I Have a Unique Gift for You on Valentine's Day !

It's Valentine's Day fellow lovers! It's time for us once again to celebrate the reality that love still exists -the universal love between couples, parent and child, sister and brother, two friends, one person and a total stranger, a person and a pet, etc., etc. From the biggest malls in the advanced cities the world over to the smallest booths in the poorest towns, we see innumerable gift ideas. They come in shapes as unusual gift, unique gift, personalized gift, gift for him, gift for her. Indeed Valentine's Day is a holiday of gifts!

 

I have unique gift for 10 of my blogger friends  although without their knowing it,  they have made my short stay in the internet a happy experience.  So I'm giving them their blogging award, The Happy 101 Award. Grab it, my friends. 

This was entrusted in my care by my sweet friend, Ms. Angelia Sims, Living, Loving, Laughing. Although she told me I don't have to do anything, I want to keep this tradition rolling so I 'm giving it away this Valentine's Day.

Here are the rules. If you are the lucky recipient, please perpetuate the award tradition as follows:

1. List 10 things that make you happy.
2. Try to do at list one thing on the list a day.
3. List 10 bloggers who brighten you day.
4. Those of you to whom I give this award are to link back to my blog, Senior Debutante, and perpetuate the Happy with your own list and recipients and whatnot.

 10 Things that Make Me Happy

1. The Father Almighty
2. My 2 daughters Pot and Kit
3. My brothers, sisters, and their families
4. The Epiphany of Our Lord Parish Church Choir  where I actively belong to
5. My doctors
6. The Basic Ecclessial Community I actively coordinate
7. My garden
8. My relatives, extended families, and friends
9. My glucometer,  my sphygmomanometer, my Diet Meal Plan
10. My new Asus Notebook PC

 10 Bloggers Who Make My Day

1. Ms. Angelia Sims, Living, Loving, Laughing- my multi-awarded blogger friend,  for entrusting me this prestigious award, my first ever award in my 5 months of blogging. She makes me feel proud of myself. Her colorful life she shares with Jason, Sydney, Molly, and Bridget- full of life, love, and laughter, sends the ripples that cross ocean barriers out to her friends, to which I'm included.

2. Ms. Ella Shaefer, Ellen in Amerika - this wonderful Dutch lady who emigrated with her family in the United States, describes vividly what life is in an adopted country, and shares it to her relatives and friends.

3. Meagan, PonchoMeg: The Modern Bohemian - she faces her uncertainties with courage and daring and enjoys life's uncertainties one at a time, and shares her thoughts about them.

4. Vania Moreira, Be my Guest in Rio - her nationalistic streak in the blood encourages her to showcase her place, the City of Rio de Janeiro, the "Wonderful City".

5. Rose Cotrill - Etcetera, Etcetera - she is a resilient and hardworking Filipina Mom and blogger who is friendly, bubbly, and is never a quitter.

6. Marichu Pagaru - Pink and Pot - she lightens my day with her personal blog about anything under the sun, exquisitely detailed.

7. Shy, A Journey For Life - she believes in living by learning from every mistake one makes and become a better person from it.

8. Emily Aulicino, Writing Your Memories - she writes a journal or diary of untold stories worth preserving in life.

9. Janera Healy, Just Me - she is a young Mom always up for rational debate and discussion.

10. L Avery Brown- When a Southern Woman Rambles - she loves blogging because of the freedom it gives her to write scores of things in a myriad of genres and loves every word of it.

I have another giveaway award, The beautiful  Seal of Approval Award,  to all bloggers in my blogroll, blogs I follow, to all my friends and communities. Don't be shy. Feel free to award it to yourself  for keeps. It's my way of saying "Thank You" for your visits and comments.

Congratulations my friends. Please keep the Happy 101 Award tradition rolling. This is a great

way to say, Happy Valentine's Everyone!

MY BROTHER AND I: IN RETIREMENT

My elder brother recently retired from public service like I did. He left an honorable position as a state university vice president at 65 in February, 2009. I bowed out from teaching as an elementary grades master teacher II at 62 in November, 2009.

As retirees, Kuya and I have only few things in common and a whole lot of difference. We are both educators. I do quite better in campus journalism, he excels in statistics and research work. Armed with these God-given talents, we both face the bleak horizon confronting us as retirees. Because we want to make our retirement days worth living for, not bereft of excitement and challenges , we listed our planned projects that differed tremendously. I wanted to repair my house, he wanted to build a printing press building. I wanted to spruce up my ornamental and vegetable gardens and my small orchard, he planned to put up a swimming pool in his front yard. While we were in this process of our separate planning, we didn't realize that our own families were exchanging notes against our plans in our backs. Ha ha ha!

Obviously, their idea about retirement is rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, ours is work, work and more challenging work. In fairness, their reactions are not left unreciprocated by Kuya and I. We honestly thank them for always being there at our sides, reminding us that we both are not hail and strong like we used to be. He is hooked 3x a week on a dialysis machine and is taking daily lots of oral medicine and insulin shots. I have a milder case and also on a daily oral med with insulin injections. We are both diabetics. And we earned from our families this unimpressive term- "matigas ang ulo" (stubborn), for going on with our plans. Yakkk!

