“There is no bad thing that doesn’t bring about some good.”
Some weeks ago, our green parakeet Paulie, who stayed with us for three years, flew out of the window and never came back. He didn’t really do it intentionally to find his freedom. It was rather an accident.
My Dad turned off all the lights in the second floor of our house to do repair some electric outlets. My younger siblings and I went downstairs, stayed in my room and chatted. Minutes later, my Mom came running to us, almost shouting: SOMETHING HAPPENED, SOMETHING HAPPENED!
We hurriedly got off the bed and asked what happened. She said Paulie escaped through my eldest sister’s (room) window. She saw him fly through the trees in front of our house.
We all forgot that he was scared of the dark. He flew out of the house because he saw that there were lights in our neighbors’ homes.
I wasted no time, took a flashlight, rushed outside with my little brother, Papa, and started searching for the little guy. It was quite difficult looking for him because the sunlight had already begun to die down. The trees were quite thick and I was scared a boa constrictor might suddenly appear and wrap itself around me! Of course it was just my stupid imagination.
My brother and I actually feared something more than a boa constrictor: MY ELDEST SISTER coming home from work. No, she’s not worse of a monster than a boa constrictor. We just knew how she would react if she’d find out about it–she would go berserk and cry her eyes out.
Before Papa and I could finish thinking about our "biggest" fear, my sister appeared seemingly out of nowhere, smiling. She asked us what we were doing. I didn’t want to tell her the truth initially but I thought she would find out anyway. "It’s Paulie." The expression on her face drastically changed. She ran inside the house crying.
Papa and I went further. We even asked our neighbors if they’d seen a bird fly in that direction. We asked the kids playing around. All of them said the same thing–NO.
My Mom and Dad helped in the search operation. They went to the rooftop of our house, calling out his name. We didn’t see any sign of him. We didn’t hear any of the annoying sounds he’d make when he wanted attention.
We were devastated. But the one most adversely affected was my sister. She was Paulie’s caretaker for three years. But we still hoped that he would come back. "Give him a week to find his way back home," I told my sister.
We waited…and waited…and waited. But he never showed up in our balcony like we all wished he would. (We placed his cage at the balcony and placed a boiled egg–his favorite food–on top of it, hoping he would find it).
Weeks passed and there was no sign of Paulie. We all gave our hopes up that he would come back.
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Two days ago, my (6th) sister came home from work. It was already late at night, around 1:30 AM. She was carrying a small box with her. She had a sheepish smile on her face.
My mother asked what was inside it and why she was wearing such an expression on her face. It turned out that there’s a baby peach-faced lovebird in it!
The guards in her workplace found it. It must have escaped from its owner and found its way to the pharmacy where she works. They wanted to sell him in a nearby pet shop but she coaxed them into giving the poor thing to her. She told them that since it hadn’t eaten for days, she would feed it and when it gains enough strength she would give it back to them. Of course she never did. The little, beautiful thing is still with us. And here are some pictures of him.
Sleepy
Find me, find me!
He sure is a pretty little bird. 
Exhausted…after spending the whole day playing!
TOINK! The newest sleeping position in town! (Awww…my heart melted when I saw him sleeping this way. The perch in the cage is too big for his little pinkish feet so he slept on the small box we placed inside for him to play in.
He likes being held! He wouldn’t let go when being returned to his cage.
Our little new baby. Hehe.
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This post is actually not just about this cute, little new addition to our family. There’s another reason I posted something about this eventful incident in our lives.
When Dwarfy (that’s the name we’re planning to call him) came into our lives, it made me realize that it’s true what they say: That when we lose someone or something in our lives, God will surely provide us with a much better one. When He takes something away from us, He, with His infallible wisdom, does so for a good reason. He takes things away from us because they could be bad for us. He takes things away from us to test our faith in Him. He takes things away from us because He wants to give us something better. Indeed, when one door closes, another one opens. And as one wise friend of mine said, "No hay mal que por bien no venga. Spanish - there is no bad thing that
doesn’t bring about some good (referring to how God, in His providence,
can bring about some good in what are seemingly tragic occurrences).
