PASKO!!!

alam mo ba kung san nanggaling yung word na pasko??!! e yung CHRISTmas understandable pa. pero pasko??

uhm. unang-una, anangelo muna. salamat sa mga bumati, ansaya nun, batian. woohoo!!! at eto, may ikwekwento ako. at maswerte kayo kung nabati ko kayo ng maligayang pasko!! lalung lalu na yung mga naka2 to 3 messages from me (boblaks talaga yung phone ko e). hello, ano ba naman? nagkaproblema sa sending. tapos, habang chineck ko pa yung sa contacts ko biglang nag-lowbat. tas, sending. at aba buti na lang nakapagcharge ako agad. *kasi mahirap mag-navigate sa phone pag nag-sesend.* tapos, ang galing, diba pag nagchacharge gumagalaw yung bars sa bat? yung akin, astig, gumagalaw din yung sa signal. so sabay silang gumagalaw, parang christmas decor. hahaha. grabe talaga, fluctuating yung signal. andaming balakid. so ayun, kapag may natanggap kayo, you're very very lucky, fan. pero pag wala, surinalang, (chineck ko lahat ng posibleng macheck sa phonebook ko ah). may pa-defer-defer pang nalalaman yung phone ko ah. ayun, so kung binasa mo to, MALIGAYANG CHRISTMAS!!!! woohoo Xp ayun, kung pwede ko lang sabihin ke santa e, oo na, mag-aapat na taon na sakin yung phone ko, kaya medyo hanging hanging na siya. pero still, nag-susurvive, kaya mahal ko yan. hahaha. pero, sabi nga sa cat, no excuses!!! kaya ano ba?? on to the more important matter!!

ayan. we all know na eto ang birthday ni Christ. kaya kung kaya nating manorpresa ng mga kaklase tuwing kaarawan nila, kaya rin nating mapasaya si Lord, diba??? so ayun, let's just make this day so PERFECT. aha. kasi mahal ko si KRISTO, sobra. woohoo.

let me just take this opportunity to thank my ever loyal bestest best friend. hahaha. andrew. grabe, parang sinama na rin kita sa tacloban. sobra-sobrang salamat. at pasensya ka na kung medyo bangag ako nung kinausap mo ako. nagsesend ako nun ng greetings, kaya medyo bangag-oti. hahaha. pero, salamat talaga. :)

ps, hindi ko rin alam kung ano yung etymology ng pasko. kaya kung alam niyo, inform me.

once again, MALIGAYANG CHRISTMAS!!! soli deo gloria. God bless!!

can i ask you one favor though?!

can i ask you one favor though...
after all you've asked yes or no
you contemplate on whether life is any better
and hey, can i ask you one favor instead…
can you plan up the events that have all gone ahead??
can i ask you one favor though...
after you've answered with a no and a no
you fly by as if nothing had happened
but hey, let me ask you one favor please...
can you visit my dreams and give me a kiss??
can i ask you one favor though...
you've said that you won't and yet you don't know
that when the time is set, you just can't stop
so ui, can i ask you one favor woohoo…
can you at least shush and move the do??
can i ask you one favor though…
you’ve been very good to me and to everything oh
and though you’re that strong i know you’re badly hurt
because duh, can i ask you one favor above…
can you lend me your love so i can show you all love??
can i ask you one favor though…
you’ve shown me three sides: the good, the bad, the no-no
such that i doubt you instead of your whirling my head
whereas psstch, can i ask you one favor (oh, boo!)…
can you give me a bit of you so i can outlive you??

Reliving the past

…or rather, living the now.

***
Return to the tribe roots

121190
Getting back to Tacloban was not rediscovery for me. It was neo-discovery. I just realized how blind and indifferent I was to my very own family tree.

While my mom and I were waiting at the airport, she was quickly scribbling some digits while I was reading a pocketbook. I asked her what she was doing, and she replied “recounting our expenses….” What? She was writing way too fast. Ako naman, I was shocked. Seriously, I never knew my mom could manage time in split seconds. If I were in her shoes, it would have taken me thirty seconds to remember my expenses for the past two days, and another thirty to remember their prices, and a minute or two to list them, and perhaps another minute to add them all up. But, my mom?? She was multi-tasking: for this split-second she simultaneously remembered the expenses and wrote down their respective prices (without listing the labels), and for that split-second she added them all up like a human calc. Migosh, I was really shocked. I knew her course was accounting, but rapid accounting?? And later that day, my dad would say numbers, and my mom would respond, as if she did not even think, with numbers. Mom was mentalling math?? I was really shocked with her abilities and my unknowing of her abilities. Maybe that was why she was disappointed with my econ grade (there’s a connection between econ and accounting, right?). I wanted to tell her there was such a thing as recessive genes. Perhaps, econ-intelligence is recessive and my dad was not really that good in econ. Haha.

