ii tenki desu*

* literally "ganda ng panahon" but in our context it goes beyond that.
it becomes a source of our laughter that can't be written to be laughed out
loud. the spontaneity of it is a joke in itself.

photos courtesy of leah and daniel. posted without permission. but this time, unauthorized
reproduction of this picture without LDB's permission is prohibited and subject to criminal prosecution

lunch at 1,000 meters up in the alps of yuzawa. take a ropeway that can accommodate 166 persons at a time, pay 1,200 yen for it, and pay for lunch. how rich can you be? but what if i tell you that we got the lunch and the ropeway for free. how privilege can you get? that's exactly what happened to us today. thanks to the takahashi couple who made our day. they were a joy to be with, not because they were generous enough to allow us to enjoy the opportunity for free, but because they simply are.

it was snowy up there. such tiny flakes that poured on us, powered by the winter wind. or seemingly a blizzard. zero visibility at about 100 meters. too bad. we couldn't appreciate the contours or the forms. but awesome, nonetheless.

but the place was nothing compared to our camaraderie. leah, daniel, jason, hideo san, yoshiko san. fun company. the company with humor. the company of humor. the company with sense. the company with a sense of humor. whatever. but it was. it is.

this is my "ii tenki" story for today. whatever that means. but we had a good laugh at it. better be there to really laugh at it.

karagtatawa

you know you're a pinoy if you laugh when somebody farts and that somebody blames everyone for doing so.

here's a story. during prayer meeting, when everyone is silently sitting, heads bow, arman could no longer contain his struggle pag-utot. he slowly stands up, moves one step away and... phuuuutt! he immediately stops. looks left and right and ensures that no one notices. then moves one step and... phuuutt! he stops. oh, my! he muses to himself. slowly he moves another step and... phuuutt! to avoid further embarrassment, he runs and... phuuutt! phuuuutt! phuuuut! phuuut!

i miss such kind of stories. hahaha. i tell you, my life is a riot if i am with the right people at the right time in the right place. and even if it is at the wrong time and in the wrong place, but if i am with the right people, no telling it, we are bending our stomach to contain all the hahahaha in the world. i am such privileged to have such right people for a company almost everyday of my life. walking downtown zamora, sometimes ha kahabaan han imelda avenue to skina han real, ha jeep, ha quality bakeshop, ha alexis, ha mcdo, ha jollibee, ha skina rovic, ha balay, ha airport, ha nlbc, ha tricycle, bis diin, we laugh. no wonder i find it hard to live in isolation.

and i'm glad, the younger generations are now finding also the value of karagtatawa.

manang

she is joy to others. manang to me. now a mother of a beautiful girl. she is my best friend. was always there when i had nothing. was always available when i needed company. willing to cook. willing to listen. willing to serve. she washed my clothes. she laughed at my jokes. she lent an ear to hear my stories. night after night of story telling, she never showed boredom. she was a conversationalist.

i went to college as a struggling student. fried chicken was a luxury then. manang, nanay lory and tatay japs, opened the door of their house for me to eat whatever was available in their table. i ended up staying in their house more often than in my boarding house. when i was hungry, they fed me. when i was cold, they provided me shelter. when i was bored, they provided me company. i slept in their house. i bathed in their bathroom. and yes, manang washed my clothes for me. i gave her coke.

what made their lives so amazing is that they are not rich but their door was widely opened to accommodate me. the poor embracing the poor. where were the rich people then when we needed them? maybe they were busy enriching themselves. but the poor in wealth is rich in heart. i'd rather be with them. God bless them.

what i have become now, manang and her family will always be a part of it. by the way, i have now a washing machine in my house.

now showing: STAR WARTS

STAR WARTS. EPISODE III. REVENGE OF THE SICK.

the honks

the honks. model. modeliver ug katol, sungo, ug posporo.

• the honk model1 is carfloss of ormoc city. 6'1". 170lbs. mr killer look. mamatay ang mututok. loves to fry buwad nga may kamatis. modeliver pod ug labada.

• the honk model2 is teether of sagkahan. 5'11". 160lbs. mr macho-kachoka of sagkahan high school 1992. engineer. modeliver pod ug mga old coins. kabalo mamalantsa.

• the honk model3 is pioto of sanjose. 5'11". 162lbs. kilabot ng mga kolehiyala. kinikilabutan ang mga kolehiyala. mr ekonomista of UP 95. tihik ba. taga limpyo ug kasilyas. modeliver pod ug uling.

for orders and bookings, please call nela at 321-3279.

