how to travel with a sea turtle: 09/01/2010

Zapata's

It started out with my craving for some chicken quesadilla. Christine suggested we buy some pita bread and ingredients from the supermarket and prepare it ourselves but by the time we got off from work, it was already past 7pm. I was too hungry by then and suggested we go to this Mexican restaurant instead which I first read about from Kris Aquino's twitter account. Luckily, Sir Mark heard our conversation and immediately became interested in joining. The restaurant was just a few blocks away from the Korean town which was also just a few blocks away from our village so there was no problem finding it. Gladys, despite not feeling well that night, joined us also. What was supposed to be a dinner date between two friends became a dinner night out with all of us! Biglaang lakads are so much fun!

I was quite satisfied with their chicken quesadilla, by the way. The cheddar cheese they use i thought was delicious. Ate Elsa, who is the real foodie from the group, thought their ensalada could use a little bit of a certain ingredient the name of which I forgot but keep associating with Via Mare's bagnet ensalada. She says that she prefers the ensalada from El Pollo Loco which I remember to have that taste she was looking for. If I can just remember the name of that ingredient, this will be so much easier!

Anyway, everything that night to me seemed good. The place looks fun, the food tastes good. Perhaps an improvement can be made with presentation. I would have preferred separate plates for our soft taco and enchilada. No complains about the taste, as I have said, but it seems a little difficult for me to appreciate food when you see that the sauce for one is starting to slither into the other.

I don't know. I'm just being weird I guess :)

Postcard from Hong Kong

With this blog post, I wish to offer my sympathy to the Hong Kong and Chinese people whose loved ones -- perhaps a friend, a brother, a mother, or a daughter -- perished in the hostage-taking that took place at the heart of my beloved Manila.The images below have been taken last year from various tourist spots in Hong Kong, during a 3-day trip which thankfully, did not require that I fear for my safety or of being discriminated against.

Clockwise from the top-right image: Tian Tan or the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island || Bruce Lee Statue at the Avenue of Stars, Tsim Tsa Tsui || a Buddhist woman offering prayers at the Po Lin Monastery also in Ngong Ping || a bicycle parked at a sidewalk around noon time in Mongkok || souvenir T-shirts for sale at the Ladies’ Market also in Mongkok district

I pray that the people directly involved or have in any way influenced the result of the tragic incident will do everything in their capacity to cooperate, to speak out in truth and be willing to pave the way for justice, even if that will cause them their positions of power. I pray that the government and the police force will be able to identify clearly what their faults have been and be able to learn from these shortcomings so that ultimately they can work together and prevent anything similar from ever happening again.

As I pray for justice and truth to surface, I also pray for the family members and relatives to be able to find a path of forgiveness and acceptance rather than a path of blame, bitterness or hate. Only with forgiveness can there be genuine peace.

60th

It was a Sunday.

Food and balloons were ordered. Parlor games were prepared. Gifts for each of the guests were wrapped. Clowns and friends were invited. The cake was chocolate and the month was May.

If it were up to me, I would have preferred an overnight stay at the beach with the entire family and closest friends. But my mom and dad wanted something more special to happen for their 60th birthday. It seems to me they had wanted something like this to happen for quite some time.

My dad rented out a karaoke machine. Two of my mom's bestfriends arrived earlier to help us prepare the venue. We arranged the chairs and the tables. We scattered the balloons to make sure the atmosphere would be conducive for a party. We thought about what parlor games we could play, what prizes to give.

My Kuya invited his youth pastor friend who lead the kids to sing some action songs and read Joseph the Dreamer's story to the kids.

We played. We ate. We sang and we danced. We had fun with the kids.

We sang the happy birthday song for my parents.

They blew their candles and made a birthday wish.

-ooo-

It was a privilege and a great opportunity to throw a party not only for my parents but for the kids of the Tahanang Mapagpala in Bagumbong, Caloocan City as well. Some of the children were found wandering the streets, some have been left by their own relatives at the shelters. And some, have become orphans.

Some of them smiled genuinely. Some, reluctantly. And some, would not smile at all. Most of them were hardly ten years of age, but their eyes seem to know so much more.

One of the kids, after hearing the youth pastor share about how God demonstrated His love for us through the life of Joseph cried inconsolably and asked me this: "If God loves me, why would He let my relatives abandon me and not come back for me?" I did not have an answer. But I silently said a prayer for her.

At the end of the party, we handed out gifts for the kids. The goodie bags had a toy, a toothbrush, a comb, a face towel, and some other personal hygiene items which we thought the kids needed. We knew they needed much more than that, but our resources were limited as well. What our goodie bags lacked, we tried to make up for by offering our prayers. A prayer of comfort and most especially of hope. A prayer that one day, the kids will be reunited again with their own families or become a part of a family that could provide them the love and care they need.

-ooo-

Two months later, also a Sunday, I saw a familiar face in the television. The show was Jessica Soho's Reunions. I watched in disbelief and amazement as I realized that the kid, who has been reunited with with his family through the help of the show, was among those who attended my parent's 60th birthday celebration.