Tita Ayin for a Day

Last Saturday I was in Marikina for a little babysitting with Michael. He is the son of my elder cousin Lema. This boy was born and raised in Bahrain for two years. He speaks a little tagalog now but some times he chants. Ha-ha just kidding.


It all started with the Raisins. Mikel luuves Raisins which I don't understand why because I don't eat too much of it! So I asked him to give me some to taste so I can tell what is to like about it. But he didn't want to share! Gasp.

So I tricked him by singing the Jolibee song. He loves to sing and dance to that one so I sang it and played around with him a little. Then I asked if he could now give me some of his raisins. He gave me a cheeky grin instead. Sigh.

I played around with his toys and rolled over the mattress like what a real toddler does. And when I was tired I realized he already finished three packs of it. Gosh, this kid is something.


So there, a day playing the role of Tita Ayin to Michael Blancaflor. Boy, that was hard. He-he. I didn't really mind about the raisins, you know. I was more fond of the time we shared. Mikel was such a cutie. He looked like my brother Nico when he was younger. But of course Nico is waayy cuter than any kid in town. Oh okay enough of that. Anyway, after a few more playtime with Mikel I chatted with his mom a little and was told that the they are really moving to Singapore by next year. Initially, they had planned to settle in Bahrain after their marriage because of Kuya Ronnie's work (Michael's dad) there as a Computer Analyst. But they had a problem with the immigration so they went back here. When Kuya Ronnie finally got everything fixed he was assigned to work in Singapore, thus, making them, Ate Lems, Michael and younger baby Kevin move there as well. Sad. Makes me wish that I could spend some more time with them before they're gone and be a Tita Ayin for a day again. Ayyy...

Bloggers Unite To Reunite Refugees

There had been no laughter in Sarajevo, only the sounds of exploding mortars and the anguished screams that followed. John Donne was right, Dana thought. No man is an island. What happens to one happens to us all, for we are all made of day and Stardust. We share the same moments of time. The universal second hand starts its unforgiving sweep toward the next minute."

Sydney Sheldon
The Sky Is Falling

It wasn't Sheldon who introduced me to the reality of refugees, but, surely he and the books that he had written expressing the tragedy that took place beyond my time and imagination is what inspired me to put this post today. I'm one of the many people who is here to share all efforts possible for Bloggers Unite: Reunite Refugees.

This is to all the fallen people, angels of Sarajevo and the Albanian refugees.

My 12-year old friend

Because I'm such a kid at heart I became the ultimate BFF (Best Friend for Life) of a twelve year old girl named Aegerine Kern. She's the only daughter of our landlady. She's half German if I may say so and is a few inches smaller than me. In time I know that'll change. Anyway, she's really sweet, though her stubbornness often sends people flying off the wall, I just smile at her. Aside from myself, Aegerine's one misunderstood girl. She freaks out people with her Sarah Geronimo style of singing while eating at the dining table, she bullies you back when you offend her, she doesn't eat a lot, she dances anywhere, she looks at you intriguingly and appraisingly like what most fashionistas call the "Manhattan Onceover", she talks a lot of non-sense and she bitches you around.

Oh whatever, this is a twelve year old kid who became so dear to me after about a few months of moving in. I can't exactly remember how but I think it all started when I was invited to watch zombie movies in their room after eating dinner. She started saying things like "You look familiar...", "You look like someone I know...", "You're cute..." , "You don't look like your age..." , "You're...", "You...". Basically that's when the friendship started.

Going back to Aegerine. Today, I just want to share with you something she shared with me. She's just like any other teenage girls we all know. She poses sweetly for the camera. She ties her hair in pig tails. She braids her hair. She takes a daily dose of Vitamin-C (according to her mom). She has a crush on one of her classmates named Jeffrey. She wants to be a celebrity, a singer most definitely. She wants to grow up fast. Her mp3 player only plays one song and that is This is Me from a Disney Channel show which was sung by a girl whom I have never heard of and her favorite The Jonas Brothers (eek!). She gossips. She lies. She makes other babies cry. She plays badminton in the street. She wears pink skirts. And she loves her mom and dad.

One of my most memorable experiences with Aegerine is when she's was left alone in their house. Her mother is a treasurer of Dating Daan and her dad was out on an exploration that time(I'm not sure about this though). She asked me to stay with her and watch movies. We watched White Chicks and guffawed with laughter all over the place. She learned to mimic the line that one of the cloned white chicks said when they arrived at the hotel. She'd say, "Credit card? I.D.? I am so freakin' pissed." Ha-ha-ha. I had loved that movie ever since.

I will share with you one of the things that Aegerine is most fond of. Japanese boys. Yeah. Well, this is her favorite band as of now and I learned to like it after she sang it to me the second time around. Watch it and have fun the way a twelve year old girl does.

Tegomasu - Ai Ai Gasa

It Started and Ended With A Kiss

Ok. I know this sounds really, really, really (really, really, repeat till fade) corny, but I figured this is what really happened between Vince and Me. It started with a kiss.

October 26, The After-Party

Vince celebrated his 22nd birthday at a pub somewhere in Xavier Ville. Really cool place for me since it was my first time there, they were the usuals so I was kind of like turning my head everywhere. Nothing important transpired that night except for (what I was told) the time they started teasing Vince and me to get together. I thought whatever because I was drunk and could hardly remember a thing! Anyway, the after-party is what made both ends meet. Ahem.

