Be Cheerful, Strive To Be Happy (In Memory Of A Father)

Photo from vgsamson.multiply.com

[Note: I have never known my father, who passed away last April 26, to be the literary sort of guy. Which is why I will never forget the time when he quoted the Desiderata when my sister and I were once bickering inside the car so many years ago when we were still kids. I thought - wow, Dad is actually quoting Desiderata?! Correctly at that! Now I guess I can best sum up how I would like to remember my father by reprinting The Desiderata. I know, this is so trite, our relationship was far from perfect, and I wasn't exactly the nicest child that a father, and even a mother, can have, but I miss him, as early as now, just as I miss my mother.]

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

Father's Day, Four Years Ago

I am reprinting this post that I made at my Multiply site in memory of my father, who passed away last April 26, 2011. You can find the original article by following this link.

This was written when I was in Hong Kong, doing my post-residency training. I kind of feel a tad guilty that I have not written about my father so much.

I wish for him to be happy, wherever he is now.

HAVE YOU GREETED YOUR FATHER LATELY?
from vgsamson.multiply.com, photo from the same site
(June 17, 2007)

I just did, through SMS. Sending him e-mail from my part of the world would not be feasible, since he never uses the computer, much less surf the internet.

And what did he say in return? His response was very typical of him, being a man of a few words: Tnx.

At 66, my father is not as young as he wishes to think he is. (In the orthopaedic world, however, 66 is still young. Trust me.) It’s all in that face of his. In spite of the fact that he had a stroke 8 years ago, his demeanor, save for minor wrinkles and alternating white hair, remains as youthful as ever. The world turns at a rapid pace, but the world that he knows takes it easy, and for him it seems that the only reminder that time goes by is the tome of photographs of people, living and dead, who surrounded him at any given point in his life. Nothing wrong with that: people do tend to be nostalgic (he always does) especially when there is a lot to recount in the past.

I just wish that he’d stop smoking like a fiend….

It is Father’s Day today, and next month it’s going to be his birthday. For geographic reasons I will not be able to visit him this year. I now owe him some visits. Should pay him one as soon as I get home.

In Observance Of The Greatest Passion and Sacrifice

[Image from this site.]

Today Is A Special Day

Actually, for the most part of my life, the first 15 days of April are some of the most special days of the year and are the days that I look forward to spending. If you have been reading this blog for quite sometime, you will know my recurrent references to summer, the sun, and the memories that I attach to them, whether joyful or the reverse.

Today is no exception. You see, a few weeks ago, I made a crucial decision to try an opportunity in a place that I have only been once. I know of no one in this place, nor do I have a fair idea of its ins and outs. All I know is that this place is bisected by a highway that is hardly lit at night. This place is so different from my home in Makati where I could just go out of the house at whim and feel safe even in the middle of the city.

Where I am

Not in here. Step gingerly out of this establishment at night and a provincial bus will likely crush my physical being into a horrendous mush. There are hardly any bars that play the music that I want. The nearest decent pizza place is, like, 30 minutes away. And since I do not have my own PC yet, I only get to go online at night, when no one is around, on a borrowed computer and borrowed connection. Ad infinitum. Alas. So different in here.

And yet, I am doing fine. For one, the food is fresh, the vegetables taste so good. The air is definitely cleaner. The people whom I am with are mostly nice, and I am still accorded my precious privacy, somehow. I get to eat more broccoli and cauliflower now more than ever. :)

It was, in so far as I regard it, a well-made decision. This is the change that I direly need.

Today, I had a good meal as usual. I had loads of mangoes and papaya that I eat with boiled purple yam (great combination!). I got to take a 20-minute joyride to the main city, my ride blazing the road that is flanked by green rice fields as far as my eyes can see. I gave the staff and my host some pizza. A little later on, we went to hear Sunday mass in a beautiful church that is more than a century old.

It has been a tradition among people here to make a wish when entering a church for the first time. In the church, the crowd was singing to a familiar religious tune, while birds kept on flying to and fro, darting through open doors and flying all around the place.

I made my wish...

Stepping out of the church, my mind was filled with earthly concerns, but was being consoled by a constant thought.

Today is a special day, as will be the rest of the days. I may not be immensely happy yet, but I am comforted, and that will be good enough for now.

Second Death Anniversary

Je A. Bautista (Jan 1, 1966 - April 4, 2009)

Tu me manque. Take care forever.

