The Price for thinking I was Supergirl

After two months of flying around the globe, bouncing from Singapore to Paris back to Singapore then to California and back to Singapore, I think my antibodies got fed up and have finally revolted. Perhaps my bodyclock got too distorted with all the time changes, perhaps I lack sleep. One thing is certain, I am no supergirl =(

I didn't see it coming though, as after arriving in Singapore at almost 1am last Monday from California, I didn't have a problem going to work a few hours after. Except that my lips were chapping (no thanks to the added security enforced in all flights to and from United States that prohibited lip gloss/balm or anything gel like to be in a carry-on bag). However, on Tuesday night I started to get down with the flu. I felt my eyes and breath were very warm and my head was so heavy. By Wednesday I was sick enough not to be able to work. On Thursday, I got better and was able to go to work but whola! I lost my voice. It was like when you have shouted a lot in a concert and the following day you have no voice. But in my case my voice faded because of my cough and colds, I sounded terrible, people had a hard time recognizing me when I talk to them on the phone. It was actually hard to talk in the first place. By Friday, I still had cough and colds and my voice is still fading so I decided that it would be best to have complete rest to fully recover. So I called up my lead catechist to tell her I will not be able to help in the Youth camp over the weekend then I called up one ofmy best girlfriends to cancel our shopping-dinner date that night.Today, I accompanied my li'l sister to the clinic, she's also down with the flu and it seems I got her infected with my virus. =(

Now we're both quarantined in our condo, trying our best to get well. Hopefully, tomorrow we'll both be fully well.

Coffee home...

...is where the coffee heart is.

A San Diego Fable

One day, in a zoo, an ugly duckling suddenly found herself separated from her parents and lost among the crowd. She got scared, because losing her parents would make her feel all the guilt, as perhaps she'd been a bad duckling because she did not stick by their side that's why she got lost. Still, she tried to hide her fear and tried to get a hold of herself. She got tired from looking for her parents that she decided to sit down for a while. Then suddenly a white swan sat beside her and she was awed by its magnificence. It was a father white swan, and he seemed to know that something was wrong, so he asked her if she was lost. The ugly duckling hesitated for a moment, as she yet had to assess whether she could trust the white swan and it was safe to talk about her situation. As she felt the sincerity of the father swan, she finally admitted she was lost and she started to cry and it seemed like she could'nt help tears fall down her cheeks. The kind father swan offered to help and from then on she knew that she found a best friend in him. Together, they walked and found her parents waiting for her in a nearby corner. They didn't know that she got lost, they thought she just went to see the Pandas so they were not surprised to see her be back. But the ugly duckling did not tell them what really happened, she thought it was better to stay that way as it would just might spoil a jolly mood. As they walked away, she looked back at the white father swan, he was so grand and he was like an angel to her. She looked at her parents, they have brown feathers, small body and beak compared to the swan. Though she wished she could be a swan, she knew she would never become a swan, but then again, she realized that she could always become a beautiful brown duck, with the heart of a white swan.

Here Comes the Pride

For me, pride comes in two different ways: one brings conflict, the other one brings warmth to the heart.

My sister's wedding brought about both prides in me. My first pride came out from the moment she announced her plan to get married to the day she decided to give the honor of being maid of honor to her matchmaker instead of her bestfriend or sister. So this pride of mine had indeed created a lot of tension between us, I didn't want to give in, I wanted her to realize my point. I wanted her to have the pride I had. When she changed her initial plan about the wedding entourage and decided to have two maids of honor, one being me, I knew that she just wanted to make me happy. She didn't get my point and I felt even worse about myself. But of course, as I have expected, in the end I would still give in. At least I did give it a shot. What made me give in is the realization that it was not my wedding and it was not my life, if those decisions would make her happy, then I would support her. I guess perhaps I was just making it a big deal because of my own personal issues but it wasn't supposed to be about me, it should be about her. So end of pride one.

After days and almost sleepless nights of very hands-on wedding preparations, the day finally came. Up to the last minute, we were all on up on our toes and down on our knees doing everything to make my sister's wedding a realization of her dreams. I had doubts about everything but when the time came when my sister walked with my parents to the aisle in her wedding dress and all eyes were on her, I felt this other pride in me that made tears well up in my eyes (and to many others as well including her groom). As I have said earlier, this type of pride brings warmth to the heart. I felt proud of my sister, for having gone through all the things she's been through to make her wedding the best for her and her groom, I felt proud that my parents were there to walk her down the aisle, I felt proud that the relationship I have doubted has survived the challenges and critiques and had come to the next level to become another proof of true love.

So now I discovered how it felt to be the sister of the bride. If seeing a person so close to my heart walk down the aisle made that big effect on me, I could imagine how I might feel to be the one walking down that aisle wearing my wedding dress...I think I would definitely need a very good water proof make up. hehehe. =P

Miyan & Chris
Marriott Hotel
Riverside, California
12 Aug 2006

~Photocredits to my cousin Kuya Odel coupled with my cropping expertise. =P

Now I'm humming...

California
Artist: Phantom Planet

We’ve been on the run
Driving in the sun
Looking out for number one
California here we come
Right back where we started from

Hustlers grab your guns
Your shadow weighs a ton
Driving down the 101
California here we come
Right back where we started from

California!
Here we come!

On the stereo
Listen as we go
Nothing’s gonna stop me now
California here we come
Right back where we started from
Pedal to the floor
Thinkin’ of the roar
Gotta get us to the show
California here we come
Right back where we started from

California!
Here we come!


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Lyrics taken from here