Bad Blood

January is almost over. That means only one thing. I am sick. It is a yearly thing now. When the last week of January comes, the gods start to toy with me, putting my body through some really rough days (and nights).

The nebulizer is on standby now. We got this for the little one. It is me though that is regularly hooked up to it. I have no complaints. Better me than her. It feels worse when she is the one on it.

Since the holidays I have been feeling a need to sweat, to let out poisons I have taken in during the past year and are circulating in me. I do not feel right. More than a physical thing, I know it is a mental thing too. My mind is full of traffic jams. My lungs with bad air.

Anybody up for a getaway?!

Sleepwalker

Having trouble waking up during mornings again. (Like always, going to sleep is easy.) And that means I am having problems getting to work on time and have incurred my first and second "late" for the current work term. It also means I have been feeling sluggish at times even though I know I am getting enough rest. Except for the couple of tardiness, work has not been affected though, my bosses would be glad to know.

Hmmn. Vacation, anyone? December is just around the corner. DL HK is on a Halloween theme. Have not seen that before.

Apples, Couches, and Honeybees

I have been real busy at work, munching on apples, and feeding on high-fiber crackers. I have already missed two out of the seven work days so far. That is okay, nobody is losing anything by me being away. At least not yet.

My left foot is slowly healing, the right is back to normal. I think I need "more" rest. It would have been great if they delayed work for another week. I am sure that by then I would be in full work mode and would "rarely" feel the need to be absent.

Yup, lazy as a sofa, that is me! *s

Throwback Friday

" Hold on now, baby.
This could be the last time we stand.
This could be the last time that we say good-bye.
The picture shatters.
I cant find the words to save it.
Tell me what to do, how can I make it right?
We will always be fire and ice. "
- Poison, "Until You Suffer Some"

Woke up real early. I glanced at the luminous hands of my watch, it was barely past 3am. I stared at the ceiling, I sensed Little Popot's green stars staring back at me. Then, without warning, words filled up my head. Words to Poison's Until You Suffer Some. I tried recalling the whole thing, it did not work. I found out that I have forgotten "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" too. That made me a little sad.

After repeating the chorus of Fire and Ice a few times, I went down and had a cup of coffee. My first cup in more than 16 years. Just like before, it had no effect on me. I still wanted to go back to sleep.

I was still nodding to Poison when I came out of the shower. While dressing for work , I tried, really hard, to remember where my Doc Martens are. When I looked down I saw a classic 8-eyelet boot on my foot instead of the loafer I really had on. A smile might have started to break just then. But, I was too busy gathering stuff for work to notice.

Which?

Am I having problems waking up or am I having trouble going to sleep? Maybe both? Sandman keeps on with the tricks.

In The Garden Of Eden

My Kazakh wife liked this vid. So did I. You might too.

I Dream

I feel tired, yet it has been a slow week so far. The morning ritual is killing me. I need a holiday. Not a made up a holiday, a real one. One that involves plane rides, hotel room services, and currency exchanges. But, I would settle for a whole day of sleep on my trusted bed, with an untimed aircon.

Enslaved

There is a new program head in town. He is mad pissed for getting a title that comes with additional work but no additional pay. People should be praying by now.

Financial Crunch My A.

Economic crisis? You got to be kidding me. There is no such thing with people who know how to "think" and prioritize. Fact, we just moved to a better bank, seeing that our previous bank cannot handle the kind of funds we are putting up. Little Popot picked our new bank.

Our old bank.


Our new bank.




Looks pretty stable to me. ;)

Hell Ride

The darn bus was literally flying, jumping off fly overs and swerving from side to side to avoid "slow" private vehicles. I was praying in my mind. The lady beside me was talking about how we will all be dead if our bus hit another. I can see the veins popping out of her arms, both her hands tightly gripping the handle bar in front of us. The guy to my left was cursing, whisphering something about a corrupt transport agency. He was trying hard to show he was not afraid. But the sudden turning pale of his face betrayed him. People say that their whole lives flash before them when they think they are going to die. All I was having were visions of splattered brains and innards, people milling around and checking if there are any valuables left for picking. 

The sun was barely shining when I got off at my stop. My ride lasted for 23 minutes. Something that, on the average, other buses take an hour to cover. Certain parts of my body are still aching, subjected to tossing and shaking they had not felt before. First time in a long while that I was early for work. Way too early. Darn bus!

Ritual

The alarm clock buzzed. I pretended not to hear it. It kept on buzzing. I was waiting for someone, anyone, to creep up and turn it off. Maybe, even throw it against the wall. Nobody did. Without opening my eyes, I reached out to put it on snooze. Just as I turned the fan let out a gush of air, hitting me straight on the face. It was cold, like the hand of an ice queen, caressing my face. It was seducing me, tempting me to go back to sleep, a lullaby. For a moment, it worked. The clock buzzed again. It was a jolt. It seemed louder than the first time. Angrier. Thoughts started flooding in from everywhere. The world kicked in. My brain, no matter how hard I tried, could not do anything about it. The world is hungry. Too quickly, I was getting eaten again.

Give Me The Ball

Going back to work in a few hours. My body, and maybe my mind too, is protesting. After a "long" vacation, I feel like I need more. I know I should be exercising as I can now feel the "extra" weight. I am fat but I have never felt heavy, until now.

Times like this when I start to miss playing ball. It is almost four years now since I did. No, I am not athletic, far from it. Very, very far. I could not jump or run (still cannot) to save the life of me. But I was quite good at shooting the ball, especially from the outside. I have people who can testify! LOL! One day, in the future, I will put on a pair of my sneakers and use them for what they were meant for. I swear, in the future.

Tiny Droplets Of Smiles

We had a food feeding for street children at work today. I did not expect that many kids to show up. I have seen four or five of these these kids every morning, I did not realize there are more of them there.

Several times I have been in real slum areas for some form of service, whether gift giving, talks about community business and cooperatives, feeding program, and even day care stuff. I have never really understood how parents (if you can call them that) bring children into this world and then turn their backs on them. You cannot put the blame on just one thing or one person. There are so many reasons that contribute to the state that they are in. But ultimately, it all falls on the parents. And it is so sad that most of them would not own up to the responsibility.

Chicken adobo!

Quail eggs.

Yummy! But, no rice??

Here you go, sir, steaming.

Students with some of the kids.

LOL! Mr. Baya having trouble with the kids.

Students doing the feeding.

Adobo FTW!

Lining up for some gifts.

I know one meal would not change the lives of these children. It is not even enough to ease their hunger for the day. Out there are people who have the means to do more. Hopefully, they also have the heart.