It Was A Many Year Ago

Three hundred and sixty-five days have gone past and I even haven't noticed that my seventh year here in England have said "hello" and "goodbye" without funfare. Every year for the past six years, my anniversary stay here was always anticipated and celebrated. This year however, it had gone unnoticed.
On a daily basis, I looked forward to going to work, having tea-breaks, coming home from work and just lounging on the sofa. On a weekly basis, I look forward to strutting my stuff to do some retail therapy, going to the cinema or just watching my favorite programme on television. On a monthly basis, I look forward to having a week-end getaway and holidays. It's no wonder why I haven't noticed that important part of my life because I was too busy looking forward.
My very first day here in the UK was spent searching for rice and converting (to peso) my purchased goods. One friend even commented why I spend too much on cheap finds when I can easily afford the expensive ones with my wage. And wage includes the extra shifts you do whenever. It's only on the next succeeding years that I truly understand what she meant.
Now, on my seventh year, I:

☼ Stopped doing the conversion on all my purchases (except for some pinoy products that are ridiculously priced!)

☼ Still adore cheap finds especially on sale. At the end of the day, it's not the price that matters.

☼ Honed my english language to perfection ;)

☼ Got more english friends than pinoys and liked them better too! ( I'm sure you know what I mean)

☼ Have learned to say, "darling" and "love" to strangers like it's second nature.

☼ Have been accustomed to the cold and gray weather.

☼ Loved big breakfast and fish and chips yet still can't function without rice.

☼ Value the importance of washing machines, microwaves and hoovers.

☼ Was best educated through all the travellings I've done here.

☼ Feasted on Indian food for the first time! (I dare tried with too much coaxing)

☼ Am well compensated and valued in my profession.

☼ Am a completely lazy bugger on my days off. And it's perfectly okay to be lazy.

☼ Learned that for one to be happy, one needs to live simply.

☼ Am staying put here. To be uprooted again is next to impossible.


For the past six years, I have been counting the days till my next anniversary, relishing the memories, looking back at my successes and failures. For the past six years, I have been counting myself for existence. This year though, I stopped---counting.
And I realized that the moment you stopped counting, you start living.

Lost In Translation

I heard a muttered sound of my colleague's voice behind me.

"Phakay sack-sack phashentay khow."

I turned around. "Are you talking to me?" I said. I still can't comprehend what she just uttered.

"Phakay sack-sack phashentay khow." She repeated but this time she showed me two sets of blood culture bottles for her patient.

"Say that again?" I was quite impressed that she just spoke to me in tagalog but with an english accent.

I was laughing so hard after realizing what she just said. "You're good, aren't you?

"Who taught you that?" I asked her.

"Have I said it right then?" "So, did you understand that? She asked me back.

"My previous Filipino colleagues have taught me a few words but I can't remember some of it now"

"Right, I'm going to *stab your patient but I'm not sure whether I can find a vein coz he's so swollen." I told her. "But I'll try."

"Thanks!"

"Here you go." I've handed back to her the bottles that were already filled with the patient's samples. "I've not labelled it yet though"

"Oh, you're a star!"

"How do you say, "thank you lovey" in your language?" She asked me.

"Salamat, mahal." I said. "Salamat means thanks and mahal means love."

"Oh, I'll just say mahal. It's easier." "Thanks, mahal" she said.

"Pleasure." I replied.

So, how do you say: "Don't drink and drive or you'll end up in ICU with a smashed head and broken bones?" Another colleague asked me.

"Huwag kang tanga!" I said.

"That short?" he said, a bit impressed.

"Well, that means: Don't be stupid!" I replied.

"Ah, I see."

While on the background, I heard another colleague saying, "coffee, mahal?"

Lordy be! Fortunately, our patients are all sedated or else, they would've thought they're in another country :)
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I had a shift once with two other Filipino colleagues. Sometimes, it's fun to work with an all-filipino team but some of them aren't mindful of the fact that speaking in our own language can be rude.
An old lady, bless her, was uncomfortable in her bed and was shifting from one position to the other.

"Are you alright darling?" I asked her.

"I just can't make myself comfy," she said.

"Don't worry, we'll help you."

The three of us helped her (while talking in tagalog in between turns.)

"Thank you, ladies." She said.

"No worries."

"Excuse me love," she called me.

"Am I still in England?"

And that's when I sealed my lips.
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*Stab- is the British term for blood-taking.
And of course in tagalog it means: saksak

When Shoes Attack

My rather new 3 inch-heeled leather laced-up shoe saw me walking on a cobbled street on one night out looking like a clumsy toddler trying to learn how to walk with a very unsteady feet. I tripped many times while walking on them and it made me look stupid. It's a beautiful shoe nonetheless. The kinda feeling like you're looking like a million dollars wearing them never mind the faded jeans and a simple top that goes with it. A beautiful shoe is what you really need, everything else is nonexistent.
But would you trade comfort for fashion? That night out saw me choosing the latter. My new pair is pricey but wearing heels a tad higher and gives you a sore ankle and a bruised ego is definitely priceless.
True, I have shoes in different colors and with heels in different heights but they are just stored in their designated boxes, some, even with tags still hanging on them. I don't know whether I will have the enthusiasm to wear them again after the embarrassment I've felt from walking on them.
For now though, I'm back to my ever-loyal 3/4 worn-out boots of which I have been wearing for 3 years now. But do I care? certainly not! I have walked through different seasons with them and they're my comfort zone, my irreplaceable love.

Being Imperfectly Perfect

"They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe if we all spent a little less time beholding -- We'd be a lot happier."---- Doggie Howser, M.D.
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My salmon-coloured candle has an intricate Japanese-inspired carved design on one side and a speckled of gold-dust on the other. I've never seen anything quite like it so I bought it even with its hefty price tag. It has been a resident on our bay window where it stood proudly for years. Never have I tried lighting it up for fear that it would lose its beauty.
One night, for sentimental purposes, I lit it up. An orange glow instantly filled our dim living room. Since then, it has been our constant companion.
Now, it looked worn and torn. The artistic carved design is halfway melted and the specks of gold dust looked like a stream of molten lava.
I realized now that before when it was perfectly formed, it looked boring. Now, with its new melted design, it looked perfect, interesting and much more beautiful.
In modern times glassmaking, a perfect vase is the almost absence of bubbles whereas in the past, a perfect vase would mean the presence of many tiny air bubbles trapped in the glass. Like the vase and the candle, sometimes, certain flaws define a perfect craftmanship and a bubble-free vase and a perfectly formed candle evoke a mediocre and plain design.
I am far from being beautiful. All my life I've lamented my pert nose, at least if it would have been a slight pointy, I would be much happier. But no. I wouldn't succumb to those much hyped plastic surgeries and botox-infested expressionless faces. The results are just all plain boring. Now I've wholly accepted my imperfect nose because it's part of what makes me, ME.
Before when I met Jobert, I had this greatest fear that he wouldn't like me because I'm not perfect, but much to my amusement, he now calls me "a beautiful butterfly." A music to my ears I know and that's what matters most.
So embrace your imperfections because after all, being NOT perfect is your only asset.