My Journeys

Monday, November 8, 2010

Fun at HSBC Fun Run November 06, 2010


The feeling of having completed the HSBC 3k Fun Run which my wife and I joined was truly exhilarating. When I arrived at the finish line at gallop speed, I felt I had finally accomplished something challenging in my life. That exhilarating feeling continues to burn within me even while I’m typing this down.

The 3k Run was truly lots of fun for me and my wife and she too was surprised at herself because she never thought she would not be able to finish the run. While I was running along with the other participants, I felt as if I was a wolf running along with the pack. I could not remember a single time I felt pain or tiredness in my limbs. I guessed we really prepared well for this run.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Christmas and New Year of My Childhood

     The days of Christmas that I always cherish are those times I spent Christmas helping out in our fruit store in Quiapo. My brothers, sister, and cousins who happen to have a fruit store beside ours had lots of fun selling fruits, calling out to customers to come and buy fruits from us, and getting the customers' payment and handing them their change. Our aunt who owned the store would always cook sumptuous lunch and dinner for us and our helpers. The fruit racks would overflow with apples, oranges, pears and grapes. The only time that things would quiet down was after lunch. The din would pick up again around 3:00 in the afternoon and carry on until midnight. The mayor allows street hawkers to have the street for themselves during the Christmas season. We took advantage of this to have boxes of apples, oranges, and other fruits stacked on top of each other. I was usually the cashier and being young, I felt excited about handling bundles of bills when it came time for my uncle and aunt to count the sale for the day. The above mentioned scene was the same during New Year's Eve. At around 11:00 in the evening, we would start packing things up and the entire clan would celebrate New Year in our home in Mandaluyong. There was plenty of food on the table and almost all the Filipino dishes that you could think of are on that table. As the hour of the New Year appraoches, we would start exploding firecrackers and make a lot of noise once the clock strikes 12 midnight. After the noise has died down, I would lead the entire clan in saying the rosary as our way of thnking the heavens for a wonderful year.
     One funny thing that I can't foreget about celebrating the New Year at home was when my uncles tried out a new way of roasting chicken. They pushed a stake through the chicken and stood it upright befoire covering it with a metal drum. During the first attempt, the chicken turned into ash. The following year, my uncles got it right. I also remember the that time when my cousin stuffed too many firecrackers in the pockets of his shorts. To his surprise and our amusement, the firecrakers in his pockets exploded.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

