An Important Lesson

Natuwa naman ako sa araw na ito. Pakiramdam ko tinuruan ako ng tadhana ng isang maganda at nakakawiling leksiyon. Nagkita-kita kasi kami nung ilang mga kaibigan ko mula sa high school para tumambay sa pinakamalapit na mall, kumain, at manood ng sine. Habang ginagawa namin iyon ay nakaranas at nakakita ako ng napakaraming nakakatawa at nakakatuwang bagay, namely:

1. Yung estudyante ko sa MA at yung dati kong supervising teacher na supposedly ay hindi dapat magkakilala at magkaclose ay nakita kong naglalunch together on a date, though purely for professional and not romantic reasons. Natuwa lang ako kasi hindi ko inasahan.

2. Si Patrick, yung ka-ROTC ko sa UP from 8 years ago ay nandun din. Talk about seeing unlikely people in the most unlikely places. Friends' reaction: Akala namin namali lang ng kinakawayan yung taong nakasalubong natin, kakilala mo pala talaga. Me: Nagulat nga ako, eh, akala ko safe na itong lugar na ito (Baliuag is a good thirty minutes by bus from San Miguel), bwahahaha, hindi pa pala!

3. Nagkakauwentuhan kami nung mga kaibigan ko, at napagtanto namin na ang balita tungkol sa bawat isa ay umiikot-ikot lang kahit na hindi namin alam na umiikot-ikot na pala ito. Totoo nga palang may tainga ang lupa at may pakpak ang balita. At hindi lang isang tainga o isang pakpak. Madami. Madaming-madami. =))

4. May significant number ng mga taong kakilaola namin from college na kakilala yung mga taong kakilala namin from high school kahit na hindi alam nung mga taong from high school na mayroon palang mga kakilala kami from college na nakakakilala sa kanila. Mukhang magulo pero may sense yan, swear, haha.

In short, totoo nga ang kanta ni Genie sa Aladdin: "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all!"

It's a small world, and I'm writing that down because I might forget the lesson if I don't. The corollaries entailed in the reaffirmation of this lesson are boundless: for one, I will always have to watch my actions, because I never know who's looking. Same goes for everyone else. Thankfully, I like working covertly and in a clandestine manner. Lesson two: if it's a small world, then it can only mean athat THERE IS NO ESCAPE! Nyahahaha. It's a double-edged sword, but I love it. ;-)

Sagittarius/Rat New Astrology

The Sagittarius/Rat
You can tell a Sagittarian/Rat, but you can't tell him or her much. There is a know-it-all quality to this wildly successful person. Underneath, they are sweet, charitable and kind. But love often comes late in the life of this Rat as they are not easy to please.

THE DIRECT HITTER
The marriage of Sagittarius to Rat brings us a vivacious person brimming with energy, adventure and activity. The Sagittarius born Rat just about never sits still. This person likes groups and is often surrounded by guests, friends and family. Less charm-conscious than many Rat subjects, the Sagittarian is impatient to achieve and is not concerned about what others think of him. He or she presents a candid self-image without frills or pretense. If you like that sort of thing, you will enjoy this dynamic Sagittarian's company. If you are not attracted by his or her simplicity and directness, then you don't have to come around. It's all the same to Sagittarius/Rat. He has no time to waste pleasing dissenters. This character is built for doing business and making money at it. Love? Well the Sag/Rat wants sex. But he or she quite independent and picky about with whom. Once they locate the partner of their dreams., they go at sex as though they had been starved for it -and often (because of their super charged professional endeavors) they have been. If you are lucky enough to bed one these sexual dynamos, please don't complain about how exhausted you are the next morning.

I'm no longer as much a fan of horoscopes as I used to, but talk about spot-on! =)) Apparently this New Astrology thing is a fusion of Eastern and Western astrology. Some synthesis, at last...nice.

Note to Self:

All in due time, Arpee. =)

New song. =)

I like this one; I was searching for all the different versions and renditions of Ave Maria, and this one's really nice. Sung by Beyonce Knowles.


Ave Maria

She was lost in so many different ways
Out in the darkness with no guide
I know the cost of a losing hand
But there by the grace of God go I

I found heaven on earth
You are my last, my first
And then I hear this voice inside
Ave Maria

I’ve been alone
When I’m surrounded by friends
How could the silence be so loud
But I still go on knowing that I’ve got you
There’s us when the lights go down

You are my heaven on earth
You are my hunger, my thirst
I always hear this voice inside
Singing Ave Maria

Sometimes love can come and pass you by
While you're busy making plans
Suddenly hit you and then you realize
It’s out of your hands, baby you got to understand

You are my heaven on earth
You are my last, my first
And then I hear this voice inside
Ave Maria
Ave Maria
Ave Maria

(hihihi brr!)

A Happy Easter Sunday, and other things besides.

Well, if it matters, Easter Sunday started out really crappy for me. I was home alone and wallowing in guilt because Easter found me home alone and being naughty at the stroke of midnight. Yes. So, there...uh, where was I? Anyway, I was feeling all guilty and evil, right, and I thought I wouldn't be able to go to sleep at all given my guilt and self-doubt (because I honestly was trying to turn over a new leaf), when it suddenly dawned on me that feeling evil and sinning is part of the struggle that is being human, and that what's important is 1) that we stand up after every failure, and 2)that the desire to do better is not lost; that we remain disdainful of evil and not become desensitized and used to it. ok, I know, I'm spouting blah again. Anyhow, that knowledge/assumption/epiphany/whatever helped me get some sleep.

