love, unconditionally

it seems that migueli's been turning out to be quite the cassanova these days. he has been known to be quite a "kisser" in his class, and his recipients are (sometimes) more than willing to return the favor. last week, while in line before entering the classroom, an overeager classmate smothered my nephew with hugs and kisses... on the lips, no less! normally, i would not put any malice on the act since they're just kids anyway, but the classmate was a boy. teka muna... yesterday naman, he kissed our neighbor's daughter, chase, on the lips (sabay hug) after their playdate.

my sister found all this out today as she, miguel and i were on our way to a chidren's party. my sister then started to "educate" migueli on the propriety of showing one's affections to another person.

mommy: who are your loves?

migueli: sam, jed (the male classmate), ate gabbie, and ate chase.

mommy: you know, it's okay to kiss your friends, but only on the cheeks, especially if they're boys. kissing on the lips will just be for relatives.

pregnant pause of about 4 seconds

migueli: (with feelings) so boring naman!

encounters with dr. migueli

yesterday, migueli and i were killing time on the bed before going to school playing "doctor." he was the doctor and i was the patient with a tummy ache.

ninang: doctor, doctor! my tummy's painful!

migueli: okay, we have to operate and remove your tummy.

ninang: (slightly taken aback by his AGGRESSIVE ways) what?! can you repeat that? i think there's something wrong with this ear.

migueli: i said, we have to take out your tummy! we'll also have to take out your ear.

ninang (more shocked and slightly outraged) what kind of doctor are you?!

migueli: (very adamant and so matter-of-factly) I'M FROM
MEDICAL CITY!!

what do you expect from a boy who says that a carpenter is someone who makes "carpents"? i love this kid!

"the chosen one"

last night, i got a call to be a godmother yet again. this time, it's to mike, the16-year old kid who i brought to thailand this summer for CISV. the invitation to stand as a godmother is always an honor and a flattering one. with this one, i know that the choice was his and not his parents'. that made it all the more flattering. he certainly has put a new meaning to my being his "adult leader."

i've made being a ninang a career of sorts. it's not WHO i am but WHAT i am. it's become my given name, not just by my godchildren, but by their siblings, their caregivers, parents and parents' friends as well. my cabinet is stocked with "instant gifts" for ages 0 to 12 year-round. looks like i'll be needing to widen the age range.

mama aly, in her blog honoring me on my birthday (*blush*) wrote:

The honor of being chosen to be godmother is a serious thing. It is usually reserved for very close relatives, people you look up to, and people of stature...

Why does the ninang name stick to her like second skin? Maybe it's because she can fill in a mom's shoe and do everything a mom needs to do (teach, guide, feed, bathe, hug, kiss, spoil, scold)? Maybe it's because she has a rhyme storehouse to mesmerize kids from zero to twenty-one? Or maybe it's her big heart?

i never question why people get me to stand as a ninang or why the kids want me to be theirs. is it because of my gift-giving abilities? my maternal (and yaya) instincts? because i'm a "part-time kid" myself and being so makes me "cool"? i guess we'll just have to ask the lot of them... some 28+ of them.

mama aly was right... being chosen to be a godmother is a serious thing. now, i've got another person (a teenager at that!) looking up to me. ooooh! an image model! do i have stories to entertain him! hahaha! then again, if they can learn from my life story, why not? i certainly have.

kids, it's time to grow up.

uno!

enrolled in UP for the (hopefully) 2nd to the last time. which also meant that i had to get my class cards first.

well, well, i guess my procrastination paid off. i got a grade of 1 for both subjects. pardon me while i gloat. dang! i could be a university scholar at this rate if this were a college course and not an MA course. never got these kinds of grades in college. masmadali kasi kayang bolahin ang mga teachers ng UP? hahaha. uuuy, walang pikon ha?

as my adviser says each semester when i "consult" with her, "sayang naman apilyido mo kung hindi uno grado mo." haaay... hirap naman! preysure!

simple pleasures part II

turned 37 today. no big celebrations -- i'm saving that for the big 4-0 when my friends will surprise me with a big party (hint! hint!) -- save for the surprise i got at the school kitchen this afternoon.

bless amy's soul. she rounded up friends and family, and they came bearing gifts, too! the theme was "leslie's favorite food" - in line with my english class' topic on adjectives. i'm not a very difficult person to please, as the roster will show you:

