And What Have I Done?

Holy Week is messing up my brain.

I was at the gym this morning. I had bugged my parents to take me there since I wanted to sweat and get rid of my cold. My stupid phone did not have enough battery to play my gym playlist. So I was left to stare at one of the twenty television screens in front of me as I was on the bike. The dumb thing was that most of the televisions were set to the local channels which all dealt with Holy Week. And I was sitting there thinking to myself, 'Does it get any better than this?' Oh yeah! On one television, a man was being crucified to the cross. No, the man was not Jesus. On another television, some guys from Church Simplified were talking about their stations of the cross. And then there was like a subtitle or whatever you wanna call it that appeared on the screen. It said something like 'Jesus' ministry was three years.'


When I got home, I got hold of my Mac and searched Google like crazy. Some sources say that Jesus' ministry was for three years and others say that his ministry was for three and a half years. That's like one term for a US president. Jesus had like one term to do his magic. And that thought really got me thinking. Jesus had only three years or three and a half years yet he gave us our whole life to live for him and all we're doing is wasting it. I did not know if I was supposed to be happy that Christ gave me my whole life to do his work. Or maybe I should feel bad because I have already wasted most of my life doing dumb things that do not bring him glory.


What the heck have I done in my nineteen years of existence? Well, I have danced in church for around six years. I taught little kids how to dance and maybe also taught them to love Christ. I have taught in Sunday School since I was nine years old. I sang songs with the kids, fed them, clothe them and even gave the poor children a bath when needed. I have gone on mission trips to places where Christ is already known and to places where knowing Christ may land you in jail. I have gone on many camps and even led some youth groups. I have prayed. I have read my Bible. I have done all that they teach in church just to make sure that I land a spot in heaven.


And yet I have also lied, cheated, cursed and killed people in my mind. I have been lazy. There are Sundays when I end up sleeping while the pastor is preaching because I have stayed up so late the day before. I end up not really praying because I am too tired, too sleepy and not in the mood. Reading the Bible has become an option due to too much school work, late nights with friends and so many TV shows that I watch. Going to church became a chore for me some time ago. It became my only ticket to heaven. It was my way out from all the other things that I did not do because I was too lazy.

If someone were to look at my life from a human perspective, the person would say, 'Anna is doing well in school. She is trying hard to be a good daughter and aunt. She has some sort of faith. She's beating the odds.' If that person were to describe my life from a religious perspective, the person would say, 'She's a goner!' But I am thankful that Christ has shown me mercy for he would say,  'Have not done much yet. There is still some time to do something about that.' And when I realized that Christ is so merciful, I was moved. Sure, I haven't done much yet for him, but there still is some time to do something.

Holy Week has messed up my brain. 

Veggies and Other Things

Conscience: 'How was the trip to Batangas?'
Me: 'The trip or the stay?'
Conscience: 'You know what I mean. Make my life easier.'
Me: 'HA HA HA.'

Going to my brothers' farm in Batangas was my mom's idea. See, my brothers have this farm and they plant vegetables. Of course, mom wanted to visit the farm and see what was going on. Aren't all moms like that? They like checking out on their kids to see what they're up to. But the farm was great! The workers were harvesting and we were there to pick up the lettuce to bring back to the city. Am not sure how many kilos of lettuce we brought back, but it was a lot. The stay in the farm was pleasant because we just stayed for about two or three hours, had lunch at the restaurant there and we were supposed to swim. But I guess I'll just go back to the farm another day just to swim. Yes, there are two swimming pools there. I think mom just dragged me there to try and convince me to be a farmer like my older brother. LOL.

 

Conscience: 'You never really wanted to be a farmer.'

Me: 'But I wanted to be an environmental scientist.'

Conscience: 'Why didn't you take that up?'

Me: 'I thought the school was boring.'

Yes, I did want to be an environmentalist. And I still do actually. What happened was I took the exam and wrote down mass communication as my course. But when my mom paid the reservation fee, I changed my course to environmental science. At the last minute, I decided not to go to that school and so I ended up taking communication arts. And then I switched school for second year and took up media production. But you know, if they had an honors course and put environmental science and media production together, I would totally take it! I think if I could extend my life a little more and slow things down, I would go back to that school to take that course. Or if there was a real time turner, I'd use it to take more classes. I'm a nerd like that.

Show Instead of Tell

Ada, Téa and Gusto,


Mama learned how to play Angry Birds today! 


Finally, after months of arguing with her that the game is fun, she decided to check it out. I do not know where she got the idea that Angry Birds is an angry game. Each time I tried to tell her about it, she would just say, 'No, Anna. It sounds like an angry game. How can something that sounds so angry be fun?' Of course, I would try my best to explain it to her. She would not believe me. So while we were waiting for our lunch at Batangas today, I asked Manong Renzo to let mama play some Angry Birds. And this time, she played.


To get her to somehow understand the game, Manong Renzo explained it in terms of geometry and math and science and school related stuff. On mama's first game, she lost. On her second game, she lost. On her third game, she lost. She just kept on losing, but she kept on playing it also. I dunno how she managed to win, but she did and then she moved on to the next level. I think she played the game the whole time we were waiting for our food. And that was a long time!

