Real Post 126 – Swim. Eat. Play.

The title was inspired by the movie “Eat. Pray. Love.” starring Julia Roberts, one of my favorite actors. Anyway, we had an amazing day yesterday. My brothers and my aunt’s family, together with a couple of friends went together for a summer getaway in Pansol. This is a small place in Calamba, Laguna which is famous for its hot springs.

We rented a spot in this resort named Agua Caliente and my youngest brother, R-Jay, immediately noticed one thing upon arriving there, the smell and the look of the place feels like home, fresh and countryside-ish.

We brought a lot of foods there. And  when I say a lot, it was literally so many that we even bring leftovers back home. We of course ate first to make sure our body is conditioned, especially me since I just finished my shift that time and haven’t been able caught any sleep yet.

Thereafter, we changed our clothes to our swim wear attires and then plunged ourselves to the swimming pool. Oh! The water is hot, and also the weather. Isn’t it amazing? Of course we had a blast.

Alas! My other brother, Ram, left his phone at the rest room, and when he went back there, it’s gone. We tried to call his number, it rang a few times then it became unreachable.Yup, he lost it. And to his frustration, he rented a karaoke and sang his heart out for 2 hours. It was a bad day for him but he needs to move on with his life and charged it to experience.

And so the life went on. We played beach volleyball on the pool until 2 pm. We also find out that the best pool for non-swimmers like myself is the kiddie pool. Kids are adorable when they are having fun and watching them made me forgot all my problems for a moment, plus, you will not be challenged to swim all the way to the side of the pool, you just walked out of it. 🙂

We left the resort at 5 in the afternoon and the kids were not ready to go home yet. It took a lot of willpower to convince them that we need to go home, the traffic, scarcity of vehicles and of course, the dark way home. It’s always a good thing kids are afraid of the dark.

We were exhausted as we sat on the bus but we were all happy. We never stop talking and sleeping on our way back home. It was an awesome day, indeed!

Real Post 125 – Brothers In The City

I am fond of posting articles about my own perspective towards life, mostly, it has a lot of negativity in it. This time, it is completely different. I always feel happy but it’s seldom that I feel content, and yesterday was one of those days.

My youngest brother, R-Jay, is here in Manila for a summer vacation. This is his first time being in a big city and he is excited about it. He is planning to stay for just 2 weeks so we need to make the most of our time. After all, we only see each other every 2 years whenever I go home for a vacation.

My younger brother, Ram, is also here for almost a year now and is currently working in one of the banks here in the Philippines. We accompanied our youngest sibling in touring the wonders of the city. Well, it’s the shopping malls, obviously; and we had a blast!

We first decided to watched The Avengers: Age of Ultron in the theaters. It was also R-Jay’s first time watching on a big screen so we asked him how was it. “It was a good experience.”, he said. “But I felt sleepy back there.” Well, I guess it could be the cold theater or he is not just into watching movies.

Thereafter, we decided to play car racing on a video game store. Don’t just me. We do not have this luxury when we were young.

After a while, we look for a place to eat. Now, this is what we are talking about. One thing that we could all agreed upon – eating. We had 1 whole roasted chicken, 2 platters of rice, 4 side dishes, a pitcher of iced tea and a pitcher of cold water. Nope. We were not that hungry, we were just starving!

Before and after a bountiful meal we shared. Definitely not hungry.

On that moment, a memory from when I was young hit my mind. It was a gentle reminder from our father. I cannot easily forget it cause he kept on saying it in our dinner table every night, sometimes when he was drunk. “When you are older, please do not forget to look back at your younger brothers. Take care of each other in the best way you can. It’s not your fault if they will defy your suggestions and suffer; but if possible, whatever you eat should be the same as what they are eating. Let it be a bountiful meal or just a piece of bread.  As long as you are eating altogether.”

I felt great during that time. I sense a feeling of happiness and contentment to these simple pleasures of life. It’s not just that we are eating an amazing meal, but the fact that we are eating it altogether and laughing our hearts out, made it a special one; and that what awesome!

On our way back home, I asked my brother how’s Manila compared to our province. “Galung.”, he responded in one word which means noisy and not suitable for someone who lives a peaceful life. I could not disagree with his opinion. After all, there is no place like home.

Real Post 121 – Thanks For Swapping Pocketbooks With Me

I was excited to finally see my youngest brother again. After a couple of years of not seeing him or my parents makes me feel sad and incomplete. I celebrated Christmas and New Year without them for a while, and that makes me think holidays are just another opportunities to earn money ( its double pay when it’s a holiday) and no longer a time to reunite with your love ones. It’s nice to have an amazing job with huge compensation but it’s also lonely at the same time, knowing that you are a hundred miles away from your family. Without any hesitation, I asked him to come over to the city for a summer vacation. Of course, he was very glad to finally see us (I got my other brother with me). After all, this should have been his first time being in Manila.

By the way, this story is not about a happy family reunion but a story of loss. Nothing happened to us if that is what you are thinking. This story is really about my grandmother, Lola Conchit.

My Lola Conchit was such an amazing and cheerful woman. She is a deaf old lady who loves to read pocketbooks. Even at her golden age, she still sees the tiny letters of the books without a reading glasses. This is one of the things that we have in common and one of the reasons why I love to read books at a young age. She did not tell us fairy tales or fantasy stories but instead the love stories she read from the pocketbooks and then ask us to find someone who also read these kind of books and exchange hers with theirs.

She was a free-spirited woman and was full of hopes and dreams for her grandchildren. I can still remember one of the things she said to us, “I wanted to see you all grow up and be successful in your chosen fields.” She was one of my inspiration.

A year ago, she had a mild stroke and became ill. It also caused her to no longer able to walk. Few months ago, we visited her in the province and I saw her in a horrible condition. She lost a lot of weight and could hardly eat. She cried while embracing me. “I cannot believe you are a big handsome fellow now.”, she said. “Look at your old grandmother. Already an invalid.” Despite of the smile she was making while talking to us, I could sense her pain. “Did you bring me some pocketbooks?”, she then asked me. I just smiled at her. I knew she can no longer see clearly as one of the side effects of her illness. “No worries my child, I can no longer see the letters on the books. I just wanted to get out of the house for once in a while and still experience the world.”

A month ago, I bought her a wheelchair. My mother and uncle said she was very happy to finally get out of her house. She even asked my aunt to give her a broomstick so she could sweep all the dried leaves on her backyard. I felt great that time knowing that I fulfilled her wish and she was able to enjoy her life once more.

Yesterday morning, as I was about to go to sleep, I got a text message from my mother. I expected it was a confirmation that my youngest brother had already booked a ticket to Manila. I hardly moved my fingers away from the screen of my phone after reading the message. My brother’s trip was canceled, but we can surely plan another one for him next month. The irreplaceable thing was, Lola Conchit passed away.

I did not get a chance to see her smile again, even for the last time. I just hope that she was able to live her life before she left. I have a lot of dreams for her. She was the last of my grandparents, after all. I just wanted to give the best for her. I am happy she is at peace now.

I thank my Lola Conchit for telling us stories about love and reminding us to be good and great, for being my inspiration and motivation, and lastly, for swapping pocketbooks with me.