Ebony

My sister’s cat. She’s half Persian and half Egyptian mau. A very pampered cat, she never eats leftover food. We tried feeding her the same food that we eat but she only takes a sniff and walks away. Ebony prefers cat food—the dry kind being sold at the supermarket.

My sister loves her so much she even lets her sleep on our bed. And worse, Ebony particularly sleeps on my side of the bed! Good thing my sister gives her a bath everyday.

I used to hate that cat. Maybe because I’m jealous that my sister pays more attention to Ebony. But time has its way and now she’s considered a part of the family. My dad sometimes takes her out for a walk. My brother usually makes fun of her the way a brother does to a sibling. And me, well, I just stroke her fur every once in a while specially if she allows it. One time I made a mistake of stroking her when she was not in the mood. I got a nasty scratch on my hand and she almost bit me. Luckily I was quick enough to move away.

It’s the time of the month for Ebony. All she could do is make noisy catcalls because we don’t let her out of the house. She hasn’t been spayed yet and we don’t want little Ebonies around the house in the near future. For now she just has to be content with us stroking her fur—she likes to be touched when she’s in heat.

hello Davao!

Last week, I went to Davao (together with 8 co-workers) to attend a workshop on “Effective Written Communication Skills”. It was such good timing that our arrival was the start of the Kadayawan Festival that will run for a week. I was thrilled. I was looking forward to see colorful presentations, parades, and all that festive feeling!

But then maybe I have expected too much.

I did not see any parade or colorful presentations (i.e. street dancing) because they were done during the day just when we were cooped inside the training venue trying to learn new stuff in written communication.

Again, I have expected too much from the training.
Most of the things taught us, I already know. I hate to say it was such a waste of government funds.

So I just tried to offset my disappointment by taking pictures and experiencing what other things Davao has to offer…

seen inside the Royal Mandaya Hotel

during the training/workshop....

Durian ice cream at 43 Php per scoop

of course i also did some shopping: batik bags and shawls for my aunts, durian candies for cousins, fresh durian for my dad, pomelo for my sister, souvenir t-shirts for myself.

fresh durian was sold for 65Php per kilo. i got mine for 115Php at almost 2 kilos... so much for the fruit that smells like hell but tastes heavenly! pomelos can be bought for 15Php per kilo. too bad i couldn't afford to buy stuff for ALL my loved ones. then again, i hope they'd understand that being an ordinary government employee doesn't make one rich. hehehe.

note to self / lessons learned/things discovered:

1. remind self not to expect too much

2. some people just don't readily welcome new learnings (in the case of some participants in the workshop)

3. always have extra space in luggage for the pasalubong (because i don't wanna carry extra bags for them) or simply pack light.

Yummy! durian ice cream anyone?

one memorable trip....

the tropang trippers @ Kabayan Beach Resort

San Juan, Batangas, Philippines

Q & A.....

The other day at the office while having lunch, we were having the usual "chikahan" and sharing of anecdotes, blah blah blahs.... that lead to the topic of marriage. My officemates suddenly popped the questions that i have been trying to evade for the longest time....

• Question: Kelan ka ba mag-aasawa? (when will you get married?)
• Answer: (silence for about 3 seconds while shaking my head) Uhmm, someday! hehehe
  

• Question: Bakit? ano pa ba'ng hinihintay mo? By this time naman siguro na-enjoy mo na ang singlehood mo. Eh mukha namang sigurado na kayo ng boyfriend mo. (Why? what are you waiting for? By this time you probably have enjoyed being single. By the looks of it, you and your boyfriend are meant for each other)
• Answer: Hinihintay ko lang maka-graduate yung kapatid ko.... (I'm still waiting for my sister to graduate from college...)
  

• Question: Ah, yun naman pala eh. We'll be hearing wedding bells in the near future then! I'm sure you and your boyfriend are talking about it already.
• Answer: Yeah, we've been talking about it (my answers are like floating in the air! geesh!)
  (honestly i'm not really sure about getting married)

Ok, so maybe I'll get married five years from now.... or maybe never. Who knows?

Here are some of the reasons for my uncertainty:

1. I am still enjoying my present civil status.
2. I still relish the thought of being able to come and go wherever and whenever I want without worrying about kids or whether I have done the chores or cooked dinner for the family.
3. I still have to help provide for my family (brother and sister still in school)
4. I haven't felt that certain feeling that would make me say "I'm getting married" with much delight and twinkle in my eyes.
5. I still have to nurture my parental instinct and improve my domestic skills. Let's face it, even if today's women are on equal footing with men with regards to career, I still feel that I should know a lot of things when it comes to being a homemaker, because I want to make it a point that when I finally get married, I won't be working anymore and I'll have more time to concentrate on raising my children.

Some people are cut out for marriage. I'm not saying that I am not. I do want to get married someday. But not so soon.