The Tension of Opposites

Picture courtesy of Randomhouse.

An exchange between Mitch and Morrie:

“Have I told you about the tension of opposites?” he says.

The tension of opposites?

“Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn’t. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.

“A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle.”

Sounds like a wrestling match, I say.

“A wrestling match.” He laughs. “Yes, you could describe life that way.”

So, which side wins? I ask.

“Which side wins?”

He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth.

“Love wins. Love always wins.”

That was Morrie Schwartz, Mitch Albom’s professor, an old man afflicted with the brutal and unforgiving ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is ‘a disease of the neurological system that is like a lit candle: it melts your nerves and leaves your body a pile of wax’.

Going back to the tension of opposites – Morrie had me thinking when I was reading Tuesdays with Morrie about the truth on his train of thoughts. I realized that truly we have to deal with life’s positivity and negativity. Sometimes we are caught in between. Simply, it is like choosing to or not to eat your chocolate sundae when you’re hungry. It is like talking to one person you hate when the resolution of a problem depends on him because he is the boss. It is like helping someone who had wronged you but he is your brother.

And he said love always wins. I agree. When you love yourself, you would not choose eating chocolate sundae especially when you are diabetic. You would not defy your boss when you love your work. And when you love God and you wanted to praise him of the good and the righteous things you do, you would forgive your brother who had wronged you. Makes sense to me.

On Recognitions

Thinking Blogger

I feel elated to receive an award from Ipanema.

All I can say is - Thank you, thank you very much! It always feels good to know how others regard you as a blogger. And I have to list five! This is really a tough job. But of course there will always be individuals who deserve the top 5.

This award goes to:

• BW of The Warped Zone


• Emer of Parallel Universes


• Punzi of Punzi's Corner Blog


• Jayred of X-Pat files


• Little Light of Little Light

You guys have to list your awardees for this award. If you had received the award, please ignore the meme but inform me (please?). :-D

What Were You Thinking?

And since I am in the mood for memes, I would like to ask

• Ferdz


• Sonnie


• Kyels


• Mitchteryosa


• Verns

What Were You Thinkin'?When you first met your current main squeeze (husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other, sex partner, WHATEVER!)

Here is what I was thinking when I first met my husband - "Hmm... Bakit kaya nakatitig ito sa akin? (Hmm...Why is he staring at me?)"

Now, it's your turn... :-D

"I Can Relate..."

Four of Kay’s classmates went to the house yesterday to do a project in one of the major subjects in school. I had previously met the two of them, the other two I had just met yesterday.

Today, I learned that the other two had already spent a year in other schools first then transferred to UP. Except for the one who had come from a prestigious school, the rest had their own share of sad stories. But I won’t go into details lest my daughter will be mad at me being a bigmouth.

“I can relate…,” was all I can say after hearing one of the stories that tell that a classmate was absent from school once because she didn’t have fare to go to school. Memories of my college days came like a flash. There were days I cannot go to school because money was only enough for food. I was a scholar but most of the time during my college days, the monthly stipend ran out before the month ended. (This is still with tears in my eyes reminiscing those years.  :-(

Being in a desolate situation, anyone who’s trapped awaits a day’s end like a month, a month’s end like a year, and a year’s end like forever. It seemed there is no end to the sufferings and to the endless travails of a poor family. But I chose to have a path for myself. I chose to do something for my own life. And I did it alone because I don’t want to stay in such situations and be dragged into its web forever.

I wish Kay’s classmates and friends with sad stories the best in the future. ‘Ika nga, sa wikang Filipino, makabawi naman sana. I hope they will not be bound to thinking of doing things first for other people and neglect their own needs and happiness. I hope they will try to weave a beautiful life also for themselves. And I don’t think it is selfishness because how can one love others when he cannot love himself first?

I believe parents are greatly responsible to what becomes of their own household. Some parents are irresponsible enough to oblige their children to pay them back for the birthing, rearing, and schooling expenses they had for their kids. Some are selfish enough to leave their own children to other people’s care and gallivant and enjoy life like they don’t have responsibilities. Some are poor, weak, or ill to even dream for their children.

