Happy Birthday Julienne!
I hope you're not too busy to celebrate this day!

Make Sure To Read The Prior Post Before Reading This If You Haven't Already Done So!

The Sunday it happened had the beginnings of the perfect day. It was right before sunrise in late spring, the air had a bite that made us rush around on our bare feet searching for socks. But we knew the chill would lift with the sun, leaving only crisp blue skies, light breezes and that acrid smell of warming soil that I always associate with happiness.

Into the car, the four of us, racing the houses and lightpoles, until we moved so far ahead they disappeared behind us. We drove, rarely saying anything, except maybe to point out a cluster of deer or to sing softly with the radio; Sunday morning accoustics, only songs done accoustically, and usually live. Once in a while the semi-silence was punctuated by a snore, my mother's or brother's or my own. In this manner, we reached that valley looking up that hill. We were a little early, still in murky darkness, my parents sat and held a quiet conversation.

While they whispered away about work I kept vigilant watch of the hill. I cranked the window open an inch and heard the soft sadness of an owl's hoot. As I looked I saw the sun's rays appear from behind the hill, fanlike and beautiful. I had never known that the sun could create these beautiful crests of radiant lights. In the hues of the rainbow it flickered and danced and steadily grew stronger and brighter. But as it grew higher, that's when I saw that it was not the sun peeking over the hill but beautiful bright forms, grasping hands, steadily ascending. When they reached the peak, they swayed casting off spears of orange-red and blue-white, greens, yellows and all else in between. Then I realized that the light was emitting this music. It spoke of joy and sadness as well. As I listened I noticed that the lights moved in every direction, that one note changed with the dips of the mountain, and changed again as it dissipated into the air, their movement was making the music.

Then suddenly they were gone, the sun was bright and we were cast into the shadow of the mountain. I saw my parents looking at me and I asked what it was. They smiled at one another, my mom placing a finger to her lips and glanced at my brother. He was looking about, half asleep and yawning he closed his eyes, and only opened them again when we arrived home.

We never spoke of it, except that every Sunday for years we would drive up and watch it. I was always filled with joy and sadness every time. We watched for any signs that my brother would see it, he became the age that I was when I saw it but that too passed and he never said a word. I once asked my mom why we didn't just ask him but she told me that it would create an illusion in his head, that he wouldn't really see it, just see what we described to him and claim that he could. So they waited. I left for college and had a life of my own. I saw it only three times more before I moved far away. My parents finally gave up on the day of my brother's graduation.

One day, I called him and the conversation went back to our childhood, and I told him how I missed those drives up. He said he never understood why we did that, he figured it was some form of family bonding. That's when I told him about the beings and how they made me feel and the music they made. His response was, oh those things? Why didn't we just watch them from our backyard, I saw them there as much as I saw them upstate?



This post is purely fictional and are drawn from my imagination. No, I was not high when I wrote this. Any semblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hope you liked it, write me comments if your did or didn't and why.

Me.

Every Sunday we'd go for a drive upstate. Always to the same place, passing the same objects, the same bridges, the same barns and fields. Always in the early morning, with the rays of sun coming up behind the mountains, or in beating rain, where the trees swayed and the car rocked. In mists and fogs where everything blurred and shifted and became something else or in the snow, where the old car's heater blasted hot air, drying up our sinuses, our noses whistling for the rest of the day.

We would park at the same spot every Sunday. A valley that looked up to a small hill. I'd look, imitating my parents' expectant gazes, up that hill, occassionally seeing a flock of birds but nothing more. We'd sit in the car for an hour and my parents would stare up at that hill. Then they'd both draw a quick breath. I'd go on staring as well, seeing nothing but clouds shift and the day grow brighter. Once in a while my parents would look at me wonderingly but seemed to see something missing and turn back. A few minutes later we'd take the long road home...

I'll continue this at another time...

Happy New Year All!

I've got a few minutes to kill before I head off to church this morning so it's a perfect excuse to rehash last year and make promises that I need to keep this year.

I read a bunch of books and reread some old ones, saddened over the end of the Harry Potter series but excited over a new set/series I'll be getting (thanks Mike!) None of the new books were worth too much praise, except for A Thousand Splendid Suns and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

Moved to a new place in February then moved to a new place in December. I think that almost counts as nomadic. Where to this year?

