Journals and Letters..

Yesterday I decided to clean out one of my old night tables back at my Mom’s house. This cabinet was where I kept all my “secret” files. Back in the day when computers were only found in offices and in really affluent homes, we were relegated to writing our thoughts on actual paper with actual pens. Back then, emails were called letters and blogs were called journals or even diaries.

When I started keeping a journal, I started each and every entry with a “Dear Diary”. As the years passed, my diary writing took on a more sophisticated feel to it. No more of the “Dear Diary” stuff. I started writing with more of a journalistic approach, as if I knew someone would be reading my stuff. And truth be told, someone was actually sneaking a peek at my journals every so often. Years later, my sister, well sisters admitted to reading my journals. When I asked them if they had anything to say they could only smile. I don’t really know if they were smiling because of my literary prowess or because of some of the juicy details they read. Oh heck, who cares…I was young…mushy….honest.

The other stash I found in my cabinet was a box full of old letters, cards, and notes. And yes, even some love letters from admirers back in High School and College. I’m pretty sure I had another box but I can’t seem to recall where I kept it. Anyway, I got a real kick going over each and every letter and card. Each was written with so much honesty and some with so much regret. The feeling of receiving a handwritten letter or card cannot be matched by opening your g-mail or yahoo account. It’s just not the same. I remember vividly how giddy (kilig) I would feel whenever someone would hand me a note from an admirer. Moreso if that admirer also happened to be the cutest guy in school and was also on your list of crushes. The joy of going through your mailman’s delivery and finding out that maybe a card or letter was addressed to you is unmatched by the beeping of your cellphone and reading a text message. Back then everything was so personal and so heartfelt.

With today’s modern conveniences, some of yesterday’s personal touch seems to have been lost. I’m pretty sure that the intention is still the same but the effect is surely different. To see the actual writing of someone still adds more human-ness to correspondence..even to chronicling of one’s adventures. The sad truth is, it is so difficult for us to go back. We can only remember and smile at what life was like when the pen was still mightier than the keyboard.

The Twin Brother of Menopause

As we approach our midlife stage, one question will always keep popping up..when will I go through menopause? I’ve consulted with my ob-gyne years ago regarding this impending stage just to allay my fears. My doctor gleefully informed me that with recent medical breakthroughs, menopause is not something to fear anymore. Another thing she mentioned was that my experience, when it does come, will most likely be just like my Mother’s. That, in itself, made me jump for joy as I remember that my Mother went through her phase with no outward signs, whatsoever. Except for the occassional temper flare-ups (which I suspect were our fault and had nothing to do with menopause), there wasn’t even a hint that my Mother was saying goodbye to monthly periods and hello to midlife and beyond.

Another question that bugs me every so often is whether men go through some midlife phase similar to what women go through. It’s a common joke between my husband and I that we would go through menopause together because I promised to make him the brunt of all my heat-flash induced tantrums. Little did I know that men also suffer from a state much like menopause. Ladies and gentlemen..allow me to introduce to you…ANDROPAUSE!!!

I came to know about this condition after researching about my husbands bald spots. First I was looking for answers on how to grow hair back..then one page linked to another page…one symptom was similar to so and so..then voila…I found the site on Andropause. After reading about the condition I was convinced that my husband, along with some of my other male pals, are now entering the dreaded stage of Male Menopause. Now there was a concrete explanation for all his moodiness and fatigue.

However, unlike menopause, andropause is not something that men readily accept as fact. I can speak for myself because when I told my husband that there was such a thing he looked at me as if I was giving him some cacophony explanation on why the world was not flat. I even told my male best friend, who by the way is gay, that he was probably experiencing andropause because of his low libido and he just cackled like a witch on crack.

So now I know better. Previously, whenever my hubby would go into his I-want-to-be-alone mode or some other mode that made me want to throw him down the steps from the 2nd floor, I always felt partly to blame. Now I know it’s not my fault, it’s probably just him and his hormones.

The Traveller in Me

I came across some travel quizzes care of Jane the Yogi Master. After taking the tests I suddenly felt that familiar bite of the travel bug. I’ve got to do some serious planning.

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

This map shows how much of the world I’ve seen. Not much really. Hopefully, in the months to come, I will be able to schedule some more trips. Thank God for budget airlines. Some of the places I’d like to visit are Cambodia (Siam Reap), Indonesia (Yogyakarta and Bali), Beijing, Shanghai, Malaysia (Malaca and Langkawi), Thailand (Phuket and Ayutthaya), Egypt, Cyprus, Morocco, Italy, Spain, Austria, etc., etc…..

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

This map shows how much of the Philippines I’ve seen. I’d have gotten kicked out of travel school with the grade I got. I really need to do some serious planning.

Online Premyo

Has anyone heard of PinoyPanalo? It’s a blog that lists all sorts of online contests and games. And since I love games, I’ve been visiting this site very often. I’ve been playing and joining for quite some time now without really getting my hopes up. But last week a chunky envelope was delivered by our mailman. It had the KLM logo on it so I figured it was junk mail again. Still, I opened it just for the heck of it. Lo and behold it contained a foam luggage clasp courtesy of KLM. Then I remembered playing their Tulip Game on the net like 2 months back. I don’t know if that game is still being offered but I am so friggin happy that I won!!!! There is hope!!!

Baywalk Babes

On the eve of my birthday I thought it would be a good idea to see the world famous Manila Bay Sunset. Sadly, there would be no such views as it was an overcast sky. So, instead of sulking at my botched plans I decided to just take the opportunity to take pics of my kids as they played at the baywalk. I think I had more fun doing this.

Tick..tick..tick….

