HURRICANE KATRINA & GODDESS SHALA

It's all over the news. It's taking all the news programs. It's so bad you don't have any choice but to offer prayers for the people who lost their loved ones, their houses, their jobs, their businesses, their hospitals, their city in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. I have so many questions. What the hell is a hurricane doing at the end of summer? Where did it originate from? Where will the people go? What will the people do? How will the people live? What is the government doing right now for these states? Where will they get their food? Why did this happen? And what the hell is a hurricane anyway?

Abby (special mention) and I were talking back then about the tsunami and its deadly run in Asia. She mentioned that there is another calamity that will occur according to Revelations. If you are my super close friend, you know I am not a reader. I am not a very sagrado katoliko person who reads the Bible day in day out, and I haven't been hearing masses here. I know it is scary but we just said we will see and we will observe. The other day, Abby told me..."baka etong hurrican na ito yong sinasabing susunod..." I said..."baka nga."

What do you guys think? One super ining told me that there is one research that states that America is going down. She did not elaborate on it but, I will definitely ask her the details again. I live in America. Like I am not part of this continent. She also said, "nagbabawas ang Diyos." Magalit man mga tao sa aming dalawa, I agree with her. I don't know how to explain my emotions about it but I believe it. I may be dumb about the Bible and how the church teachings work but, I base my opinions on things as I see it and as I experience it. As for my own unsolicited opinion(tama ba naman ito?), everything happens for a reason. A lot of good in people comes out when disasaters like this hits home. Maybe this happened to open some leaders' eyes to what really should be attended to.

Makes me feel oh so blessed. Makes me feel lucky. Makes me feel fortunate. Yes, I don't have a dime under my name. Yes, I don't have a house. Yes, I don't have a job right now. Yes, I don't have any property whatsoever that I can be proud of but, I am fine. I have a rented makeshift house. I have some cash to buy food, water and Coca-Cola. I have a big car-dillac that takes me and Darrell to the park. And here I am complaining and fussing about my life when thousands of people lost everything they have. I had the audacity (ang deep! grabe) to frown when I can't buy the skirt I saw at the store, to moan"sayang" when I can't purchase those lovely tweed shoes that I saw at an online store, to be mad when I can't get out of the house because the car was not acting right. What gives me the right to feel this way when thousands of people are trying to survive with just water and a snack bar?

Brings me to Bing's blog. Her entry about being thankful for things that you have and things that you didn't have and achieve in life. I am just a professional complainer. A day won't pass without me fussing about something--whether it's the heat during the day, the coldness of the air at night, Darrell's hyperactiveness, Rickey's barbaric voice on the phone, the neighbor's loud music, the sick cats roaming around the yard, the noisy welders installing new windows at the landlord's house, the long lines at the post office, the scarcity of parking spaces outside...or my wrinkled skirt, my cracked nail, my stained shirt, my fading hair color, my two-tone arms...

I can go on forever. But becasue of this tragedy, I have started appreciating the good things in life and ignore the bad ones. I think it's lovely just to see the beauty of the rising sun, to feel afternoon breeze on my face, to hear the neighbor's children's laughter when they play tag outside, to feel the warm hugs I get from Rickey everytime he comes home, to get the kisses from Darrell before he takes his nap and before he goes to sleep at night(one each on my cheeks and one on my forehead), to listen to the melodic chirping of the birds, to smell the dama de noche at night...my full refrigerator, my galons of water, my liters of Coca-Cola, my car and the roof over our heads.

Makes me wonder what my brothers, sister and mother are thankful for. Are my boys thankful for having a mama like me? Same thing with my friends Agnes, Abby, Lisette, Meng, Kaye, Joy, Bing, Richelle, Karen, Glenn, Michelle, Jai, and all those who I feel blessed with having in my boring life, what are they thankful for?

My life is not yet complete. I don't have my boys with me yet. I haven't achieved my goals yet. I have so many more dreams but, will these things make me contented in life? I don't think so. For now, I will just be thankful that my Luis, my Jerome, my Tyrone and my Darrell are all healthy and smart, that my truly super good friends are 100% there for me, that my husband is trying his best to provide for me and my kids, that everyday is a beautiful day to thank God for everything life has for us to enjoy and appreciate. Makes me want to go back to church...