• migueli, who's on sem break, came to school with bananas... lacatan, to be exact
• mom (yes! she was there!) brought puto from pangasinan, the ones in the brown paper bag
• mama aly, my bestest cousin in the world, brought me pampanga's best tocino (my former supplier is in jolly england)
• amy gave me cracker nagaraya in all flavors except the bland original
• vikki, my pastoral leader, brought planter's cheez curls and la-la fish crackers
• bicbic sneaked in a box of napoleones and half moons from bacolod (we were on the same flight home yesterday and she said they were all out of stock)
• steph sent me goldilocks mocha cake... all-time favorite comfort food, there's just nothing like it!
• gelique supplied the balloons and brought me cheetos!

later at night, my best friend suzie gave me an estrel's caramel birthday cake... memories of my childhood *sigh*

had anyone given me shiny P5 coins, the day would have been perfect. told you i was mababaw.

to infinity and beyond!

my sister's out and i'm leaving for bacolod for the weekend. time to get some "migueli time" to bring along with me.

while in a "sarap" hug:

ninang: i love you.
miguel: i love you, too.
ninang: i love you three.
miguel: i love you aaalllllllll the numbers!

sigh. good thing it'll just be a weekend.

(not so) simple pleasures

spent the good part of yesterday afternoon in the company of good friends from cisv, in a beautiful house that seemed to be misplaced in manila.

i love my cisv batch! i love being with my co-leaders and the kids, even if they're not mine (sweden). going to camp is one of the best things i've done in my life. yesterday afternoon, i wanted to be in sweden all over again; to feel 11-years old again, carefree yet responsible; to be with my 4 kids again, sneaking in a pizza from a pizzeria down the street or savoring smuggled instant yakisoba or having ticklefests in the lullaby room... eating marabou... marabou's are hard to come by. they're not like hershey's or m & m's. that's what makes me and my kids miss it so much.

when i came home last night, my sister had some high school friends over for dinner. she rummaged through the fridge for dessert and brought out truffles and... A LARGE BAR OF MARABOU! heaven in a bar! thank God, they went for the truffles! it was the perfect cap to a cisv afternoon.

itching

it's been more than a month since i last blogged. can't just yet. dying at work, recuperating from school.

will be back. sem break's less than two weeks away...

procrastinating

if there's one thing i'm good at, it's procrastinating. must be a family thing (read alymama's blog).

i work well under pressure; i thrive on it. that was the reason my former boss gave me all the live staging projects we were awarded. the work was feverish, the tension was thick, and the commission was really good.

it's how i operate. give me the whole day to do something - especially something cerebral - and i will sleep the whole morning and while the entire afternoon before starting on it after dinner - say around 10 p.m. but! i won't let at it until i finish, which could be until 9 the next morning (that too seems to run in the genes. i often computer marathon with my workaholic mother).

modesty aside, some of my best works are products of cramming. the school newsletters, my genogram, my MA papers... whenever i'd complain about how i hated going back to school and dreaded the reports, a former colleague of mine would always nudge and reassure me saying, "kaya mo 'yan! pagpupuyatan mo lang 'yan ng dalawang gabi, tapos mauuno mo pa 'yan."

buti lang naniwala ako sa kanya. she seemed to have more confidence in me than i do in myself. and here i am blogging, when i have yet another paper (a feasibility study) and presentation due in two weeks. the concept's all in my head; just need to get it on paper (i have the logo down). i need that push again.

is it healthy to procrastinate? i would think no. will i stop then? HELL, NO! mwahaha!

fine, fine, fine. i will stop procrastinating... tomorrow.

maligaya sa Ligaya

i write this blog at the risk of sounding preachy. i don't care. i am a Christian and proud of it!

i met Jesus six years ago and He forever changed my life. i don't know how i managed to live so long without truly having Him as a friend. He's been around, always in the background; allowing me to stay in the limelight when it was always Him who should have been there.

last year, i moved to a different community, the Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon. He's there too. they certainly live up to their name, i can tell you that! once a month, we gather as a sector and worship together. today was that day.

i always look forward to these gatherings. God is truly alive in the lives of these people. He speaks to us... literally! today, God sang to me.

as we gathered to worship, the Spirit befell on Jun Cruz and Kuya Jun sang so beautifully! He called us "My sons and daughters," a title i have always been called. Menchie came up to the mic next and sang as well. through her, God called us "sons and daughters of the Spirit" and she continued to spread His message. absolutely lovely!

i had my eyes closed most of the time. when i finally opened my eyes, i saw a sight that jolted me. there in the center of the gathering, was a man whose profile was the spitting image of my father! i couldn't take my eyes off of him!

i pointed him out to amy and diday, who were sitting next to me. diday gave me his name. i don't recall it. it doesn't matter. diday verbalized what i had felt all along. truly, Ligaya has become my family! dad was even there. i am spoiled to this day.

I AM GOD's DAUGHTER. i know it! i feel it! i love it!