Photohunt: Daily

I was not able to participate in Photohunt challenges the past weeks because of a very sad incident in our lives.  Today, I am sharing you my choice of daily photos.

Here is the first:

Kay trying a serious pose

Everyday, I see this pretty lady leaving for and arriving from school and she always looks fresh with her smile. The photo above is a fun shot trying to humor herself with a humorless face. In truth, I admire my daughter’s determination to stay slender and fit. And yes, she will not be consulting the web for phentermine reviews yet!  She is very conscious of what she puts in her mouth.  She stays away from softdrinks, eats only little servings of rice, and avoids fatty food as much as possible.

Here is the second pic:

Daryl reading again

My son, on the other hand, is more of the serious kind.  But he socializes, too, and has a handful of friends actually.  It is a daily scene in the morning where you see him reading his notes, or surfing the net for his school work.  In this pic, you see him reading a book which he brought in the party.  He told us that while waiting for the food, it would be best to use the time reading the book for his paper.  Some kind of serious, eh?

And also:

These two lovely kids I see daily in the morning before I go to work.

American Idol Bets

I saw the performance of AI’s top 12 girls.  Boy, they all have these delicate features and petite bodies as if they are swallowing up adipex diet pills or any sort of weight loss pills ordinarily!  It makes me think that their lovely features were passes to making it to the top 24.  Just a hunch.   😀

With tonight’s performances of the girls, I am in favor of Siobhan Magnus.  Her voice was a croon.  She has magnetic presence, too.  Her confidence did not overwhelm her performance but contributed to its excellence.

AI CONTENDER SIOBHAN MAGNUS

I also like Didi Benami.  Actually, she is the best pick at first but tonight’s performance was a drag though her voice is really powerful.

AI CONTENDER DIDI BENAMI

Muscles, you like?

There are girlfriends I know who give eyeteeth to men who have muscles.  They drool just seeing the muscles.  In truth, there are really men who have genes that do not need testosterone boosters that work the muscles into perfection.

But muscles are not the totality of men.  Muscles do not say that the man is a man.  Six-packed abs do not tell about a man.  Some men hide behind these abs.  They camouflage to tell everybody that they are men.

I do not have anything against men who are not really men.  It is the pretense of some that smells.  For whatever reason that they have, it stinks to the high heavens.

Car Accidents Scare

Who would not think of getting a car insurance seeing pictures like this?

Our car had had many accidents already.  Two months after we acquired it, it got hit by a passenger jeep while Papsie was about to enter our street.  It’s a good thing that the sides that were hit by the PUJ and slammed into the stone wall were the rear part.

The next one was in an intersection in Quezon City when a truck collide with it and wrecked the hood.  The next one was in Antipolo where a seemingly shoe delivery truck do not have a rear view mirror and bumped the front right door with its rear.

And the fourth one?  Yes, there is still a fourth.  A drunken druggie riding his bike and avoiding a bump on the road slammed directly to our hood.  And I was with Papsie then.  I froze.  It’s a good thing Papsie was alert and stopped the car while he was still moving towards us.  I thought we killed somebody.  Good Lord, I am so thankful we didn’t!

That is why the car accidents scare.  We had had a number to reckon.  And I hope the last will be the last.

Cute Baby Drake

baby drake in his stroller

Though he is not in a Bob revolution stroller, baby Drake still looks cute and cuddly.  His eyes always beg you to come get him.

Babies are always bundles of joy.  To me, every baby is beautiful.  There is always that sweet smell, flawless skin, and very innocent look.  They are little angels that make the day.

It is truly sad that some mothers or parents do not see them as heaven-sent and a delight.  While some wishes fervently for even only a child, there are many who neglect their children and do not care less.

It is indeed an ugly truth that some babies who are as immaculate and harmless could be harmed.  Some of them are even molested or left alone in the streets.  Some are not fed and taken care of.

Babies are bundles of joy, and they don’t deserve any of what I mentioned.  They deserve more than anything or even more than the lives of those who had procreated them.  They are tiny lives that deserve the best.  They are blessings from God.

