Mhy Stories

Okay, first thing first. I actually almost held back from posting this entry as this will reveal something about my personality (or shall i say character?) of being such a frugal when it comes to buying clothes. I really do not know you would think about that, but I am just particularly happy about this thing. So, here goes.


Two months ago I saw a blue blazer in one of the boutiques at a popular mall here. I really wanted to buy but it was a bit pricey to me (with emphasis on the words to me). It costs P795.00. If I wanted to, I could buy the blazer right there and then, but I found it difficult to shell out such amount for a piece of clothing which at that moment was not a necessity for me. To make the story short, I did not buy the blazer. On several occasions though, I remember checking whether or not it has been sold out already and felt relieved to see it still on display along with other merchandise. I even went to the mall one time during sale in the hope of finding it on a marked down  price but then the 10% discount for me was not enough (I was hoping for 20-50% discount, lol!).


Came Friday last week. I was on official business travel to Baguio and I took the opportunity to go to the night market (flea market) along Harrison Road. Before the night market starts at 9:00 p.m.,  I was able to run through some selections at ukay-ukay shops along Bayanihan where I happened to buy 2 pcs. of blazers at P250.00 each. I waited a little while until the shops opened at 9:00 o'clock in the evening. There I jostled through the crowd, looking for blazers. As usual, the night market is jam packed! There are lots and lots of merchandise such as shoes, shirts, jackets, dresses, blouses and other items that are up for grabs at very low, low prices (for as low as P10!) . 


Baguio's night market has become a haven of cheap yet great finds, usually clothing, for Baguio people and tourists alike. Below photos (not mine) show how this activity has turned out to be one of the major night activities in the city:

The photo below shows the rest of the items that I bought. The one with white lining and ribbon on both pockets costs P250 (I got this from the Bayanihan shop), while the imperial purple one (upper left and lower left) which needs change of buttons, by the way, was only P50, like the polka dotted one. There were two (2) pieces more. But before I decided to write this post, I already soaked them for washing. That's the reason they did not make it in this photo shoot haha!

I'm having a good day today. The raisin bread from Cinnabon has added extra goodness to this moment. Oh well, as always, raisins make my day (be it raisin bread, chocolates with raisins, or simply raisins!). Raisin is a childhood favorite, with special strings of memories attached to it, as it is one of bapa's (uncle) usual pasalubong for me and my siblings back when we were kids.

By the way, I feel light from spending the weekend in Baguio City, along with my family, though I wish for more and longer out-of-town vacation and family bonding. The short vacay was the idea of Mike, my brother-in law, who came home for a short vacation here in the Philippines along with his entire family - Evelyn, my sister, and their two (2) kids, Jiru and Ian. He said that they (Mike and his family) would come along with us in sending off Tefen, our bunso, to college. It was foggy when we arrived there on Friday. I was told that it has been raining for almost one week straight before our arrival. I was so thankful that the weather has gone better when we got there, allowing us to enjoy the entire weekend :-)

On Saturday,  inang (mother) celebrated her 62nd birthday. A week before going to Baguio, we threw a pre-birthday surprise for her, which was my brother-in-law's idea, anyway, as not all family members were coming along with us to Baguio City. He was right. The pre-birthday celebration came as a pleasant surprise for inang. Everybody was present. I remember Mike getting emotional when inang and tatang (father) finished saying a short prayer that time. Oh, really, I can't be thankful enough for that moment.

After lunch, we went boating at Burnham Park. Evelyn, inang and ching Monette did not come with us for reason that they were afraid. I admit I was, too, but then I decided to join the ride, which is my third time since college. Kong Omar and Mike got into the boat as our rowers! We had a great time, but the kids, Jiru and Ian enjoyed the most! They were laughing and laughing and even shouting during the ride, especially when our boat hit other boats, and vice versa.  

