Touched by little angels...

There were 17 of them aged 0-2 years old in the "infants and toddlers' room". Two babies share one crib for there were only a few cribs available. Some were asleep, the others were awake and crying, announcing that it was time to feed them; and a few were comfortably playing on the rubber-matted floor... unmindful of the constant flow of visitors. This is their moment to receive more gifts, toys, candies, clothes, medicines, and whatever is included in their wish list, because they are given special attention in this particular time of the year- the Christmas season.

When we visited today an orphanage in Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet; my son, who is 14 years old and who practically understood what he was witnessing whispered to me, "sobrang stressful naman dito" (it's very stressful here). And as we went near a crib, a toddler got up and clung to his jacket... with sorrowful looking eyes, and snot-smeared face, the child was begging to be cuddled. Maybe touched by the child's pityful state, my son carried him... perhaps to provide comfort however short-lived.

The orphanage is being maintained by the government's social welfare agency. All 34 orphans were classified into two, the infants and toddlers ( 0-2 y/o), and the school age group (3-10 y/o). Though this is already our second time to visit, today is more special because we brought along my husband's 4 y/o half-brother, Mark and my husband's sister's 9 y/o daughter, Lois. We gave used clothings and shoes, toys and books. The kids interacted and played with the orphans, and we toured the establishment and learned how these unfortunate children were being sustained.

I purposely made the exposure to my children for them to learn the virtue of sharing, to imbibe appreciation of blessings and to make them aware of their social responsibilities. At their young age, it is best to teach them virtues that will shape them to become good Christians and good citizens when they've grown...virtues that they may pass on to their future children so that the coming generation may have a better world to live in.

pretty freaky!

When I was reading last night to doze me off, I chanced upon a Newsweek bit about eyelash transplants. It caught my curiosity...and as I read along, I found myself astounded and amused.

Eyelash transplant is a form of cosmetic surgery, "pioneered a decade ago by hair restoration-surgeons to help burn and accident victims who have lost their eyelashes"(Newsweek-Dec. 4, 2006). However, it earned distinction when vanity didn't let this new technology pass unworthy and unrecognized, as a new trend for beauty! As almost every woman you see in the mall has her face or some parts of her body cosmetically engineered, even healthy women now seek eyelash transplant for cosmetic purposes.

Ok, so the procedure goes like this: surgeons scrape a small patch of hair from the back of the scalp. The hair follicles are taken individually then implanted on the top lid using a curved needle. The procedure is painless (thanks to local anesthetics), and the patient is awake throughout the procedure. Quite easy huh? Here's the tough part, "there's puffy lids and temporary scarring as side effects" (ullk!)...and a regular maintenance! Yeah! These new eyelashes should be trimmed on a regular basis as they continue to grow as fast as the hair on your head! Yikes! Freaky, right?

Oh, I couldn't stop laughing while imagining a woman with her transplanted eyelashes untrimmed. When it grows very long, she would need some mini clips to hold her longlashes. ( extra extra lightweight so that her lids won't be pulled down 'coz she won't be able to see with her lids closed, he he he!) And, she only has to see a beauty stylist who had undergone an intensive training to trim lashes to perfection... layered and tapered for a natural look!

If you ever consider having eyelash transplant because you don't feel contented with the natural ones you have, do think twice. Aside from your usual hair treatment that comprises a hair cut, body-armpit-bikini-leg waxing in your regular visit to the salon, you must have to include eyelash trimming ( which you may need to set aside extra time). It may cost you a whole day of salon stay and an added expense for the upkeep. Do you still want to be beautiful? The surgery costs $3000 per lid.

letting go...

My mom and my nephew arrived here in Baguio yesterday to help me fix some stuff. I asked mom to come to help me decide where my things should go; which one I should keep, sell, or give away. As we started sorting, I couldn't help becoming nostalgic, remembering a story of every item that I hold. And the thought that there are some things that would have to go was quite heavy for me.

