It's Written in the Stars, Maybe.

Nothing else makes you stop and take stock at things than a sudden death of someone you know quite well.  Two Sundays ago, a work-friend of mine suffered a heart attack as he was getting ready to get out of the waters of Monterey Bay after what his friend called a spectacular dive.  He scuba-dives on weekends -which was a pleasant surprise to me when I first learned it of him because he did not seem to fit the scuba-diving type.  I jokingly told him that I see him more line a  mowing the lawn on weekends -type.  Well, he did that too but only when he wasn't covering serious mileage on his bike or plunging into the freezing waters of the Pacific Ocean or handing out water at some local marathons for the disabled.  He was my confidante, my mentor, and my train buddy - he too commuted a couple of hundred of miles to work.  He was no spring chicken at close to 60 but still he used to tell me - ironically - enjoy life, it is too short to fret about un-important stuff.  The last time I saw him I told him that he looked like he lost some weight to which he answered - nah, just a new haircut.  He was his usual jovial self looking forward to the days ahead I am sure.  The following Monday, he was not at our regular morning meeting.  I heard that his friend found him flipped over in the waters as he tried to free himself from the sea-kelp but not before he talked about how great the dive was.  I guess, he kissed the ocean goodbye as he went out of the world doing what he loved to do best.  That Monday before I knew that he passed away, I passed by the train heading out of town and I thought of him being in it getting ahead of me as I sat stuck in traffic in my car.  Little did I know how true that was.  For two weeks now, I think of him, and what he used to say and how he lived and viewed life.  It's over-said and overwrought I know, but one can never really know what the next day brings.  But even though we know that, we still push through as if we do - unfortunately, we tend to obsess on what might be or we wished will be rather than living the present and actually "experiencing" what is now and happening.  I told another friend - why can't I just say:  today I am doing laundry or pulling weeds and that is how my life will be that day - own the laundry, the weeding - feel it all, enjoy it even, or hate it, anything, just feel it.  My friend was feeling life as he left it - my wish for me is that I do the same while still living it.

My Un-Freaky Friday

The night had no chance after a feast of Boiling Crab crustaceans, a hefty serving of rocky road ice cream, and a generous dose of Chinese mentholated ointment - my antidote to everything.  Prior to all these, I spent the entire twilight driving and freaking over my son's stalled car at a tennis club.  At the moment, I am catching up on historical trends by watching JT's suit and tie at SNL and thinking - is it the show or getting too old for this? Yup, tonight - it's all going down.  To bed.

How I Became a Shop Girl

Me circa 1988

3 things come to mind when I look at this picture:  1. I am clearly partial to bob; 2. so here was the origin of my chronic obsession with stripes; and 3.  how I wished that I still have that laminated Thai art hanging above my head.  You ask:  what is up with all that soda behind me?  And really, why this throwback photo?  Well, my current obsession with restarting our small business (Sala) reminded me that I came from a long line of small business people - the storekeeper kind.  My grandparents (with whom I grew up living next door to)were always tending to some selling business or another for as far back as I could remember.  My lola sewed house dresses, curtains and rugs which she sold to the ladies in the neighborhood and even at the market.  One of my earliest memories of my mother was her baking ribbon-shaped cookies made to order for the neighbors.  All my growing years, our house or my lola's house had a sari-sari store (general goods store) at the front.  This picture was shot at our old kitchen in the Philippines which was then taken over by cases of soda bottles for our store at the front.  My dad turned to this business full time when he retired from the service in 1986.  This was at the height of our modest sari-sari store business just before the entire family left for the States.  I am thinking about all of these now as Mel and I obsessed about our "business" future.  Starting a business always strikes me as a romantic venture which I know sounds so un-business-like.  But how else can you describe an act that is fueled first and foremost by a "dream"?  And yes, the "dream" is in me.  Now making that "dream" come true is the stuff for real life.

March - Is That You?

I was meaning to plant a citrus today as Sunset Magazine advised one to do at the start of Spring.  But the sun was so non-committal so I went out and ran instead.  Then the family from the Bay Area decided to descend upon the house so the citrus planting agenda completely got killed.  The day was a smash of hanging out and eating and eating and eating... which was kind of ironic given that not a few members of the family were on diet of some kind or in my case on "Lent promise".  Still, we managed to eat Mexican and Chinese food on the same day AND with Japanese pastries thrown in for a good binge measure.  Then Mel and I taught the unsuspecting others how to play poker hoping we'd beat the pants off them, but Niko wiped us all out instead.  Defeated, the girls retreated to shop from which I emerged victoriously with a pair of red wedges that screamed spring!  It was not citrus but it was Payless!!!