Anyway, due to the typhoon, there were hours without electricity. And, it was damn hot!!! So, Mom and Dad suggested that I visit my grandparents this night. We brought pasalubong. Just some stuff. Well, the important thing is my grandparents. I learned a lot from them that night. They told me their history, and no, it was not very long. Just their academic achievements and more pressure for me. Lolo spoke well again after months of mumbling malarkey. This time, I noticed the authority and power within his regained voice (amid his old age). Dad told my grandpappy about my upcoming graduation. And Lolo responded by bragging about his college life. I do notice my Lolo digesting crosswords daily but I only knew just now that he was cum laude (I dared not ask whether summa or magna, baka mawindang ako lalu) for BOTH his BS E(??) (pre-law course) and his LLB(law)!! What!! More pressure for me, yey!!! He continued with Skolar din ako nun!! Uhm, he just paid for his first semester and the rest was miscellaneous payments. And my mom, goes: he just took his DOST scholarship exam. I wanted to blurt out: Don’t expect too much mom, I’m not so sure with that weird exam.
It suddenly came to me that my granddad became councilor of Tacloban (the people loved him) for a time, and I remember those LOPEZ-stickers posted almost everywhere. My Lolo lived a very meaningful life.
Anyway, to protect myself from more pressure, I bade goodbye.

And, when we reached our car, mom told me about my great-Lolo Paquito (mom’s granddad) who also took law and lived till his nineties. Great-grandpup, as mom told me, read the newspaper by the age of ninety, WITHOUT glasses. WHOA! Really?? All I knew was that he chomped veggies for all of his life. He was a great lawyer too, like my dad and my granddad. No sooner was my mom’s story interrupted than my dad exclaimed FLAT!! Haha. What the hell? So we had to wait for a few minutes. I stared blankly at the candle, the car, and the very clear stars; they all stared back at me by doing what they did: the candle burned in the wind, the car stood where it was, and the stars twinkled. And we had to wait…

“Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” Mt. 7:17 (NIV)

***
Quote of the day::

“When you’re rotten about yourself, you become rotten to everyone else, even those you love.”
- Mitch Albom, for one more day

para sa nangyari kanina

sa batang kanina ko lang nakita,
pwede naman sana sa bahay diba?
at kung habulan ang pakay mo,
e baka hinga mo ang habulin ko.

sa batang kanina ko lang nakita,
karumal-dumal ang nangyari kanina.
alam mo bang kasalanan mo rin yun?
pero di kita masisi dahil dun.

sa batang kanina ko lang nakita,
eh nasan na ang iyong minamahal na ina?
baka naman bahay mo iyon?
nakakahiya naman, labas-pasok kami noon.

sa batang kanina ko lang nakita,
paumanhin naman o. kami'y kahiya-hiya
sabi nga nila: tingin sa kaliwa't kanan;
eh kung magkaharangan muli tayo sa daan??

sa tsuper na ngayon ko lang din nakita,
wag kang mag-alala, tama ang iyong ginawa
pero hindi nga lang lahat: iniwan mo siya
siya na may hawak ng pera

sa tsuper na ngayon ko lang din nakita,
halatang ikaw ay nataranta, oo, halata
dahil bigla kang sumugod nang makasakay
si mamang alam kung san ang pakay

sa kaibigang kilalang-kilala,
ang tangkad mo talaga,
kahit na alam kong madali kang mapikon
(aminin)tandaa'y ako'y nandito't naroon

sa kaibigang apektado't tarantang-taranta,
sana nga, nagkapalit tayo nun, sana nga,
sana ang tsinelas ko nun ang suot mo't
gayun din, sa iyo yung aking suot

singit: sa baklang wala dun sa eksena,
sobrang nakakatawa ka, oo, sobra
ampanget mo kaya, mas maganda kang flat-chested, natural
haay! ako'y nababaliw sa katatawa sa gilid mong liberal

singit ule: sa baklang wala dun sa eksena,
bat ka retokada? ikaw ba'y mayaman sa pera?
haha. mukha ka talagang empanada.
(sorry, masama nga ang manlait, alam ko yun ah)

sa itay na dati ko pa nakilala,
pasensya't kami'y nambulabog, pasensya
salamat sa pagiging matalino
at sa pagtanggap sa kahit kanino

sa itay na dati ko pa nakilala,
salamat sa libre mo, ok lang ba?
grabe, kung di kami nalate, kung hindi po
maaring "nadagdagan" namin ang iyong pamasko

sa Itay na aking minamahal nang sobra,
sobrang nararamdaman talaga kita,
salamat Tay a, kahit na ako'y nagkasala
salamat Tay a, salamat Tay a.