Life, Day by Day

A friend told me the other day that she resigned from her good-paying government job but will be starting work with a private corporation soon although with lesser salary, but that did not matter.  She explained that after more than 10 years, she has reached the maximum level of where she wants to be in that organization and it was time to move on to more exciting things.  I was happy for her.  As someone who also worked for government almost all of my entire adult life, I thought she was very brave to take a step outside the box. Her decision once again reminded me of how I wished I had that courage to do the same during those times in my life when I wanted to opt out from government service too.  But I thought too much about the years and the money I have invested for my retirement that I couldn't risk changing jobs in mid-life. Oh well, that dilemma has been decided for me when I was suddenly dismissed from my job late last year. I have never been the type to dwell on the what

My old family home was a one and a half structure with rooms on the second floor, built on a 1000 square meters corner lot. The stairs had about 10 steps and as young kids we would slide down the long balustrade. We lived here for 26 years but unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, the possibility that we would lose this house was looming after 1985 and so, looking at our options, we could either build a new house or move into my father's ancestral home which was no longer occupied by then since my grandmother stayed in Manila most of the time. My family home in 1962 just before we bought it from it's original owners My father's ancestral home was even bigger. It was a two story structure with rooms and living areas both in the first and second floors. My grandmother as she grew older found it hard to stay in her second story room, so we had to move her downstairs. It was during this time that I saw how hard it was to maintain a large house and how

I used to think that bringing up kids wasn't all that hard. My parents raised us their 3 children (1 girl and 2 boys), fairly and without biases. We all had the same privileges and got the same kind of punishment when we did wrong. I never felt any more special than my 2 brothers. But when I became a mother to a 3 month old baby boy in 1991, I realized that it was not easy at all and that parenting is the hardest job in the world where there is no retirement ever. And so when I took home a 5 month old baby girl (who was born severely premature) for Christmas in 2008, it was an act of faith and trust that this too is God's will for me and my family. You see, raising my son was a relatively fun task for me, maybe because as the eldest in my family and the oldest grandchild, I grew up looking out for my brothers and playing with my cousins, majority of whom were male. I have always been partial to boys, even as a child. I remember each time my mom became pregnant, I would al

I remember that night as clearly as if it happened yesterday. It was about 7 PM and we were all gathered at the table after dinner listening to what was happening in Manila on the radio. Then, we heard it..."wala na si Marcos" (Marcos is gone)...we all looked at each other as if to check if we all heard it right. Then I saw my dad for the first time ever in my life, with tears in his eyes and in a quivering voice saying, we are free .  My mom started crying and suddenly everyone was laughing (and crying all at the same time), cheering, jumping and hugging each other.  We all climbed into our car and drove to the town center, where the church bells were ringing , people streaming into the street in their night clothes (just like us), some did not even bother to put their dentures on!  There was a lot of clapping, cheering, hugging and pure joy in everybody's face.  The police kept a respectful distance but some were also waving and clapping.  That was our shin

My life was basically stress-free when I was a kid. I can't explain it but nothing much bothered me. Perhaps it's because I am open and accepting and pragmatic, up till now. It was during my late 20's that I  had to face and deal with major life changing events and crisis that would come one after the other. Burn-outs started in my 30's brought about by pressures and challenges at work. But even then, difficult and stressful though it was, I would come out still smiling.  Someone told me once that it is hard to feel sorry for me since I always look happy.  How do I do it?

I have been so busy the last 5 days that I have not been online much, except to check my mail.  As I opened my Facebook, I saw a lot of posts about Jeremy Lin but I did not think much of it, although I did see from the pictures posted that he was a basketball player.  Tonight however, I read a blogger friend's update about being in love with this guy and I got curious.  How good is his game?  So I googled his name and I find that Jeremy Lin is a New York Knicks player !  Now THAT got my attention.  I was a kid when I fell in love with the New York Knickerbockers (now just NY Knicks ) and idolized their stars Walt Frazier , Willis Reed , the late Dave Debusschere .  This was in the late 60's and my dad (who was a Celtics fan) and I would watch the NBA on TV. I can't remember exactly if it was a live telecast (no cable TV yet) but thinking back, I think it was because I remember we would put bets on our favorite teams and tease each other on who would win. I was over the

Let me just say it outright... Pinterest is addicting. I was introduced to it a few months ago when the "it's more fun in the Philippines" was first introduced and a link was sent to me.  I thought...not another social media!  But then someone sent me another link and this time, I paid attention. It is actually very useful...like having a big organizer/planner in pictures.  Plus, if you really get into it, you can actually make a visual summary of your life, so that it becomes some sort of resume because it gives people an idea of who you are, your likes and dislikes, your dreams and aspirations. And it works because memory retention is better when people visualize something.   For someone like me who likes to make lists...what more can I say? I am hooked.  Please visit me at  http://pinterest.com/merlmd/ note to readers: This post is written purely on my initiative for totally selfish reasons...I want to share my page (big grin)