Under One Roof

I hate inconsiderate neighbors! Unfortunately for me and my family, we live next to one. Every Sunday, they would crank up the volume of their videoke machine and they would take turns belting out one tune after another. We would have understood if there’s a special occasion. But to do it Sunday after Sunday without consideration to the time they are doing it…

Sunday is considered a family day. Naturally, you can find all of us at home on Sundays. My siblings who are already working normally sleep in during this day. But with the noise coming from the neighbor, they would wake up early. It was really rude and inconsiderate! This is one of the reasons why we would like to transfer to a quiet neighborhood. It is better to move out of the house we’ve been in for the past three decades than to fight with inconsiderate people who has no respect for anybody else.

My plan is to buy a new home for the family this year. It’s a grand plan, I know. I am not sure if I can really do it this year. Or it might take me a year or two more before this dream can be fulfilled. But I am taking action. I want a place where it’s quiet. I am thinking of a house outside the city but let’s see if we can find one within the city first.

I do have grand plans for this year. And I am hoping that coupled with hard work, my prayers will be answered, too.

Our family is very mababaw. Easily pleased, that is. Even a picnic somewhere is a big deal for us already. We can hang out at a comfy place and talk to whole day away. We can be like that most of the time. Even in our living room, or when dining together, we can spend hours talking about anything and everything.

It’s an activity we bond over.

Every year, we make it a point to celebrate Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve together as a family. We are taking advantage of the fact that we are still single and can celebrate these very special occasions together. We all know that one day, one of us can be married already and would be celebrating the occasion with people other than us. So for now, we make sure we are together come Christmas and New Year.

We celebrate both eves at our maternal grandmother’s home. It’s a tradition we kept on doing even after my mom passed away. And the food served is always the same. Holiday food like ham, bacon, queso de bola, sweet desserts, pasta, and others.

What’s your tradition?

My mom’s gone for more than four years now. But during seasons like this, I still feel this overwhelming sadness. It would have been really cool to have her with us during those vacations we had after she passed away. The blessings came a little too late for her. And my brother…

We went to the grandmother of my sister’s best friend a few weeks ago. My sister’s best friend has uncles who went to the same school all of us went to. One of her uncles was of the same age as my brother, Willyboy, who passed away in 1998 when he was 15. They were buddies in grade school. He showed us photos of them together in school. When we saw the photos, it brought bittersweet smiles on our faces. My brother would have been 26 years old by now had leukemia not taken away his young life.

The sadness will never go away, I guess. You just learn to live with it.

I hate that I am so much tied to my feelings. I cannot function properly when I am feeling down. And these days, I easily get sucked down to the pits of emotional garbage. And when I do, expect me to stay there until something becomes a pick-me-up tool for me. If I can help it, believe me I would never have been sucked in the first place.

I love space savers. Look at that bedroom set up above. Don’t you think it will look good in your kids’ room? I even want one in mine!

I am keeping this photo for future reference.

It is extremely annoying to have inconsiderate neighbors! A baby was baptized this morning here in our neighborhood. And these neighbors of mine will find any excuse for them to drink themselves to oblivion.

Fine! There’s an occasion. We will not complain about the noise. But do they really have to shout everything? One of our neighbors who joined the fun is currently shouting everything he’s saying. Drunken crazy fool! I do think that one can party the night away without causing so much disturbance, especially those families who are turning in early on Sunday nights. Families like us!

I just don’t want to cause trouble but if I have a mind, I should report these people to the authorities and stop the party. Serve them right for being so noisy!

When we were kids, my dad was never around much. My dad’s often at work or with friends. And he has many friends! I remember we always had a visitor day after day. We even had “housemates” that are friends of my dad. It might be the reasons why we don’t like other people living with us. Anyway, I digress.

Surprisingly, even when my dad didn’t spend that much time with us, I have many good memories of him being around. On weekends, he would cook for us. We love his fried rice and adobo and miswa soup. I remember the family would spend lunches and dinners at our favorite restaurants. Afterwards, we would all go malling. He spent quality time with us during those early years of our lives.

Now, he’s constantly around. Ever since my mom passed away, he became both mom and dad to me and my siblings. He takes care of us even though we are all grown ups now.

And for this day, I would like to tell him what a good father he is. With his flaws and all.

Happy Father’s Day, dad!

My dad, my sister, Hazel and I went to a street near a chapel we went to last Maundy Thursday for our annual Visita Iglesia. The church was situated at the corner of a street. At the end of it where newly-built townhouses being sold. We went there and checked out the unit. All the units are still unsold. Quite understandably because of the pricey tag. But then if I have the money, I would buy it in an instant! The location is worth the price. Quiet and we were told by my youngest sister’s friend who also lives in the same street that the place is safe at night, what with at least two barangay tanod patrolling the street at night. Water supply is also okay.

And you know, we’ve been in different houses for sale in the past. I haven’t been in one where upon opening the door I felt positive vibes coming from the house. Sunlight comes in through the wide windows. Almost the whole house is painted white which is what I want in a house.

The only problem is Read more… »