What I Miss About the 1970’s and the 1990’s


1.       With a salary of 200 php a month, you could already purchase home appliances and furniture sets.
2.       One hundred pesos will have you leaving the supermarket with 2 paper bags full of grocery items.
3.       Bomba films (though I never got to watch any of those starring Rosanna Ortiz, Scarlet, and Stella Suarez)
4.       Afternoon cartoon shows like The Super Friends, Batman and Robin, Superman, Yogi Bear, Shazam, Spy Shadow, the Herculoids, Moby Dick, and Mightor and morning cartoons like Popeye and Gumby and Pokey
5.       Prenoontime shows like Cafeteria Aroma starring Apeng Daldal
6.       The evening radio programs of Johnny de Leon and Ngongo (Ba’ang Ma’amis!), Ben David’s Dr. Horror, radio programs of Inday Badiday, Ike Lozada, Helen Vela, Espie Fabon, Eddie Ilarde, and Eddie Ilagan
7.       Playing “turumpo” , “teks (cards which are like cut up comic strips), “agawang base”, “habulan”, and “taguan”
8.       Racing Popsicle sticks with designs        
9.       Lips and Tweet candies
10.   The slides, swings, and seesaws at the back of the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta Park.
11.   The sight of the double deck buses passing by Rizal Park.
12.   Watching movies at State, Ideal, and Universal theatres along Rizal Avenue or Avenida
13.   Swimming at the beach near Baclaran Church( when it was not yet a reclaimed area)
14.   Real balanced programming of Channels 2, 7 9, and 13 meaning English TV shows are shown along with Filipino shows.
15.   TV shows like Combat, SWAT, Charlie’s Angels, The Twilight Zone, Free Spirit, Alf, the Working Girl, The Champions, UFO, the Gemini Man, Little House on the Prairie, and The Six Million Dollar Man.
16.   Filipino TV comedy shows like Ang Biyenan Kong Mangkukulam, Ginang Milyonarya, Si Tatang Kasi, Si Tatang Sa.., Mana Mana, My Son My Son, John and Marsha, Super Laff-in,  Plaza 1899, Padre de Pamilya, and Kuwentong Kutsero.
17.   Filipino TV suspense shows like Ang Mahiwagang Daigdig ni Doray, Gabi ng Lagim, Limbo, and Malikmata
18.   Filipino action and fantasy TV shows like Ora Engkantada, Monza, and Apollo at Kidlat
19.   Johnny Hero action figure which you can dress up in different sports gear.
20.   The sights and sounds of Quinta market during the Christmas Season.
21.   Jingle Magazine
22.   Big number of bands during the Quiapo Fiesta
23.   Family gathering during the New Year at our home in Mandaluyong
24.   Family excursion and swimming at Pansol, the original resort with red rocks on the bottom of the pool and hot steam at one side of the pool for old people.
25.   Bruce Lee movies
26.   Family gathering in Pakil, Laguna for the Turumba festival.
27.   Going up Mount Ping-as in Pakil, Laguna with my brothers, sister, and cousins and having a picnic at the top of the mountain.
28.   Family Visita Iglesia
29.   Fiesta Carnival
30.   Magnolia ice cream in canisters with dry ice at the bottom
31.   Animated Christmas display at COD and at San Miguel Brewery near Malacanang
32.   Attending the Apalit festival and waiting by the riverside for the image of Apong Iro on a boat to pass by.
33.   TV Times magazine
34.   Buying 45 rpm records
35.   Shell Action Transfers. You rubbed images from sticker sheets onto backgrounds like the sky, the jungle, field ,and battleship
36.   Going with Papa to Avenida to buy new clothes for Christmas
37.   Tagalog comic books like Aliwan, Happy, Pinoy Klasiks, and Wakasan
38.   The skating rink with a lighted globe in its center and the dancing fountains with music at Luneta Park.
39.   Driving my go kart on our driveway.
40.   Clubhouse 9 with Tito Pepe Pimentel on channel 9 and Uncle Bob on channel 7

Monday, October 18, 2010

My First 3K Run

    
    I never really intended to run in a 3k race. Joining the 3k run was wife's idea who suddenly got interested in the sport after finding out that she could jog in spite the fact that she was almost as heavy as I am. I had to thank her doctor for spurring her on to exercise after she underwent a "raspa" operation because the walls of her uterus became too thick which caused her to menstruate heavily. Doc told her to exercise and lose some weight. When my wife decided to get on with her exercise program, we intended to play badminton at the complex of the Rizal Capitol building. After getting off the jeep and crossing the street, we were shocked to see that it had been levelled to the ground. We haven't been to the capitol for quite some time. So what to do? We decided to brisk walk through the Ortigas area. She enjoyed it so much that we resolved to do it every Sunday. We also tried new sites like the newly built park in Ayala in Makati. Walking eventually progressed to jogging and to my surprise, I found out I could run for 1K while listening to my music playing on my MP3 player. I was suprise to hear her say that she would join a 3K race and I thought I was only dreaming.

     And then came October 10, there we were. By the way I was the only one who ran because she wanted to gauge how long 3K was. I was a bit disappointed though because most of the people there, particularly oldies and students taking up NSTP decided to just walk. But nevertheless, it was a wonderful first for me.

     We will be running again in a 3K race sponsored by HSBC. Hope everybody runs.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Waking Up in the Morning Is already a Miracle in Itself

     A lot of people nowadays still look for miracles in order for them to beleive that there really is a God who watches over us. They wish that God would send down manna from heaven, make water spring from a rock, or make fishermen haul in netfuls of fish just like what He did in the stories of the Bible. But don't they realize that God still continues to perform a miracle in a person's life every morning? When you open your eyes every morning, that itself is a miracle because there are a lot of people who don't make it through the night. What else can you ask for?