Grief

Yesterday a Facebook message from the US brought really sad news. We were told my father-in-law passed away peacefully on October 12, 2009. He was 95 years old.

D was home to hear the sad news. I immediately broke down in tears while reading the message. Totally inconsolable even though I admit I have never met Papa Wel in person. But from the numerous stories that D narrates about his father, I'm certain he was a good human being. I could also tell from the numerous birthday and Christmas cards he mailed D throughout the years that he was a caring person.

Throughout the day, I kept receiving text messages from my mother and my sister who would ask me "how is D taking it?" I told her to my surprise, D seems rather calm to the point of being stoic while I was an emotional wreck. My mother said he might be hiding his emotions to put on an appearance of strength amidst sadness. This made me realize that we all grieve differently.

Please pray for his eternal repose. RIP, Papa Wel.

A double surprise

Last Tuesday night (Sept. 29, 2009) I was watching TV downstairs when my cellphone rang. It was my mother. My heart actually skipped a beat! Why would my mother call at such a late hour?

Well she had happy news.

My sister was coming home for a short visit before she heads to Bangkok for a business trip. I was ecstatic. The best thing is she would be celebrating her birthday here with us. Actually she wanted to surprise us and just show up at the condo but she no longer had the keys to enter the place if no one was home.

The ironic thing is that we had sent a balikbayan box of birthday goodies to my sister via fedex with instructions for it to be delivered to her flat on October 2nd, her birthday! It turns out my sister won't be home to receive it. So she was surprised as well.

Anyways she was here for merely 4 whirlwind days filled with shopping sprees and loads of sister bonding time and before we knew it ... it was time to send her off at the airport with hugs and kisses!


When I got back here at the condo (I'm currently here for this entire week during the duration of the Spanish Film Festival at Greenbelt 3 cinemas) I immediately felt her absence and sadly realized how much I really really really miss having my sister around to hang out with. But I'm reassured with the thought that in two months time we will be spending the Yuletide holidays in Singapore with her!

I wish it was December NOW NA!

After the deluge ... comes a day of thanksgiving

D normally doesn't have class on Saturdays. But this whole week has been their university's intrams so he was scheduled to play a basketball game being a member of the Department of History team. It was raining the whole night and I was a bit concerned about letting him go to his game. Well we all know how Saturday turned out to be the worst deluge the Philippines has experienced since 1967.

Luckily, D's game was postponed and he was here at home with me when the flood waters rose to alarming levels on our street. The house in front of us had neck deep waters and its residents took refuge in our 'compound'. We weren't spared as the heavy downpour caused some minor flooding inside our 2 storey apartment. By midday, it had risen to ankle level but thankfully it would subside quickly as the rains trickled.

Sunday we spent the morning wiping our lower floor dry as well as cleaning the contents of the fridge. The good thing is that we didn't lose our electricity although the phone lines were jammed. I kept calling my parents from my cellphone to check on their situation since they were enveloped in darkness for almost 24 hours but they were relatively safe in their 12th floor condo unit.

Today as the entire family heard the 12:15 am mass at the Edsa Shrine, we praised God for his loving protection and prayed for the rest of the populace who are still submerged in flood waters. Besides it was D's 40something birthday today so we had a simple lunch at Mr Choi in Galleria to celebrate his natal day. Happy birthday, my love!

16 months

Today marks our 16th month of marital bliss. Naturally it takes two to make a marriage work but I'd like to think that I am indeed very lucky to be married to such an understanding person. Someone who knows that I'm a certified foreign film festival addict so he doesn't mind if I sleep in the condo so I am just 10 minutes away from my favorite cineplex. Someone who knows I am extremely close to my sister so he allowed me to spend all the 10 days she was in town for some fabulous sisterly bonding moments. Someone who is self reliant he won't starve if I don't cook his meals when I'm not around.



And I do relish these moments of alone time with such glee. Well I'm not really alone alone because I have my parents around!

But still.

As opposed to the apartment we rent which to me is just a house, I actually STILL consider the condo, home. I still have tons of personal items scattered about and it makes me feel comfy. Since my sister left behind her old laptop (the one I'm now using to type this post), I can now connect to the Internet and do my online activities. I also like how it is centrally located so I can just go down to reach my fave haunts within a few minutes. The quiet surroundings (no pesky noisy neighbors) is also a big factor in preserving my sanity.

