afterlife

my parents put lemon on their water.  i see the pitcher daily.  sometimes all the slices are floating on top.  sometimes they're all down below.  other times some are up; some, down.

today, i saw a lemon slice in the process of sinking to the bottom...  : }

i walked into their dining area and noticed the pitcher of water on the table.  ta-daan!  one of the slices started to slowly sink from the top to the bottom.  uh-oh, suddenly my head felt swollen!

i'm sure their lemon slices have sunk to the bottom countless times.  had i seen it before it wouldn't matter at all.  but these recent days are no ordinary days.  an uncle just so unexpectedly passed away.  suddenly people are wondering whether there's more to things than meets the eye.

a door closed.
was he the one who closed it?

a light was on.
was he the one who turned it on?

something fell.
was he making his presence felt?

there's a butterfly near the car.
was that him?

there's a fly in the room.
could it be him?

me:  'even a fly?!'

aunt:  'they could come in any form.'

waaahhh!

special prayers for my uncle.

may his soul rest in peace.

getting it right

handed someone a tape measure asking her to measure this thing's height and its circumference.  i wasn't sure whether she knew what circumference was so i repeated it making a circular motion with my hand.

she comes back to me saying both are 10".

really?  hmmm...

i quickly went back to my mom who relayed the information to a cousin over the phone.

but then i felt really uneasy thinking a circumference of 10" seems too small for what i saw.

i told my mom not to hang up yet as i'll have to confirm something.

i went back to the one who measured and asked whether the circumference was really also 10".  i told her circumference was the size of the circle, again making a circular motion with my hand.

reply:  'oh...  10" is the width.  also the height.'

ooops...  was that thing a square dimension-wise?  it looked to me more like rectangular in proportion.

i had it measured again with me watching.

height, 9".
circumference, 19.5".

delegation is good but sometimes supervision is better.

recipient

mom and aunts browsing a photobook i gave an uncle who recently passed away.

mom:  'when did you make this?'

me:  'a couple of years back.  the pictures there are 2013 pics though...'

mom:  'i've never seen this...'

aunt:  'me, too. i've never seen it...'

me:  'hehe...  it was my gift for <uncle>...  he's the one who's supposed to see it not you...'

; p

i love you, goodbye

my mom and i were at U.P. Town Center last june 3.  i don't go there that often and was i surprised to learn that Cafe Shibuya, 8 Cuts
and Dulcelin Gourmet have all closed down.  ugh!

then yesterday my brother and i were at Petron near della strada in katipunan.  guess what, Royal Piccadilly has also closed down!

some good things never last...

Holy Eucharist

i went to mass as usual yesterday.  then at a wake later, there was mass again.  different places but same priest!  ->  the one who usually celebrates the sunday mass i attend regularly.

i've already received Holy Communion in the earlier mass and ignorant me didn't know whether you're allowed to take more than one in a day.  to be safe, i abstained.  i wasn't sure whether the priest would recognize me but i was afraid if he did and you're supposed to have only one then he might not give me a host when i show up on the queue...  :"(

anyway, after the mass, i approached the priest.  and yes, he said he recognized me.  i asked whether you can take communion more than once in a day.

he replied you're actually supposed to take communion every time you attend mass as it completes the mass for you.

ouch!  so my second mass was incomplete!
<sigh>

i know better now...

trash it

i have a new bag.  an aunt gave it to me.

background:

my favorite faded denim bag on my shoulder.

aunt:  'what's your bag?'

me:  'giordano.  i bought this in hong kong.'

aunt:  'i'll give you a new one.'

wahahahaha...  i thought she liked it!

;"p

get it done

at an uncle's wake last night, the son-in-law placed a tarpaulin pic on an easel, folding the upper part of the tarp to follow the triangular shape of the easel.

an aunt and i were at the back of the room and i told my aunt:  'the pic should be straight.  they should put a horizontal bar on top so it won't be pointed.'

aunt:  'yes...  just like in a flip chart board...'

and that was it.

a couple of hours later, the brothers-in-law arrived.  upon seeing the folded/pointed pic, one of them summoned help to fix it.  they taped a cardboard on top and the pic was now fully displayed the way it should be.

me to aunt:  'look at that, auntie.  we saw it and we just pointed out what should be done.  he saw it and he himself did something about it.'

my aunt and i had a sheepish chuckle.

i related the story to our other relatives.  another aunt cited the supposed three types of people in the world:
1.  those who make things happen.
2.  those who watch things happen.
3.  those who wonder what happened.

wahaha...

ei, if it's any consolation, at least we knew what should happen...  ;")

then this afternoon, i noticed that one of the siblings' names in the row of flowers hang in an opposite direction from the rest.  i removed it then taped it back in the correct direction.

later when i was chatting with a cousin, i told her the two stories saying it was her dad's name i fixed the second time around.

she teases me:  'you learn quickly, huh!'

me:  'haha...  yes...  and i learn my lessons well.'

