A Promise

My constant companion will turn eight this October, in doggie world that's fifty-six years old. I have delegated the care taking to Merlyn when she's still here. Now that I am the sole caretaker, I have discovered new traits I haven't noticed before.

I always tell people I am blessed with a pig who has a very mild temperament. Unlike his breed he is not prone to incessant barking. He is very sociable and doesn't bite. He behaves so well I take him almost everywhere with me. He has very good table manners and would never scramble for food on the table when we eat out.

The vet always say Porky is a gentleman, can't agree more. He is much loved in the neighborhood and he greets everyone. He likes people more than other pooches, which I deduce as him thinking he is a little human. I know Porky understands a lot of vocabulary but his association skill is amazing.

I have to run some errands yesterday and I promise him that if he is a good boy, I'll give him a "cookie" when I come back and we will go "running" afterwards. When I reach home at 6pm it is still piping hot outside. I just want to put all the bags down and cool off for a while. Porky is circling me all this time, following me to the kitchen. While washing my hands, he is already at the cookie jar wagging his tail. He remembers.

As the evening and night wear on, at one point he climbs up on the side of my chair and tap my thighs. He looks at me with those bright round eyes and a broad smile. Are we going to "run" yet? I tell him to wait. After a short while, he climbs up and taps me again. We should "run". I get up from the dining chair and he is already at his leash, pink tongue showing with a big grin.

After gearing up for our"run" we walk down the stairs. Lo and behold, it has started to rain! I mumble something, something, continuing our way down the stairs. When we reach the lobby, the security guard says it's raining, with all three of us staring at the glass door. Then Porky starts to bark at the door and the rain. It's the first time I have seen him do this. I take it he is really frustrated that after all the waiting to go "run" it's raining.

Seeing him thus, I ask the security guard to open the door anyway. The drizzle has become a downpour and with nothing to do except wait under the awning of the liquor store, I light up and start puffing. I have loosened Porky's leash and he tentatively steps out to test water. He returns to my side after several tries, deciding not to brave the fat droplets after all. Knowing these summer downpours will go away soon enough, I tell him we'll wait in the lobby.

True enough after five minutes or so, the rain has stopped. The security guard has treated Porky with a cookie but all this time he is looking at the glass door. He is so happy when the guard announces the rain has stopped and he looks at me expectantly. I fix his leash and off we go, his feet pattering on the wet pavement. Our "run" is half the distance we usually cover but short legged Porky seems to think his legs plus tummy are soaked enough so when I turn to go home there is no protest.

When we reach the lobby he starts to shake off the water. He is so contented he is wearing a big, big smile. With my flip flops squishing and Porky leaving wet paw marks in the hallway, we head for the elevator. While drying him he pokes his head through the towel to give me a slurp kiss. I guess it's his way of telling me he appreciates my delivering a promise.

After taking a long drink from his water bowl he lies down, heaves a mighty sigh and in no time I hear his famous snore. I pat him and bid him sweet dreams. Some pig.

Books and Blunder

A much welcomed email from B&N annouces the summer sale is here, and the long awaited paperback version of "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown is finally available for pre-order. Best of all, the books will be shipped to my sister's free of charge. This will be a great Christmas present pour moi when she comes back from the States in December.

This is a consolation to the passport blunder last month. I am supposed to attend my cousin's wedding in Toronto, then meet up with my girlfriend for a sojourn in New York City. Suffice to say I find out two nights prior to my departure that my passport has expired three months earlier!! Fortunately, the ticket has not been issued thereby the financial damage is contained, but the disappointment has permeated the rest of June.

I have been receiving post cards and parcels from New York. The "wish you were here" makes my heart glow. I have been so worried the ditched girlfriend from Toronto will be bored to tears braving the Big Apple on her own. Updates from my other girlfriend who lives in Jersey are really upbeat though. The two ladies have bonded so well they both describe as having found a long lost friend. How great is that?

Things happen for a reason. I have missed a lovely wedding and a gal pal trip to my favorite city. In retrospect though, I think it's a blessing in disguise. If not for my stupidity, I would not have known the support from those I have let down, knowing I will be my worst berator for failing them. This detour has been worth it afterall. "All's well that ends well" as the bard would have put it.

Why Indeed?

To tell the truth I don't feel like justifying myself as I grow older. I think it has a lot to do with coming to terms with my own quirks. I am very stubborn with certain things but I don't really care one way or another with other stuff. I have very strict priorities and strong beliefs. First on the list, I believe people should respect other people's sensibilities. We all have our reasons for being a certain way.

This post will not exist if not for a new aquaintance who not only likes to cut into you when you are talking but also bombard you with "why, why and more why". As if this is not irritating enough the worst is yet to come. The psycho babble that the reason I am single is because I have some inherent psychological hurdle I haven't overcome. Huh?