Hop-hopping

To at least enjoy the remaining days of being on leave (because of injury), I went hop-hoppin’ (not hip-hoppin’) and chanced upon this news photo from Yahoo:

The picture reminds me of a discussion with Daryl about creation and Christianity. I ended our little talk telling him that it is safer to believe in a God who had created everything but we are little gods ourselves because we can create from ideas.

Sharing everything together – a post that reminds me of the fun times with Papsie through the years.

My Senior Citizen Humor Blog posted Don’t Fart in Bed. The knock-on effect of the story will keep you farting, errr, laughing. The story was from Blogarama.

This one helluva momma has a very striking title for her blog – Pissed Off Housewife. Her post I Can’t Even Speak spoke of wives’ helpless moments. This one is a Bloggy Award winner. But I have this to say that if I am in that situation, there would definitely be an argument. I am not the type of wife who swallows whatever the hubby says. I will opine. If I loose the argument, fine. At least I have said my piece.

Rambosbabiedoll’s list of what she dreams of owning – lovely shoes! We share the same dream – to own wonderful and expensive shoes to salivate on. That is just one of my craziest dreams. :-D

That’s it for today’s bloghopping. Hope you enjoy clicking. :-D

Accidents Do Happen

Idly this morning, I picked up the coffee, the creamer and the sugar from the cabinet. I was about to make coffee for myself. (What was that nagging pain of my hips?) The next thing I knew I was pouring very hot water on my left hand! It was too late to realize that I had removed the top cover. (The cover should only be turned a little to let the liquid flow!) I was shocked by the numbing pain but turned on the faucet which only produced like warm water to me. It did not help ease the pain and so I hurried to the fridge to get cold water leaving the faucet on. I poured the cold water on my trembling hand (The nagging pain of my hips was gone!) but it was no use. Still in shock, I put the cold water in the tabo and dipped my left hand there. There was relief.

But that was momentary. As soon as my left hand was out of the tabo, the excruciating pain was back. It took awhile before the pain subsided. I decided to still go to work. There are lots of things to do. (There was no burn ointment in the house, too!)

After donning my uniform, striving to ignore the pain which was little by little going back, I told Papsie what happened. There was no obvious scald and he told me it will not have blisters. (But it was painful, goddamit!) I took with me the tabo inside the car and dipped my hand into the cool water. On our way to work, I tried lifting the hand from the tabo but I became scared because the pain was becoming intense each time I get it out of the tabo. I almost jumped out of the car when we reached the company and hurried to the clinic only to discover to my dismay that it was locked. (Where is that idle nurse!? She could not be absent today, no way!) I immediately left to go to my office which was upstairs and seemed miles away.

I asked the VP’s secretary if she saw the nurse and told me that she must be upstairs, so I hurried up. I saw the tip of the nurse’s hair from across the glass panels of the other office, and with panic asked her that I needed her help.

In the clinic, in between my repeated words of what transpired, the nurse put a cream all over the affected area. At first it felt cool and relieving but when I reached my room, the pain was excruciating and it was like millions of tiny needles are being pricked into my hand. It increased and I panicked and cried so hard in the comfort room. Thank God, my office has its own CR!) After a while, the pain subsided a little, probably frightened by my agonizing wail. (Must be the reaction to the cream.) I held my left hand and turned on the electric fan (The AC couldn’t help this time.) to ease the pain. Still, my tear ducts continue to produce welling tears because of anger for my stupidity and of self-pity because there was no burn ointment in the house!

The intercom was not functioning so I went downstairs again to tell the nurse that I cannot stay. I cannot be able to focus with the pain. So, I am on leave ‘til Sunday! It would be a grand respite without this first-degree-burnt hand.