; p

clue

not sure whether someone passed away monday or tuesday.  they say maid last able to enter place to bring food monday.

me:  'was the food eaten?  if yes, he was still alive monday.'

reply:  'oh...  no one noticed...'

then check...

loss and gain

i posted a throwback pic in facebook last thursday.  a friend then commented my cheeks were plump, ahahaha...

i replied the pic was from 1991 yet and i'm already thin now.

four days later i posted a photo from april 2016 (uhm...  yup, my uploads are over a year late).  guess what, a cousin comments i'm fat!  ahahahahaha...

i remained overweight after all?

well, that's so so there'd be more of me to love...  ; p

perspective

posted pics of the interment of cousins' ashes in the province.

their sister remarked she was too tunnel-visioned at the time she didn't notice that many people showed up to show their sympathy.

yup, when you're in the middle of something, it is easy to miss the big picture.  you have to stand back to see the forest for the trees.

threshold

sister saying the seamstress erroneously sewed the wrong piping to her uniform.  the one for blouse 1 was instead attached to blouse 2.  this in spite of the fact that she provided colored photos for reference.

i remember the same seamstress also switched the materials for my uniforms before.  the cloth for the blouse, she used for the skirt.  the cloth for the skirt, she used for the blouse.  i did provide her with sketches that time.  that was around 20 years ago.

if she's been sewing that long i guess it's understandable that she has committed mistakes.  i wonder how often it happens though.

some things are acceptable every once in a while but not on a frequent basis.

goodbye

we don't have a dog.  my dad didn't want to get one because it might bite.  my brother was bitten by one when we were young.

nevertheless, there was a dog within our property lines everyday for years.  it's the neighbor's dog.  my dad, my brother and i cleaned its poop.  we doused its pee.

then earlier this month, i was surprised that there was no dog within our premises anymore.  i could easily get out of our gate without having to be cautious about stepping on a tail (we have recessed gates and the dog liked to linger right beside the gates:  the front, the side, my parents').

i thought the neighbor at long last decided to keep it within their place.

then i learned that actually it had passed away.  aw!

the dog is finally really home.

may it rest in peace.

all for one

saw a jersey printed with a friend's favorite on a display window...

me:  'how much is that jersey in the window?'

storekeeper:  'P1,200...'

me:  'oh...  good...'

storekeeper:  'minimum order is for one team.'

me:  'aw!  how many in a team?  five?'

storekeeper:  'twelve.'

me:  'twelve?!'

pass...

qualities

saw a road sign...

me:  'there's little baguio here?  cold?'

brother:  'zigzag...'

oh...  okay...  ; )

disconnect

mom chatting with someone...

mom:  'you say you're ten, four have died.  how come in your list there's still seven?  should be only six.'

reply:  'because two are twins.'

me:  'what has that got to do with death?  twins don't really die at the same time, do they?'

: }

a pleasure to be with

sister-in-law giving me their ice cream yesterday.

i was full so i declined.

then this morning i remembered it and asked whether they still have it.

she said yes.

i asked whether i could have it.

she said sure, she'll bring it to me.

i said i'll just get it.

then i again got engrossed with Sweet Home 3D (wahaha...  i've spent days switching the height of my gates to and fro) i forgot about the ice cream...

guess what, late afternoon my nephew knocks on the door with the ice cream tub.  he says his mom (my sister-in-law) sent it for me.

awww...  so sweet and thoughtful...

i am so happy and thankful to have such people around...  : )

everything's fine

had a sandwich then washed my plate.  i saw a canister on the sink so i washed it as well.

i went upstairs, did stuff on my laptop, then after a while craved some sweets.

i went downstairs then again noticed a canister on the sink.

me:  'oh!  i thought i've washed that...'

mom:  'that's a different one...  i finished it again...'

i glanced at the table and saw that instead of three canisters of popcorn there was just now one.

ahahaha...  so it's not my memory...  it's my mom's appetite...  ; p

time's up

i was walking out our street when i noticed an unusual number of people on the main road.  their eyes were toward the condominium across our house.

i also saw at least three men in blue.  initially, i mistook them for police but they turned out to be MMDA personnel.

then on the sidewalk in front of the condominium, i saw my former classmate who is a resident there.

i cheerfully greeted her then asked, 'how come there's police?  [MMDA actually]  what's going on?'

my classmate blurts out:  'they're towing my car!'

eh?!

then i noticed that the usually vehicle-filled sidewalk was clear and there was her lone car in front of the condominium.  part of the car was parked within the condominium's property lines while part protruded to the sidewalk.

then the tow truck started to move.

my classmate frantically went, 'just a moment!  just a moment!'

as she talked to someone on the phone, i asked the MMDA personnel beside us:  'how come you're still towing when the driver is already here?'

