A Great Love Affair

When my maternal lolo (grandfather) was still alive, I very rarely saw him without my lola (grandmother) by his side. She was always somewhere close by, even when he was busy in the kitchen cooking up a delicious storm. I remember how he would meticulously sort out both of their pills for each day of the week, glasses teetering at the edge of his nose, his eyebrows knotted in concentration. I dared not bother him, lest he make a mistake, and just watched him put each pill in their proper compartment. It was the same thing whenever they had to pack for their 18-hour trips to Manila or abroad, lolo would do it for both of them out of love for lola, because when they were younger it was she who cooked and did housework and took care of their five daughters.

To think that when he started courting lola, she tried to avoid him at all costs because a mestizo (a male of Spanish descent) like him would surely just be a player and break her heart. But my lolo relentlessly pursued her, she who loved singing and dancing at town fiestas and private parties, and eventually she stopped hiding from him and let him court her. Mama swears that they never fought in front of her and my aunts, and that whenever lolo was away, lola would say that she was feeling ill until at last when she sees him again, she would be miraculously healed. And oh, how they loved to dance! When lolo was still well he would always ask for lola's hand and they would, for a night, transform into their younger selves, eyes closed and hips swaying to the music. My cousin, Rachelle, was lucky to have danced with him on her wedding. Thank heavens my paternal lolo is still alive and kicking, and I hope by the time I get married I would have the chance to dance with him.

Having witnessed the kind of love that my lolo and lola shared, I cannot help but make it my standard of measurement of what love should be. For me, they embodied this oft-repeated passage:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Ack, sorry for being overtly sentimental, I took photos of my grandparent's photos (inception?) while I was in the Philippines and this was the perfect opportunity to reminisce and be thankful for them. I hope I will always be reminded of what love is supposed to be <3 Happy Valentine's Day to the sweetest couple I know!

Let's fall in love / Why shouldn't we fall in love? / Our hearts are made of it / Let's take a chance / Why be afraid of it

Let me leave you with a few of my favorite love songs (after the jump!):

Love Songs

Preoccupied with love songs lately. Must be due to the fact that I'll be seeing him in less than a month.

For me, a good love song:
-makes my heart aspire to be a gymnast and do tiny somersaults
-makes me press the repeat button because I can't get enough of it (although if I am going through a difficult time and it's a depressing song, I would listen to it once and move on to other, less unhappy songs. Or maybe just skip it altogether like I do to Adele songs. I love her voice, but goodness is she overplayed. Except for Skyfall, which I love because of the movie, which is superb, by the way!)
-has to be well-written
-has to be guitar or piano-driven
-is soulful

Examples:

Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart

Cycles

Cycles are always present in your life, unless you exert enough effort to end it or maybe change slowly. My bad habit is shopping. I do get really great deals but it all adds up in the end (in my defense, most of my recent purchases will be gifts for Christmas, and as a lot of people around me know or have noticed, giving gifts is one of my main love languages), which is why I decided to download an app to help me track my expenses and make me aware of how much I spend on non-essential purchases. Let's see how it goes! Wish me luck :)

On a side note, I am currently creating backups of my old Multiply account, and spotted this oddly familiar "rant":

I'm getting a bit scared of my spending habits. I've got all these shopping bags (containing clothes) stashed in my closet and over my crate of books, all of which I bought so "I can wear them during the Holidays". Eek! But all these sales keep cropping up everywhere I go, and I tend to remember the times in college when I pitied myself so much because I wasn't able to buy things I really, really wanted. Must. Stop. Buying. (And making excuses). Hay.

That is exactly how I feel right now. Oh cycle of being a spendthrift, I shall try to end you soon!

<3,

Lost and Found

Posted on my hitRECord account :) (for this week's "Key" contest) http://www.hitrecord.org/records/992061

I was walking towards my apartment, thinking it was just another day. I got shouted at by my boss again this morning but it's no big deal. Everything goes wrong anyway, I said to myself, but there will be a time when the odds will finally be in my favor. So there I was, a normal guy, just walking and maybe whistling a little tune (I forget, sorry, but it was probably a guitar rift from one of Eric Clapton's old songs), when I kicked a small metal object across the hallway. Curious, I got my hands out of my pants pockets, kneeled down and gingerly picked it with my left. Standing up, I saw it was a silver key, with a big J carved into it. I wondered if it dropped out of it's unfortunate owner's pocket and if it was from any of my neighbors. J, j, j.. I tried to remember if I knew anyone around whose name starts with a J. There's old Mrs. Fitzpatrick in 102 with her collection of taxidermied animals (Peter the parrot, Gwynn the poodle and Flinty the fox. I loved Flinty, and one time she told me I could get him once she passes away. I replied that it's far off and could she not say that because she's like a grandmother to me), there's Barbara and her kids from 103 (Tommy, Finn and Kirk, I believe? He was born just a few weeks ago), and there's Layla. Layla, the girl I've liked ever since she moved into 104. Layla with her easy laugh and lopsided glasses. Layla, the girl I can barely talk to so I just smile and nod my head when I see her going out in the morning.