Eleven

I am feeling so good today. Thank God it's Wednesday. My Wednesday is like your Friday, you know, last shift for the week. Ulan na naman nang ulan mga friends, kasi may bagyo na naman. Kalurks! Ang ginaw ginaw ginaw ginaw na naman tuloy dito sa Baguio. Ang sarap tuloy matulog. Sa day-off, #alamna.

Also, today, August 28, 2013, Elmer and I celebrate our 11th year of togetherness. Naks! Being together for that long is such an achievement, I tell you. Lalo na ngayong mga panahong 'to, madalang na talaga. It's hard work. I feel so proud! 

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There've been times when I stopped and thought what kept Elmer and I together for this long. After eleven years and three kids, it always boiled down to this - I have a firm belief in the saying "It takes two to tango". Whenever we hit a rough patch, I don't put all the blame on him (sa umpisa, oo. Hehe!). We are a team, so I am partly to be blamed. Kaya 'pag may drama kaming dalawa, eto ginagawa ko.

Ten Is Tin

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I've mentioned that it was Elmer and my tenth anniversary on August 28, and that I would tell you more about it. Well, that's it. There's nothing more about it, seriously. Null. Zero. Nada. Zilch. There was no celebration at all. Not even greeting each other "Happy anniversary, Mahal." Kasi nga 'di ba I've also mentioned na may pinagdadaanan ako.

Ganito kasi 'yun.

Months ago, my friends at work found a super cheap fare to Palawan. That was in March. Travel period was, from that time, in a couple of months for a couple of months. They invited me to go with them and asked me to bring Elmer with me. They were two pairs of couple, so Elmer and I would make the group three pairs of couple heading to Palawan in September. To cut the story short, Elmer and I agreed. We booked for a flight to Palawan. That was in March. Yes, we are heading to Palawan on September 3 and staying there until September 7.

You must know by now that Elmer is now with a new company that also works for Texas Instruments. He switched companies in July. You know what that means. New company. Tenure back to zero. No leave credits. Heavy workload. Limited number of people. So again, to cut the story short, his boss didn't let him go on this trip. He couldn't join us.

Valentine's Day Is Not For Every Couple

Valentine's day is overrated. Yes, I said it. It really is! (Or at least in my opinion). Because for most (read: people like Elmer and me), it's just an ordinary day. Elmer and I have the same belief that Valentine's day (with all the usual romantic stuff like dinner dates and chocolates and bouquets of flowers and heart-shaped whatever) is only for new couples, for highschool puppy lovers. Ganyan kami ka-kill joy ni Elmer pagdating sa Valentine's Day. 

I think one's fondness towards the celebration of this day is indirectly related to one's age. I'm just saying na as couples age, iba na ang trip nila sa pag-celebrate ng mga occasions like Valentine's day. How are we gonna spend this day? Wala. May work kami pareho at super baliktad ang sked namin. So wala lang. Just an ordinary day. But I'm still planning to cook something later, like spaghetti. Birthday party lang ang drama.

The Inescapable Appearance of White Hair

Some people have said that white (or grey) hair is a sign of wisdom. Is it true? Maybe. Maybe not.

My thought -- As people age, white hair begins to appear.  It's naturally inescapable. Thus, white hair does directly mean old age. But as people age, they experience a lot of things, interact with people, travel to different places and so on. These things teach people to learn from them. Learnings are acquired and accumulated as people age. There's a saying, experience is the best teacher. So at old age, wise na wise na talaga sila lolo at lola. Bongga!

My first white hair appeared I don't remember when. I think it was when I was in college. As I brushed Elmer's hair today, I noticed a strand of hair stood out among the rest. White hair! I told Elmer about it and he  refused to believe that he already had a white hair. At exaj sa reaction  si kuya, "May puti na ako?! Alisin mo, bilis!" Spell arte much.

Hello Guimba!

