Under One Roof

Winter is coming. We all know how the cold can damage so many stuff at home if we don’t prepare for it. Have you ever experienced frozen pipes?

My uncle and my dad were talking about the winter and how they need to start removing, draining and storing hoses. They need to do it because once winter arrives and there’s water left in it, it will surely damage the hose when the water turns to ice. The same thing can happen to the swimming pool and that’s what my uncle is really preparing for. He already drained their backyard pool and has put on the pool cover. He bought it specifically for the cold season.

My dad on the other hand is concerned over the pipes. We have experienced frozen pipes in the past and it cost us a lot! We had to call the plumber to check on the pipes, fix what needed to be fixed and replace those that needed replacement. We don’t want that to happen once more. My dad is now always anticipating the things that can go wrong when left unprepared for the freezing cold. Even the water lines are being drained of water for now. Winter is coming and it’s best that we welcome it prepared.

*Note: I am participating in a blogger campaign for Bucks2Blog about frozen pipes and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

Maybe it’s just me but for me family always comes first. Before anything else, before my own happiness, I always think of my family. That’s how it’s been all my life.

That’s why I can’t understand why some people can still smile when there’s a big problem hounding the family. I can’t fathom why some people can still laugh out loud, go out and have fun, take photos of themselves enjoying when other family members are crying their hearts out. I just can’t see myself ever doing any of that, or being that insensitive.

At the end of the day, when everyone else have turned their backs on us, when life seems to have thrown all the bad things it can come up with, when we are at our lowest, our family will come running to help us and won’t leave us until we are back on our feet and doing good again.

We may have our differences, occasional fights, constant bickering and arguments, but for me, family comes first. Always.

It’s a little less than six weeks to go before Christmas. I am sure that those with special someones are already preparing for christmas gifts for boyfriend and girlfriend. Am I right, guys and gals?

So what do you plan to give the boyfriend? I remember this one time when a friend was in a panic because a week before Christmas she still hadn’t come up with anything to give her then boyfriend. We were working for the same company then and instead of working, we ended up spending a day throwing gift ideas back and forth until we came up with the best one. Want to know what it is? A romantic escapade a day after Christmas!

Yes, she chose a romantic weekend getaway. Christmas fell on a Friday that year so she booked a place somewhere outside the city for the weekend. She brought candles, flower petals, a bottle of champagne and fresh berries with chocolates. I learned the next day after their getaway that it was a huge success! Her boyfriend loved it!

So what about you? What do you have in store for your special someone?

We are a family full of traditions.

Every November 1st we go to the grave of our dearly departed loved ones. We bring flowers and candles with us. Then we stay at the cemetery/columbary until late in the afternoon or early evening. It’s a tradition that we haven’t broken since I was a little girl and I started joining the elders in this annual family thing.

Last November 1st, the whole family went to the Garden of the Word Columbary in Christ the King at E. Rodriguez, Sr. My mom, my brother and my maternal grandmother’s ashes are there. We opted to have my mom and my brother’s remains cremated because the cemetery in Bulacan where they used to be is now being flooded. Plus, if you see how the columbary looks like, you will immediately think of paradise for the souls of your loved ones.

Where were you on November 1st?

A cousin will be coming home from abroad in a few weeks. His work contract has ended and he already filed for resignation. He is always homesick so he figured out he might as well look for Computer Operator Jobs here and be near his family.

I do think that homesickness is the number one problem of overseas workers. Whenever I get to talk to my cousin, I can feel his longing for his family. There is always loneliness underneath the smiles. You can feel how much he wants to go home but since he has a contract to honor and a goal to accomplish, he can’t do it right away.

But now he is coming home very soon…

I think we will all go to great lengths to achieve our American dream… to permanently and firmly set foot in the Land of Milk and Honey. Filipinos have this preconceived notion of overflowing dollars as long as they are in the United States of America. But the truth is, life is hard wherever you are. You work hard. You earn only so much and if you want to afford some luxuries in life, you save up. That’s life wherever you are!

I noticed that you work doubly hard when you are in the US. I am basing this on stories I heard from fellow Filipinos who are living and working there. My aunt’s husband’s mom and siblings with their respective families are all living in the US. They have two to three jobs and are still struggling to make ends meet. They are sending their kids to school and are also paying rent and mortgages. Can you imagine how much money they need to earn every month to pay for all of that plus their basic monthly bills and other expenses?