Even with Human Growth Hormones

Sometimes life can be so unfair.  You wonder why despite the perseverance to achieve a worry-free life, bad situations keep on emerging.  And I wonder, I truly wonder if human growth hormones, with all their claims of reversing the aging process, can do something about keeping the stress away that contributes to one’s graying hair and exhausted physique.

No, I don’t think products as exceptional as these human growth hormones can bury these worries, these predicaments that seem to have no solutions.  Perhaps they can give one a high because of the initial effect but I couldn’t believe they can change the fact that one is facing huge concerns and is bombarded with misfortunes.  For how can they prevent the effects of burdens, disappointments, difficulties or ill fortune?

Sometimes life can be so unfair.  Better opportunities are laid for the flush and the loaded when they are much needed by the lacking and impoverished fellows of this planet Earth.  Riches are unreachable for the not rich mortals.  They are made available for the corrupt, evil, coldhearted and unfeeling humans.  But I am not generalizing.  It is just so frustrating to see some undeserving people wallow in affluence and those who strive and toil hard suffer in torment and inconvenience.

Being Polite

An elderly woman lambasted a niece for being obese. Truly, the niece, in her obese condition, needs the best fat burning supplement in order to reduce and obtain the best desired weight.

But I believe that one need not be overly critical telling one that he or she is very overweight.  I think it still pays to be polite.  Even if one has that petite body or almost perfect body structure.

Being polite in telling other people one’s concern will help an obese person feel the concern.  If someone will be telling them the fact the harsh way,  it will not help.  The impression will be that one is just overly critical and does not really care.

I believe that making others feel that you are truly concern about his or health will change one obese individual’s outlook.  Being fault-finding and overly critical will not help at all.

Grow your Hair, Trim Your Hair, Loose it

The hair is our crowning glory.  That is why people from all over the world do everything to make it look beautiful. They grow it, then trim it.  Not only that, they color it, they perm it, they rebond it, they treat it.  They not only wash and shampoo it.

Because of these complex processes, the hair follicles become weak.  The hair starts to fall, and worse, it does not grow back.  Then people starts looking for whatever cure for hair loss that could grow it back.  Sometimes there are successes, sometimes there aren’t.

We can relate what we do to our hair to what we do to our life.  The complexities that we let our lives experience causes its light to flicker and sometimes die.   The harshness we let our lives endure causes death.  Not in the realistic sense but implicitly.  Not in the truest form but pragmatically.

Healing from a Loss

Today’s technology and science make it easy for us to get rid of physical imperfections like an acne cleanser to an acne, steroids to body enhancements, liposuction to excess fat, supplements to body needs, etc.

But the scars left by the loss of a dearly departed will take time to heal.  It will not be easy but with each other’s support, it will be.

Being with Nanay for the longest time, Papsie is the one most affected.  During the time Nanay was ailing, he was very much overwrought that there are nights he cried.  He always uttered that if only he can find a way to ease the pain, or end Nanay’s suffering, he will give it to her willingly.  But Nanay was very firm in her decision not to be brought to the hospital.  Papsie was so helpless that time, silently bearing the pain, giving in to her dear mother’s wishes.

By the time we decided to bring her to the hospital against her wishes, the poor old woman was cussing inside the car, unable to say what she wanted to say but letting everybody know that she really did not want to be carried to the hospital.

When Papsie saw the following day that her vital signs were not improving and the BP was going down, he decided to go home making an alibi to the priest that he still have something important to do for Nanay’s sake.  The truth is, he cannot bear seeing Nanay go.  The pain was unbearable for him that he was worried it would affect him that much, thinking also that he is hypertensive.

Nanay died without Papsie by her side.  But I know she would not mind.  The many moments, days, months, and years were enough to prove how he loved her so much.  Papsie tried very hard to be a good son to Nanay even during those time he felt that all the things that he’s doing were not appreciated.  Papsie repaid the goodness Nanay had shown.  He counted the good things against the bad, and Nanay still is the best nanay for him.

"Goodbye, Nanay…"

Yesterday was Nanay’s cremation.  While others watch the process from a seemingly window-like opening while her body was being transferred to the oven, I chose not to watch.

