Perpetual Help

Is it redundant to say that our househelp is very helpful? Sobrang helpful, minsan nakakainis na.

Sabi nga ni Oca, pati kapitbahay sinisilbihan. Tuloy minsan, pag hinahanap mo, wala. Nasa kapitbahay.

Actually, meron siyang some kind of manpower agency dito. She gets her kababayans to work for the neighbors. May pinasok siya dati sa bahay ng auntie ko. After a couple of months, umalis yung longkatuts at namasukan somewhere else. Hindi nagustuhan yung bagong amo. And now she's living here with us until she gets better employment.

May offer somewhere in our subdivision. Hindi n'ya tinanggap kasi nakakatakot daw yung place. Ganun?!

Ngayon, panood-nood ng Wowowee, patext-text, patambay-tambay around the house. Ang saya.

Yellow Fever

Last Monday, just about the whole office went out to Ayala to see Tita Cory's funeral cortege. ETA was 12 noon. So we all ate an early lunch. Hindi pa ako tapos, sabi nila nasa Ayala na. So in a rush, we left the office.

We didn't have any yellow ribbons. Good thing one of our officemates got this smart idea of using Post-its na lang. I didn't tape or staple mine kaya wala pa ako sa Ayala, siyempre natanggal na siya.

There was somekinda confusion. Which side of the road ba dadaan ang procession? Para sigurado, we stayed na lang sa island. Slightly elevated pa, to get a good view.

While waiting, may tumabi sa aking conyong naka-upcollar na dilaw at nakapayong. Ilang beses n'yang muntik matusok mata ko ha! Mega ilag na lang ako. Pero ika nga ni Batman: If you can't beat them, join them. So whenever I had the opportunity, may I make silong sa kanyang payong. Actually, wala naman talaga siyang choice kasi it was very crowded.

Anyway, medyo natameme na lang ako when they finally arrived -- Tita Cory's coffin in a big 10-wheeler truck bedecked with flowers and guarded by four soldiers followed by the air-conditioned Coasters with the former president's close friends and relatives. I just waved the L sign. I saw Tingting and Mikey Cojuangco walking, which I think is really sweet kasi they're so alta sociedad and they were humble enough to walk under the heat of the sun.

I was planning to go to Manila Cathedral, but I never made it. Kasi-kasi-kasi, dapat just do it. Oh well...

Umiyak ka 'no?

I did. In fact, I cried so much, it gave me a 2-day headache.

Kumakanta pa lang si Aiza ng "Ugoy ng Duyan" sa Unang Hirit, umiiyak na ko. The height of my crying was during Kris' speech in Cory's requiem mass. Like most people, medyo nadapa lang ako when she said that she's her mom's favorite. Hmmm... ganun?! Buti na lang hindi siya binatukan ng mga kapatid n'ya.

As to why I was crying, medyo hindi clear to me. Was I crying for my country? For democracy? For something profound? Or was I crying simply because I was imagining what it would be like to lose my own mother? Or what it would be like if I die and leave behind all my loved ones, especially my children.

Malungkot... Okay, change topic. Baka umiyak na naman ako.