Let’s Drink To That

What a sad combination, right?

But lately I am finding myself just getting my dose of the two. The weather here in Bicol is just a little too much for my liking. I still haven’t gotten through an entire day without experiencing a rain-free day. So I guess I haven’t brought enough jackets here to keep me warm. And add to that, I din’t bring along the two sweatshirts that I borrowed (read: arbor) from home, thinking that the heavy Red leatherette Ferrari jacket (which Borski bought me during my base off last week of November) was enough to keep me warm.

Alas! That jacket wasn’t made for heavy duty use so I guess in a way it will be serving its purpose, but only for 1 tour of duty.

Anyway, I will be able to go home on the 23rd (thanks boss!), and I’ve got my tickets already. There are no forecasted abnormal weather conditions so far (and I hope there won’t be any) so I am so looking forward to being home for Christmas..

I’ll be having dinner tonight while listening to the song which goes a little something like this…

…I’ll be home for Christmas…you can count on it…

tama ba ang lyrics?…hehehe..basta..I’ll be home for Christmas..that’s all that counts..weeee! Borski..better have the Noche Buena ready.

..sometimes I find myself whacking the shuttlecock in my dreams..

One of the avenues I resort to in order to stay fit and keep my weight down is badminton. Well, you could say I am a badminton addict, having started playing the game with Borski since December of 2005, shifting from my previous sport of lawn tennis. Before I got transferred to Bacolod, we used to play a lot. First we did it thrice a week (M-W-F), and then graduating to being full-fledged addicts, playing 2 hours 7x a week.

..only 1 man was left standing after the count..

We eventually dropped the Sunday schedule as we were already being reprimanded by our dad for being late for our regular Sunday family rosary. Haha..talk about being addicts.

Being into lawn tennis before had its pros and cons. On the positive side, i had no problem with eye-hand coordination and I had no problem whacking the shuttle as if there was no tomorrow..lol.The only problem was that with badminton, it was more of wrist action and I was used to using my whole arm for power in lawn tennis, so during the first few months, my shoulder was so sore that sometimes in the middle of the game, I would find my dominant hand no longer able to lift the racket up. I have since solved this bit of problem with combination of practice and some weight training.

..delicate hands at work..

With regard to footwork, with badminton, the footwork was opposite that of lawn tennis. In badminton your dominant foot would be in front when playing a net shot, while the opposite was true for lawn tennis. Sometimes I still am guilty of this fault as I was quite used to my lawn tennis stance.

Whenever I am on days off, I would always take advantage of the chance to sweat it out and play with the gang. Last Thursday, however, I think I overdid it (plus I think I didn’t stretch enough prior to playing) and found myself cutting short my scheduled play time and heading home earlier than our supposed 10pm end time.

..the human body can only stretch so far..

I think I overstretched myself reaching for the shuttle and found myself feeling a “needle-like poking pain” in my left lower back, just immediately above my hip. It was the first time I felt pain this much. Bending over forward was really hard. Rarely would I pass up an opportunity to play one more game, but that evening, I found myself raising my hand in surrender everytime they would call me up for another game.

The next day, I had to go the blind massage clinic for a “hilot” session. Boy was I glad that Ruel (our suki) was able to work magic with his hands as I felt relieved after that. There is still a little bit of pain left, but already less compared to the one I felt last Thursday night.

..diha..diha..kana..diha dapit..

Whew! I guess I’d have to acknowledge soon that I am feeling the telltale signs of aging…for now, I am still in denial..hehehe

I am off from work today and I am at home. Well, I was off work since last Monday. However, I had the luck of picking the short end of the straw, as I won’t be home for both the Christmas and New Year holidays. I will be celebrating it while on duty in Bicol. Tough luck! Anyway, I consider it as our baptism of fire. LoL.

I just thought of posting this pic of our own version of the christmas tree at work. This is our Rig No. 12, located at Northern Negros.

Advance Merry Xmas everyone! Let’s drink to that!

p.s. Once again, thanks to Tomtacks for all the help in updating our WP.

I am at a loss.

I wonder whatever made things the way they are now. I mean, wherever did they go wrong. These days, I find my parents are just that - frustrated. A lot of things are not adding up. Well, I am not trying to act all righteous here, cause I know I have had my share of things I have done that I am not proud of, but I do think I have learned from those, and I can honestly say I have grown as a person after those events.

