16 August 2006; 12:49p
This will be my last entry into this blog. I’ve decided to start a new one at Blogger, where it is a bit more convenient to keep a blog. Those of you who might be interested in finding out what else I have to say regarding whatever can go to that’s just me talking…
Happy blogging!
08 August 2006; 10:11p
Got myself a hot oil treatment and a haircut yesterday. Mari (that’s the girl who has been cutting my hair at Metro since Lucy resigned) suggested that I get a cellophane (tama ba ‘to?) treatment to give my hair a shinier look, or something like that, so while my head was covered with oil, wrapped in clingwrap, and stuck inside one of those irritating heaters (it was a bit uncomfortable yesterday), I toyed around with the idea of getting my hair color changed. Besides, I was also reading an old copy of InStyle magazine, where they were discussing hair color treatment, and how the stars are always changing their hair colors.
I think the last time I seriously considered changing my hair color was back in high school—my high school class is holding its 20th reunion this year—a long, long time ago. Back then, I wanted to change my hair color to a burgundy-brown shade and get green contact lenses. Of course, that was no go with my aunt, who thought I was being crazy. One of my cousins though did color her hair and I thought it was nice, and I remember being so envious because I couldn’t do it myself. Well, come to think of it, I don’t think I would have had the courage to do it even if my aunt did agree to let me. Truth is, I’ve been blessed with a nice shade brown hair (at least I like to think so), and for a while, I got really upset when people ask me if I color my hair (never did, so there!). Overall, I like my hair color.
But, come to think of it, why have I never really tried a different hair color? And why, at the slightest suggestion of a cellophane treatment, did I seriously start thinking about changing my hair color? I don’t know, but I am seriously considering getting it done that next time I visit the salon. I’m thinking of browsing some websites to pick a color. Let me see, should I go with the old choice of burgundy (am looking at the Revlon site), or stay with the shades of brown (golden brown, reddish brown, ash brown, light golden brown, light reddish brown, light ash brown, etc etc) . Or am I going to be really adventurous and go blonde (bwa ha ha!), so I can have more fun.
But I am really curious as to why I’m even bothering. Would I have the courage to push through with it? Geez, I’ve had the guts to try other stranger things, so shouldn’t I be brave enough for this. Will a different hair color change me, or as Keira Knightley might say ‘Am I bothered?’ (That is suppose to mean, ‘do I care?’)
I know if I change it to a really different color, I’ll get major reactions from my family, my father mostly. Again, am I bothered? The only thing is, will it mean I’ll have to get my hair treated when the roots go back to my natural color? Will I become a regular customer for color treatment? Geez, that would be an expensive luxury.
Hmnn, will there be a change in color? Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.
7 August 2006; 6:40p
Am cross-posting my blog entry last 4 August in The Coven:
I was looking at the online versions of the newspapers today and came across an interesting article (Displaced domestic help to return as ‘supermaids’). Well, okay others may not find it interesting, but the idea of a ’supermaid’ certainly piqued my interest. Some time back, I wrote in my other blog about the Arroyo administration’s plan to encourage more of our nurses and teachers to go out of the country and join the millions of OFWs to be able to send dollars home (Who cares if they are separated from their families, so long as they are sending home greenbacks? Obviously not Shorty.) So I grant that not all of them are sad to leave the country (many probably couldn’t wait to), but still it bothers me that our government is actually encouraging our people to leave and work abroad rather than find ways to give them good jobs here and keep them with their families. No, actually, I’m not just bothered…I’m pissed.
And now, here comes the news that Shorty has a new plan for the displaced domestic helpers coming home from Lebanon. Good ol’ Tesda will train them to become ’supermaids’ who will be "upgraded with a higher price,” said Tesda chief Augusto Syjuco (as quoted by the Manila Times). Uh, upgrade with a higher price??? What the hell does that mean? Okay, heading over to the Philippine Star, it appears that the returning DHs will be trained on first aid, evacuations from high-rises in case of a fire, and other skills to help them get higher pay when they once again apply for work in other countries.
Okay, so I’ve accepted the fact that the problems of this country is not likely to be solved in my lifetime, and maybe not even Ben’s lifetime, but stuff like this is ridiculous. It would be okay I guess if there is some obvious efforts to improve the way things are going in the Philippines so that while there will still be OFWs, their number would stabillize and not keep going up. Which means that there will be jobs created in the country so that many of our fellow Filipinos will no longer feel the need to work abroad just so to keep their family afloat…okay, okay…wishful thinking on my part. Instead, what we have are bickering politicians who cannot relinquish their positions to those who are more deserving and more capable of maybe giving this country the fixing it needs. Aba, baka nga naman mawalan sila ng kickbacks at income sources. It always makes me wonder what the heck they’re going to with all the money they accumulate. They are just so insatiable.
