WHAT TO DO WITH PARTYING PARENTS?

The last three months have been quite eventful for me.  Get-togethers, reunions, parties and of course, events. I haven’t been out like this in a loooong time.  My social life these past couple of years have been largely limited to lunch dates, chats over coffee and dinner.  I feel like I’m back in college again! Party and dance ‘til the morning light, OMG! 

The thing is, my kids and their friends also go hang in pretty much the same strip where we go to, so when we go around, we kind of bump into each other.  And NOT really to their delight. Iloilo is still a small place even with all these new places popping up like mushrooms.  My friends and I sometimes bring our kids with us when we go out so they could all have their time together while us parents do our thing. This is the scenario: we’re upstairs and they’re downstairs, having iced coffees and sweets while fiddling with their I-pods and i-pads.  And once in a while they would burst upstairs to ask, “Are we going home yet?”  Most of our kids are in their early teens and the usual answer they would get is “NOT!”   It’s like when they were small and when we would go on long drives they would keep asking “ Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”  Now, that’s funny!

Oh, there are definitely big changes between the then and now.  When we used to go to Tivoli (that’s the “IN” disco place then), we would drink and dance ‘til we drop and puke all over.  Now, we would have a couple of watered down drinks – meaning with lots of ice in it – and tons of bottled water after that.  Then feel that we are already dead drunk.  And they don’t call it discos now.  They’re clubs.

I sometimes get that look from my kids when I’m all hyped-up and dancing to ‘80s music.  That look that could be a lot of things which I don’t feel like mentioning (LOL) but I’m sure a lot of parents could relate to what I’m trying to say here.

Is it wrong to be having fun at this age? Wrong to poke through the past and relive the fun we had when we were also in our teens?  NOT!!!!

More on the Big Bang 4-0!

A few more hours and that would be that.  I would undeniably be 40.

The past week has been extremely distressing. Not only because of the impending doom that I see which is my birthday, but also because I have been pushing my body too much to act like it still is in its twenties. The weekend before was Dinagyang weekend and I was so into the spirit.  Four nights and 3 days of partying and activities left me a wreck.  Physically, that is.

I’ve been thinking that even if I did not look forward to turning 40, still the big day should be a cause for celebration.  But after last weekend, I just didn’t have the energy.  I think I now have what they call adult-onset asthma, though I would still have to confirm this with an MD next week.  I’m taking anti-bacterials again because I ate talaba last Tuesday and I think I’m coming down with a cold.  What a way to commemorate my 40th year.

But after much thought, I decided I would celebrate my 40th.  Not tomorrow and not in a grand way.  But I certainly will.  Probably a month from now to give myself more time to digest the fact that there is no elixir for eternal youth. It’s just so freaky when so many things happen all at the same time and they don’t generally go in harmony with your idea of how things should happen and how they should be. 

If they say the 40s is now the new 30s, then that thought is a little comforting.  I’m still allowed to keep my age below par ha-ha!  I’m sure that would help a lot in easing my anxieties.  I’ve always said, anyway, that I’ve stopped counting when I turned 30.  It’s one way of evading the issue.

So, here’s to me, to new beginnings, to another chapter of my life.  I wish myself the power to accept things to be and wisdom to put them into good use, an existence that is more meaningful and the patience to understand the whys of life. And more importantly, I wish myself a life that is full of life.  Cheers and happy birthday to me!

Big Bang 4-0!

I have been preparing myself for the historic event that’s going to happen real soon.  Apparently, I haven’t prepared myself enough.  In a few days’ time, I’ll be celebrating my “big bang 4-0th” (as a friend has aptly called it) birthday.  I am terribly dreading it. All my other friends have accepted the inevitable, but me, I am not just ready. NO, NO, NO!!!!

Surely a lot of people find this strange.  As I go along, a lot of you could (and I hope, would) relate with me.  Then it wouldn’t seem so strange after all. 

When I turned 37, I began experiencing slight physical changes, which bore an ominous note of things yet to come.  My hormones began acting up and I experienced horrible, debilitating migraines.  Probably SLIGHT is too tender a word to use here.  I thought I was a little young-ish to be dealing with the word hormones.  Think again. It was right there staring at me in the face and doing a little jig!

Then came my eyesight.  I have always had poor eyesight.  But the moment I became 39, I felt my eyes had minds of their own.  Sometimes I’m nearsighted, other times, farsighted. Ano ba talaga, ate?!?

Before, I would eat a tub of oysters and could still afford to eat ice cream right after.  Now, a plate of oysters equal to a regimen of anti-bacterial.  For that matter, I could eat anything then and not feel anything.  No squeamishness, no nausea, no grumbling stomach.

When I went to see my dermatologist recently, she gave me the real deal.  Those sunspots aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they just came from the Garden of Eden and have been told to multiply!

I feel like my body is totally rebelling against me.  And here I am, still searching for the proverbial elixir of youth…..

More to come before the big day comes!

The Female Grinch

Meet the Christmas Grinch. Yup, that's me.

For some reason, I haven't been able get myself to feel the hustle and bustle of the season these past few years. For the past two years, we didn't have a tree up at home.  Our old one just up and died on us.  So it was old and it was a hand-me-down tree from my late father-in-law.  It had to go sometime or the other.  We've justified that since we always spend Christmas in Manila with family, there's no reason for us to spend on decorating the house. We did put up one this year because a friend (ne, you know who you are) told me that I don't seem like a "Chrismas-y" person. This, of course, I vehemently denied. But somehow, I know, that she did see through me. Hence, the tree. And the Belen, the snowmen candle holders, the candy cane candles, the wreaths and all the other decors were resurrected out of storage.