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I hope that what I have learned from this little incident about birds will be true for what I went through and for the dream I have for my parents. You don’t get me, right? Well, I guess it’s best if I keep that to myself for now. I’m not putting my hopes up or starting to become delusional…but I do trust and have faith in Allah…that one day, He will give me something so much better than what I have lost. Ameen.
05-21-08: I COULD HAVE SUNG ALL NIGHT
Bed! Bed! I couldn’t go to bed!
My head’s too light to try to set it down! Sleep! Sleep!
I couldn’t sleep tonight.
Not for all the jewels in the crown!
I could have sung all night!
I could have sung all night!
And still have begged for more.
I could have spread my wings
And done a thousand things I’ve never done before.
I’ll never know what made it so exciting
Why all at once my heart took flight.
I only know when he
Began to sing with me
I could have sung,
sung, sung all night!
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I surely will never forget that night. It’s certainly one of the best and happiest nights of my life!
Empty Talks and Brains
Yesterday, I accompanied my sister to her school to get some papers. I hate waiting in long lines so I told her I’d just wait for her in the university park. I sat on one of the concrete benches therein and read a book (The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini). While flipping through the pages, a Chinese-looking lady, a few years younger than me, approached me and said in her Chinese accented English, "Hi, I am Mei Phing from Singapore. I am here to do a survey about the life of Filipino students. Can I ask you a few questions?" Without hesitating, I said "Sure". (She’s a member of a religious organization. She and other members came to the Philippines to do some missionary work.)
She asked me a few questions about the life of a students in the Philippines. Here’s what I remember from the conversation:
"So what do you like to do during your free time?"
"I love reading. I just stay home and read."
"How many hours of sleep do you get a day?"
"During school days, 3-4 hours. I’m currently in law school."
"Wow. [She didn't 'wow' at my being in law school. She thought I was nuts for getting just 4 hours of sleep a day.] What are the difficulties or challenges you face everyday?"
"I think being a Muslim in a predominantly Catholic country is a challenge every Muslim in this country faces. Unfortunately, there are still some narrow-minded people who judge others based on their faith or beliefs. Not only that–we also have to be very careful with what we eat outside of our homes. We have to make sure what we consume is halal or allowed for us."
"There are Muslims too in Singapore. There are Christians, Catholics and Taoists. But the thing is we respect one another."
"I think that’s one thing that Filipinos have to learn. It’s admirable how people in your country respect the existence of different faiths."
"Yes. But in our country, you can really feel the tension among the people competing for economic progress. The emphasis is more on economic growth than anything else."
"But that’s admirable, I think. It’s really wonderful how such a small country can have one of the world’s most powerful economies! Our economy is terrible. A substantial portion of our population is under the poverty line. Our politics is horrible, what with our politicians bickering all the time over trivial matters instead of looking for solutions for our socio-economic problems. Graft and corruption, it’s an old story in Philippine government. Our education, especially our public education system, is terrible! Can you imagine 40-30 children crammed in small flood-prone rooms and they don’t have the appropriate learning materials? How can you expect them to maximize their learning potentials under such conditions? If you really want to know about the life of Filipino students, you should look into those attending public schools (excluding state universities, of course). Very few of our youth get the chance to go to college."
"Wow. That’s the reason why we came here. We know that a lot of kids are not doing so well here. Are you going to be in politics someday?"
"Hmmm…I don’t know about that. But I would really like to help my people."
"That’s really nice. I noticed you have a different accent, compared to the other Filipinos I’ve talked to. Why is that?"
"Oh, I spent some years of my life abroad–NJ and Saudi Arabia to be particular."
"Hmm…so you’re Muslim. Do you believe in Jesus?"
"Yes, we Muslims do but we believe in him not as a God but as a Prophet."
"Can you tell me why you don’t believe in him as the Savior?"
"We believe that God sent him down to earth to spread the Word of God. To us, he is only a messenger of God. But then if you try to look at it more closely, Islam and Christianity are more or less similar in many ways. We believe in Jesus, we believe in the archangel Gabriel, we believe in the Hereafter, we believe in the Virgin Mary. We don’t have to always proselytize one another into our respective beliefs to find unity. It is sad how people look at the differences as an avenue to grow further apart. I think people should just try to learn about and understand each other’s faiths. It is only through true understanding and respect that we can have a peaceful co-existence."