I'm a sentimental fool. I put life and meaning to every thing that I own. Whether these things were gifts, bought or were custom made, I can't detach myself easily from them. Each item has a story to tell ..they were with me when I was felicitous or downcast. Though it was hard for me, I was able to identify three items that are most meaningful to me.

First on my list that I could not let go of is the framed cross-stitched decor. It's 1 ft. x 2 ft. in size but when framed, it's bigger. I love the design, the theme is floral ( i love flowers !) . I think it's a rare design...I haven't seen a similar one like it (click photo to see detail). This was made by Joseph Leyo, my patient, who was undergoing hemodialysis. During one of his treatments, he asked me if I would want him to cross-stitch for me 'coz he was raising funds for his dialysis treatment. I eagerly said yes! Sadly, he died in 2004.

I used to love scented candles...they emit lavender, chamomile, vanilla and other essences. When you light them up, the scent relaxes your senses and you'd feel relieved from your aches and pains. They're nice decors too! I have an antique-looking candle holder that holds 3 candles in a staircase-like design. I put it on top of our aquarium and the candles were never lighted...I opted not to. I don't want the candles to melt into a distorted shape. This candle-holder with 3 peach-colored candles was a gift from my hubby on our 9th wedding anniversary.

Our 4 cu. ft. GE refrigerator has an unusually loud humming sound...maybe 'coz it's already old, (he he he). I bet that our electric bill is soaring high because of the ref's over-worked motor. It's pulling a lot of electricity that it can make the elec. meter whirl rapidly, like a ballerina doing a pirouette. But why am I not replacing it? Because a lot of notes, pix, important papers, schedules, were already posted on it with magnetic "thingies"; then removed, and new notes, pix, important papers, schedules, were stuck on it again. The cycle went on and on that the refrigerator became our activity organizer. It documented our 14 years of marriage... got this as a wedding gift from my parents.

There are more precious items that I'm still thinking of what to do with them...like a movie projector circa 1950, old clothes and bags that still look new, our "Readers' Digest" and "Newsweek" compilations; books like the "Global Paradox" by John Naisbitt, ""The Dilbert Principle" by Scott Adams. There's also a cookbook-novel with an interesting title, "Is Salami and Eggs Better than Sex?"; some appliances, furnitures, electronic gadgets and more.

Stay tuned and watch out for my advertisement for a garage sale- soon!

the last song syndrome

I'm so glad, there's not much christmas songs played in the air or i'd get bugged again by the last song syndrome. I tell you, it's dangerous. A first line from "The Christmas Song", " chestnuts roasting on an open fire.." can get stuck on me and will keep playing on my mind over and over again for several days!

I remember when we were still in Dagupan, (we lived there for 2 years) I had a crafts store situated near "Bok's" shoe store and beside a record bar. During christmas season (here in the Philippines it starts just after the Halloween), oh...how i dreaded goin to my store because the record bar played Xmas songs the whole day everyday until Dec. 24 and made me awake and sick every night because I repeatedly sung ( don't worry it was soundless!) , "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" or whatever the last song i heard on a particular day.

Thank God! I'm not hearing those kinds of music often now. But, early this morning when i turned on the radio, i heard this "Boom tarat-tarat" thing! To my horror, I noticed this was a christmas song by willie revillame! Gosh! Having this kind of music being played repeatedly on my mind if i'd get stricken again with the last song syndrome would drive me to commit suicide!!!

Hellooow!!! Can i just settle with, "chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." please???

Reality bites!

Today, our peso is 49.82 to a dollar. Quite a good sign that we are slowly recovering from economic turmoil. The majority of Filipinos aren't noticing this miniscule improvement, though. But I am hanging on to PGMA's vision of the Philippines as a strong 1st world country in 2020.

No matter how much we try to defend and show to our foreign visitors that living here is glorious, no one will believe us. Still, it's 80% poor population. However, it's our instinct and our defense mechanism, that when we are faced with foreigners, we tend to display our patriotism with nationalistic bragging. But with my recent encounter with a foreigner, I learned that it was more convenient adopting a contrary tone, pointing out the hardships here.

