Sarado

 

Puno ang simbahan

Maraming deboto

Ngunit sarado ito

Bukas ang ilaw

Nagsisimba ang mga tao

Ngunit sarado ito

Bakit kamo?

Dahil sa bawat may pumasok, 

mula ulo hangggang paa,

sinusuri't sinusukat ng mga 

beteranong parokyano, 

Nagtatanong, naninimbang:

Bakit sya nandito? Bakit ganyan ang kanyang suot? Bakit sya ang napiling pinuno ng organisasyon?

Nagtatanong na wari mo'y sila lang ang may karapatan sa kaligtasan at pagmamahal ng Panginoon.

Sarado ang simbahan

Puno ito ng mga banal na aso at santong kabayo.

Sarado dahil matigas at nakasara ang puso at isip ng mga taong layko. 

Cup of Comfort

Sometimes a cup of coffee is better than a hug.

During weekends or non-working days I ask my daughter to make me a cup of coffee. This coffee is just your over-the-counter 3-in-1 San Mig Original coffee (my go-to instant coffee).

I'd wait a while before drinking, I like the temp to be hot but not burning, and I thank my daughter for the delicious cup of coffee, and also tell her time and again that I love the taste of the coffee when she makes it for me.

She tells me it's the taste of labor, the reason my coffee doesn't taste as good when I make it.

That could be true, in part. I think the coffee tastes better because she made it. Because someone who loves me took the time and care to make my coffee.

Thank you for my cup of comfort.

Thank you for my hug in a mug.

Lost

One of those days when I feel slightly off and lost. Where am I? What am I doing? Why am I here?

TBC

Time Marches On

March, another school year has ended. 

It seems like only yesterday the hubby and I were prepping Meg for preschool and now the little girl is not so little anymore. Entering the 4th grade next school year and ending the 3rd grade with an overnight Girl Scout activity, she shows us that she is a bigger and independent young lady.

Boy, I suddenly feel much, much older!

I am thankful that I am able to capture moments, even brief and fleeting ones, with my phone.

Photo apps are quite useful and I'm getting the hang of snapping photos in a flash. Some of the apps that I use are the phone's basic camera, Instagram for anything and everything under the sun, OpenSnap (resto related ones), and PhotoGrid.

 

These apps can make anyone feel like a pro! Well, ok maybe not a pro-pro, but these apps can help make photos a little bit more presentable, beautiful even. Beautiful and lasting photos. Beautiful and lasting memories.

Traffic 2015

Traffic when travelling to and from Manila isn't new, however, this past month it has been ridiculously heavy.

The short stretch from Vito Cruz Taft Avenue to Buendia Taft Avenue, usually a worry free 10 minute bus ride, is now an hour (if you're lucky) long agony.

Why, you ask?

Para daw dumaloy ang ginhawa. Street work involving large round hollow pipe like things made of cement, half of the street clogged up with vehicles and the other half littered with machines and men at work.

Sigh.

Well, at least all these public works are happening before classes and the rainy season starts.

So if you're planning to pass by that area, make sure you have a strong bladder and brace yourself for some heavy traffic.

This and That

The year is 2015. The sky seems grayer than usual. Probably caused by the LPA. I get up with a start. Wait! Saturday, it's Saturday! Good. The lines between the days of the week have blurred. Night is day. Day is night. Oddly, the only thing that makes anything feel real is all in the 4 x 2 gadget made of steel and glass.

Ok, enough with the drama. It's just another lazy Saturday morning and according to my phone, and my snoring bed buddies, it's time to get up and prepare breakfast.

Morning ritual done, I head down stairs with a pillow, my phone, pocket wifi, and chargers.

After boiling some water, I do a bit of housework. Even with only the three of us, the house can get a bit disorderly. The water boils just in time and I squeeze in half a lemon into a cup of hot water. Once I've cooked up a storm, I settle down on the couch and check my social networks.

And then, it's four hours later.

---

I'm embarrassed to say that this is how my Saturdays usually go. I still go about my duties as a wife and mother, but more often than not, I bond with my family with a screen (big or small) in front of us.

Most of the time, I don't have to step out of the house. My phone and the apps that I have has made almost everything a click/touch away. 

Whether it's to check my bank or purchase things that I want or need. Pizza, pasta, burgers or a salad? There's an app for that.

I don't buy newspapers anymore since the online versions are even more updated. To find out what's happening, I just check my Twitter feed. The world also seems smaller because I get to keep in touch with my loved ones who are miles or continents away, even if it is just via Facebook, Viber or FaceTime. Finding out what people I admire are up to is as easy as clicking ❤️ on their Instagram accounts.

Does a digital lifestyle necessarily mean a sedentary one? Not necessarily.

Although I don't get to go to the gym anymore, it isn't because I don't want to but because the gym I used to go to moved to a farther location - so I work out in the comfort of my own home with my workout playlist blaring.

Of course there are things that easily beat a social network or TV series catch up.

Fun time with my lovelies. Road trips. Concocting something in the kitchen. Window shopping. Coffee dates. Hand writing letters. Long luxurious baths. Using an old fashioned typewriter. Books. Human touch. 

I haven't fully embraced the digital lifestyle because I don't think I need to. Gadgets are there for a reason - to help make life easier for people. To innovate. To explore. For work. For play. But I live in the real world - with real people, real problems, real priorities. There may be a lot of hurt in the real world, but there's a lot of joy too.

I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

Eleksyon 2013

Vote buying... Tell-tale signs of political immaturity and poverty.

If your vote can be bought, you dont deserve your democratic right, what you deserve is the awful candidate who you helped cheat.

Can you imagine how much more that person will have to take/steal in order to make up for all the purchased votes?!

Wait... You dont honestly believe that someone who had the gall to cheat their way into elected positions would have an honorable bone in their body, do you?!? All those promises she made? Whoosh!!! Gone!

Congratulations, you didnt just pimp your vote... You sold your soul and your future. Goodluck with that.

Top Notch : Mercury Drug

I want to take this moment to just express my appreciation for the top notch service delivered by Mercury Drug's branch personnel. I was looking for an antibiotic that ended up being unavailable due to a supplier issue, and their branch personnel made an effort to look for Ilosone DS and Ilosone for me. 

I am especially thankful to the personnel of the following branches:

• BF Resort Las Pinas
• Talon Singko
• ATC-Madrigal
• ATC Zapote-Alabang
• Manila Harrison Plaza
• Malate San Andres
• Malate Taft Estrada

For your patience, kindness, understanding, and for providing me with service with a smile that kept part of me from totally losing it... I am truly grateful. :)

A cup of comfort

Have been sick for the past 2 weeks - it was caused by a lot of things, but stress played a big part in it.

So this morning, as I alighted the bus, I made a conscious effort to make this day a bit brighter and made a bee line for Seattles Best Coffee.

Thank you for my free cup of coffee (August journal treat), for warming up this old bag of fat and bones, and for bringing a smile to my lips with my warm sweet salted caramel mocha.