In retrospect,I think 2006 has been a year of delays and stresses for realizing my true potential. It had been a year of separation for my family - separation from my brother, Body; from memorabilia that celebrated milestones in our lives; from clothes and other stuff that were unknowingly stolen during renovation; from our previous lifestyle. We all had to adjust to my mum's retirement, my new sister-on-law, our new business, and our financial situation.
The first quarter had been the usual routine - working hard to earn enough to pay for utilities and some money to spend for little luxuries (like silver jewelry, shoes, bags and hair accessories). We had a new business venture, a canteen launched before my birthday, that will ensure that my family eats for more than three times a day - something that we were never brought up on. Food had always been scarce for us when we're all in college since we don't eat breakfast for fear of being late for school, we eat very little lunch because we need to save enough money for school expenses and we can't really eat a decent dinner because we're too tired to eat at midnight and would rather sleep or do something relaxing. Along with that canteen came the new house helps, who are either weirdly psychotic or with awesome attitude problems. Body got married in church on a Valentine's day. Before the wedding, we had to ask our relatives to help out with the food and other expenses because we can't afford a grandiose wedding that they have been hankering for. My mum spent most of her money on computers (the one I'm using now), printers, copiers and mobile phones. She busied herself on the canteen, organizing files and of course, cooking food when we got fed up hiring cooks!
The second quarter had been tiring for me since I was working for 48 hours a week for SMCSJ and WJA. Added to that was the stress of my mum preparing for her long awaited trip in the US and Canada. She has been working for so long that going to that place is one of her achievements in life. Living with strangers (the house helps) is an adjustment that we all had to make. My dad, with his sarcasm and ironic sense of humor, have been making it difficult to make these house helps stay for more than a month. It's hell when I have to start training new personnel for the canteen every other month. I'm thankful that my boyfriend can put up with my tantrums during these times. I know how I can be such a pain in the ass.My boyfriend and I celebrated our 9th year of Visita Iglesia, with prayers and hopes of a brighter future for the both of us. When my Bo's birthday arrived, it felt so weird celebrating it without him. He was my pet, a frequent recipient of "blessings" from me (free cinema tickets, occasional fine dining, clothes, shoes, bags, etc.) and he was gone. I think I've been jealous of his new family because I had been his confidante and adviser but now, I'm a deleterious sister he despises like pestilence. He has changed and he has aged. I miss my brother and I hate to see him live his life like that.
Third quarter was the most traumatic period for me and my siblings. With my mum gone and having fun somewhere in North America, we have to put up with the recent renovation of the house, the business space and managing the canteen. Most of our stuff are (still)wrapped and hauled on a makeshift trailer. Then, major devastating storms, thieving construction workers, and nasty pests destroyed our precious possessions and along with it, memories when we had a normal life. We had to sleep on hammocks because the floor is flooded and slippery.We had to be content with modest clothing since we can't choose what we want to wear and some have already been stolen by the construction workers who are working on our house. I also had to contend with my father asking money for construction costs and balancing the budget for other house utilities. I was forbidden to tell my mum really bad stuff about what happened to our books, pictures and memorabilia since it would definitely break her heart and her savings. My boyfriend and I busied ourselves getting documents to migrate to Australia for good. We both plan to get married a year after staying there and saving up for the wedding of our dreams.
The last quarter was a little better than the horrendous previous quarter. My mum returned from the Americas with souvenir photos, lots of clothing from relatives and friends, chocolates from duty free and a little poorer than the usual. We had to put up with her endless stories about life in the U.S. of A and Canada. She liked her stay with friends and relatives. She would've stayed if she got hired there. It would've been better that way because when she got back, she saw the house is total chaos. We all thought she'd break down, luckily, she did not. She took it in stride. She managed to pull off a successful hermana mayora -ship of the parochial fiesta and still live off her pension from the bank. Our Christmas and New Year's Eve aren't that grand as with our previous years. My sister and brother's family didn't spend them with us, which caused my parents to feel a little lonely without them. My married siblings tried to make up for that by being present at reunions and family functions during the holidays. However, it breaks my heart to see my parents' eyes linger longingly as their cars drive away and my nephews waving like there's no tomorrow at their grandparents sitting under the mango tree.
They say I'm lucky to have the gift of foresight, to tell what the future holds with a flip of my contraptions(tarot cards/runes/dice), to be receptive to changes...but am I Fate that can truly dictate what destiny lies in wait for this year? I am, like other mere mortals, pray for a better tomorrow while savoring today and learning from the past.