Anyhow, that was that. So I woke up, had breakfast, bummed around, had lunch with the family, and then the fun began. We decided to pay a visit to a local shrine, Banal na Bundok (a recent attraction owned and promoted by Cousin-Mayor), so we loaded ourselves into the pickup and went on our way. Being the babysitter, I had to stay at the back of the pickup with the kids, which really didn't bother me at all because I thought it'd be a blast. I WAS SO WRONG. The trip to the place lasted about thirty minutes, which meant thirty minutes of full exposure to sun, wind, dust, and the aroma of the country (i.e., cows, sheep, and horses). WOWOWOW. Halfway through the trip, I wished I had been less daring.

So we finally got to the place, with me having been ultraviolated on the road and all. I have to be honest: at the back of my mind, I was thinking it'd be some grand mountain with a trek path and a shrine and lots of shade and noisy people going around chanting prayers and stuff, because the name of the place honestly reeks of such imagery. I mean, think of it: Banal na Bundok...it's so Banahaw-esque, right? Turns out I was so wrong. Banal na Bundok isn't even a mountain to begin with; it's a hill. It didn't even take me fifty steps to reach the summit (although in hindsight I think that's a good thing because it entailed less effort on dehydrated and harrassed me), and the only things that seemingly made it "banal" were several large concrete statues of saints and angels, a penchant for such being the trademark of Cousin-Mayor. There was a small shrine on top of the hill, true, and there were a fairly good number of noisy people, but overall, I'd say it was quite a major diasppointment. Still, the place is quite new, and CM has plans of developing the site further to include a chapel and...get this...a zoo in order to make the place more attractive to tourists. I'm thinking, yeah, a chapel would be great, but a zoo? Add to that the fact that he's going to call it Noah's Ark Zoo and I'm almost at wit's end.

So, after having been enlightened at Banal na Bundok, I found myself faced with a very frightening thing, indeed: the return trip home. Having to face the sun's blistering ultracosmic supermagnetic megaluminescent heat rays again for another thirty minutes nearly drove me mad on the spot. I was foaming at the mouth like a wild canine, trying to plead my way into a seat in the airconditioned car interior to no avail. No, of course I wasn't pleading. Anyhow, fifteen minutes into the return trip later, I found myself feeling woozy and lightheaded and sleepy and dry-mouthed. I thought with a panic, "HEAT STROKE!" but I was too dehydrated to even shout for help. Add to that the fact that there was a more pressing matter confronting me: DRY HAIR. The sun and wind had apparently damaged my hair, leaving it feeling all dry and brittle-like and...what? What do you mean that's not a problem? haven't you seen the latest Cream Silk commercial, the one that features Reema Chanco and begins with "In as fast as five minutes, the sun can damage your hair, making it lose up to 50% of its moisture..."? And that was what, forty-five minutes of sun exposure! Hello!!!

=))

Anyhow, I was really feeling all woozy and raisin-like when I felt the pickup coming to a halt. HOME AT LAST!, I thought, but again, I was mistaken. We had stopped by the house of Ate Ginding, who I effing swear makes the effing best pastillas and other sweets this side of San Miguel. I used to buy pastillas from her to give to...never mind, but hey, I finally got to see how pastillas is made. They mix carabo's milk and sugar in vats and stir for hours over low heat until the desired consistency is achieved, and then they cut the blob into bite-sized pieces that they roll around in sugar WITH THEIR BARE HANDS and later ion pack into cute white little packages. Amazing. I'll never look at pastillas the same way again, I swear. I mean, if it takes that much effort to make it...no wonder it's so sweet. =))

Ate Ginding gave us something to eat and drink, being the hospitable host that she was, and I couldn't have been more thankful. In return, we bought some boxes of pastillas from her to send to our nun friends in Dumaguete. The highlight of it all, however, was seeing my family's bloodline limit in action. I was dumbfounded. What's a bloodline limit? Of course I won't tell. =))

I'd love to tell you more but I'm feeling all woozy and sleepy-like. Suffice to say that this day was a good day. The Lord is risen, after all, so why shouldn't it be?

This one's for you, Jade.

I'll miss your jokes, your funny thumb, you. You went ahead too soon. May your soul rest in peace. 

One twisted uncle.

In hindsight, the plan was theoretically sound: spend an afternoon hanging out with your kid nephews and nieces, watch a movie, have quality bonding time and fun at the same time. Everything seemed perfect: I had the kids worked up into a good movie-watching mood, I had snacks ready, and I was being exceptionally cheery and sunny.

Until the movie played, that is.

Of all the movies I had to make the kids watch, it just had to be Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. You'd think the title should have riled any wholesome uncle out for some quality family fun, but no...I had to insist that Tim Burton's penchant for the macabre and the gruesome was nothing more than  a veneer for his distinctive and really innovative brand of humor. (Come to think of it, I never made any assertion that I am a serious uncle in the first place). 

To cut a long story short, I had a handful of frightened and bawling kids halfway through the movie (at roughly the part where the contents of a number of jugular veins and carotid arteries started gushing forth, I believe). One of my nephews, though, insisted that I repeat the scene where Sweeney slits the throat of Mr. Pirelli. I do hope I haven't scarred them emotionally for life...our family really only has room for one sinister member, after all, and it's already taken. Harharhar. 

Anyway, I'm setting out to bring them to an ice cream parlor. It's what PR people call damage control, I believe.

I guess I need to read up on proper childrearing. Any books, anyone?