| 11 January 2008 |
| Am I Killing Myself? |
Dear Kara,
Am I killing myself by juggling a full-time teaching load, 6 units of Masters, writing freelance for a magazine, editing, tutoring once a week, and being an "ate" and a daughter all at the same time?
I thought about this question two days ago, when, after my class in UP, in a rush to get to UMak for my teaching classes, I was called up by another university asking me to teach part-time.
I told them I would love to, if my teaching load would be on Saturdays.
Then I thought, "Whoa...how much personal time does that leave me, if I'm studying and working all week, teaching and tutoring on Saturdays, and helping out with our small family business on Sundays? "
Afterwards, considering all that I have to do, I began to feel stressed and faint. *laughs*
I love what I do, really. I think that maybe, I just need a bit of a break, like I do every so often; personal time that does not involve writing, or reading books, or teaching. Personal time that would involve:
a) a trip to the salon for a manicure and pedicure, and maybe even a nice new haircut
b) a trip to my favorite massage place for a hour or so of pampering
c) a beach vacation where I can just get a tan and a whole lot of sunshine to lift my study and work weary spirit
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE!
Heehee. Soon, very soon, I hope.
(I am a woman, after all.)
 
(Photo on left shows me with Hiyas, a highschool classmate. A week later , on January 14, here I am with Mommy...and my new haircut. Yay!)Labels: me, musings, teaching, UP, writing |
posted by shing @ 8:03 AM  |
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| 04 January 2008 |
| Always Another Day |
I have a writing tutorial with my Chinese student at 1pm today.
Afterwards, I will spend my time in a coffee-shop within Makati, and try to finish my remaining three, infinitely boring reading for my MA class, hehehe.
Then later, after much of my work is done, I will have dinner with Ate Alma in Rockwell.
One of the things that I have always prided myself in, is my ability to manage my schedule well. Yes, I take pride in being able to juggle three to four roles in one day, and I am happy doing this.
There is a certain kind of exhiliration that organizing and accomplishing goals gives me. I am a goal-oriented person.
In college, my friends and org-mates used to say that they saw very little of me. And when they do, I"m always in a rush to go to meetings, extra-curricular projects, or to just have some time socializing with my friends.
I used to get "pissed" whenever my schedule runs amok because a groupmate or a friend was lazy, or was late, but later on, I was able to get over beign stressed when schedules do not go as planned. It was part of the letting go process.
I learned to, as Pooh Bear would say it in "The Tao of Pooh," go with the flow.
Now, I'm much more flexible when it comes to schedule-making. I still enjoy crossing off goals and tasks on my planner, but when I'm unable to accomplish something that day, I too find release in knowing that I can cross it off today's list...and happily write it down again, on tomorrow's front page.
There's always another day. Unless of course, I have deadlines to meet. But that's another story.Labels: essays, me, musings, teaching, writing |
| posted by shing @ 9:26 AM |
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| 03 January 2008 |
| To Market, To Market! |
Dear Kara,
Many of my acquaintances and a lot of my friends would say that I'm a certified "kikay-fashionista," which is true in many ways. Yes, I love to dress up to the nines, I enjoy
wearing accessories that my equally-fashionista mom designs for me, and I find joy in wearing and using quality apparel that is sure to weather a few years of use.
Add my fashionista sense to my fair skin, a bit of culture and education, a whole lot of English, and the knowledge that my usual hangouts revolve around the likes of Ayala Center and Makati City, and viola! I look as if I'm not able to handle the jumble and jangle of the "masa" and market places of the Philippines. (Yup, I believe that is what most people think of me! Heehee.)
Impossible as it may seem, I've been to the "Hub of Filipino Masses" as I would like to call it.
I've been to Quiapo many times over and enjoyed it! Yes Quiapo, the home of the Black Nazarene, Carriedo Center, Plaza Miranda, and the infamous "pamparegla"!
