How to Shower a Baby

Recently, my girl friends hosted a baby shower for our friend who is seven months pregnant with her first child (who will be named Daphne Johayla. cute name!). Time passes by so quickly that three of my close friends are now moms. It was just like yesterday that we are running wild at school, unpacking our snack boxes and enjoying our break time.

Now that I'm talking about being a mom, I can't help but agree on what a television commercial says about motherhood: it's harder to be a mom than carry a child for nine months. True, isn't? That is because pregnancy ends when a woman gives birth while motherhood commences as soon as a woman finds out she's pregnant and this role lasts for a lifetime.

Why am I writing about this topic? Not that I have immediate plans to be a mom myself. It's just that with these things happening around me, I begin to think deeper about what motherhood entails. It's a huge role, really.

Tuesday Surprises!

Just when I thought my Tuesday is an unlucky day, I found something to cheer me up. I was looking through Twitter and read about a tweet that Banksy's (the famous street artist from UK) documentary entitled 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' is finally coming to the Philippines. It will be shown at Quantum Cafe tomorrow night. This news made me giddy and I hurriedly replied to Saab Magalona (a celebrity blogger with kick-ass thoughts) to where I can find Quantum Cafe...and tadah, she replied:

Nothing much, I just felt grateful that she took time to reply to my tweet. :)

Maculot

After several instances of postponing climbs, my friends and I finally decided to pursue our trek on Mt. Maculot.

To give you a short background about Mt. Maculot, here's an excerpt from Pinoymountaineer.com:

MT. MACULOT
Cuenca, Batangas
Jump-off point: Brgy. Poblaction, Cuenca
LLA: 13°55'15"N; 121°2'30"E; 706 MASL
Days required / Hours to Rockies: Half day / 1-2 hours
Specs: Minor climb
Difficulty 2/9
Trail class 1-3

Our group decided to do a traverse, that is, to climb up from point A and descend from point B. This climb took more or less six hours. We started at about 10 in the morning and arrived at the Rockies at 5pm.

We ate our lunch at the Grotto where statues of the Virgin Mary and the Pieta are built. The photo above was taken behind the Grotto. The tall grasses with white endings looked so serene. It reminded me of music videos where female artists walk on these grasses wearing long dresses (I can't give a concrete example, but that's the concept. haha.)

After the climb, we went to our friend's house in Batangas and feasted over pancit, bread and orange juice. Conquering a mountain in a weekend is really something very tiring yet also a very fulfilling to do.

Booze, Boyfriend, Bestfriend

Oooh. Great picture (That's my boyfriend and my best friend)! The people I love plus cold beer made my Thursday complete.

Corned Beef and Hotdogs

Candle light dinner under the night sky; man playing violin on the background and a toast to cap off the evening.

Sounds like a romantic thing to do to celebrate togetherness, right?

In reality, what happened was: we rode motorcycle, f*ck off a reckless truck driver and ate corned beef and hotdogs.

It is our fifth month together. And I expected that we'll eat out (Actually, I expected that we'll eat out, drink beer, talk and reminisce).

I felt sad a bit. But who knows, there might be surprises coming my way. At least we cuddled and watched DVD together until we dozed off.

Train Ride

I ride the rail transit once a day, five times a week to get to work. Everyday is a different adventure. I get to see people from all walks of life. I enjoy looking at them: how they dress, talk, laugh and stand. Nevertheless, here are few of the things I learned in riding the train from Monday to Friday:

1. More often than not, the train is always overcrowded with people. The fun part is you will not stumble despite the movement of the train because the passengers are like sardines contained in a can. It's all about how you balance as the train make its stop. The not-so-fun part is smelling the human odor (meaning: sweat, breath and dirt).

2. I learned how to stretch my limbs to reach its farthest. As usual, the train is jump packed with people so I need to grip the nearest railing even though it is two feet away from me.

3. Multitasking is not an easy thing to do. But if you ride the train several times a week, it becomes easy. I learned altogether how to fold my umbrella, carry my bag and slide the ticket on the machine in less than a minute.

4. Nowadays, being gentlemen to the ladies is slowly disappearing on men's set of values. Some men riding on the train will not give away their seats for pregnant or old women. They rather sit back, relax and tinker their PSPs/cellphones.

5. I find simple joys in life by merely observing passengers. I liked how a young father hold his baby; how a lady slumped to sit on the train floor without caring about the people around and a college student who suddenly puked while on his way out of the station because he seemed drunk.

Riding the train is really an enjoyable experience. It adds a little twist and turn to my own journey in the urban life.

*Photo taken three or four years ago when LRT 2 was fresh and new (and not crowded).