Gained weight then lost the fat and gained muscle (I think). According to my mom I was "so fat" when she saw me in May, then "not so fat" when she saw me in December, but I weighed about the same when she saw me the first time. Eh.

Had the most horrible August last year, with as much damage on the psyche as one could take, but luckily it just got better. Hopefully these next years will be our "fat cow years". With all the stuff we've been buying looks as if it's started already.

Last night I had a dream that I was pregnant and ready to give birth. I was a little anxious because I could feel the beginnings of pain (it could be due to the salmon I ate last night) but excited as well because I'd finally see this baby I'd been waiting for. I also happened to glance at the calendar on the wall and saw that the date was: September 9. I didn't know what year it was...

Didn't reach any pinnacle of success last year but I have hopes and plans this year so wish me luck!

I found out last year that another reality exists, different from this one. It only peeks out when you're not expecting it, but I'll work on being more familiar with it. If I disappear, know I went to a brighter, better reality.

Mike, you and I have to practice our sibling psychic connection. There's a million dollars up for grabs. So get to honing!

Have a healthy, prosperous new year all!

"Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry..."

Two days and two hours before this year ends and a new one begins.

I was driving today and thinking. I do my best thinking driving or in the shower.

I was thinking about what happened 8 days ago when we were celebrating Rich's birthday at Wolfgang Puck's with my parents and his parents. At the end of the meal my parents took the check and started to pay when his parents said that they wanted to pay and then there was a brief discussion which ended in a decision to split the check between the two parties. There was a talk between my parents in hushed tagalog about making sure everything was even.

A quick background to this is that our families rarely see one another. The only times they met was when I first moved to college, when I graduated college, when we got married and Rich's most recent birthday. I think growing up (in my household) there was a slight unease towards anyone not of Filipino descent. "Other" people were something to be wary of so that their anger or uncomfortable display of emotions were not brought forth.

I'm not sure yet as to what bothered me about this. Could it be the fact that each party does not know one another well and to watch their interactions makes me uncomfortable, the accents make it harder for each to understand the other? Maybe it's just the pre-existing wariness I could sense from my parents towards non-Filipinos? I'll have to ponder this further.

Listing Out


Wow, it's been a busy and stressful few weeks with looking at new condos, hoping everything goes well, debating which place to go with, parents visiting and birthdays, signing papers, and packing and moving for four days, then unpacking and shopping for new furniture, writing and thinking, dreaming and cooking, wrapping and unwrapping, Christmas and singing carols and sleeping on air mattresses! Whew!

So we're living somewhere new, bigger and quieter. The neighbors are much nicer and lots older. Still at the same town but more secluded and upscale. I have a little nook to call my own and my kitchen is more open. The tub is separate so I can take tubbers in peace and I'm starting to feel like home. It was both good and bad to move during the holidays because it feels like a gift to come home to a nice new place but not so much when I need a new mattress and library and the stores are crowded or closed.

We celebrated Christmas last night with prime rib and roasted potatoes and veggies, ziti and cheese (my version of mac and cheese), homemade croissants, chocolate pudding, and orange cookies and an apple. We ended it by watching "It's A Wonderful Life" with me falling asleep at the last part of it. Went to mass this morning and felt goodly.

I'll write about the year for my year end review in a few days. For now, merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

I'm Just Saying...

I don't think Rihanna can sing, and her voice cracks when she does.

A glue gun can make me look like Martha Stewart.

I hate stacked washer and dryers.

Getting a balcony for my plants makes me feel like "yay!"

80 degrees thirteen days before Christmas is yucky.

Having my parents come down before Christmas means presents earlier and free food! Mmm

There are celebrities that I wouldn't want to meet because whenever I see them on I always think that they have bad breath...

Going around town, into other peoples' homes, to see their decorations is fun and you get to meet all the creepy people that live nearby.

Not having my brother come down for Christmas makes me sad.

Finding out that earth, not water, is my lucky element makes me relieved because now I don't have to carry a heavy-ass bottle around with me everywhere.

If I love wrapping presents so much, why did I buy decorated tins this year?

What is up with the bad music nowadays?