I want to remember her as she is when she was still a jolly, alive and able-bodied figure though the last memories were really painful, especially to Papsie.  My daughter even erased her photos on the coffin in our camera when a relative borrowed it and took pictures of her.  I guess we would not want to remember her in that condition.  A nice funerary box with ornaments like a design furniture would not even erase the truth that Nanay’s gone.

And as a nephew uttered, ‘too late for a wake up call for those who were not able to ask forgiveness or to have shown love and kindness in her painful and dying moments“.   All that everybody could do is to change whatever (hard feelings, hatred, et al) everybody was not able to repair and to show love and bestow forgiveness.  This is what Nanay wanted to.

Son Daryl was not able to attend the last rites and to come to her cremation.  He was saddened actually that he cannot be able to read this piece of writing:

” I did not cry when I heard of my lola’s passing; I did not shed a tear for if I did it would not be for her sake. I say to the people that it was only just for her to die as she did for her life had already achieved fulfillment. The fact of the matter is that she was ready to die. I say to the people that they should be happy for her suffering has now ended; she is now at peace. I say these things, knowing fully well that such words cannot erase the pain, the pang, and the hurt people felt and probably are feeling right now.

To many of us, lola has been and still is a pillar – a paragon of strength and resilience. Despite having lived through World War II and Martial Law, lola remained strong and steadfast for the sake of her family. She toiled hard; she was industrious. She truly worked her butt off. All of this she did for her brothers, sisters, husband, sons, daughters, granddaughters, grandsons and even her great grandchildren. Indeed, she has more than served her part as the “ilaw ng tahanan” as we Filipinos would say.

To many of us, lola’s kindness and love proved to be a haven, a home to come to when we were in the darkness. The amount of help she had given people is not something that can be easily measured; I digress,it cannot be measured. Her love was not only reserved for her family but also for her friends; her kindness an example for us to follow.

It then is understandable why many of us were pained when we saw her strength crumble in the past few years, months, weeks, days and hours of her life – why, at the twilight of her life, we were pained to see her suffer and to see her diminished. It is now apparent why many of us cried at the time of her death, for even if we knew beforehand that her death was imminent, we also knew that we had lost a great sister, mother, grandmother, great grandmother – all in all, a great person.

Now, I say these things not to exalt her on a pedestal; nor to make her seem immaculate and faultless. Many times, I would be irked at her constant calling of my name whenever she is in need of this or that; many times, I would frown whenever she speaks of how this person or that person did this or that. My lola was overly critical and very hard to please. I remember one time when my father cooked sinigang and she said that it was salty even when most us found it delicious. Yes, she was that hard to please.

No, my lola was not perfect; no one is, and no one ever will be. What my lola was, however, was that she was human. She was a human who tried her very best to be a good person in the way she saw fit; and to a very great extent, she succeeded.

So now, we have come to bid our final farewells to one Leonisa G***** A********.  I would not say to you all not to cry for that is a very difficult thing to do. I would not say that we all should be happy for that seems almost impossible at a time filled with mourning. I would not say that life will be easy – that life would be the same from hereon after. However, what I would say is that we should all be thankful. Thankful for what, you ask? Well, for many things; that God has given us Nanay, Nanay Taba, Leoningning, Lola Taba or whichever name you’ve come to call her; we should thank God for making her part of our lives. We should be thankful that lola’s suffering has ended. Finally, we should be thankful that, I believe, Leonisa, my dear lola, has found her peace in the arms of heaven.

Lola, we will always love you… “

GOODBYE, NANAY…

Some things are not meant to be

While staring at the ping pong tables in the university gym, my mind was fleeting as I saw myself playing the game.  In that brief moment, I saw my cousin who  was an excellent player and had become very close to me.   We were playing together.  The vision fades in a snap.

I did not learn ping pong but I learned about acceptance that some things are not meant to be.  Some questions have ‘no’ for answers.  Instead of focusing why some things were not given to me though I desire them so much, I have to think that there is a better plan for me.

It is not only once that I discovered that some of my prayers have delayed answers, too; not exactly what I wish for but is better for me.  But if I keep on being stubborn, I bet I will not be able to see the beauty of the response God gave me.

