Just Our Luck

I knew it must have been a bad omen that I watched Lindsey Lohan's movie "Just my Luck" on not one, but two flights between SFO and Manila. It really set the stage for the entire trip. Not that the premise was pleasant one to begin with. But at some point, we had to throw our hands in the air and ask "Why, God, why?"

Our bad luck streak:
1. Andreas' mobile phone was stolen at SM Megamall....
2. ... along with Tatay's death certificate and other important receipts.
3. Since the phone contained all relatives numbers, we had difficulty reaching them and them reaching us regarding the memorial service.
4. Axel got an up and down fever. On the upside, it was NOT dengue.
5. After taking care of him for two days, I caught the bug he had and was sick for two days well.
6. On our last two days in Manila, our last "mad rush" to get things done --- Typhoon Millenio hits.
7. It knocks out power and lotsa trees. We stay indoors, safe.
8. We almost miss our flight, thinking that it was a 10PM departure when in fact it was at 5PM. We discovered our blunder at 2PM. Thankfully, we arrived at the airport 10 minutes before the flight desk is closed, at 4:05PM

All this in a span of 10 days.

Song of the Moment

SUMMER HIGHLAND FALLS by Billy Joel

They say that these are not the best of times
But they're the only times I've ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own

Now I have seen that sad surrender in my lover's eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize
For we are always what our situations hand us
It's either sadness or euphoria

And so we'll argue and we'll compromise
And realize that nothing's ever changed
For all our mutual experience
Our separate conclusions are the same

Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
So we choose between reality and madness
It's either sadness or euphoria

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don't fulfill each other's fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives
With our respective similarities
It's either sadness or euphoria

Goodbye Tatay

It took me awhile to get to know Tatay. Although I met him over 12 years ago when Andreas first became a friend, it was difficult to understand him. He was always a bit elusive and mysterious, prompting us to call him Andreas’ Snuffalupagus dad because Andreas was always talking about him but we never saw him. Soon, bits and pieces of his personality came together as I begun to understand this great man. He was a man of science but also a man of God.

He never talked that much, at least when I knew him. To say he was a man of few words is appropriate, but the words I’d hear him utter were always entertaining or new such as strombotiko (def:over the top, outrageously extravagant). Or his words were educational, because he was a natural teacher by nature. Or his words were historically trivial funny one-liners.

Tatay was fabulously smart – graduating with multiple degrees in chemistry, engineering and finally with a doctorate in natural sciences. BUT despite this academic background, he was a big fan of Steven Seagal &Van Damme, movies and tv shows like Charlies Angels and A-Team. He liked shows where the hero was clearly good and the villain was clearly bad. I get the impression this reflected him and the way he saw the world – there were no grey areas and his life was guided by a moral compass uncomplicated by reasoning and bargaining. His sense of morality was uncompromised. But what I admired in his most was he lead by example. He was not a preachy man, never pushed his beliefs on others and never passed judgment. When he had an opinion, he would rather keep it to himself. His actions spoke louder.

We know he was a devout man of God, attending mass faithfully every day, rain or shine – walking the few kilometers to the church in his pristine white polo and white bitin pants. This was his uniform of sorts, much like Einstein who wore the same thing everyday. He was practical enough not to fuss about such frivolous matters such as fashion. He needed his time and mind for other things. I had the impression his silence just meant he was calculating some complex scientific question in his head.

He was a man not without his eccentricities. While many knew him as a teacher and a chemist, he was also a money launderer. Not the illegal sort, but of the literal sort as I one time walked into their bathroom in Hoover with peso bills neatly being dried by the bathroom sink. Andreas said that he just likes his bills clean and germfree.

When Andreas and I had the opportunity to leave for the U.S., we questioned ourselves knowing that Tatay and Mama would be left behind in the Philippines. He never said much on the topic but I asked him one day what he thought about it. He gave us his blessings, telling us very simply – “Auey, I had the chance to live my life and walk my path. Now it is time for you and Andreas to walk your own.”

Today as we say goodbye to Tatay, who will walk his own path now to be with the Lord – let us remember him as man of god, a man of science, and a man who believed action truly spoke louder than words. I’d like to imagine him now in heaven, a germ-free clean environment, floating with the Charlies angels wearing his pristine white polo shirt and bitin pants, watching Steven Seagal all day, while guiding us all from above. I love you, Tatay and we'll miss you dearly.

~ Taken from the eulogy I delivered at Tatay's memorial mass, Sept 19, 2006

Congrats to Jasmine & Dennis

My favorite photo from recent wedding coverage of Jasmine & Dennis' Wedding. It was a great wedding, beginning to end. Congratulations to the happy couple.