There's No Class

Conscience: 'Finish the sentence. The best thing about summer is that. .  .'
Me: 'There's no class.'
Conscience: 'And the worst thing about summer is that. . '
Me: 'There's no class!'

I love summer because I do not have to worry about waking up early, getting assignments done, passing those long quizzes and pleasing those really strict professors. I also do not have to live in two different houses during the week. And yet I miss classes because no classes means that I have to live up here in the mountains without the kids. Honestly, I miss the kids a whole lot! I've been dreaming about Gusto's hugs, Ada's daily Greek mythology classes and Téa's singing. I really want to go to the city and visit them. Never thought that they would take up so much space in my heart. And just in case you're wondering, that picture was taken at 7AM one Monday morning last when all of us were really so sleepy and my hair was still kinda sane. 

Conscience: 'How are your grades!'
Me: 'Mind your own business!'
Conscience: 'I am just asking!'
Me: 'Don't make me nervous!'

I do know that I passed theology because I already saw my grade for that subject.  I am rather nervous for statistics, sociology and history. I am really dumb when it comes to math and I have no idea how I did during the final exam. For sociology, the school has to call me to tell me when I can take the final exam which consists of one questions because I was sick when it was given. And since history was taught in Filipino, I did not really understand a thing the professor was saying. Most of her quizzes were so hard and I just got good grades when it came to projects and that sort of thing. I've been praying so hard that those professors find it in them to pass me. I've made deals with God just so that I do not have to take those subjects again. We'll see. Might get my grades next week.

Talk To Me, Please!

Drinking coffee while waiting for the gate to miraculously let us in.

I was sitting in church last Sunday trying to get a grip on the sermon. I was listening but I also was kinda distracted. So I looked around the room. I noticed that everyone had a friend. They were sitting with people they knew and shared their life with. They sat with their families and extended families. They sat with their girlfriends or boyfriends or someone they just found special. They sat with their friends and friends of their parents or friends of someone they knew. And I was sitting there thinking to myself, 'Heck, I don't have a friend in this place!'


Sure, they all know me. They all know me as Pastor Alberto's niece. They know me as Pastor Alberto's sister's daughter. They know me as Anna. I am not complaining about the fact that they just know my name and not who I am. It's just that it gets really lonely sometimes. They have done their part. They say hi to me and I say hi back. They talk to me for five minutes and then the awkward silence begins. They smile at me and I smile back politely. And then it just stops there. We are eternally on the hi-how-are-you-I'm-fine-thank-you stage.

Hello Vacation

 

March 15, 2012 was the day my summer vacation started.

Several hilarious things took place before that day. To start off, I had gotten chicken pox and was out of school for around two weeks. What did I do? I stayed home, cried my head off and frantically finished all my requirements which I still had to pass. Of course, my group-mates in statistic and my partner in academic writing had to do most of the work as my brain would not function. I bugged certain people in school to tell me when exams were and to please give me the e-mail addresses of the professors. Oh, I also bugged my mom to talk to the dean to tell her that I was sick. 

Fast forward to three days before my vacation and I was running around campus trying to get certain people to sign my clearance. My most awesome mother had already gotten two or three signatures for me, but I still lacked one from the library and one from the guidance department. I first went to the library and presented my ID and my clearance form. I was wondering why it was taking forever. Turns out that someone in the past had had my ID number and the system was rejecting my name and my bar code. I was like, 'Why'd you give me the same number in the first place?!' I was still feeling so sick so I didn't get angry at the librarian. Well, it wasn't her fault. It's the fault of someone in another department. Wait till I find out who assigns those numbers to the students.

Three Balloons

Ada.

As soon as she saw me walking in, she got up from the little table and yelled, 'Tita Anna!' I was trying to get the three balloons through the small door. When I got to the TV room, she was already jumping up and down in anticipation. Yaya Cora said, 'Say hi first to Tita Anna and Mama and Papito.' Of course the excited Ada
could not contain herself. When I finally made my way to the TV room, the first thing she said was, 'Hi Tita Anna! Is that for us?' Duh. Who else would I get the balloons for? I nodded my head while she hugged me while the two other kids looked on.


Originally, I was planning to give her the shark because it was Téa who was into ponies. But then, the Manang Ada had other ideas. She quickly grabbed the string that was attached to the pony balloon. I tried explaining to her that I had planned to give that one to Téa and that she could have the shark. Eventually, Téa just agreed to let Ada have the pony balloon. And once Ada had the pony balloon, she forgot that she was eating lunch and ran out to the living room. I just knew that I had once again messed up her schedule as I always do. Instead of her eating and then doing her Kumon, I had made her so excited! So what did she do with the balloon? Ada danced around the living room while singing one of her made up songs.


Before Ada left for Kumon, she said, 'Tita Anna, I don't want you to leave anymore.' I found it so cute and so adorable that she did not want me to leave. I had not been in Makati for two weeks because I was sick. So I guess she really missed me so much. In fact, every Thursday, I have to remind her that I am leaving for my other house for the weekend. She hates that. And she knows that summer is almost near which means that I will not be with her for around two months. Blame the fact that I totally missed the registration for summer class. I don't know how to tell Ada that for two months I will not be sleeping with her, going to the park with her and giving her baths sometimes. I guess I'll just have to visit her 'cause I'll miss her so much!