I remember the first time I went to Quiapo was when I was in High School; I think it was to see
the Quiapo Church, a major landmark, and quite a beautiful structure in the midst of the hubbub of traders, and candle-sellers. I was young then, afraid of the mobs, and afraid that I might get
lost if ever I wandered around on my own. I forgot who I was with, but I remember taking in the sights one would never see in the malls.
Beside Quiapo church resides a cacophony of fortune-tellers: palm-readers, tarot-card readers, and what-not. In one corner would be the "manghihilots" famous for their concoction of Filipino herbs and roots, stored in "lapad" Tanduay bottles, and curiously looking like witch-doctor herbal medicines. Everytime I'm around that street in Quiapo, I often wonder if anyone ever buys these things: the oils, the dried roots, the smoked leaves of various plants, and ever the vines and whatnot from a hundred or so vendors specializing in Quiapo herbal medicine.
Then we have Carriedo Center, Plaza Miranda, and the myriad other shopping arcades and
airconditioned establishments that house the traders of everything from cellphone chargers, to
nail cutters, to lingerie, bags, and hardware. Everything, and I mean everything you need or want to buy can be found in the nooks and crannies of the Chinese traders in Quiapo. Most of the stuff usually seen on caritons in the streets are imitation pieces of bags, toiletries, shirts, pants,
cellphones, cds, dvds, and mp3s, but one can find quality stuff too, if one is patient and unhurried in his transactions.
Under the Quiapo bridge we can find all sorts of handicrafts: buri and pandan bags, wooden plates, sculptures, woven mats, household fixtures, souvenirs and giveaways, and all kinds of
Philippine-made products that make balikbayans and foreigners alike go ga-ga.
When tired and hungry from shopping, haggling, and sight-seeing, the all-familiar fast-food stalls like KFC, Jollibee, Greenwich, and Chowking are just a step or two away. If one is feeling
"adventurous", there are noodle houses and old Chinese restaurants lurking in every corner. I
won't even mention the "greasy" sidewalk lugawans that people seem to flock to.
Of course, I will not neglect to inform you, dearest, that in Quiapo is housed the many swindlers
and "tiradors" of Metro Manila too. Where the crowds and money are, there they will go.
It was only a few weeks ago that we heard of a little boy who had just been hypnotized to give
away his 2,000 peso cash and belongings along the sidewalks of Carriedo. Chatting and eye-contact with strangers is definitely out of the question. All of the malls, eskinitas, and establishments post a friendly sign warning shoppers and traders to "BEWARE OF PICKPOCKETS."
I have learned, that everytime I "visit" Quiapo, I must dress down in jeans, tsinelas, and a
shirt, sans-jewelry, and make sure that my bag is infinitely huggable and close to my body, so as to discourage pickpockets.
Even while looking out for the safety of your cash and belongings, you never know who you will
meet in any of the Quiapo streets of Carriedo and Villalobos. One time, we met my dad's townmate who was now based in New Jersey. Another time, we saw acquaintances from the Makati district. Then there are the few friendly vendors whom you get to chat with about their roots. Some come from Mindanao, and carry with them their "bisaya" traits. Some are obviously from Iloilo or Bacolod, as their sing-song Tagalog is a tell-tale giveaway.
There are days when I enjoy my walk along the crowded, messy, and often smelly, blackened streets of Quiapo. I find humour in looking at the stacks of vegetables sold along the streets, babies soundly sleeping on stacks of imitation clothing, the 10-peso earrings being peddled right in front of the church, the hooded muslims peddling their 14-carat jewelry, the unintelligible
discussion of the Chinese-traders, and the smell of fruits and fresh-baked hopia mingling as I
traverse the alleyways of Quiapo.
But then there are days when I'd rather just go home, because I find that too much visual,
olfactory, and auditory activity assails my senses and triggers my migraine.
That day is today.
(p.s. no photo available as I was afraid to take out my camera for a posterity shot.)Labels: essays, me, musings |
| posted by shing @ 6:29 PM |
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