My cousins are on their way to Punta del Sol in Samal Island right now. We're all supposed to ride a bus, and then a barge to get to the Punta del Sol beach resort. Well, what do you know? I couldn't be with them to enjoy the sun, sand, and the surf. AGAIN. Arrgh. How anti-social, ha ha ha. I wish my Aunts and cousins decided to go to the beach on a Sunday instead of today and maybe I could have joined them as I hoped I would. Alas, today is another working day for a busy bee like me. To think that I'd been looking forward to going to the beach again because as far as I can remember, it has been so many years since I'd last frolicked on the beach. If my memory won't fail me, I think it has been more than 10 years since I'd been to a beach resort. Oh, I did go to Subic Bay, but that was years ago. Besides, I merely set foot on the sand that time and didn't really take a dip because we had to take part in several activities in line with that business trip. WE -- that is, my boss and I. If not for her (my boss), I probably wouldn't have gotten to Subic Bay, anyway.

Oh, well, maybe next time I'll be able to go where the beaches are. I hope. It's just so hot here these days and it would really be nice to take a dip in the sea...or maybe soak for hours in ice-cold water. BRRR. Ha ha ha. Hmmmm, maybe I'll just pick up my racquet and accept Mary Ann's invitation to hit balls with her and Marites again at the Ecoland Tennis Club. Yeah, maybe I should. The question is, do I still even know how to hold a tennis racquet in my hands? Maybe. But, for sure, I'll be rusty. I'm certainly looking forward to hitting balls again, though. Marites, are you listening, er, reading this? LOL.

More next time.

 Geng sent me this Tag. I thought this was very timely. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there. To my Mama, whom I miss very much -- I will always love you, Mama!                         

We can have as many lovers/spouses as we want, but we'll  only have one Mother for a lifetime.

                                                       Credits: paper and staple by Tracy Collins

Race sent me this Tag several days ago. It's long overdue, I know. But, here it is -- my To-Do list:

1. Apply for Special Training in a Hospital Lab next week.

2. Find me some "Medical Whites" (white uniforms) and a Lab Coat.

3. Update my Blog as much as possible.

4. Post photos at the SPCMEDTECH_91 Yahoo groups or Arnold, the moderator, will scream Bloody Murder! Ha ha ha.

5. Find a Nasal Cup and finally do the Nasal Rinse.

6. Catch up on my sleep.

7. Post Tes' and Geng's TAGS one after the other, ha ha ha.

I am tagging Coicoi and Oswald.....

P.S. To Geng and Tes, the Tags you sent me will come next.

Finally, after a few  weeks of editing a manuscript, I'm just about ready to resume posting blog entries. Right down to the middle of this week, I'd been completing the editing job for an author's upcoming book. To top it all off, I had a phone interview last week and another one last Tuesday. I feel a little drained of energy at the moment. To think that I still have to do 3 TAGS, ha ha ha ha. So, I am taking this opportunity to let Race, Tes, and Geng know that I will be sure to post the stuff they tagged me with in the coming days. That's for sure. For now, I hope you guys will allow me to take a moment to catch my breath and to also catch up on my sleep so I'll feel somewhat energized and then, I can resume blogging to my heart's content.

I hope Race, Tes, and Geng get to read this. I'll let you guys know when I've put up the TAGS you'd sent me, okay?

                                                                                                                                    Chloe

Sixteen (16) years ago, on April 28, 1992, my Mama breathed her last. I could never forget that fateful day. How could I? It was the coldest day of my life. I left the house that morning waving to Mama and telling her that in two days, it'd be pay day, and I could finally get her Fried Chicken (her favorite food). I stood by the door and waved at her, not sure if she could still understand what I was telling her. She had grown so frail -- virtually skin-and-bones -- and could no longer speak. There were times when I wasn't even sure if she still recognized me. Maybe she did, but she simply couldn't give a voice to how she was feeling because her speech was already badly impaired by then.

What could be more painful for a daughter than to see her own mother suffer, agonize in pain, and slowly die from an incurable disease? My Mama was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or "Lou Gehrig's Disease". I was only 14 years old then. I couldn't even understand what it was all about, or what was happening. All I knew was that my Mama suddenly started to feel muscle weakness especially in the arms, hand, and legs. The woman who carried me in her womb for 7 months (yes, I was a premature baby) had difficulty walking all of a sudden. At first, she could still walk with someone helping her, but as the disease progressed, she had to use a wheelchair and that was where she spent the last  8 years of her life.

