I work less than 28 hours a week and am enrolled in only one, three-credit, subject. Yet I feel like I am always under pressure to jump from task to task. The elders were not kidding when they said reaching your thirties redefines the pace of our lives.
I do miss communicating with all my friends and family, so I do hope you can forgive me and be patient until I can do so.
B
February 6, 2008
2007
continued to be a banner year of experiences for my family. We were blessed
enough to be able to have visited the Old World for a few weeks in September.
The overload of senses almost elicited Stendhal Syndrome in us as we gaped at the
historical, architectural and cultural wonders of the continent that shaped
Western civilization. Through the eyes of a Third-World country immigrant, the
printed word of this amateur blogger fails to present with justice of the
diversity, yet subtle interwoven lines that bind Europe, the Americas, and now
finally Asia into a true global village.
A patient
of mine once succinctly stated this with:
“ If only
more people traveled and saw the world, and humanity, and for all the ways that we differ yet share
the same universal themes, there might be less conflict in it. “
This
picture is one such example. The fashionable-and-funky older gentleman gave us
directions on how to best navigate the island of Capri. Here they were, a Filipina,
an Italian, an American, and an Aussie, with the native born and raised Capri
man gracious enough to answer some confused tourists on the wonders of his hometown.
I thought that was a great UCB photo op if I ever saw one!
Trying to document all the fun stuff that happened in 2007, let me time travel back to :
July 2007
Live Earth was a great experience: all those artists, big and bigger, performing for a great cause. My personal favorite of course, as a converted and proud Jersey boy, was Bon Jovi!
He brought the house down, down I say!
Ever since then, I have gone green, or am trying hard to be less wasteful and consumption-driven. Energy efficient lights were bought, more car pooling was done, heck, I even shut off electronics I am not actually using.
Small gestures, I know, probably not much in the grand scale of things.
But hey, doesn’t an avalanche start out as a trickle of a few rocks anyways? If enough of us get it going maybe it could lead to something …
Or at the very least be not as big a part of the problem in being judicious stewards of this blessed Earth we all call home.
B
I certainly did miss blogging. Yes I did. Yet to write, I did not.
I read again some of my previous work, and I missed the creative process. I was funny, I was serious, hell, I thought I could tell a story half decently.
Much has passed since the last entry. Mostly joy and wonder enveloped our lives in the past year. But in the same span, the last quarter brought to the forefront the reality, and frailty, of human life.
Dear reader, I share with you, not in sadness, or admonition, or to patronize, with our mantra during 2007:
" Life is short."
2008 has come, and now I see that this maxim is even more so completed with:
" Live in the moment! "
What do I hold dear? I hold dear my faith and my marriage. I treasure my family and my friends that I love. I deem as precious the ephemeral moments of bliss and happiness that being with these people bring; that no material wealth can purchase or prestige be able to provide.
Life is short, so do live in the moment.
And that is why I am writing again.
B
The preceding post was to be followed by more moaning and groaning about how unhappy I was that I did not get picked in the NYC marathon.
Recent news from a dear friend of mine made me realize the insignificance of my concerns in the over-all scheme of things.
Please pray for those who are in most need of God’s grace in the most difficult of times.
As my last plaintive cry for help, or more time in a day delineated, I am up to my receding hairline with things to do: funny how something I used to roll my eyes about, how adults simply *do not have enough time*, is happening to me. No iron-deficiency for me, huh?
Does anybody out there feel like I do, that the universe short-changed us in how many hours we get in a day?
Belated
happy thanksgiving for those of you who celebrate it! We were blessed to share
it this year with wonderful friends in a most enjoyable setting. At first, I
thought nobody would buy into the crazy idea of dressing up, in formal wear,
natch, and having the food catered, and basically trying to simulate a fancy
dinner date with friends at home, but by golly, as all the participants could
attest to, it did!
Lots of
favorite times come to mind. Most obvious of course was the dress: we see each
other at our most casual and most comfortable of dining situations ( sino
ang gusto mag kamay?) but seeing everybody in their dresses and ties,
chewing very refined- like and taking small bites … was priceless. Everybody
teased each other about it, but I dare say, from all the time spent staring at
the pictures by most involved, I would say all loved it.
To digress a bit, I think that is
important to occasionally do this with ones family and friends: we of course
should love each other for who they are: their values, personalities, and
quirks, but, I think it is not a bad idea to see this very same things
presented at their tangible, visually-apparent best, lest we forget the
uniqueness and beauty of the person that draws us together us friends.
Can not say
how much I loved the center pieces that Boots and Consie made from relatively
simple décor came together to a stunning whole. The individual name cards, the
gorgeous menu were all small, inexpensive details but really gave the nuance of
élan that we tried to infuse into the day.
The
full-service dinner part was addressed by having a particular group of people,
say the Aguila or the Torres families prepare and serve a particular dish as
well as do cleanup.
