Some memories do not really fade

I've been nostalgic again lately.

Seeing this new square donuts commercial actually made me sing the brand's song way back in the '80's:  ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ♪ Hey, Mister, that's a donut.  Hey, Mister, that's a Mister Donut, Donut... Hey, Mister, that's a donut... Hey, Mister, that's a Mister Donut, Donut. ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪  But during those times, I prefer Dunkin' Donuts over Mister Donut.  I still remember how it used to smell like donuts when we were trying to find a parking at the Quad carpark.

I was surfing the internet for some new ideas with this concept that I wanted to pursue for this season when I stumbled upon this site, crazydeals.ph.  I saw this tripod and I really think it's kind of innovative and creative.  Back then, tripods are already as long as your legs (and it's already "folded") and weighs something like a fourth of mine, even more to slimmer people.  Well, that one is I guess for professional photography while this one is something you can take with you on a tour to Boracay, Palawan or China or Singapore.  This one really caught my attention and I'm putting this on my bucket list once I'm well enough to travel.

With my allergic rhinitis, I'm so choosy when it comes to scents I wear.  In college, I have a favorite baby cologne which I wore for a long time.  It's Denenes.  And it's been one of the most popular scents during that time.  Only then, there were two choices:  pink or blue.  I preferred the pink one although I must admit that blue was the most popular.  If I'm not mistaken, half of our dorm's population (four floors of about six in a room) wears Denenes blue.  It actually has a mild scent that you can splash all over your body and not smell like you drank the whole bottle.  If you're one of those who miss the scents but don't know where to get it, you can buy it online on this site here.  It's actually on sale and you only have about ten or so days to get it at that price.

I heard yesterday that it was the UAAP finals and Ateneo won over FEU.  Well, I am not rooting for either team but I just think that FEU is a good team because of their track record.  Back then in the 1990's, I remember watching the UAAP with my friend from La Salle and FEU won over La Salle.  And of course, at this time we were rooting for La Salle as I have been a La Sallian if only for a year.  I just noticed that FEU has a good track record of almost always making it to the final four.

I tried playing pool billiard on Facebook just recently and was hooked to it for a while.  Of course, this brought yet another memory.  Astrobowl was an expensive place to be so we opted for Coronado Lanes, particulary that one near what-used-to-be Joni's Bakeshop.  I was trying to recall the street but all I can say is that it's at the corner of Pasay Road and some street.  We even tried bowling but I just don't know why we weren't so into it as much as we were in billiards.  Well, it's probably because of its accessibility.  Bowling is a sport that you can't just find anywhere else.

*Images are copied from this site.

Some time in Dubai, not long ago...

Villa, Villa Bo Villa...

A recent e-mail update from a good friend from Dubai was a little stressful.  You ask how does it affect me and I can give you more than one reason to be stressed.

Villa 16, Room #1

I chose to stay in a villa when I was in Dubai because I feel like there is a sense of home, although I know all the risks it entails.  Until our villas were inspected and our electricity was cut.  It was illegal to stay in a shared villa.  But people is still choose to do so for other reasons than what I have.  The most popular reason would be the financial side of it.  I know there is so much more.

When our villa was raided and our electricity was cut off, we were informed that we have three days to move before they finally lock the villa.  This means that we lose all our things that we left behind.  So, I have all reasons to be stressed about this news here, Shared Villas Lose Power.  

It's been almost a year since that day, and I can still vividly remember what happened starting from that phone call to inform me about the raid.  I was stressed from that moment until the day the dust settled in the flat where I moved into.  I spent half a day looking for a place and another half packing my things.  I would have spent more than that if not for my friend who referred me to some people.  Our mover came at about 7:30 p.m. and we finished unloading a few minutes before midnight.

The decision to move into a flat was out of the fact that villas are starting to be the flavor-of-the-month of the 'baladiyas' (immigrations people).  For those who live or have lived in villas in Dubai, I know you can relate.  But for those who haven't, it was a happy-sad-rewarding-stressful-relaxed-practical-relaxed-downtoearth-humbling and much, much more.

I stayed in two villas over the span of two years.  But I wouldn't have traded everything that I experienced.

OFWs and Repatriation

This news here is sad.

I remember when I left for Dubai more than two years ago. Even before that, I told myself, I am not going to leave my country under a false name. I reasoned that it's the only thing that belongs to me and only ME and I don't want to leave it here.

But anyway, when I got there and got a job, and I have been counting a few months already, there is only one thing I worry about. When I finally got my working permit and residence visa, I was glad to be working legally. But I still worry about one thing. And I have seen this happen to a lot of OFWs. They die somewhere and their bodies could not be brought back here because of financial issues.

I guess I am a little lucky that I worked for an insurance company and my boss decided to get us Workmen's Compensation.

My room mates from Dubai knows that this was a big deal for me. I used to tell them to get it out of their pockets if their employer could not give. I constantly remind them to try to squeeze it in on their budget. But all I get from them is their thought; they think I am weird to be thinking about that at all. They say that it's a morbid thing to discuss in the first place.