So, it all began with muscle weakness, but as time passed, Mama's speech became affected (slurred) and her fingers had gotten so stiff she couldn't dress nor feed herself anymore. My Uncle Boboy (my Mom's younger brother who lived with us) took care of my Mama when I was at school but he made sure that I  did my part on Sundays or during my OFF DAYS from internship duties. Bathing Mama and dressing her weren't difficult tasks at all as much as it wasn't that hard for me to don surgical gloves just to help her have a BM. What I found most difficult and so painful was feeding her --- because my hands would shake everytime I brought the spoon to her mouth. My hands shook because I felt like breaking into a million pieces at the sight of her suffering so much. It was just too much for me to take. I even swore then that maybe if I became a doctor, I would try to erase ALS from the face of the earth so no one else would suffer from it ever again.

On the morning of April 28, 1992, I stood at the door waving goodbye to Mama. An hour later, when my Papa and his sister showed up at the Polyclinic  Lab where I was working as a substitute for a Med Tech, I only had to take one look at their faces to know that Mama was gone. The tears I had been trying to hold back for so many years finally fell that day and I never even cared if others saw me cry. I thought that I had done such a good job of hiding my pain for years and that I had prepared myself well for Mama's eventual death. But, I was wrong. I guess, no amount of preparation can really protect anyone from pain when it finally comes.

I felt robbed of the chance to fully bask in and get to know a Mother's love. I wanted to ask God WHY? But, I didn't when I realized that God finally took my Mama home to where she would suffer no more. I took comfort in that. Just as I take comfort in knowing that even now, I know in my heart that somehow, Mama is still watching over me.

I still miss you, Mama....

My fellow blogger, Oswald sent this tag.

For the instructions, add your name on the list and simply spell out your name using the given Japanese letter- translations below. Tag six of your friends and inform them of the tag.  Have fun.

TRANSLATION:

A - ka       G - ji          M - rin          S - ari             Y - fu

B - tu        H - ri         N - to           T - chi             Z - zi

C - mi        I - ki         O - mo          U - do

D - te        J - zu        P - no           V - ru

E - ku        K - me      Q - ke           W - mei

F - lu         L - ta        R - shi           X - na

1.  OSWALD  - moarimeikatate  (sounds like america and states. har.... har... har...)                          

2. CHLOE -     Miritamoku  -- Um...think I still prefer my given name, ha ha

I'm tagging Geng, emzkie, Poray, Race, Sheng, and Micamania... Enjoy!

Not much, I guess. Just TOO MUCH, ha ha ha. For the past three weeks, I haven't been able to get my nose out of the editing job I accepted. That's just on top of everything else. Several days ago, I went to the PESO office at the City Hall of Davao to submit my documents to a Manila agency's  Rep who flew here to purposely recruit Healthcare Professionals for the USA. I did hear from them a couple of days ago; through a text message telling me to give their Manila office a call regarding a possible placement opportunity in the UK. Hmmm. Gosh, why the UK? All of my credentials have been USA-verified and aside from that, some of my loved ones are in the USA...including my beloved JAM.

To think that I just got my newly-renewed AMT membership card/ID and seal from the mail. It would not have been possible were it not for Laura G., who, along with her brother JAM (yep, MY J.A.M.), came through for me when it mattered most. THANK YOU with all my love....

What else happened? Well, I need to give enough space here to wish my good friend Hazel Nugas-Mosqueda a happy and safe trip to Australia. Hey, Hazel! I know you're just about ready to throttle me for not showing up last Saturday at the Farewell party Atty. Joy threw on your behalf. I truly wanted to be there as I told you over the phone. I couldn't make it. Plus, I do believe Joy knows why I cannot join you at get-togethers at times...no, OFTEN, I admit that. If I told you why, I'm sure you'd want to give me a good kick in the butt, ha ha ha.

Anyway, Hazel, I know we called you "The Girl with the Million-Dollar Legs" in High School...and well, I was just reminded of it when we bumped into each other at the Mall two Saturdays ago. I had to do a DOUBLE-TAKE and I even went like, "Is that Hazel strutting around, wearing a pair of VERY SHORT shorts?" Hee hee hee. I wish I could do that, Haze! Ha ha ha. I know you told me you no longer need the you-know-what, but, like I said, you'll get the GLOW-IN-THE-DARK stuff, hee hee hee.

Joy, I owe you.... I haven't forgotten. I know you're a Lawyer, and that gives me the creeps, ha ha ha. Please don't worry, I'll take care of it soon. Thanks for understanding.

Well, I gotta pause here. I still need to make a long-distance call, double check the editing stuff, and get some of my credentials in order again.