Reading stuff like this makes me really sad that I live in this country. Oh, I’m sure there are others in worse situation that we are, and to be honest, I’m still very thankful for the life I lead. But looking at the faces of the returning OFWs from Lebanon, and listening to them in the interviews (about their homesickness and worse, about the abuse some of them have received from their employers), I feel bad that they have to suffer so much just to be able to send money to their families here, and even worse when I realized that many of them are willing to go through it all over and over again. And I think, shouldn’t we be focusing more on ways to give them jobs here and keep them from leaving rather than worrying about charter change and building international airports around the country?
03 August 2006; 6:30p
Okay, okay. So I’ve been lazy. I have been known for that, and the past couple of months have been a truly lazy period.
Since my last post, I have once more traveled out of the country back to Hong Kong (team meeting/workshop/get together). It was a bittersweet trip. Why? It was sale season in HK and I didn’t have money to shop! So there I was, envying my workmates, who spent hours scrounging around for bargains in the various shopping areas in HK, and coming back to the hotel with tons and tons of bags (ok, I’m exaggerating). Point is…I DID NOT go shopping, at least no real shopping. I did stop by at a Giordano on the way to the airport to buy a couple of polo shirts for myself and one for Jenny. My last shoppping gig (if you can call it that) was at the airport, where I bought Ben a die-case of George (the steam roller from the Island of Sodor). Oh well, at least now I know where to go shopping in HK if I ever get back there during sale season with money.
Then, last month, Ben turned 4 years old. Yup, my little baby is no longer a baby…but a little boy who can be, and often is, a handful. Funny how time has flown so fast these past few years. I keep thinking that before I know it, he will be all grown up, and I’ll be a shriveled old hag (har har har). He keeps telling me that when he grows up, he’ll do all the work for me. He’ll do the dishes, the laundry, the cleaning, the driving, etc., etc. I can only hope we will be together for some time to come.
Oh well, as for me, I’m nearing another birthday, so another year older in just a few days. Strange, I don’t really feel old, but I have to admit that I’ve been getting a bit more aches and pains this year, and I’m not yet officially over the hill. Whatever…I remember when I was a kid and I thought 40 years old is so old already, and now that I’m just a year away, I don’t feel that way anymore. I don’t even think 70 is that old anymore. I wonder if I’m going to have a long life? Oh well, no point wondering, right? Nobody really knows. Still, it is something to think about when I’m just sitting around.
I think I better get back to the article I’m editing. It’s a difficult one, to be sure, very technical and wordy. Te said that it’s sort of a rite of passage to edit this particular writer, and she’s write. The first time I read the article, I didn’t understand what it was about except for the beginning, and there is this very intimidating 5-page table. Geez, aren’t tables suppose to make things easier to understand??? Oh well, what am I complaining about. This is going to bring me a bit of extra cash so I might as well go at it.
01 May 2006; 9:19a
Back in Manila safely following a five-night stay in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao. It was, surprisingly, a very productive trip. I was able to visit two farms, and managed to line up some potential features (at least four).
The plane ride going to CDO via Cebu Pacific was good, quite uneventful. In my last post, I mentioned that I was hesitant to take it for some illogical, silly reason. Anyway, the plane we flew in was a relatively new one, an Airbus 319. Not huge, but it was ok. The trip home was relatively uneventful until the last 15 minutes or so when we descending toward Manila. My left ear got so stuffed, it took a beating. No amount of yawning and swallowing helped. It hurt so much while the plane was on its descent, and up to now, it’s still clogged up. So now, I’m having trouble hearing from my left ear. I hope this isn’t permanent, being that I’m already partly deaf.
03 May 2006, 11:26a
Took a longer break than I intended to when I first wrote this entry. Apart from the fact that I wasn’t feeling well when I stopped the last time, the heat was also unbearable, as it is now. Weather.com has the current temperature in Manila at 93°F (roughly 34°C), but they also point out that it feels like its 102°F (roughly 39°C). Sitting here in my room, it feels even much more than that. I took a shower just a few minutes ago and now I’m sitting here with beads of sweat forming on my face, arms, etc. We’ve got two fans on in the room, but they’re almost no use; even the air they circulate is hot. I’d turn on the airconditioner, but that will jack up our electricity bill to the high heavens. So suffer I must.
Unfortunately, I can’t work. I’m supposed to be editing something for work, but I can’t think properly because I’m pissed that it’s hot. I wish I could just stay under the shower, but no go. What I’d give to have a dip in a nice, cool, shaded river right now. Even an open public pool will do, so long as I’m in water. But that is no go too.
