16 Years!!!!

16 years ago yesterday, January 9th,  I arrived in Taipei, Taiwan to make a go of a new life...  And what a life it has been...  Would not change any part of it. Okay maybe one or two - but truly, for the most part it has been filled with adventures & happiness...  Got to spend more time with my family in The Philippines....  Got to spend tine with Mom and Dad before their passing.., see my nephews and nieces grow into adulthood...  and have been Blessed to be a part of another family, The Wus!!! 

To You, Thanks for being my Best Friend, Biz Partner, and my Family all these years...  Through the Ups and Downs we have managed to stick it out...  Here's to more years of adventures, more countries to explore, and more of everything to come...

Dedications..

Today we honour our loved ones who have moved on to Heaven...  You are all Missed Terribly...  Thank you for watching over all of us.....

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And today, we also want to wish our Indian Friends a Wonderful & Fun Day Celebrating Diwali!

off to a NOT-SO-GOOD Start...

This Year of the Dragon is TRULY shaping up to be another TRYING YEAR for me....   maybe this year, I will not be getting a break at all........  WAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

Am flying out again tonight for Manila....  must tend to so many things....  was hoping I would not need to till the end of the month but alas, such is not to be so.....  matters have to be dealt with and so off I go later tonight....

Recently, over the weekend actually, I found out that my Mom's older brother has Terminal Cancer, as well... :(   And it seems that the disease has totally taken control and his health is waning by the day....   comes as a shock to me, to us all, as we did not even know he is suffering from Cancer...  but apparently he has been and at a faster rate now.....  We just saw him back in July and though he looked older, he was still fine... up and about... and sharp as a nail....   hearing him, my Mom, and my Aunt (their youngest sister)talked and reminisced about their lives was music to my ears....   

So now, how do I even tell my Mom this?   She has been asking for her brothers and sister to come and visit her - so what now?    Am told that my Uncle wishes to not let my Mom know, as he is afraid of her frail condition....  am Torn....  I understand the reasoning but at the same time, she should have the right to be able to say goodbye to him, as well...  like all of us...

***Haiiis....  first my Mom with Cancer... and now my Uncle.... not to mention their other brother passed away at a younger age in a Cancer related disease, as well....  all these leads me to worry even more...  Life is sooo FRAGILE! 

 (Special Thanks to Juliana for keeping me Grounded....    You are correct... need not worry too much over these matters....   All as it should be... the Power of Positivity!)

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On top of it all, all my shipments have been delayed.....both the ones coming from Japan as well as China....   the Holidays....  Shipping Complications.... all added up to the delays in their arrival... and a big source of my frustrations.....  Been waiting for them to come so I can process and ship them out before my regular Mom visit....  but, it is NOT to happen....  AM STILL WAITING!!    So I cannot wait anymore and must  leave tonight... back in a week's time - hopefully with all the shipments already in Taiwan - and I can just catch up processing and shipping them out....

Sometimes, am really just too tired...  I mean, I can pretty much deal with the Physical aspect of it all but the Emotional and Mental Roller Coaster tend to be too much, at times, and gets to me....   but I know I MUST CHUG along through it all....  SUCH IS LIFE, as I ALWAYS say.... 
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On a POSITIVE NOTE:   am glad that my Dad's Mausoleum had been painted - FINALLY!    I got the materials and my sis had her people do the work...  now it is good as fresh again... and not looking sorry, as I found it when I visited last month....  nothing like a fresh coat of paint, some curtains, and lots of loving to brighten up the place and make it look like people actually do care.....

like father, like son

April also marks my Dad's Bday.... so needless to say, he is on my mind.... well he always is... now and again I still find myself, wishing he is still around and I could have had more time with him... to have had a better relationship... but of course, none of that is possible now... so instead, I keep him dear to me... to my heart, my prayers, and thoughts....

Recently, while visiting his grave - I was surprised by one of the SISTER's (NUN) who knew my Dad while he was still alive.... she ran to me and told me that at first, she thought she was seeing my Dad's apparition... only upon coming closer that she realised it was me....

and even more recent, as in just a couple of days ago - my Tita Mariza found me on Facebook - she is my Dad's youngest sister and I did spend some time living with her back in Manila.... anyway, she added me as a contact and had this wonderful words to say: "Hi Rudi or Dodle (my forgotten ICKY nickname). thanks for accepting me in your facebook. I'm glad to see u n have communication with u. Pogi ka pa rin. (Still Handsome - LOLs!) U look like your dad n Tito Manny. (my Dad's youngest brother)" This TRULY gave me a sense of happiness.... and put a biiig smile on my face.... I mean, if my Tita said it - my Dad's sister - then it must really be TRUE!!! so Thanks Tita - thank you for finding me and for the kind words... now and again, it is soooo wonderful to have another link to my Dad... and to know that we are closer than I remembered us to be....

