though.just enable USB debugging mode. iba-iba yata depende sa unit ng phone pero mostly it’s just several taps on your system settings para ma-enable. then kapag sinaksak mo ang phone mo, choose/select yung ‘tether’ option, hindi file transfer or charging lang. sa Client program sa desktop, piliin mo lang yung USB imbes na wifi para ma-dectect yung phone. and then you’re all set!

sharing this dahil feeling ko lahat tayo nag-o-online meeting, mapa-Google Hangouts, Zoom, Team, o kung ano pang messaging at meeting app pero gusto din magtipid. buy the essentials. the rest, tingnan ano ang pwede na at pwede pa. 🙂

tag team

baka iba na ibig-sabihin ng ‘tag-team’ ngayon. noon, sa wrestling, kapag tag-team, 1-on-1 pero may alternate ka. you tag the next one para may kapalit ka kung pagod ka na.

pero in this case, ako yung na-tag-team… salitan lang ang mag-ina sa sakit. hays…

this was just 2 weeks ago. A has been feeling ill, body aches and fever, plus a flare up. We finally went to the hospital to have her checked, if it was dengue or something else. Fortunately, all results were good, and by that i mean it was safe for her to be taken care of at home. Only needed rest.

And yesterday, just before our afternoon nap, the little one complained of a headache and he felt his breath was hot. I figured it was nap time and so we had a couple of hours sleep. When I woke up, he was having a little temperature so I gave him some Paracetamol for it. It would also help with the headache. On the good side, he was very active — unlike his previous bout with fever and cough that he was really irritable and grumpy and lethargic. that was just over a month ago. *deep sigh*

i can’t seem to get a break can i? salitan lang. tag team.

back to biking, and back to the couch

the Lord is testing my resolve. or is it the devil?

nilinis na namin yung gilid ng bahay dahil nagiging “mini-bodega” na siya. nagiging magkakaibigan na nga mga ‘kapitbahay’ namin eh: mga daga, pusa, at ipis. sobrang dami na nilang oras tumambay doon.

one of the things na nakatambak ay yung bike kong niregalo pa ni A way back when… 2006 or 2007 pa yata yun eh. it’s the big, heavy-framed mountain bike na uso noon; very different from the bikes on sale today. still, being able to use it again is very fulfilling and makes me proud that despite the abuse and lack of care, it still survives today.

it was quite useful during our little one’s bout with fever a few days ago. palengke- and pharmacy-runs were a breeze despite having to fiddle with the gears a bit. all in all, it was a convenience to just hop on it and go, buy whatever needed buying, and then come back home quick enough. bonus na yung exercise!

can’t change glasses

i’m not sure how long i’ve been wearing my old glasses now (see postscript). most of the time, it doesn’t bother me as much. i can do most of the day-to-day activities without hassle. even driving! but last week, it got a little evident that i need to get a new pair.

i attended a special lecture by Mr. Ed Fukada, formerly of JTWC (that’s the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawai’i) on how they forecast typhoons. Even if I sat at the front row, I still had to tilt my glasses to read what’s on the projector. I have a newer pair (2 actually) but one has scratched up lenses and the other one’s frame is broken. I tried to DIY repairs but none lasted a day so I got stuck with my old pair.

funny enough, my father, wise man that he is, also lectured my eldest sister on the same matter a few weeks back with my sister’s eyeglasses’ frame taped up where the end piece and screw meet. he quipped, “may pambili ng aircon pero yung ginagamit pang-araw-araw, wala.” my sister defended herself saying, “i *am* already getting a new one! i just haven’t got time to go to the optometrist.”

now that i think about it, it’s just (again) all about priorities. some things take precedence over others. there are other more important things i guess than just a pair of glasses. besides, i was only reminded of them when i attended this lecture — not everyday. what’s a little discomfort when you can make others feel much much better? so yeah, i won’t be changing glasses anytime soon… unless my son turns them into another flying saucer or something. 😛

P.S.

i checked my instagram and at the earliest, it was November 2017.

self-reliance

i had my taste of independence and first-hand experience of self-reliance — in 5 out of 7 days when i went to a high school about 2 hours away and even more in college in manila. i had me, myself, and i to do things. i was away from my parents and siblings, and surrounded by friends and non-relatives that, well, don’t care for you like family would.

it was also a time of self-discovery — finding out what made me tick, and what ticked me off; what made me sick and made me feel better; what worked and didn’t work on me — because i couldn’t rely on others for those things.

i miss fiestas

ever since i moved to manila, i’ve missed attending fiestas, specially those from pampanga. the fiestas we are able to attend are those that happen on weekends — Sto. Nino and Poblacion. my parents’ and siblings’ fiesta, unfortunately, is not a “move-able” one — St. Vincent Ferrer which happens today, April 5.

i usually don’t have visitors since my friends are also residents in our barangay. save for one or two but one has already migrated to the US and the other is busy being a single mom. she arrives sometimes, sometimes not but mostly, visitors are those of my sisters’ (i wasn’t really a popular kid in gradeschool and high school. plus, most of them live far from my neck of the woods.)

i think last year or the other year was a bit ‘fortunate’ because it was within Holy Week. next year might be good for me because April 5 falls on a friday. i can still eat what’s left from those who visited in the morning! LOL

as for today, i will have to live with seeing the spread thru photos. *tummy rumble*

man, i wish i could have some asado right now. maybe i’ll cook a batch this weekend!

there’s no winning

natawa na lang ako sa sarili ko.

you can never win any argument with your SO and they will never let anything stay buried in its grave!

and even more than before, i believe in the wise, wise words of husbands before me to take to heart these 6 words that will be the center of your marriage:

“Yes, Dear.”
“You’re Right.”
and
“I’m Sorry.”

You can even string them together to get the full effect! LOL!

Maybe I should just have it printed on a shirt and point to one phrase to save time. hahaha!