lost interest

in the mountain...

guy: 'join us...'

me: 'huh?!'

he points to a radio: 'we do radio...'

me: 'oh... i won't be able to take pics if i'm holding a radio...'

guy: 'it doesn't have to be now...'

me: 'i come here only thrice a year...'

guy: 'it can be done in manila...'

uhm... i don't have a radio.. and i don't intend to buy one... not anymore.

there was a time i used to want to take it up -- yearS back. a friend and i were talking then and i somehow mentioned it to him and, ta-daaan! could you imagine, it turned out he was heavily into it. he even showed me his cards. plus he gave me a book. for a while i was trying to memorize alpha, bravo, charlie, delta and this and that code. i got too busy, however, and i wasn't able to pursue it. i've forgotten about it. now i'm reminded again. i'm not interested anymore though.

yes, it's true... some things you really have to cultivate otherwise they'd wither and die.

lingering goodbye

night out with fam...

eat, eat, eat...  talk, talk, talk...  laugh, laugh, laugh...  eat, talk, laugh...  eat, talk, laugh...

and then, 'let's go!'

me:  'you're leaving, auntie?'

aunt:  'yes...'

me:  'wait...  i have something for you in the car...  i'll just get it...'

aunt:  'where are you parked?'

me:  'just there...  on the second floor...'

aunt:  'you can give it next time...'

me:  'you'll still be saying goodbyes, right?'

aunt:  'yes...'

me:  'ok...  i'll give it now...  i'll just get it...'

aunt:  'we'll wait for you?'

me:  'yes...'

so i went up to the car and got my gift...

when i got back, the group was still animatedly talking and laughing and talking and laughing...  it still took a whiiiillllleeee before the group went up to leave...  and it took another loooong while before the goodbye kisses were done...

me:  'see, auntie...  i knew the goodbyes will take long...'

another aunt chuckles:  'how did you know?'

me:  'i've been with this family since birth...  i should know by now...'

; )

stretch

family get-together...  aunt handed out gifts to those she missed last time...

'happy mother's day'...  'happy mother's day'...

when it came to me, suddenly it was just 'happy day' ->  because i'm not a mother...  : }

oh, well...  without sons or daughters there won't be mothers...  indulge me and allow me to take partial credit for making my mom a mom...  ; )

nyahaha...  the things you come up with to justify receiving a gift...  ;"p

something better

driving along katipunan checking out where we could grab a bite...

my sister initially wanted food camp but at the last minute said she wanted to try sandwicheese...  by that time, we were already right beside the place and i didn't want to make a sharp and abrupt turn (there were vehicles behind me)...

i proceeded to bonny serrano intending to go back to katipunan...  my sister, however, said we could just head to metrolane...  ok...  there, we ate at mang inasal, checked out lotsa pizza, bought cakes at goldilocks plus mcflurry and fries at mcdonald's...

i skipped a turn and suddenly we were on a food trip...  : D

you don't really miss things...  you simply head to something better...  : )

flesh and blood

i, uhm, see ghosts...  no big deal to me...

in the car with my mom...  backing up...

me:  'why is that girl over there?'

mom:  'where?'

me:  'there...  at the back...'

mom:  'where?'

me:  'there...  walking...'

mom:  'there's no one...'

me:  'you don't see that???'

mom:  'none...'

me:  'is that a ghost???'

mom:  'huh?!  where?  oh...  there!'

whew!

confidence

me:  'he's pretty, huh!'
->  yup, physically male...

sister:  'prettier than us...'

me:  'just you!'

; )

buyer vs. seller

last month, someone asked me a favor.  she wanted to buy a phone and she wanted it charged on installment to my credit card.

ok.

she was the one who chose the phone (like mine and my sister's).  i was the one who bought it in the store.

now the phone is so unlike her old one.  the new one is qwerty.  it is android.  it is touch.

guess what, two days into having the phone, she thought it was defective and bugged me.  so the following weekend, go back to the store we did.  well, ' turns out there's nothing wrong with the phone.  it simply wasn't 'behaving' the way her old phone did...  : }

from the start, i told her my phone battery lasts only a little over a day.

she had said then it's ok.

well, for over a month now, she's been intermittently bringing up the battery.  she keeps on comparing it to the much longer life of her old phone's battery.  i always tell her my phone battery also actually doesn't last for days especially when i do mobile web.  well, this morning i received a text message from her asking whether the battery is not defective.

ugh!