"That’s true." (she was nodding the whole time I was blabbing. Hehe.) "Do you believe that you can be with God?"
At first, I couldn’t understand her question. I turned to my sister, who joined us a few minutes later, for clarification. She translated it to me.
"Oh, you mean ‘with God’? Yes, we believe in the Hereafter. We believe that after death, we will meet God."
"I asked because in our Bible, Jesus said that you can be with the Father if you believe in him (Jesus)." (She even showed us where it is located in the Bible.)
"Oh, we have a similar belief in Islam. Allah said in the Qur’an that He is nearer to us than our carotid pulse. He said He is with us so we should not worry or be sad during times of despair. Everything we do in our daily lives is for Him. We make sure that everything we do is aligned with Islamic principles."
"It’s really nice to discuss these things with people. You’re right, if only people would try to learn about each other’s beliefs, then we wouldn’t have to go to war. Well, it’s been a pleasure meeting you, Nesrin. Please do come at the seminar we’re conducting."
"It is a pleasure talking to you. Good luck for the seminar."
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I sure did have a great time conversing with that young lady. It’s wonderful how such a young girl like her could actually talk about those things with a (demented) person like me. I don’t mean to be xenocentric or anything but I love conversing with foreigners. You learn a lot from them. You can talk about sensible, insightful things with them.
Sadly, this is something that most Filipinos don’t have. As Atty. Calilung said, "Nobody (among the Filipinos) talks about why marble is used for sculpture and not granite…I mean…what is it about marble that makes it a good material for sculpting? Here, people talk about Kris Aquino."
I think it’s about time that we Filipinos start thinking, talking about sensible matters and finding solutions for the country’s pressing national problems. We are intelligent, brilliant people. We have great minds. We are capable people. We are so much better than that–talking about Kris Aquino and her scandalous love affairs.
Let us not reduce ourselves to idiots and simpletons who can only talk about who’s dating who in the show business. Let us not waste the gift that God has endowed us with. It is time that we start thinking about how we can achieve a Better Philippines for every Filipino.
Realizations
"Why did I ever waste a tear on you?
I am in a coffee/internet cafe where I used to write and pour out my pain, anger and frustrations on you for breaking my heart. These days, every time I look back, I wonder: ‘Why did I fall for him in the first place?’. What they say, that love is blind, has never been this true. I AM BLIND for loving you, for being happy to be with you, for being proud of you (WHEN THERE’S NOTHING TO BE PROUD ABOUT YOU…and you know that!), for crying for you, for sacrificing things for you…I AM BLIND, DUMB and STUPID for everything I did for you! Love is not only blind. It is STUPID too.
I am glad and truly grateful that you broke my heart, not only because it made me stronger and wiser (hopefully) but because I don’t deserve any part of you. I am glad to be free…because I realized my worth…and that there is a better breed of men out there, men who are within my league, or in more brutal terms, who are MY KIND. Thank God."
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I got the above post from a friend’s blog. And I felt the necessity to repost it here because…yes, there are times I feel the same way about things I did in the past, though not necessarily in the cardiac department of my life, if you know what I mean.
I think it is but human nature to regret things in the past. There’s nothing wrong with it for as long as we don’t dwell in the past forever. It’s OK to regret our mistakes…we just have to make sure that we learn from them and never repeat them in the remaining period of our lives.
TODAY
Today, I am sick. My cold has gotten worse. I woke up several times last night, coughing so hard that I thought my lungs would show up before me anytime and say hello.
Today, I am reading recent cases for the Law Review while listening to Santana’s "Into the Night". I have to assign them today to the understudies.
Today, I am getting that feeling again that I’m not good at anything…that the only thing I know I’m good at is music. Music is my solace from all the wretchedness the world can give.
Today, my Angel (Ms. Johnelyn F. Gemzon) is leaving for the US with baby Gab. I will see her off at the airport later. I know this is very selfish of me but I hope she comes back home. My life in the Philippines won’t be the same without her in it.
Today, I’m missing someone.
Today…is another day filled with opportunities to make good changes in my life and in other people’s lives.
