20,000 miles away from home

Gene and Ine gave us a full acount of their visit home to the Philippines. It's not surprising that I get homesick even at my age since most of the family is there, although quite often I speak to my sisters . The time difference is no excuse, I really should be calling more frequently, better yet I'd like to visit them.

From the pictures sent by Gene, my brothers showed some signs of aging like I do, and the more I look at Kuyang the more I see myself in him. We could be mistaken for twins, if only we weren't born 15 years apart. Some say I'm the younger Antonia! Other than that, they all look healthy and happy. Dikong Rene is having a birthday the end of this month, I bet they'll have a get together in Tarlac.

Ruel and Rochelle were the hosts of another clan pig out - complete with a pig roast and goat pinapaitan! Food seems to be the center of our family's reunion, and for the boys, beer is the booster. What happens after the booze keeps flowing, is anybody's guess. Yup and us girls just keep feeding the Boys' Club so they don't conk out hungry. Down with Prohibition, these fellas wouldn't have survived that one!! That's another topic for my blog, he he he!

Some of the best and the worst conversations take place while these boys are at it, I kid you not. Oh no - no fist fights, just funny, silly talks! And of course members only - family, that is. But I love them for being good brothers and nephews and time won't change that and I truly miss them.

The almost 20-hour air travel can be pretty hard on the physique, not to mention jet-lag and the heat, but I still plan to visit. Welcome back Gene and Ine. Thanks for the books Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. After re-reading Noli last year, I can't wait to dig into El Fili.

Away from home, away from home, 20,000 miles away from home; but that is where my heart is, many a time.

October surprise

I may be alone in this but I was thrilled to learn that the second week in October is Squirrel Appreciation Week. Surprise!

Sorry folks, I missed it; in case you haven't picked up on it, I'm quite fond of this fun-to-watch creature. They're a favorite subject in my blog - this is the fourth post so far.

I don't see them as pain in the ass, actually they're quite entertaining. Have you watched them climb the trees and sometimes lay spread-eagle on the trunk? Cooling off or playing dead? I'm serious.

Have you seen them run for their lives from the feisty blue jays that dispute ownership of a tree or the yard? It is hilarious, maybe not for the squirrel who gets pecked at if it's not fast enough. This constant battle between the two seems like the US Presidential race! Did you see them roast each other at the Alfred E. Smith dinner, that was hysterical.

It's okay my friend, have it your way, eat the acorns and I'll clean up after you; but you know it's not fair - you chewed on my magnolia blossoms then you discovered they're not tasty so you left all the buds with holes! Now the petals look like slices of white Swiss cheese, you!!!

Okay, okay, this is weird, but I do appreciate these rodents. They make me smile.

Not Ringo Starr

"If you see something, say something". It's a NYC Transit slogan and we won't go into the details of what it means, let Homeland Security take care of that. Mine is a different version, I saw something this morning and now I'm compelled to share it with my readers, so you'll have an idea what time management means to New Yorkers.

Stare at someone in the subways and you either get shot, yelled at, slapped with a rolled copy of the NY Post, spat on or get skinned with HOTTTT coffee. Worst-case scenario - all of the above. And that's why I either look down, bury my eyes in a book, pretend to be asleep or in the summer I hide behind my shades and secretly look on, since I value my life.

It's rude, I know, but today I just couldn't help it. I stared, but let me explain why.

A big guy the size of Lou Ferrigno sat across from me. He was sporting the NY signature all black outfit, carrying a tote bag with the Virgin logo, airlines or the record store I don't know. Seated, he fastened what looked like a skateboarding kneepad on his left knee, where else, then proceeded to take out a pair of sticks from his bag. What is he to do now? 'Took out a newspaper folded in quarter and placed it on his right knee. While reading the paper he started striking the knee pad with the sticks as if playing the drums.

My first thought was, he's got a folding bike inside his tote bag, he's going to ride. Another was, he's got arthritis and that must be one of the contraptions with therapeutic magnets in them. But no! He was practicing some drum beats I guess, but did you ever?

No sounds were produced, it must be made of rubber, I mean the kneecap. I craned to see what the name of the product is, upside down from my angle it appeared as "Craftsman". Isn't that the company that makes those tools sold at Sears or Home Depot?

So they were drum sticks. So he was actually wearing a construction protective gear and using it as drum to practice. How could I not get that right away?

