christmas

 When I was a little boy,  I was so thrilled and excited to think aboutChristmas.. Its a season of festive mood,  endless of preparation. Colorful decorations on the streets, malls and homes. Our home  was filled with glittering twinkle lights especially on the Christmas tree. And soon I would be expecting a lot of Christmas gift from my aunties, uncles, godparents,
mom, dad and Santa Claus,  anticipating that I will be having a lot of beautiful toys and clothes. 
And the food was plenty, the different kinds of cakes, native sweets, chocolates and candies.
It was heaven in my part, the roasted pig (litchon) and variety of dishes. I always hear
Christmas songs from the different groups of Carolers, relatives and friends come
asking for Christmas gifts it was joyous moment, everybody was happy and smiling.
It was the best season of the year, for a small boy, hoping and wishing it would never end.

all souls day

Being raised by devoted Catholic parents, it is a tradition to observe “All Souls Day”, to pay respect to my departed loved ones, my dad along with my three brothers and sister.  I bought a round trip ticket via Cokaliong shipping lines leaving last Oct. 30 (Thursday) and back on Nov. 30 (Sunday).  I brought some flowers, candles and some fruits to my mother and sister.  The ship left at about 8:30pm and I could hardly sleep through out the night, images kept coming back on my mind, the unforgettable moments with my dad, the ever dependable, principled man and most of all the smiles and tears and the craziness we did while growing up with my siblings. No words can explain how much I miss them. I just keep asking myself why they left so soon.  I guess God has His own reason and that we should accept. Though things may not go the way we wanted it to be but nevertheless, life must go on no matter what happens.  I know life is a gift and at the same time, a mystery.   I arrived my hometown at lunch time on the following day. I met my 87 year old mom and ever beautiful sister; the whole afternoon was devoted in flower arrangement and talking about the good old days.

Nov. 1 (Saturday),  we visited my grandmother and sister in a neighboring public cemetery, we cleaned, lighted some candles and offered flowers and prayers , we met some cousins and friends.

The following day  Nov. 2, “All Souls Day” (Sunday) we left early and stayed  until 3:00 pm on the family mausoleum, we brought some foods  like suman, bingka, biko mostly Filipino delicacies and some food for lunch. The place was filled with beautiful fresh flowers; it was like a haven of flowers. I met some cousins, classmates and friends. However deep inside I can’t stop feeling empty and sad for being apart from some of my loved ones. I left my hometown at around 3:30pm and went to the city and visited my close relatives in a private memorial and met my cousins.

The ship departed at around 8:30pm the sea was amazingly calm and peaceful.   I felt so relieved, so good that I have done my own little way of showing how much I love them. Funny as it may sound, it was the only time I realized that I was too tired and exhausted that I was able to sleep early that night.

training- massage

Finally, I was able to attend a one day training seminar on basic massage, conducted by  TESDA(Technical Education and Skills Development Authority ). The trainer was good, she taught us the combination of Shiatsu and Swedish, the proper techniques and different  applications from  hands, head, back and legs and also  the do’s and don’ts. Plus, its effects to our body systems and it is one of the preventions from different diseases like high blood, diabetes and others. Being one of the models of the demonstration was a refreshing feeling and a relief from all the tensions.  It is really a learning process after reading all the books and researches in the internet, and its  really  a different thing if you witness the actual training. But I think you need to practice what you have learned to become a good masseur or else you might forget it after a long period of time. And as the sayig goes, “Practice leads to perfection”. I guess this an “in-thing” here In the Philippines, almost all the cities, massage clinics and spas are mushrooming here and there. 

religion

It is a topic considered not to be discussed during a meeting, party, gathering or to any new acquaintances, for some reasons or another. Maybe because it touches the inner core of the belief of each individual or simply its just something personal. I consider myself not a religious person, although I was a born a Catholic, raised by a mother who is a devoted Catholic and also studied in a prestigious Catholic school. I firmly believe that theirs somebody supreme and made all of these wonderful things in life, this earth we all are standing in and the awesome nature in general. And I guess, we shouldn’t question anything that is from Him for he is the very reason why we are here. Without Him we are nothing. I’m not against any religion but no religion can guarantee you to heaven. I firmly believe it’s what you’ve done here on earth during your living days. The rule i guess is the love of God and neighbor. I tried to be good all the time; however I guess sometimes, God allows us to commit mistakes to learn the right way.  Problems will always be a  part and partial of our life, may you consider it big or small, these things  happen to remind us that He is always there at our side ready to help us every time we stumble.