MMDA personnel:  'the 5 minutes is up.  we waited for five minutes.  actually, we notified yesterday yet.  today the car is still here.'

me:  'oh...  so it's just 5 minutes?  i know you have to sound a siren or something...'

my classmate says she did not receive any notice.

anyway, the car was towed.  my classmate told me she had to pay P2,000 in addition to the hassle of going through heavy traffic to get to the MMDA impounding area.  she said she had to get the car right away lest the towers bring it to the MMDA in tarlac.

ouch!

i like to say everyone deserves a second chance but not a third.

in this case, you're warned on day 1 then you're towed on day 2.

i guess for some things you have to set things right immediately otherwise it will cost you.

dilemma

girl in front of me had her pants unzipped.  her blouse was long but it was sheer so you could still see the open zipper through the cloth.

i wanted to call her attention but then she was on the heavy side and i didn't know whether she intentionally left it open because closing it would press on her tummy.  instead of saving her from embarrassment i just might end up embarrassing her myself.

i was weighing my options then her companions arrived.  oh, okay.  i'll leave it to them.

those who are close to you are better suited to inform you about certain things.

what's your name?

applying for a rewards card.  i put my maiden name in the application form.

then the assisting personnel asked for an ID.  i gave her one.

ooops, i saw her entering my married name on the computer.  she based it on my ID!

me;  'ay!  don't use <married name>!  use the one i wrote on the form.  that's my maiden name.'

legally i'm still married so my government-issued IDs and other official documents still have my married name.  this is just a rewards card though.  i think it's okay to use my maiden name.  that's still me anyway.  i could produce proof if necessary.

there's a horse with no name (hello, america.  hehe).

there are even people who do not know their real name and end up borrowing someone else's.

me, i have one too many names.

indeed a world of contrasts we have.

discern

received a text message from a friend asking whether i'm going to this place at the usual time...

i replied i'm going evening instead as i am on a lunch out...

then she asked:  'why did you close?'

huh?!

me:  'what?'

friend:  'that's for my brother.  he closed the door.'

oh, haha...  i kinda knew it wasn't for me...

if only other things were as obvious as well...

thinking of you

we were at the waiting area of this restaurant...  a middle-aged lady saw my much older dad standing and offered him her seat...  the gentleman that my dad is refused and insisted the lady remain seated...

then one of the staff, seeing standing customers, brought in more chairs...

so nice to be in the midst of thoughtful and considerate people...  may their kindness return to them a hundredfold...  : )

image

so someone brought up this picture that i posted in facebook last march.  it's a photo showing trash right under a sign that says, "PLS. DO NOT THROW YOUR GARBAGE HERE."  beside that is a van parked right next to this sign that says, "PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK THE DRIVEWAY."

both the trash and the van belong to the same household.  both the trash and the van were on an alley that is public property.  it's not like i went inside someone's house and took a picture of their trash.  it's not like i went into someone's garage and took a picture of their vehicle.  i took a picture of something in plain view at a public place.

the woman of the house asked whether i posted the photo to shame them.

eh?  she finds it shameful?  then why do it at all?  repeatedly at that.  were they doing it knowing it is shameful or were they suddenly ashamed only because it came out in social media?

the sight is right along the way of at least five houses.  unless you don't leave your house, there is no way you cannot not pass it.

if you have no qualms about treating your neighbors and anyone else who passes there to the sight then why suddenly turn bashful when the view appears on facebook?

i ran out of patience that day so i posted the pic.  i actually have so much more i've never posted.  (i take pics of anything and everything.  i've been like that for years.)  if it shames anyone then that is incidental.

should i have been considerate enough to suppress the pic?  well, these people have been inconsiderate for years.  they should be able to take what they dish.

you do something brazen in public don't suddenly turn coy and expect it to be kept private.

try again

i've been targeting to blog every single day for one year.  i was hoping this year is gonna be it.

actually, i've already missed a few but not really because the past midnight posts were supposed to be for the previous day.  posting just got delayed because:
1.  my connection was slow.
2.  my verification code came late and i don't have access to my backup codes.
3.  i suddenly had to attend to something else.

well, last night i really missed it.  i dunno why but i was sooo sleepy.  i came home around 4:30 p.m. and jumped in bed.  then i was awakened by knocks on my door calling me to dinner.  i didn't get up.  next thing i know, it was already morning!

now i again have to move my target to next year.

there is a next time.  some just take too long.