When The Dust Settles, Breathe!

a couple of months ago, i've met these two lovely people Chon (not his real name) and Jenna (not her real name). in the midst of shenanigans in the office, they kEep me sane. and for that i aM grateful.

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bf and i share a secret vocabulary. yuP, we are at that level. saccharinely cute and mangled at the same time, i can't help but fawn over it. it releases a certain child-like wonder in me, this coming up with bizaare words.

i might give the doctor a run for his money. *wink

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did you feel the heat wave a while ago? supposedly it's the hottest recorded in a long time. pssht. i mIssed it. i was sleeping the whole time.

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i wanna see Fuerza Brute. it looks so cRazy fun!

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what's with networks coming up with twitter hashtags and then imploring the viewers to trend the show? desperate, much? it's just so sad. and do they even know the rules of trending?

have you seen the trending topics lately? "(insert random star name) Day", is the "in" thing among the kids nowadays. they'd sit together in groups, clutching a celphone and tweeting.

i rEmember when i was a kid, the "trend" we follow would be what's the latest cartoon and what card collectibles come with it. the closest thing to a hashtag would probably be the band aids i had to plaster all over my knees from all the running and squeezing into tight spaces. i guess being a kid and fanaticism has taken a new, technologically savvy form.

if i were to tag this part, it would be #oldpersonreminiscing hahaha.

oh well.

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it was Ash Wednesday yesterday. i almost forgot about it, until i saw people walking around, looking like they fell on something nasty. sometimes, i think, the priests are just arbitrarily putting the cross on the foreheads. must be so tiring doing it for the nth time.

i saw a lady at the office, bearing what vaguely looked like the Fantastic Four symbol.

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happy Thursday, everyone!

Just Shush

do you consider yourself religiouS?

growing up, i remember just being "second-hand religiouS". my mom and dad aren't atheists, but they aren't the praying type either. they believe that going to church should only be done once a year -christmas! my grandma (mom side) was more of the "thou shall not speak the Lord's name in vain" type.

every summer i remember, we would stay over at her house to have a respite from the city lifE. it was an idyllic existence, except when it's the holy week. she would reprimand us if we are not doing the motions.

she had a rule about not uttering a word for the whole of Holy Friday. we can only do hand signals. speaking louder than a squeek would make the cross heavier and the nails more painful for Christ. being impressionable young 'uns that we are, the thought of making someone bleed because of our talking mortified us.

and the fooD. oh the food! fish cooked in every imaginable way. grilled, baked, put in sinigang, skewered, relleno-ed...we had to check our backs just in case we were growing scales.

then there's the praying of the rosary...in spanisH. i was just mumbling along.

we also had a specific hour of the day where we would just meditate about our transgressions to the lorD. we had to ask for forgiveness for every single one.

playing was not allowed of coursE. but back then i was already i was already a hard headed runt so i went sneaking into the storage room. i piled chairs to reach the high cabinet containing my toys. chairs slipped. got the wind seriously knocked out of me. and i semi passed out. when i got to, it was late afternoon.

i got to know my lola's posse of lovely old ladies and their hushed chitchatS.

it seemed to go on foreveR. sadly, just like the afternoon sun setting, my grandma got weaker as time marched along. soon she barely have the energy to stand up.

with her, our holy week traditions went awaY.

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the silence of the day makes me feel like looking back on those golden afternoonS. i used to abhor those rules. now there is that bittersweet pang reminiscing.

the holy week we knew back then is so different from what it is now, don't you think sO?

which one do you prefeR?