Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Happy Birthday to Me
I would have celebrated my 50th birthday last year with a party. I was prepared to be a golden boy or so I thought until I learned three months before it that I had become a grandfather! And I immediately went into denial!
When I learned in August this year that two of my batchmates would be celebrating jointly their birthdays, I promptly joined in.
And so it was held on October 28. And what a lovely time it was! In the happy company of fellow golden boys and girls of my high school batch "73, we had the time of our lives partaking of the meals, tropical fruits and dancing the night away to be the pulsating beat of 70s disco music (and yes! Ursula Dudziak's Papaya was a big hit once again on the dance floor).
And was it obvious that it was a Hawaiian-inspired party?
This is the third big birthday party for me. The first held on my 11th (because I was born on the 11th month (November), 11th day & the year when the last two digits added up to 11 (1956); the second when I was in fourth year college.
So maybe, just maybe, to come full circle, I'll have my fourth birthday party when I'm 56 (eleven again?!?). I have five years to save for it.
Friday, October 26, 2007
What I've Read and Watching Now
Based on the book Freedom Writers Diary. The true story of an English class handled by Erin Gruwell.
Monday, October 15, 2007
to all the kids born in the 50s, 60s and 70s
I got this from a forwarded email:
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE
50s, 60s and 70s !!
First, some of us survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
(sioktong ang inumin)
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, fish from a can (brand: ligo) , and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after birth, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints , pati na yung laruang kabayu-kabayuhan.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads , sometimes wala ngang preno yung bisikleta.
As children, we would ride in car with no seat belts or air bags – hanggang ngayon naman, di ba ?
(jeep)
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
(maykaya kayo pare !)
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle (minsan straight from the faucet)
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contracted hepatitis.
We ate rice with tinunaw na purico (dahil ubos na ang star margarine) , nutribuns courtesy of Macoy and drank softdrinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight kasi nga ..... .
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso , habulan taguan….
No one was able to reach us all day (di uso ang celfon , walang beepers). And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our scooters or slides out of scraps and then ride down the street, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms....... ...WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents. The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words…..masakit ba ? Pero pag galit yung kalaro mo,ang sasabihin sa iyo…beh buti nga !
We play in the dirt , wash our hands a little and ate with our bare hands…we were not afraid of getting worms in our stomachs.
We have to live with homemade guns – gawa sa kahoy, tinali ng rubber band, sumpit, tirador at kung ano ano pa na pwedeng makasakit…..pero walang nagrereklamo.
Made up games with sticks (syatong)and cans (tumbang preso)and although we were told it would happen, wala naman tayong binulag o napatay…paminsan minsan may nabubukulan.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Walang sumasama ang loob.
Ang magulang ay nandoon lang para tignan kung ayos lang ang mga bata…hindi para makialam.
This generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and managers ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO
DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the government regulated our lives for our own good.
and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
PS - The big type is because your eyes may not be able to read this…. at your age
ok lang ba kaibigan?
Friday, October 12, 2007
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