Surprisingly, I'm enjoying it. It's like taking a make-up class on rest and being lazy, which I know lots of disciplinarians would raise their eyebrows at. Since I am more on the workaholic type, laziness is taboo and kind of alien to me. But so far, so good.
Anyway, the team will be reorganized and the members that will compose it are those that were chosen by the leaders themselves. Some of the old staff may yet still be chosen but in my case, I know that I won't be a part anymore. I have served well and now its time for change .
Quite honestly, I have been waiting for just the right moment when I would finally leave the work into the hands of a much younger and certainly more talented generation. I am happy with the decision and had been somewhat preparing for my departure long before it was thought of by them. Somehow I knew that my time was almost over and that there was slowly being prepared for me a different kind of work. What that would be, I have yet to discover.
Quite honestly, I have been waiting for just the right moment when I would finally leave the work into the hands of a much younger and certainly more talented generation. I am happy with the decision and had been somewhat preparing for my departure long before it was thought of by them. Somehow I knew that my time was almost over and that there was slowly being prepared for me a different kind of work. What that would be, I have yet to discover.
Yes, the two and half years that I spent with the team is one that I will forever cherish and not trade for anything else in the world for it was very fun-filled and it made me more better, more mature, more confident and definitely more learned than I ever was. In fact, there came a time when I asked myself what other talent or skill God hadn't given me yet. But most wonderful of all, being a part of the team gave me the opportunity to meet new people and develop true friendships that will definitely last me a lifetime.
But now that my stint is up, it's time to move on, embrace the future but at the same time, pick up what had been absently tossed to the side due to the hassle and bustle in the name of devoted and pure service.
But now that my stint is up, it's time to move on, embrace the future but at the same time, pick up what had been absently tossed to the side due to the hassle and bustle in the name of devoted and pure service.
And reading is one.
I just finished perusing Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. I know its been long overdue. I started the book about 5 months ago and even though its not 'that' thick (contained 500 pages with a font size of about 9) to a reader, still there were nights when I couldn't even finish a single page because I would arrive home very late and would be dead tired already both physically and mentally by the time I lie down on my bed.
It was an awesome read - one that made me sleep well past 2am. In my favorite book of which this blog was named after, there was a scene when the characters in the early hours of the evening, after all the work was done, would gather in the parlor and the father would read to them Uncle Tom's Cabin while the women sew by the candle light. Since the father was a politician and was very pro Abe Lincoln, he would express his opinions regarding the slave trade eloquently so that I already got acquainted with the whole sad sorry tale long before I took American Literature or read Uncle Tom. No wonder then that when Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1851, that discarded race, the Negroes, won the sentiments of the Union but provoked the Confederate States. And alas, the Civil War that was already brewing on the horizon suddenly didn't seem distant.
But so much for history. (You have to pardon me for that though. History Novels are my favorites and when I read a historical novel, I have a tendency to trace the location on the map and do extensive research. That's how I overdo it that my sisters would readily concede to the fact that when it comes to history and geography, they couldn't beat me just yet.)
It has been a long while since I became so enthralled in a book that it made me forget time or even that I am living in the reality and not in some distant or made up country that the author craftily created. Call me nerd, but I guess I'm a 'little' bit like that. 'Little' because I am not entirely an introvert and can be socially amiable if I please.
On another note, my sisters and I had an unexpected surprise last Saturday. After watching The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader at our own living room, we went hiking to the Plaza to enjoy a refreshing dose of fresh fruit salad. We were sitting at our favorite spot in front of City Hall and was engrossed with our conversation when this salesman came up from behind me and suddenly thrust a book at us. I would have warded him off immediately if we hadn't read the title of the book he was holding: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery.
My youngest sister then shrieked, stood up, grabbed the book from him and kept repeating "ate! ate! ate!". The salesman saw his opportunity and showed us 3 more books of the same author which was part of the series of books about Anne Shirley. My sister all the more became excited because she has long been scouring for these books to collect but so far, she only had 3. Surprisingly, the books the man showed us were not in her collection yet and wonder of all wonders, they only cost 25 pesos each as to think that they were the complete and unabridged type.
We went home shortly afterward and while I was cooking dinner, we were still in our animated conversation.
Which brings me to 2 other areas that I, for a while, tossed aside - a good conversation and cooking.
Because I tend to be so focused on a task, I often forget to have a good time and not to be so worried on the technicalities. Because I had meetings almost every night, I thought and talked of no other but on service. And because I am not often at home, I don't get to practice my culinary skills.
Yes, I love to cook.
Once, during our just-hanging-out session with some of my closest pals on the team, we used a device called the Table Talk for discussion starters. When asked, "How do you see yourself 10 years from now?" the first thing that came to my mind was a vision of me in a kitchen cooking. The image wasn’t intentional and I myself was surprised with the thought that that was what I imagined myself to be. And it was a good thing that I wasn't the one who was asked this question for I would have been ashamed of the very simple answer I will give it.
Yes, I love to cook.
Once, during our just-hanging-out session with some of my closest pals on the team, we used a device called the Table Talk for discussion starters. When asked, "How do you see yourself 10 years from now?" the first thing that came to my mind was a vision of me in a kitchen cooking. The image wasn’t intentional and I myself was surprised with the thought that that was what I imagined myself to be. And it was a good thing that I wasn't the one who was asked this question for I would have been ashamed of the very simple answer I will give it.
Yet on a different note, the family will be moving to a new area next year. Construction will begin next month perhaps and although the new place isn't very far from the city, there aren't any noise pollution and you can literally hear the crickets if you stop talking. The family has many plans for the new crib. The lot is spacious (almost 2000 sq.m.) but the house we plan to build will just be simple. It wont be big and won't even be very grand. What's important is not the structure but on the love, harmony and friendship with which the house would be filled with.
I am looking forward to enhancing my cooking skills and gardening. My mother and I both agreed to put our heads together in order to create a garden which will be filled with vegetables and fruits. My grandmother on the other hand, wanted flowers, so we will let her have dominion on the front area while we enhance the backyard.
And so as the year will be ending in just a few more days, it is nice to know that even though I bid goodbye to the team and the activities that I got used to for quite some time, still there are things and events that should be looked forward to with hope and anticipation.
I have no idea what would occupy my time next year, but I am sure that it is one that will give me great delight, challenges and lots of opportunities to become better and wiser. Some people call this "a matter of perspective" but I call it "Faith".
