Jandrea...so far

I have just realized (and admitted) that I am now at the older end of the generation gap! Twice now, on two separate fastfood establishments, we asked for "cubiertos" and the food servers did not know what they were. When we "translated that to kutsara't tinidor, they met that with what seemed like a  combination of amazement and amusement! One even repeated the word twice, rolling it in her mouth, like she was tasting new flavor of candy for the first time. The other one, an earnest young man, after giving us the utensils asked what language it was from. He seemed delighted to have learned a Spanish word today! Good for him!  Cubierto  - Spanish to English Translation | Spanish Central www.spanishcentral.com/translate/ cubierto utensil, piece of silverwarecoge el  cubierto  con la mano derecha take the spoon/ fork/knife with your right hand los  cubiertos  the cutlery falta un  cubierto , porque ...

   Day after day, I get more reminders that I am fast approaching my Senior years. On the beach last month, I espied a really cute little boy named Zuriel, and said hello. His aunt struck a conversation with me that centered on how I must have looked in my younger days. Oh no! This was the second time in just a few weeks that there has been reference to my advancing years. There was no denying now that I am really Lola material (check out my earlier blog on this).                                                                                                                                                ...

     I was spending a few days by myself in an obscure hotel in Tagaytay while waiting for my sister to pick me up for a chore that needed to be done. That not coming to light, I decided to check off the list of things that I could still do in that period of isolation. I managed to complete a scholarly task I was putting off from accomplishing for an unforgivingly, long time.  So as a reward, I decided to enjoy the cool, afternoon air while waiting for my take-out dinner.         While seated on the chair just outside my room, a cherubic little boy, MM, and his yaya (nanny) came up to me to say hello.  It would have been a wholly delightful interruption to my reverie except for an unexpected jolt when the yaya said, "Say hello to Lola!"       A thousand thought bubbles burst from my confused brain, "Was she referring to me? Is this woman calling me a grandmother? Do I look like one at all? In a panic, I ...

Melde, Menchie, & Me It was a privilege being one of the adult pilgrims to the last World Youth Day celebration held in Madrid, Spain. While the event is primarily for the youth, adults or in the case of the Diocese of Cubao, mommies are most welcome to join the delegation. I was the oldest member of the delegation, with the two other mothers younger than me by a few years. My age, I tried my damn best not to show. This was not out of vanity but a determination to show that I belonged here with the youth, and that I would not be a burden to them. After Cuatro Vientos       I succeeded in having some people believe that I was just in my forties. The secret on how to do this is wear exactly what the kiddos in your group are wearing and wear dark sunglasses to hide the wrinkles around your eyes. Plus, not to admit that you are in the company of your 27-year old son and 23-year old daughter. Hehehe! But, of course, I couldn't fool my body into thinking I was ...

    Two days in January were spent in Tagaytay in the company of the members of the Parish Pastoral Council of the Holy Family Parish. We were busy at work evaluating the previous year's action plans and then planning our programs for this year. It was fun seeing the church elders and the younger-than-the- elders  (which included me, I hope) flash those smiles and let lose those antics after feverishly working on our outputs. Just proves that the child in everyone is awakened with only a little nudging from a camera. Say cheese!!!

Performance artist near the  Sacre Couer Basilica in Paris  For my SJC Classmates... Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die" It names a genre of artistic work which varies widely, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality. As far as I'm concerned, the work of art that constantly reminds me of my mortality is the face and body I see in the full-length mirror daily. When I peer into my likeness, there is no doubt that I'm inching my way slowly into mortality. But there was a better way of convincing me that this was true. Since the last few weeks after my birthday in September,  I have been busy with my annual physical examination. The results have been trickling in, one by one, and my feelings  remind me of my Little Girl Self anxiously waiting to open my  gifts on Christmas eve.  When I did get to read all of th...

At 53    As I get older, it seems that getting friendly with my Id has become less dangerous. It is not as threatening to my Ego as it used to be.I've noticed that not only am I less fearful about speaking my mind, I've also allowed my mind to speak in not so wholesome ways.      I've allowed wicked thoughts to slip through the sturdy and unyielding barriers of yesteryears. For example, when I see people with very unattractive physical features, I think about descriptions that are definitely politically incorrect. However, ehem ... when I see very attractive men of every age, I immediately imagine possible dalliances ( Joke lang, T! ) People who fail to meet my expectations are berated with sometimes unkind words ( Silently, of course! )  Then there's my ever-increasing temptation to butt in when overhearing conversations of strangers. I just have this need to correct errors, offer answers to their questions, and oh, just say anything...

