Conformity

 The visiting priest at Our Lady of Lourdes had a different take on the Gospel, his was that of knowing what God wants us to do. It is not obedience or conforming but what we are called to do.  It makes sense to me as to the other Catholics of my generation who grew up with all the rules, without being able to understand or savor that deep relationship with God.

Amazing Colors of Fall

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Today was perfect Oaklandish weather, wasn't able to resist clicking on my phone's camera and share these beautiful fall colors. 

Lordy is great!

 

 

It's Okay to Love Them!

It must be confusing indeed being born to your parents who didn't know what they want.  Without much guidance they tried to live the life that was right, but they were young and not really sure how to survive. They can only dream for a perfect life with as the center.  What they did not figure out was the possibility that because they are young, what they thought of as true love was a young love that cannot withstand the challenges of a grown up world.  Separation was the best solution, that allowed for your growth without the pain of bickering of lost love and therefore lost hope.

Now that your parents are with their adult loves and seemed happy with it, with children of their own, it must be confusing for you. Here you are, you were suppose to be the center of it all, now you are connected to two families. You probably feel left out, alone, and excluded from the equation.  But if you look at it from a different angle, you are lucky, you have your parents, step parents and two brothers, including even the relatives of your brothers, your step families. Wow, that is a big one, a whole lot who loves you. 

Did you feel it is disloyal to love your step relatives? Not at all, they are your family too and deserves your love.  No reason to withhold it from them, it is no one's fault that your parents are not together anymore. Besides what's the point of finding faults, just love them and savor the fact that you are surrounded by a lot of people who loves you..

A Magnified View...

I forgot to have my eyes checked until I found it difficult to read; for a while I relied on this magnifier. The glasses took too long to arrive, of course it has to be a stylish one, which the optician claims was ordered direct from Europe.  Yeah, right and I am the queen of England, eh! And I thought that I won't have to use these implements for a really long time.  But hey, it worked, gave me a bigger perspective.  It is not macro view that is wide  but an enlarged one, I was able to see the littlest specks.

Ah, how refreshing to be able to see things on a higher scale..

I was reminded of my faith sharing at RCIA recounting how I was clearly doing substantial compliance and not really establishing a personal relationship with God in my younger days because of the confusion that the Church and society has imposed itself upon me. Then there were the readings and the Gospels the past weeks and next week, where I was struck with the following verse, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him."

My friend reflected that this calls for us to claim ownership on our sins and be responsible for it.  I agree, most of the time we rely on that scoresheet, comparing the gravity of our offenses, searching for something that will mitigate. Truth is, since we are justified by God, we should be righteous by Him, therefore our offenses are against Him too. So, we can't disown others just because they don't think like we do or have a different way of expressing their faith.

The idea was confirmed when my boss called me and a co-employee to share her personality analysis. How flexible is she, how these results can be used to make adjustments so that she can be a successful person both in her career and in her personal life. I was not interested at all, I merely said to her, not to lose herself in the process nor change her personality for that perceived success. I had to check myself, I wanted to say, try God.

 

 

September 21, 1972

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos

September 21, culled memories of my youth. The Philippines was confused, there was total silence, no media, nothing. I was in high school then. My parents, who were apolitical didn't know what was going on. 

This happened for two weeks, then we were awaken with the news that Martial Law was declared.  Commoners that we are, we were not directly affected, but to a young mind, that made me realize that someone can actually dictate what one can do and think on a larger scale.  But then again this was not much different  from the control that le parents has implemented and the persuasive way the church was leading us.

Indifference can go a long way indeed.

Pho and those Vietnamese Delights..I am Past the Blogging Impasse

Whoa, I think I am past the blogging impasse, the writing occurrence is back.  I tell you it is not a pretense when the writers are saying they are having a block. Even my electronic mumblings drew a blank, I credit my editing class for that; because of the consciousness to dot the eyes and cross the tees I lost context and

became so aware of the form.  Not a good thing, as long as the ideya is there, one Pinoy colleague said.

Anyway,  I found this Pho restaurant, Pho King, through a friend and discovered a dish that is now a favorite, the Vietnamese Pancakes (Banh Xeo). So between slurps of pho soup and big bites of pancakes we talked about our faith, our concerns, and other issues that cloud our existence. This is where we have allayed our doubts and somehow gained confidence that we are going to be okay as long as we are with Him.  Girl downloads, seeking validation, approval, even a slight tap on the wrist saying it's not kosher seems to be all appropriate as words are uttered with bowed heads, evading a reaction, and just pretending to focus on the flavors of the pho.

Now, I am a regular, I go there for the pancake, I have influenced my Pinoy friends to this version of our ukoy and mami. 