Hindi ako naka-attend sa party. Hindi ako nakapaglinis ng bahay. I was invited by the team I was supporting before to an after-party party. Hindi ako nakapunta. Hindi ko pa rin napanood ang Praybeyt Benjamin. Hindi nag-kick in ang 'gana' to do house chores. To make this long story longer, wala akong ginawa kahapon. Nood nood lang ng TV at surf surf lang. Tinamad ako! :) Ay wait, there's more. Meron naman pala. Nagtupi ng mga nilabhan kong damit the other day. Nagtahi ng mga damit ni Elmer at PJs ni Nikki na may butas. O ha! Nagtahi ako. Habang nagtatahi nga ako kahapon, naalala ko ang mga teachers ko sa THE nung high school. I was trying to recall their names. Dead! 'Di ko maalala talaga. I hate that feeling pa naman na parang nasa dulo na ng dila mo. At...naalala ko din ang mga iba't ibang stitches. Ay, tatlo lang pala. Cross stitch, running stitch, back stitch. Yun lang ang mga naalala ko. Nakalimutan ko na 'yung iba. Back stitch ang ginamit ko. :D

At...habang tinutupi ko ang mga damit nina Nikki at Calli. Naalala ko din sila. Miss ko na sila. Pero hindi ko na mami-miss si Nikki mamaya dahil Nueva Ecija, here I come! :) Si Calli, miss ko pa rin. :( Pero 'di na din ako masyado nag-aalala kay Calli kasi uuwi din naman si Elmer sa Pangasinan. Tama 'yang nabasa niyo. Magkakahiwalay kami ngayong Undas. Elmer and I think that's just okay. Nasa Pangasinan ang "mga patay" niya. Nasa Nueva Ecija naman 'yung akin. So tama lang.

Excited ako! It's been 2 months na hindi ako nakatapak sa soil ng Nueva Ecija, particularly ng Guimba. Palaging kino-compare ni Elmer ang Guimba sa San Manuel (at syempre laging angat ang San Manuel para sa kanya). Kahit nagpaka-tourism ambassador pa siya ng San Manuel, 'di pa rin niya na-convince si Nikki na dun magbakasyon. Mas gusto ni Nikki sa Guimba. Si Calli kasi hindi pa makapili kaya kung saan siya buhatin, dun siya. :)

Ito ang 10 reasons kaya excited ako umuwi.

On White Walls, White Board and Birthday Greetings

It's Elmer's birthday today. 

Again...

♪ Happy birthday to you. ♫
♫ Happy birthday to you. ♪
♪ Happy birthday, happy birthday. ♫
♫ Happy birthday to you. ♪

Yay!!!

This coming Monday and Tuesday is going to be Nikki's periodical exams. With my previous experiences in reviewing with her, math is the only subject that we had to spend 1-2 hours for 2-3 days of review. For the other subjects, we only spent 1-2 hours each.

Lemme give you a li'l background. Our apartment had these clean, white walls...until we lived there and Calli used her lovely pens, pencils and crayons and started writing on them. Besides her usual writing paraphernalia, Nikki and Calli own a common humongous box of Crayola (not-so) washable and non-toxic (supposedly) outdoor colour chalk. Need I say more?

Going back.  

Being Thrifty vs Being Cheap

Photo Credit: timegenie.com

Today my horoscope says -- 

Pay attention to the difference between being cheap and being thrifty today. One is a shortsighted and mean-hearted attempt to save money; the other is a wise and fair-minded way to keep from wasting what you've worked so hard for. Your money is yours to spend however you wish, but don't skimp on the wrong things. Being a bad tipper isn't going to get you closer to your savings goal -- but it might get you some poor service the next time you go back to that restaurant. 

I am not a tipper...at all! In the first place, I don't eat in expensive restaurants, shop at high-end stores nor travel where/when tipping is a must. So there. I'm not bound to some poor service any time in the future. ^_^

Tomorrow is Elmer's 28th birthday. I am thinking of what nice and decent gift I could give him. I know he wouldn't mind if I didn't give him anything but I thought, this might be his last birthday that we are all together before it happens again in the coming years. And I will follow what my horoscope says, I will be thrifty and not be cheap on this gift. I'm afraid to get poor service from him any time soon. ^_^

Shopping mode.

Ciao! ♥

  

And The Countdown Begins. 85, 84, 83...

Today's October 1. Ambilis ng araw! 85 more days before Christmas. It's the waiting and preparing for Christmas that's really fun, and not Christmas at all, at least for me. For the past 6 Decembers, palagi na lang akong malungkot. Pag malapit na ang Pasko, I start to have this feeling again na gusto ko na talagang mag-resign. O kundi naman, winiwish ko na sana sa bangko na lang din ako nag-wo-work like my close friends Jona and Elley. O kahit anong trabaho na walang pasok pag legal at special holidays at pag sinabi ng presidente ng Filifins. Kasi every December 'di ba, there's this almost-a-week-long vacation from work dahil sa mga sunod-sunod na holidays. Kaya naman, pag December, uso ang lahat ng klase ng reunion (family, high school, atbp.), mga gatherings at of course, mga parteys! Most of the time, absent ako sa mga ganyan. Aheytchit!

