Parsimonious

Parsimonious - I love the sound of it coming from my mouth. But certainly I’m not one.

Agapan
Barot
Cheap
Cheapskate
Cheeseparing
Chinchy
Chintzy
Cost-conscious
Daginotan
Dungkol
Economizing
Frugal
Inot
Kuripot
Maiyawaton
Makunat
Matipid
Mingy
Miserly
Niggardly
Penny-pinching
Penny-wise
Pinchgut
Scrimp
Scrooge
Skinflint
Sparing
Stingy
Thrifty
Tightfisted
Tightwad
Tihik

Hey, I’m beginning to hate it.

Closure

I often hear the word “closure” and wonder if it also applies to non-love related stuff. My mini Webster’s dictionary defines it simply – the end. Of what, that I do not know.

I’m meeting old friends (high school classmates) this weekend. I’m excited to see them again after 23 years. It’s amazing to be with these ladies again, ladies whom I spent my impish adolescence with. As teenage schoolgirls, we may have had our share of childish disagreements but I believe that the 2 decades that went by must have been long enough to transform us into sensible and mature persons, drowning all differences down the drain. I can’t wait to reconnect with them, and perhaps bond with them too, for the rest of our adult lives.

---

My employment days are already numbered. As expected in project-based jobs, your career is always co-terminus with the life of the projects you are involved in. This is perhaps the downside of being into development work. I have been into this business for the past 12 years, spending most of the latter part of it feeling anxious on my employment stability. Had I known life here would have been this erratic, I probably should have sought out other opportunities early on. But that would be plain immature animosity too. And so as I move on to my employment’s next chapter, I guess the only way to be in place is to yield to this inevitable episode.

The end.

When Life Is About To Begin

At age 10, I remember being free from all care and couldn’t imagine myself being 20. I dig that for a young kid, 20 then meant too old to even think about. A decade later and fresh out of my teens, I turned out feeling like I’ve just been ignited. I had so much fun I wanted to keep the flame without end.

Until I turned 30.

The next 10 years that came seemed to have puffed away the fire in me. I don’t know. I just gradually ran out of creative juices – career-wise, even life-wise. I’m not quite sure about it but I probably spent my 30s dissatisfied. Poorly maintained or should I say, just plain bored. Perhaps middle age rather came early for me.

In 2 months I will be marking my 40th birthday. What’s gonna happen next or how’s it gonna be like, I totally have no idea. I’m quite puzzled because I see 40ish people pretending to be unflustered while others engage their time fighting back their age. I haven’t thought of how to deal with it myself. All I know is that I’m single, broke and silly. Should I consider myself lucky?

Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, Philippine President 2010-2016

My 4th time to vote for Philippine President and my bet finally makes it! (with the exception of the cheating GMA in 2004 of course)

1992 Miriam Defensor-Santiago
1998 Alfredo S. Lim
2004 Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

PS. T’was a first for our family to have the same candidate too!

First Sister

Perhaps the sweetest part of Noynoy's victory is the novelty of having Kris Aquino as the country's very first FIRST SISTER! woohoo!

Apologies to non-Kris believers.

nye-nye-nye-nye-nye!

Election Day

I pity the youth of today for the history they know of is nothing but the absurdities of the past 2 administrations. As (bad) luck would have it, our country’s 13th president was toppled by a people power rerun, succeeded and was convicted for plunder by his more than willing subordinate, only to be freed 7 years after by the same underling who is now herself wedged in the comforts of power. Worst, the plunderer is heedlessly given another chance to dig deeper into our nation’s already insolvent pocket! Thanks to these 8 other voracious individuals: a short-tongued national thief; a suave and dubious bar topnotcher; a swaggering bureaucrat; a man who claims to be God’s entrant; a self-assured environmentalist; a peculiar vegetarian; an unknown with perhaps a good intention; and lastly, another unknown with probably no intentions at all (all equally vying for the country’s highest position) – the humble naturalized hero’s probability of making it in today’s election is extensively reduced to divine intervention.