"Hey, you never know". That's another slogan, this time of the NY Lottery. And my point, you ask? This big guy may be working in construction but he could also be playing at the Blue Note or some other big jazzy place. He's not Ringo Starr but who knows he must be a big name too!

Hey, I may have swiped the picture from somewhere, but I didn't make up this story. Ask any commuter, NYC never sleeps, it's alive with stories.

Pristine beauty & fragrance

Delicate flower
Velvet petals

Vibrant white
Pristine beauty
Sweet fragrance

Beautiful bud
Fruit and seed pod
Cone of new life
Magnificent and grand

Magnolia Grandiflora!

Marathon Man

Our family knew he had it in him. He had a perfect athletic training as a child, dark-skinned, lightfoot, long-legged, running after the other kids, chasing them away for no reason. Ped was the bully with a side kick namely his younger cousin George! Boy, did they get into a lot of trouble, using other kids their age as punching bags, then running away as fast as they can, climbing up trees to hide... It's always fun to hear about their escapades, but I'm sure they got some spanking from my brother.

They’re good little nephews just too “playful” or mischievous? If running errands for the uncles and aunties, (and they had plenty - of uncles and aunties and errands too), count as sports training, that too helped him prepare for this.

This time, it is no "bull__it", rather was a serious goal. Ped’s marathon debut, the prestigious 26.2 mi. about 42.19 km or 385 yards (for the metrics in some of you) Chicago Marathon 2008, finishing in 4:08:50 and ranking 7956 out of over 40,000 deserves a gold medal from the family.

Woohoo!!! He had been training for just a year and doing all the local half-runs in NYC but what a record for a novice! Carol's family and friends in Indiana lined the course starting in Grant Park, not to mention Marc's buddies who also cheered on for Pop.

Guys, I heard you had pre and post-run parties, goodbye to runner's grubs for a while, ha Ped? For shlepping them to and from La Guardia Airport, Carol and Ped had a bagful of chestnuts for me from the backyard of the Samalios. Thanks Jun-Jun, for roasting them already, there's nothing like homegrown nuts, easy to peel too.

Our Marathon Man, number 18601. Watch out Boston!

Red Storm homecoming

SJU was hosting Villanova in men's soccer, at the same time we were in campus for the alumni homecoming. There was no red carpet rolled out for us, none of my grad school classmates were there, most attendees looked young enough to be in the roster of recent grads and it was a bit cold for me to enjoy the outdoor Italian feast.

No trumpets were blaring either as we signed up for registration; the band was playing I guess for the home and visiting soccer team. Boohoo! Where is everyone? Was it because of the Columbus day weekend or did all of my 20 classmates find CEO-paying jobs and settle outside NY? How about the rest of the school? Maybe they skipped the food part and came to watch the soccer game instead. Too bad we couldn't stay for that, my less than cooperative stuffy nose spoiled it all, we even had to eat inside the car it was too cold for me outdoors. It was disappointing.

The only consolation is that we picked up freebies of sorts that'll probably just end up hidden in the drawer: sports shirts, seat cushions, mouse pads, mini flash light, the usual giveaways at these functions, all in SJU colors of blazing red. A coincidence that my other alma mater MIT's color is also cardinal red. Driving around the campus, we found most of the familiar halls still standing, reminders of the countless hours spent pouring over books in the Library and then fervently praying in the chapel for more than just a passing grade.

Fond memories of my SJU days 25 years ago when I was still hungry for more advanced learning, also when my brain was still made up of live functioning cells successfully connecting to one another. Now my brain is tired, I can feel it hurts even if it's not supposed to. Where have all my classmates gone? Adam? Mary Skelly?

The Road Not Taken 10.10.70

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference”

*** Robert Frost***

At about noon, on October 10, 1970, at the old Manila International Airport, I boarded a Japan Airlines 747 bound for Newark, New Jersey. Filled with fear and anxiety, hope was also there for the start of a new beginning. Met by family at Newark Airport, it was a crisp, colorful Fall day when I arrived.

Something almost made me want to pass up this great opportunity to come to the US. But I didn't. When I arrived in October 1970 I had buried all hopes of fulfilling the other part of my dream. New challenges faced me - the struggle to start a career on foreign soil and to cope with a recent loss. Somehow, we need to make these leaps of faith in order to survive and I did.

I'm no longer interested in searching for answers that justify all.

If life is a series of destinations, I guess I didn't do too bad for my part.