Getting older

In a week, I will be a year older. And I am wondering. How would I feel when I am a year older? I am inching my way into another decade. Would I feel what the others felt when they had to pass through a certain age? Panic. Worry. Fear. Friends have told me about it. Or instead... joy, wonder, peace. That I made this far. That I am still alive. That I experience new things for each new year that comes.

Maybe.

I am planning to review the year that is soon to pass. I have to remember things I have learned, people that made a difference in my life, relish the wonderful gifts God has given me, and even take a step back into the pains and tears that made me stronger.

In reality I am already a year older. Celebrating my birth date just formalizes it. I should not worry. I hope I will not.

Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. Angkinin ang Araw. The best years are yet to come! Praise God!

Sometimes special

I remember my first time to take a trip. It seemed so long ago when I first saw the daylight.

From the glass panes, I saw her pass me by several times. I was surprised to see her furrowed forehead, reflecting and trying to decide. I thought I knew what was in her mind. Was I respectable enough? Do I have what it takes to stand up to the demands of the occasion? After many minutes of suspense, I almost shouted with glee for she has chosen me.

Three years ago, on my first happening, I sauntered down a red carpet. It was during a wedding. The other events I have graced I have already forgotten. Except the one late last December. Another wedding but this time I had to take a plane.

Then just last week, I dignified another affair. To be exact, the evening of last Friday, July 14. I almost didn’t make it. I heard that she was looking to bring another along. Happily, there wasn’t enough time nor pleasing choices. She had to make do with me. And so once more, I had the time of my life. I am doing what I was meant to do.

I know though that my days are numbered. I am beginning to feel the wear and tear of time. My appearance shows it. The wrinkles, the dullness, the shedding of the outer layer.

I never had so many times out in the world but I knew that each one was special. I knew what it cost her to bring me out. I knew that, unrestrained, she would not have chosen me. There were others prettier, more eye-catching, more flattering. I later realized that she has chosen me for she was bound by a certain kind of regulation. I became familiar with her behavior, whenever she was in my company. Her steps become slower. Her eyes were often on the floor, always on guard for an alien object. The next thing that she would look for was a chair. I also knew that on the next day, the underside of her feet would be tender. If she walked or stood for so long, she would have a small abrasion.

I cherish the days I spent with her but I know they must come to an end someday. Maybe I would have another occasion to shine. I hope I will.


For now, lay me within the paper covering. Close the box. Put it inside the plastic bag. I am inside. For the time being.

Pinto

One week to the day. That was how long it took for my cat to once again stay at my lap. I could sense that she felt hurt and was very upset with me. She couldn’t understand how I could have left her on her own at the vet clinic.

For six days she was confined for a kidney problem. Her fondness for eating is directly opposite to her habit of drinking. Thus, an old problem with her kidney came back again. And this time, it was harsher. For almost six months, we observed her. But nothing changed except with her peeing habits (she had a harder time urinating, often there was blood in it). We tried giving her antibiotics and vitamins as prescribed by her doctor but it was so hard to make her take her medicine. She was losing weight. We had to make a decision.

And so one Monday morning, my brother and I braced ourselves for a difficult taxi ride to the vet. But it was okay, she was just meowing a lot. Just complaining for bringing her outside. We knew that we must leave her. She must pee . A lot. So that those things blocking her kidney and lining would be washed away. The best way? Dextrose.

I saw her again after 3 days. I myself called in sick at the office that day for a stomach problem but I just had to visit her. From the vet, I learned that she’s a crier. She kept on complaining and complaining all day and all night. Maybe calling out to us to bring her home. She shakes away hands that try to touch her paw that has a needle inserted into it.

I got so teary-eyed seeing her inside the cage, constantly crying yet not moving when I called to her to approach me. Even when the cage was opened and I tried to comfort her, she kept on meowing. It was like she was pleading to please take her back to her home.

I had no choice though. We still needed to wait for the second blood test that would show that her kidney is much better. And so I left.

Saturday evening we took her home. I noticed that she felt a bit lost. I know that she felt happy to be home yet still afraid that someone would take her out again. She was quiet for several days. Then I heard again those familiar sounds she makes whenever she is hungry and asks us to feed her. She began to brush against our feet.

But it was only today, as I did the signal of tapping my lap, that she came forward and jumped on my lap. She stayed curled for a few minutes, letting me hug her for a while. And then she jumped and left.

It might take another week or two before she returns to her usual self. I will just let her be. I know that as the days go by, it would become easier to call her to stay at my lap.


P.S.

She might not have understood why we left he for a week. Or maybe she has forgotten already that frightful experience. But she has learned a very good lesson, she is now constantly drinking! :- )

Bits and pieces

Hey JC! ( a friend who works in this company) Remebered you when I saw this... I call her the Coke Lady... :- ) I think this is a Coke-drinking country. Cheers!




What makes Rome dearer : Gelatto and Pizza!





Fashion...




Rome... oh Rome... one day, I will come back.

Walking in Rome

ROME...


This is the Pantheon... I did some research and I learned that it is the Greek word for "to honor the Gods". A short description from about.com "It's still the largest masonary dome in the world. The Pantheon is made perfectly harmonious by the fact that the distance from the floor to the top of the dome is exactly equal to its diameter"


This is the Trevi Fountain, said to be the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. It was the first monument I saw in Rome. I was in awe of its beauty. Despite the heat and the crowds of people surrounding us, we stayed for a few minutes just to savor the wonderful artwork. Legend says that in order to return to Rome, you must toss a coin into the fountain, thrown with your back to the fountain. Never been a believer into such things, I did not throw any coin. I'd rather buy a gelatto with my coin. If God wills it, I will come back. With joy!

What I also find so interesting about Rome is that one can sense the history of the place just by looking around. Here, the Roman Forum ruins make one think about the lives of Roman soldiers, the citizens, senators, even of Paul.



Lion king? I just had to take this picture.



In front of a church is a curious statue : an elephant carrying a small Egyptian obelisk.



The impressive Colleseum. A testimony of Rome's great power and cruelty.

Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Cathedral

All roads lead to Rome... a very apt phrase on a Saturday morning as we lined up to enter the Vatican! The visitors occupied 3 sides of the Vatican walls! It took us two hours and a half to finally enter ! A word of warning... be careful of those who cheat and try to enter in between the tour groups... there is no respect for nationality, gender or age... Guard your place!


Even at the entrance, be amazed. Guarding the entrance of the Vatican museum?

I became entralled with the details and the colors of the ceilings ...

As previously mentioned, I did not make any reseach about what I would see in Rome. I had an inkling, based on what I have learned in school and what I have read in books... what I saw far exceeded what was in my mind...




... even the exit stairs personify art itself






Sistine Chapel is really a chapel... but the paintings, high above the ceilings, are great to behold... Just imagine the hardships of MichaelAngelo as he considered the depth, the distance and the size...

I had to settle for a picture of this famous artwork.. taking pictures of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling is forbidden...

The line at St. Peter's Cathedral was much shorter...goodie... but we were exposed under the hot sun, at around 36 degrees!


Inside the St. Peter's Cathedral... now I understand where all the money went... truly it is beautiful, but we wondered... at whose expense and suffering?

Here are the Swiss guards, charged to guard the Pope... so cool ...

See the statues above the columns... beautiful to behold...