One after the other

Photo by Tom Podmore on Unsplash

I am not what you’d consider superstitious. As a matter of fact, I find some Filipino superstitions (some even made into movies such as Feng Shui, Pagpag, Sukob, etc.) rather foolish and backwards.

These days, there is so much talk about the “evil eye” wherein a mere glare can cause bad luck, poor health or injury to someone. Usually, an evil eye is malevolent and envious in nature.

Now that we are in the age of social media where a lot of people can see what’s happening based on what one posts on the internet, the evil eye now has a different interpretation: It doesn’t have to be malicious, it doesn’t have to be fueled by covetousness, sometimes people can just jinx another inadvertently. I also read somewhere that someone who loves and cares for you can have the strongest evil eye towards you as the attachment is stronger than that of a random stranger. 

Do I believe it? Not so much. I feel it’s more of a collective frenzy being perpetuated by evil eye fanatics.  

A lot of people would advise against sharing good news, flaunting of one’s wealth or happy events and occasions. They also say if you don’t want your plans jinxed, then it’s better not to announce it. To this, I agree.

See, I notice that when I post good news, or things that I acquired, such as a recognition or award, or anything that I’m just happy to share not for the purpose of flaunting it—something unfortunate happens almost immediately. 

People may think it’s hypocritical of me to believe in this but not of the evil eye. The reason why I don’t believe in the concept of a glare causing bad luck is because I find it narcissistic to think that someone is out to “get” me so they wish me bad things. Frankly, there’s nothing in my life to be envious about or for other people to covet what I have. 

Let me just say I’m more of a believer in the balance of good and bad luck. Sometimes when you bask on the good things that’s happening to you way too much to the point of announcing it to the world, you are also somewhat summoning the bad things.

So yeah, maybe in that way, I’m superstitious.

***

Just last week, after a buffet with my mom’s side of the family, I was paralyzed by what I can only describe as the worst food poisoning ever.

For someone with a hefty appetite and love for street food, it wasn’t my first time to get a foodborne illness. I remember this one very humiliating time many years ago that I was schlepped out in a stretcher from our office building in Pasig to nearby Medical Center after overeating skewered pig intestines for dinner and then felt sick at work (I was on the graveyard shift then). I was throwing up non-stop and had a really bad stomachache that our company doctor decided to bring me to ER.

But what happened to me last week was something else. We had the lunch buffet on Sunday but I start feeling sick Monday evening. It was hellish. It was an epic combination of nausea and diarrhea which went on until early morning of Tuesday that I had to call-in sick the last minute at work.

Back then when I had mild food poisoning, throwing it up a couple of times would already make me feel better. Such things, I usually just wait out. Last Monday was different. I had to run to the toilet several times and then throw up violently after. Repeat that about six or seven more times. I feel I got no more liquid left in my body to spew or poop out. I was so tired that my kuya and mom were already asking me if I wanted to be brought to the ER as they fear I’d get dehydrated, but I refused as I don’t want to have an embarrassing episode in public.

Finally, after several trips to the bathroom, I fell asleep exhausted. Early the next morning and still feeling so weak, I messaged my boss and explained to her what’s happening. I gave myself two days to completely rest. 

Until now, I can’t say that everything’s okay because I still feel my gut hasn’t recovered yet. I may be getting older and therefore my body can’t adjust as well as it did, but as with most common illnesses these days, most of it are exponentially worse for some reason.

Two days of being bed-ridden made me think a lot about what happened. First was how it’s hard to confirm that the buffet was the culprit because there’s too many of us, including my senior mom and her older sister, my aunt, but only me and my brothers were hit (following my incident, kuya and my younger brother also had gut issues after).

Second was how it made me think that posting about some of my happy events may have triggered unfortunate ones. When I look back, it’s almost getting to be a pattern. 

I can’t explain it, but it’s like a cycle of one after the other. 

My Valentine

Photo by Megan Stallings on Unsplash

How do you know you are really missing someone?

I know that I really miss the person when he would cross my mind during the busiest part of my day, and not when I am about to sleep.

Just like that quote that says: “It’s about who you miss at 2:00 in the afternoon when you’re busy, not at 2:00 in the morning when you’re lonely.”

I think of many things while lying in bed at night. I lose sleep over the most trivial of things. I think about the bills I have to pay; I think about why the KFC Original recipe had gotten so salty; I think about what song I want to be playing on my funeral; I think about the errands that I have to run the next day. Heck, I even think about that class bully that made my life a living hell in fourth grade. 

There’s nothing special about a person crossing your mind at the end of the day when you’re all alone in your thoughts. What’s special is when you think of someone during the day when you’re supposed to be preoccupied. It’s when you’re around a lot of people and you are suddenly reminded of the person and you wish you were with them instead. 

And with each thought is a pause. Then it just hits you hard.

Cool mornings

Photo by David Mao on Unsplash

A few days ago, Baguio City temperature dropped to its coldest so far at 9.8°C.

The past few days, we are also enjoying lower temperatures here in Metro Manila, with the coldest recorded at 19.9°C (yes, that’s cold already), the reason why I find it so hard to get up in the morning.

The northeast monsoon (Amihan) is what causes the breezy air. This is the cool and dry northeast wind coming from Siberia and China and blows down to Southeast Asia. We were expecting this as early as November, but it wasn’t as strong as it was, which is why the Christmas season last year felt nothing like Christmas.

It’s a good thing that for some reason, Amihan got stronger this month. At least we can get to enjoy a few days (hopefully weeks!) of cold weather before another hellish summer is upon us.

I am what you’d call “lamigin” in Tagalog. I get cold easily. A stay in a room with an AC on full blast (like when we stay at hotels), you can see me covered from head to toe. I always say I won’t last living anywhere where it can get very cold, unless there’s someone I can cuddle with, to which I’d say, bring it (the cold) on!  

Anyhow, I’m having a good night’s sleep these days. Thanks to the nippy weather and the Magnesium Glycinate supplement I take before I go to sleep.