Monday, April 30
Birthday Party
I FINALLY HAD the chance to celebrate my 38th birthday last Thursday. Close friends were there, most notably those working in the same company as me. Alice and I had initially planned to prepare beef and chicken dishes, but unfortunately, the beef was not available that time, and so we were left preparing chicken dishes only. We were able to complete all the ingredients by 9:30 in the morning of Thursday, and we were on track to cooking all the planned recipes before 10:00. After an approximate 1 and 1/2 hours in the kitchen, we were able to complete the dishes - mixed pancit (bihon/canton), tinola, and chicken fritada - it wasn't much, but from the way the guests devoured the food, I guess we had done it well. :D
Anyways, the day also served as kind of 'bonding' day for everyone as well... most of them stayed until late in the evening just plain talking about all the things at work and in the Gulf... in the afternoon, I decided to quickly bake Alice's favorite - the Peach Pie. The guys loved it as well, giving more 'compliments' to the crust. Well, that's not bad for a budding baker :D
The get-together ended at about a little before 9:00, the guys, probably already feeling tired for almost a whole day staying at the flat, decided they have to go to their own accomodations and have a rest.
The day was both exhilarating and fun... all the preparations were worth the memories gained to start another year for me...
Anyways, the day also served as kind of 'bonding' day for everyone as well... most of them stayed until late in the evening just plain talking about all the things at work and in the Gulf... in the afternoon, I decided to quickly bake Alice's favorite - the Peach Pie. The guys loved it as well, giving more 'compliments' to the crust. Well, that's not bad for a budding baker :D
The get-together ended at about a little before 9:00, the guys, probably already feeling tired for almost a whole day staying at the flat, decided they have to go to their own accomodations and have a rest.
The day was both exhilarating and fun... all the preparations were worth the memories gained to start another year for me...
Wednesday, April 25
Sound Trip
AS I WAITED for Alice to finish her work last night, I decided to plug the Ipod's earphones to while away time. The airconditioner in the room had broken down the night before and the man I asked to fix it didn't come and so, with the summer heat slowly creeping in this side of the world, sleep is not yet possible at the time anyway, and a little "sound trip" is in the making for me... I haven't been able to listen to the songs I downloaded in my two-year old Ipod shuffle lately, and so spending some time listening to those old songs is an opportunity at the moment. Listening to music is totally relaxing. More than that, it allowed me to hear Filipino songs all over again...
Songs - and for that matter, music - really allows an individual to drift, that is, reminisce good moments and think of even better ones. Aside from getting the much needed relaxation, the "sound trip" I had last night even allowed me to "rewind" a little of my life for the two hours or so I listened to my Ipod. It allowed me to remember funny times with the family, and especially the kids, the good old times with friends and former colleagues, the usual things - small things - that make our lives meanigful and fun. While listening to the old songs in my Ipod last night, it seems like I'm in the Philippines again.
Music really gives harmony to our lives. I should bring that Ipod with me more often.
Songs - and for that matter, music - really allows an individual to drift, that is, reminisce good moments and think of even better ones. Aside from getting the much needed relaxation, the "sound trip" I had last night even allowed me to "rewind" a little of my life for the two hours or so I listened to my Ipod. It allowed me to remember funny times with the family, and especially the kids, the good old times with friends and former colleagues, the usual things - small things - that make our lives meanigful and fun. While listening to the old songs in my Ipod last night, it seems like I'm in the Philippines again.
Music really gives harmony to our lives. I should bring that Ipod with me more often.
Monday, April 23
The Man in the Mirror
I LOOK INTENTLY at the man in the mirror this morning and I saw quite a strange guy. His short, razed haircut has streaks of white here and there, most notably near the temples; his face is a little thinner and "fresher" than last year's; the stubbles in his chin are a little longer; the beer belly is still there, although now it is not really from the beer, but from eating too much 'biryani' rice, beef 'masala', and 'sarooq' lately; the guy has a darker complexion now which is primarily the fault of the scorching desert heat this time of summer... what I saw is a guy that surely looks a little bit stranger than last year... and it makes me wonder why, for the life of us, we always tend to examine ourselves like this when the day is our birthday...