Here in Baguio, I can already feel the Christmas vibe. Couple of times that I visited the mall this week that I heard Christmas songs playing. There are early Christmas promos in some stores, ads on TV and radio and Christmas decors in some places. Almost everywhere, I can see hints that Christmas is just around the corner. (Wag na magtanong kung saang corner ha?!)

And when we say Christmas, there also come the words family, togetherness, gifts, parties, and gifts, inaanaks, Aguinaldo, and gifts. Haist! I always want to be home every Christmas. My family has a home here in Baguio, that's for sho'. So I guess, I should say, I always want my family to be home every Christmas. And when I say home, I mean, Nueva Ecija or Pangasinan. Pero mas masaya sa Nueva Ecija kasi mas marami kami dun. At dun talaga ako. If I ask Elmer, for sho', Pangasinan pipiliin nun. Siya taga-dun e. Pero isa lang ng mama niya dun. Hindi masaya. But as he always says, "Yun na nga. Mag-isa lang niya dun, kaya mas dapat dun tayo mag-Pasko." Paano naman ang mga kamag-anak ko sa Nueva Ecija? Ma-mi-miss nila ako? (Siya kayang tunay?! Hmmm..)

Every year, I get to choose only one. Opo, isa lang sa dalawang mahalagang holidays ng taon. One holiday to be off work. Christmas or New Year. At di ko mapagtanto kung bakit ang mga kasama ko sa trabaho ay mga gaya-gaya! Gusto din nila ng New Year off. Parang nanalo sa lotto sa office pag natapat ka sa New Year off. Parang raffle draw kasi ang pag-decide. Hmp, kaloka!

I remember, nung 2010, Christmas off ako. As we all know, Christmas day and New Year's day always fall on the same day. Kung Thursday ang Pasko 2010, for sho', Thursday din ang New Year's Day 2011, yung ganun? So wala akong pasok ng December 24 at 25. The following week after that ginawa nilang December 31 AT January 2 ang off ko. Well, dahil tinamad ako at sa kagustuhan kong makasama ang pamilya ko, nagparamdam na ako sa boss na hindi na ako papasok ng January 1. Deadma siya at panay ang paalala na pasok sa banga ng suspension pag absent during critical work days. Pero mabait talaga si Lord at muli kong naramdaman, Ate Charo, na mahal Niya ako at ang aking pamilya. Ang pinakapuhunan ko sa industriya ng call center, ang aking malamig na boh-sehs, ang sumalba sa aking holidays. Minalat ako! Syempre secure agad ako ng aking medical certificate. Nakalimutan ko na ang tawag sa sakit. Basta may -itis sa dulo. Happy-happy ang Christmas 2010 at New Year 2011 ko.

And another good thing about Christmas ay ang kabi-kabilang mga Christmas parties. Photos below were something that I took last year in one of the Crhistmas parties that I attended. This was with Team Espinueva that I was assisting before.

Who gave me those horns?! ^_^

With my friend and choco mousse master Renj

Below are some photos naman that I took on December 25, 2009. This was the actual evening of Christmas. Elmer and I had dinner with Nikki outside. Baby pa lang si Calli dito. Five months. Elmer is not a fan of going out with a baby with us. He claims he's protecting the baby from possible sakit na makukuha niya outside. If I know, ayaw niya lang magbuhat, 'no!

Nikki was only 5 years old here

Elegant place pero sa SM lang naman 'to.

Bigla kong naisip, bakit ba itong sinulat ko? Ooh, I remember, because I was going through my photos in Facebook and saw some of the photos taken these past 2 Christmases which reminded me na malapit na nga na naman ang Pasko. Haist! Ambilis talaga ng araw. Siyang tunay!

And out.

Ciao! ♥

 

Typhoon Pedring: The Aftermath

I think Typhoon Pedring has already moved away from Baguio, if not the Philippines. Yesterday, there were only little drizzles, not too strong winds, clear skies. Better than Tuesday's weather. When I left the house at 3:15 AM, everything was black. Brownout kasi. Andilim! But the sky was bright. Not bright na bright talaga ha kasi wala pa naman araw. Heller, 3:15 AM? Madaling araw? Okay, I confess. I have poor vocabulary. Pero try natin ito, auroral? Thanks to dictionary.com's thesaurus.
Going back. So I think today is gonna be a fine day. Maybe not too much sun yet but there will be sun. I hope. I can't describe how much I hate rains. Not really a fan. I also don't understand Elmer's love of rains. Most of the time, tinatamad siyang lumabas ng bahay pag okay ang panahon. At excited siyang, wait for it, maglakad-lakad (?!) sa Session kapag umuulan at lalo na pag bumabagyo. His reason: Konti lang ang tao sa Session pag umuulan. Pag okay ang panahon, lahat ng tao raw ay nakakalat sa Session. Okay, may point siya. Pero ang point ko naman, bakit kasi siya pupunta sa Session umuulan man o umaaraw e wala naman siya gagawin dun. Ano, rampa lang? Basta, yun ang trip niya.