So I sit here, writing this blog entry, complaining of the heat, feeling guilty that I’m not getting any work done. Friend of mine just asked me if I want to have lunch out, but I’m broke. She’s been buying the past few times we’ve gone out so I don’t want to burden her again. I want to think properly, but all I keep thinking about right now is how hot it is (I’m sure you’ve got the idea).
Ben is here with me, sweating like heck as well. Too bad too because sometimes he gets rashes when he sweats. He isn’t complaining though. He’s happily playing on the floor, not mindful of the heat. I should take a page from him.
20 April 2006, 6:02p
I just finished booking a flight online. I’ve got a trip to Cagayan de Oro next week. Am flying out on the 25th and heading back to Manila on the 30th. So, am in for another bout with the air. I’ve never been comfortable flying (despite the fact that I’ve been up there many times), especially when I’m travelling alone. And now, I’m going to take Cebu Pacific for the first time. I don’t know why I have this illogical aversion to take that airline. Probably because not only do I not like taking planes, I am particularly terrified of flying in small planes. But I’ve been told to rest assured: Cebu Pacific is flying Airbuses to CDO. Besides the fares a bit cheaper than PAL, and it’s more convenient too because I don’t need to go to any ticketing office like I have to do when I go PAL. And many of my close friends have taken it, and have good things to say, so I might as well.
Some time ago, one of the editors for the magazines I write for said that I shouldn’t worry myself needlessly when travelling. After all, if it is your time to go, it doesn’t really matter where you are or what you’re doing, does it? Still, I just can’t help thinking about morbid things when I’m up on the air. I can’t even sleep. I remember my very first plane trip way back when I first went to the States. I don’t exactly know how long that trip took (between 17-20 hours I think), but the only sleep (more like naps) I got was in the airports, never in the plane. When Jenny and I went to Sydney six years ago, I didn’t get even just a minute of shuteye during the entire trip, preferring instead to wonder when we’ll get some sort of turbulence. I try not to do that by doing other things, like reading for instance, but nothing helps. The thoughts just keep coming and coming. Anyone with a cure, please let me know.
That said, I’m now just a few days away from visiting the CDO again. It’s been at least five years since I last visited, so I’m sure I’m going to see new things. I like CDO, and when I was there I also went to Malaybalay in Bukidnon. Very, very nice place.
I just wish I could take Ben with me. That of course, will not be possible. Well, possible, but not likely because I won’t be able to get any work done with him around. I’ll miss him terribly, the way I always do when I go out of town on trips. It’s probably going to be like this for a long time. When he’s older, I’ll take him with me.
02 April 2006, 9:40p
My cousin Marita passed away today in Minneapolis. She was 34 years old.
She had been in the hospital for over two months, waiting for a liver and kidney transplant. There was a time when there was a liver that matched her. Unfortunately, it was too big. This morning (night of the 1st in Minneapolis), she finally had a liver and a kidney that matched her and was the right size for her. The liver was already transplanted and was working, when apparently, her blood pressure dropped and she went into cardiac arrest. They weren’t able to revive her, and now she’s gone.
It’s very hard to accept. Marita, my giggly cousin, is gone. She is one of the nicest, kindest, most generous, most loving person I know. It’s been ten years since I last saw her, when she paid a visit to the Philippines. Between then and today, what little communication we had was mostly through email. Infrequent emails notwithstanding, I’ve never grown apart from her.
In a way, we grew up together. I spent seven years in the States in the 80’s, and we (Marita, her sister Mira, our cousin Yasmin, and I) were the best of friends. Oh sure, we had our moments of misunderstanding and fights, but on the whole, we were the greatest friends. When I left the US for good, I knew our times together were among the things I would miss most, and I did. I do, even now.
Marita was, and will always be, special. She wasn’t even a teenager when she had to have a kidney transplant. Nevertheless, she lived a full life, and I like to think that she lived the way she wanted to. She never seemed to limit herself. She travelled a lot, and learned new things. I think she liked the challenge.
I feel a deep sense of loss, but I know her parents and her sister feel much more. I wish I could offer them more help than just some words of comfort. But what can you really say to comfort those who have lost someone dear. It’s hard enough to do that for myself. I look at Marita’s picture, and it still is hard to believe that she’s gone. I know that time will eventually ease the pain of losing her, I only wish we didn’t have to feel that pain so soon.
I console myself with the thought that she is in a better place now, at peace, much happier than she would be here. Still, I would have liked much more to have her with us. But like my friend said, God has called her home, and it’s time to let her go. I just wish letting go wasn’t so hard to do.
07 March 2006, 12:30p
It’s summertime again, and the weather isn’t letting me forget it. I should be working, but I’m so sleepy and my eyes are so heavy. I guess that means working overnight again later. Working in the late hours of the night to the wee hours of the morning has become more attractive for me. I can think better because it’s quieter and more importantly, it’s cooler.
