I am finally back in Toronto! Sa wakas! I took a time off last Friday so I can scout for cheap furniture for my new apartment (Yey!) and prepare dinner for “The Boys”. Hahaha!!! You might ask who the heck are “The Boys”? Well, they are not a boy band or something to that effect. They don’t even know that I call them that name. (One more time…Hahaha!!!). They are my brothers in Singles for Christ. I will be graduating na kasi from the CLP this Saturday and “The Boys” and I are practicing for our presentation.
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It was really a very tiring weekend for me. After cooking for and practicing with “The Boys”, I headed to King and John Streets to meet my Pinoy officemates. I promised kasi na I will join them in their drinking spree. So kahit pagud-paguran na ako, eh go pa rin ako sa Downtown. They were having dinner at Gabby’s when I arrive… nakikain na rin ako ng mga finger foods nila. With them is Sheng, another Pinay auditor who is working for KPMG (Kalaban!!! Hahaha!!!).
Sa totoo lang, miss ko na ang mga officemates ko. After being assigned to Cleveland for over a month, nakaka-miss yung mga lunch at gimik. Ang dami ko na ngang na-miss. Kaya nga pinilit kong makarating just to catch up on things… at maki-tsika. Hahaha!!!
I drank a bottle of Bud. Yun lang. Ayoko na kasing uminom eh, though I never really became an alcohol fan. We decided to head to a club in Richmond Street – Easy on the 5th is it’s name. However, the club was jam-packed and the queue outside was long. Besides, we were not “properly” attired. We were just donning our jeans and shirt while others were in their fashion’s best.
We just decided to go back to King Street and find something there. Fortunately, we spotted one – Club Menage. The good thing is, there is no entrance fee. We just need to pay for whatever drinks we might be ordering inside. I never ordered a drink… I told you a while ago that a bottle is enough for me. It took us around 20 minutes before we head to the dance floor. I am not a very clubby person, but when I am already in the dance floor, hala, magwawala talaga ako. Hahaha! But because I am in a foreign land, I restrained myself and just danced conservatively (Tinikling at Pandanggo kasi ang steps ko). I was thinking that if I was with my cousins and siblings, we could have totally overtaken and reigned the dance floor. Mga KULOT pa! (Bigla ko tuloy silang na-miss).
It was a very long day for me. It was almost 4 am when I finally got home. I was up for almost 20 hours that day. Hindi ko pala nasabi na I woke up at 7 am because I went jogging to my apartment’s nearby park.
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I had a visitor last Saturday. Actually, not so much of a visitor na nga eh. Nakitulog kasi si Juan sa bahay, because we needed to meet Roel at St. Andrew’s Station on Sunday for our visit at the Home for the Aged. Buti na lang nandun si Juan dahil nakabili ako ng bed ko at natulungan niya akong magbuhat.
I never really thought that Juan and I will be friends. I met him in CLP, and he knows that I initially thought of him as somewhat snobbish… and to some extent arrogant. Hahaha!!! And take note of this ha… my ex-officemate in PwC is Juan’s schoolmate in Seton. You know who you are… hehehe (wink wink). And because Juan also studied in La Salle, it turned out that they were also college schoolmates! Small world talaga.
He brought his DVD player and we rented movies from Blockbuster. He is into art and foreign language films… pero ang gusto ko pambata. Hahaha!!! So as a compromise, ni-rent ko na lang yung Happy Feet tapos nagrent siya ng iba pang movies na gusto niya. I have seen a number of foreign films, pero hindi lang siguro talaga ako mahilig dun. But it turned out that his selections are good… no, they were great!
After three movies and two big bags of chips, natulog na kami. It was already 4:30, I think. In between the movies pala, I cooked spaghetti for our Sunday meeting with my SFC brothers and sisters. Sobrang pagod na talaga ako at this point at amoy bawang na ang kamay ko dahil since Friday I’ve been cooking na.
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Sunday. We met Roel and other guys from SFC to celebrate Mother’s Day at the Lakeside Long-term Care Center. Lolo’s and Lola’s have a special place in my heart, that’s why when Roel invited me to join them in their community service, I instantly said yes. There, I met some great ladies (since most of the attendees are grandmas).
I first met Marion. She is 83 years old. If there is one thing that I am proud about myself is that I am a great listener. And I believe I have put this skill into test when talking to Marion. She speaks so lightly that it seems like she’s whispering. Aside from that, Marion is suffering from Alzheimer’s and she tends to forget the conversation we had even if it was only 5 minutes ago. So it will be really good to listen to her so you can remind where you left off. I learned that her children are in the United States, and that they haven’t visited her for quite some time. At this point, I was holding back my tears. I can’t imagine how these kids abandon their mom (sorry for the term). And this is one of the reasons why I don’t like to get old in this country – I don’t want to be left in a home for the elders. I want my kids to take care of me just as I have taken care of them when they were babies.
I also met Anna. She is 85 years old. She told me that she enjoyed our presentation and that our songs make her feel great. I can tell that she is excited to talk about so many things. I haven’t learned many things about her, because I needed to get Michael back to the 2nd floor. Michael is not that old. I am guessing that he is in his mid-60’s. But I am figuring that he suffered from stroke which paralyzed his body. He can’t talk, but I can tell from his eyes that he is happy to be part of the program even if it was for mothers. I brought him to his lunch table at the 2nd floor and waved goodbye. I told him that we’ll be back next month to celebrate his day – Father’s Day!
Lastly, I met the most energetic Lola of them all – Mary. I was standing at the corridor and talking to a nurse when she called me. I greeted her Happy Mother’s Day and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. She told me that she is already 87 years old. If my Lola is still alive, she would be celebrating her 87th birthday this year. But everyone knows, that Lola is in heaven already. Anyway, back to Mary. You can never tell that she is nearing her 90’s already. She is so full of energy and she can still dance! Among the Lola’s I’ve talked to, I enjoyed her the most. She is very grateful for the Filipinos who come to the Center every month. But behind her happy face is a very sad story. Last year, two of her loved ones died. Her daughter died from heart attack. Soon after, her husband followed. I know she’s holding back her tears. I decided to just change the topic. I asked about her grandchildren. She told me that they’ll be picking her up that Sunday to spend Mother’s Day at their place in North Bay (it’s already out of Toronto, but still within the province). I felt really good and happy for her that her family is still looking after her. Soon after, her beautiful granddaughter arrived together with her husband. Mary waved us goodbye.
I have always loved to serve others. Hindi naman sa pagmamayabang at pagbubuhat ng bangko, I find fulfillment kasi when doing these stuff. Actually, this experience has just reinforced my new goal in life. And this will be the first time I’ll be broadcasting it to the whole world – I want to be a volunteer worker. Yep, you read it right. I’m planning to go to the different places in the Philippines (or anywhere else in the world) to do volunteer work. I feel that the world has been so busy for me that I needed to take a step back. Also, I feel that I have been so blessed that I needed to share what I have. And what else is the best way to share your blessings than to give yourself in a community. Please pray for me that I can fulfill this goal.
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On a lighter note, I miss Ayala Center. Nothing in Toronto can compare to the great Ayala Center experience. I miss walking from Philamlife to EDSA using the elevated walkway passing through Greenbelt, Landmark, Glorietta and SM. Here’s an old Ayala Center ad that makes me look forward to going home.