note to self:

next time, decline anyone who requests to buy a gadget through your card.  there is the possibility of lines being blurred and you being viewed not just as a mere buyer but an actual supplier expected to render after-sales support on the gadget.

sorry but i've long decided i would choose my battles and exercise my options.

a message to a young lady

attended my niece / goddaughter's debut... i was one of her 18 guiding stars... sharing my message:

happy birthday. you're 18 now, officially an adult... : )

you know, there are certain things that are excusable, understandable when done by young people but not so when done by adults. adulthood supposedly equates with maturity... well, supposedly... ; )

i'd just like to say, whatever age you are, i hope you'll always retain the little girl in you.

now in our life's journey, we really can't avoid falls. but as they say, fall down seven times, get up eight.

let me end by saying, life is not fair... but God is good all the time.

happy birthday... ♡

inappropriate

we had a family get-together yesterday (may 15, international day of families)...  prayers, food-food-food, zumba, a bit of yoga, jokes, stories, singing, dancing, swimming, picture-picture-picture...  : )

'twas a day of fun and laughter, uhm, tarnished (just a teenie-weenie bit) by someone bumping my uncle's ***parked*** car.  'twould have been forgettable except for the driver's behavior...  : }

when we saw the cars, everyone was like, 'how did that happen???  where'd she come from???'  you have a wide road, double-parked on each side, and for some reason, her car ended up perpendicular to both cars and road traffic (yup, as in blocking the street) hitting my uncle's headlight...  you have three cars forming an angular letter U, her car the one in the middle...  baffling...

so people were looking and checking and wondering and she comes out of her car going, 'okay, how much is it?!  i'll pay...  how much?!!!'  i think had she not been female she would have heard quite a bit from my uncle...

anyway, the issue was not that she bumped my uncle's car...  the issue was this woman (i can't get myself to call her a lady) was so clearly in the wrong and she was the one arrogant and angry.  oh, please...

there are a lot of times you can be angry, when you are wrong isn't one of them.

let me try again

family get-together...  videoke...  cousin sang and got 95...

me:  'wow!  you're in second place!'

cousin:  'oh?'

me:  'yup...  the ranking's on the right...'

cousin:  'but i want to be on top...'

me:  'aw!  i said that to make you happy...'

cousin:  'it's ok...  that means i have to sing another song...'

; )

like father, like daughter

i cooked rice the other day...  it turned out soggy  <-  too much water...  : }

today, my dad said he'll be the one to cook...  guess what, it turned out watery as well...  : }

now i know where i got my cooking skills, uhm, lack of it...  ; )

longevity

saw a post saying that the reason we now have month-saries is because relationships don't anymore last long enough for an anniversary...  aw!  : }

reminded me of something i saw on tv...  so this contestant was asked how long she (or maybe he...  'twas quite a while back i don't really remember that part anymore...) and her (his?) partner have been together...

the reply:  '10 years...'

the female host was impressed...

well, one of the male hosts said it's easy to last 10 years  ->  just see each other once a year...

; )

die happy

my sister saw a, uhm, rat (ugh!) in my parents' place...  to catch it, my other sister grilled some bread last night and used it as a bait in the rat cage / mouse trap...  this evening she saw that it has remained untouched...

my sister said she's going to replace last night's bait with newly-grilled bread and cheese...

aw!  i like grilled cheese but the fact that she's prepping one for a mouse has made me lose my appetite for it...  : }

oh, well...  let the rodent have it...  at least, 'twill leave life full...  ; )

no sweat

my dad is not a flowers kind of guy.  (well, one time he did give my mom roses  ->  live ones, as in, potted roses...  yup, in soil and you have to water.)

today is mother's day and my sister-in-law gave my mom a bouquet of flowers...

dad:  'i also gave mom a rose...'

sister:  'just one?'

dad:  'yes...'

sister:  'oh...  so it's the one in the living room...'

dad:  'maybe...'

sister:  'where'd you get it?'

dad:  'in church...'

sister:  'huh?!'

dad:  'we were attending mass and i saw baskets full of roses...  i asked the boy what they're for...  he said they're giving it away to mothers...  so i told him to give one to my wife, the one in white...'

uhm...  ok...  sweet...  ; )

i don't know, i don't buy

checking out pantyhose...  there's a pack that says '3-in-1'...  description is in  chinese...

me:  'what is the 3-in-1 here?  panty?  hose?  what else?'