At least, I can relax later, now that my family got hold of some "Vitamins" for me - CSI Miami Seasons 1 to 5. Honestly, CSI Miami is the only thing that perks me up (aside from coffee) -- I call CSI Miami my brand of "Vitamins", LOL.

The verse found below was sent to me via SMS (yep, it's one of those forwarded SMS stuff friends send to each other's mobile phones) and it really had me thinking. After pondering about it for quite some time, I realized how applicable it can be to human relationships. I guess, the timing just wasn't right when one of my friends sent this "Food for Thought" of a message to me. I got it at a time when I've done a lot of reflecting and started seeing some of the people in my life for the first time...even though I've known them for years. It kind of made me sad. But, what could be sadder than realizing that a friend you've cared a lot for so many years turned out to be a "fair weather" friend, after all?

I've always cared sincerely for all of my friends...and I even walk the extra mile for every single one of them. All because I cared. I've always been the kind of person who considered friendships/human relationships far more important than anything else in this world. But, I guess, there simply comes a time in life when we feel like we've given so much, too much...and there's nothing left to give anymore.

Right now, I just feel like burning my bridges with some fair weather friends....

Anyway, I will leave you to ponder on this relevant verse:

Who's to blame for why the leaf fell of the tree? 

Is it the wind that knocked it off the tree?

Is the tree which let go of the leaf?

Or, is it the leaf that had finally gotten so tired of holding on to the tree?

What do you think?

Tes, my friend, former tennis partner, and fellow blogger, TAGGED me with the following questions below (to be answered by me, of course):

First,  THE RULES: Remove one (1) question from below and add in your personal question to make it a total of 20 questions; then tag eight people in your list. List them out at the end of this post.

1. At what age do/did you wish to marry?

 -- I thought then that by this age (my present age-- I'll give you 3 guesses about how old I am, ha ha), I'd have been happily married with a passel of kids. But, then, now that I'm older (and wiser, I hope), I realize that marriage is not a 'race to the altar'. One thing is sure, though. If and when I'll marry, it would be to the man I have been in a long-standing relationship with for so long now. JAM, are you listening? Ha ha ha.

2.What color do you like most?

-- PURPLE, blue, and other pastel hues.

3. Have you ever shoplifted?

-- NEVER!

4. Where is the place that you want to go to the most?

-- To the USA where my beloved is. Where else would I want to be than where my Significant Other is?

5. Which part of you do you hate the most?

-- My nose...because of the scar Chicken Pox left on it. Arrgh.

6. When you encounter a sad moment, what would you do?

-- I CRY, of course.(Alangan mukatawa ko! Maalaan pa hinuon ko na buang!) But, I feel better later after I pray and "talk" to Jesus. Then, I listen to music as uplifting as possible. I'm big on Contemporary Christian Music. At times, when I'm sad, I also listen to the upbeat songs of Shania Twain and go "yee-haw!"

Yep, no kidding! I spent the weekend with Nancy Drew. A Nancy Drew mystery novel, that is. Now, why on earth would someone who already feels ancient in her not-so-late thirties, resort to reading a Nancy Drew mystery novel again? I call it "CSI withdrawal symptoms", hee hee hee. Well, I've just finished watching several episodes from previous seasons of CSI Miami and CSI New York....and I couldn't find anything else to watch. I mean, I couldn't find anything else as enjoyable to watch as I find CSI to be. So, I ended up reading Nancy Drew: The Clue of the Black Keys during the weekend.

Oh, well, the secret's out, then. I soooo enjoy watching CSI and that's because I find the Crime Lab/Forensics fascinating. There was a time when I dreamed of getting into Forensics, or at least, getting additional training leading into a career in a Crime Lab or Forensic Science. Fat chance of that happening, I guess. Maybe when pigs fly and cows jump over the moon, ha ha ha ha. Why the fascination with such mystery or crime-solving stuff? I don't understand it, either. All I know is that in grade school, my teachers always encouraged us to read books and back then, kids my age enjoyed reading The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Bobbsey Twins mystery novels. I think, the interest in those crime-solving novels in the not-so-distant past somehow got carried over to the present.

 I also remember how our English teachers would instruct my classmates and I to always keep a pen and a notebook handy, so if we encountered new words, all we'd have to do is look their meanings up from the dictionary. It sure helped in terms of building my vocabulary. At that time, there was also a Hardy Boys show on tv and if my memory won't fail me, the lead stars were Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy who played Frank and Joe Hardy  respectively.

Here's another secret -- I developed a huge crush on Shaun Cassidy back then. He was so cute with that killer smile of his. I wonder where Shaun Cassidy is these days. Hmmmm, maybe Nancy Drew can help me solve this mystery. LOL.