My Provincial Roots

Going back to Pangasinan, together with my family, long-time-no-see cousins, and wonderful titos and tita (only one tita came along with us) is really a great stress-buster and mind refresher. Away from the smokes of cars, noise of people, stress of
work and study, and hello to the simple life of province. Now for awhile, I will leave my "baggages" in manila, and will take a stress-free break in Pangasinan.

As we were driving along the NLEX, I can already feel the great vacation that we will be having in Pangasinan, aside from not seeing my lolo and lola there, I can’t wait for the yummy, provincial foods that I will devour. Yumyum. The 7 plus hour ride (together with the stop overs) should really be worth it! We drove along the highway of Pampanga and Tarlac. The sceneries that we passed along, especially the farms and fishponds, with matching wonderful weather and great musics in an air-conditioned SUV, and with nuts to munch while traveling is already a great experience, in fact somehow relaxing. Travelling really is fun!

We made a stop to Manaog around 5:30 pm, and we prayed there. They say that Our lady of Manaog is really miraculous. I even offered three candles there but I made more than three wishes. Well I guess, up there they’d understand that I don’t have money to buy some more (kinda lacking on that time). Then I prayed there in the church. The feeling of praying in a church that you haven’t seen yet is wonderful. Funny but it feels like your wishes have hope when it’s first time.

After a long hour ride, we finally got there, to our lola and lolo’s small, humble home. Their house is very simple, just enough for the two of them, and there’s a second floor if guests arrive. I saw lolo and lola, old but yet still full of energy, especially when they saw some visitors after quite some time now.

We call our grandparents mamang and papang. They still remember us, I was surprised that they even guessed our names correctly despite that they haven’t seen us for a very long time, more than a decade. We really felt the warm welcome they’ve given us. Mamang has this soft voice, and very kind character, whenever she speaks. She speaks in a soft, audible manner. Papang on the other hand, is always neat and clean, with applied pumada on his hair. It’s really quite funny. Both of them are very kind and accommodating to us.

I remember them, when I was young I usually don’t mind them at all. They’re just you know, my grandma and my grandpa, but now I don’t know, for some reason I’m very pleased with their lifestyle. Simplicity is what manifested from them. Now I know why their sons and daughters have this characteristic of being kind, accomodating, compassionate, understanding. It is because I see it in them. Papang and mamang really are wonderful souls and have wonderful sons and daughters that they are really proud of, not because of financial prowess, but because papang and mamang made a legacy of good values, which we, with our cousins, see in our parents.

As I saw an old picture of me and mamang when I was like 7 years old posted in an old cabinet, I told myself geesh, time really flies so fast, I’m now 21 years old, graduate nursing student of a prestigious school. I cannot be what I am today if it weren’t for them, and the way they nurtured their offsprings, the values they’ve taught and was passed on to us, I’m thankful, really.

I had a wonderful 3 day vacation in Pangasinan. We ate wonderful delicacies like inihaw na puset, local fishes there (I forgot the name of the fishes), and my favorite, the scrumptious, large, juicy crabs and the wonderful, delicious recipes of papang. We also went to bolinao market, the beach, Manaog, and many beautiful places that I will remember in my entire life. I enjoyed my stay there, together with my family, I had a wonderful, relaxing vacation. It made me look back to the past, to my roots, anddiscovered an inner peace from my get-away vacation.

Simplicity of life, being happy with everything that is given to us, thankful for what is there and what is not, knowing what really matters most, and many more realizations, can be realized more
when you take a break, having a vacation, having a fun time.

We all need pauses, from all sorts of things that seems to be preoccupying us. Going vacation to province, or just simply going out somewhere, together with your family or friends is really a great anti-stress experience. So, don’t hesitate to have one. Go and have one!

Life sure is fun!

Doggie Doggie

Our dog, named lazy, is not lazy! She’s a she, and she’s very playful. When I let go of her chain, she would run wildly, her tail is wiggling playfully, and with a smile on her face. Whenever she saw one of us, she would stand up, wave her paws at us, like a child waiting for someone to play with her. She’s so playful! Without a doubt!

I just hope that she is properly potty trained though, because when she poops, it’s kinda disgusting. Well, I just learned that when you have a dog, you should at least be able to have discipline in the rituals that your dog should need, and that includes walking him/her every morning to have her poop done somewhere so that the poop is properly "pooped". At least let him/her be freed from his/her dog house once in awhile so that he/she will not be too wild when he/she is freed. Anti ticks or flea soaps are very important! Don’t let your dog play on soil because I think, they could contract disease from it, like our previous dog that died, (miss you homie!). Well for more dog tips, just look over the internet.

My dog needs to be trained because she’s so very makulet! But even so, she’s one dog that contributes to the happy aura of our home. I hope she will serve as a good luck charm this year 2008.

Good and Bad. Always come together. Maintains the Balance. The extremes go hand in hand. God, I don’t know what to say. Just look at the picture. It’s a cool picture. Actually I just took it accidentally using the macro feature of my friend’s cam. I was just trying to get a close-up picture of the grass at the sunken garden of UP and this picture was the result of it. It kinda looks cool. It looks like a different version of yang yin, and when you look through it, kinda looks like a mirror. Cool!

Simple Things

I woke up today… thinking that it’s the 24^th of December, and we are going to our lola’s house… It’s already a tradition for us to go there every 24^th of December and have Noche Buena, exchange gifts, and Aguinaldo… I’m quite excited coz I’m gonna receive again money from my relatives and family… I went out, and cook breakfast for my sister and my niece… I cooked 2 eggs and 4 cheesedogs… then I ate together with my sister and niece… washed the dishes… then chill… went outside, and noticed that it’s a beautiful semi-sunny day (don’t know the proper term for this…)… I really had a simple start on this day… I tried not to think of my weaknesses and my problems in the past… I tried not to think too much… I just want to live as for the moment… and I feel somehow a sense of stillness in my mind by living life as simple as it should be…

I realized that we all have a choice whether we should be stuck with the memories of our past… or with the monsters of our minds that we ourselves created… or with the fears that we keep on thinking… we do all have choices… and it’s up to us what choices we should make… we are often engulfed by our powerful minds with fears that we ourselves created, and somehow we lose sight of the reality… we forget to live our lives… and we are totally focused on it… but hey, we have a choice… we have our choices, we have our loved ones, we have everything that we need and should be thankful for. Simple things that we often take for granted… We should always remember that we only have one life to live… and we should not waste our time thinking too much… we all have our own demons to deal with… let’s deal with it by being more powerful
and wiser than the demons we ourselves created.

I read something in a blog that says… “The quest for inner peace is often blocked by fear. Have none and clarity will appear” and I will always remember this for it will be of great
help for me, and for everyone…