ang_chobibo

Nung bata pa ako, andami kong nababasa na mga babaeng nagpapakasal ng 23-25. Sa mga binabasa ko, kapag ang isang babae ay wala pang asawa pagtungtong niya sa ganitong edad…naykupu…parang malabo ng magkaasawa. Kaya sa aking murang kaisipan dapat pag naging 23 ako, asawa na. Gudlak. 24 na ako.

Marami na akong kaibigang batchmates o malapit ang edad na nauna ng nag-asawa. Karamihan merong isa o dalawang anak. Ang iba naman nag-asawa lang, wala pang anak. May iba din na nag-asawa kasi magkakaanak na. Ke mahal nila ang isa’t isa o hindi, mga nagsiasawa na ang mga nilalang na ito. Ako nama’y hindi nagmamadali. Wala pa akong kabalak-balak mag-asawa. Ako’y napaisip lang kasi sandamakmak na imbitasyon sa mga kasalan ang natatanggap ko at nakapagbalik-tanaw tuloy ako sa aking kabataan. Paano ko ba gusto magpakasal? Anong eksena? Hmmmmm…

1. Sa simbahan ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas sa Diliman, lungsod ng Quezon. Malaking parte ng buhay ko ang simbahang ito. Kelangan maikot ko ang kabuuan nito na naka-traje.

2. Sa Disyembre, araw ng kabilugan ng buwan. Para masaya dahil magPaPasko at maraming pera mga tao. Bwahahahaha

3. "Your gift appliances are good but we need cash." Motto ng kasal ko ito, nakalagay din ang ganitong paalala sa mismong imbitasyon. Ayaw ko kasing makatanggap ng anim na pirasong takure, 5 plantsa at 12 set ng plato, platito, baso, kutsara at tinidor.

4. Ang traje de boda ko ay puting-puti. Hindi beige, off-white o mother-of-pearl. Ang "motif" ng okasyon ay royal blue na shining, shimmering, splendid.

5. Ang mga imbitado ay iyong mga taong malapit lamang sa aming puso ng aking magiging esposo. (hindi ito Town Fiesta)

6. Bawal ang mga adik na "photo-video coverage crew" na nasa altar at lalo na ang mga nagdidikta kung paano ako ngingiti sa camera habang shino-showcase ko ang iba’t ibang gamit na pangkasal namin.

7. Walang kamag-anak na magluluto o mag-aasikaso na parang berdey party ang dating. Dapat lahat ng mga mahal namin sa buhay ay mga nakagayak na ayon sa mahalagang okasyong ito ng aming buhay.

8. Personalized din dapat ang kanta sa misa.

9. Ang "vow" na ipapahayag namin ay galing sa aming mga puso hindi scripted. (pero ok lang may kodigo)

10. Photo-op kung photo-op. Wag masyado stiff kahit medyo organized lang.

11. May videoke sa reception. (ano pa nga ba? hahaha)

12. Sa reception na magsasalita ang mga parental units, best man(men) at maid(s) of honor.

Ayan palang naman ang mga "required" sa kasal ko. Isang beses lang ako magpapakasal kaya i-oorganize kong maige. At bibigyan katuparan ko na ang aking pangarap simula nung mapanuod ko si Gelli de Belen at Jomari Yllana. Pagkatapos ng kasal lipad na sa Camiguin para magrelak kasama ang aking magiging esposo.

Ayan, lista lang. Matagal pa bago magamit ini. Hindi ko pa makita ang sarili ko na may asawa. Not yet, not in the near future. Madami pa ako gusto gawin sa buhay ko. Marami pang gustong puntahan. Pag nagpamilya na kasi, natural iba na ang priorities kaya ayos pa ang single status. Masaya pa ang life.

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December 2006.
Boracay. May plane ticket na (roundtrip pa!), naka-book na sa hotel…hindi natuloy.
May bagyo.

December 2007.
Ilocos Norte. Planado na lahat, transpo, accomodation, itenerary…hindi natuloy.
May bagyo.

Isa pang hirit para December 2007.
Pangasinan. Bolinao. Nagpaplano pa lang naman…hindi natuloy. Lumindol.

February 2008.
Negros Oriental. Dumaguete City. May plane ticket na (hindi roundtrip kasi punta kami pa ng Bacolod at Cebu kung kayanin). Itenerary? Check!

Sana lang walang bagyo. Sana lang hindi lumindol. Pagkatapos ng anim na taon, magkasama kami ulit  maglalakbay ng Soulsister ko sa Visayas…wag masyado ma-excite. Pwera-usog.

Pero may motto na kami eh. MUAN-HA NAMI DUMAGUETE!!!

Nyahahahahaha…

Bakit hindi ko alam na nasa Pilipinas 2 weeks ago ang VERTICAL HORIZON???!!!!!

AMPOTAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

AAAAARGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Ang sama ng loob ko…waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

click the link to see for yourself? sniff…sniff…

Sa Araneta pa…bakit ganyan??? wwwwaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

On November 10 this year, at around 7-8 in the morning…a new princess was added to our family.

We welcome you with confetti…

SOPHIA YSABELLE SALDAÑA MINLAY!!!!

God is good. Amen? Amen!

U.P. made you in a such a way that when the world is sitting, you would be standing…and when the world is standing, you’ll stand out…and when the world stands out, you’ll be outstanding…and when the world tries to be outstanding, you’ll be the standard. (in short, naging pasaway ka!hahaha) Isang masaya at makabuluhang sentenaryo sa inyo mga Iska at Isko!

Terno. Magkapareha. Swak.