HK

hongkong was etched in the tablet of my memory not because of its high rise buildings which obviously make it the place landmark, but because of the warmth welcome and accommodation of the filipino brethren who left my country to look for greener pasture ober da bakod. most of them are professionals back home, but work as domestic helpers in a foreign land. simply because they want to uplift the quality of life of their loved ones.

is it worth it? i am not here to discuss the motives of their sacrifice, but i am just glad they have decided to surrender their lives in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ while they are in hongkong. thus, their coming to hongkong serves the purpose.

almost every time i go home to the philippines, i make it sure to drop by hongkong, not necessarily to see the place (we have makati in the philippines), but to fellowship with these warm people. the warmth of fellowship makes the place irrelevant. this is to underscore that it's really people that make my day. when we laugh, we laugh hard. and we laugh on jokes shared, we laugh at our mistakes, we laugh at our nothingness.

i love people who know how to laugh at life.

hospital visit

old folks. japan branch. these were my classmates yesterday morning. waiting for names to be called. class participation was the only way to be graded. either sick or healthy.

instead of going to my class, i visited the hospital for check up. thanks to pareng daniel who patiently accompanied me to and fro, spoke in nihonggo in my behalf. i was checked up by an english speaking lady doctor - thanks heaven she spoke english. a stick was uncomfortably inserted into my nose to get a sample of my mucus for flu test. suffice it to say that God is sovereign. He is in control. nothing to worry about. nothing to be alarmed. but having a fever due to cold is still uncomfortable.

but what about those old folks waiting for their turn? how were they feeling? i was told that having no Christ in one's heart, having not believed, would bound a person into eternal damnation. if they were sick and having no Christ, what life then be for them? if they become healthy and still have no Christ, what would it do to them? Mark 8:36 states matter of factly: What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." - 1 John 5:12. I wish you all Jesus in your heart.

(i had an old insurance card which was no longer acceptable and the hospital staff allowed me yesterday to secure the new one without me paying anything yet. huh, japan! so, today i went back to the hospital to settle my account. and for the 3-minute meeting with the doctor and the 2 hours of waiting, i paid 1,000pesos, minus the medicine. to think it is only 30% of the bill because 70% is covered by insurance. whew, japan. i think i paid for the 2 hours of waiting.)

postautumn notes

autumn has long been gone. perhaps that was my last autumn, if no more free opportunity to come along, if not in japan again, in other autumned country. but my thought tonight before i sleep, and while i am suffering again from a 37 degree body temperature, is on that autumn day in daigenta lake, sailing by. such freeness.

i am filling my mind tonight with good things, good memories, good thoughts. i shall think of autumn. at least if there be any pressures from my present situation, i will go into the woods with laughters in my mind, smiles in my heart.

budding girls

their company is pure delight. gem, chikki, dadai. gem is smitten to dunkin donuts (hmm kulots daw an buhok). chikki has A for her past. well, exempted la anay hi dadai kay bata pa duro.

gem will be in college soon. she plans to pursue a career in social work. nice course. she loves to laugh and a certified diehard fan of archie, star wars and westlife. (are the last two funny?) chikki is into nursing, first year. she cooks well, an inventor of menu and manages to make it tastes good. chikki is the girl who requested jun to dissect her frog (poor jun and poor frog), and requested me to buy white varnish, pampaputi daw han frog bones. the salesladies were in question mark look when i asked for a white varnish. i called chikki and told her cutix nala, o kaya tide bleach. until now i dont know what happened to that poor frog. it got mix up with this pampaputi ekek. dadai is into very girly thing. of course because she is a girl. the youngest of these 3. she likes pink, flowery things, cuties, and well, when she faces the camera, she transforms herself from a shy girl into a pro.

i wanted to say it's a riot to be with them. but no, it's not. it's just pure delight to be in these girls' world. any suitor insterested is required to make a courtesy call...

some notes

it is now 12:58 past midnight. after designing "gem" for more than 4 hours, i am now ready to retire. "gem" is the cover design of table calendar i specially made for gemma who will graduate and celebrate her birthday in april. that 4 hours included writing my message, chatting with gary and ate nila, and printing the calendar.

gary has been busy also with his new found blog (www.treasuryofverses.blogspot.com). there is one thing that we realized in this blogblog: time and effort won't mean a thing if you really like what you are doing. we seem to be lost in the world of academism. and we seem to be engrossed in the nonsequitor world of blogs. plus, in my case, the world of designing a simple table, even late, calendar. why? we are just simply interested. or it is just simply interesting.

4 hours, and counting, if you really love what you are doing. i am not even mentioning that i got a fever for 2 days, and still having a cold, slight sore throat, nasal congestion, and feeling literally cold.

gem

she is 16, turning 17 in less than a month. she was only 2 months old then when she came into my life, now she has metarmorphosed into a beautiful lady, as if freshly out from her cocoon. i am just amazed of God's love guiding her to become a person as she is. unique. irreplaceable. precious as gem. chosen by God among millions. in the history of the world, there was never a person like her; and in the history to come, there will never be another.

by april she will graduate in high school. an accomplishment in itself. i am proud of her. my thoughts fly miles home.

but more than that, it's a blessing to have waken up and realized she has now grown up, growing more, growing wiser. sixteen years. the sweetness of it. and sweeter as the years go by.

she calls herself gemzkulots. i call her gem.