But weird things happen wherever you are. And I didn't want to end up trapped not only in that box, but in a country that couldn't bring me home because I did not pre-book my airfare.

NOTE:

Repatriaton does not only cover your ticket when you accidentally landed in that box. It also shoulders your air ticket when you lost your job and couldn't go home. Try to check it with your insurance consultants though.

As Time Permits

The weekend was wonderful.

I requested not to have assignments over the weekend because of reasons other than what happened this weekend. Things weren't definite by Wednesday and I understand because one of my friend's Dad was still finalize his bone scan schedule. If it falls on Saturday, then we might not have the chance for the despedida as time permits.

She came and will stay only for two weeks. Her dad was at the hospital for over a month now and was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. We went for a visit Thursday and it was a crucial day because they were still at that time trying to convince him to go for bone scan. My friend was trying to convince him to go but to no avail. She wasn't there when we came. We talked to his father who was the one who told us himself that he's been 'staged.' I took this as a pretext. When I had the chance, I told him about what happened to me and what convinced me to go for CT scan. I told him that I share his conviction with chemotherapy, but not with bone scan. I told him that I opted for CT scan to know where I stand. I told him that six months from now, I need to know if I was improving and deteriorating and there is no way I'll know if I don't have a baseline.

It was Saturday morning when I got a text message from my friend. She told me that her dad went for the test and thanked me for convincing her dad. She said that he wouldn't have gone if not for me. I told her it was a good thing that WE convinced him. I didn't want to take credit for everything; but it's a good thing for me that I was able to do something this important.

Our friendship dates back to maybe late 1990's. She used to hang out at my video shop after her classes - she was studying back then. We lost connection after I closed down my shop and 2004 and we just heard from her dad that she went to Canada in 2007. We reconnected just this year through Facebook's wonderful algorithm which reconnects friendships lost throughout the years.

But, we didn't know that she was confirmed to come home had it not been from someone. What a small world! This someone is one of our friends; my sister's student in her aerobics classes who became good friends with us. We have been to some gimiks like night-outs and dinners and birthday celebrations for quite a while now, but we just learned that our friend from Canada used to live in one of her apartments, and our friend lived there for quite a while.

I am just so amazed at how this is indeed a small world we live in. I remember how Mitch Albom ended his book, "Five People I Met In Heaven," with something like: There are no random acts... We are all connected... You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate breeze from the wind... " (I knew this quote was from this book, but didn't memorize it... I got the complete quote here.) I still couldn't believe that I met a person she knows for a long time now and that this person has also become friends with us. You might find it trivial but for me, it's something to celebrate, really.

Last night before I slept, I thought about how wonderful life is. I am so happy that after all these years of not seeing each other and being separated for so many years, we were able to reconnect and be able to spend at least one night of dinner with our other friends. We all wished it could be longer but again, as time permits. She's leaving next week, and only time can tell when we can spend some time together again. But like our other friends, we know they are still there and we are just waiting for a time to be together again.

Two Villas and a Flat

This news here has been a few days old. But it still trigger some memories.

I arrived in Dubai November 2007 not knowing where I will be staying. Having met a good friend from first trip to Dubai back in April 2007, I trusted her to make arrangements for my accommodation.

I landed in a villa good for six but at that time, one was vacant. The pay was cheap and that works for me, being a newbie. The villa had several rooms which will always be a question for me. Those that I know were maybe around eight including our own. But I didn't really find out exactly how many rooms were there. Maybe I didn't care. Just as long as our room is alright, it didn't matter.

Living in a villa in Dubai is not really ideal. Villas are prone to inspection and possible closure since the living conditions in some of the many villas are not really good. But, as for me, I was perfectly okay with where we were at that time. It was a place in Al Qusais and I feel very comfortable living there. The place is quiet, laid back and away from the city rush and pollution. I used to joke my room mates and friends that I chose to live in a villa because there is place where I can hang and dry my towel. A joke that is somewhat very true for me. I like my towel to smell like some clothes dried in the sun.

I also remember telling my best friend back home that I would really prefer good company than a good place. That's speaking in terms of the fact that I was happy with the people I lived with for about a year and a half. I will always remember we had our happy hours from 9pm to 11 pm. This is the time where we start to arrive one by one and sometimes have the opportunity to eat dinner all together.

Then, it was time to move.

I ended up in another villa that is a much better place than the one I left. I didn't have much time to interact with my room mates here since we were all preoccupied with our own jobs and our working hours rarely allow us to some bonding moments.

My stay with these people were short-lived because our villa was raided by the 'baladiya' (Immigrations people and anyone from Dubai know what this means) and our water and electricity were cut off, forcing us to look for a place to move into right away. I had no qualms about it because this is part of their law. So, all of us spent that whole day looking for our own places, because we thought it would be best to look for places near our work to save some travel time to resting instead.

