Latest Addition to the Family

Since I was a child, there are birthdays to look forward to in October. It used to be only the birthdays of my brother, John Leonard, and mom. Now, October birthday celebrators in the family include John's wife, Annie, and a nephew, Stephen Christian, whose birthday came right the day after mom's.

Niece Helden turned 20 on October 4 while my cousin Elma's Fil-Canadian son, Jeffrey Ronald, has his birthday on October 18. Elma's brother, Justin, also shared that his French-Malaysian wife, Audry, and their daughter, Marie Claudine, shared an October 19 birthday. So there is so much to celebrate about October.

But the center of attraction is the newest member of the family. Annie, then heavy with her second child, was bent on giving birth on mom's birthday which falls on the 16th. But on October 12, she felt that the baby was already eager to get out into the world. So, another brother, Harold, took her to the hospital as John was away.

Weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz., Ivan Leonard was born later that night through Caesarian section. He is the first male grandchild to bear and continue the family name. Too bad, dad did not live that long to see his kin. I am sure he would have spoiled Ivan rotten and to bits and pieces. Here's sharing Ivan's first pictures:



Baby Ivan developed jaundice and he had to be put near a bulb. That explains the cover around his eyes.



And this probably is the first time Annie saw and held the baby in her arms. Isn't it a wonderful sight for mother and child to finally see and feel each other?



Welcome into the world, Ivan Leonard!

(Reposted: October 16, 2007)

Every Woman Should Have (Best-Loved Poem by Maya Angelou)

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a set of screwdrivers,
a cordless drill,
and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
one friend who always makes her laugh...
and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned
by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight matching plates,
wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend
without ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder...
and WHEN TO WALK AWAY..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips,
or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect..
but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...
and a year...

(Re-posted: October 18, 2007)

Natural Laws

Law of Mechanical Repair:
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.

Law of the Workshop:
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability:
The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of the Telephone:
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Alibi:
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law:
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

Law of the Bath:
When the body is fully immersed in water and full of soap or in the shower, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters:
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result:
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of Biomechanics:
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of the Theatre:
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Law of Coffee:
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something, which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers:
If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Rugs/Carpets:
The chances of an open-faced honey sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Location:
No matter where you go, there you are.

Law of Logical Argument:
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law:
If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

Oliver's Law:
A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson's Law:
As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

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Aida (January 10, 1950 - January 24, 2010)

She took over a parental responsibility as a second mother to me and my brother, John, when we attended grade school at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City. Her son, Victor, was a bubbly three-year old then. We were the older brother and sister that Victor never had in his life.

Her name was Aida, whom we fondly called Auntie Daya. She was mom’s younger sister. We were always fearful of her because of her strict and termagant ways. But the other side of her allowed us to enjoy childhood. She would bring John on travels with her to the province. She bought me clay stoves and dolls, the usual toys a little girl would always enjoy playing. She took us to the park and yes, shopping. She sewed my clothes with complimenting colors. She had a special knack at the sewing machine just like her sisters, being a daughter of a tailor and haberdasher.

As nephews and nieces come one after another, she was also mother to Oliver, Albert, and Antonio, the sons of the youngest sister, Oliva, when the latter left for the United States for greener pastures. I have less knowledge if Auntie Daya briefly assumed being a mother to Noriviena, Duane, and Jennifer, the children of her older brother, Henry, when he and his wife also left for the United States.

When John and I attended university, she re-affirmed her self as being second mother to us. That time, she extended her role to our younger sisters, Irma and Cherry. And for a short period of time, she was also mother to Salma, Pio, and Oscar, the children of our oldest aunt, Thelma. Then later, she became mother to Bryan Gil. She was also a sweet aunt to the rest of the nephews and nieces, and later, to grand nephews and grand nieces.

She had a strong personality and was cool on anything in fad. She taught us to drink and brought us to drinking bars. Not the ideal and perfect aunt that she was and despite her shady deals, we loved her all over. She guarded her wards like the proverbial mother hen and would fight tooth and nail to defend them. She was one ferocious woman. Like any other mother in the world, we would run into arguments with her. It was a love-and-hate relationship between her and the children in the family; children, being Victor, Bryan, the nephews, and the nieces. When hurts were healed, we would kiss and make up and love her all over again. That cycle repeated perennially.

On January 23, a Saturday, I received a text message from Salma that Auntie Daya was rushed to a nearby clinic in Bonifacio, her childhood hometown. Through communication with my sister, Charisse, I learned that she had a hard time breathing. John rushed her to a hospital in Ozamis City where she was put in intensive care. The news was relayed to Irma in Canada and Cherry in Saudi Arabia as well as to Auntie Oliva in the United States. I kept tab of her condition. She reportedly had a hard time breathing despite the oxygen administered to her. Her kidneys, lungs, and heart were complicated and eventually shut off. She could not hang on to life anymore.