It’s been nearly two weeks since Ben and I took our Hong Kong trip with Jenny. I’ve written about it and posted pictures in our other blog (click link to The Plastic Banoms, if interested). Despite the fact that it was tiring, it was a lot of fun to go and take the trip with Ben. I know he won’t remember much about the trip later, but we’ve got the pictures and the videos to remind him of it. Anyway, that trip made me realize that I’d like to take him on other trips someday. I wish these trips weren’t such a drain on the pocket though. but I’ll find ways.
In May, I’ve got another trip to Thailand. This time in Phuket for our company’s team meeting. I’m hoping my boss will allow me to take some friends along, as it would be so much more nicer to travel with someone. I hate travelling alone, actually, especially flying alone. I’m one of those who’s never comfortable while inside a plane, as every little bump can set my heart racing. Having someone with me at least helps get those strange thoughts (the "the plane will crash"-type of thoughts) in the back of mind. Anyway, since I wasn’t able to join my friends on a trip to Kota Kinabalu last year, it would be really nice to have them be able to join me in Phuket.
I’m really sleepy now, I can’t even think straight. Ho-hum, will just have more later.
22 February 2006, 4:45p
Just one more sleep before Ben and my Hong Kong trip with my friend and his ninang Jenny. We fly out tomorrow at 8am (barring delays) and expect to be in Hongkong around 10am. We’re both excited of course, me because it’s going to be our first trip out of the country together, and Ben because not only will this be his first plane ride but he’ll be able to go to Disneyland. Going to be a costly, and I sure hope I don’t go over my budget, but I’m sure the trip will be worth it.
We’ll be gone four days and three nights. If all goes as planned, our trip will basically be as follow:
Thursday afternoon - Victoria Peak
Friday - Disneyland
Saturday - Ocean Park
We’ll try to squeeze in other things in between, but those are the key things to get done. We fly back to Manila on Sunday morning. Of course, I’ve got my cameras with me to take tons of pictures.
I don’t know yet if I’ll lug the laptop along, but I probably won’t be able to post another blog until after we get back.
6 February 2006, 10:15a
I wasn’t able to write sooner about the Baguio trip that Ben and I took a couple of weekends ago (26-29 Jan). We went with some friends of mine (Carrie, Erwin, Genie, Karen, and Terrie) and we stayed at Genie’s house in Brgy South Drive near Camp John Hay. I’ve stayed there before, many years ago, and I thought it was a great house then. Named Balay Turod, it used to be a vacation house of US soldiers from way, way back. Genie said his grandparents (I think) bought the house for something like 60,000 sacks of rice. Kind of weird to think that a house it bought by sacks of rice. But I digress…
Anyway, we left Manila on Thursday (26 Jan) night, around 10p and arrived in Baguio around 4a. Ben slept most of the way through, although there were times when he woke up and stayed up for a bit. Eventually, he fell sound asleep and stayed that way until Baguio . The moment we rolled down the windows, I got a whiff of that indescribable Baguio air that I didn’t realize I have missed for so long. I was so glad to be back.
We got kind of lost looking for the house, because Genie hasn’t been there in five years, and it was dark. The house was even nicer than I remembered it. Maybe because the first time, we spent most of our time going out. This time, we spent quite a bit of time in the house, in front of the fire. Which was nice because the nights were cold, and sitting by the fire just talking or having some drinks and pulutan was relaxing. The vacation was meant for relaxation anyway, and I think all of us pretty much got what we wanted out of that vacation.
We did just a bit of sightseeing. While the girls went shopping at the ukay-ukay, and the guys did their thing, Ben and I went bike riding (he fell off the bike just before our ride ended because he was eager to get off, and that resulted in a couple of gashes), then I let him run loose in the playground at Burnham Park. It’s like you let loose an animal which has been leashed for so long. Oh well, he doesn’t have much to move around in here at home, so whenever he gets to an open space, he just rips. Nice to see him having a lot of fun. He also got to go boating, which he enjoyed.
We had breakfast and dinner at John Hay Saturday. Then on Sunday, we visited Mines View Park (Ben’s ravine below, and his photo with the pinky horse) and Good Shepherd before taking the mandatory stop at the market for vegetables and pasalubong then it’s off to Manila.
So we had a great time, and so did Ben. In fact, he’s been asking me when we’re going to go back. Baguio has changed a lot since I first went there in 1991, and for some people I know, the change has been for the worse. But I guess since I’m not a Baguio regular, I still find the place interesting and enjoyable. The trees alone are enough to draw me back to there. Really. So, when Ben asked when we’re going back, I’m already thinking in my mind about the next trip. Soon, I hope.