Nope, that’s not my body clock going “tick..tick..” And I’m not talking about a potential head lice problem now that summer is officially over. Tomorrow I turn….39!! Yup, formally, I’ll be on my voyage to mid-life. I can’t say I’m jumping for joy nor am I quivering in fear of the big 4-0. Actually, I don’t feel any different than yesterday. I’m pretty sure I’ll still feel the same tomorrow. And just to boost my ego, my husband said that I still look the way I did when he met me….plus 10 lbs…Dang!!

Anyway, I’m really big on birthdays so celebrating my big day is something like the Christmas season here in the Philippines. Loooooonnnnnggggg…..!!!!! Mine started last Monday with a home cooked feast for my family at my Mom’s place. This also served as my sister’s despedida as she was going back to Nebraska the following day. I did the cooking and they did the eating. Today we’re off to some swanky hotel in the Manila Bay area to spend the eve of my birthday. This is my little sister’s gift. Then on Saturday, if the weather permits, we will be going to the beach to soak up whatever is left of the summer.

So, officially, I’m on break. I’ll be relaxing, getting a tan, going for a swim, getting a massage, etc., etc….etc..and maybe somewhere along the way I’ll remember that it’s my birthday.

Kiddie Love

I had a chat with one of our friends some time back and she was telling me that her daughter who is 7 years old is crushing on some guy from their village. Apparently she snuck into her kid’s diary and read something like this “Oh (boy’s name), I really like you. Please ask me to have a date with you.” Now my friend is really a cool-Mama but she was really bothered by this. You know how you tend to imagine what will happen next, well, she has and it was pretty gruesome. She was saying things like, “What if they really get together? What if when they grow up they really start dating? What if something nasty happens?….” so on and so forth. I mean, for her, this was serious stuff. It’s like her kid’s life was flashing before her eyes and she wasn’t liking what she was seeing. So, it took a gentle nudge from me to take her out of her hell hole and bring her back to reality. I told her, “C’mon, you’re kid is 7 years old…it’s nothing. She probably doesn’t even know what a crush is.” When we parted ways my friend had gone from “one-foot-in-the-nuthouse” to an almost Valium-induced-calmness.

Fast forward to 2 months later. Just as we were getting ready to prepare for bed, Gaby pokes her Dad in the arm and asks him who the “cute” guy was on TV. My husband checks the tube and sees this amusing young kid doing some nutty dance on his own video. So the husband says, “Ah, that’s Gerald.” Then the line that all father’s dread, “He’s so guapo!! Ayyy! I like him, I want him to be my boyfriend!”

It’s been almost 3 months since that fateful evening and nothing has changed. Gaby is so obsessed with the guy. She’s been having imaginary talks with him, imaginary dates with him (at Starbucks!), imaginary rides in her pink Picanto (even the car is imaginary), imaginary scenes out of Shrek (Gerald is Shrek and she is Fiona)……everything is about Gerald. She even has her eyes glued on every billboard on Edsa just in case Gerald is on one of them. We were at the new Bench Flagship Store at Trinoma and she was suddenly screaming because Gerald had a poster on one of its walls. She is so in love with him that she wants to kill Jasmine (Gerald’s partner in a teleserye). One time, one of my sisters called from the gym at ABS-CBN to tell me that Gerald was there. I told Gaby and she has been bugging me to take her to the gym…everyday! Honestly, I think this is really cute and I’m pretty sure that she’ll outgrow this…as soon as someone more “guapo” comes along. One thing I’m sure of…the kid has fantastic taste. Heeheehee.

I Think That I Shall Never See…

I’ve been tagged by LadyCess to relate a favorite, funny, or memorable childhood experience.

After going through my cache of memories, one stuck out in particular. This happened when I was around 8 years old and in the 3rd Grade. My school was mounting a big to-do to commemorate Environment Day or Earth Day or some holiday for the preservation of the planet. My class chose to perform a rendition of Joyce Kilmer’s epic poem, Trees. Nope, this wasn’t just a simple poem reading thing, we had a huge production complete with set and costumes. I was chosen as one of the trees. Applause. I was to stand in the middle of a bunch of classmates who were supposed to be, of all things, grass. So while we, the trees, recited the poem the grass-people would sway to-an-fro as if blown by the wind. I had a really nice costume made by our “suking custorera”. It was a balloon-sleeved green blouse topped with a brown jumper with nice green leaf like embroidery. Really nice. I had in my hair some really cute green clips and ribbons (not robins as the poem suggests).

And so on performance morning my whole family came. When I say “whole” I mean the entire lot including Lola, Lolo, Tita, Tito, cousins. Oh yeah, my immediate family too. So there we were, ready and waiting for our cue to perform one of the most revered literary works of our time. And we did..with ease and much aplomb. And boy did the audience love it. We even got a standing ovation. And when the applause died down one solitary figure remained standing… my Lolo. He had his familiar smirk and he was pointing at me. With his booming voice..”Cookie bumaba ka na diyan. Wala naman palang kwenta ito. Gagawin ka lang palang puno!! Baba!” Everyone was stunned and speechless. Then it started, first one clap, then another, then the entire audience was hooting and giving my Lolo an applause louder than what we got.

This is one childhood memory that I will always remember. Actually, my entire family remembers this and we still laugh everytime we talk about it.

I’m tagging everyone who has a childhood memory that they’d like to share. Just let me know so I can laugh, cry, and enjoy it with you.

Gaby’s First Photo

My eldest daughter, Gaby, took her first photo 2 days ago using my sister’s point-and-shoot instamatic Holga. For her subject, she chose her absolute favorite person in the world…ME! And here it is……..

Pretty good, don’t you think?

Gaby’s First Photo

My eldest daughter, Gaby, took her first photo 2 days ago using my sister’s point-and-shoot instamatic Holga. For her subject, she chose her absolute favorite person in the world…ME! And here it is……..

Pretty good, don’t you think?