The following day, Sunday, Victor was asking for prayers, saying his mother was in critical condition. Later, I received a text message from Irma while I was attending church service. Auntie Daya was resuscitated. A few minutes after, Charisse informed me she expired. That was around eleven thirty. She was 60, leaving behind, not two, but at least 15 children.

I am comforted at the thought that I was at least able to spend a night in her house when I passed through Ozamis from Iligan last Christmas holiday. Had I known that would be the last time I would see her, I could have spent more time with her. I did spend time with her, but not enough, maybe two hours that night. The following morning, I was waken to the blaring sound of the neighbor’s transistor radio at four thirty. She sensed me coming down the stairs and with sleep still in my eyes, she told me how that neighbor had been a headache (she had her bedroom downstairs). We talked until breakfast up to the time my sister Charisse came to pick me up. She had that extra glow in her eyes that morning because apart from my visit, my son also came. She exclaimed how big Anand had grown. Minutes later, her sister Oliva and cousin Oliver called from the United States and spoke to all of us. When we left, she was happily looking forward to another visit by cousin Oscar the following day.

(Auntie Daya was shown in the picture with niece Charisse and nephew Jopeter at Oscar's wedding in 2005.)

Leaving Home

Last Sunday, he was feeling like a grown-up man. The idea that he would be crossing the sea alone to the mainland was a manifestation of independence. He was finally walking out of the fortress that was home to him for 16 years. It was also a release from mom’s watchful eye to a new world waiting for him.

My little brat was now ready for university to take a five-year degree in computer engineering. On the day he left, he made certain that his stuff were all in his bag. At the lunch table earlier, he told me to feed the cats while he was away. Feeding the equally bratty pets had been a responsibility he took with commitment.

Then the time I dreaded came: bye-bye time. By twelve noon, he got ready to leave for the port while I gave some last-minute reminders: eat on time, study well, be punctual to school, take your cough medicine, watch out for swine flu, etc. He quieted me by scooping my face with both of his hands and plowing two noisy kisses on my cheek. The kind of kiss I plowed onto his cheek when he was a little boy. He also planted a loving kiss on his dad's cheek as they left for the port. I followed him with my sight until he was gone. The house was suddenly empty and I sniffled at the thought that my son is no longer a baby.

The Shaman

He lives in the outskirts between two tiny cities on the island. Beads hung around his neck, cock’s feathers adorn his head, and beetle nuts stain his mouth. His wispy frame blends like a chameleon among the lush bamboos.

He was said to heal illness. Even the testimony of a friend was enough to form my curiosity to meet this shaman. Medical doctors have diagnosed this friend of mine to have something that blocked her ovaries and scheduled for surgery. She went to the him instead who gave her healing water. The following week, the doctors were puzzled to check her ovaries and found them healthy and clear of any obstruction.

One day, while going through Yahoo!Answers, I chanced up on a question if someone knew any spell caster. I casually said yes, as there were so many of this kind of people around the island. My inbox were bombarded with a lot of queries a few days after. People as far as Singapore and Mauritius sought my help to cast a spell on someone they love.

I was particularly interested on a Philippine lady among those who inquired about the spell caster. Her husband has been philandering before her eyes. I went to consult the shaman about it. “Bring me a picture of the couple and I promise you that the man will stop his bad ways and would never leave his wife’s side from now on,” he assured me.

Amidst the shrill voices of strange birds in the trees, he then felt the pulse between my thumb and index finger. “Oh, your uric acid level is so high,” he said like a doctor reading a laboratory result.

True enough and without the shaman’s knowledge, I have been suspecting of high uric acid level in the past few months as I could not clench my fists hard enough. He gave me healing water and told me to drink a glass of it every night to wash down the uric acid. The following morning, I swear I could clench my fist so tight and never felt so renewed like before.

He also felt the pulse of my friend who came with me. The shaman said, “I can feel you have gall stones in your bladder and something difficult for me to explain. All I knew there are two disturbances in your gall bladder.” This friend went to the hospital a week after to get an ultrasound. True enough, she had gall stones and a cyst, which the shaman could not identify but feel. Doctors found it to be a recent growth.

Some questions swirled in my head. How could have he been accurate with his findings? Why did he know of our physical complaints?

Medical doctors seek him for treatment. Illnesses mysteriously disappear after a visit to this man. Young girls go to his hut dragging and flaunting husbands coming from foreign shores. Each girl says, “Shaman, this is the guy whom you cast a spell upon so that he would come and marry me.” I was floored and driven nuts.

Whatever... But I am still bent on helping this Philippine lady who has gone through a lot of tempests in her marital life.