Remembering My Childhood “Christmas Eve”

Christmas is fast approaching. Many families practice different traditions in making this day memorable and special.

…some other cultures hang on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins, or other small gifts when he arrives. These small items are often referred to as stocking stuffer or stocking fillers. In some Christmas stories, the contents of the Christmas Stocking are the only toys the child receives at Christmas from Santa Claus. Originally, children simply used one of their everyday socks, but eventually special Christmas stockings were created for this purpose. - Wikipedia

Inspired by Rachel’s blog entry Santa’s Meme. Reading this reminded me of the socks I used to hang by our window during Christmas Eve. Well, I’ve always believed that Santa Claus was real. My Christmas Eve was never complete without it. I was convinced that Santa Claus never failed to come home with his gifts. That the toys I had received were all from him. I even remember my mom telling me that I should write to him in advance and tell him my wishes. But in one condition, I should go to sleep early so that I’ll be able to get up at exactly 12 midnight, which I did… Since I’ve been a good girl and followed what I’ve been told to do, all the toys that I had wished for were there. There was even a letter from Santa kept in my sock that reads “you’ve been a good girl” sort of thing…

Until one Christmas Eve when I pretended I was sleeping. There, I saw my mom put something inside my sock and kept some toys underneath our tree. But I never questioned/asked her about it. I didn’t stop doing it until my mom told me…

“You’re a grown up now. Santa Claus will only give you a pack of coal”. I just laughed about it…

I don’t see any reason why we should break that practice. In fact, I would like to do the same thing with my daughter as how my mom made me believe that Santa Claus really exists.

What about you? Ever seen Santa Claus delivered gifts to your house?

Best Nights

I was tagged by Cheche of Frechie’s World. Let me recall the 5 best nights I had in my life, hmmmmm….

1. November 4, 2004 - My Wedding Night. The same night when I became Derrick’s official wife. It was a blast. We had fun at the wedding reception. Close friends and families were present and celebrated with us. The party got over at almost 3am. And then…….. oh you know that! Hahaha!

2. May 21, 2005 - The night I saw two strips coming. It wasn’t planned! I didn’t even realized I was already 10 days late. It was my friend who reminded and asked me if I got it on time that month. Then I remembered! I bought the test kit. I was supposed to check it the next day but I couldn’t wait any longer, so I did that same night. That was it! I got two lines… The next day I called the hospital and scheduled myself for another check-up.

3. May 23, 2005 - Sleepless night. Not that I was bothered. I was soooooooo happy because I was going to be a mother - soon!

4. January 22, 2006 - It was the first time I stayed in the hospital over night. Though I was in pain, it didn’t matter at all…

5. January 23, 2006 - The night when I became a mother, officially. Need I say more? If you’re a mother, you would know….

I’m tagging Khristine, Rach and Yen.

The Looks We Had, The Way We Were

There are two songs that remind me of them, this….

Nagsimula ang lahat sa eskwela, isang barkada na kay saya… Kay simple lamang ng buhay nun, walang mabibigat na suliranin. Problema lamang lagi kulang ang datung… San na napunta ang panahon???

And this…

Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind. Smiles we gave to one another, for the way we were. If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me, would we? could we? Mem’ries, may be beautiful and yet… Thats too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget…

I don’t remember exactly how our group was formed. I just remember that there were 6 of us in that group. Our friendship started in High School in 1993. Let me brag about them, one by one…

From left - standing…

Ellen. We call her Shobe, she’s a half Chinese, half Filipina. Thus, the nickname. Our friendship had deepen during college days. We often see and visit each other’s house in Manila back then. If there are two people in a group that would always argue - that’s us! We never agreed to each other. Call it weird but we were also the best of friends in our group. She’s one of the loyal Nurses who serves our Gov’t. Hospital in Olongapo. Oh yes! She’s still “very much” single… Sounds good? We met again the last time I went home, that was 5 months ago to be exact. She still hasn’t change. She’s still the same Ellen I’d known 13 years ago.

Next is Mitch. Okay that’s me… We’d rather skip that hahaha!

Eliza. We call her Liz or Liza. A Com Sci graduate. I’d known her since grade school. We were classmates since then. The closeness we had was also something to be treasured. That made us enrolled in one University and lived in one roof. Unfortunately, we lost contact. Last thing I heard about her, that she’s also married with one daughter, a year older than mine.

