Lights of Happiness - Part 2

" How often has the Christmas tree

Afforded me the greatest glee!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Much pleasure thou can'st give me. "

So goes the traditional German carol. A Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree. Since Iloilo is glued to a tropical country where there is a dearth of real evergreens, we have to make do with the artificial ones. Yes, the kind you buy in a store downtown or the mall. The one we place inside our homes and painstakingly decorate it with all the trinkets and love we can find. Well, all the money you can spare if you'd like it to look professionally done.

Lights of Happiness - Part 1

It's the cool and crisp evening air. 

It's the chaotic traffic of cars and shoppers everywhere. 

It's the sound of carols that you often hear. 

It's the twinkling lights of Yuletide cheer.

The Christmas season is definitely on us. Right after they kept the candles and took down the Halloween decor.  To each his own way of enjoying the holidays. Endless parties. Bonuses. Gift checks. Exchange gifts. White gifts. And all the gifts in between.

Damires On My Mind

The whirring sound of the pulleys alerted the people of an oncoming rider. Some have their cameras ready. Others hoist their kids up for a better view. Then the rider zips by. A few break into a cheer but most go back to whatever they were doing - either eating, drinking, swimming, singing or strolling. It's a typical weekend at Damires Hills Tierra Verde, a leisure farm resort in the hinterlands of Janiuay, Iloilo.

Milestones

When I typed in today's blog title, I didn't know that there is more to the word than just the usual very important events in one's life. I researched it (Google of course!) and found this charming piece about the Seven Milestones of Life. According to this article, I'm somewhere in my 4th milestone but the actual numbers of significant points in my life exceed it. Here's an excerpt of Ma Vie:

Striding Down A Different Path

While walking along the usual path of life, a rock made me stumble and almost fall. Letting out a string of expletives (that's !@#$%^&* when written) I kicked the offending piece of the earth's crust out of the way. It flipped under a shrub, and glinted! Strange. And curious. Of course, we know that That C (Curiosity! in case you didn't get it) has killed lots of cats before. But it didn't stop me from reaching for the mysterious glinting rock. And once my fingertips touched its jagged smoothness, it just have to roll away. Curiouser. 

Ramblings

I'm trying to do something. Until I figure out what it is, I will be suspended in time.

I tweeted that to a friend just a few hours ago. It is an apt description of my post meridiem today. I already did a hill of laundry. Sent off Kiki to her class. Fixed the room. Then my schedule just cleared! Well, at least for the next three hours. Like the ray of warm afternoon sun after two days of torrential rains and gusty winds. It's nice and balmy outside. The birds are chirping. I'm losing money in the online casino.

A Different Beat

After a lifetime of waiting, my daughter Kiki finally got to perform at the CAP Building Auditorium. And was she ecstatic! Like a reaching for the stars thing. Being the youngest, Kiki usually trails after her older siblings since she learned how to walk. Always trying to squeeze in everything that they do. Wanting to be BIG so she can catch up with them too. And her lifelong ambition to date was to go onstage at CAP Auditorium like her Nana & RG did before.