Bud Mint: On

a swoosh, then a whoop.
feel the wind hiss.
legs sliding,
suddenly brake.
stomps.
and you serve. you receive.
you smash. it hurtles right back.
perspiration. pant.
still you want more.
beads on my forehead. coursing down to my breasts.
and rest on my tummy.
water.
drink.
another cycle. swoosh, then a whoop.
towel.
dry.
gatorade.
shower. warm then cold.
cold then warm again.
towel.
dry.
drive.
home.
I love badminton.

The Simpsons; Life, Miseries, and Pitstops PS: Enjoy the Ride

I'm a big fan of The Simpsons. On this day in 1990, The Simpsons premiered on television for the first time.

The Simpsons is a depiction of how today's family cope up with modernity. It's kinda 'like a soap opera in a twisted way which deals with a typical family's pains, problems and joys.

I have been collecting episodes of The Simpsons for years now. I find simple cathartic enjoyment in watching it. I purge my life's toxicity and angsts while laughing my heart out with Homer's miseries. I feel just a tad nostalgic while I try to understand Lisa's own insecurities with Bart. Of course, Marge's frustrations with her husband is actually a comic relief in a wicked way. Makes me actually feel that I am not the only one who has the world on my shoulders - err, sometimes. Maggie's indifference is my life story.

Watching The Simpsons, especially on rainy, Sunday mornings is one of my life's most favorite little pleasures.



On a different note, I am actually starting to count the days til our long-awaited Baguio trip with friends from the office. I know, Baguio na naman (?!), right? But hey, I love the city, man. For a couple of years now, I've been going back to Baguio with different sets of people - all of them almost equally special.

My family frequents the place, not only because it's just a couple of hours worth of detour when we go home from Manila to Ilocos, but primarily because we love the cold weather, not to metion Meng's infatuation with strawberries and Mama's first love with ukay-ukay. Of course, I need not mention that most of papa's conventions and seminars are held there.

Back in '98, Estong and I went there out of whim. We didn't bring any money, much less had anything planned for a grand tour cum vacation, but we went there anyway. We only stayed long enough for a day's tour of the city and we separated ways come sunset. It was a short trip, really, but it was fun while it lasted. The fleeting quality of it is what makes it special, come to think of it.

My pseudo siblings Lei and Kid went back with me to Baguio around the year of '99. We had a little bit of planning for this trip. We had a rented car which we used to take us around the city and the outskirts, plus a rented house in case we got too tired of roaming around.

In 2000, my beloved IKOT friends: Mei, Guise, Val and Rob went back with me to Baguio for one of the most memorable trips of my life. Suffice to say that the "ride with them was worth the fall". There is nothing more I'd like to do right now other than to ride with them again, but I guess it's not the right time yet. We'll get there, believe me. I'll probably let you in on this story in another log.

Baguio has been a venue for some of my life's adventures and a witness to my grateful existence. It has been a culminating ground for great friendships and deep family relationships. Baguio has been my heaven on Earth for a couple of years now. It has been a home to my tired and weary soul, an end-stop for a life going in circles.

And now my friends in the office which include Rico, Shelly, Mayu and Pao are planning yet another trip to this city that feels like home to wanderers and travellers. We are going to be there for a couple of nights and days, starting January 29. What can I say, I'm just so looking forward to it.
Care to come with us?
If you've ever been to Baguio and back with me, I know we're in for a long ride.
Ride with me.

say HI to my new love...

This is it. I am through with my old pains, old disappointments and my old life! I am so over all the ex's in my life - - that I have decided, finally, to introduce Bibi, my new love:

Bibi and I met last December and I fell onsight. Today, I am formally saying goodbye to my old guitar, Baby-G... which, despite of having seen me through the best days of my life, is now exclusively history.

With Ver and EG and Baby-G (circa '99)

27 years ago

On January 2, 1979:

-->Pope John Paul II returned home to Poland as the first Roman Catholic pontiff to visit a Commuist-ruled country

--> Northern Illinois was in the grips of a severe winter snowstorm. By the end of the day, 7 inches of snow covered the entire city.

On that same day, somewhere in the northernmost point of a certain tropical country, a certain baby was born to a first-time mom and a tipsy father. The father was such in a panic that he dosed himself with a little too much alcohol. The mother was scared-shit of giving birth in the hospital so she chose to give birth at home.

The baby took her time coming out. It wasn't without pain, especially for the mom. The father almost dropped from the 2nd storey window thinking that it was a door. But inevitably, the baby came out. Her mother took a breather and went to sleep right away. The father tried to stay awake, but he, too, needed a rest.

The baby was awake. And she was passed from relative to relative trying to get a glimpse of the clan's 1st baby, both from the father's and mother's side. She could not wait to grow up.

It has been 27 years since...

Happy Birthday to me.

How I Spent Christmas

And so it was Christmas. I took a leave from the Metro to go home for the last time this year. 3 nights, 4 days. Quite enough time to spend the Holiday Season peacefully with the people most special to me. Not too short to miss out so much, and not too long for me and my mom to start killing driving each other nuts.