Clark Gable once said, “I'm just a lucky slob from Ohio who happened to be in the right place at the right time.” And I’m just a weighed down wage earner who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Father's Day

An occasion like this makes me happy and sad at the same time. I will not enumerate the many reasons because it might bore you. And it's Father's Day.

Pa, I miss you. Until now, I kept repeating that moment with you where we were seated in front of a passenger's jeep:

Me: (I was already in first year college, halfway through the second semester.) Pa, they say a woman can be aroused with her breasts.

Papa: Not only there. But you will get to know that when you get married.

Me: (Silent but was shocked that he did not get angry.)

Are fathers really cool? I remember a portion of Kay's notes in her little diary I 'accidentally' read:

She was so angry while Papa was very cool.

This is when she went to the movies with her friends in high school and an admirer without our permission. :-(

Yesterday afternoon, I heard the little girls (neighbors) talking to each other:

Girl A: (Upon learning that her playmate is going out with her father, and sounds like a little envious.) Ang Papa ko, marami nang napuntahan. Iba-ibang bansa. Sa Singapore, sa Malaysia, basta maraming-marami na. (My father had gone to many places. Different countries. He had gone to Singapore, Malaysia, many, many places.)

Girl B: Ibig mo sabihin, sa buong bansa? (You mean to say, in the entire country?)

Girl A: Oo, maraming-marami. (Yes, many, many places.)

Girl B: Di ba, Papa, nakapunta ka na sa Ilocos? (You have gone to Ilocos, isn't it, Pa?)

(The girl did not get any answer.)

Girl C: (to Girl A) Nakapunta na ba siya sa Bicol? (Did he go to Bicol?)

Girl A: Hindi, kasi panget doon! (No, because it is an ugly place!)

Girl C: Ang ganda nga doon, e! Di mo maintindihan ang salita. (It's beautiful there! You cannot understand a word.)

How these innocent girls speak about their fathers. In their own harmless thoughts, they are proud of their fathers. I guess every little kid feels like this.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE WONDERFUL FATHERS OF THE WORLD!

Side Dish

Please visit my new photo page - BING'S MULTIPLICITY.

Dress Your Age

Dresses in the 1920s

One does not need to have that much money to be in fashion. And being in fashion does not mean you have to dress the latest revealing cut not considering your age. A man and a woman can be fashionable with age without being vulgar. One has to consider, as he/she ages the color, the cut and the style that will suit her/his age.

Take for example, a woman in her forties, wearing a dress with a low neckline can be ok provided that a necklace should coordinate the dress. That would tone down the 'hottie' look. If she has 'bilbil' (bulges), why would she wear a hanging tee that would reveal them? So awkward, and yuckie.

Of course, it's nobody's business what style, cut, and color of dress a mature woman or man wants. But I think it matters a lot to the people that they associate with, or encounter, how they look like.

It's pretty ironic how the girls in the 1920s are clad in apparels that looked to me unseemly. They all looked like they are not young girls. While this 61 year old Filipina bared herself with all the bulges. Keeping up with the times?

Getting Familiar with Somethings

What is your Waist-to-Hip Ratio?

Went stumbling again, HealthCastle.com calculated my waist-to-hip ratio and it's 0.7894 with this note - Based on your waist to hip ratio, you are at low risk for developing obesity related conditions. Isn't that good news? According to HealthCastle.com the healthy range for waist-to-hip ratio is:

Women: 0.8 or lower

Men: 0.9 or lower

My BMI, too, indicates that I am still under HEALTHY WEIGHT. For those not familiar with it, BMI stands for Body Mass Index and is a measurement of the relative percentages of fat and muscle mass in the human body, in which weight is divided by height and the result used as an index of obesity.

These are good news! But I can't be smug not to watch what I eat, and forget to exercise. There are still a lot to burn and to trim.

How Would You Want It to End?

I so wanted to watch the movie Wicker Man but was not able to because my kids would not allow me. They said the movie has a bad ending. They recollected the scenes from the bad movie again after watching a movie from Star World (Cruel Intentions 2) where the heroine is among the bad guys in the ending. Daryl was so affected he kept mumbling about how the heroine seemed to be someone who is different and nice from the others but was found to be bad, too.