 Is it probably because I'm not a kid anymore? When I was small, I did so look forward to Santa's visit. We didn't have much back then, so finding an apple and candies on the socks I hung on Christmas Eve brought me so much joy. That's right - an apple. They were extremely expensive then so a bite of this once-a-year treat was like a taste of heaven. Ah, to be a child again....

Or maybe it's because, with just 9 days to go before Christmas Day, there's just too much stuff going on, so much to do in so little time.  And by the time Christmas Eve is upon me, I already feel like I'm a pressure cooker blowing my top off and just about to burst. Not to mention wallet-fatigue.  My crisp bills just seem to fly out of my wallet!  

Here's my Christmas checklist:

• Christmas cards sent - NONE. I've decided to go green this year not just to save the environment, but also if I send them now, they'll just be in time for Valentine's. So I might as well send Valentine's cards now.
• Gifts bought - 7
• Gifts still to be bought - ENDLESS LIST!!! I haven't even bought any for my immediate family members yet, so if they read this, I'm sure they will be dismayed (haha!)
• Outfits for upcoming parties - I might as well go vintage, so my closet will be taking a beating from all the rummaging I will be doing since I can't fit in shopping in the next few days.
• E-card with family picture in our Christmas coordinated outfits - see preceding # in the list. I've somehow thought of this crazy idea of doing the coordinated outfits this year, but it's not just gonna happen. And they probably won't - ever.
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The two dots are reserved spaces for some of the things that are escaping me right now. The few that I've mentioned above, I just skimmed them off the top of my head.

When I look at my situation right now, i know this is another Déjà vu.  Oh, wait! Exactly the same thing happened to me last year...and the couple of years before!!! Though this year is more harried because I was even able to send some cards before.  Work has probably been ten-fold this year. It's not much of an excuse, but oh, well, at least I still have one (harhar).

So to avoid getting into the same pit bog again next year, I'll start to work on boosting my Christmas spirit (and my Christmas Fund) right at the dot when the new year is ushered in.   Nobody needs a Grinch in their lives.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The Beijing Sojourn

I am terribly scared of flying.  I hyperventilate, my feet sweat, I have a bum stomach days before the event and I even sometimes get sick. Last month I went on another mid-range flight with hubby, Jove, friends Milet and Lyndon and three other friends of Milet - Carrie, Jann & Heath, whom I met for the first time.  Carrie's husband joined us the day after. You could just imagine the pre-flight jitters I was experiencing.  Surprisingly, the flight from Iloilo, all they way to Beijing, was, in my anticipated-nervous stage, smooth.  We were a cozy bunch =)

The freezing air greeted us when we got out of the airport.  Well, freezing for me. Our guide, a petite lady was named Mary. She was quite chatty, considering that it was already way past midnight. Oh, and persistent, too.  We’ve already pre-booked her for a few tours and she was trying to sell us a couple more.  I have to give her credit, though. She was good at what she was trained to do.  In the end, common sense prevailed and we were able to refuse her offers.  Make that, we made Milet refuse her offers haha!

Please be warned that this post won't be a great source of travel information if you plan on  checking in at Beijing any time soon.  It’ll be mostly a peep into my insights on this trip.

My first impression of Beijing was that the whole city looks so sterile. Its like a mountain of detergent was drizzled over it.  I wondered then if people ever have fun there he he!  Do they ever let their hair down and dance like crazy to the tune of “Dancing Queen”?  The sterile impression was probably a combination of the nippy air and the bright sun. We probably just came at a good time. Where was all the smog and dust that has been reported to fill up every nook and cranny of Beijing? But I can’t get over how clean the place is.  A dream for OC people. It somehow made me think that even the government has this supreme control even on inanimate objects.  The litter practically cower in f—r.

The next morning, we were left to our own devices.  Weather was perfect.  Nice day for a walk in the nearby streets from our hotel. We were smack right in the middle of Beijing, a stone’s throw away from the Forbidden City! One alley proved to be fascinating. It was selling all kinds of Chinese delicacies – scorpions of different species, beetles, lizards, cow innards, side-by-side with candied fruits. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. Good thing we had a full breakfast or I would have been tempted. Yeah, right.

After long hours of walking and taking in the sights the whole day, dinnertime was always something I looked forward to there. We always did hurried lunches so a long and indulgent meal at night was a downright treat for me.  It has to be a restaurant that offers Peking duck because that was what everybody was asking for. Save for me, that is. I don’t eat duck.  Whaaat?!?  I’m in China and I’m not even the slightest bit hungering for DUCK? Yup, you got that right.  The  Peking Duck Café (I hope I got the name right, it was written in Chinese, you see).  The resto’s menu book was a treasure trove.  See my favorite below. I’m practically laughing my head off inside my head.  It’s so, so funny!

Due to hunger, we ordered a ten-course dinner.  Gutom-mata, in other words.  We were bloated by the 7th course. Oh, and in China, rice is usually served towards to end.  The servers probably thought we were a crazy bunch to demand that rice be served by the second course.  The dinners that followed the succeeding days were quite decadent, too, but none measured up to the Peking Duck Café.

There’s a lot more I’d like to share here but they will have to wait ‘til my next post. Ciao!

Getting Started

I have long since wanted to start blogging. Well, originally, it was writing a novel that I really wanted to get going. Although that sounds a bit far-fetched for now. And overly ambitious, to say the least.  I’ve been thinking, I’m leading a fairly boring life and probably nobody would be interested in what I have to say.  But then again, if I would enjoy doing this and enjoy reading what I would be writing here, that wouldn’t be so bad at all.  I just might unleash all those dormant talents I have within me, right?  And I sometimes have a distorted way of looking at things, which just might seem fascinating to others. I’m now into my first post and I’m giddy with excitement! So here goes…..