The congestion, the homeless, the encounter

I resent traffic jams especially when I’m on my way to work in the mornings which is why I am not so fond of passing this 1.5 miles City driving route I take to enter the freeways. There is a newly opened school and a road construction that seemed to be taking forever to complete. Both contributes negatively to the time spent cruising this direction. But this blog is not just about the street congestion, it’s about an encounter while being stocked in the jam.

On this same obstructed street, you would often see homeless people begging drivers for money, which is common in Los Angeles, being the homeless capital of the United States. There’s this aged couple, the man dressed in Hawaiian shirt and the woman in Pink Sweater over a flowery printed dress and jeans. From their outfit and placard which says “Aloha!” you can assume they’re from Hawaii or at least that is what they are trying to convey, and I chose to believe. There’s also one or two middle-aged men dressed ruggedly carrying placards, one wrote “Hungry and Homeless…Please Help!”

So many helpless people depending to live by little cash each day but the one that makes my heart ache for pity whenever I see her on the street is a teen-aged looking woman with a backpack and carries a tote and a bunch of palm leaves on her hand. She makes flowers out of the palm leaves and offers it to drivers when the light turns red. Incidentally, the palm leaves and the flowers she makes remind me of Palm Sunday in the Philippines, a tradition I missed so much.

Usually, I see this girl in the afternoons, on my way home from work standing at the gas station. Last Monday, I saw her in the morning by the intersection. What hurts me most seeing her in the street is she is young, and she is a girl. I have two teen-aged sons, and it breaks my heart to see young people roam the streets because of homelessness. They are our future, they will pay the debts of the country, and they deserve to be in school, to be sheltered, to be cared of. And even if sometimes their teen logic is unacceptable and they rebel, we as older people should have stretched patience in dealing with our young.

I wonder if this girl ran away from home, is she an orphan? Did she eloped with a man and broke up with him later ashamed to go back home to her parents accepting she was wrong? Where is she spending the night? Where did she learn to make flowers of palm leaves? Did her parents taught her? her siblings maybe? Where are they? Why is she in the street? So many questions flash my mind as she walks towards my direction. This time, she doesn’t have palm leaves flowers , she just smiled so sweetly as I handed her the small bill, she said “God Bless You,” I responded “take care” but in my heart and mind, I whispered, “May God have you in His keeping.”

I continued to drive. I didn’t mind the traffic jam that much anymore.

I haven’t seen her since Monday and even if I want to see her again I hope not in the streets again.

attack of the mental block

SIGN OF TIMES

As a kid, my friends and I would walk to the beach, ride our neighbors’ small fishing boats and dive into the waters realizing drowning is possible if you can’t swim. That’s how I learned how to swim, to survive drowning. My youngest son didn’t risk drowning, he learned to swim from You Tube.

My husband learned to do his tie from his father. My eldest son watched from You Tube.

I wanted to learn to make authentic Curry. My husband said, “I’ll get you a Cook Book!” To which the children reacted and said, the two of them at the same time, “Mommy, just check You Tube!”

Before, if you looked good in pictures, people will say you’re photogenic. Now, if you looked good in photos, people would say, “OMG, you looked Photoshopped!”

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I WRITE BECAUSE...

J.K. Rowling’s career is impressive. I secretly dreamed of becoming a writer too. But even if J.K. and I share the same birthday there is no way I could own a piece of her fortune from writing. She got fertile imagination that creates a magical world; she introduced flying brooms as public transport and dragons as pets.

J.K. is to fascination as I am to real world - the real challenging world where my written words are not really spectacular. J.K.’s words are translated in different languages and read all over the world, mine is on WWW with only 5 loyal readers. People pay to get hold of J.K.’s books; I bet not one person would pay a penny to read my musings. J.K. earned honors and awards for writing, the only recognition I receive are comments from affinities.

Why I write?

I write to connect my voice in this noisy world. It expresses me as a person and stimulates my being. Writing preserves my present and relives my past, a bridge to my still yet to be defined future...

a certain longing

Two days ago I dreamt of her. This morning as I woke up, I prayed to God to let her know how much I miss her and that I love her very much, my grandmother whom I loved to call Mang. It’s her birthday today. Mang was the biggest influence in my life. I might have inherited her sweetness, her compassion, her love for cooking, and how she valued education, but I could never copy even an ounce of her patience. She was the epitome of a great mother, someone who sacrificed a lot for the sake of her children, and grandchildren, as in my case.

