October. Already?! Octo means eight which means we are in the eighth month of the year, yes? Right -if March is the first. Actually, it was the first. But just Google it. October is the time to look back on what's been done the past three quarters of the year and time to look ahead on what's needed to pick up the slack, or more appropriately, to take up your own. Me, I look back and count the blessings. And be thankful. My October top 10:
1. The Word
"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" Luke 1:28
Whenever I pray the Hail Mary, there is this feeling in me that unites me with my mother who was taken away from us nearly 13 years ago. While I call on Our Lady who I’ve seen not, I also call on my Inang who nourished me to intercede and pray for us. Afterall, it was her who taught us to pray the rosary.
2. Final Drive In My Old Reliable
After 17 years of service to my family, I am taking my old Honda Civic for a final spin to its new owners guided by my own emotions I was trying to control. The drive from our village to Waltermart where we, the buyers, the middleman and I agreed to do the big exchange, was a sad one. Short. And sad. I wanted to make it longer, enough to recall all the good and the less-than-good times with this old baby. The red lights at the final crossing helped. Memories came back to me. Funny thing though -good memories remain good, and bad memories turn better when you look back at them.
Read the blog here.
3. Foods That Keep My Family Together.
3. Foods That Keep My Family Together.
How often together?
Sunday mass. Food for the soul.
Sunday brunch after mass. Food for the body.
Travel. Food for the senses. We check out schedule of each when planning for one.
Sleep. Food for the dreams. For heaven’s sake, we all sleep in one room to save on electricity bill.
Every night we pray as a family. More food for the soul. This October, it's the rosary followed by our daily Psalms recitation.
Oh yes, food does keep our family together.
4. I took an illegal U-turn.
A day after André forgot his specs that he had to employ Grab Express to have it delivered to him that same day, I told him to only think of a checklist before leaving the door: cellphone; wallet; glasses. For me it’s cellphone, wallet and meds. Guess what, that day I forgot my wallet. I was driving without my license. Somewhere in C5 road Taguig, I made an illegal U-turn, still unaware that my driver’s license was about 25kms away. Had I been aware of that distance, I probably would have been more careful. Sometimes, it’s knowing that you are equipped with what you need that gives you the power to go. Lesson learned.
5. 'Ber' Traffic.
Ber here refers to the ber months. Although EDSA has been designated as a parking zone for most days of the year, it takes this designation with more gusto during this time approaching Christmas when rush hour is no longer true and the word traffic is a misnomer. How can one move with urgent haste (rush) when you can’t even move at all? Or how can there be traffic when there is no longer movement? Go figure.
But enough of this rant.
All I want to say about this is that I am good with traffic. When driving alone, I am not really alone. I keep my mind busy praying the rosary, interceding for many including our country, dusting the interior of the car and counting forever ’til I get to the nearest pit stop. If forever takes longer than usual, then I panic busy looking for a bottle of gatorade left in the car. You know what they say about a bottle of gatorade, they’re spot on accurate: gives you relief!
6. #SMStoreMolino.
Another project finished. It took some extra miracles to pull this one off because of problems (not our doing) that came up days prior to its opening. Challenges come into sight not only to test one’s abilities but to pull oneself back, stand straight preferably on an elevated position and declare out loud, "Who did this?"
Am kidding you, of course. The challenge was an occasion to pull back and pray -pray for inspirations, for wisdom. And true to His promise, the inspiration came. All glory to God!
7. I Reward Myself.
This was the original intent, a noble one if I may say so. Because of the High on Three Counts diagnosis I got the previous month and since coffee is one listed high on the dont’s, I todally skipped drinking it. But when you’re a coffee drinker, you are a coffee drinker. Its morning aroma invites my senses like a filthy garbage bin to an undernourished feral cat. And so I thought of this reward idea in which I can only drink coffee the day after I have exercised for at least an hour in my stationary bike. Or in strenuous car cleaning -including but not limited to waxing and polishing.
And as good as the shine on my forehead is, it was too good to last. It did last for several days, though. And that was it.
I think I’ll have a cup.
8. The Purpose Of Life Is Not Happiness: It’s Usefulness.
8. The Purpose Of Life Is Not Happiness: It’s Usefulness.
One of the best short articles I've read this month. A good read, promise.
For the longest time, I believed that there’s only purpose of life: And that is to be happy.
Right? Why else go through all the pain and hardship? It’s to achieve happiness in some way.
And I’m not the only person who believed that. In fact, if you look around you, most people are pursuing happiness in their lives.
For the longest time, I believed that there’s only purpose of life: And that is to be happy.
Right? Why else go through all the pain and hardship? It’s to achieve happiness in some way.
And I’m not the only person who believed that. In fact, if you look around you, most people are pursuing happiness in their lives.
Read the complete article here.
9. Lighting Fair.
9. Lighting Fair.
Now this is where I turn into a kid in a toy store. My happy place. With over 50,000sqm of exhibition halls, tens of thousands of lighting enthusiasts looking at hundreds of thousands of LED lights, this is my playground. Every year, I come here to feed on the industry’s techno advances I could use in my design work. Although this year's fair didn't offer a fair amount of breakthroughs, touching base with people in the industry provided for some delightful time. Too bad I only had a day to do this because the following day, it’s the next item on this list.
10. Feeling High In Shang!
Totally unplanned, unbudgeted, unscheduled. But these are the elements of a good vacation, are they not? Thanks to the sweet-talking Bing, a Shanghai-based good friend of ours and godmother of my daughter Nikkei who prevailed upon us when my only intention was to book a buy1-take1 fare to the lighting fair in HK. Instead in a flash, we found ourselves hypnotized and booked to HK and Shanghai. Included among the victims of hypnosis are my family, my bro-in-law Hermie and his family and my sister Tess.
It was a blast, nonetheless. Six years since the 2010 Shanghai Expo, we were back! We also got to visit the West Lake in Hangzhou and Tianducheng -the Paris of China complete with the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees. Really, in China, counterfeiting goes large scale!