With the case of my siblings, I do think that my siblings have grown up having the better things in life. As our parents would say lightheartedly, “Perhaps we have over-loved them..” But it was always not the case. While we were groing up, we always had our share of household chores on a daily basis. Small as it is, I am seeing the effect of letting children have their share of the chores in the house. Somewhere along the way, this was lost on us. Like right now, my brothers behave in such a way as if they are always expecting someone else to clean up after them every time. I mean, they are already grown up, but still…tsk tsk..

And whenever their attention is called up, I would always find them rolling their eyeballs (or reactions to that effect), as if they have done nothing wrong, and it was our parents’ fault and that they were being unreasonable for calling their attention, or that they were having another bout of “high blood pressure”.

And then I thought, perhaps if they were able to experience the harsh reality of having to live their lives on their own, out there in the real world, I bet they would come to realize how blessed they are for having the family that they have, and the relative comfort that they possess. Alas, this still was not the case. They have gone to work in Manila. I would have thought that they would somehow come to value simple matters. Simple matters like having someone to cook for them, having a car you can use to drive around, and having the relaxed atmosphere of the province. Still, when they returned home, the same complacent attitude.

I guess I couldn’t blame my dad for raising hell earlier today when he found them with the air conditioning on, with the electric fans on, and the french windows open.

I wonder…what would it take for them to grow up..to really grow up…

This is an overdue post, a follow up to the post An appeal to the readers. You see, my appeal to Borski’s bro and SIL was accomodated almost instantaneously, and I couldn’t tell them enough how much I appreciate what they did. They helped install a plugin that would make upgrading of WordPress a breeze.

Now I am in the mood to post pics.

Yup, to the readers..hehehe..am i too assuming to use the plural form, when in fact, the people who drop by this site may be just counted with the fingers of both my hands..LoL. Anyway, this appeal is for Tomtacks, if ever he does get the chance to drop by this site.

Can I ask you to accommodate this itty bitty request. Can you please also install the plugin for auto update of wordpress on this blog? Salamat kaayo pre!

I actually have tried doing it myself before, installing plugins I mean, but I somehow forgot how to do it already. LoL. I hope Tomtacks can find time as I am sure both he and ate Tere have their hands full with their bundle of joy.

Sometimes we get so caught up in everyday matters that we sometimes forget to relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor. As far as I can tell, that has been the case with both my parents.

Well, there have been the occasional trips here and abroad, but still, you can tell that the time they spend for relaxation is so small in comparison to the time that they spend on their jobs. Although dad is already retired, and I was thinking that he’d take it easy after he did so, still he is a like a self-propelled engine that still pursues his life’s goals. He is not one to accept a laid back lifestyle. I guess that has been influenced by his previous experiences in life, once belonging to the ‘have-nots’ of society, and struggling against all odds to make something out of himself. And oh boy, indeed he has! In a way he has become my model, a bright shining star that I try to emulate (i try to..hehe).

Yesterday, however, we (Borski and I) ‘coerced’ my parents to take time out from their busy schedules. Yesterday was there 30th wedding anniversary. We celebrated it with an afternoon mass, and dinner at a local restaurant after. Asking them if they had other plans for the evening, and getting a negative answer, we then gave them our own attempt at a gift, a way of giving back, 2 gift coupons to Grand Royal Spa, which covered a body scrub, and a full body massage.

I am sure they are going to enjoy it. The night we got married, I got to try it out too, and as far as I can tell, I am addicted. LoL.

I am sure they will be too.

I have been been trying to look up do-it-yourself (DIY) guides to wiring up a telephone plug. I have been reading up on the literature on wikipedia and it sounds simple enough. I hope to be able to pull it off.

You see, the wall socket in the apartment has not been completed and wires are sticking out from the wall. A few weeks back, I bought a wall socket so that I could take care of this fixture, only to find that there were 4 strands of wire sticking out. I’ve read up on the intricacies of wiring a telephone wire and I hope to be able to figure out the tip-and-ring configuration so that I could hopefully get the telephone line to work. LoL.

Wish me luck