A week before I was set to go home, I was feeling all giddy and Christmas-sy. A month before that, I was already done with all my Christmas shopping. A couple of days before I was set to go, I had all my gifts packed in a box 2 big boxes and sent them to my folks already. So see, I was all ready and roaring to go spend my 2005 Holidays to the ol' provencal Ilocos where my folks live up to this day.

First Night - I got home on the eve of the 24th. I was expecting a nice, cozy, warm dinner with close family members, then perhaps another round of devouring (ahihi, devour talaga, antakaw!) the leftovers after attending the midnight mass. Surpise, surprise...
For the life of me, I don't know where my mother picks up old, obscure relatives who just pop out of nowhere. Yeah, yeah, its Christmas-time for givin-time for sharin- all that crap, but jeez...who the heck are these people? Excuse me, you're seating on my seat at the dining table. Excuse me, you're drinking from my wineglass. Excuse me, you stepped on my toe. FREAKIN EXCUSE ME, YOU ARE FREAKIN TAKING UP MY SPACE. And oh, Merry Christmas, by the way.
Now, don't get me wrong. I love my relatives. Those that I'm familiar with, at least. But for those who can't get pass through saying, "Ang taba mo ngayon ha." and "Kumusta ang studies?" I have 2 answers dear remote relatives: 1st - You haven't seen me for years. What's your basis for comparison? When was I ever thinner to you?" 2nd - "I've graduated eons ago..duh!" Naman, naman!
By the time our home was left with my "familiar" relatives, we were all too tired to go to mass already. We decided to attend the next morning instead. We were so mighty tired that night that all we did to cap the night off was to play monopoly. I know, it sounds pretty juvenile, but I'm proud to say it's one of my family's favorite pastimes (parents included).
Here's papa and tita Sheng with Meng giving out "emergency gifts" to the "emergency relatives"

2nd day - Pleasant surprises.
Arvi, an old friend came by and we spent half a day catching up on each other's lives. It was a pretty lazy day, with the first part of the morning spent on playing monopoloy. The whole family attended mass in the afternoon. We had dinner out. Before we slept for the night, we had another round at monopoloy. Now I don't know the real deal between monopoly and the Trinidad kids but I think this is a game that we have never really outgrown. My brother, who is the youngest in the family is already in college. My folks are in their early fifties. Moi, is about a couple of years from my tridecade anniversary. But when we play monopoly, you'd think all of us are kids again.


Here's Con dealing out some moolah. Look how serious we
all are. You'd think we were holding authentic cuartas huh?








And here's papa and mama trying to
outsmart their kids. Ma dreadfully lost
this round by the way. As ever, tapunan
naman siya ng tukso. :)

3rd day- I got sick. It was the sickest I've felt the entire year and it just got me so frustrated co'z I had so many things set to do.I was supposed to meet up with Arvi and another old friend, Ramil to try out some of the local bars. At the same time, I was supposed to have lunch at Tata's (grandpa's) house. And of course, there was the usual monopoly to drain me of energy. But as it was, I barely got up from bed. I gave it my best shot to go to Tata's house though. I am rarely ever home and kinda' miss my older folks.

At Tata's House (left-right standing): Mama, moi, lula Samma, Mai, (keft-right sitting): tita Sheng, Tata, Meng, and the 2 kids are Janna (with the tongue) and Nikka.

4th day - I didn't go out at all. My temp's mighty high and I just spent the whole day marathoning James Bond movies with Macky. That night, I had a trip booked for Manila. So much for temporary hiatus. My 4 days and 3 nights are up. I was feeling all shitty inside because of me fever, but I felt good inside. I needed this vacation. If only for once a year, I get to be sane again, if only for once a year, I get to spend quality with my family again - all for the price of getting sick, damn, gimme sickness once a month. I love this. I feel warm and fuzzy and woozy and whatever. I feel loved and I feel blessed. Haha, I'm babbling. Who cares? Merry Christmas everyone. (and that includes ALL relatives too!) - in the spirit of giving and sharing, I have decided to ignore that you only show up during the "giving" season.

Year In Review:2005

Lifted from Tasha's blog. The idea is to repost the last sentence of the first entry of each month in 2005 and call it "Year In Review". Hmm..Lemme see...I've been blogging for less than a year, but I wanna see if I had been making sense all this time.

Here goes...

MAY

Will the creative juices keep up? We'll see...We'll see..

JUNE

perhaps not.

JULY

Pero tama na muna.

AUGUST

ouch--move my screen to the left please..i can't move...

SEPTEMBER

you know who you are.

OCTOBER

I would be so famous, you would forget your name first before you miss out saying Siyoktong!

NOVEMBER

Before I completely waste this entry and delete it altogether, I'm gonna stop writing-right now.

DECEMBER

Let's watch it!

Does it make sense?

Oh yes!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

I love you all! MWAH!

empty roads

I said: I'm not happy anymore.
You said: I'm not happy anymore.
I said: I'm tired.
You said: I'm tired.
I said: I couldn't make you happy.
You said: I couldn't make you happy.

Together, we couldn't make us happy anymore.
We were in the middle of the road.
Not going right nor left.
But you left.
And I left.
No goodbyes.
Just tears.
We are both scarred.
But both stronger.
So what now.
The road was already empty.