If you were to choose an ending for a movie, how would you want it to end?

Personal Touch

I love pictures and so do most people. But I organize pictures with a personal touch. I do scrapbooks for our pictures. It's not an easy thing to do - organizing pics - but it's one of my passions. It brings back memories when I organize them. But the hobby got me branded as an OC, too! LOL. I don't mind at all. Everybody has a passion. :-) If you want to try it, visit this for some scrapbooking ideas. I wonder what layout will interest and suit your taste.

Oh, Goody!

Vow me no vows, so the saying goes. I didn't promise but i did it! After the Big Enchilada and Icings on the Cake, here is one for the goodies...

Beaman's world offers thoughts and reflections, and ir-ruminations as well, with his wonderful snapshots. While you're having your espresso break, or en route to a well-planned journey, take time to treat yourself with his photos and anecdotes. From there, one can say life is indeed an optical illusion.

And speaking of life, Sarita in Ukrania view it from a personal perspective based on Jesus' teachings. Remember the One who had provided fish and loaves for many? Sometimes questions like 'Why do others have more faith in a guardian angel (not Acosta) , in the moon, in the stars, or in anything which, or anyone who, is weaker?' come out. Sarcasm aside, some people make my life-shlife more complicated. Time and tide, God had proven His gift of life. He had provided everything but considered to divide the overflow, lest we drown with our blessings and forget that it all came from Him. Keep the faith, people.

The laments of a broken hearted silhoutte surface and the unbearable lightness of being ascend when one chooses to sulk and dwell on the past and the unpleasant facets of life. This is my interpretation: my views in greens and blues may not be sensible but they are not from the peanut gallery. One day, when all is well for everybody, who knows if we can speak in unison saying, "This Kingdom is prettyness!" and discard the idea that the world is your cave.

Maski na ano naiisip natin when everything's in chaos, or topsy-turvy. It all depends on how we live actually, on our faith in life and in God. Remember when we are still thumbsuckers and still innocently whispering, "When I grow up, I want to be just like me!". We tend to foolishly do things that are unimaginable, and when we grow up (or when we meet the apple of our eyes), we realize "this time it's no longer about me". It's time to be responsible; it's time to move on.

With all that jazz, life sucks for many. But for me, it is such an interesting endeavor to live life. I bet life makes a misteryosa out of many. Those guys who live life 'accordingly' add gwapito points in them, or to others pogi points. Some others even create a culture shiok out of their ordinary existence.

Isn't it wonderful? Life can be filled with Pinoy humor, too. At present, it is simply a digital life. Just use your fingers, not the toes.

Events

Last May 27, 2007, Kids at Art had an event at Robinson's Galeria. Kay had her summer job here as associate teacher educating little kids about basic art. Aside from earning money from a hard day's work, she had discovered a lot like dealing with unlikable co-employees, brats, and tiring servitude. But all in all, I think the experience was worth all the hardships she encountered. And in the end, they were given a treat to Enchanted Kingdom.

Kids at Art at Robinson's



The children's artworks were displayed, too.

Then yesterday, June 2, 2007, it was Diego's birthday - cousin Rico and wife Cathy's beloved son. It was celebrated at UP's University Hotel. Thank God, the heavens was so kind enough not to pour the blessed rain during the celebration. So everybody enjoyed. Events such as this brings back the memories when Kay and Daryl had their first birthdays. Like Diego, they really had no idea what was going on. :-D

The kids really had a wonderful time.



Jollibee and Hetty were one of the guests.



Kay was not around to see her beloved Kuya Malay (the one in the middle with the video cam).

What I cannot forget is the Jollibee host repeatedly shouting "I can't heard you!", "Give me a longest tie!", "C'mon, give me a Superman!", et, etc. Aren't these service crews evaluated? He could have spoken in Filipino. That way, it would be easier to understand. But I admired the guts, huh.