watching time go by
A week from now it will be another year, at the end of which this series of photos will have a new addition. It’s amazing how this would have been a lot more difficult to do in my time, where pictures needed both wherewithal and patience before they can be viewed. On the other hand, the third segment of this collage was taken only a few minutes before this collage was assembled.
There are a lot of things my daughter will not see in her lifetime — the 45 rpm records, the 8-track tape decks, black and white tv, rotary dial telephones. But living in this country and having relatives down south will allow her days of “dirty” ice cream, vacations in the province with goats, cows and trees in the fields. Not a bad exchange, I should think.
In these days prior to the New Year most of us step back (lay back, whatever position you’re comfortable in) and take stock of the year that has been and list our hopes for the year ahead.
I am thankful for my family, this family that has stuck together despite the difficult times, bound by love and a belief that difficult times are but glitches in this wonderful life. I am thankful for my eldest son Athelstan, who is now grown and working and living his own life, having found his own path to manhood and responsibility. I am thankful for my second son Xavier, so intelligent yet unassuming, quiet and intense but who laughs uncontrollably at the corniest Visayan and computer jokes. I am thankful for my husband Cris (whom you all know as Sam) who has endured in this relationship far more than he would like to admit. I am thankful for our little girl Himaya, who has given us the best reason to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I am thankful for my father Oscar and my sister Purita, who’s care and concern reach out all the way from Cebu, and my Auntie Tita in Seattle who is by all intents and purposes, my mother.
I am thankful for Ate Lalay and Ate Bebing, both of whom left their families in Iligan City to become part of our small one. Without Lalay and Bebing our household would be in utter chaos; they keep it running in tip top shape, make sure we never run out of supplies, that we always have something yummy at the table at mealtimes. It is with them that my daughter spends most of her waking hours, and I marvel at their patience and perseverance in dealing with that little prima donna.
I am thankful that I am gainfully employed (although sometimes I may, as any working class jane, dispute the word gainfully). I am thankful for my boss Blair, who has kept faith in my abilities and my worth to the company. I am thankful for my office family/barkada/kachika — Mareng Arlene, Mareng Chu and Abi. There is my assistant web developer Mark, who in a few months has taken note of my quirks and utter weirdness at work and has learned to work with and around it.
Though some may call it complacency, I find an incomparable comfort in my life, home, and work.
I hope for more of the same next year.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Mahalipayong Pasko Kaninyong Tanan!
xmas shopping@168
Sam and I, like thousands of other shoppers, have discovered how one’s peso can go a ridiculously long way–at 168 mall in Divisoria. We were shopping for gifts for the kids and godchildren and Sam had seen a t.v. spot showing just how much cheaper it was at 168 compared to the nearby malls.
The Superman costume (size 6 for a three-year-old) was just under P200. I had seen the exact same costume at a mall in Makati for P450.
Assorted toys, kikay little girl stuff, and huge art sets containing dozens of color pens and pencils and watercolor, all at P100 and below.
Electronic and remote control toys, prices of which start at P400 in the malls, can be had for as little as P150.
We were quite happy with what we had bought so far, after the huge bowl pancit lomi/mami (P60)at one of the Chinese counters at the third floor food court. We were finding our way out of the mall when we stumbled on the biggest, most fantastic find we made — at a small shop that sold replica European football jerseys. We almost missed it, since they had NBA uniforms prominently displayed outside. We would have ignored the place entirely had Sam not seen the small Zidane poster on display. 
I saw it too and so I stopped. And that’s when we saw the jerseys. Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan, Juventus — you name it, they had it. Sam and I ended up buying his and hers Real Madrid shirts, plus a couple more to gift Sam’s younger brothers with.
And the piece de resistance, in that same store, was a set of UEFA Champion’s League pins. It was this year’s set, 2005-2006, thirty-three pins in all, made in HK as the store owner Tsai said. You can see in the pictures below that the pins are of excellent quality and detail.
We paid P1,500 for 4 jerseys and the set of UEFA pins. P1,500 is not even enough to get you one Beckham jersey at any Adidas store in any mall.
When we came home we surfed the net for similar pins online, to see how much they’d cost on the internet. We found one site that offered the Chelsea pin alone — for 2.99 British Pounds. That’s a few pesos shy of P300, for just ONE pin. We looked at Ebay and found similar sets with SRPs ranging from the equivalents of P1,500 to P5,000.
It’s a good thing that apparently none of the coñotic futbolero set have discovered this tiny spot of football bliss. If they had they would have probably gnashed their teeth at the thousands of pesos they had spent per jersey that could have got them the entire team set in this store. And then again, maybe not. The status symbolism of original jerseys may still hold sway among the elite set.
But as for me, give me 168 — and my change please, thank you.
Overtawad
I’m still at the office as of this blogging, making use of the last few minutes before I shut down, to sum up the past few days, and sort of look forward to the xmas holidays.
I’m still here because I had to read my mail, write my reports, answer support calls–the usual stuff I do that my office pays me for. Late this morning I had to visit a client to teach them how to administer their new domain email, and since I was late for work this morning, the visit stretched into several hours in the usual “Oh while you’re here can you do this for me” style.
And since I’m the only one in the office now there’s no one to nag for a company-paid supper. I could call out for delivery myself, but it’s no fun to eat alone. Yes, it’s embarrassing to admit, I work for pizza. I don’t get paid overtime (not in my contract) as I hardly ever get to do overtime these days, but when I do it’s super duper overtawad. I even work for vetsin (msg) laced chop suey from Quick Stomach(ache) in Makati Ave.
I could wait for Sam who is out with his house representative boss meeting people here and there, but I have no idea what time he’ll be done. As a matter of fact I just got a text message from him saying it looks like they’ll be a while still, and that I should go home when I’m done here. Sigh. Far be it from me to get in the way of affairs of the state.
Maia would be asleep by now, and Kuya Maui would be hacking away at his forums and torrented games as it is, thank God, Friday.
I remember the days (and nights) back in 1999 when I was new here. I’d stay up studying the cms system and getting to know what needed knowing, and I paid no mind to the time of day or night I would get back to my tiny 5m*6m studio. Although I can’t exactly say I miss those days (and nights), I must say those days and nights molded me into the workaholic that I am now.
There’s two more weeks of work left in December, after which we all hibernate over Christmas week, and re-emerge on the second day of the brand new year.
I have on my table the usual lists I get as these holidays approach, the Christmas cakes and goodies pricelist from my suki “The Works”. My Christmas table has been laden with their cakes and pastries and chocolates for the past five years (minus the year we were in Mindanao of course).
There’s the list of tasks that should all be complete before we shut down for the holidays. I’m slowly but surely going through this particular list, as I want my weekend to be work- and hassle-free.
And then there’s the list of our self-styled exchange gifts, where each employee writes down what he wants to get during the xmas party (which will be on the 16th at Cafe Lupe), and it will be the job of whoever picks out his name from the pot to make sure that he gets it.
There’s the list of kids to get presents for, and the list of family and friends to send greetings to.
Heaven knows where my list of new year’s resolutions is. Come to think of it, I guess I never made one.
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