           I've always been an APO fan. I love their easy-to-listen to music, the way they seemed to enjoy singing together all these years and of late, their contributions to the political scene. But as a teen-ager,  I was particularly interested in  Jim Paredes. For me, he was the most attractive of the 3 members. I have followed developments in his career and personal life. Even now, I follow him on Twitter and read his blog. I've never paid to much attention to Danny Javier and Buboy Garrovillo except to think that the former seemed to be the smartest and the latter was cute in a little boy way.          But things kinda changed when I met Buboy in person last November 2010. Yes, he was still cute as he didn't seem to be too different from how he has looked since I was in high school. But it wasn't that which struck me about him. He seemed to be just a guy-next-door who wasn't trying too hard to be the cele...

 09/20/2010 04:37 pm Rode the San Agustin bus to Tagaytay last Saturday. Wanted to have one day all to myself before the family joined me a day later. That would give me time to finish all sorts of papers with deadlines I had already missed. I caught the trip leaving the terminal a few minutes past 10 AM. The bus seemed road-worthy and the interiors were neat and clean. The thinly-cushioned seats covered in thick plastic were comfy even if a bit narrow for my generous behind. But that wasn't much of a problem as I had 3 empty seats all to myself. I settled in for what I imagined would be a pleasant and comfortable ride. By noontime, I should be taking lunch in Tagaytay, I predicted. From Cubao to Roxas Blvd, the ride was uneventful. After that, the colorful balloons in my unrealistic mind started to pop one by one. I had to eventually give up the luxury of the 2 seats beside me. No problem, I thought, it's just less a little over an hour to my destination any...

04/16/2009 03:10 am When one reaches the 50s, it seems like you are entering the period when one sheds baggage that is making the trip to HOME so much slower. Your experiences during this time help you trim the excesses that will just be in the way of your focusing on what is truly important in your life. That would be both happy and sad places to be in. But today, I dwell on the sad. Sometimes, you want to hold on to many things but there is no law which says you are the only one who can decide on this option. What if the other party wants to let go? What if in the eyes of some people, you are a but a speck of nothingness that they don't see. What if people just tolerate your existence because not doing so would be so cruel? You attempt to be one of the guys, so to speak, but in your heart you know it cannot be. It might be because you are of a different generation or simply a creature from another mold altogether. And that's when you know it's time to...

04/05/2008 04:33 am Saw these words emblazoned on a t-shirt in the maternity section of SM - "I'm Hormonally-challenged!" Amused that a pregnant woman could be described that way, I thought to myself "Teka, that shirt could also be talking about menopausal me!" When I was approaching my 50s, I begun to experience some of the symptoms described in this book, "A Guide to the Early Stages of Menopause and Beyond" . They include the following: * Skipped periods or shorter menstrual cycles * Hot flashes & night sweats * Irritability * Anxiety * Loss of concentration * Headaches (especially premenstrual migraines) * Vaginal dryness * Less interest in sex * Urinary stress incontinemce * Mood swings The book says (and I know for a fact) that many of the symptoms are interconnected. What usually begins as a physical problem can escalate into a psychological problem. I look at my face and body in the mirror and Mortality star...

10/10/2007 11:18 am   I read an entry in one blog which said that the Ego holds one back from expressing his creativity. That is probably true for me. I want to create art but I am always so afraid it will not pass the aesthetic standards of people . Well, most especially because I happen to have a sibling who is an artist! Like most things that I do and say, I am afraid I will be judged negatively. So, I always keep to the safe side of the road. Seldom venturing into the exciting but dangerous beyond-the-limit land. The ego, personified! But I have come to a point in my life that reacquainting myself with my Id seems like a good idea. No longer afraid of being ridiculed or criticized. No longer hostage to my high A score (After all, I also have a high O score!) No longer caring if my work pales in comparison to L's. And so the attempt to capture the flowers in Sonya's garden. And so the (so unlike me) vibrant colors. And so I unveil my art! "The...