Maricel. We call her Chel. A graduate of Law. The best of all the rest, simply because she’s my bestfriend. Just like Liza, I’d also known her since grade school. Chel is the coolest person I’d ever known. You won’t see her mad, unless provoked. You won’t see her frown and cry, unless she sees her bf with other girls hahaha! Our friendship is the kind of relationship you won’t trade to anyone. It’s really a treasure that you could keep for a lifetime, even after death. She knows me inside out. Vice versa. Since I left home, she’s the only one who kept in touch with me almost everyday, until now. She’s now based in Idaho. While her two boys (husband and son) were left back home. Soon, they’ll be together I know. Ooops! Wait! I just have to say this because she reads my blog… This may sound corny but it’s coming from the bottom of my heart “If I had only one friend left, I want it to be her“.

Sitting from left…

Jeffrey. We call him Jepoy. The wiz. Physics boy of the class. A graduate of Architecture. I seen him last 4 years ago. The first who got married in the group! Man! You surprised me hahaha! Thought you’ll be the last to get married! He’s now settled in Pampanga with his wife and daughter, working in an Archi firm.

Reynaldo. We call him Rey or Renan. He was once an OFW - Riyadh. He’s now settled in the UK, married to a Nurse. Also gifted with one daughter.

If I have to talk about them, the friendship we had back then, three full blog entries won’t be enough…

The only thing I could do now is sing the above songs…. while I look back and treasure each moment…

Only that much I can do now…

Click photo for a larger view. See scrap credits here.

 

Anomalies Inside The NAIA

Again? What the!!???

I received an email from a friend based in Qatar, it’s actually a forwarded email with a subject “Latest News and Anomalies In The NAIA“. Just by reading the subject I already knew what it was all about.

I had blogged about it just few months ago. The same experiences that my parents had - Dad in year 2004 (October) and my mom in year 2006 (January). Too bad they were not able to get the name of the people involved.

All the while I thought everything was resolved. Guess what? I was wrong…. those greedy wolves are still alive, working in the NAIA. It almost happened to me last March 2007, but in a different situation. I didn’t give in, duh!!!

The email I was talking about contains this message:

Sinubukan na rin namin na ipaalam ito sa XXX ngunit kailangan nila ng isang malakas ang loob na mag-reklamo at pumunta sa kanilang opisina ngunit syempre di natin magagawa yon sa dahilang nandito na ang taong nabiktima, pero sa paglantad mo, matutulungan mo ang kapwa natin kababayan, hindi tayo nagpunta sa lugar na ito at mawalay sa ating mga minamahal para bigyan sila ng pinag-hirapan natin, napakadaling negosyo ang ginagawa nila and to what expense, syempre from the POCKET OF OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS’ Ganon din sa ating Embassy, kailangan nila ng letter of complaint para makastigo itong mga G@G*NG OPISYAL NG GOBYERNO.

I have also forwarded it to a friend who happens to be one of the Balitang Middle East reporters, and I hope that he’ll be able to help us about this issue.

Whoever reading this, please help us do something about it. Spread the message… Don’t let it happen again. Don’t let those greedy wolves take our money, our hard earned money…

Filipina Victims In The Middle East

It may sound incredible, but a Filipino woman who was hired by a Saudi family in 1987 as a domestic helper is now stranded at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah after working as a shepherdess for 18 years in Al-Baha and weathering unpaid salaries, ice storms and being arrested several times by the police. “I want to go home as I don’t want to die here,” said Leonora Somera, aged 65, in an interview with Arab News yesterday. “My employer still owes me SR63,000 in back wages, but since it seems he cannot afford to pay me that amount, I’m ready to just go home.” “I never dreamed that this would happen to me,” the Nueva Ecija native said. “In the Philippines I was working as a bus conductor when my husband died. With a six-year-old daughter to support alone, I had no choice but to seek my fortune abroad. It was a colleague who suggested I apply to work as a maid in Saudi Arabia.” “Please help me go home,” Somera told this reporter yesterday, “I want to see my daughter.”

Read full report here.

When I first heard about it, I really felt bad. C’mon, she’s already 65! How could they do this to her?