Since I live away from my daughters I was able to accomplish the projects I planned to do, with less hassles from them. I had the roof of my house and our vacant family house repaired and repainted, including other repair works. I spent a lot of my time in my ornamental and vegetable gardens and my little orchard. I wanted to do more, but unluckily, I was down with diabetic neuropathy aggravated by shingles infection on my right thigh. I was also diagnosed with an onset of osteoarthritis. I'm now confined at home dutifully following orders from my doctors and obeying my daughters' strict surveillance of my activities and medication through a house help (I didn't need one then). I chose to compensate myself out of my temporary loss of freedom to move around by trying my hands on blogging! My daughters bought for me a cute netbook. Isn't this a blissful life? I found blogging as a sort of pain relief and stress release, too!

How about my beloved Kuya? Well, his indomitable spirit (translated- stubbornness) merited him and his family very good projects. When my siblings and I visited him at their house (Sis Rose flew to Abu Dhabi to baby sit her newborn apo MJ., Congrats Dianne and Manny! Hi, MJ!), we were greatly surprised with the transformation in their house and around the yard. Instead of a printing press building there now stands in their front yard a sort of a mini-resort type of lawn garden, very inspiring and beautiful. When we applauded him for this, he said he is on the process of researching on how to maintain a swimming pool, because he felt that the printing press house will never materialize. Of course he was met with apprehension from all of us. Sis Rose and Dianne strongly disapproved of this. Who will maintain it and how? I guess his pronouncement of this hidden plan will again receive a strong thumbs down from them and the squabble will never end.

My Kuya never seems to run out of ideas in search for anything of his fancy. Few weeks after having underwent an angioplasty, he went over at my place without my sister-in-law's knowledge. I was full of apprehension because of his health condition. But he was able to contact a relative to make a fishing boat for him, motorized if possible because he knew he couldn't put his arms to good use anymore. The poor fishing boat which was ready in few days' time, minus the motor, now lies between my house and our parental house, its bottoms up, and never ever touched the river. In his younger days Kuya was a good fisherman. He frequented the nearby river either for fun swimming or trying his new fishing gadgets to catch fish. When I texted Sis Rose to report that incident, he received admonitions from the wifey. As usual I was the victim of her misgivings. I'll never be able to get out from this impression of her about me- consentidor! Hayyyy! Ay, sorry!

The last time my siblings and I visited our Kuya, which was only last week at this writing, he entertained us with his first harvest of broiled catfish (hito) from his backyard aquaculture project. Sooooo delicious and such a health food that the fishpond won a downright thumbs up from us. I remember that when we first learned about it from my sis-in-law who reported that he built that fishpond, we were also angry. I even said that my brother will not die of diabetes but he will, of dengue. Well, that was when we learned that his first fingerlings of catfish and mudfish (dalag) all died. But he didn't give up and today he proved he was right. His fresh water fish are thriving on commercial feeds and potable water from their deep well, the same water source for their household use. He proudly demonstrated to us how to catch the fish with big long handled wire-netted scoop and with his stateside fishing rods with earthworm baits. The large cemented aquarium-like container about my chest level (four feet high) that neatly stands in their backyard is proof of my Kuya's genius in research work. Congrats!

His old pig house was turned down and a large poultry house now stands in that place. He showed us his few pairs of very large chicken for a start. A new pair of turkeys arrived, courtesy from his balae from a neighboring town. As he toured us around the backyard, we could only say ahhhs and ohhhs with his fruit-bearing cocoa trees, his newly planted calamansi seedlings, seedless orange tree, avocado trees, and you- name- it- and- you- have- it animal and plant life all proofs of his lust for experiments and research.

When I bragged to him about my new-found preoccupation of blogging, not an effort to outrun his projects because I will never compare of course, he announced that he was planning to create his own blog (watch out for this coming blog here) about research and statistics, his real love, so that he will continue to share others his novel projects and discoveries. You see? That's how stubborn my Kuya is ! Never-seeming to run out of energy. I now raise my white flag in surrender. I can only hope and pray that our retirement days will continue to give us inspiration to tell all and sundry that life is not empty for a retiree. That is with God's unending blessings and our families' on and off approvals. Hehe!

THE WOOING OF AND FOR NOYNOY

.....and finally he said a resounding YES!

One moment, a surprised Filipino electorate saw on TV a beleaguered Mar Roxas , emotional and almost in tears, abdicating his lofty dream of running as presidential candidate for the coming 2010 elections, in favor of his friend, Benigno "Noynoy" C. Aquino, Jr. Noynoy's apparent nonchalance as he stood at the background, struck me. What was going on?

Another day, not long after, Noynoy, with his continued composure, was hitting the headlines right and left. He was being wooed to run for presidency. His courtiers practically hounded Noynoy, a political neophyte to the highest position in Philippine government, to consider the carrot stick they offered in a proverbial silver platter, and to come out clean and fast with an honest yes to replace his good friend, Mar. Knowing only a little about the ins and out of politics, or probably because I just have had my fills about past political maneuvers, you hear them now saying this, then on the deadline for submission of candidacy you hear them say another, I just raised my eyebrows and went on with my new-found daily preoccupation- blogging.