Crazy are the persons who think that just by being in a certain country they can become rich! Don’t they know that for every dollar they earn they also need to spend a dollar in return?!?

I know this person who did everything to set foot in the US. He used an organization to be able to go there. He pretended to be someone else and when everything was set in motion, he disrobed and shown his true self. I was shocked when I pieced everything together. I realized he did everything for his family and a part of me understood it.

The things we are willing to do for a green card!

My uncle has six kids. I can proudly say all six of my cousins are doing really great academically. In fact, they have been bringing home trophies and medals and certificates of recognition from school. I am mighty proud of those cousins of mine!

They have been without a mother for a few years now. Their eldest is already married with a kid. The second one is acting as a surrogate mother to her younger siblings and helping my uncle send everyone to school. I wish I can do something more than offer moral support to them. Good thing my uncle’s a responsible parent. I am just so glad my uncle is proud of his brood and telling everyone about how great his kids are!

I have a desktop computer and a laptop. My two sisters have netbooks each. We have mobile phones that are smartphones and wifi enabled. In our home, the internet connection is very important. We have two internet providers. The first one I use for wifi connections for the laptops. The other one I use solely for the computer desktop. I have to buy network cable for it as the old one is not long enough and I will be moving the computer desktop to another part of the house.

I believe almost all houses nowadays are connected to the world wide web. It has become a necessity for all of us, especially those who have family members working and living abroad. Whereas in the past you need to send a snail mail or a voice tape to be able to send a message to a love one abroad, these days all you need to do is open the computer, plug the modem and if you have an internet connection, then you can email, voice mail, chat and connect in different social networking sites now. Life has become more connected thanks to the internet.

One afternoon that I went home earlier than usual from work, I found my dad and my brother repairing a neighbor’s ATV. They were helping with the repair when the neighbor, a senior already, was suddenly attacked by arthritis. They told him they would continue with the repair while he went and relaxed and took his meds.

My dad and my brother were putting atv winches and was about to wrap up the repair. I thought I’d order pizza and buy some drinks for them. I was right in thinking that they would be hungry. There were! I was so happy to see my dad and my brother bonding over helping a neighbor with a repair.

They weren’t really close to each other, mostly because of the generation gap. So you can just imagine how happy whenever I see them bonding over anything at all.

I would love a kitchen like this. My dad, my siblings and I are planning about moving into a new home next year. We are persevering, doing our very best to make this plan of ours happen. We want to move to a new house so bad we are actually talking about it every chance we get.

And yes, in our new home the kitchen will be something like this. Dark paneled with a kitchen island and an oven. I will cook again. I will learn how to bake. And I will have a room all to myself!

I can’t wait to move into a new home!

Prepare for tomorrow but live for today. I think I’ve read that on a friend’s Facebook wall. Or somewhere else I forgot where. But it makes sense, right? Sometimes, we prepare for tomorrow and forget that we have today to live for. Well, I am preparing for my tomorrows by getting life quotes. Yes, life insurance quotes. I always like to refer to my life insurance plan as a back-up plan. My Plan B. If ever something happens to me and I have nothing to my name to leave my love ones, at least I have a back-up plan ready. My life insurance proceeds that my love ones can use to start a new life without me.

It’s actually comforting to know that I can leave something behind, even a bit of money, for my love ones. They will need it.

My uncle has a bar somewhere in Manila. As a thank you to regular customers, who he already knows by name when they go to his bar, he is giving away funny tee shirts to each one of them. He is just being his funny self! He knows that people need something to laugh about so the shirts, aside from being a thank you to his customers, are also a reminder for them to laugh the hardships of life.

Just like what my uncle did when he himself experienced so much hardship in life. It’s actually one of the reasons why he thought of the funny tee shirts to give away. He knows that his customers go to his bar to temporarily forget about the hardships of life. Might as well aid them in that with those shirts, right?

I think I am still in my Thai food mode up to now. I’ve been craving for Thai food again and again. The Spring Rolls above was from My Thai. My sister and I with the little girl ate there twice in the past two weeks. I think I will eat there again some time next week

Happy Friday everyone!