 But I didn't end up with a place near my workplace. Again, I choose to look for a place where I could be tired yet have a good night's sleep than be five minutes away from my workplace and spend the whole night suffering from noisy, annoying room mates and house mates. I ended up with a friend's friend whom I didn't know at all at that time. She is a friend of the same friend who got the place for me when I first got to Dubai and I trust her judgments when it comes to these things. I ended up in a flat with her friend who is far more better than those two places I have. In fact, I used to describe the scenario like this: it's like you moved from the first floor of a hotel to a penthouse suite. Yes, far more better.

But again, my stay here at the flat was short-lived because I had to go home due to my medical condition. But I can say that given a choice, I will still choose to live in those two villas than the posh flat that I moved into. Villas give me a sense of home, no matter how far worse the conditions may be.

I wonder how it would be now for those people who live in villas. Back then, there was a law but it has been ignored for far too long. But now that there are more vacant flats that need to be occupied, they say this is the main reason why the Immigrations people are so eager to inspect. They need those flats to be occupied for economic reasons. But people stay in villas for economic reasons, too.

*The picture is the flat I lived in before I went home.

Moved

Three months ago, I shared a room with about twelve people in the OB-GYNE ward of the hospital where I was admitted for an operation.

Three of them are of the same case like mine. We were all due for an operation to have our ovaries removed.

The night after my operation, one of the patients passed away for some reasons that I'd rather not discuss. What I remember was that she was restless and started to probably feel nauseous and started vomiting; later on losing consciousness and reviving her didn't help.

I was discharged Thursday after being operated the Monday before. I left the other three since they still weren't fit enough to go home yet.

Last Christmas, one of the twelve people's daughter sent us a text message wishing us for the season. Then again, this Valentine's. We were so glad to hear that her mom is okay and back to work and normal life.

This morning, I got a text message from my sister who was on her way to town, saying that she rode the same ride with one of these twelve people's son. His mother was one of those that I left behind, and I heard that she was discharged after two more days. Today is his mother's funeral day. She suffered stroke and didn't make it.

I was deeply moved by the news. My sister and I longed to hear about these room mates with whom we shared a very important part of our lives. But this isn't the kind of update that we wanted.

These are the strangers who became a part of my life for a little while but made deep marks in my memory, since we all shared one common fate. One common fate, at least in each of our own lifetimes.

*There is just something sentimental that I find in this song.

One Morning

This was yesterday while I was waiting for a jeep that will take me to town. Then it took me back to those years then these products are in a cow-drawn caravan-like carriage. My mom used to tell me that those caravans are only in town once in every month or two to sell their toils. Since these brooms come from Baguio, I used to think they come from the north that's why it takes them a month to get to our place. I used to imagine what it feels like to be in a caravan and travel from their place to places like ours. That it must have been both good and bad to travel that way. Good because you get to go places. Bad because that meant that they live in their caravans having to do everything within that makeshift house. But in any case, part of my imagination is the scenery they pass through everyday is priceless.

Round The Bend

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the house on the corner of the street where I now live. That is the site I see around the bend coming home. I guess the wedding is over and the lights are gone, so, it's back to a normal house.

This tree below, however, is what I see on the other corner, around the bend, when I go to work in the morning.

I know there is nothing peculiar nor significant about the way this tree looks like. It's an old tree outside a house: that's it. But every time I see it in the morning on my way to work, it makes me reminiscent and hopeful.

Reminiscent of my home back home surrounded by trees, an a lot more of the plant family; from the phylum, class, family, etc. One significant tree is in front of our house, though. It is called the memory tree, given to us after our Mom's service when she went six feet under. I used to think, "as if it can take her place." But through the years, it serves it purpose, holding true to its a.k.a. name.

Hopeful is the part I could not very much articulate. It just gives me hope, period. And for some reason, one windy morning, the leaves, twigs and buds of this tree (on my way to work) sways and sang its own tune. That even added up to the joyful hope for yet another day.

Note:

Well, I wrote this this morning on my writing pad on the bus. You see, my travel time to and from work is around one hour. I sometimes sleep. But during those times that I couldn't- which is more often than sleeping - I always had to do something. I guess I got tired of my sight-seeing, so middle of last year, I was into playing games; then got tired of it. Then late last year, I got back into reading, until early March. Because I felt like I am tiring my eyes too much, I dropped doing it at the bus. Then, this morning I was in the writing mode so I did...

PaKap

PAndesal, KApe.... at butter...

My usual breakfast. I guess most of my breakfast.

I have been drinking coffee on this mug for seven years. This was a Christmas exchange gift I got at the turn of the millenium and I feel good that I still have it.

It has been the same for the past seven years, except for the pandesal. A week or two ago, the PISONG PANDESAL IS GONE (as they said at the headline news). A piece of pandesal is now at Php1.50. But you know what? From where we regularly buy during mornings, it's still Php1.00. I don't mind it being smaller, at least it is still piso. Years ago, I used to love this revel bar from our local bake shop. Then they had a price increase. But the odd thing was it also got smaller.

Sometimessss....

I'm really a little nostalgic lately...

What memory do you have of this song?