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!

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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!

 

both a country boy and a city boy

“oh give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
don’t fence me in.”

kasalanan ni bud brown ‘to eh. who is he? what am i talking about?

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fomq8INf1RQ]

while the conveniences that the modern, urban jungle offers are really nice (first class health care, malls, high-speed internet), i still long for “land, lots of land” as the song says. open spaces are the things that i mostly crave now. it’s what i miss about living in the countryside.

but i can have that too here in the city… if only i were a few million pesos richer. LOL!

we live near McKinley Hill and Bonifacio Global City — uber expensive places to live in. but really well-planned urban spaces — and i just love it there. you can stroll into a mall, a few steps away, there’s a linear park to run or relax. a few minutes drive and you’re at a european-inspired enclave where there’s a plaza to feed pigeons and a man-made river to ride a gondola. and the houses aren’t jammed together like a stack of boxes in a delivery van.

so we make the most of it. well, i’d like to, specially on weekends. drive there, enjoy a little bit of breathing space, take time to be ‘free’.

but i still want lots of land. 😀 hehehe

moving soon?

“how would you like to move to New Zealand?”

well that raised my eyebrows over my head last night. and my eyes went from slits to the size of a dinner plate. but i kept my cool.

actually, i wasn’t surprised by this. i guess it’s always been at the back of my mind. it wasn’t a question of would i like to move or not. it was just a matter of time.

since graduating and passing the board exams, it was a traditional route to work in the middle east where there is a construction boom where my profession was most needed. i didn’t apply anywhere. i thought i was meant to work here.

a few years later, i have my own job. i see my old college batchmates posting on friendster (because facebook wasn’t a big thing yet) with the newest and shiniest gadgets and DSLRs. i was pretty #inggitmuch that time. i started to question my ‘loyalty’ to the country but i guess i was still pretty happy where i was.

i said to myself, “you must learn to simplify.”

another few years come, i see some batchmates renouncing their filipino citizenship for another. which made me question, again, that if it ever came to that, would i do the same thing?

i said to myself, “let’s cross the bridge when we get there.”

and so, last night, this was presented to me. there are no concrete plans except for A to apply and pass her resume. as for me, i have no assurance of a job when we move. the best i could think of was to farm or shepherd sheep!

so, it’s going to be a waiting game. the question to ask, perhaps, is “how soon is ‘soon’?”

miss you, Chuckie.

wala lang. random na nagtanong yung isang kilala kong amateur radio operator na kung sino-sino yung mga ham na pet lover din. in our place in manila, there’s no room for a pet. pinaka-pet na namin yung stray cats sa street namin. i always have it at the back of my head na maybe we could get a dog. kaso there’s really no place (and time) for one. maaawa lang ako kasi malamang sa malamang eh itatali lang siya or nakakulong maghapon.

anyway, OM Brian asked us to post photos of pets. and i remembered that i had some pics of good ol’ Chuckie. bakit Chuckie? kasi kulay brown… parang Chuckie ng Nestle. 😛 tapos na-miss ko lang siya bigla.

and while looking at some of the photos, i saw myself in the reflection in his eyes. i thought about what he was thinking that time i took his photos. *sniffle, sniffle*

why are there so many onion ninjas in the office???

need to get solar fast!

it’s been going on for some time now in my hometown: “brownouts” as we call them here in the Philippines. within the past week, there have been 2 almost whole-day incidents of having no electricity. in the day, perhaps, it’s more tolerable — you can go to the mall or go outside in the yard to feel the breeze blow in. electronic gadgets actually get to rest because of no wifi and no watching TV. but at night, when everyone needs to stay indoors and try to sleep, that’s when it gets really annoying.

i’ve actually planned for this and tried to build the solar kit by buying from lazada. it was for the rainy season when i know (so well) that brownouts happen. and during storms. unfortunately, the solar panel didn’t arrive — the supplier could not apparently fulfill my order because of they didn’t have stocks of the panel. i now had a solar charge controller without a solar panel. (ummm… still there? hehe. i know it’s kinda nerdy but it’s just really frustrating). it’s like having a car without wheels and fuel in the tank.

i asked my sister what they did during the night and she said she checked in at a motel with her family. they had a DFA passport renewal appointment so she thought they really needed sleep because they had to be there early. i didn’t get to ask how my parents did but knowing my dad, i’m sure they were fine. but wouldn’t it be a convenience to not be inconvenienced by power outages?

a facebook friend had this post about living off-grid was actually living “off-greed” i.e. not power-hungry and not wasteful of resources. i liked that idea a lot.

so now, i’m trying to scramble to put the solar kit together. now currently debating a cheap but short-term solution that’s immediately available vs. expensive but long-term solution that needs to take a while to save for. 😦

*sigh*

hospital staycation

tuwang-tuwa pa naman ako nung narinig kong may long weekend na naman. it turns out, magiging staycation pala yung long weekend ko… may extension pa! haha!

the little one was sick since the evening of June 20. pero he was already better by thursday. friday morning, makulit na nga eh, so i decided to go to work and not worry much. then when the fever came back on saturday, A decided we should head to the hospital just to make sure everything’s alright.

the doctor took one look at him and said he was dehydrated and asked if we would like to have him admitted inside the hospital. since we thought it would just be an overnight thing and sagot naman ng health insurance, we said yes.

syempre kinailangan ng IV for his fluids. tatatag talaga loob mo kapag magulang ka na. iyong iyak niya at pagmamakaawa sa pagsabi ng “AYAW!” breaks your heart but you know it’s for something better kaya titiisin mo. T_T ayan, naluluha na naman ako…

after the tests came back, the pedia said we’ll have to stay for 3-4 days. di na ‘to overnighter.

WUUUUTTTT???

i got a bit worried but she said that it was only a precaution and just so that we are sure that the infection was clear. so it was really nothing serious. it’s more of making sure he recovers faster and better (naman! 24/7 aircon tapos may meals pa? LOL!).

by monday, he was absolutely fine, save for the occasional cough. and tuesday, he was jumping up and down the hospital bed! that afternoon, while i was knocked out and the in-laws were watching over him, Dr. Pandy said that all things considered, we’re probably going home the next day.

HOORAY!!!

finally doing her final rounds on wednesday, we were cleared to be discharged from the hospital.

nakakatuwa din makita how he interacts with other people. kahit na natatakot at iiyak siya everytime na may naka-scrubs na papasok or mask, he would always wave and say “bye!” when we asked him to. (although by monday medyo nasanay na siya kaya konting iyak na lang). sanay kasi siya na halos kami-kami lang nakikita niya. he seldom goes out to socialize except on weekends. minsan nga hindi na rin kasi we have to do chores. he seems to be a friendly person. hindi kagaya ko! masyadong introvert. haha

and today, balik-trabaho na ulit, 2nd day. and nagulat na lang din ako… weekend na ulit!