some citrus burst when needed

see? i love big bags, it allows me to carry a lot of things (papers, pens, laptop and more). it even allows me to carry to-go personals like two of my favorites - wet tissues and hand spray... yes, now i'm finding time to share a bit of my 'human nature' story... :)

i usually have hand sanitizer in my bag, but I don't like using it so much until my friend kate gifted me with Human Nature's All Natural Spray Sanitizer... that was the first first Human Nature product I owned. then i started reading about it and 'human nature' (gandang kalikasan)  and its advocacy: pro-Philippines, pro-poor, and pro-environment. like the local version of The Body Shop but with the price and direct selling strategy of saralee.  

 

another friend, dyali brought me to visit their posh-lookin' outlet in Commonwealth. i signed up...fastforward to now, even as i am staying in general santos city, i get my monthly human nature products from davao city via the bus (very minimal fee)... and yes, i carry the hand spray all the time (there's 2 variants and another 2 variants for kids). got me among others some citrus burst within reach when needed :)

mosquito-reality bites

i don't know how and why but there are some mosquitoes that can bring in fatal illness such as dengue hemorrhagic fever. it takes 3 to 15 days incubation and the bitten person will feel all the symptoms the illness holds. we had our battle with such illness when such infected our beautiful young man (7-year old wowa) in 2009.

the sad thing about this is that dengue doesn't have any cure, what you have is the treatment of its symptoms which are usually high fever, coughing, stomach and muscle pains. since bleeding is existent, the possibility of a 'shock' is also high. this is where management and prompt caring action of the doctor is needed. bloodcount has to be monitored and so is the condition of the patient. since dehydration is a killer, fluids must be taken every now and then (intravenous when needed).

we were blessed to have a huge number of prayer warriors, heavens may have been noisy then with cries and prayers from our friends, relatives and colleagues. we were blessed too to have a son who was somewhat-too-mature-for-his-age  trying his best to take his oral dextrose, camote tops-soup, bananas, apple juice and medicine (for fever, for coughs and the zinc supplement) every now and then. he even read his laboratory results and tried 'hypnotizing' the world that he will soon be fine. with those, with his 24/7-kind doctor (god bless you doc sheena) and our 100%-almost-paranoid-looking-after---he was fine and he recovered. now he's 11 and we're still watchful. we always remind him to retouch on 'bugshield' when he's in school and drink lotsa water... we don't want to have that episode again...

one shouldn't be too complacent. everyone should try to boost his/her immunity and drink lots of water, for many reasons other than this. and yes, one should avoid (or limit) exposure to mosquitoes, use mosquito repellant as needed. use long pants (pajamas) or long sleeves if possible. and most of all, rest ---we can only do so much as human beings. nothing beats taking good care of our bodies, the temple of our souls.

dream or warning?

i am fond of dreams... but lately, they're disturbing me... and i so wish i could just go back to being a child again... those days when dreaming is just dreaming and not being disturbed by it when i woke... but then again, there's no turning back... these dreams, it seems to me, are here to stay... which reminds of one day in 2010...

yesterday, i just found myself talking with filbert, i can say i wasn't listening intently coz i can read from the way i look that i have been thinking of something else. i can see tita fidela's face light up too, as if happy to see me again, as if happy to see filbert and i chatting the way we used to. she's preparing a meal when i said i needed to catch a plane. in my mind i know i have to say goodbye to wowa and jovit first. but at that moment, the need to catch the plane is greater. maybe i thought i'd be back in no time so 'goodbyes' won't be needed.

so filbert took me in a bike with a sidecar and did the best he could to bring me to the airport (i wondered why it seemed too near), he even helped me beg (to the staff/airport personnel) to let me in even without my ticket ( i assumed i left it at home or somewhere but their database will surely tell that i'm on the list). the plane was for take-off, i did my best to be on it, even if it meant running to catch it, opening its door and throwing myself in (like a cartoon character). yes, i thanked heavens i got in.

after a while i noticed the earth so muddy, and i asked myself why the plane has to go through muddy earth when it can lift itself up soonest. i noticed too, that passengers weren't on seatbelts and they're all looking at me (one familiar face, was it matet? blurted out, "i think i know her" referring to me). they were all trying to be at the far end of the plane as if for fear of something. i went past them and tried to stay in front. i was annoyed to see a cockroach and a black cat just roaming in the plane floors. i tried asking the man beside me but i was shocked to see kuya richard. i thought he would be happy to see me but oh, it seems i was wrong (in my mind i was terrified coz i know kuya has been dead for almost a month). he shouted at me, "alfie, bakit andito ka? hindi ka pa dapat nandito ah. bakit ka kasi nagmamadali? dapat hindi ka nagmadali! (alfie, why are you here? you are not supposed to be here yet. why are you in a hurry? you shouldn't have hurried!).

that's it! i woke up. then...i realized everything's a dream. or...
was it a warning?

farewell

Wounds of the spirit... 

are most gently soothed and made whole by the passing years. 

Under the old scars flows again the calm,  healthful tide of life.... 

Under a great loss the heart impetuously cries that it can never be happy again, 

and perhaps in its desperation says that it wishes never to be comforted. 

But though angels do not fly down to open the grave and restore the lost, 

the days and months come as angels with healing in their wings. 

Under their touch aching regret passes into tender memory; 

into hands that were empty new joys are softly pressed; 

and the heart that was like the trees stripped of its leaves and 

beaten by winter's tempests is clothed again with the green of spring. 

~George S. Merriam

FARE THEE WELL ROMEL...