mE, MySeLf & GOD

1. OUR NIPA HOUSE

I was born in Mandaluyong and while in Manila, our family often moved from one apartment to another. This seemed an endless process; we didn’t actually "settled" there. The reason for this is because Manila life is really hard. My parents’ income were just enough to pay the bills. So one day, they came to think "How in the world will we send our daughter to a good school with this lifesytle we have?"

And so, we moved to Libjo, located in the suburbs Batangas City. It was a pretty tough decision. My Father was a professor in Don Bosco, Mandaluyong while my Mom was an employee of TESDA (formerly Man Power). Plus the fact that they have a daughter to raise and that their savings weren’t actually that large. But then again, after weighing the pros and cons, they decided that they have to take the risks. Manila life was not at all ideal.

So we moved to Batangas City where we lived in a NIPA HUT — yes, a nipa hut with all the ’sasa’ and ‘pawid’. But as a child (and even now as a teen), I never became ashamed of that chapter of my life where during rainy seasons, I enjoyed lying beside the cooking pan or a ‘kaldero’ or even an ‘arinola’ and listening to the ‘tick-tock-tick-tock’ of rain drops falling from the ’sasa’ ceiling. And now that we have our split-level, two-storey, fully-furnished (yet still modest and cozy) abode, I do miss our nipa hut. It was fondly called ‘bahay-kubo’ by our relatives and friends.

The ‘bahay-kubo’ does not stand anymore. In its place is our former house, now being occupied by my aunt and her family. The ‘bahay-kubo’ was renovated and renovated and over-hauled and over-hauled until it became a two-storey, fully-furnished, quite impressive house as one can see it today. But modern as the house was, with the marble tilings and brick columns, it is still, up to the present called the ‘bahay-kubo’. And I’m glad for that. I miss our ‘bahay-kubo’. And I’ll always remember the ‘tick-tock’ of raindrops in our old cooking pan.

2. THE SOUND OF MUSIC DAYS

Yeah, I still watch The Sound of Music today. In fact, I can almost write down the whole script now. I’ve been watching it since I was six years old — in the ‘bahay-kubo’. And the difference is that we now own a DVD of the film. Back then it was our old VHS. You had to always rewind it before you can watch it over again. And now, I find I miss the rewinder too!

Another difference is that we didn’t own the VHS tape of the film then. We rented a VHS tape. Now, we own the DVD. So I was more apprehensive to watch the said movie then because I knew that some days from the day it was borrowed, it will be returned and be taken away from me… again. And it would take quite some time before I was able to watch The Sound of Music again. So at times when my Mom went home from work and I find she brought with her a tape of The Sound of Music, there’s no stopping me watching it over and over and over again for days — as much as I can watch it before it’s returned. It’s like I missed Maria so much and Captain Georg and Liesl and Friedrich, and Louisa, and Kurt and Brigitta and Marta and Gretl as well! I also missed ‘Doe-Ray-Me’ and ‘Edelweiss’ and ‘Sixteen Going on Seventeen’.

Nowadays, I don’t watch the movie that often. For one, we have other films to watch now like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Stuart Little 2 or Finding Nemo or Shrek 2 (which also stars Julie Andrews) or Princess Diaries 1 & 2 (which stars Dame Julie Andrews as well). Also, I’m not that apprehensive to watch it anymore since I’ve been watching it for the past seven years already and we don’t need to "return" the DVD because we own it.

But still, I love the movie. I’ll always love it. It’s already a part of me. I also miss imitating Maria. I can’t do that now. Well, for one I can’t let my hair be cut like Maria’s now for I would look funny. When I was a kid I didn’t mind… besides, I looked cute then! But now, that hairstyle just won’t fit a seventeen going on eighteen gal in the 21st century. It also won’t be very comfortable for me to wear Austrian costumes now. When I was a kid, I used to wear long sleeves and aprons just to look like Maria or the children. I pictured myself as a nun and actually hoped that I would someday be a governess to seven children, sing, meet, and fall in love my Captain Georg von Trapp!

Now I have other things in mind, like my Anatomy and Physiology studies and my up coming PHC1. But still, I miss the good old days when I watched The Sound of Music singing My Favorite Things with Fraulein Maria while my father tried to feed me noodles for snack time.

