Saturday, August 28, 2010

On Retiring....

I have been looking forward to the day when I can hang up my scrub suit PERMANENTLY without looking back. I have been visiting the website of www.socialsecurityadministration.gov REGULARLY to check on how much will be my social security pension (kung andiyan pa yan)in case I retire NOW. Sad to say, hindi pa rin pwede.
I have painted several scenarios in my head on how I will spend my retirement days.
The only difference is I would want to live that life sooner. I do not want to wait for my cane or my walker. I would want to be able to hike freely without carrying a portable oxygen.
On these nights of pagmumuni-muni I remember the poem of John Masefield, one of my favorites -
I Must Go Down to the Sea

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.



- John Masefield

Sunday, August 22, 2010

When Summer Is Gone....




It's been awhile...
Summer is almost over. The heat was oppressive. School is back. Our household is starting to normalize again. James' room is messy once again (ugh I hate that). AJ's house has been cleaned. The tapa and the longganisa would have to be prepared in time for winter. Para kaming mga squirrels - we prepare food to store for winter.
I did not have the will to write anything for quite a while. Not because I have nothing to write about. It's just that I preferred to, just that. I lost a classmate in High School to cancer. I never got to know her; we never had any conversation. But Rosie said it like it is - she was a high school fixture.
I always have to find some neuron connections to certain stuff. Grace was a High School fixture - we had a connection never the less. Reality sets in. Just like summer, life comes and goes.


MANANG BIDAY