MaryChristine.Me

HELLO, World.

It’s me again. I’m back with a fresh direction for the stuff that I’d like to put out there in the wide wide world.

I could go on a lengthy explanation about the reasons for my silence and my sudden urge to resume this blog (and my many other websites) but I neglected to bring my laptop’s battery charger so I’ll make this quick.

SERENDIPITY

Through the years, I’ve equated chance encounters with fate, destiny, and purpose, maybe as my way of romanticizing accidents, disasters, and seeming uneventful episodes.

Take, for instance, the time when a freak vehicular accident happened at the basement parking of the Rockwell Power Plant Mall many years ago. It was a classic hit-and-run and the driver turned out to be a nice, good-looking man who not long after became a good friend. He still is. 🙂

But not all chance encounters involve mishaps such as a car crash.  Thank goodness.

One recent incident happened inside a supermarket, by the hot sauce shelf atop the vegetable chiller. My sons and I love spicy hot sauce and have been in search of Nando’s Extra Hot sauce in Cebu but can’t seem to find it in town. I’ve made it a habit then to keep an eye out for bottles of hot sauce such as Nando’s every time I hit the grocery.

That time was like any other day (rather, night) at the supermarket after work. People in office clothes were rushing in and out as I sauntered to the vegetable chiller for some fresh romaine and tomatoes. Above the chiller were bottles of red sauce and as I reached for one to check the brand and ingredients, a gentleman’s voice behind me said:

“Excuse me, I hope you don’t mind the intrusion but I’m from Mexico and there we love our hot sauce.”

As I turned around, I saw a slightly tanned man in his early thirties, with light brown hair, rosy cheeks, and beautiful twinkling eyes. He continued to explain:

“That one there, what you’re holding is spicy but many of us in Mexico…we prefer this ONE.” (and he points to another bottle)

“Both are spicy, if you’re looking for really spicy sauce, but this ONE, to me, has better flavor, not just spiciness.”

Immediately, I returned the first bottle and got the ONE that he pointed at. Flustered and aware that some customers were curiously watching us, I only managed to say:

“Hey, thanks. I really appreciate your suggestion. I’m buying this ONE!”

Then, I left.

I went around a few aisles after that and saw him one more time asking for directions to another product.

Finally, I left the counter where I paid for my purchases and as I walked out of the supermarket, I saw him again waiting in line for his turn to pay, but this time, he lifted his chin higher and looked my way as I made for the exit. God! What is this?!

Two days after that, I visited the same mall after working hours, half wondering as I walked around whether I would bump into the nice Mexican hot sauce, I mean, stranger, once again. Alas, my blog post ends here.

Serendipity:  “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.” (Source: Oxford)

Yeah, and the brand name of the flavorful hot sauce is…… “Valentina” (for Valentine?)

Love and Light,

X

Fresh from my weekend trip to Resorts World, I entered the new work week feeling refreshed and confident that I could take on new challenges. Well, be careful what you wish for!

Monday was hectic: someone failed to do her job and left me with no choice but to rush over to meet foreign clients at the last minute.
When Tuesday was about to end and the thought of enjoying a mid-week holiday was just making me smile, another after-office-hours email buzzed on my smart phone, signalling the more challenging issue that I was about to face: extending someone’s visa that was about to lapse that day! Really?!

It’s a Friday and I managed to accomplish all the urgent tasks with satisfactory results despite the time pressure involved. By 5:15 p.m., I decide to relax and unwind by ordering Mongolian food take out.

My three orders of piping hot food arrived and I excitedly opened one to savor the aroma of spicy seafood noodles. Mmmmm. I don’t care if I end up fat tomorrow; I earned this!

And then— ta na na…my phone rang! It was an unknown number. Great!
Something told me it must be urgent.
Ignoring my policy of not answering calls from numbers that are not listed in my phone book, I took the call and my heart started to sink…..slooooowly.

On the other end was the voice of another lawyer asking me to deliver important documents to an adverse party. At 5:30 p.m. on a Friday right before a long weekend. Wow. Just wow.

So, here I am whining about how the best laid plans always seem to go awry— for me, that is. Couldn’t I just ignore the phone call? Couldn’t I just say NO? Couldn’t I just go home early like the rest of the lawyers here? I could do those things. But that would not be true to my character. Some people can live without worrying for others. But that’s just not me. So, quit whining. Eat your noodles. Pack up in a bit, and GO HOME!

Long before KonMari and Marie Kondo became an online sensation, decluttering was a regular activity for me and the help at home. If you’re wondering whether “decluttering” is just another word for “general cleaning”, well, it would seem not.

Without going into a boring discussion on the differences between the two, let’s just say that cleaning is something we should regularly do to keep our homes dust-free and dirt-free. On the other hand, when you declutter, you remove from your home the things that no longer matter or that no longer serve any purpose for you. Still confused? I don’t blame you. Words or whatever name you give an activity may not be that important when you take on the time-consuming and emotionally difficult task of letting go of things around your home.

For someone like me who has lived away from home since I was only 12, discarding and keeping only what I need became a regular habit. It was the only way for me to travel light as I traveled back and forth to school in Manila, keep everything inside the small storage at the college dorm and studio apartment, and still have all my essentials with me.

Over time, decluttering became a form of therapy. Out of sight, out of mind.

Decluttering helped me deal as well with the overwhelming amount of clothing that I tend to accumulate because of my profession’s dress code (or insatiable appetite for clothes shopping).

Decluttering as well made me feel hopeful. Why? Because Feng Shui experts believe that decluttering makes space for fresh energy or luck to enter one’s home.

That said, I suggest that you try it. Where to take your discarded items? Well, you can either sell them cheap at a yard or garage sale or just pack them neatly in recycled carton boxes and give them to an orphanage or charitable organization near you. One man’s trash can be another man’s treasure. Happy decluttering.