LIVE
I was in a minor motorbike accident last November 20, around 5 in the afternoon. Suffice to say that we were wearing helmets and were going at a sane speed; it was just my fourth time ever to be a passenger on a motorbike. We even stopped at the center island to carefully check that the coast was clear before taking the u-turn slot to our destination.
I never got there.
The next moment, a green jeep suddenly swerved out of nowhere and hit the handlebar on our right side, causing our motorbike to fall over.We never saw it coming; I didn’t even have time to scream.
My first reaction was to feel if everything was still attached; the next was to curl up and shake like a leaf. The motorbike’s side mirror was shattered and my companion ended up with huge bruises. I got deep abrasions on my right limbs, proving that human skin was not meant to make such close and abrupt contact with cement. When I was helped up, I felt something wet on my right foot and belatedly realized that a toenail was almost completely torn off.
Interestingly, there was little pain. Shock, I guess. I wasn’t even scared, mostly cold and a little unsteady. Guards from the nearby buildings, obviously used to seeing accidents along that stretch of Commonwealth Avenue, hurried and helped us off the busy road. I had to continually assure the converging humans that no, nothing was broken. And no, security-guard-who-I-almost-hurled-the motorbike-at, I was just plump, not pregnant!
LAUGH
The jeepney driver seemed to be more scared than I was; after all, a fellow driver told him in passing, “Hala! putol yung binti! putol yung paa!” He brought me to the UP Infirmary ER with profuse apologies and an invitation to be a ninang to his eldest son’s baptism that Sunday. When I was not able to go, he texted me: “Sayang, guwapo pa naman yung kapartner mo!”
On the way to the ER, I texted people I was supposed to meet that night to cancel, for obvious reasons. One of them immediately hopped over to see if I needed help (sing Frosty the snowman with me to the tune of Joy to the World!)
Thus started a three hour-laughing trip; no wonder, given who I was with. I’ve already forgotten most of the jokes and banter during that long wait. But I will always remember how successfully they distracted me from the pain of getting my gashes cleaned up (ouch) and my toenail pulled off (waaah!). And this memory still makes me smile: the shaking shoulders of a young UPIS student who was silently repressing her laughter at our antics. Yes, that little girl will definitely go to UPLB for college, hehe.
LEARN
No matter how cautious you are, accidents do happen. Two-wheeled modes of transportation are no match for those with four.
There must be a balance between grace and justice. Kaya, samen ang sakit ng katawan, sa jeepney driver ang sakit ng bulsa.
Once the shock wore off, everything hurt a lot for 2-3 days afterwards. Getting bumped by unsuspecting commuters was also a real threat, so I taxied everywhere for a week.
To be grateful for friends who happen to be in the fields of nursing, physical therapy and medicine. Friends who lent an arm and a leg when mine were useless. Friends who restrained and did not restrain their hysterics at the news. Friends who were there.
There is an art to delivering bad news, especially to paranoid, overprotective parents. I seemed to have mastered it, given my papa’s mild response: “I almost lost a pest.” Ha ha!
And this confirms that I still have plenty of reasons to hang around. =)
Now that we have gotten through
One more fall
I can just admit I’ve got it all
Cause I do
Cause I’ve got you
We’ve crossed these battle lines too many times
It passes through the heart
But it never leaves a mark
Cause Your love just keeps on healing me
No matter how I bruise
If I just trust You
Your love just keeps on healing me
One more cure
One more chance that wasn’t there before
In your arms
no pain can harm the way im feeling
Lord I know that Your love is healing
I’ve kicked around those lines in my head
But I never listened to the words that You said
See where it’s lead
Well I know I have it now
Cause You showed me how And all I had to do
Was just to keep my eyes on You
Cause Your love just keeps on healing me
No matter how I bruise
If I just trust You
Your love just keeps on healing me
One more cure
One more chance that wasnt there before
In your arms
no pain can harm the way im feeling
Lord I know that Your love is healing
(break)
Cause Your love just keeps on healing me
No matter how I bruise
If I just trust You
Your love just keeps on healing me
One more clue
One more chance that wasn’t there before
In your arms
no pain can harm the way im feeling
Lord I know that Your love is healing
This blog may no longer be called “song of the moment,” but sometimes, music is the best way to say what I need to say.
Again Lord, thank you. Not just for Friday, but a thousand times over.