When it's your birthday, everything - the past year, the years before, the "kodak" moments, both the important and not so important activities, life's successes, frustrations, happiness and disappointments - all of your life's memories and treasures, become an afterthought. Everything passes like a seamless, vivid movie in your mind... It is both amazing and funny how these memories come as flood of thoughts in that brief moment when you look at the mirror at the start of the day - the graduation from grade school, the high school gimmicks and the "barkada", the anxieties of going to the big city and into college, getting a degree, finding your dream job and raising a family. It is not about forcing yourself to think of these things... they just come like the sunlight opens up a new day to greet you on your birthday...
When it's your birthday, you tend to examine "transformations". In that brief moment of looking at the man in the mirror this morning, I saw transformations that happened to him all these years. From short pants, to "stretched" jeans, to "stone-washed" to cargo khakis; from blue jeans to chinos to slacks; from tees to shirts, to "barongs" - which incidentally is the most popular garment of those government salaried-employees - and back to shirts again - this time with ties. Birthdays are also about examining these transformations. Today, what I saw from the man in the mirror is the transformation of a skinny boy several decades ago - 38 years to be exact - to a shy teenager, to an active campus editor and student leader, to a dedicated and commited employee, to a father homesick about his kids. It's overwhelming how life sometimes makes a 180 degree turn and you start thinking about it on your birthday...
As I look at the man in the mirror, I started contemplating on life - its purpose... its priorities... its values. I learned not so long ago that these things drastically change... and these changes create an important turn in every man's life... Today, I ask the man in the mirror: "What should these changes now be?"... Again an avalanche of thoughts and memories engulfed him. Maybe it has something to do when a man nears his mid-life... right now, everything is taken as they come, sort of enjoying and savoring each moment given by the Creator... this may or may not change... I guess we just have to wait...
Looking at the man in the mirror this morning stirred within me an emotion that I don't usually feel... in one brief instant, it seems like everything froze and all my life flashed to me again... I've seen strange things looking at him today. Things really change a lot in a year... physical, emotional, spiritual... another year passed, and from the way I look at it, the man in the mirror is happy with the changes he had made and the strides he'd done in the past year. Life is about hope... and constantly wishing... when one nears mid-life and important things are happening in a fast pace, hoping becomes all the more important...for the man in the mirror, it is there where everything starts happening...and there's no better time to start hoping again and doing better still than today.
Postscript...
They said life begins at 40. I still have two more years to prepare for that life. In any case, these 38 years of 'pre-life' I'm having right now provide me with ample memories, lessons, and experiences to make that life one hell of a ride, and to make me look forward to it. This early, I'm bracing for it.
When it's your birthday, everything - the past year, the years before, the "kodak" moments, both the important and not so important activities, life's successes, frustrations, happiness and disappointments - all of your life's memories and treasures, become an afterthought. Everything passes like a seamless, vivid movie in your mind... It is both amazing and funny how these memories come as flood of thoughts in that brief moment when you look at the mirror at the start of the day - the graduation from grade school, the high school gimmicks and the "barkada", the anxieties of going to the big city and into college, getting a degree, finding your dream job and raising a family. It is not about forcing yourself to think of these things... they just come like the sunlight opens up a new day to greet you on your birthday...
When it's your birthday, you tend to examine "transformations". In that brief moment of looking at the man in the mirror this morning, I saw transformations that happened to him all these years. From short pants, to "stretched" jeans, to "stone-washed" to cargo khakis; from blue jeans to chinos to slacks; from tees to shirts, to "barongs" - which incidentally is the most popular garment of those government salaried-employees - and back to shirts again - this time with ties. Birthdays are also about examining these transformations. Today, what I saw from the man in the mirror is the transformation of a skinny boy several decades ago - 38 years to be exact - to a shy teenager, to an active campus editor and student leader, to a dedicated and commited employee, to a father homesick about his kids. It's overwhelming how life sometimes makes a 180 degree turn and you start thinking about it on your birthday...
