Simply Belle

While browsing on friendster, I came across this quotation: “Be nice to your kid, they will choose your nursing home. Indeed, there is a lot of truth in that statement. I turned to my husband at the far corner of the house and read the line out loud to him. My husband was so engrossed in what he was doing, he didn’t say a word.

A while back, my friend, Bob, and I were talking about the same topic – elderly. He said there is nothing we can do when we reach that certain age when we cannot care for ourselves anymore. And that we are most likely to end up in a home care facility.  Of course, knowing how it is like in the nursing home because I go there everyday, the idea terrifies me.

What if I don’t want to go?, I asked Bob.

You are not in the right frame of mind then. Your daughters would say, “come on mama, we’ll go for a little trip, now,” and before you know it, you are inside the facility, helpless.” Bob retorted.

Oh my gosh, what a scary thought. I hope I don’t have to go there. And then, suddenly, several hours thereafter, my husband broke in silence and yelled, “whatever happens, I am not going to the nursing home.”

I laughed and said in a joking way, “if you are consistently nice to us, we might spare you a trip to the nursing home.” Might spare?? he asked. I am just kidding, I said.

Terrified at the thought, my husband becomes even more determined not to go to any nursing home facilities. And so am I. He would rather stay in the Philippines and hire a caretaker who will look after him, and a driver to take him to places, all for a reasonable cost. Just like my mother, even when she became physically disabled, she didn’t have to be forced to leave the house  she loved so much to live in a strange house. Instead, she had the financial independence (through my help, of course) to hire a caretaker to take care of her during the day. Caretaker left at night when everything was done and in order. Eventually, my sister-in-law took over the job and made sure that my mother’s last days on earth were fun and around people she loved and cared.

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It infuriates me when I see my pictures stolen in front of my very eyes. I don’t mind them taking my pictures and post them on their site if at least, they give the credit to where it is rightfully due. Or, I don’t even mind seeing my pictures in people’s site so long they leave the pictures the way they are – unaltered-  for people to oogle on. That’s fine with me. People are smart and they can eventually trace to whom the photos belong.

What irks me is despite of how repeatedly I told the guy that the pictures were mine (by leaving comments on my pictures that are displayed on his site , and yes with his signature on them,) instead, he had the gall to get mad at me, and told me that he got the pictures from a different site, and that he already thanked the person from whom he got them. What I would do if I were him, after he was notified, I would get rid of the pictures or if he likes my pictures so much, I would retain them and put a caption that the pictures were taken by Belle.  It is the right thing to do.

Of course, he didn’t do a thing.  Instead, he took it upon himself and put a signature on my photograph that he knew he didn’t take.  Which, by the way,  only sneak thieves are capable of doing. And what is worse was he had the courage to alter my photo by cosmetically removing the other person from it using the photoshop and put his own signature at the bottom and making it look like his. And the funny thing is he did an amateurish job at it that even a kid would know that there was something wrong with the picture, as if he painted it over with tool brush that was done so lousily.

Take a look:

original picture

the picture that the thief altered.

Doesn’t that tell the type of person he is?  Definitely, an untrusworthy sneak thief.

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I thought I would make a public announcement through my blog about our forthcoming reunion on April 7 & 8, 2010. Who knows I might be able to reach out to some of you who might be reading my blog. Our last reunion was held a little over 10 years ago, and sadly, I was unable to make it. It was the year right after super typhoon, and I wasn’t too excited to see Catanduanes in brown, treeless landscape. Thus, I didn’t go.

I was waiting for the next reunion to unfold but I don’t foresee it happening in the near future. That is why I thought about organizing one with help from my batch mates who are based in the USA, and a few other ones from Catanduanes. Why not reunite now while we still look half decent and have the stamina to travel around? It should be fun getting reconnected with my batch mates and reminisce old times. Although my high school experiences weren’t actually as exciting as others’, so there is not a whole lot of fun things to recall except perhaps for some embarrassing moments while dancing with my prom partner, which I will not elaborate until reunion day.

I also had the liberty of inviting one of the best teachers we had in Bato who is based in the USA for the last 25 years, if I am not mistaken. She is actually my first cousin. Gladly, she accepted my invitation and is looking forward to meeting her former students and faculty. I plan on making her reunion’s guest of honor. I know a friend of mine is thrilled to find out that teacher T is coming. Who wouldn’t be?

If we cooperate and organize this event superbly, there is no doubt that we will expect a good turn-out. I hope my co-organizers don’t lose the enthusiasm in tracking down my batch mates as the reunion unfolds.

So, if you are from batch 78 of Bato RDHS, Catanduanes, and you stumble on this post, please leave me a note and contact information so we can get a hold of you. And if you know anyone from out batch, please help spread the news. Thank you!

I lifted the pictures from the friendster site of Cynthia of Bato here.

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When I got home today from work, after doubling my work load with the food drive, a beautiful centerpiece greeted me on my kitchen counter. It came from my beautiful, thoughtful, and loving daughter, Steffi. I wasn’t expecting anything from her except maybe a card, because she already gave me a pre-mother’s day present – which cost her an arm and a leg. And she hasn’t even started her job.

Last year, Steffi promised me that when she gets a job, she would pay for the removal of my amalgam fillings. I have about six of them lurking in my mouth. When she insisted that I have them removed, I didn’t take her seriously because several of my co-workers have them, too, and they don’t have any intentions of getting rid of them. Since then, I have been researching on the dangers of amalgam fillings on our body. What I found out was very alarming – rather disturbing. It says that these fillings continuously release mercury as a toxic vapor and as much as 80% of the vapor enters the body. Mercury is fat soluble and can enter every cell of the body and is particularly destructive to the brain. Is that the reason why my memory has deteriorated significantly over time? Scary! And I am far from being old.

Sorry, I got sidetracked.

Anyway, my other daughter, Lexi, is coming tomorrow after her work shift to spend mother’s day with me. How lucky could I get? We will probably head down to my friend’s ranch and have a barbecue party, and maybe, sit next to a fire in a pit with a bottle of beer. Oh no, I forgot I don’t drink. It should be a delightful moment.

I thank God to have been blessed with two beautiful, smart, and loving daughters.

And I got a home-made card from Steffi, too.

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