When I was younger, I lay my head on her lap and would easily fall asleep as she stroke my hair with her tender hands. I grew up with her stories which were my entertainment as a child, something I would love my children to experience but never experienced. Mang prayed day and night and lived with so much hope and perseverance. Something very difficult for me to emulate, even if I do pray a lot.

Time heals loneliness but it didn’t fill the emptiness. Something in me remained a child and I don’t know when it will stop longing for that certain comfort only Mang could fill. Two decades and a half since she was gone and I still want to sleep on her lap and feel her fingers run through my hair.

true nourishment (Part 2)

Last week I told Abraham that they might not be able to attend Ash Wednesday services because I can’t take them to church, being so new at my job, I can’t miss work. But since he said he wanted to go, Brack shortened his hours and attended the mass with the boys while I went to St. Monica’s Church during my lunch break. As a mother, I felt good that, Abraham, being 17 at that, is not only enthusiastic about going to church, he is also interested in learning more about the Catholic practices. The other night, he asked about the relevance of Ash Wednesday, and at today’s service, the three of them, father and sons, served ushers.

I’m blessed I don’t need to force my children to go church, or have faith in God. Some parents are having a hard time doing it. Some children, as they grow and acquire more knowledge, tend to drift away from their faith. As soon as they start achieving, they develop the mind frame that they can do anything, or everything, by themselves and no intercession is needed. It’s good to be independent, but keep the faith.

I wonder how life is for people who do not have faith. When they are troubled what do they do? When they are down, or someone they love is sick, or when they need to accomplish something big, whom do they call?

Ash Wednesday reminds us, from dust we came, to dust we will return, but in between there is life. Imagine what peace it will bring us if we live life right.

true nourishment (Part I)

When missionaries knock to evangelize their faith, I open my doors to them. This is because I respect other people’s beliefs, but more so, because I admire them for making the effort to reach out to as many people and persuade them to convert to their religion, notwithstanding, not being paid for doing so. My usual greeting would include a statement that mine is a Catholic household but they are welcome and if they leave me reading materials, they can be assured I would read it. Yes, I do read publications from different religions, I find those informative and enlightening, some writings even inspired me.

Keeping an open mind about worship and other religions though, makes me more attached and inspired to stick to mine. I love being Catholic, despite the intrigues, some true, most were not, other people throw on the church, I would still be faithful to the practice of the faith.

I was baptized and confirmed a Catholic, got my bachelor’s degree from a Catholic College, and moved on further to a Catholic University for graduate studies. When I was younger, I joined the Block Rosary group in my community and for a short time had served in the mass as lector. I did well in my theology classes, made sure I attended mass every Sunday and days of obligations, tried to be good the best I can, but that was it. I never really understood my faith deeply, nor had the desire to nourish or defend it until recent challenges had me searching for more than just complying with the routines.

When I gave up Facebook I had more time to build up knowledge of my faith and what matters most in life. The fruitful readings, the quiet moments, and the EWTN broadcast aided the realization.

back to work

In between my on and off allergies which I don’t know where I got from, I survived my first week back to work. I must say the adjustment is not easy after being away from the corporate world for a long time. I am no longer used to waking up, taking a shower, and fixing myself early for work. I even felt a slight separation anxiety leaving home and not being able to pick up my boys from school. I think the brothers adjusted faster to taking a bus ride home than me driving and hustling with the traffic in 10 freeways, which is my daily route from Los Angeles to Santa Monica.

These difficulties though are not the highlight of my back to work experience because deep in my heart and mind, what I wanted to write is my appreciation for having a job. I twitted last week, “who needs recruiters when you have friends?” It is so hard to find a job this time, in fact competition is so stiff, getting an interview is even harder than auditioning for American Idol. As for me, thanks to my friend, Linda, she hooked me up.

In the midst of learning new skills, I have access to the awesome view of Santa Monica from our 20th floor office. At lunch, I even get the chance to enjoy the soothing cold breeze of air coming from the ocean. I am back walking the famous 3rd Street Promenade and if I’m luckier, I could even get a glance of movie stars, those dropping-off their kids at this posh daycare opposite our parking structure.

Once I acquired complete knowledge of the job, I’ll be relocated to Los Angeles’ Financial District which means my drive to work will only be 3 miles as compared to the current’s 18 miles plus traffic each way. How cool is that? I always loved working in Downtown LA; this is where I had most of my corporate experience. How fortunate am I given the chance to work in a place I wanted to be? Or rather, how blessed am I that the good Lord had always been arranging where I should be?