As I look at the man in the mirror, I started contemplating on life - its purpose... its priorities... its values. I learned not so long ago that these things drastically change... and these changes create an important turn in every man's life... Today, I ask the man in the mirror: "What should these changes now be?"... Again an avalanche of thoughts and memories engulfed him. Maybe it has something to do when a man nears his mid-life... right now, everything is taken as they come, sort of enjoying and savoring each moment given by the Creator... this may or may not change... I guess we just have to wait...
Looking at the man in the mirror this morning stirred within me an emotion that I don't usually feel... in one brief instant, it seems like everything froze and all my life flashed to me again... I've seen strange things looking at him today. Things really change a lot in a year... physical, emotional, spiritual... another year passed, and from the way I look at it, the man in the mirror is happy with the changes he had made and the strides he'd done in the past year. Life is about hope... and constantly wishing... when one nears mid-life and important things are happening in a fast pace, hoping becomes all the more important...for the man in the mirror, it is there where everything starts happening...and there's no better time to start hoping again and doing better still than today.
Postscript...
They said life begins at 40. I still have two more years to prepare for that life. In any case, these 38 years of 'pre-life' I'm having right now provide me with ample memories, lessons, and experiences to make that life one hell of a ride, and to make me look forward to it. This early, I'm bracing for it.
Wednesday, April 18
Road Test, Peach (without Mango) Pie and Baked Mac
I took the third and final test towards getting my GCC driving license two days ago. Khalifa's car which we had been using in my lessons - one that is not that new - broke down a day before and so he had to bring a new one (borrowed from a friend) during the day of the test. I had initial apprehensions and thus, we decided that I should get familiarised first with the new car. We practised for two hours before waiting for the examiner. I finished familiarising with the new car at about a quarter past nine and got to be tested around 15 minutes before noon. It was a worthwhile wait because I passed the last test, the police examiner even entering into a jovial conversation with me and Khalifa. At last, after a little over a month of practice and a total of 23 hours spent in Khalifa's car, I finally get to have my driving license in this region. A very good thing about securing a driver's license here is that you get to use it in all member gulf states, so no more worrying about getting another one in case you move to another place for work. A fantastic experience indeed!
Yesterday, Alice asked that we cook something in celebration of my passing the test a day before. After rummaging through stocks and the fridge, we decided that I cook our fast becoming favorite dessert - the Peach Pie - as well as our own version of the Baked Mac. A very good thing about being here is that I could practice and experiment on my cooking. During our several months of stay, I had learned - even perfected some - dishes that are fast becoming our favorites. Of course this is really good... the only downside being Alice again starting to worry about some "excess fats" :D
Anyways, an hour and a half later, the pie and the baked mac are there, ready for consumption. We had some sort of a little feast, savoring the food and enjoying one lovely moment being husband and wife. While eating, a message (through SMS) arrived from our little girl Rain, asking how we are doing, and it made the moment even sweeter.
Times like these - which we tend not to give much importance - are the ones that really keep us going through life... well, at least, that's what I believe in... don't you think so?
Yesterday, Alice asked that we cook something in celebration of my passing the test a day before. After rummaging through stocks and the fridge, we decided that I cook our fast becoming favorite dessert - the Peach Pie - as well as our own version of the Baked Mac. A very good thing about being here is that I could practice and experiment on my cooking. During our several months of stay, I had learned - even perfected some - dishes that are fast becoming our favorites. Of course this is really good... the only downside being Alice again starting to worry about some "excess fats" :D
Anyways, an hour and a half later, the pie and the baked mac are there, ready for consumption. We had some sort of a little feast, savoring the food and enjoying one lovely moment being husband and wife. While eating, a message (through SMS) arrived from our little girl Rain, asking how we are doing, and it made the moment even sweeter.
Times like these - which we tend not to give much importance - are the ones that really keep us going through life... well, at least, that's what I believe in... don't you think so?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)