ramblings, random musings, fascinations, rants, raves and revelations

There are days wherein you can really say that you are emotionally low. You have all the burdens and problems in the world. On my part, I have the burden of being Kuya to my siblings. You see, it’s been quite a while since we lived almost altogether again. I’m used of living alone, minus all the hassles of assuming responsibilities. Now, I have to brave the thought that we have a pamangkin to take care of, to feed and and to love. I have another brother and sister in college, additional bills and expenses to mind, more mouths to feed and more entrance fees to “lakads”. Yes, our Mama will always be there but we have agreed to stand on our own and not to ask more of what she’s already providing.

In my younger days, Papa used to say that it is considered lucky when it rains on one’s birthday. He says it’s like being “showered” with blessings from above. I dunno where he got that story, but I sure believed it. See, my birthday falls right smack in the middle of summer. So much so that the coming of rain on my birthday – on March 2 – assuredly, a far-fetched idea, is more a welcome respite from the hot summer sun than the prospect of a shower of blessings down the road.

Well, so it was a very hot day once again. The sweltering summer heat has been with us for months now. June 12, Philippine Independence Day, it’s the latter part of summer. And it’s normally one of those really hot days. It’s so hot that even before you can leave the bathroom from a nice cold shower, you’re sweating again.

Anyway, I was preparing to go and check some stuffs at the mall and regretted not having left the house earlier, for the sun has raised the temperature to hell-like levels. But, a few minutes later, dark clouds started forming. Then, still a few minutes later, it began to rain!

I was intending to take the jeepney so I can save. But the rains, on this particular day, forced me to take the cab. I am not complaining.

Ordinarily, the onslaught of rains – and thunder and lightning and subsequent floods – is among the most dreaded moments for urbanites like me. [… and for some folks in the rural areas as well.] It gets difficult to travel around the metropolis when it rains. Traffic can get tied up like the proverbial Gordian knot especially on our area. We live along Boni and traffic jam has been a part of our daily lives already.

But on a day like today, I welcome the rain like it was the most wonderful thing ever created. The rain pulled down the temperature to a bit more tolerable levels. The rains, too, provided my heart the much needed “bath” it rarely ever takes – but that’s another story. The rain gave me time to reflect and feel blessed at least.

The raindrops, pitter-pattering on the cab’s roof and windshield, provided the proper ambiance for me to wax sentimental on my situation and our [with my sisters] life’s situation. Stuck in a moderate traffic snarl, I thought about a lot of things and of people that have become a part of my life for the last years.

Pitter-patter the rains went as we negotiated the fairly easy route from Boni to Megamall. I saw familiar sites on my daily travel to work…. the mall I frequent for buying goods or watching movies… the bakery where I drop by every so often for fresh, off-the-“pugon” pan de sal… the neighborhood barber shop where “kwentong barbero” is literally livened… the tunnel… the local hardware store which supplied many of the raw materials for the thousand and one “projects” we did at home, from our bunk beds, to the backyard shed, back door, computer table, benches, etc… the list is endless!

And I was momentarily awakened from my reverie with the constant pitter-patter of the rain on the cab. I asked the driver to flipped on the car radio, hoping to catch any good tune… something about the rain or birthdays, if possible. Something upbeat; nothing sentimental. But, no dice. My mind brought me to “Rainy Days and Mondays” by the Carpenters. But that is a bit too sentimental. I mean, I like the song but right now I can’t take words such as “rainy days and Mondays always get me down.” On a hot summer day like today, a rainy day is always welcome and lifts spirits. Ironic as it may sound, but a rainy day in the middle of the blistering heat brightens up my day.

And then, of course, I now have our bundle of joy [my pamangkin]. So nothing can get me down today. No rain, floods or traffic jams. No negative headlines about the rising cost of fuel and goods. No rice shortage. No Ces Drilon [though I really pray for her safety], nor the latest circus masquerading as a senate “inquiry” while millions are waging a daily war for three meals a day.…. No. No negative news will spoil my day today. It’s a good day.

Today I count my blessings. I thank God for the people around me… family and friends who have been there with me through good times and bad… and I remember those most especially who have been there in trying moments. I am grateful for all the opportunities coming my way, be it at work or elsewhere. I am thankful for simple things everyday that I oftentimes take for granted, but would probably mean the world for less fortunate brethren.

I thank Him for the love being shared. For my family [siblings - Gold, Queen, Aiza, Pipoy, Totoy, Dave, Mama, Papa, Francis-my pamangkin], my office friends [Gay wit Zelot, Mami Abi & Abhi, Alma & Nina, Julie & Kelly, Evette and Ron, Ed, Ms. Lanie, Binibining Knowel, SP people, co-QAs - Agnes, Kate, Cj and of course Ryan, Mhel, Genie, Dior, Mi and Joanne], Jc & Kiko, Jay &Guise, Mark, Ralf, Radge, etc…

I am grateful for even the pettiest squabbles with officemates or friends, for they strengthen my character and sharpen my problem-solving skills, assuming I had any to begin with. I am grateful for friends who I hang out with, whether to exchange funny anecdotes or sob stories, over a bottle of beer or two. I am thankful for drinking sprees on weekends where we exchange even funnier and embarrassing stories because of our drunken, uninhibited state. Cheers!

I am grateful for friends who come to me for advice even on situations I don’t have the expertise for. The experience, I can assure you, is most flattering. But I do my best to give “proper” advice.

I am thankful for the food I eat everyday, cringing with guilt at how often I complain to myself at the little variety there is to eat at Banchetto, when millions would rather be in my place than their one-meal-on-a-lucky-day routine.

I am thankful for my rickety, relic heart – old yet reliable – who’s seen better days, but still continues to serve me faithfully, and yes, reliably. Reliably because It can control itself from falling in love without his older brother brain. I am thankful for even the daily traffic jams because it means that I at least have work and an office to go to, while a lot are out there struggling to find a decent job.

I am grateful for the camping adventures we’re currently trying to maintain which has provided me not just thrills and excitements but with a bigger circle of friends. I am thankful for the occasional movie and spa sessions for providing momentary escape and relaxation from the daily grind at work.

And yes, I am thankful for rainy days, even when they bring more traffic and commuting woes. On a day like today, rains pitter-pattering on the taxi’s roof, I am thankful for the respite from the hot summer sun…. and yes, even for the promise of the proverbial shower of blessings from above. Rainy days and Monday always get me down, Karen Carpenter once sang. But rainy days on a very hot summer are a cause for celebration for me.

Rains on my birthday are not just a welcome pause from hellish temperatures. They also serve as an assurance…. They tell me that despite all the chaos in the world, all the problems around me, all the troubles bedeviling people, there is a respite for everything… and everything will be all right.