This is not an age thing but a life stage thing. People evolve over time. Some things may consume all your energy at one point but when you look at them at a later date, they may be totally irrelevant.

Oh yes, I take Porky everywhere, provided dogs are allowed. I cannot imagine going out with someone who does not love my kids. I want to be respected as an intelligent and independent woman. I want to be able to communicate with my significant other on the same level. I want us both to have big enough hearts and small enough egos.

I want to give back to mother nature for nurturing me all these years. I count my blessings for having so much love and abundance around me. Do I have high standards? Am I setting myself up for failure? My answer is a shrug. I don't care one way or another if this person shows up at this point in my life. I am completely at peace with myself.

Why am I this way? Why indeed?

(I love stairs, can't resist this photo from Design Sponge)

Preference

Desk from Design Sponge

It's been a year since Merlyn has left for the Philippines. I try to keep up with her routine in the early months especially with the kids, but I find myself resenting their every demand and I am always ill-tempered.

A few months back, I come across a detailed article on biological clocks. It's not new literature that early birds and night owls do exist. Most people tend to swing towards one side of the pendulum, but in extreme cases some people are built as birds or owls.

After a year's worth of experimenting, there is no doubt I am a night owl. I am completely out of sync with Merlyn's routine and the anger is a glaring sign I am in the wrong time zone. My schedule and that of the kids now are polar opposite to a year earlier. I go to sleep when I hear the birds chirping in the grey lights of early morning and wake up in the early afternoon.

I use to equate waking up late as being lazy but not anymore. I do the same amount of work, just in my own time zone. I go grocery shopping with Porky at 4am, no crowd, no traffic. I love walking Porky in the still of the night and bask in the the peace, the space. Being an early bird or a night owl is not necessarily one better than the other.

Whatever works. Life is stressful enough.

The Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane

This is one of those books that has me intrigued after reading its initial reviews. Foremost, it is a novel written in my favorite genre, that of historical fiction. Second, its subject matter holds tremendous fascination for me, that of witches, magic, spells and charms. Most compelling of all, the author is a direct descendant of two real witches from Salem, Massachusetts. How cool is that?

For centuries, women have been persecuted as accursed witches. According to the author, Katherine Howe, so called witches during the late 1600's are commonly known as cunning women. These are literate and bookish women, very much like Hermoine, who cure people with medicine, referred as tinctures, physicks and spells. People seek their help mostly as midwives or as vets for their farm animals.

Scenes from Harry Potter pop up everywhere as I read on. The talent is passed on from generation to generation. The witches are not evil women. On the contrary, they are devout and religious people. The herbs remind me so much of Harry's herbology class. Those shrieking mandrake roots are real and do look like babies, only they don't shriek but are really poisonous. Blue sparks do fly out from finger tips when magic power is used. Spell books do exist, known as a "receipt book" then which in reality is a recipe book, a recipe for spells.

The plot follows Constance, a graduate student from Harvard, spending a summer at her grandmother's run down cottage in Marblehead, where she chance upon a key in a Bible from which a thin piece of paper with the name Deliverance Dane is hidden. The search for the elusive name brings her to Salem, the site of the Salem witch trials, where she discovers more and more about herself and her ancestors.

When her boyfriend, Sam is afflicted by a curse, she turns to spells written on recipe cards in her grandmother's kitchen. Not only does the spell works, the curse bounces back to Connie's mentor, who covets Deliverance's book for his lifelong ambition in alchemy to make a philosopher stone.

It is an entertaining and flowing read. Though the story jumps from one time period to another, it has a clear linear path, interweaves fluidly and best of all, not overburdened by facts.

Thumbs up.

My Coffee

I think this is my expression when I sip the coffee my student has bought me. My initial reaction is that it's from one of the adults but when I ask him he puts a fist to his chest and says it's from him.

He has me worried over his other subjects when he keeps sighing and groaning when I ask him over the phone. Is he a sly one though because I am completely fooled. It turns out he has 100/100!! After our short session, we share a large pizza and watch TV, topped with loads of laughs and jokes. It's the best coffee and pizza I have had in a long while, despite the heartburn.

On another note, Camille and the young fellow have developed a fondness for each other. I am guessing perhaps they are of the same age? Camille is two years old cat age which equates to 14 human age. Camille always go MIA when there are strangers around but amazingly she is always at his feet. She is more attached to her hero than ever after he salvages her ball from under the fridge.

When he comes in today he asks me "Where is my girlfriend?" Gee, is this kitty love in the making?

Way to go!!

Desk by Ad Hoc Design

I receive a call from my tutor student and from his excited voice I can tell he has some great news to share. He has 100/100 on his English dictation!! I can picture him beaming ear to ear with his grade as I congratulate him on a job well done. This little fellow has delivered his end of the bargain and it's my turn to honor mine by treating him pizza if he gets full marks on the other subjects. Way to go!!