Busy
Sorry, people, I'm pretty busy these days. I have to do some serious preparation for my classes and get a move on my special fields. I also need time and space to sort out some personal issues. So I won't be able to blog that much.
In the meantime, let me leave you with a video I took of the Aetas dancing the Taripi, their native dance. It's a dance of courtship, as well as an act of solidarity. The video was taken on December 18, 2005, during the reception that followed my friend's wedding in Sta. Juliana, Tarlac. After more than a month, I finally figured out how to upload it!
It might take some time for the computer to load the video. Just click on the "Play" button because the video doesn't play automatically. It's best to view the video using Mozilla Firefox.
Enjoy!
P.S. If you have trouble viewing the video, click on
this .
Taripi
I hit the ground running
I hit the ground running again when I got back, as I usually do. I'm teaching two classes this semester--one at my school and another at a community college--and both classes meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon. Good Lord. My first class at my school was such a disaster.
Sobrang nagkalat ako. Nakakahiya. I was so embarrassed, I wanted to disappear or take the first flight back home to the Philippines. Sorry,
medyo ma-drama ako pero nakakahiya talaga. What happened?
Hay...huwag niyo nang itanong. Nagkalat talaga ako. Hope I don't get in trouble.
My first class at the community college wasn't so bad. I was a little late because of the snow. Good thing my students were pretty patient with me
at di ako nilayasan. I was poorly prepared for class that night, so I don't know if I made sense during the discussion. I hope to God I was able to wing it.
The moral of the story: Stop cramming? And stop gallivanting? (I couldn't help it, though. I meant to do work when I was home, but I didn't get anything done.
Minsan rin lang naman ako umuwi.)
***
I resumed my work at my other part-time job on campus yesterday morning. I was supposed to be there by 9:00AM, and I had set my alarm for 7:00AM or so, but for some reason, I just couldn't get up. I kept falling asleep. So I was late for work. Sigh.
I called my supervisor's cellphone, but I just got her voice mail. I left her a message to inform her know I'd be a little late. Apparently, she didn't get it. The first thing she said to me when she saw me was: "You know, you need to call." She's usually patient, so when she gets irritated, I feel so terrible. I told her I did call her cell phone (because the phone lines on campus get crossed sometimes, so I wasn't sure if I'd reach her right away). Things were okay from that point onward. I apologized again for being late. She felt sorry for me because she could tell I came down with a cold (again).
I guess this week just isn't my week. I can't seem to do anything right. God help me.
***
Postscript:
My classes went well today. I hope to God I was able to redeem myself, especially at the class I teach at my school. And I'm enjoying myself, especially at the community college.
Waaah...Mauubos ang pera ko sa kakasakay ng taxi. That's one of the downsides of teaching in two different schools on the same day. I went back and forth from my school and the community college today because I had to fill out a looong hire packet at the community college in the morning, then teach at my school early in the afternoon. I didn't realize it would take me two hours to fill out all the paperwork, so by the time I got that out of the way, I had half an hour to get to my school. I wanted to get there early, so I had to take a cab. Then I had some errands to take care of right before my other class, like putting the books on reserve at the library, so by the time I finished up with that, I had only enough time to get to the community college. I didn't want to risk being late so, I ended up taking a cab again! Sh*t.
Oh well. At least both my classes went smoothly today. That's something I'm definitely thankful for.
I'm back in Chicago
Well, here I am again, living the life I like to escape from every once in a while. I got back on January 16th, 3PM Central Time (it was already January 17th, 5AM in the Philippines). I didn't have any major problems during my trip--although I did get my period during my flight from Manila to Narita, Japan (my stopover) and I felt like there was an elephant jumping on my stomach (read: dysmenorrhea) for the rest of my loooong flight to Chicago. Oops, if that was too much information for you, you can pretend you didn't read that last sentence.
I miss home. I know I'll be back in the Philippines before I know it, but I still miss home. :( I usually get really emotional whenever it's time for me to come back here, but I didn't cry that much during my flight. Maybe I'm getting used to living in two worlds--my Filipino world and my American world--and I'm learning to just hold both worlds in my hands and take everything as it comes. Who knows...I'm still pretty homesick, though.
***
Something I meant to blog about over the past couple of weeks but didn't get to do so (because I was always out and I also had problems with the computer):
I sincerely thank all those who left comments and messages on my tagboard during the holidays and over the past couple of weeks while I was still in the Philippines. To
Mommy Neng,
Melai,
Ate Ghee,
Nang Ethel, Ghie,
Raquel,
KaDyo and Ann,
Pipay a.k.a. Mommy Ayie,
Fay,
Ate Malaine,
hgd,
Des,
Doc Nikki,
Lauren,
Natty,
Lyra,
i.n.,
Darlene,
FlexJ,
Migraine Man,
Elln,
iPOB,
Graveyard Zombie,
Kring,
Jo,
Peej,
Gay,
Rina,
Ginny,
Karen,
Kiara,
Claudine, and
Mommy Lei (
may nakalimutan ba ako? kung meron, pakibatukan na lang ako, hehe),
THANK YOU so much for visiting my blog and checking up on me, even if it took me forever to get back to you and/or even if I didn't get to reply to your messages at all.