The sun was up when we were leaving for home on Sunday. We didn't plan what to eat for lunch, and Evelyn, who got tired from walking that day, decided in a hurry to dine at KFC where she ordered bucket meal. I was not in the mood to eat fried chicken for lunch, I was craving for something else and so I invited ching Monette to go look for other place to dine. We headed on to upper Session Road and stopped at Point and Grill where we ordered pork sisig and sinigang na ulo ng tuna (tuna head stew). We were satisfied with our meals that I wished that the rest of my family had dined there as well. After finishing our meals, we went back to KFC to meet them.

After lunch the rest of the group went to the market to buy some pasalubong.  I asked Erna to buy me Good Shepherd products, the ube jam (purple yam jam), which I would bring home as pasalubong for my colleagues. I was surprised to know that the market ran out of stocks of ube jam from Good Shepherd due to non-availability of raw material, the vendors told my sister. There were no fresh strawberries either, even at the shops along Kennon Road. So for substitute, I bought other Baguio products like Romana peanut brittle, ube and pandan crinkles and choco flakes.

When it was time for us to leave, we accompanied Tefen to her boarding house. Jiru cried, and so did inang, who kept on giving reminders to Tefen. I could see how Tefen was holding back her tears , to no avail, at one point. She was teary eyed when she gave Jiru a tight hug. Family separation is painful, I myself can attest to that. But then it is not as bad and difficult as it was back then. Thanks to today's technology :-)! And besides, there is ONE up there to watch over her and protect her, and with that loving protection, I know that Tefen, our dear bunso, will get by. She'll be fine in college. 

"Wish I could grab time by tail and say whoooaaa!", a friend once wrote to me. As I look out the window and indulge myself with a premium twist donut and coffee under this overcast weather, I realize that I have been wishing the same wish a few weeks ago. I have planned many things (like blogging) but until now never get to accomplish. Last week I checked on my gadget and browsed through several photos which I planned to blog beforehand but have almost forgotten. 

As I ponder on this, I see that time has slipped away so fassttt! Today is August 4. And this month of August, in four weeks' time, will give birth to "BER" months and sooner than we think, 2014 is over. I may appear like being exaggerated in my time calculations, but that's exactly it is. Time flies too fast. In a brief moment 2014 will soon close its door for another year. 

Jeanne (my travel buddy) and I talked about the same matter in passing while traveling to Angeles City yesterday. It seems it was only yesterday when we reached the month of July and now it's August. Time, indeed, is a precious commodity that seems to come only in passing. It is here now, tomorrow it's gone. It does not linger. It does not wait. It easily slips away. In my readings one night, I came across this beautiful poem about TIME:

I went out, Lord.

People were coming and going

Walking and running.

Everything was rushing

Cars, trucks, the street, the whole town

People were rushing not to waste time

They were rushing after time,

To catch up with time.

To gain time. 

And so all people run after time, Lord. 

They pass through life running

Hurried, jostled, overburdened, frantic. 

They never get there.

 They have no time. 

Inspite of all their efforts

They're still short of time. 

Of a great deal of time. 

Lord, you must have made a mistake in your calculations. 

There is a big mistake somewhere. 

The hours are too short. 

Our lives are too short.

You give each one time to do what you want him to do.

But we must not lose time, waste time, kill time

For it is a gift that you give us

But a PERISHABLE GIFT

A gift that DOES NOT KEEP

I read through the poem I think twice or thrice, giving extra attention to the last two verses of the 4th paragraph which says that TIME is a gift. Such a wonderful gift yet perishable in nature. It is something that one cannot keep. 

When I woke up this morning, I hurried off, I would be late for my work. I have no time to stop awhile for some quiet moments with the ONE who gives time. I was busy preparing myself. I was running late. I have no time, so I thought. 

Has the GIVER of time made some mistakes in his calculation and distribution of time? The hours seem short. I feel like I always do not have time for the things I want to do and accomplish. Did God make some mistakes somewhere?

I DON'T THINK SO.

Lord, I have time

I have plenty of time, 

All the time that you give me,

The years of my life, 

The days of my life

The days of my years, 

The hours of my days, 

They are all mine.

Mine to fill quietly, calmly

But to fill completely, up to the brim

TO OFFER THEM TO YOU....