Pho King
638 International Blvd
Oakland, CA 94606
510.444.0448

You love her, she loves you; What's the problem?

Don't really care about the place, my first outing was a disappointment.  The beef stew was not as flavorful as I wanted, there is nothing redeeming about the place and it was expensive too.  A friend wanted to go there to check it out, the girlfriend is into these kind of places.  Though, I must tell you that the neighborhood is in serious want for white linen tables, such that anything new is wowed and salivated on.  So when the text came, "anyone for lunch?" I said yes, imagining Pho.  Ditched a Pinoy lunch, was ditched for Japanese noodles, so I said okay. 

The service was slow, between lectures on friendships, I am not judging but, and I didn't call because..  I managed to ask the wait staff, "What makes the sandwich Cuban?". The response I got was, "It is a traditional food that their family have everytime the chef's family have a get together in Cuba." Okay, that didn't answer my question, I rephrased the question and got an answer about maybe it was the roasting of the pork. Raised eyebrows about my impatience, I decided to enjoy my lunch and listen and react.

The sandwich was alright, a little pricey for a Friday lunch.  Cuban sandwich, it turned out was a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with pickles and roast pork in between. The bottom line of the afternoon, however was that friendship is not just going out to lunch, attending get togethers, we have to look also when we are enabling or when do we get off and remind them that there is always the alternative. I was reminded of the gospel last week, about calling the attention of a brother who has erred. But how do we know when we are reminding and not interloping. When are we not judging, if someone's behavior runs counter with the norm, knowing full well that the norn is not necessarily the right one. Ahhh, that is why we have to be in constant prayer, for guidance, for peace, for light, for trespasses, for compassion.. 

The lunch hour proved to be an hour well spent.  Back to work, where I took the rest of the afternoon off, I need to run errands and do the housework that needs my attention.  Well.. if only I didn't go to Antioch the day before for a "tulingan" lunch, the Tagalogs will understand such a call.. ha ha..

Franklin Square
2212 Broadway
(between Franklin St & Grand Ave)
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 251-0100
www.fswinebar.com

Recipe: Champorado or chocolate porridge

I grew up with champorado, either for breafast or an afternoon snack, it always hit the spot. Yeah, we eat five times a day; this is usually paired with dried or fried fish, a sweet and savory combination.  I tried to recapture those childhood meals today at an RCIA team meeting that I hosted at my place.  The result, a huge pot of champorado with a lot more after some water dilution to maintain consistency.  Well, my Caucasion team mates are a l little coy about huge Saturday breakfast that they opted for fruit or something more recognizable. Here's the recipe:

     3 cups of sweet (glutinous) rice    
     8 cups of water
     1 cup of sugar
     2 cups of organic cocoa (Trader Joe's)

Rinse the rice once, (it is not recommended, but to be on the safe side) put on a big pot with the water. Cook rice until transparent, stirring occasionally.  When the rice is cooked, put the cocoa and sugar.  Bring to a boil, dilute with water to maintain consistency.

Presto! champorado is done! Best consumed hot with milk and paired with something savory.

Great comfort food. Now, I have a big bowl in the fridge.  Come over and have some.

Heartbreaks...put a brake on that hurt

My schedule, even play days, has been erratic, Saturday afternoon classes made sure of that.  That has certainly put a dent on time spent with friends; free times were spent more on catching up with laundry and other grown up stuff. Have not even had a cooking session, a movie, or the occassional St. Albert spiritual feed; on Sunday, I might.  Class is over and I missed the new one, I can ruminate of what I have missed and what Lordy wanted me to see..

Anywhoo, just like any, such a change provided  different opportunities to interact with others.  Lordy was showing me something I just need to figure it out.  You see being a member of a community, I get to share the excitement of a new day, the promise of hope, a new tomorrow.  That's the upside, the downside, I put out my shoulders, my ears are big to listen to the heartache, the failed love, the unending despair, where the end of a rainbow seems so unreachable.

I always say, that it is not His will, therefore it doesn't happen.  I know I have no clue as to how much a betrayal hurt that I am not qualified to even opine about it.  But this much I know, if a person did not think twice about dating her best friend's boyfriend then they don't really know much about what Lordy is saying in the Bible about loving thy neighbor as much as He is loved.

There is also that frustation in realizing that the woman that he loves does not fit the mould.  Therefore, the love that he thought he had is gone.  Is that really love? When he was talking about his feelings and his Christianity, I was wowed, saying to myself, that is great to find someone in the presence of God. The bubble burst and I was left with wonder; It was superficial a bad perception of how things should be.

ehhh.. What do I know?