G Spot

236           2020                                                         20200105 On New Year’s Day, my brother-in-law Jojo and his daughter Jam brought me with them to visit a lot their family purchased eight years ago at Amiya Raya Highland Homes adjacent to Banyan Ridge at Timberland Heights by Filinvest in San Mateo, Rizal. It was a panoramic view at the top, overlooking Taguig on the southern side, and perhaps Bulacan, on the northern end. Beyond is the West Philippine Sea, a thin line between the vast blue sky and the humongous human infrastructure below it. Not much green cover is seen from this vantage point, except for the fact that where I stood, the ...

235           CHRISTMAS 2019                         20191231 It was the first Christmas that I did not buy much. The credit cards were unhappy. All throughout the year, I bought some things here and there, and found there was enough to distribute to my nephews and nieces. I only wrapped a few, and decided to give the “naked” gifts away. There was no more time to contemplate on the wrapping, as I was already in the kitchen, cooking adobo, pansit sotanghon and tinolang manok. Jam brought fried chicken. My niece Jam and I were going to spend noche buena with my sister Emma at Filinvest. It was the most practical choice considering the distance from where we both lived, and also because it was close enough to the hospitals, in case my colds turn from bad to worse, or her asthma will be induced by allergy to some foo...

234           ANDREA                                         20191225 Like any overseas Filipino worker (OFW), she had a hard life in Singapore. Being a member of the band is not an easy job, even when the pay is better compared to the Philippines. The pay is better, but not enough, especially if your parents and siblings have demands, for the daily sustenance and education. So she took odd jobs here and there, sometimes posing for photographers, and having been exposed to this crowd, developed a sense of liking for it. Photography gave her a respite from the daily grind. She took photos of street life, faces of strangers and flowers. She loved the moments when all she focused on was an object other than herself. At night however, sh...

232           SINGLE BLESSEDNESS               20191209 I am not surprised that people have a certain curiosity about single persons. But I am surprised at some of the questions asked about them in the academe. Here is a list of the questions sent by a student as part of their academic requirements (quoted verbatim): 1. Please share your experiences as a single blessed. 2. When did you feel that God is calling you to that kind of life? 3. What are the blessings of being a single blessed? 4. What are the contributions in the society of Single Blessed people? 5. What are the values this life proposes to our contemporary world? 6. What are the challenges and difficulties of this kind of life? 7. What advise (sic) can you give those who desire to remain single blessed in life? My spontaneous answers were: Q1. It is a normal life, no different from the r...

233           HARVEST                                       20191217 With patience and the proper care, all living things grow. On my window hangs yellow orange blooms of my kalabasa (squash), growing on top of the cottonwood tree, hanging on a branch, thirteen feet above ground. I thought that because I cut most of the branches of the tree to prevent it from being mangled by typhoon Tisoy, the squash came down with them, but the vine clung to the remaining twigs defying death. It has become a curiosity for passersby, and I hear them saying, “How will that be harvested?” Harvesting, so soon? The blooms are still enjoying the triumph over Tisoy, and it is sacrilegious to even think of harvest. They look like Angel’s Trumpet facing up, eager to ba...

231           PERSISTENCE OF DESIRE          20191203 Three friends give me daily doses of pain. The posts of Marcelo Estrada and William Peters, Sr. remind me that the world has been numbed by the deaths of children in Palestine. The poetry of Nizar Sartawi speaks of the annihilation of the human spirit, as it engages the harsh realities of hegemonic desires. Some are driven to act, but can hardly do anything that can effectively stop the atrocities, considering the resolve of powerful nations to sacrifice lives for economic and political gain. I despair about how the world has evolved, but find that cruelty is inherent, repeating itself, not only among humans but also, in other manifestations of life. In my garden for example, the fruits, the leaves and the flowers are savagely assaulted by insects on a daily basis and the plants are in constant battle to prevail over this reality. Like ...

230           FAVORS AND BLESSINGS          20191125 Some people think that to ask others favors is a humiliating act. The position to ask favors imply that we are inadequate to fulfill our own needs. Others, like me, however, never hesitated, because the universe is a generous sphere. Matthew 7:7-8 states, “ Ask, and it shall be given you ;  seek, and ye .  shall find ; knock, and  it shall  be opened unto  you : 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh. findeth; and to him that knocketh  it shall  be opened.” Most of what I asked for had been given, and even those I had not asked for came to me. As a result, I often give, based on my perception of what another person needs, if she does not ask. This way, I keep the wheel of fortune keep turning for the better. There are things of course that I did not get, including things I re...

229           JAM                                                 20191119 When my parents were alive, all members of the family made regular trips to Pangasinan for special occasions. It was a tradition of bonding, a way to renew relationships, and for my nephews and nieces, an adventure in the farm, as they pitch tents in the yard and swim through a stream that passes through our property line, which seemed to have less and less water as the years passed. It is also during these occasions that my parents prepare food from their organic garden: home-grown vegetables, chickens and piglets raised specifically for lechon (roasted meat). My siblings Che and Oni also had a way of roasting chicken, wi...

228          QUICK STOPS                               20191111 Yesterday, I boarded a bus for Urdaneta to attend the last rites for Auntie Charing Salcedo, whose name is really Emerenciana, not Charito, as I always thought. Auntie Charing passed away at 97. As a child, I remember her sitting in front of her sari-sari store (retail store of assorted things), especially an assortment of dried fish where as young children, my sister Lydia and cousin Auring would try to sneak in some between their skirts. It is a prank they enjoyed, because they never knew how to cook it, but took turns smelling the different kinds of dried fish, amazed how such peculiar smells can end up in the frying fan and be consumed. When Auntie Charing was not looking, they would return whatever they took, before racing...