That same morning, I just posted in my blog my thoughts about Noynoy, "Noynoy for President in 2010". Ha ha! It was a write and forget kind of article. Politics is not my forte. But I followed through the every day's events just the same. Of course I witnessed, just as every concerned Filipino voter did, how the good Senator maneuvered a polite excuse to come to think about it. On one hand, he and his sisters were busy preparing for their expected appearances in a series of Eucharistic celebrations, in honor of the 40th day of Mother Cory's death, in still unnamed venues to the public those days.

The all-too-good-to-be-true courtship on another hand, caused Noynoy to seek retreat for short-lived refuge in some popular sanctuaries frequented by Mother Cory when she herself, needed an assuring shoulder/s to lean on during her rough times as President of the land while dispensing about her state duties. Thus, I could presume that Cory's built-in wisdom as God-fearing Roman Catholic also runs in Noynoy's blood and became a ready catharsis in his hour of deliverance from this current dilemma of that magnitude. He admitted though that he was not as religious as his mother was, although he had joined her in many occasions when she went over in the protective walls of said sanctuaries.

The sporadic demands for Noynoy to run for presidency catapulted him in leaps and bounds in the days to come(no official survey result yet).The whole world watched. It was also, to my mind, an unobtrusive test whether Mother Cory's Magic would work on him. And it did! I'm not a political analyst of a caliber, but my opinions as a voter encourage me to observe how Cory's Magic can be used to Noynoy's advantage. Today, I find my thoughts craving for more so that I can say more. After all, I'm a trying-hard intelligent voter.

Firstly, unless this Cory Magic springs to real life with tangible proofs of positive change in the lives of the people, the great majority of whom are living deep in the quagmire of misery and poverty, it remains just that. Without follow-up by a nation under a good if not a better leader, the democratic principles which Ninoy and Cory died for, their charisma which is still gaining support, will die a natural death. Therefore, Cory's Magic must be institutionalized in the Filipino people's culture. Election 2010 gives us the chance. Noynoy, together with his political analysts and advisers know this, in broadest terms among these seasoned politicians.

Secondly, the gargantuan task ahead necessitates careful planning as well as execution by someone who must possess a formidable character to be able to unite a divided opposition- with or without an administration's anointed one. The neophyte presidentiable's winning or losing power rests heavily on majority support from the camp of a newcomer. This support must be turned into votes come election. The preponderance among the incumbents who are contented and happy in their perks is of course a risk to depend on for support.

Thirdly, as Senator, Noynoy is still wanting in know how as far as the powers of a president mandated by law and by the Constitution are concerned. His having a mother for President in the past gives him an edge alright but this is not an assurance of winning. He should also read the Constitution and must read it well so that, if he wins, upon assumption to office, he already has good working knowledge of the oath he must make- to preserve and defend it against tyranny. Then as he gains further knowledge and establishes a foothold, he will come to gripes with the naked reality that in order for him to stay, he must possess furthermore an unswerving willingness to sacrifice his personal and family interests above the peoples' national interests; to make himself in constant struggle to arise with highest morality; to lead with an incorruptible leadership; to adhere to the principles of democracy; to listen to the pros and the cons when state matters are threatened by partisan motives; and most importantly, to work with and not against people in a spirit of mutual trust for the common good.

To the Honorable Senator, Benigno "Noynoy" C. Aquino, Jr., the days of courtship have only just began. To the intelligent electorate, your romancing with the best presidentiable not of your own choice, but of a people's choice, start - now !

ONCE A TEACHER, ALWAYS A TEACHER

I would have retired from active public service at 60, but the thought of separation from the academe after thirty-eight years was still far from my mind. I was still savoring the satisfaction of educating children and helping them metamorphose into young achievers. There were still lots of things to do like decreasing the number of non-readers in the elementary grades; whetting talents among fast learners in the intermediate grades in co-curricular activities such as declamation, oration, campus journalism quiz bees and other literary competitions.

Having recently discovered how life could still be at 60, it was difficult for me to decide whether to go or not. I thought I was not ready to live a quiet and sedentary life. My training as a teacher led me to lay out an action plan, a lifetime plan of activities for my retirement days. Finally, after a thorough study of what might be my fate, I retired at 62. Two years was fair enough pre-conditioning of mind. The rest I entrusted in God's hands.

Why I finally decided to retire at 62, one year short to 63, when I can collect all benefits similar to one who retires at 65, is because of my health condition. I am an insulin-dependent senior debutante with diabetes mellitus type II condition. At home, any planned activity, small and big, are voted upon by my two daughters and I. I am often overruled. If their dad were alive today, I would likely have a better winning chance, at least.

Today, I feel no regrets, because I may no longer be teaching directly in school but my training as a master teacher of constantly planning and projecting my activities with flexibility is a handy tool. I am enjoying the realization that I can still share with others my writing talent and still be of service to others. I am probably one among few diabetic bloggers. And I really thank God for my borrowed time on earth.