Anyways, yes I'm indeed lucky D is such a caring, adorable and understanding hubby. I love being married to him!

Jack Bauer

One of my fave TV shows is "24". It chronicles a day in the life of federal agent Jack Bauer. So you have 24 episodes in one season. Each week you are shown an hour of fast paced action, intricate side plots that unfold one after the other (sometimes all together) amidst a complex central story line.

Its main elements usually involves some rogue agent/foreign terrorist group threatening to destroy America. Either through a chemical attack like weapons of mass destruction aimed at a city or some bio hazard material that will poison the water system. At the forefront is Jack Bauer who has to battle against time to prevent the disaster from erupting as well as unearth the real mastermind (some disgruntled former agent/the head of a big corporation you name it - they all have their axes to grind against the most powerful nation on earth) behind the attacks.

Almost all episodes are filled with explosive scenes of things blowing up. Countless loss of human lives, severe interrogation tactics, reprehensible torture methods and clandestine going ons that the government does to protect its citizens. Jack is normally aided by his loyal unit who are the best minds in the agency. The latest high tech equipments at their disposal. It is all very advanced with machines which can trace anything from your cellphone to the lamp posts on the street.

Me, I prefer to watch an entire season in one go. It is much more exciting that way. I don't have to wait for one whole week to pass before Jack Bauer prevents some major doomsday catastrophe from wrecking havoc. The series is now on its 7th season. This past week I spent my evenings (after dinner) absorbing 2 episodes (sometimes 3) in a row. For some strange reason, the DVD 'copy' only played in black and white on our TV, downstairs. I texted my father and asked if it was really in black and white. He said 'no' I tried it on my computer and lo and behold, it was colored. Weird stuff. But nevertheless I still persisted and I thoroughly enjoyed every single episode. Even if it meant watching Jack Bauer in black and white.

Timeless pieces

This month, D turns a year older. As always, I have a difficult time thinking what to give him for his birthday. I have this tendency to ask recipients what they want so it saves me the time and effort. Naturally when I asked D what he wanted. His never ending reply to all my inquiries for all important occasions (Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries) is 'nothing'.

The standard "I don't need anything as long as we are together, I will be happy" line definitely warms my heart. Yet it doesn't help at all in my eagerness to give him a token of appreciation for being a patient husband. Since he is celebrating a milestone this year, (ah nope he isn't turning 50 just yet!) my plan is to buy him a watch. An elegant timepiece with an expressive engraving at the back would certainly suit him.

I think watches are 'safe' gift items for men. The fine timepieces featured on www.bestoftime.com made me drool. I was surprised to learn there is a wide variety of this luxurious brand of elegant watches available. All of them are definitely 100% genuine and authentic. They come with their unique serial numbers with a 3 year warranty. Now all I need is to win the lottery so I can afford them! Hehe

A good sign

It's the start of the 'ber' months. Obviously.

I'm feeling a lot better now, emotionally, physically and mentally.

It is amazing how a few phone calls can assuage my fears.

I still have my worries but I am just waiting for the correct timing to act.

Then deal with the consequences, if and when it progresses.

I woke up today to the sound of a Christmas song.

It was blasting on the neighbor's radio at freaking 5 in the morning!

It was a Tagalog Christmas carol.

I was still really sleepy so I forgot what it was.

It wasn't a dream.

Basta I'm pretty sure it was real.

Because my hubby heard it, too.

So it's a nice way to greet a new month.

A month filled with renewed hopes and dreams.

Onward, we go!

Another day, another sunset

I suppose there are a number of reasons why I haven't updated this blog. Let's just say my activities lately aren't blog worthy. Who wants to read about a long winding post whether I should get a haircut or not. Or how I wrack my brains over what to cook for our meals. Or how I spend a considerable amount of my online time reading the status updates of my friends on Facebook. Or how I stress myself out over mundane things like irritatingly noisy neighbors, lousy cable TV service and warm balmy weather. Those aren't interesting at all. In fact, they merit a big yawn!

I figure I could write about my deepest fears and tribulations about my (reproductive) health, my marriage and my life in general. But for the sake of maintaining a positive attitude and in my quest to be stress free, I choose not to express them in writing. Worrying 24/7 is bad enough, reading about my insecurities might further vanquish my already fragile spirits.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that hopefully soon enough I will be able to dish out more enthusiastic blog posts. So stay tuned. I shall return!