Cool mists on hot summer days

It was hot this afternoon and there are bound to be more hot days ahead. Good thing our home is full of large windows so that the heat is not too much since the wind goes around the house. I don't go upstairs to my room though in the afternoon since it could really be hot there even if its 3 corners are surrounded by large windows. I guess the galvanized iron roof on two sides of my windows just sends heat to my room...actually even the walls feel hot that my machine often breaks down because of the heat... that's why I still don't have a working computer machine (argh... 2 weeks now) in my room and am at the generosity of my sibling (have to stay in their room though to be able to have access). But our home is actually lot better than most home in the country without airconditioner... some feels like an oven during the summer months that people usually go to the mall. I am not really a mall person so I am still lucky that our home doesn't feel like an oven.

Even our church is not spared from the heat. There are just too many people that goes there that it could be very hot. Good thing they have installed electric fans in the walls that emits a very fine water mists that somehow reduce the temperature without the people getting wet. Of course some churhes are already airconditioned so that the parishoners don't really have to sweat it out and could concentrate more on the service but our parish is not a rich parish that could afford such... so the mist fan is certainly a "cool"feature!

Thinking of the church mist reminded me of my visit to India in 2001 wherein I got to visit the Amber palace near Jaipur. No one lives there anymore andwe had to ride an elephant to get to there. Our tourist guide talked about how it was when the maharajah and his people still lived there... how they stored water during rainy season for use on the summer months.. how they captured the wind for use as natural airconditioners and he even showed us an area there where they have this water curtain that could cool the princesses during the hot months. Can't remember anymore where they stored the water that would pass to the iron pipes (which are still there) with small holes where the water would drip producing a water curtain that could sometimes even smell of flowers (when they put scent in the water). Of course, nothing works now except for the natural airconditoners since you could still feel the wind there. It is amazing how people could be so creative to adapt to their environment, huh?

It is not warm anymore tonight... even my room upstairs is airy but I am not staying there since I am still sleeping with my mom during night time. Now it is amazing but her room is always cool even on hot summer days!

Fallen Celebrity

I was a celebrity in the office this week with so many people asking how I am. Most of them are actually sincere when they ask and I know that they are really concerned about me but others seem to be just curious about how bad my fall was the other week.

Some were trying to imagine the impact of the fall considering that I am 5'10". They were saying that it would have been really strong since my distance from the floor will be farther compared to a smaller person and I would agree but add that somehow my ANGEL buffered my fall.

It was really a bad fall. I was not able to hold on to anything when I tripped from a cable and my forehead and knees hit the floor(good thing i did not hit the edge of table which was just nearby) but aside from the pain and the multi-colored bruises and big lump on my forehead and knees, I am okay!!!

Hugh was asking me if I was going to sue considering that it happened in our office. I said, What??? Nobody sues in the Philippines for this kind of accident! Besides I could be clumsy too since this is not the first time I fell and hurt myself.

I've fallen from a high chair while trying to attach a sunshade in our store before... fallen from a tree in one of our office excursions... fallen while running after an FX to get a ride and while descending from a bus... fallen in love (ooops that doesn't count here)... and tripping just on the foot of the altar inside the church after receiving communion when I tried to avoid the feet of an old woman who knelt. It wasn't an ordinary trip since there were steps going down and I made a 360 degrees turn before finally falling on the aisle (I was able to get up quick though). Good thing it was a mass on an ordinary day so that there were not much people inside the church plus most of them were also kneeling with their heads down otherwise I would really have been a BIG fallen celebrity!!!

I could smile about my falls know since somehow I feel better but I definitely don't want to be a fallen celebrity again... I'd rather be a rising star... a mega star... a diamond star... a superstar... a star for all season... hehehe (okay... I know only Pinoys would know the meaning of these stars) but the point is I've got be more careful so I don't fall again!

Fasting and thanksgiving

So it is already Holy Week, a time of Prayer and Fasting…

Actually I like Holy week better than Christmas since there is no pressure to shop… plus I actually like quiet moments than festive moments. Of course we will have our family get together on Easter Sunday. Aside from the food, the children and adults alike enjoy our egg hunting on said day. We have been doing it for a long time… the children then are now teenagers and adults with some having children of their own…so there will be more searchers now and still the same places to hide the eggs! We use quail eggs for minor prizes marked with numbers and for major prizes we use plastic eggs with can be opened and put the prize tags there which corresponds to the prizes which are placed on the table.

Anyway the days before Easter are really time of prayer and solitude. My friends have invited me earlier to join them in their Visita Iglesia (church hopping) in the Pampanga area but I have declined (as usual) since I rather just be in our church here spending moments with GOD…

Fasting from food is relatively easy for me compared to fasting from the use of my computer. Last year, someone stole the telephone line in our neighborhood so we had no internet connection from Holy Thursday to Easter(the linemen were also on vacation)… God made it easy for me then and I was telling Him so but also mentioned to Him that some people joined in my fasting…hehehe.

This year, my machine got busted (it got busted last Sunday actually) so it would have been really easy for me (and me alone) to have my "fasting"… but see I am cheating a bit posting in my sibling’s machine. But actually I still have time since I have told him I’d do my fasting from the internet starting Thursday…

Aside from this post I’ll try not to cheat anymore… I’d like to really spend time with the Lord. I am really thankful since I am alive and okay. Yesterday was sort of a traumatic day for me since I tripped in the cable wire in the office and hit my head (actually the right side of my face) and knees on the concrete floor in the office. Good thing I did not lose consciousness and though the fall was really bad and I had to stay in the ER for a long time…I got mostly blurry vision…swelling… a swollen face... big forehead similar to some of those guys in star trek… and a really big swell on the knee.. like ¾ of an apple placed on my knee.. so I am still swollen now but not as big as yesterday! And my skull is intact though some small (a teenie weenie) break in my bone in the orbital area (around the eyes) but does not require immediate surgery… hoping though that no surgery will be actually required.

Everybody in my office was surprised with the loud BLAG they heard and sort of panicked when they saw me on the floor but I believe my angel was with me and buffered my fall... I really find God truly amazing!!!

Anyway… things happen and God knows everything and everything always turn out right in the end if we just trust Him… so with that I’d like to continue with my Holy week and have a blessed Easter!

God bless to all that passes through here!!!