Two days ago, we had a foreign visitor, a first-timer. She's a 23 year old daughter of a church missionary. We brought her to Figaro ( we're proud that this is Filipino-owned) in Camp John Hay. While sipping coffee, we had some chats, the usual getting-to- know you stuff. Interestingly, she graduated with a degree in Social Work and now she works part-time in a shelter for women and child protection, back in Texas. She also intends to enroll in a Bible School there. She's in the Philippines to teach a group of Christian women in Cebu.

We talked about different topics with more emphasis on religious and social issues (of course, as expected of us, he he!). With my husband in the gov't. social service and I and my sis in-law in a gov't. health institution, we particularly got interested in her job. Like anywhere else in this world, when there are people, there are social problems that a government has to manage. We compared how her country and my country manage and deliver services to similar social issues like health, abuses, adoption, poverty, etc. As we exchanged observations, we were all struck and appalled by the monstrosity of our life's differences.

Reality hits you more when you'd known that there are far better or worse situations than what you are into. A face to face actual sharing and comparison of two different people's state of living is more awakening than reading it from the newspaper. You'd feel sorry about your condition but inspired to make a difference.

As we left the coffee shop and drove home, everyone was quiet. Perhaps we were still savoring not the coffee's bitter-sweet goodness, but the enlightenment the conversation had brought to us... I, becoming more motivated and determined to fulfill my dreams of making my life and my family's life more comfortable... and for Rebecca, becoming more passionate and dedicated to her service to the Lord by helping people. Actually, that's what she came here for!

Gate-crasher!

Me and my family joined a birthday party of my friend's daughter held in one of the picnic grounds in Camp John Hay, at the Scout Hill area yesterday. We set up the food on 2 picnic tables, same tables that we rented when we had our picnic about a year ago... as if these were our favorite tables, huh? And, while we were enjoying the food and cracking jokes, there came this lady-collector with an umbrella in tow. Gate-crashing into the party, she counted the tables that we have occupied and asked how many tables we were renting. We said we only rented 2. Like we were little children, she scolded us for settling our cute butts comfortably on the extra bench and landing our full plates to the empty table nearby.

She demanded we pay for another table! Naughty and wise as we have always been, we explained to the lady-collector that we asked the permission from the other group nearby that we "borrow" for a while one of the tables that they rented since they aren't ready with their food yet. True to our explanation to the lady-collector, the friendly other group really allowed us to use their table while they were waiting for their Tilapia to be cooked char-broiled.

Annoying as she can be, this lady was a leopard lurking behind the pine trees ready to devour us unnoticeably while we were having fun. Like it was a deja vu for us, she seem to enjoy catching preys who get to her territory. Oh yeah..now I get it! The picnic ground is her territory and she must protect it from invaders!

The rent is P113/table. We were willing to pay for 3 tables but all other tables were taken so we got only 2. I wonder how many picnic-goers this lady has quarrelled with because of her rudeness.

Gate-crashing is embarrassing more for us guests than this lady-collector could take to her skin! She left the party hosts stunned by her lack of manners. She should be courteous and cordial to her "customers" so that the party event wouldn't become a mess with her presence. Doesn't she have any office so that we can transact business with her privately, away from the eyes of the party guests? Or, can she make her "territory" more orderly by setting up a reservation booth/office and have us book our "favorite" tables a few hours before the party starts? Sigh...this lady-collector should not remain a predator lurking at her prey to defend her territory. Instead, she should display nobleness, an attribute fit to a queen because she can also be "queen" in her own domain...the picnic ground.

I can do it!

Wow! This is my 1st post...i wonder what topics would i be writing in my blog. Maybe i will write about things of different sorts...some kind of a smorgasbord! I am an ambitious writer. I dont have any basic knowledge about feature writing but i really want to share my thoughts about life, love, family, friends and my observations about what's goin on with us people in this world!

So, keep on hangin' and hope i would satisfy your curiosity.