And although Christmas and New Year is over, I hope it's not too late to say thank you to those who sent me greeting cards for Christmas and/or New Year.
Raquel, Nang Ethel, and Mommy Neng: Thank you for the cards you sent to my address in the Philippines.
Raquel,
naunang dumating ang card mo
kaysa sa akin, haha.
Nang Ethel and Mommy Neng: Hehe,
nagulat naman ako sa inyo. Touched
naman ako, inalam niyo talaga ang address
ko sa Pinas.
KaDyo and Ann and Ghie: Thank you
rin sa Christmas cards
na ipinadala ninyo dito naman sa Chicago.
Pasensya na, kagabi ko lang nabasa pagbalik ko dito sa.
Mommy Neng, Nang Ethel, and KaDyo and Ann ulit (
ang bait niyo talaga,
wala akong masabi)
, Doc Nikki, Fay, Ate Malaine, Patrice, and Teacher Sol: Thank you for the e-cards and/or e-mails you sent me for Christmas.
Pasensiya na kung di ako makasagot (agad) noon. I didn't get to use the Internet that much when I was home, and I was also busy gallivanting, hehe :)
Ate Ghee: Thank you for the Christmas gifts, especially the cigarette case, hehe :) I'm glad I got to meet you,
kahit sandali lang. Pasensiya na, I had to go somewhere right after I met up with you. Hope to see you the next time
we go home. *wink*
Fay and Dons, thank you for the ensaymada and for treating me when we met up in Katipunan a couple of days ago. I'm glad I got to meet you in person.
Yun lang. Para po sa lahat: Your thoughtfulness means so much to me. I will always be grateful for the gift of your friendship. Thank you so much for being there!
I'm leaving on a jet plane
All my bags are packed. I'm ready to go...Well, at least I'm physically prepared for my trip. I can't say I'm emotionally or psychologically ready, though. Part of me feels like I'm just going out of town--to Leyte or Tarlac, perhaps.
God help me. Every time I go home for a visit, it's always harder to leave.
If I don't blog for a while, it's because I'll be busy catching up with work and readjusting to my life in the States.
If only life wasn't so damn hard here, I'd move back here in a heartbeat.
Post-New Year Greetings
Happy New Year, everyone! May this new year bring us many opportunities and graces so that we may continue to live life to the fullest and relish every moment of it.
A special friend sent me this text message on New Year's Eve. This is my prayer for this new year:
God grant us this year a wider view. Give us patience to endure.
By giving love, we can start this year to lift the clouds of hate and fear.
My friends, here's wishing you a meaningful, peaceful, and prosperous 2006! God bless us all.
***
Note: I came up with a draft of this post on New Year's Day but I didn't get to finish it till today. Actually, our New Year celebration was a mixed bag. On December 31st, my family and I heard mass together and had some relatives over afterward. But my younger sister went back to Singapore, where she is currently based, the morning after, so things were pretty quiet--and sad--after she left.
I stayed up till 3:30 AM to help my sister pack, and I wanted to accompany her to the airport, but due to circumstances beyond my control, that didn't happen. I meant to take an hour-long nap, but I ended up oversleeping; so did my two other younger sisters, who didn't get to say goodbye to my sister who left for Singapore. My mom thought we had already said our goodbyes, so she didn't wake us up, especially since they were running late. The only person who got to say goodbye to my younger sister was my ate (older sister). By the time I woke up, which was around 7:00AM, my parents had already gotten back from the airport. My other sisters weren't too worried because they could always visit my sister in Singapore (If they book their flights a month in advance, the fare to Singapore would be cheaper than that for a trip to Leyte). But in my case, I'll have to wait until my next vacation. I was so upset and frustrated, I cried the whole day. My sister called in the afternoon, though, so that made me feel better. She also sent me a text message to let me know she understood the situation, so I'm okay now.
Before my sister left for Singapore in June of 2005, I was the only one among us who lived abroad, so whenever I'd come home for a visit, I was pretty much used to having all my sisters around--even if I spent most of my time gallivanting in Manila and elsewhere, from Laoag to Tarlac to Leyte to Cebu. Things have changed ever since my sister started working in Singapore. Because her vacation is shorter than mine, I've come to realize the urgency of our time together as a family. Our togetherness really thrives on borrowed time. I initially resisted and struggled with that thought, but I have come to accept it. Maybe I realized all this too late, but what the heck...I've learned a lot of things along the way. It will take time before I get used to the dynamics of living in a transnational household, but I'll just take things one step at a time.
