Simply Belle

I am 40 something years old, petite, and fit into my children’s wardrobe.

Part of my daughter’s therapy is to keep her busy to get her mind occupied on something, like watching movie, taking walks, scrap booking, folding origami, etc. Last night, we agreed that we see a movie on a big screen in a nearby theater. We live only 5 minutes away from the nearest and only theater in town.

First, I took her to the nursery to buy plants for her apartment. She said she could use some plants for her apartment as it is too bare and needing some touch-ups. Then we stopped by at a friend’s salon to deliver fresh organic veggies from the garden. We gifted her a combination of pechay, chard, beet top, sweet basil, tomatoes, and eggplant.

Then, on the way home, we stopped by at the park to do our daily walk. We normally sit on the park for a minute or two to reflect/enjoy the beautiful scenery. I said we might have to skip on the sitting part as we were running late . You know, as a mother, I have other functions…too many functions actually, that often times, i run short of time to fulfill on some. We only circled the park once- equivalent to a mile.

Came home, fixed dinner right away while L prepared her favorite enchilada. I don’t know why she doesn’t care for my cooking which my husband and my other daughter are fond of. The only food that she likes from my cooking is eggroll. What can you do? She is 19 years old, and has her own food preference. She loves Mexican food.

She got herself a soft-round tortilla, grated some cheese and spread it on the tortilla, added slices of tomatoes, add a dash of pepper, drizzle some Tabasco, and microwave it for a minute. It was a actually delicious as I had a taste of it. But, is it a well-balanced diet? Let’s see. There are protein, carbohydrates, & veggie–good enough, I thought, plus the fact that it is delicious. What do you think?

I finished cooking before 7 PM, movie was at 7:30 PM. My husband and I ate the delicious stew I cooked with carrots, potatoes, celery, pepper, and fresh tomatoes from the garden, simmer to perfection. The gravy was devilishly good and creamy! It hit the spot!

We left the house at exactly 7:15 PM. I let L buy the ticket. It cost $8 per person. It was dark outside and the only source of light was from the ticket counter. I heard L ask if there was a discount for a student. The guy said No. From a distance, I asked if they gave discount to the senior. The boy just mumbled and handed us a dollar change. L was surprised to get a dollar back when she was actually rummaging through her pocket looking for a dollar more.

Hmmm, I get a dollar back, cool…L muttered.

Lexi, what happpened? Did he give me a senior discount???, I asked.

Apparently so, she laughed.

That is an outrage! I retorted.

Ahh, let it go, we have something to buy popcorn and drinks, L responded.

Suddenly, we were inside the theater enjoying popcorn, but at the same time I was feeling guilty for what had just transpired. It kept haunting me up until now. My husband was laughing because he thought it was an insult. I didn’t care about that. It wasn’t right, per se. I have to go back there and return the $2 that I was never entitled to.

What would you do?

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I was really touched from the comments I received from my fellow bloggers: Noemi, Annamanila, and momoftwo and inspired me to post this next entry of my humble beginnings.

Before I write my post, let me show you their comments first on the article I wrote in my blog entitled “Our Association’s Projects.”

Noemi: that’s a very noble project. We are also setting up a scholarship fund in memory of my son. Hopefully it will be launched soon. UP tuition fee for college has increased tremendously so we hope to help deserving college students.

Annamanila: Mabuhay ka Belle for giving a slice of yourself through this outreach project. That is giving back to the larger community and society hindi ba?

When I retire I also plan to have this outreach project .. details na lang later. But it has something to do with senior citizens and IT.

momoftwo: Belle, this is really a good project. I really admire your generosity. You inspire me to do something similar. Maybe in the future.

Warning: This is a long post

I came from a very poor family in a small barrio of Bagumbayan. My father held a menial job on a wage that exempted us from paying taxes( I was not too sure on this), raised a family to be counted in poverty statistics. When I reached grade three, my father decided to retire from an auditor job he had held for so many years. My younger brother was in grade 1 at that time. I did not know if my father had given much thoughts on his decision of retiring early but I thought it was a lousy move. How would we survive on a meager retirement salary? How would my father afford to send his younger children (my brother and I)through college? I was not sure if those same questions had crossed my parents’ mind or if they had resorted to bahala na attitude (come what may attitude), as usual. As my father had repeatedly said, “ang tawo nabubuhay sa pasilikad sikad” (people somehow survive through endless kicking.)