3. RIDING MY BIKE

I was very boyish when I was a kid. Perhaps it was because my Dad took care of me while I was growing up. It was my Mom who worked. Also, my playmates were PR and the twins, Carlo and Allan. We used to play basketball (I was the second tallest then— next to PR), play tennis (although we didn’t know how to) and ride our bikes (kind of like Maria and the children when they were "roaming about of Salzburg" singing ‘Doe-Ray-Me’).

Now, I don’t have time to ride my bike. First of all, it’s now really small. I also don’t find myself comfortable with the thought of biking around Lamao and getting myself burnt from the heat. And I enjoy other things now — the girl things— like playing the piano, singing, reading, and writing novelettes. And because of my unfortunate height, I don’t play basketball anymore. Plus the fact that I won’t play with PR or the twins anymore. They have their ‘barkadas’ already and I have mine.

4. SITTING ON MY PAPA’S LAP

I am a "Papa’s Girl" right from the start. He was the one who introduced me to The Sound of Music and to the wonders of drawing, singing, playing the piano, and orating. He’s my hero image. I mean, he’s strong and witty and kind and the like. And I really enjoyed sitting on my Dad’s lap when I was a kid. Even though we had enough chairs on the dinner table, I always sat on my father’s lap. I did sit on Mama’s lap, but it wasn’t as nice as Papa’s.

I miss sitting on Papa’s lap but I will definitely not do it now! That would be improper now especially because I have a six-year old little sister. And what do you think would the people’s reaction be if I sat on my Papa’s lap at my age? I’d be the laughing stock of the whole town! But still, I enjoyed sitting on Papa’s lap when I was little.

5. Lola Lipa’s Suman

My father’s mother, Lola Catalina is an expert when it comes to ’suman’ cooking. I’ve always called her "Lola Lipa" since originally, my other grandparents settled here in Lamao. And when I was a kid, we often went to Pinagkawitan, Lipa to visit her. And on special occassions, she always cooked her famous ’suman’. I loved all the ’sumans’ she made — be it the thin, long type or the stout, square one (which they oddly call ‘tamalis’ in Lipa). I also loved her ‘kalamay-hati’. Lola never served her ’sumans’ with ‘latik’ like we usually do here in Batangas City. "Nakakatal-ak ang latik ninyo, hindi katulad ng kalamay-hati ko", she once told me. But actually, I could eat her ’suman’ even without the kalamay-hati or sugar because it’s already sweet—not too sweet, but just right.

My Lola just turned 86 last April 30. I call her just "lola" when I converse with her, not "Lola Lipa" anymore. But when I refer to her, it’s still the same old "Lola Lipa". Then, Lola’s cataract worsened. She had her operation but her sight was never the same again. And she had diabetes. All these prevented her from making her delicious ’sumans’. Just last March, Lola Lipa accidentally slipped and fractured the epiphysis of her femur. Up to now, she’s not able to walk. She’s become so thin and (as per the stories of some relatives) so moody. But when our family is around to visit her, she’s still the kind "Lola Lipa" I’ve known.

When we dropped by Pinagkawitan just last Friday for my cousin’s up coming wedding, we checked to see how Lola’s doing. She seemed a bit stronger than before but still, she is thin. But then again, we are confident that she will soon be better and would be able to walk again because we give her ‘Goji’, the best food supplement in the world.

But what she said trouble us. When Mama commented that she seems to recover well, she said "Ala… ayaw ko nang mabuhay!" She said this, almost in tears. Perhaps it’s because no one actually cared to talk to her and have a good chat with her. I always kiss her on the cheek whenever I ‘bless’ ( and say mano po). She always cried when she sees us, and whenever I kiss her, she holds my hand as firmly as she could. When I was a child, I remember Lola Lipa told everybody when we came for a family gathering: "Etong si Dona ang paborito kong apo!" I never forgot what she said.

Next time we visit Lola Lipa, I want to sit beside her and chat with her longer… about her ’suman’ and how much I miss its taste. I just hope that would cheer her up and would make her want to carry on living again. Yes, she’s old. But we love her. We still don’t want to loose her. We’ve lost her sumans already. We still want to be with her for quite some time more. I do hope she’d be able to reach her 90’s and still recall her superb suman… God-willing.