***
P.S. I haven’t been joining lately because I am not in the mood to upload photos to my laptop. Super tamad lang hehe :p

Isn’t the photo above a good idea for your kids bedroom? Space saver and I do believe that sharing a room tends to bond siblings. I am speaking from experience here. I can still remember all those late nights my sisters and I would talk about school, our friends and teachers and everyone else we knew. It’s a really good way to pass the time on weekends, too.

Happy Monday everyone! Have a great week ahead!

Let me tell you about this mother who lets her kids walk all over her. She tolerates all their foolish ways and even looks past her kids faults. I was told that the younger kid, a teenage son, wasn’t home at four in the morning. The mother, waking up not seeing her son at home, panicked and called for help. She thought something already happened to her son because when she was trying to call him up in his mobile phone, he wasn’t picking up. They looked for him and found him near a computer shop where he plays DOTA daily. He said that he lost his cellphone(???) that’s why he couldn’t call his mom.

You know, what I couldn’t figure out in the story was how come the mother was able to sleep without knowing where her son was! How come the mother tolerates the fact that her son goes out of the house right after school (which dismisses at 3pm) and then goes home whenever he feels like it, normally around 3 or 4am. Can you imagine a teenage boy with that curfew? The mother is even proud that she is lenient with her son! And that cellphone of the boy? Most likely used as payment for the bets that he lost that day. Yes, DOTA is a video game betting. I’ve seen this firsthand when I lost my internet connection after a really horrible typhoon. I had to stay past midnight in a computer shop and there were boys shouting bets at each other over games of DOTA.

I just can’t understand that mother who can sleep like that without even knowing where her boy was and without attempting to contact him. And who allows her son to go home daily past midnight roaming the streets and frequenting computer shops where gambling exists.

I think we all have one in the family tree, right? Ungrateful relatives. Those whom you’ve helped along the way and during a crucial time in their lives but who act as though you’ve done nothing of the sort. Those relatives who bad mouth you when they should be singing your praises and telling the world how blessed they are to have you in their lives.

I know that when we help we shouldn’t ask for anything in return. We shouldn’t ask for an acknowledgment. A simple thank would suffice. But then hearing stuff being said about you by other relatives… seeing as to how they can still laugh when the very relatives who were at their bedside when they were rushed to the hospital are also sick and in need of help… putting Bingo first when their visit will be greatly appreciated… pretending not to know anything and won’t even ask what is going on so they can at least offer their assistance…

It’s just too much to take! I used to be so damn worried about them all the time. I keep praying that if and when a huge amount of money finds itself on my hands, I will give them a portion of it to secure their kids’ futures. But now, seeing as to how ungrateful they are, I don’t think any one of us still feel the same way. I am irritated by their insensitivity. I am angry at them for being ungrateful!

Sure, a simple thank you would suffice. But the act of being one with those who helped you in life is still something more.

Before going to sleep, I have a habit of checking my emails once more and going on Facebook for a few more minutes. It’s a routine I get into or I won’t be able to sleep if I didn’t do. Weird for some of you but that’s me. I am a creature of habit.

Anyway, my little girl gets annoyed when I bring the laptop in the bedroom. She doesn’t like the glare of the computer. I am now thinking of getting an Eee Tablet that I can use when I just feel like checking mails, going on Facebook or Twitter, and when I feel like surfing the net only. A tablet is more handy, too!

The little girl got two new dresses two weeks ago. I bought this online and paid for it through bank deposit. The dresses were delivered at home and the little girl got so excited about it she asked to have me take photos of her wearing it right away!

Have a great week everyone!

I am talking about computer cabinets. I think I mentioned a number of times in the past that we have limited space here at home so whatever that can save us space we really welcome. I would love to have one of those computer cabinets but one that is customized to meet my needs. I want a small desk where I can put my desktop monitor and keyboard and mouse on top and the CPU below it. A compact cabinet will do.

I am the type of person who gets stuck on something that I have in mind. I get fixated on getting what I want and couldn’t move on until I get it. That’s how I feel towards that cabinet.

My Tita Winnie called up the other day reminding us of the invitations she extended to us and to the cousins to go to her house blessing and town fiesta celebration. It will be held this coming September 11th and she wants us all to be there.

I want to go but her place is just too far. If I don’t have any pending assignments that day, I will go but if I have important stuff to do I might have to beg off. It takes us more than an hour in travel time and that’s just one way and without traffic jams on the road. But I would really love to go if there’s enough time I can spare.