1.Friends and foes (they are enemies of the bookworm Rita who wishes to spend forever buried in a novel)
ay shucks. sobrang dami nila. so i’ll just list those I collided, este bonded with this week: he who delivered me to school on a big bike, the pretty girl with bangs, the 2 guys who are now part of the spondazontes core (bwahaha), they who finally got together, she who introduced me to triMOna and square banana, and the lady who carried my very heavy backpack around the acad oval.
2. Edibles (solid, liquid and everything in between)
tarragon tea, barako coffee, kimchi, fried kimbap, gyoza, piping hot rice, bagoong, isaw, dirty ice cream, fried porkchop ni benj, sinigang anything, rice wine, cheese sticks and chix lollipops ng maru, flourless chocolate cake kina phil, bagis, kilawin, mustasa and buro, kuya nikko’s cooking, cdc hallelujah diet, and whatever is served during training sessions.
3. Places (here, there, and everywhere)
My bed, my couch, UP diliman academic oval, amphitheater, mashita, kopi roti @the columns, highlands steakhouse, mataas na burol-silang, cdc tagaytay, mrt edsa-taft station crossover, massage parlors, sm hypermarket, avr chapel, anywhere i can see the stars. =)
4. Gadgets, games, and other objects
my Henry (samsung star), pambu (my ancient desktop), my wheezing ipod shuffle, jumping rope, upwords! frog relay, mud crawl, any camp recreation session, ghost, scrabble, boggle, word factory, taboo!, tito manolo’s rope games, my Bibles, that wooden massage tool, sleeping bag, hammock, backpack, coffee press, flipflops, signpens, journal, banig, books books books.
6. Experiences (when the only bad moment is the final moment)
affirmation, camps, retreats, walking along the up acad oval, mrt rides, coffee talks, massages, kc getogs, choir cantatas and practices, MA classes with certain profs, fgds, manuscript bible study, videoke nights, makeovers, team-writing, stargazing, sunsets, dusk/twilight, chatting with faraway humans online, sane motorbike rides, theater performances, warm hugs, chasing my niece, getting an uno, post-station one/d3 bonding, talks with my papa, reading a great book, road trip, sweet spots…
…And BLOG ANNIVERSARIES. Happy 2nd birthday to tarits.com!
My gift is a name change to “Live:Laugh:Learn.” From now on, I celebrate passion, laughter and the pursuit of learning.
Find me here
Speak to me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That’s leading me
To the place where I find peace again.
The first stanza pretty much sums up June to October 2009 for me. After the certainty of a year of full time studies, I found myself floundering again. I let myself over commit and be distracted from my main goal. I found myself straying into the gray areas that were increasingly getting more difficult to leave. I began to depend on myself more and on God less. It was no surprise, therefore, that God kept silent and taught me several hard lessons this past semester.
You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose…you’re everything.
Two months into the first semester, I realized that I was unwittingly neck-deep in quicksand. At first I tried to free myself, then I asked others to help me, to no avail. Eventually, I turned to the first person I should have cried out to in the first place. After an agonizing wait, He answered. It wasn’t a delay, but perfect timing.
You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won’t let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?
I just came from a leadership camp for college students in Isabela, with the theme “Genuine Impact, Jesus Outstanding Example: The rise of a new breed of leaders.” Camps have always been my querencia, my favorite place. Not just because I get to travel to new places, interact with sixty plus new humans, get regular delicious meals (haha) and gaze at the heavenlies to my heart’s content. I love camps because they are encounters with God; they are my mountaintop experiences. And He clearly spoke to me again this past week.
He reminded me of what I was here for. He assured me that he will use both my strengths and weaknesses for his purpose. He let me experience disappointment, interruptions, frustration and not being in control. He gave me an opportunity to serve and at the same time accept help. He embraced me through their hugs and gave me happiness through their laughter. His Word came alive for me and my students during the Bible Study Workshop. He made a storm move away from the campsite and showed me a daily visual aid for Psalm 8. He let me witness the miracle of young people coming to know Him intimately. He affirmed my heart for missions and the youth. He confirmed that I did not have to settle for what is merely good or better; the best is worth the wait.
I am back in my usual place, back to the challenges that seemed disheartening before. Now, though, I can sing this with conviction:
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
Cause you’re all I want, You’re all I need
You’re everything,everything
You’re all I want your all I need
You’re everything, everything.
You’re all I want you’re all I need.
You’re everything, everything
You’re all I want you’re all I need, you’re everything, everything.
And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