Naisip mo na ba kung bakit magkabagay ang puto at dinuguan? Suman at asukal? Manggang hilaw at bagoong? Wala lang. Kasi…

Terno. Magkapareha. Swak.

Maraming nagtatanong kung bakit ako mukhang ketchup. Ung banana ketchup ha (preferably UFC Tamis Anghang). Kelangan may ketchup sa prito. Pritong manok, baboy, baka, isda, itlog (ung puti lang kasi di ako kumakain ng yolk), hotdog, corned beef, tocino (ayaw ko ng longganisa) at baloney. Kelangan may ketchup sa adobo, menudo, beef at pork steak o inihaw. Sabi nila kakaiba. Ang hindi nila alam, sa bahay namin, lahat adik sa ketchup. Ang mga magulang namin, naimpluwensyahan na pero kaming limang magkakapatid- ADIK talaga. Dati ang bili ng mama ko ng ketchup ung regular na bote, eh ang nangyayari, sa isang kainan, ubos na agad. Ngayon move on na. Ung 2L na orange bottle na tumatagal ng isang linggo na. Happiness ang ketchup. Pag walang ketchup—iba ang lasa ng food—kulang. Malungkot. Badtrip. Anyway, moving on…

Terno. Magkapareha. Swak.

Ung magkaparehas na hikaw. Ung ternong bedsheet at punda. Ung champorado at tuyo. Ung Yakisoba at Magic Flakes sa dorm. Ung lahat ng pagkain at ketchup. Ung mga silog menu. Ung suka at chicharon. Ung beer at sisig. Ung Mr. & Ms. JS Prom. Ung muse at escort. Magkakapakner.

Ganyan din sa life. Naniniwala akong may katerno ka. Paano mo malalaman? Basta. Malalaman mo na lang. Gaya ng alam mo na hindi magkapares ang tsinelas na suot mo. Hindi kasi…

Terno. Magkapareha. Swak.

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it’s all right

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it’s all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it’s all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it’s all right
It’s all right

Here Comes the Sun (Lennon/McCartney)

The Beatles

Sometimes the changes each of us go through in our lifetime is enough to make anyone loca. I would even go as far as saying that we’ve had our sanity on a thread. We may not be aware of it or we just simply refuse to acknowledge it.

What then is normal? What then is right? 

I read somewhere that “normality is merely a matter of consensus; that is, a lot of people think something is right, and so that thing becomes right.”** True. So does trying to be different essentially wrong as you can obliterate society’s equilibrium or can it make you mentally dysfunctional for the reason that “as you force yourself to be the same as everyone else, it can cause neuroses, psychoses and paranoia?”** An alteration of nature? A distortion of how we should be or is it just the real us trying to escape from what custom have limited us to be?

Sanity. Psychoses. Society. Changes. I guess I really am a chronic overthinker. So what happens then to an overthinker who has nothing to do and no one to talk to about everything and nothing? Lunacy. But what if the social order defines lunacy differently from me? Would that make me a psychotic? Or would that make the public a big neurotic mess? I say it would depend on which perspective you’re looking at. It actually is the point of this entire argument.

Sanity. Madness. Raison d’être. Mental illness. Someone told me a long time ago that I had kept him sane. I understood him because I felt the same. You know why? Because “…insanity is the inability to communicate your ideas. It is as if you were in a foreign country, able to see and understand everything that’s going on around you but incapable of explaining what you need to know or of being helped, because you don’t understand the language they speak there.”***

Enough said.

**(Dr. Igor in Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho

***( Zedka Mendel in Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho)

I should be somewhere, celebrating the fact that I’m a free woman, independent of "the" company. But as I listen to my parents talk about the whole sordid Kris-James controversy, I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I want to release all the pent up energy inside me. I want to swim, I want to run the Acad Oval, I want to play badminton til I’m too tired to go on, I want to play volleyball til I’m too tired to go on…but I guess, these things can wait.

Everyone in our family is thinking of the impending departure of our prince. He had turned a year old last Feb27th so he is now old enough to take an airplane to Japan. Yes…that far, (sob) Japan. His parents are now taking him, of course it is time that they get to experience the joy that he brings to us every morning when he wakes up with that silly grin on his face. It is their time to experience teaching him tricks that would make him look cute and it is their time to know how intelligent and smart their young angel really is.

As with every parting, with somebody whom you love with all your heart, tears are shed. They are unstoppable. From my mom, who had been the mom he knew, to my dad who suffers in silence, to me and my brothers, the "ta-ta" and "ta-tos" who take turns taking care of him. We are struck by the heavy hand of sorrow. Our hearts are gripped by misery. We shall miss him indeed. Of course, technology would help a great deal but it will never be the same. All we can do right now is look forward to December when he will be back with his parents for the Christmas Season.

I don’t know whether I will or won’t go to the airport as the entire family sees to their departure. I can see it already: the men in our family, tight-lipped, red eyed and helplessly looking at our angel; the women, openly crying, holding on to the little angel as long as we could. *SIGH* I ask myself again…how many times to I need to feel the pain of losing the people I love? I don’t like my answer, so I will try not to ask myself that question again.

Little prince Tawe, you will be missed.

Don’t forget us.

We love you.

We shall wait for your return.

Feb4th, my Sis Sam and I watched the hit musical Peter Pan as staged by ABA Productions at the CCP. I was overwhelmed by the entire production; the music, the actors, the performance, the lighting and the works! Kudos to you all in ABA (let me give you a shower of fairy dust) and thank you sis for the cultural experience (kahit mukha na naman tayong dalawang mag-girlfriend, hehehe)! It was a night of childlike glee and of believing with our hearts! Here are some of the moments (banner, Capt. Hook, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell)…Astig!