A Long Blog on Updates

November is definitely looking like an eventful month for me. This week and the next is like a culmination of this month’s eventfulness. Here’s a quite extensive rundown of what’s been up (and down) lately:

On Family:
Less than 12 hours are left before my parents arrive! It has finally come to the last ticks of the clock. My parents will be arriving in Manila from LA at around 5 AM, Sunday, November 25th. Their domestic flight to Bacolod will be around 9 AM and by 10 AM, the end of the countdown will finally be reached. We’ve been quite busy around the house the past 3 days. Well, just them actually since I’m mostly at work. My aunt and uncle, with the house helpers have been preparing for the arrival by giving the house an extensive cleaning. It’ll also be Tatay’s birthday tomorrow and we’ll have a surprise lunch party for him (Mama already knows) at home. My other aunts and uncles have also contributed to the budget for the party and it’s their idea that we’ll have a party at home for the celebration of my parents’ homecoming and Tatay’s birthday as well. Arthur, our family cook over the years is here and he’s already making the foods for the party, which include yummy Pinoy dishes like Dinuguan, Fresh Lumpia, Callus (Tatay’s favorite) and more. Of course the party wouldn’t be complete without the presence of Mr. Lechon. hehe!

It’s really nice to see that my parents’ extended family have been anticipating my parents’ arrival. We have such a close knit family and to feel this way about arrivals are pretty natural. But I’m still quite touched by their reaction. They’ve been curious and concerned about the things happening to my parents in the States, and they’re always ready to give their support. Some of our relatives from Iloilo are also coming here tomorrow. Tita Inday is even here already. It makes me real happy seeing my 5 year old nephew counting down the days ’til my parents’ arrive. Kobe, my nephew (my cousin’s son) was only 3 years old when my parents’ left more than a year ago. But he still remembers almost every moment my parents’ take him out in our car and bring him to places, and give him food and toys.. He’s their little baby after all.

On Myself:
I had a pleasant surprise in the mail 2 days ago. It’s my ASCPi certificate all the way from Chicago. Yey! It’s nice to get an “ego booster” from time to time. *hehe* Now that I’m done with pretty much all the certifying and licensing exams that I have to take for my so-called Medical Technologist career, it makes me think that aside from the joy of hardwork that passing an exam brings, everything is pretty much just a piece of paper or a license card. It doesn’t make that much of a difference when it comes to life and love and all that.

When I was still a fresh graduate and license-less a little over a year ago, I really wondered how it would feel to have a professional title added at the end of my name. I used to think that people who have that must feel some kind of a prestige. I really wanted it and promised myself to work as hard as possible to attain that goal, with an extra, sort of ambitious dream that I’ll pass all the exams in my first take. God has been so good to me, giving me fulfillment of that goal smoothly. But I’m even more thankful to Him for making me able to realize that all these professional titles, the license cards and the certificates aren’t everything I want and aren’t what the world means to me. To quote Nicholas Sparks from his novel, The Notebook:

“I am no one special, just a common man with common thoughts. I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me, and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect, I’ve succeeded as gloriously as anyone who ever lived. I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and for me, that has always been enough.”

I may be naive and a totally mushy and cheesy romantic fool. But really, as I grow older I’m becoming to realize what I really want. How do I see myself 10 years from now? I simply want to have that someone I can love for as long and as much as I can and raise a family. But of course that would be quite a hard thing to do in modern society without money. So a simple work for me (my so-called “career”) and maybe a business to be able to enjoy myself, support my family and hopefully help some people would do me good for the rest of this life.

On Flip:
Sadly, Flip’s grandma passed away yesterday, November 23rd. I was at work when Flip texted me the news and it was one of those things that make you stop whatever it is that you’re doing and just think..and pray. In some ways, it’s quite a relief that his grandma is now resting at peace. She has lived a long, decent life after all. Even though Flip is still just my boyfriend and I’m in no way related to his family, my heart goes out to them and this feeling of lost is quite familiar to how I felt when my grandparents passed away years ago. I’ll be in Iloilo next week, most probably on Friday since it’s a holiday and I don’t have work, until the burial on Sunday in Dumangas.

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On a lighter note, it’s Flip and mine’s 41st monthsary today.
It’ll be Flip’s 23rd birthday on Tuesday, November 27th.

I’m finally learning to love like my job.
Christmas is getting closer!
My parents will be here tomorrow!!!

And I have a lot of things to look forward to in the coming days.
Just what I need to get through life breezily.

~ by Michelle on November 24, 2007.