I pray that we, the Filipino people, will restore genuine history today.

Yellow People

While having our Mother's Day dinner earlier, I noticed each one from the family next to us wearing yellow Noynoy baller IDs. I smiled. The voting people are still commonsensical after all.

Family Bet

Photo from postcardstothemasses.blogspot.com

I just came from an aunt’s birthday party and as usual, the whole gang was in a riot over whose voice would be loudest at the dinner table. Our family (father’s side) basically consists of only 3 branches – my Pa’s, his older sister Nanay Sally’s, and the balikbayan divorcee Tio Poy’s, while their remaining 2 brothers are both at large. Despite the few members from each branch (ours has 11; Nanay has 12; and the solo Tio Poy (though he has 2 American citizen sons based in the US), we are still considered a large family due to corporal issues. (Yeah, most of us are heavily built, predominantly the males.) In all occasions that we gather, there is always a particular subject matter that draws everyone into an exchange of frivolous discussions. Which goes back to my first statement “…riot over whose voice would be loudest at the dinner table”.

With a cousin’s family having just arrived from a hush-hush Hong Kong getaway, their hilarious travel tales were initially the hot topic for the evening. Moving on to alternative cuisines that the boys were so familiar with – ranging from the famous Pasil’s linarang followed by Mabolo’s Highblood Station down to the former A1 (now Parkeville?) and down more to Jugan’s Kandingan. Everyone was in high spirits until they noticed my oversized, yellow Noynoy watch! The cousins, perhaps being in their comfort zone, finally made it obvious they were in favor of money + evil + liar = (God forbid!) Manny Villar. Sadly, they could not seem to grasp why I and the rest of our branch are adherent to Noynoy, in the same manner that our side couldn’t likewise believe they are actually Villar’s disciples. The cousins’ father who happens to be a close associate of Eddie Gullas (a staunch advocate of Villar) even badmouthed Noynoy citing his (Noy’s) plans of signing the RH Bill within his first 100 days in office and of possibly leading another People Power revolution should he lose in the coming elections. Well, I have no problem with both issues. I would rather put up with this reproductive brouhaha than have all whatever wealth our country has left unlawfully get into the hands of the abysmal Villar. Ever since that guy came out on TV wearing his signature tangerine polo shirt, with his adolescent-like tits marking out underneath, I was completely convinced that the man is one person whom you cannot fully trust.

Moreover, the cousin’s young daughters were equally baffled with my choice. These girls belong to Gibo’s minority followers. (Shhh…) They desperately told me, “E, we’d rather have anyone but Noynoy!” I smiled and replied “You’re just saying that because you simply have no idea who Noynoy really is.” “Kay kaila diay mo?” they snapped back at me. And I said, “Nope, but Kris is a close friend!” which brought everybody back to our boisterous laughter once again.

To put an end to our political differences, I finally and earnestly told them “If Noynoy wins, I will treat you all to dinner!” to which the cousins also countered with “Sure! And if Villar wins, we’ll take you all to dinner as well!” Everyone agreed and again, unconsciously got into yet another squabble. This time, who’s taking who to Highblood Station and who’s taking who to Jugan’s Kandingan! Whew! Dakoa namo’g problema oy!

Languor

In 2 weeks’ time I am scheduled to open another work-required exhibit down south. By this point in time, I should already be on my way to the printer, the hardware, and the courier. But I am not.

I have not made a single move in the last 2 months. I wonder what is it that blocks my puny mind just to get myself into a good start.

I have already been into 3 beach getaways for half the summer yet I am still under unquenchable desires of the deep blue sea.

I am running out of time (and reasons too!) on not having set off for this supposedly “highlight” of my already numbered employment days. Perhaps even the miracle I so fervently trust is now fed up with my notable ingenuity on delaying things.

If only I could write a decent article, maybe then I could shift careers.

There I go again.