Death Wish

Here’s a situation:

A sickly old woman wails every time she moves.  Being heavy-built, the moving and walking efforts cause her to gasp for air thus resulting to groans.  She said she just wants to moan to ease the aches and pains.

One day, the wailing becomes more louder, more frequent, more untimely.  Still, she does not want to be brought to the hospital.  She is in real pain and she is not aware of what is happening around but only about the aches and pain and the miserable condition.  She couldn’t even lift a hand to put the pieces of mango into her mouth.  She fell while going to the comfort room after fainting.  The soiled clothing in her room, like rugs,  smell of urine and what have yous but she is not even aware of them.

She pleads for death to come.  She asks for reasons why she has to suffer.  Still, she does not want to be brought to the hospital.

Now, the question.

Will you give in to a death wish?  Will you assist someone to her death in whatever form you can?

Normally, the loving people around her will definitely want to bring her to the hospital to give her the immediate medical attention.  This is in the hope of easing her pain or giving her relief, if not completely treating her illness.

To say that she is simply seeking attention or naglalambing is thoughtless and uncaring but for those people who loves her that much and wanted her to die in peace in whatever form, will it be understandable?

A friend said that sometimes it is better to give in to a beloved’s death wish.  In the hospital, the environment would appear as not common and unfriendly to the ailing individual.   The people that they love are not around therefore making them uneasy and alone.

But are these reasons enough to let the ailing person be?

Because she wears a mini skirt?

There was news on television the past few days about a woman who went to Tondo to attend the fiesta celebration with her boyfriend and friends and ended up in the police station wailing and in shock.  She was raped by many and had to jump from the second floor of the house to flee or to escape the transgressors.  She was seen without her pants and panty on waving to a barangay service vehicle.   She was limping, probably getting a fracture from the jump.

Where was the boyfriend? He was nowhere in that news report.  Maybe one of the perpetrators? We really do not know.  But it is very sure that she was not taken good care by her supposed to be valiant knight ready to protect her any time.

Should we readily blame the girl because she could have probably showed that she was an easy girl, or maybe she was wearing a mini skirt or a revealing dress?  Was that enough reason for someone or for some people to rape her?  The girl was wearing only a simple black shirt in that news report, by the way.

If this is what our frame of mind should be, then all those lovely legged models and beauty pageant contestants best viewed in LCD HDTV will be raped one way or the other. And all those young ladies and women who wears clothes that reveal a little or more of the flesh will suffer the same fate.

The trouble with these holier-than-thou, goody-goody types of people is they forget that rape is carried out by mentally deranged individuals who force themselves on others because of that incapacity.  How would these self-righteous people explain the rape of a six-month old baby, or that of a septuagenarian?  Instead of blaming these mindless perpetrators, the whole accusation is on the victim.  Are they really sure that their simple, tightly closed, unappealing apparel will save them from a raging bull that of rapist?  God forbid.

Sometimes, being too much engrossed on the notion that one is better than the other because of the precepts they follow in life makes the whole thing more fake.

Life Lessons from Daryl 1 – on Burning Bridges

One day, son Daryl went home dejected.  I asked why.  I learned he and a friend got into an argument and he went home not able to patch the difference.  It did not make him feel good.  I got interested and encouraged him to go on with the story.

His friend got irked by a question he had blurted out that started off with “What’s wrong with …?”  The exchange of words resulted into an argument.  Because I know my son very well that he will not throw a question with malice, I told him that there is nothing wrong with asking that question.  But it seemed it was what annoyed the friend.  In the course of his discussing with me the whole story and his points of view, he mentioned that he apologized to his friend.  That kind of solicited a reaction from me because if he believes that he did nothing wrong, why will he apologize? It doesn’t sound acceptable to me and I told him you just accepted that you are one who’s at fault.

But son Daryl, being a good person that he is, with compassion that emanates from his good heart, said, “You know, Ma, I don’t want to burn bridges.”  It is an indirect message that he cannot just throw away friendship for simple things like that.  He still gave a chance to his friend to tone down her rage and sort out the issues in her life.  He entertained the thought that there might probably be something more to the temper.

The following day, all things were smooth and he went home with a smile.  Despite the reality that this world cannot be rid of conflict, he was able to do something not to burn bridges.