Morning of Sunday, October 26, I woke up 9am and went downstairs after a booze-beaten sleep. As I can recall I saw Vince lying on the floor a magazine in one hand with the equally booze-beaten two-some Che and Nix. I thought of joining them so I dived in, beside Vince. I rolled over the carpet and must have probably landed on top of his body that’s why I ended up curling inside his enclosed arms. I didn’t like the feeling of my back on him so I turned around and faced him. As I inch closer the more I could feel how manly he is amidst the bushy long hair, the soft chinky eyes, and the lustfully thin lips. I say nothing beats my drunken eye. Anyway, so I felt the urge to put my arms around him, the goddess that he is to me, and feel his body. Oh heaven's sake, I don't know what I'm doing b he just feels so right! My God, how can you have made me such an idiot to not notice this when we were in college, hmm? Back to reality, the more I made my arm linger on top of his waist (or somewhere there) the more immense was I at the thought that what was happening between me and my imagination is utterly unaccepted. All of a sudden he was inching closer too. His arm was somewhere on top of my torso and in seconds we were wrapped in an embrace! Hooray! Ahem. Sorry.

So there, wrapped in an embrace. Oh God, that felt so wonderful. I could stay there forever! I closed my eyes and duck down somewhere on top of his chest. It didn’t felt right. So I tossed my chin up. Suddenly the heavenly intervention occurred, we kissed!

Love at First Kiss

I could not believe it. The moment our lips touched there was already love. *blushing* Ok. I might have been exaggerating this thing between Vince and me, but I just think that’s how it all came to be. It wasn’t just a smooch; it was a perfect kiss, a lips-to-lips contact, and a body to soul relation kind of thing. So what more do you want me to ask for?

Two Weeks Ago

They say that everyday, you get little surprises. Two weeks ago I got the biggest surprise of my life. I received an email from a college friend. It was just like the typical how are you? messages you get from old friends you haven’t seen in years.

Weeks before I’ve already been retracing myself. After Riannes' death (r.i.p.) I was already looking out for all the friends I had before when I suddenly came across this email. I felt a sudden interest to re-connect that looking at this email and pressing the reply button almost made me fly.

I asked to be reunited to my two college best friends, Che and Eunice. I asked this from the sender, Vince. I was so happy he was interacting with me that I had already forgotten if I really do know him and if he does know me too. To be honest, I only know him by face, he-he-he. Well, I was an academic-devotee in college and he was the peers-oriented type, you know, are paths never crossed, unless of course I hang out. But yes, I do know him from my friends. We have lots of common friends by the way. Anyway, so there we were, after a series of emails through Friendster we exchanged YM addresses and thus, the new found friendship began.

Vince came in totally unexpected. He was a total sweetheart right from the start. When I explained to him that I was treating my eating disorder he was more than, or somewhat, concerned. We became textmates and I informed him of how much I suffered eating just soup, crackers and fruits all day for a week. He became my confidante. The best part of it all is that we were enjoying ourselves. Little did I notice that he's starting to become my new best friend. I realized I was already half asking about my old friends. All day that we would be chatting or texting each other, he never failed to amuse me. He was making me happy. He can completely divert a mindset of a serious IT copywriter to a childlike cracker. We became really close.

It Ended with a Kiss

When I realized that I had to answer his question with only a yes and a no, I froze. I couldn’t believe this will ever happen. When he was cupping my face with his two hands, lying on the carpeted floor of my best friends’ house, face to face, asking me that open-ended-heart-tearing-seriously-the-end-of-friendship question, I nearly died.

I had said yes and he kissed me back. It ended with a kiss. By it means being just friends. After a series of stoned silence and kisses filled conversation we are now an official couple. Him, mine… I, his.

The Curious Incident With the Vanilla Sky

You know the times when you first open your eyes in the morning, stretch out a little, look out the window, see the morning sky and feel the world full of life again? Yeah. That's my most favorite time of the day. The moment reality would hit me I would just look outside the window and check out my most favorite thing in the world God has ever created. The Vanilla Skies.

I like taking things easy I have to say. That is why out of all the things that could make a person happy and content, all I need is a place to sit and admire the view of the sky. Add a picturesque beach on the side and I'm done. He-he.

But I hate the cloud outside my window today. There are gray clouds I see that may cause me to drag an umbrella going out. So I hopped out of bed. Armed with a basket full of toiletries I went straight to the bathroom and bathe. I wasn't thinking about how much I've scrubbed my skin or washed my hair off, I was mindful of the sky outside. At exactly fifteen minutes I was done. I immediately put on whatever article of clothing I got my hands on and went running downstairs to meet Vanilla Sky.

Vanilla wasn't there. It was Gray. Damn it, no! Sadly I went back upstairs and hastily grabbed the black umbrella on top of chest board. I went downstairs again and out into the morning sky of Gray. There she is. Peeking out of little open space between clouds of Gray I saw her. The Vanilla Sky. She would not let go, I thought to myself.

I kept my umbrella unopened and walked cheerfully to work. Above and beyond my imagination Vanilla is smiling back.