D day!

asar na asar ako kapag ginugulat ako. gusto ko kasi lagi akong prepared. pero ibang usapan kapag magsusurprise ako ng ibang tao. aaaaaand, today is THE day!

i can't wait for later! sana matuwa sila. (will post pics after the event)

Christmas Stockings

I remember eagerly waiting for Mommy to put up our Christmas stockings every September. It meant that I could put my wishlist in it and hope that Santa thinks that I've been good and grant me my wish. It was the same wish every year. A balikbayan box full of books (Sweet Valley, Nancy Drew, Three Investigators, Archie comics) and a swimming pool. :) I could die happy.

After several years of not getting any of my wishes, I've started inventing reasons why I have no such luck. It varied from:

• Both wishes did not fit inside the sock, hence Santa could not grant it.
• Santa probably was not able to read my writing because as much as I tried my best to copy our Scriptwring guide, which served as the writing bible to graduate from pencil to pen, my script was lousy.
• National Bookstore and Merriam Webster ran out of books that I liked. Powerbooks and Fully Booked did not exist at that time.
• Santa could not recall which books I already had and needed to check my list.
• Maintenance of the pool required a lot of resources and it could not possibly fit in our yard so no use giving it.

I don't know how I realized one day that there was really no Santa. That it was just something that our parents started as an incentive for us to be good because there will be a reward at the end of the year. I wasn't disappointed. Although sometimes, I think I might have never been good enough since I've never received my wishes the way I requested them.

I have managed to fill up a tiny box of books which I have accummulated over the years. I no longer have the Sweet Valley, Nancy Drew, Three Investigators, Archie comics that I used to collect. I have outgrown them and replaced them with other books. Nevertheless, I still continue to wish for a box full of books and a swimming pool.

One day I will get my wish.

blessings

as a yearly tradition, we celebrated charlie's 17th birthday at chili's tomas morato. as we stepped out on the street and waited for our car, some kids selling sampaguita approached us.

kid: ate, bili ka na ng sampaguita.
me: sorry, wala na akong pera eh.
kid: diba sabi nila, "it's better to give than to receive"? (w/ matching puppydog eyes)
me: mmmm
kid: sige na! ishare mo na ang major major blessings mo!
me: *giggles*

the kid heads off to my dad who seem to have given another kid some coins.

kid: kuya, pahingi rin ako!
dad: e nagbigay na ako dun sa isang bata. share na lang kayo.
kid: eh "it's better to give than to receive"!
dad: ah ganun ba? eh di ako naman ang bigyan mo!
kid: (walks away, while scratching his head)

sometimes, even dads say the darnest things. :)