salesman chuckles and mutters he really isn't sure...

me:  'hehe...  stockings?  but isn't that the same as hose?  or does it mean there are three pieces inside this pack?'

salesman:  'maybe not, ma'am...  isn't it when you say 3-in-1 there's only one?'

me:  'oh...  you're right...'

hmmm...  hmmm...  hmmm...  i moved on to merchandise i could understand...  ; )

feeling famous

dinner at a restaurant with my mom, my aunts, my sister-in-law, my cousins and my niece.  as we were leaving, the owner pulled me aside:  'i'm going to show you something...'

me:  'what?'

owner:  'over there...'

me:  'i'm the driver, i have to go...'

owner:  ''twill be quick...'

ok...

well, we went over to this table and he showed me the nameplate on a chair:  'you know who this is?'

me:  'john lloyd cruz?  yes...  the actor...'

he pointed to the chair beside it...

owner:  'this one...'

me:  'bea alonzo?  yes...  you should put my name there, too:  cynthia <last name>...'

toinks!!!  ; )

yours

mom hands me a skirt...

me:  'that's too big...'

she checks it...

mom:  'hmmm...  who's fat?'

then she herself replied:  'me!'

and she tried on the skirt...

; )

she liked it

i pick up my mom...  as she entered the car, i handed her an ice cream bar...

mom:  'i'm full...'

me:  'just have a bit...'

mom:  'i'll just eat it at home...'

me:  'that melts easily...  best to eat now...'

mom:  'let's share...'

me:  'i'm done...  i bought that for you...'

mom:  'it's too big...'

me:  'just eat what you can then i'll finish what's left...'

after a while...

mom:  'it's too sweet...'

me:  'haha...  you've eaten half and only now do you complain that's it's sweet?'

mom:  'i already noticed earlier...'

me:  'you don't have to finish that...  try the other one...  <nephew> prefers it...  it has caramel...'

mom:  'i like this...  it has a lot of nuts...'

ok...  by the time we parked, she has finished the whole thing...

'full' and 'too big,' huh!  ; )

i do it for you

my mom plays the stock market through a human broker...  i dabble in it online...

just to show her how fast and easy it is to do it online, i told her to watch as i sell this stock.  i matched the lowest bid price so 'twill be a sure go (otherwise the sale might take a while).  ok.  code, quantity, price.  password.  submit order.  in just a matter of seconds, my shares were sold.  general details of my transaction appeared with the real-time trading data onscreen.

me:  'see...  that's me...  those are my shares they sold...'

suddenly i notice that my mom is not beside me anymore  ->  she stood up to send a text message!  she didn't see!

me:  'mommmm!!!  the only reason i sold at that price is so you would see and then you left?!'

good thing i don't feel strongly about that stock...  :"}

higher

mom to saleslady:  'are you the princess's sister?'

the saleslady just smiled...

mom:  'princess used to be the one here...  are you sisters?'

saleslady:  'cousins...'

then later in the car, my mom suddenly remembered that the other girl's name is 'queenie' not 'princess.'

; )

we can have it all

at vista's art space and cafe in pakil, laguna...  my mom wanted to order roast chicken sandwich...

me:  'why that?  their specialty's monte cristo...'

mom points to the picture on the menu:  'it looks delicious...'

me:  'up to you...  me, when i go to a place, i like to order whatever their specialty is...'

mom:  'then i'll get both the chicken sandwich and the monte cristo...'

; )

pure energy

brother says he saw a colleague running when he biked to a neighboring town last holy week...

me: 'why was he running?'

brother: 'he runs regularly... he does 30K...'

mom: 'how's that? he goes back and forth?'

brother: 'when i saw him he ran 30K one-way and then he took a ride going home...'

me: 'why didn't he just run 15K-15K to and fro so he wouldn't have to take a ride going back?'

just a suggestion... : )

pure energy

brother says he saw a colleague running when he biked to a neighboring town last holy week...

me: 'why was he running?'

brother: 'he runs regularly... he does 30K...'

mom: 'how's that? he goes back and forth?'

brother: 'when i saw him he ran 30K one-way and then he took a ride going home...'

me: 'why didn't he just run 15K-15K to and fro so he wouldn't have to take a ride going back?'

just a suggestion... : )

young at heart

'dyesebel' (tv series about a mermaid) on tv...

dad to mom: 'it is kids who watch that, right? fairy tale...'

mom nods then adds: 'me, too...'

; )