sillyserious soliloquies |

A middle-aged lady came to the bookshop needing help with the audio bible that she had purchased from us. Being a tech enthusiast (read: geek-wannabe), I was asked by the retail manager to see if I could help address her concern.

Turns out, Lady Customer had issues loading the audio bible files onto her iPod. She brought along her laptop and the audio CDs. I asked to take a look, pulling the laptop screen closer to my eyes and squinting at the small display.

Me: Pasensya na po (Please excuse me), I’m nearsighted.

LC: You should wear glasses then.

Me: Oh, I have contact lenses on.

LC: Ah, si ser nagpapakabata…(sir is trying to look young, I see…)

Me: Bata pa po ako! (I’m still young!)

I might have sounded a tad too defensive. I was simply amused, really. Later she shared that she had problems with her eyesight, which was why she bought an audio bible.

Thank you for clarifying. No offense taken.

While reviewing my journal, I came across these words that I had written around this time last year, before I turned 29.

In a week’s time I’ll be one year short of thirty.

Three-oh… my goodness! One more year as a twentysomething before I become known as a twentysometimeago. Why, just yesterday I was 24, then suddenly tomorrow I’m 30?! Reality sure does bite—and what sharp teeth it has! I’m still recovering from the shock. Every time I shake my head in denial, it bites me harder. Rabid reality.

I had to laugh at my over-reaction to turning the decade bend. Now that I am actually in my big three-oh, it really isn’t so bad. Not bad, at all. Yesterday, I woke up smiling. Looking at my reflection in the mirror I said, Dude, buckle up! It’s gonna be one adventure-filled decade! Or words to that effect—I self-talk in gibberish sometimes.

* * *

When my mom celebrated her 67th birthday last month, she called it another “promotion” from the Heavenly Big Boss. Yesterday was my turn to get “promoted” to my 30s.

I decided to take the day off to ponder this, my new “promotion” into another decade. I packed an overnight backpack and went away to spend some time in solitude—to pray, talk to myself, reflect, and write in my journal.

Before you get visions of a lone figure glowing in spiritual enlightenment, let me confess that the time I spent actually praying and writing was a grand total of two hours, probably less. I slept through most of the afternoon. Then I binged on Yellow Cab pizza and Coke Zero, sang my heart out, talked to myself and God intermittently. When I finally mustered enough momentum to sit my restless thirty-year-old self down, I turned my Bible, hoping to receive something special from the Author of the Book and of my life.

In his mercy, He did speak to me in an unmistakable and special way. My response was soaked in tears and wordless prayers. I unwrapped His lavish gifts of hope, promises, even rebuke and restoration.

Happy are people of integrity,
who follow the law of the Lord.

Oh, that my actions would constantly reflect your principles!
Then I will not be disgraced
when I compare my life with your commands.

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.
I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:
I will obey your righteous regulations.

PSALM 119:1, 5-6, 105-106 (NLT)

* * *

This post concludes my blog marathon. Sorry if I stopped to catch my breath more times than I would have wanted. But thank you for sticking it out and encouraging me with your interaction Wherever you are in life’s “promotions,” may you take time to celebrate the faithfulness and love of the Life-Giver!

It’s my last day as a twentysomething, and—thanks to Bijoi—I’m blogging a meme

The rules are easy. Just post 10 things that recently made you happy! Then tag 10 people and force them to post this meme on their blogs…

1. Fly a kite with friends! See it crash. Fly it again! Land it, then launch it again! Jump up and down like a kid. Then peel sun-burnt skin days after.
2. Bump cars!
3. Make my mother laugh and cry within seconds.
4. Take vitamins and feel like a responsible adult.
5. Play “I Hope You Dance” over and over again, singing it to myself until I memorize the words.
   I Hope You Dance - performed by Ronan Keating | Words here.
6. Stare at the sky and see that it’s the most beautiful shade of blue.
7. Make friends laugh with impromptu jokes and one-liners that I never remember.
8. Take a deep breath, pound on the computer, and end up with a decent verse.
9. Discover an answer to a whispered prayer and be amazed at a loving Father’s display of amazing grace and tender mercies.
10. Be surprised by friends on the eve of my 30th birthday!

And now it’s your turn to make your happy list: Bijoi (round 2!), Gladys, Nalani, Ruben, Beng, Bespren, Gracia, Jen, Misha, Ptr. Bong.

now silence sits between the two of us
and my heart vaguely remembers
a season not too long ago when
i would but gasp a question
and you sigh your reply

now silence sits between the two of us
these spaces between my fingers
tingle with the faint recollection of
your clasp, your presence, the bygone joy
of hands and wills interlocked

now silence sits between the two of us
we’re so close, yet a world of choices apart
aware of the other’s every breath but
never, as once we did, hearing
the beating of the other’s heart

The child in me came out to play last Saturday. And, boy, did the little rascal have a blast! It didn’t matter that, the next day, he left in his tracks a blob of sore muscles and sun-burnt skin–all on a body about to hit thirty in a few days…

But that’s getting ahead of the story.

Yesterday some of my co-workers and I took Jelle, our Dutch guest, to the highlands of Tagaytay. We wanted him to see the famed Taal volcano—“the volcano within a lake within a volcano within a lake… within an island within a country within a continent within a planet.” (Okay, so I stretched the usual tourism spiel.)

On the grassy field of Picnic Grove, overlooking Taal volcano, all seven of us had a hearty lunch of salad, tofu with veggies, pork and chicken adobo, and mango float—gastronomic delights summoned to mouth-watering existence by Beng’s culinary magic!

From where we sat, we could see the Tagaytay sky dotted with all sorts of shapes, and on the ground, beneath the colorful specks, people craned their necks and tugged at strings. Old and young, they all looked so happy. I decided I wanted part of that action. So after lunch, I set out to do something I had never done since eight: Fly a kite!

(To be continued)