It was an extremely hard road for us without a steady income for many years. My family had to endure so many hardships just to put food on the table. This may seem astonishing to you, but I learned at an early age the art of “supnit”, I learned to fish in the swamp using agahid (fish net), I learned to plant young rice plant in the muddy fields (such a back breaking job!), plant and harvest camote, make tiniklad (nipa shingles), harvest rice in the wee hours of the morning, , and so on and so forth. Consider yourself lucky if you were spared such arduous life . Just the thought of it brings me tears. It would surely break my heart if my daughters were to endure such difficulties.

While other kids were enjoying the tricycle ride to school, I would wake up early in the morning to give me an early start for a three-kilometer walk to school. The only good thing about this that I just realize now is it has kept me in shape and I was free of any ounces of fat in my body. You see, not even fully aware of walking benefits, my exercise regime has started back then. Imagine walking twice a day in a scorching and humid environment. There were times when I arrived school late or just in the nick of time when the flagpole ceremony was about to start. I didn’t care how I smelled, nor looked. I did not seem to drive my classmates away either..hehehe…dai man ning nag sabi ning isog isog diyan sa ako (no one had dared ask me to keep a distance because I stank).

For our lunch, my brother and I would split up a small fried galunggong (fish) and a generous serving of rice. You think you were the only one who had been through a rigorous life? I was not exempted from it either. You know how much effort was put into coming up with the money to buy that little galunggong (fried fish)?

Allow me to show you. While my brother and I were working on our assignments at night under a flickering lamp light, part of our time was directed making “sinilapid” (rope), 60 yards to be exact, and had to be finished that same night so we could get our allowance of a pathetic one peso the following day, to be split between my brother and me. It was a choice on whether we should spend the money on transportation or for food. Of course, it would be logical to reserve it for food so we had nourishment to get through the rigors of the academics at school.

Now, If you were on our shoes, would you have done the same?

On our way home, if we had managed to save some change, we would stop at the last corner store in Bato and would buy bukayo (grated coconut sweets) for 25 cents. I could feel that my body was hinting for some food to get ready for that long and blistering walk home. But the problem was, part of the time, there wasn’t any change left. Every penny was spent on our food or was used to buy some needed school supplies. I had no choice but to endure the hard walk home, sometimes alone, since some of my friends and cousins took the easy way home—riding on a tricycle.

More often, we arrived home insanely hungry! After I sat my belongings on the table, I would zoom right to the kitchen and look for something to eat. Most of the time, there wasn’t any food but steamed rice. Frustrated and famished, I would resort to “dulay” for some refreshing glass of cold water, followed by another glass….gluk gluk. Sometimes, I would turn to my mother begging for food, with my longing eyes. Out of pity, she would quickly get ready for dinner that was usually made up of rice and an unknown dish. Often, without a choice, I would settle for rice and sugar or bagoong (shrimp paste), enough to help me sustain the night preparing for my assignments, and simultaneously working on “sinilapid”. Hehehe..up until now, it may strike you with wonder, but I am still on this kind of diet, though with few modifications, and with plenty of vegetables.

This routine had lasted through fourth year in high school. I was surprised I was even considered to be in the honor roll. The faculty members had to deliberate on whom, between my friend and me, were best suited for the Valedictorian. Huh? Was I that good? I was even criticized by one of my teachers for not seriously showing competitiveness or rivalry. Why should I? I knew that I excelled well in the field of mathematics and sciences but due to my lack of learning foundation at home, I didn’t do as well in language and history as you can see in my writing, but then how in the heck I made it to the top? Sheer luck perhaps?

I took the highly coveted UP entrance examination in Diliman in Manila. It was an overwhelming experience for a probinsiyana girl (promdi, or province girl) like me. I was going against the elite, urban, rich, and privileged kids. Some of them, perhaps, were daughters and sons of you. I did my best and applied the knowledge I gained from my 4 years in high school in Bato RDHS. A few months later, I recieved a letter that I passed the UP entrance examination and I was offered a full ride scholarship, including a monthly allowance, mainly because I came from a poor family and possessed a few good brain cells. I was elated! I was in tears! I was thankful to God for choosing me and one other student from Virac. Only the two of us from Catanduanes qualified that year. Must be sheer luck again and of course, lots of help from up above.