This is the reason why I never let two of my cousins worked here as domestic helpers. They’d asked me to help them out. As much as I wanted to help, I did not encourage them. And I don’t want to be blamed if something like this happens. Instead, I told them to be with their family. Life abroad is not like what they think.

Not only that… Last night, it was in the news - another domestic helper seeking for help, a Filipina rape victim in Saudi.

It is so frustrating… *sigh*

24 Days And Counting

Do you read that?

What I don’t understand is the new rule they have implemented recently. The first time I went there, the validity started the day I entered their port. Now, it starts the day your passport was stamped. Since I applied for a visa a month before my departure, I’m losing one month. Hmp! Oh well! It doesn’t matter, it’s valid until Feb 2008 anyway.

D and Deye are supposed to be traveling a week before me. But D changed his mind. He decided that we all leave together on the 20th. At least If I face any problem in the immigration, he’ll be there to take care of it. That means I’ll be going home alone huhuhu! They’re staying for 2 weeks. But I feel that my stay would be extended, boss has asked me to check some stuff that we needed for one of our ongoing projects. *Crossing my fingers*

I told my husband not to tell his parents that we are coming next month, but he broke the news yesterday. Grrrrrr! Di siya masyadong excited!!!!

Bargaining Friday

Last Friday, I got up at 7am and did a general cleaning at home. Since I was busy doing the house chores, it was my husband who gave Deye a bath, changed her nappy, dressed her up and made her food.

We didn’t have to cook that day as we still had some leftovers kept in the Fridge. After lunch was siesta time. Deye went to sleep for 2 hours. I had the chance to watch MMK peacefully while my husband watched his movies in the living room.

It has also become a routine that we go out every Friday. According to the Arabs, it’s called “mini-mini“, that means “just roaming around”. But this time we went for a little shopping for my in-laws, supposedly. As usual, I used my charm to get myself a pair of new shoes and watch courtesy of my husband of course hehehe! Deye got her watch for free, her smile, hi and babay were enough to touch the sales clerk’s heart hahaha! Anyway, back to the shoes… it looks expensive but it’s not.

And the discount that I got, superb! That’s the advantage of being a very regular customer of that store - for years now. I get like 40% discount sometimes heehee! Unfortunately, the medicated shoes that my mother-in-law was requesting for was not available in that store. So we had to check from the rest of the stores in the Souq. First shop was giving it for BD8. I said no that’s too much, I could get it from the other shop for just BD5. Bargaining went on… But the sales clerk won’t give in hehehe! We left the store. My charm didn’t work. Derrick started lecturing “that’s not the way to bargain, you should always start from the lowest price that you wanted, if they agree blah blah blah…. I just smiled and said let’s check the next shop. The last shop that we went gave it for BD5.

I admit, he’s far better than me when it comes to bargaining heehee! And shopping… And budgeting… And…. Don’t you get it? Anything that money involves hahaha!

A Technobobo

I was a certified technobobo back then. Every time I remember my first job “embarrassing” experience, I still laugh about it.

But I always had an excuse, I’m not inclined with computers or anything related to it. I was an Engineering student, unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish the last year when my father lost his job. I felt the need to take over, that’s why… And even if we had computer subjects, they were so basic, and the computer units were limited. There were 3 students sharing in one PC, so I didn’t bother to touch even two letters from the keyboard. It was me taking the notes down for the group reports, whatever.

I did a night shift for the first week of my first job - in the Purchasing Department. Store keeping paper and other related works were delegated to me. That night our GM stayed back in the office, he approached me and handed over a floppy diskette and said that he needed those docs to be printed. I had no chance to reason out as he walked out of the office immediately. It was already 10pm at that time. I had no choice but to call my colleague who was a year senior in that company. The conversation went like this:

Me: Tita Joy, saan ko ba isasaksak itong floppy, saka paano po?

Tita Joy : *She clearly explained and told me where and how*

Me : *I managed to insert the floppy* but when I was trying to open the file, I couldn’t get hold of the arrow hahaha! I again asked her “Tita Joy, di ko mahuli ang arrow, bakit ayaw? Ang dulas pa”.

Tita Joy : Hulihin mo muna kasi ang mouse, dear.

And then we both laughed…

Whenever I remember that incident, I always find myself getting a good laugh. Recalling how much I have already learned and gained for the past 10 years. And I still am learning… I don’t get tired of asking and trying and trying and trying… until I get it done almost perfectly.