Five Lessons

1. You are one tiny fish swimming in a vast and filthy pond.

2. You are always a potential meal to a bigger fish.

3. Aside from bigger fishes, there also lurk small and harmless looking creatures that sting as bad.

4. Adaptation is optional but resilience is a must.

5. You maybe tiny but your uncanny ability to endure and overcome catastrophic events will save you. Use it well.

Rain-sealed Memories

Whenever it rains, good memories leak out of my head as follows:

The Nest

Sounds mundane but sleeping in my parent’s bedroom on cold and stormy nights is a well-cherished family moment for me. Whenever a strong typhoon comes to town, my mother gathers her children to sleep in the master’s bedroom. I did not mind sleeping on a mat on the floor while the youngest got the extra bed as long as I have the whole family with me. Mama might just be responding to her nesting instinct but it sure left a mark on me. Now I have a family of my own and live miles away from them, nevertheless the binding assurance produced by a strong parental presence remains.

The Rain Shower

Whenever it rains, I remember my grandmother assume her playful side contrary to the disciplinarian mode she is known for. She allows me and my cousins to go out and play in the rain. Thank God for this process called precipitation! Fresh water droplets falling from the clouds like there was no tomorrow. I consider it the best child-recreational experience for all time.

The Bobbsey Twins

Here’s a geeky confession: I and my grade school best friend once shared a little crime in school when we discovered and hoarded a box of Laura Lee Hope’s children’s novel series “The Bobbsey Twins.” The sight of a big dusty box containing hardbound Bobbsey twins books, abandoned in the bowels of our school’s antiquated library made us feel like millionaires. With great excitement, we inspected our loot like we never held or seen a book before. I remember the dusty smell and yellowing pages yearning to be read. We felt sorry for Bert, Nan, Freddie and Flossie since the borrower’s card of most indicated only 1 or 2 readers while the rest were never opened. We speculated the unpopularity of the series lead to its lonely state in the dark little corner where we found it.

We kept those books until we read each and every piece of it and even re-read our favorites to our heart’s content. While we were in the thick of the “Bobbsey Twins reading marathon,” we both sported large eyebags in school and had a contented grin plastered on our faces. I fondly recall reading most of these detective series during cold rainy evenings. Sad though, these books were only for reading and not for keeping.

The Second Home

I stayed with my grandmother for 6 years, thus, it never occurred to me to get homesick when I entered college. I felt so sure I could handle it, from the long travel to "claiming my space" in the dormitory alone- I got it done. After a month of parentless bliss, the sense that you are indeed alone in a strange place begun to manifest into sullenness. Tired of sulking, I embraced my independence which opened my eyes to the beautiful possibilities that my second home has to offer. I love UPLB. It is sprawling home to majestic trees, endemic plants and flowers, impressive architecture and freethinkers. It is most beautiful after the rain. It has done more than just clothe me with knowledge and ideals, it contributed a lot to what a person I am today.

The Friendliest Office

I never had great set of friends as the ones I’ve met and kept during my first job stint for a lady senator. These wonderful friends (who need not be named) are the “bestest”. We all together went through the pains, freshly-pluck-from-college idealists, have to endure as soon as we set foot into the jungle. It was much easier experiencing life’s biting realities when you’ve got company. I’m glad I had them. Most unforgettable deed was touring all floors of the building, we were headquartered at the 5th floor, during an extended power interruption with the hard rain sloshing outside and inside. With the carpets soaked in water and the building in the dark, we felt trapped but happy. We even wished for the massive structure to be swallowed by the sea since it stood by Manila Bay so there would be - No more papers! No more work! No more bosses and dirty looks!

The Sign

I am not superstitious but I have my way of reading hints. This happened during my first semester at graduate school. It was a bad case of a sudden rainy afternoon. My class ended and I waited for some time and still the rain has forgotten to stop. My boyfriend called me up, informing me that he will get me home because Manila was getting flooded. The rain was unbelievable, it got stronger as it poured more. I called my boyfriend back so we could meet someplace else outside the campus. I made my way to our meeting place where I waited again. It was already late in the evening, I was becoming impatient, worried and hungry. I couldn’t touch the food I ordered, normally it would take 45 minutes to get from his office to our meeting place during traffic. I prayed for the rain to calm down and for him to arrive safely. After a minute of deep thought I unconsciously turned my head to the right and saw him in a corner frantically waving at me in the crowd. I saw him drenched all over. I went out of the store to meet him and he recounted his series of unfortunate events just to get to me. I married him 3 years later.

Acknowledgements:

University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) Photo, compliments of Mr. Gino T. Manalastas; www.manalastas.net

The Bobbsey Twins’ The Secret at the Seashore, http://the-forum.com