Numerology states that I'm lucky this year since it's my 30th year. I'm a Fire Snake and a mutable watery Pisces...contrasting fortunes are predicted for me. All I know is that my choices affect the fate I hold.
The first quarter had been the usual routine - working hard to earn enough to pay for utilities and some money to spend for little luxuries (like silver jewelry, shoes, bags and hair accessories). We had a new business venture, a canteen launched before my birthday, that will ensure that my family eats for more than three times a day - something that we were never brought up on. Food had always been scarce for us when we're all in college since we don't eat breakfast for fear of being late for school, we eat very little lunch because we need to save enough money for school expenses and we can't really eat a decent dinner because we're too tired to eat at midnight and would rather sleep or do something relaxing. Along with that canteen came the new house helps, who are either weirdly psychotic or with awesome attitude problems. Body got married in church on a Valentine's day. Before the wedding, we had to ask our relatives to help out with the food and other expenses because we can't afford a grandiose wedding that they have been hankering for. My mum spent most of her money on computers (the one I'm using now), printers, copiers and mobile phones. She busied herself on the canteen, organizing files and of course, cooking food when we got fed up hiring cooks!
The second quarter had been tiring for me since I was working for 48 hours a week for SMCSJ and WJA. Added to that was the stress of my mum preparing for her long awaited trip in the US and Canada. She has been working for so long that going to that place is one of her achievements in life. Living with strangers (the house helps) is an adjustment that we all had to make. My dad, with his sarcasm and ironic sense of humor, have been making it difficult to make these house helps stay for more than a month. It's hell when I have to start training new personnel for the canteen every other month. I'm thankful that my boyfriend can put up with my tantrums during these times. I know how I can be such a pain in the ass.My boyfriend and I celebrated our 9th year of Visita Iglesia, with prayers and hopes of a brighter future for the both of us. When my Bo's birthday arrived, it felt so weird celebrating it without him. He was my pet, a frequent recipient of "blessings" from me (free cinema tickets, occasional fine dining, clothes, shoes, bags, etc.) and he was gone. I think I've been jealous of his new family because I had been his confidante and adviser but now, I'm a deleterious sister he despises like pestilence. He has changed and he has aged. I miss my brother and I hate to see him live his life like that.
Third quarter was the most traumatic period for me and my siblings. With my mum gone and having fun somewhere in North America, we have to put up with the recent renovation of the house, the business space and managing the canteen. Most of our stuff are (still)wrapped and hauled on a makeshift trailer. Then, major devastating storms, thieving construction workers, and nasty pests destroyed our precious possessions and along with it, memories when we had a normal life. We had to sleep on hammocks because the floor is flooded and slippery.We had to be content with modest clothing since we can't choose what we want to wear and some have already been stolen by the construction workers who are working on our house. I also had to contend with my father asking money for construction costs and balancing the budget for other house utilities. I was forbidden to tell my mum really bad stuff about what happened to our books, pictures and memorabilia since it would definitely break her heart and her savings. My boyfriend and I busied ourselves getting documents to migrate to Australia for good. We both plan to get married a year after staying there and saving up for the wedding of our dreams.
The last quarter was a little better than the horrendous previous quarter. My mum returned from the Americas with souvenir photos, lots of clothing from relatives and friends, chocolates from duty free and a little poorer than the usual. We had to put up with her endless stories about life in the U.S. of A and Canada. She liked her stay with friends and relatives. She would've stayed if she got hired there. It would've been better that way because when she got back, she saw the house is total chaos. We all thought she'd break down, luckily, she did not. She took it in stride. She managed to pull off a successful hermana mayora -ship of the parochial fiesta and still live off her pension from the bank. Our Christmas and New Year's Eve aren't that grand as with our previous years. My sister and brother's family didn't spend them with us, which caused my parents to feel a little lonely without them. My married siblings tried to make up for that by being present at reunions and family functions during the holidays. However, it breaks my heart to see my parents' eyes linger longingly as their cars drive away and my nephews waving like there's no tomorrow at their grandparents sitting under the mango tree.
They say I'm lucky to have the gift of foresight, to tell what the future holds with a flip of my contraptions(tarot cards/runes/dice), to be receptive to changes...but am I Fate that can truly dictate what destiny lies in wait for this year? I am, like other mere mortals, pray for a better tomorrow while savoring today and learning from the past.
Numerology states that I'm lucky this year since it's my 30th year. I'm a Fire Snake and a mutable watery Pisces...contrasting fortunes are predicted for me. All I know is that my choices affect the fate I hold.