Nearly four years ago, I was doing my training in Hong Kong. Je came over for a 4-day stay with me. My senior was all too glad to give me the time to be with him. You see, I noticed that the Chinese, and the Asians in general, value family and relationships so much. Knowing that Je was very important to me, my gracious senior allowed me enough free time. Not wanting to take advantage of his kindness, I worked double time so that I can have enough time with Je without sacrificing the quality of my work.

Je was meaning to stay for just 3 days, but he extended. The 4 days of his visit were probably some of the best days of my life.

I documented his visit in a photoblog of sorts. At first, Je was hesitant to have his photos put up for the cyber-universe to see, but he eventually obliged. Please visit the site. I simply want to share what happiness meant to me in the not-so-distant yet very distant past.

http://vgsamson.multiply.com/photos/album/24/The_Tourist_As_An_Accidental_OFW_or_the_other_way_around

and

http://vgsamson.multiply.com/photos/album/25/The_Tourist_As_An_Accidental_OFW_Part_2

It has always been said that we have to live in the here and now. True...but it is the past that make us into what we are, now. The past that has made us the better persons that we are now, is the past worth remembering.

Can you blame me when I say that somehow, I live in the past? It is so, because I want to live for the present, and the future.

Today, I remember...to go on. Here and now and forever.

My Newly Acquired Preoccupations: Bleach, Bulanglang, and Baker King (!)

Adapting to the rural life has made me look into things that I normally would have missed in the city where I lived for the most part of my life.

For instance, I get to eat some dishes that I will never get to taste in their freshest back in Manila. The vegetables and fruits here (oh well, here in Nueva Ecija - there, I finally revealed :P) are absolutely delicious and so fresh. If there is one single reason for me to want to stay put in this place (or in any other place outside the city for that matter), it would be food.

And since my nightlife is limited to staying indoors (no bars, no late-night spur-of-the-moment strolls etc etc), I get to reacquaint myself with the television. I am not exactly a TV person, getting impatient when I watch something that lasts more than 30 minutes, but recently I drew the line for a few shows.

My present preoccupations are those that I may not be busy with if I did not accede to the recent call of the countryside.

1. Bleach

Bleach, as in the anime. It is widely popular and I know about it, but never spent time watching it on the Animax channel. The preoccupation is mainly because - sigh - I miss watching animes like I used to when I was still a child.

2. Bulanglang

Bulanglang is an Ilokano dish made mainly out of vegetables. I was served bulanglang in the house of my host and I certainly appreciate that the food here is fresh and delicious. Recipes can be found here and here. Photo from this site.

3. (The) Baker King

I have been telling people that The Baker King, the popular Korean telenovela that was initially shown in South Korea during the latter part of 2010 and is presently being shown here in the Philippines, is my biggest guilty pleasure in recent memory. Why, I never even followed a single Korean drama series - until now. That this drama series is about the joys of baking is enough to make me sit up and pay attention. The storyline is likewise engaging. Check out this site...and sue me if you must, but there you are, I just got hooked.

Perhaps I will find out more new things as I go along. If I do, I will gladly share in the days to come. :)

Sometimes, You Ask For Something and Get Another (Not That I Mind)...And More Musings

For many weeks, I have been working on certain changes in my career and have been wishing hard to see their fruition. And as always, the heavens play a lot of practical jokes. Because, as I was about to gear up for some thing, along comes another opportunity.

So I suddenly find myself somewhere, hundreds of kilometers north of my homebase in the highly urban Makati City, getting a re-taste of the quiet rural life. I say re-taste, for I have had a taste of this rural life many times, although in punctuated time periods. Mountaintop, seaside, ricefields...ah, the quintessential "been there, done that".

That means less nightlife (aaaaaaarrrrrrrrgh!), less perks associated with urban living (from where I live, I only need a few steps to get a nice slice of pizza, or watch a cool movie, or pick up a book, etc), less internet (another aaaarrrrrrgggh), more quiet. The latter is the hardest to get adapted to. Silence has an eerie way of deafening me, but I guess I could use some of it these days. :)

So, no, I am not dead yet (forgive me, morbid is my occasional middle name), nor is this blog dead...far from it. Just, the sudden and unusual transition.

Change is good, more often than not.

My Heart, Thoughts, and Prayers Go To Japan Right Now

Updates HERE.