Monday, January 26, 2009

Our moon

The moon
some nights ago
lit my sky
but I wonder
if you saw
its brilliance.
Your moon
must have been pale.
What with the storm
that too soon came.
Or the sea
that has kept us apart.
So tonight I wish
a glance you spare
and see...
my moon, my sky
are yours as well.

Ang ating awit

Maraming awit ng pagsinta
ang dati nang nalikha,
ang atin ba'y
tapos na?

Marahil ay hindi pa.

Dahil patuloy pa rin
ang paglikha,
ang paglapat ng tunog,
ritmo at halina.

Sasaliwan pa marahil
ng gitara o piyano.

Maaari ding sabayan
ng biyolin o pluta.

Di pa natin batid
kung gaano kahaba ---
kung may pasakalye
o may korong inuulit sa tuwina.

At ang titik...

Paano nga ba itutugma
ang mga salita sa tamang nota?

Basta.

Sapat na sa ngayon
na sabay tayong
lumilikha.

At umaasang
sabay nating aawitin
kung ito ay nalikha na.

No more school bully-phobia

In grade school, I dreaded the first day of school. Not because of the new teacher. Not because of the new subjects. I dreaded the first day of school because of a classmate who made my school life less than perfect.

He was my school bully. There I was, a tiny grade schooler with skinny arms and legs --- scared but trying hard to put on a brave front. But unlike the bullies of movie stuff, my School Bully did not grab my packed lunch. Nor did he beat me up to the pulp. His bullying was more of the verbal kind. He threatened to give me a beating. He said he would wait for me at the school gate and knock me out cold.

The threats got worse every year. But because he never lifted a finger, they felt empty and, well, less threatening. But in our sophomore year, I finally fought back. Call it teen testosterone but one fine school day, after he kicked my knapsack, I kicked him on his shin, when our teacher was not looking. He freaked out and wanted to end my life then. Fists did not fly but his expletives were a-plenty. He dropped his old “I will be waiting for you at the school gate” line. But I was unfazed. “Square tayo,” he challenged. “We can’t do squares. There are just the two of us. Squares have four sides and four corners,” I smarted. He threw me back a quizzical look. He simply did not understand my retort in straight English. “Let’s just get it on. One-on-one.”

Back then, I realized the best way to win a fight is to speak in straight English.

There was no buzz in school about the challenge. Come off time, I marched fearlessly to the school gate. Of course, my loyal friends were there as my cordon sanitaire. But School Bully was nowhere to be found.

He was absent the next day. When he showed up, he looked sullen and defeated. I saw him crying that afternoon. No matter how I hated him, I still asked “What was wrong?” He said sheepishly that our school adviser told him that he would repeat the year if he did not put his act together for the last grading period. He did not want to be a repeater. His mother after all was a teacher in our school and it would be a big shame if he failed a level.

I could not remember vividly what happened next but I knew after that short chat he stopped bullying me. He passed the sophomore year and we were classmates again in our junior year. In third year, he called me the “Boss” and obeyed me when as class president I would assign simple tasks to him like cleaning up the board or throwing out the garbage. I also started helping him out with his assignments.

But one time, our Social Studies teacher left the class a seatwork. We were supposed to read a chapter from our book and answer two questions. I did mine quickly and School Bully-turned-Obedient Classmate asked for help. I asked him to try answering the questions on his own first and I would edit his work later. No expletives this time. No life-threatening remarks. School Bully answered the questions and I edited his work.

But when we had the same class the next day, our teacher called School Bully’s attention and asked him if he was the one who answered the seatwork questions. He said yes but our teacher did not believe him. She said that there was only one student who could answer in straight English and that student was me. I raised my hand and reasoned out that I edited School Bully’s work but the substance was all his. But School Bully’s notoriety preceded him and Social Studies teacher judged him based on this.

School Bully was humiliated. I thought he would go back to his old ways and threaten me once again. But he just clammed up and became disengaged as the months progressed. He had no close friends and he started being absent more frequently. He dropped out completely and had to repeat our Junior Year. When I finished high school, School Bully was left struggling to complete his third year. I just learnt later that he did not continue into senior year.

Fast-forward to 20 years later. School Bully’s mother died last week. My best buds and I paid our final respect. One of them joked about me meeting my all-time fiend once again. Twenty years later, I was bigger, taller, and heftier than him. I could easily outbox School Bully but it was not time for “Revenge of the Nerd”. Former classmate and School Bully welcomed and thanked us for remembering his mom. He said he was sorry but he could not remember our names. When I told him who I was, he said how could have he forgotten. It must be the hair style, he joked. I am now sporting the skinhead-don’t-mess-with-me look. He introduced me to his relatives as the school’s “first honor.”

School Bully is now a real estate broker, selling condominium units. He got my mobile number and asked if he could contact me in the future for a sale. One of my best buds told him that I already bought a property and that I was not a condo-type of guy. He did not insist. We said our prayers and condolences and left.

As I walked away, a burden was lifted off my shoulders. Although there was a part of me that wanted to be obnoxiously proud, the other part told me to say goodbye to my School Bully-phobic years. We all had bullies in our lives. We could have been bullies ourselves. But as I learnt, there is a story for every bully. It is a story worth knowing. The simple act of reaching out may turn a bully into a softie.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

An answered prayer



Today, we celebrate Heaven’s sixth month. We welcomed our firstborn on 26 July. A year ago in January, we learnt that Aires was finally pregnant. We were ecstatic and anxious then. Today, we look back at an unforgettable year --- for all the up’s and down’s, for the long wait, for all the tears, and for all the smiles.