Last Photo of my Dad & I together - taken on my BDAY 2005 (a year before his passing)

Father's Day - Now I KNow!

A couple of days ago, while having coffee and lounging about at home with Lynn and David - we got to thinking about Father's Day and it's origins... you see in Taiwan it is CELEBRATED on August 8 (8/8), pronounced BaBa - which is closed to Papa, hence, why it was chosen to be celebrated on this day...

So they asked me why the US (and everywhere else in the world) celebrates on the third SUNDAY each year? And I was lost for words -- I honestly did not know.

What to do? What to do? Of course I had to GOOGLE it and the BEST and SIMPLEST explanation I got was this:
Father's Day (Third Sunday in June)
Quite interesting that there's few speculations on how it really started - but no matter, it is always GREAT to give Thanks and Celebrate our Love for our Dads...

Happy Father's Day to All Dads, and would be Dads!!!My Dad & I - June 2005. A year before his passing.

...time is eternal but we are not....

""TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS... BUT TIME IS ETERNAL... WE ARE NOT.""

something I already know but now and again have to be reminded of... recently I was, once again, reminded -- this time by my brother, Kuya Benjie...

as I previously blogged - it took us (my brother and I) years to see each other again... somehow with him becoming a US Military man, and me finding myself going where the wind blows me -coupled with all the family dramas we have gone through - we really did not get to see each other for about 20 years... we were brought together again by my Dad's passing, a couple of years ago... then all was well once again...
(with our cousins at my Mom's province)...

well... almost... this I say because I have not spoken to my sister for a couple of Xmasses now... as it is with most families, now and again siblings have a falling out == as did my sister and I... My brother has been trying to talk me into letting bygones be bygones and talk to my sis... as he does not want us all to wait another TRAGEDY before we can be together again - the three of us, brothers and sister... and he reminds me of everything else that has been happening: my Mom's health and age; his own recent bout with health issues (MY MAIN CONCERN, at the moment); and all of us getting on in our years, basically... (the first three in the left are my brother, me and my sis -- this is when she first arrived in the US, and we picked her up... my Dad is at the very end)
WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? Believe me, it is not even Pride that is holding me back.... if only life can be simpler - with a lot less family drama....

Gary V X 3

It AMAZES me that it has been 25 years (and counting) that I have been a BIG FAN of the very talented, Mr Gary Valenciano!!! He is one of the very first PINOY ARTIST I ever really liked!! As we all know, artists come and go... our tastes changes, as we grow older... but am very HAPPY to say that my admiration for Gary and his beautiful voice has never waned....

First discovered him back in the late 80's ... growing up in San Francisco, Calif... "Di Na Natuto" I heard playing from a friend's car and it was an instant LOVE for the artist and the song.... had to go to Daly City and get my own copy of the CD right away.... THANK GOD for the big Filipino Community in that part of the BAY AREA - there were shops that carried his CDs... From then on I was hooked... each and every album I had to get -- either purchased on my own or sent to me by friends and family from Manila....

"Sana Maulit Muli" hits close to home with me --as it was the song dedicated to me by a former love one. A Love Lost but nevertheless, still felt. ..and my third most FAVE by Mr V is, "Ikaw Lamang" -- this was chosen by the family to be played/sung (twice in fact!) during my Dad's funeral back in 2006... so it is very close to my heart.

Certainly the list of FAVES does not stop there.... each and everyone of his songs recorded has been overplayed by me -- and will continue to be played on for many more years to come....

Of course, the admiration runs much more deeper -- not only is his voice one of the BEST I have ever heard... his music has also been such an inspiration -- each and everyone of them.... and to read more about him: his devotion to his craft, his family & love ones, and of course, to GOD - is simply INSPIRATIONAL...

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

LINKS of Interests:
-Gary V. Live @ 25
Am so SAD I will nto be able to attend this concert celebrating his 25 years in the BIZ... here's hoping the a DVD of it will come out! Not to mention a LIVE RECORDING CD!
-Official Website
-Gary in Wikipedia
-Gary on IMDB

Sacrifice Valley Trek

Oct 27th, 2008 : Paid our respects to my Dad & Grandmother by visiting their moseleums in Sacrifice Valley - Bataan, Philippines....

it was PERFECT time to visit, as Ace did not have to go to school and Nicole is on a sem break from school... and actually better doing so than on All Soul's Day -- as it would have been CHAOS - since a lot of people do come up to Sacrifice Valley for prayers and festivities during that Holiday....
We even got to take some fun shots as the place is just full of SAINTLY and ANGELIC statues.... including the 16 Marian Images representing the Beloved Virgin Mary's
16 major apparitions throughout the world -- all in LIFE SIZE form!!!!