Kahabaan ng Session Road taken last summer

But still, we still went out yesterday afternoon because we had to settle our water bill. Past due na yun. Kasi ang aming lovely landlady na si Mommy Espie, nawala pala ang aming water bill statement. Hindi niya sinabi agad at sinabi lang nung tapos na ang due date. Hello 10% surcharge! Bakit daw ako nagmamadali magbayad ng bill sabi ni Elmer, na para bang hindi niya ramdam ang sense of urgency. Our faucets ran dry on Tuesday but that was maybe because of the typhoon. Don't get the connection? Ako din! Hahaha! Then I thought, what do I know, this is Baguio. Feeling ko, hindi dumating ang tubig nung Tuesday kasi hindi pa kami nakabayad ng bill. Kaya I felt the need yesterday to pay the bill. At ang galing, dumating ang tubig kagabi. O di ba?! I always get worried when we do not have water supply in the house. Brownout na nga, wala pang tubig? I will always choose water over electricity if I really need to choose between the two. Pero syempre naman 'di ba, mas okay kung parehong meron sila.

And still, brownout pa din today when I left the house. Cellphones and laptop already ran low on battery. Buti na lang nakapag-charge ako ng cellphone dito sa office kahapon. Yes, dito ko sa office sinusulat ito ngayon. I am hoping, really badly, na sana magka-kuryente na today. Please Lord, have mercy on us! Gusto ko na makapanood ng TV. I don't know how much damage Typhoon Pedring has caused the country. For sure there's damage but I hope not too much. Thank you Lord, my family here in Baguio is safe and so is my family in Nueva Ecija.

I hope all of your families are okay too.

Ciao! ♥

 

I Should Have Listened

Just a few weeks ago, our account (or is it our company? Whatever!) started to implement dress codes. I mean, dress codes are here since I don't remember when but these new dress codes require us to wear business casual attire every Monday and Tuesday shift (so that's Tuesday and Wednesday for me). Since I'm off work every Monday and Tuesday, I only need to wear business casual attire every Tuesday shift. 

The weather on Monday was still okay. Sunshine in the morning. Grey skies after noon. Not unsual here in Baguio. I was already planning to go out on Monday to buy some clothes to wear for today but I got lazy (I wrote something, explaining this, that I should have posted on that day but I didn't have the chance to post but I'll do it later).

Some Are Just More

I start and end my shift at 7PM and 4AM, respectively. Once I reach home, I immediately drop myself to bed and sleep at around 6AM, probably sleep for 8-hours then wake up. Almost a routine from Tuesday to Saturday.

March 7, 9AM. Elmer woke me up to start a conversation. Subject was brought about by a conversation we had the previous day and it seemed to be troubling him and I thought it was non-sense. Really non-sense!

Conversation heated up and brought up other things (not really related to what we're arguing about, and caused emotions to heighten).

I got pissed off. He got pissed off. So far, I only had, what, roughly 3 hours of sleep. I didn't feel sleepy anymore. How would I get back to sleep if I was not sleepy anymore? I was trying to get some more sleep but he kept on talking things I didn't really want to hear that time of the day. He continued; my day started to get fucked up.

I was trying to end a good day; he was about to start a good one and take a major exam. And so he continued talking when I was not talking anymore. That was not normal! I? Not talking? Something must have been coming and really there was. Haha..

I got so pissed off. When I get so pissed off:
1st level, I cry.
2nd level, I start to talk back, still crying.
3rd level, I shout while talking back, still crying.
4th level, I hit, shout while talking back, still crying.
5th level, I can't imagine! (Haha..)

With the heated argument, I would guess I was at 3rd level.

And so he left. He left me there, not sleepy anymore. I remembered, I had to go to the market, buy some veggies for the following day. It would be my kid's 4th birthday.

And so I took the cab, went to the market.

The following is actually what this blog is all about. I just can't help to describe what happened that morning.