All Things Pinoy

D-- was recently hired in the department, and he asked to meet the other Filipinos sa tabi tabi.  An email blast I sent drew to a hastily organized lunch three other people.

At some point, the conversation around the table strangely, but not altogether inexplicably, turned to child-rearing.  I was impressed.  In particular, with Y---, whom I might have mentioned around here from time to time.  She is the one who was a year ahead of me in Diliman, and whom I tried, but miserably failed, to dissuade from ever going to graduate school.  After a green card and all these years here and in LA, she has, somehow, retained the word compassion in her vocabulary.  Indeed, it has been a very very long time since I've heard the words kid-raising and compassion in the same sentence.  To top it all, Y--- doesn't even have kids of her own (yet).  She said that if it were completely up to her, she would raise her future kids in the Philippines, because she believes that's the only way to teach them compassion.  But since it is not completely up to her, she hopes that a Catholic school would do it.

Mabuhay ka, Y---.  Siguro dapat tawgan ta ka pirme.  Basi pa lang, sa ulihi, matun-an ko liwat mag damgo handom.



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P.S. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure if the last two sentences convey exactly what I wanted to say.  They started in my head like this: Siguro dapat tawagan kita palagi.  Baka sakaling matutunan ko ulit mangarap.  At the moment, I absolutely can not recall a Hiligaynon word that better approximates pangarap.

P.P.S. Oh crap, I know!  Handom is the word I want.

My Life and Times 2

What does it say about you if ...

1. ... you try a shirt on, you hear yourself say, The color becomes you. Ha ha. It is somewhere between pink, gray and brown.

2. ... you wake up one morning and you hear yourself say, Damn, I'm skinny.

3. ... a heartbroken Japanese girl sobbingly tells you her story, you end up downing wine, cream cheese and peanut butter. Ironically, it is not even an extraordinary story. On the contrary, it is the oldest story in the world, which is what happens when a girl utters the fatal words Where is this going? I'm sorry, but girls should just stop pretending that this is not a loaded question. It is a fair question to be sure, but if you feel compelled to ask, should you perhaps already know the answer? Also, this is why you cannot be a therapist/counselor/psychologist. You will go crazy yourself.