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Two days ago, I parked my vehicle outside Safeway store to deliver a parcel. I probably spent 2 minutes or so inside waiting for a signature from the designated clerk.

Then I came back to my vehicle, and as I was finishing what I was doing, a gentleman appeared from out of nowhere and handed me this beautiful rose. He said, “I am a retired postal employee; this rose is for you,” and hurriedly left the scene.

Me: Wait! What is your name and where are you from?

Gentleman: My name is Dennis C and I am from G, AZ., moving up here shortly.

Me: Welcome to our neighborhood.

Gentleman: Thank you.

Wow, that was a nice gesture from a nice gentleman on such a beautiful and warm day. It surely made my day. “But how I am going to keep it from wilting when I still have more than 5 hours ahead of me before I head home?” I asked myself. Coincidentally, I carried an extra bottle of water that day and without hesitation, submerged the stem in an attempt to try to prolong the life of this beautiful rose. I could easily find water should I become thirsty, I thought. I set it in a position that would prevent the bottle from tipping over. Of course, unavoidable things happened. I accidentally knocked the bottle over but managed to grab it quickly. Ohhh, the things I did just to save this rose.

Question for you: Has a stranger ever handed you a rose or something?

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flowers in my garden

Chats @http://imomonline.net/and Grey Mom @ http://greymom.wordpress.com/ tagged me for 6 weird things about myself. Sorry it took so long to comply for it took me a while to enumerate all 6 of them. I was going to settle for 5 but I thought I would ask my husband for help. Here goes:

• I exercise late at night. I start at 10:30 PM and sometimes it goes until midnight when everybody is sound asleep. Ambience is set to a dim lighting so I will not disturb my husband. Lately though, I haven’t been exercising as often as I used to out of pure laziness

• I use my toe to pick everything off the floor. My husband gets a kick out of it. He thinks I belong to the monkey family. Perhaps, he is right. All I need is the tail to look like one…hehehe. Kidding aside, my toes have amazing grip and are very quick in picking up things. Must be from the experience I got from traversing the slippery uphill trail barefoot when I was a child hauling food for my family.

• I move my feet like a windshield wiper on warm nights to cool my feet off. I learned this nasty habit from my older brother. It drives my husband crazy, of course, so I keep it down to a minimum, or I do it when he is not around.

• My husband thinks that it is weird of me leaving the soap water in the sink overnight after I finish washing dishes. He loathes the idea of having to plunge his hands into the dirty water or sewer water as he calls it the following day when he has to use the sink. Well, the reason why I don’t drain the water right away is because I may have to wash more dishes later in the night, instead of starting a fresh soap water which is not economical. Problem is, I usually indeliberately leave it in the sink overnight!

• My mouth never runs idled…i nibble all day at work. NUTS, fruits, crackers, or whatever my hands can grab onto. Yesterday, i feasted on sweet cheeries while doing my job. hehehe, I just have to make sure there aren’t any tiny bits of food stuck in between my teeth when i smile to my customers.

• I share clothes with my teenagers and vice versa as long as it is okay with my them. If they say it looks good on me, then I leave it on. My younger daughter says just because you are a mom doesn’t mean you have to wear mom clothes. Atta girl!

I am tagging Dimpz, Eden, Maping, Elyani, K, and Joy Joy. Sorry, I haven’t quite mastered the art of linking yet but you know who you are.

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Just for fun, I asked Rachel (sorry, don’t know how to link the blog yet, str, help please!) to interview me with 5 questions.