Emmanuel
and Anthony amiably did wine and drinks service. Bubut had the napkin over his
forearm and all. He picked out the great wines, and was widely complimented on
the impeccable service, in a half-ribbing way. To which he answered, “ Hey, if
you are going to do something, do it right!”
Lots of
other things were great that day: the seven course meal did not hurt, but it
guaranteed LOTS of chicken Parmesan leftover lunches for most of us; the
karaoke, the mango cakes. It was a shame not all the people we wanted could be
there, but for some people that were there, it was the only family-like
thanksgiving dinner available to them, and with some measure of happiness and
pride did I think that they had it in our home.
But I do
have to share my favorite part. This was something I picked up from my friend
Trina out west in SoCal, and I wanted badly that it be a part of this dinner.
Consie and I discussed that we before Consie and I served the lasagna, we would
ask the guests what they were thankful for this year. Each one shared what they
were most grateful for, allowing all present a glimpse into their souls in the
process. It was a touching scene, and a few tears were shed, but in happiness
of course.
Then we
ate, and ate, and ate, like any good thanksgiving celebration should. Truth be
told, we actually did not make it through all seven courses. But, everybody
surely enjoyed themselves that night.
And I thought Pinoys would have trouble doing formal dining! Silly me.
B
Did you ever have a classmate like I did with Dulce?
Dulce was my classmate for a couple of years in FEU. Because
of the inherent ease of arranging the class in alphabetical order, Dulce Afante
was right there besides me, and just after was Joy Aganon.
Dulce was a nice, sweet gal. I cannot truthfully say that I
knew her really well. I guess that just speaks volumes of how socially inept I
was, having the same seat mate for a couple of years and still not making
conversation, but I digress.
Funny enough, not only was she a few feet away from me, we
even lived a few houses away from each other. Imagine that, on the same row of
houses on Callejon-H Street lived my classmate … yet; I still did not know much
of her beyond that.
Graduation came and went, so off to our respective lives
Dulce and I went. Fast track to 2006, and Friendster as usual throws a
curveball at me.
Dulce had gone to Canada, and is married, to boot! I guess I
should not really be surprised, life did go on for all of us in the last seven
years since college graduation, but I guess the leap from my diminutive next
door neighbor slash classmate to happily married woman residing in Canada.
Congratulations are in order, of course, and it goes out to
Dulce and her spouse.
But it makes me think: what else has transpired in the lives
of the acquaintances I have made in the past near-three decades, what quirks
and quandaries have they found them selves in, how rich and interesting their
lives have become?
Sadly, I guess will not learn them all. In the same way I
guess, a lot of people know not what is going on in my life and family with
Consie.
Still, it was good to hear from you Dulce! Hope all is well!
Race day came. Consie was there, as I am so blessed to have.
Faith drove in from Queens to lend support as well. I had trained; I had been
able to do a 37-minute 5k in the park. Nothing earth shattering, but decent, in
my eyes.
Put on the comfortable Dri-fit training shirt. Had the
stability shoes to check over -pronation. Ate the recommended breakfast.
Registered, got my race packet, had the shiny number and timing chip on my
foot, like I was doing it for real.
The morning blurred by. Saw the milling runners near the
starting area, went straight there after the third restroom break. (Don’t want
a pee break to add to my already very amateurish time, eh?)
Suddenly, the MC yells “ Go! “
And so off I went.
Mile One: went easy,
watching myself from getting sucked in the vortex of first minute rush just to
fade in the end. Fought it off, stayed at 70% MHR.
Mile Two: Got into a fair-spirited game of one-upmanship
with Guy In Orange Shirt. Think I beat him by end of this mile, ran best pace
of my life at 11/minute mile.
Mile Three: Woohoo! Almost done! 0.02 miles and I can rest
easy!
Mile Unknown: Um, its has been 45 minutes and nobody is
stopping. This is the longest 5k/3.1 mile race I have ever been in!
Mile Unknown: ten minutes later: Worked up the nerve to ask
a fellow runner what race this was. The response? “ Oh, this is the Half-Marathon,
honey! “
Yikes! I thought to myself; 13.1 miles! The best I ever ran
was 4 miles, I could not do this! But hey, still running, nothing hurts,
nowhere to stop anyway … Maybe …
Mile Seven, one hour later: Oh, no problem, I really can do
this!
Mile Seven, one hour and fifteen minutes later: Ow.
Mile Nine: Ow.Ow.Ow.
Mile Ten: OW. OW. OW. But as a fellow racer put it “ Now, you
can run the 5k! “
Mile Twelve: Running on stubbornness and gritted teeth.
Mile Thirteen: Two hours, fourteen minutes, ten seconds. No
training, minimal breakfast, with shoes, water, sports drink and adrenaline I
finish. I feel ecstatic and so happy,
and I feel no pain! I did it! An unscheduled half marathon! I did it! And I am
not dead last! There I am. Finisher 712, Racer Number 927. And I still can not stop smiling.
Running has officially got me.
Epilogue: 33 Hours Later
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.
But you know what? Its still so worth it.