Heaven has brought us not only joy but also a realization, a reminder that God indeed answers your most fervent prayer --- at His own terms, by His will. Many times, Aires and I found ourselves asking God: “Why?” We did not know then His reasons but when we learnt to lift up everything to Him, He answered our prayer when we least expected it.

Today, we are simply thankful for our own bundle of joy and God’s work of miracle. We are halfway till Heaven hits his first year. Each day brings us closer to finally singing a Happy Birthday song. Till we get that chance, we keep saying our Thank You’s to God for our answered prayer.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The pursuit of happiness

Heaven cries when he has to fart. He cries when he is hungry. He cries when he has had enough of the bedroom. He cries when his diaper has had enough of pee too.

My wife, Aires, and I are slowly learning his distinct cry for a distinct reason. The worst crying comes when he has too much gas and needs to fart. This can go on for quite a while. No amount of cooing and singing can immediately calm a colicky baby.

Our quick-fix was to breastfeed him. Think of band-aid on a punctured rubber tire. But we learnt that crying does not usually mean it is time to feed.

When Aires returned to work, we tried leaving Heaven at home for one day with expressed milk. He howled for hours, we were told. I heard him crying over the phone and I found myself crying also. But parenting is an on-the-job training. We have learned not to get stressed when Heaven wails.

Sometimes, Heaven cries without really crying. I call it his “staged” cry. He goes “Eeeh! Eeeeh!” I check his stomach to see if he has gas. I touch his diaper to see if he needs a change. When all signs say nothing is wrong, I get back at my little boy and tickle him to lala-land. He goes berserk, his “staged” cry becomes guffaws, and I hear the most magnificent sound of all --- his laughter.

Last Christmas, I dared my relatives to make Heaven laugh for 500 pesos. But the catch was they had to do the mission without touching him. My nieces and nephews took turns making funny faces and weird noises. My relatives did everything imaginable to make Heaven laugh. Heaven was ecstatic. He was all smiles. But the baby laughter never came. Aires and I left the Christmas party with a happy child and with my 500 pesos.

When Heaven cries, we try not to cry with him. But when he smiles, we cannot help but smile at and with him. And when he laughs, we know that the pursuit of happiness is ours for the taking.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Mission impossible


Twenty years ago, I left high school and left behind 10 years of my youth. But I took with me the rare friendships I gained through all those years. When I remember my school, I think not of my scholastic achievements but of the many adventures I had with my barkada.

Our high school barkada came to be because of our Citizens’ Army Training (CAT). We were a motley group of crew-cut shaven officers. Adam Buenaventura was corps commander. What a giant leader he was! I was his vice corps commander. Osmond Chiong was N-3, Erwin Valenzuela was N-5, Henry Odulio was adjutant, and the list went on and on. We were a fine crew and we dreamt of reaching the CAT inter-school military contest finals. Naysayers said it was a tall order and a mission impossible. Training for this military fest brought us closer and our barkada bigger. Adam steered us to the school’s finest finish in the CAT inter-school competition. We did not win the crown but we knew deep in our hearts that we were excellent.

Right after high school, we kept in touch with each other --- celebrating birthdays, spending out-of-town swims, and keeping track of early adulthood escapades. First bottles of beer. First trip to a girlie joint. First you-know-what.

We had girls in the barkada. And we would spend Saturdays hanging out at their houses --- their parents just all too nice to have us come over. Through the years, we lost touch with several of our friends but we kept a core of barkada who would be there during the best and the worst times of our lives. In weddings, baptisms, funerals. Not necessarily in that order.

We set the 30th of December for our annual barkada Christmas party. I missed several occasions but I could proudly say that our barkada has never missed celebrating this annual party --- whether there were only four or 24 who year in and out would reminisce about the good ol’ days of high school.

We had our last at the Monfort Bar and Grill in San Miguel by the Bay park. We opened invitations to other batchmates. It was a blast.

This year, we hope to make it a batch reunion party. This, we know is a tall order to accomplish. But we heard about the same stuff when we competed for the finals of the CAT military fest. Wait for my year-end account and then we will know if we again accomplished a mission impossible.

New Year surprise






A year ago, we knew not that Aires was already pregnant. The news came as a surprise. What a surprise it was!

Now, Heaven is almost six months old. Had he been born full term, he would be 4.5 months. He has grown from a teeny tiny premature baby to a terribly expressive and active infant. He coos and goes eeeh-aaah. He can hold his head up high and stand on his sprightly legs. He can clasp his hands together. He loves going out and enjoys a lot of chat time.

He is exclusively breastfed and has not been sick except for one bout of post-vaccination fever. He turns to Aires for his feeding time. He turns to me for his playtime.

It has not been smooth-sailing for Aires though. She had to return to work when Heaven was four months old. Heaven goes with us to work and stays at my office’s nursery room. Aires drops by three times in a day to feed Heaven. Thank God for breastfeeding blouses that have helped Aires do breastfeeding more comfortably.

There are no regrets at all. We are not spending for infant formula. We are sure that Heaven won’t get hospitalized in his early years. He is strong, healthy, and amazingly responsive.

Breastfeeding is hard work. But like with hard work, the results are rewarding. We are eager to see Heaven’s next developmental milestone. Will he finally learn to roll over? Will he finally learn to follow the Close-Open song? Will he finally utter Nanay or Tatay? We just can’t wait for the next surpise.