1. Name one of life’s simple treasures: My garden is one of my life’s simple treasures. I enjoy going to the garden the moment I get home from work and get my hands dirty instead of wearing gloves. It sweeps my tiredness away and it revitalizes me.
2. Fill in the blank: Happiness is a matter of: Choice. Happiness is in our hands. We have total control of it. When we wake up in the morning, we have a choice of whether to be miserable at work or to be nice and happy. Of course, I choose the latter. We only live once, why mope about something we can’t do anything about.
3. Do you believe in miracles? If you do, have you personally experienced a miracle (big or small) that you would like to share? On our trip to the Philippines four years ago, I did something that I wouldn’t normally do. I packed the small green flotation for the first time. Had my husband known that I stuffed it in our suitcase, he would have asked me to leave it home. Little did I know that the flotation would save him from drowning. Now, he wants me to get rid of it.
4. Share a random pet peeve: It grosses me out when I see someone picking his nose in public and then he/she fork it over…eeekkk!! What a turn off!!
5. Name something that gives you a natural high: Excitement definitely gives me a natural high. When I took the test in the postal service 7 years ago, I wasn’t expecting a good score because it was a hard one. Lo and behold, I got a 100%. My husband said it was amazing the fact that I was having a lot of trouble with my memory. I had never been excited like that. I proved that I wasn’t so stupid after all.

Interview Rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

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Excerpts from an essay composition that we could all learn from–year 2002.

I am like a river because my life has been a gentle yet somewhat rough flow of experiences that have shaped and molded me into the person that I am today. Just as the river begins as a nebulous rush of water but gradually shapes a distinct path, my life has gradually been shaped through trial and error. However, a river cannot flow without the help of the eroding sands beneath it, and I, too, have had people who have helped me and changed their ways in order to provide me with the best path available.

In all of my turning points and realizations, I chose not to dwell in the past, but, rather, learn from it to prepare me for the future. It is just like a river that never flows backwards–it always continues forward. When an obstacle gets in its way, it either goes around it or flows straight through it. However, a river cannot form without something to shelter it on three sides. My parents provided me with this protection.

My mother was a big influence on me because she taught me how to live comfortably while still appreciating everything. She grew up destitute on a tiny island in the Phil. Just like me, she did not date boys at an early age and was a tomboy. She worked very hard at school and strived to please her parents. She made sure that these values and ideals were instilled in my sister and me. Growing up, she did not shower me with lots of money so I would learn to spend wisely. She always shed tears of joy each time I won an award–even at my lousy choir performance.

From an early age, she taught me how to cook and clean. I have always been helping in the kitchen–baking, cutting, grating, washing, etc. Nowadays, I am too busy to do these things, but I liked doing it when I was little because it made my mom so proud. Now that I am almost going to college, I will know how to care for myself.

My father, on the other hand, always rewarded me whenever I did something good. Whenever I got good grades, he would give me money or a treat. This pushed me to always do my best. I do not get treats anymore from getting good grades, but I have been molded into doing my best that it is now automatic that I put a 100% effort into all my work. He also strives to keep me on the right path by putting me into interesting programs such a piano, ballet, and tap dance.

Throughout the course of my life, I have not paid much attention to how I believe I am perceived to be. I think that I am still learning and still flowing through life. I believe I am wise but a little dumb, friendly, kind, and funny. In the future, I want to be someone that a younger child would look up to. I want to be able to live life happily and hot have any regrets. I know I will go through many more experiences and obstacles, but I just hope that I will go down the right paths. I would have never become the person that I am without other people to help me. I am even thankful for the kids who bullied me, who made fun of me throughout my life because without them, I would never have grown wiser and stronger.

My attitude towards life is a very optimistic one. Since I am lucky enough to have had a wonderful upbringing, my future will only get better. I still believe to this day that no matter how much you practice your religion, what really matters is whether you reflect your belief onto others with kindness and caring. I know that love and happiness are much more valuable than money or possession. I still believe that a person who has many friends and no enemies is richer than a person with a million dollars.

I once heard a story about a little boy talking to his grandma. The little boy asked his grandma what were the ingredients to make a cake. The grandma said they were yeast, sugar, flour, and eggs. The little boy, disgusted, said those ingredients were gross and could not fathom how they could transform into a delicious cake. The grandma replied saying even the worst things can turn into something quite delightful. Just like troubling times can turn crisis into opportunity. After all, a river is made of tiny little atoms, bacteria, and dirt. What is more beautiful is a sight of a crystal clear river running through a beautiful forest.

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