To the lady standing at the corner of our office building holding a carton sign that said “I’d rather work,” I pray that you will find something for you soon.

To everybody else, refrain from FaceBooking while at work and start loving your job more.

I love LA!

According to LA Times, visitors ranked Los Angeles the rudest city in the US. The question is do you agree? Do I agree?

I browsed the comments from readers and I could say that most negative reactions posted bear truthness to it, specifically the car culture and the lack of common courtesy among drivers. I had a couple of first hand experiences of this lack of civility and even wrote about it in this old blog. What makes matters worst is, LA also has many uninsured drivers in the streets. My car was hit by one of them.

I have resided in Los Angeles for nine years now and despite the not-so-good things people said about this place and its indwellers, my fondness for this place grows more and more as the years go by. Infact, I could no longer imagine living anyplace else. The true beauty of LA lies in its fullness of life. It’s a buffet of everything you are looking for, starting with the weather, the beaches, the mountains, the forests, the entertainment, the food, and the shops. Dull moments? no such thing here. The place boasts of history, of melted cultures, and just enough noise that tranquility is still possible to find. Not to mention, my favorite basketball team is headquartered here, the Lakers.

I could go on enumerating the best of Los Angeles which I have seen and experienced as a resident which unfortunately the visitors who responded to the survey was not able to experience during their visit or short stay here. I cannot blame them. During my first visit here in 2000, I am not impressed as well. All I remember is the coldness of the tired employees at the shops, in restaurants, and the long lines of irritated people at theme parks.

LA's transport system is inferior compared to the commuter-friendly New York, the streets are definitely not as clean as Japan's, my favorite place of all, but because you are in the heart of everything, work and fun combined, I find Los Angeles a nice place to live.

There was a time I favored Orlando after my first visit there in 2006. I was impressed by the friendliness of the people, the clean environs, and the simplicity of living, I asked my children if they would want to move there. To which they responded, "Mommy, LA is where things happen, we are here, there is no reason to leave." There you go!

Come; live with us…in the city that is a world in itself. Here, I am sharing you the view from my bedroom window in the afternoon. In the mornings, it's even better :-)

Better yet, here’s another picture from a billboard in Nokia Plaza.

Jobs' reliever is a Job's reliever

When Steve Jobs announced yesterday he is taking a medical leave to focus on his health, the stock market went ballistic and shaky. It’s so strong an impact; it stole attention from the massive flood that hit Australia. To holders of Apple stocks and those technology driven individuals, the earth somehow misaligned with its axis and won’t revolve properly until Jobs has a definite announcement of when he is returning to Apple. Why because, Jobs is not only a CEO but a doer, someone who makes things happen, right in this modern world we live in.

A lot of people, me included, are so amazed by the gadgets introduced by Apple, although, I do not own any of their product because of the cost to buy and cost to own factors, I still follow their launchings and new developments.

This morning, as I do my regular browsing of what’s going on with the world, I came across this video of Pranav Mistry, a student from MIT who developed a wearable computing system that turns any surface into an interactive display screen. As I watch the video, I said to myself, Steve Jobs should just hire this guy and concentrate on his health.

Shhhh...

The sun shone brightly on the first day of 2011. It was inviting to drive to Pasadena and view the floats of roses which Brack and I initially planned to do. However, we decided, finishing Brack’s online course would be better than struggling to find a clean portable restroom in Pasadena, like what happened last year. I snuggled in bed and tuned-in to EWTN. The low volume of the TV lulled me to sleep and woke me up again about an hour later when the silent documentary movie called "Into Great Silence" was being played. Even without commentaries or sound effects, the solitude of the Carthusian Monks enriched me spiritually.

I know I could not live in great solitude like the Carthusian monks and nuns but recently, even before seeing this movie, I attempted to be quiet. In my silence, I read, listened, observed, and prayed more which made me more aware of those that matters most in life. I know this quietness is nothing compared to those of the monks, but somehow I felt serenity.

I told a friend I am enjoying the remoteness, when she asked why I’m no longer on Facebook. It is a breeze sometimes to take a break from the noise and chaos of this "chase the wind world" we live in, just don’t forget to go back to reality soon.

So for 2011, why not start it quiet?