Counting down
Counting down
Updated 00:42am (Mla time) Dec 22, 2004
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the December 22, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
TV hosts have taken to counting down the number of days left before Christmas, but actually their count is a day late. For most Filipinos, the "real" Christmas celebration takes place two days from now, on the evening of December 24th, Christmas Eve, when most families gather for dinner and the exchange of gifts. The long and lively celebration is usually capped with a Midnight Mass, and then a midnight repast. Can you blame us if we feel Christmas Day comes as somewhat of an anticlimax?
By this time of the year, too, I'm sure most households would be caught up in a tizzy of preparations. Actually, I'm being kind, for "households" usually means the woman of the house, on whom responsibility for the emotional and social life of the family usually falls. Even if throughout my marriage I've tended to stray from the traditional boundaries of wifely and motherly work, meaning I hardly cook and rely on house help for much of the household maintenance, I've gladly taken on the usual womanly role when it comes to family celebrations. The role of family cheerleader and keeper of traditions is one I enjoy and savor, but sometimes, and this time of the year is a prime example, it can be more stress than it's worth.
These days find us in a particularly crazy state as we're just putting the finishing touches on a home renovation project. It began, innocently enough, with a wish to convert the garage (which we had been using as a storage room for junk) into my office (to free the hubby from having to sleep with the detritus of a busy journalist's life), then expanded into a plan to build our son's bedroom above it. And then, as my sister-in-law and her husband, our contractors, explained it, his old room's walls would be knocked down so we could have a bigger entertainment area. As the weeks passed, we also began nursing dreams of establishing a pocket garden in our walkway, the better to increase what real estate agents call our house's "curb appeal."
As a result, what was envisioned as a month-long project is now nearing three months, with our original budget doubling and then tripling, our wish list and shopping list expanding and lengthening along with our fantasies of a "showcase" home.
* * *
FOOLISHLY, I also volunteered to host our clan's Christmas Eve dinner and program. I admit I was seized by a desire to show off my home's "new" look. But this also means that for the last few days our home has been caught in a whirlwind of cleaning, dusting and hauling out all sorts of household junk. It's incredible the amount of stuff a couple and family accumulates over the course of 26 years!
Digging through a seemingly unending pile of books, to be divided into "to keep" and "to give away," I wondered out loud if I ever had the time to read all of them and why on earth I had bought and collected so many! Distressingly, the black garbage bags of books "to keep" seem to outnumber the bags "to give away." There goes the hubby's fantasies of a minimalist lifestyle!
Still, the craziness will come to an end on Friday evening when, I hope, our home will for the moment be clear of dust and dirt, the floors waxed, the furniture polished. Then these frantic preparations would have been all worth it, as our extended family gathers to re-live a tradition that has sustained us through the years. I just have to make sure no one peeks into our planned "music room" and espies the garbage bags with contents still waiting to be sorted!
* * *
HERE'S an early Christmas gift for you (and me!) that I downloaded from our pagbabago e-group. See how much sense these wacky definitions make, based on the very Pinoy tendency to make fun of our twisted pronunciations of English words. A few laughs to see you through these frantic last-minute preparations for the Christmas bash...
"The pinoy does it again!
Contemplate-Kulang ang mga pinggan
Punctuation-Pera para maka-enrol
Ice Buko-Nagtatanong kung ayos na ang buhok
Tenacious-Sapatos na pang tennis
Calculator-Tawagan kita mamaya
Devastation-Sakayan ng bus
Protestant-Tindahan ng prutas
Statue-Ikaw ba 'yan?
Tissue-Ikaw nga!
Predicate-Pakawalan mo ang pusa
Dedicated-Pinatay ang pusa
Aspect-Pantusok o pandurog ng yelo
Deduct-Ang pato
Defeat-Ang paa (ng pato?)
Detail-Ang buntot (ng pato?)
Deposit-Gripo (Call DIPLOMA if DEPOSIT is leaking)
City-Bago mag-utso; A number to follow 6
Cattle-Doon nakatila ang Hali at Leyna
Persuading-Unang Kasal
Depress-Ang nagkasal sa PERSUADING
Defense-Ginamit ng mga pangsulat sa kontrata sa PERSUADING
It depends-Kainin mo ang bakod
Shampoo-Bago mag-labing-isha (11)
Delusion-Maluwang (kapag maluwang ang damit, eh DELUSION)
Delivery-Walang bayad. Kapag working lunch, eh DELIVERY na ang tanghalian
Profit-Patunayan mo
Backlog-Bacon saka egg
Beehive-Magpakatino ka
CD-ROM-Tingnan mo ang kwarto
Debug-Ang ipis
Defrag-Ang palaka
Defense-Ang bakod
Defer-Ang balahibo
Deflate-Ang plato
Detest-Ang eksamin
Devalue-'Yon ang susunod sa letrang V
Devote-Ang boto
Dilemma-Brownout! a!
Effort-'Dun nagla-land ang efflane
Forums-Apat na kwarto
July-Nagsinungaling ka ba?
Thesis-Ito ay..."
Updated 00:42am (Mla time) Dec 22, 2004
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the December 22, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
TV hosts have taken to counting down the number of days left before Christmas, but actually their count is a day late. For most Filipinos, the "real" Christmas celebration takes place two days from now, on the evening of December 24th, Christmas Eve, when most families gather for dinner and the exchange of gifts. The long and lively celebration is usually capped with a Midnight Mass, and then a midnight repast. Can you blame us if we feel Christmas Day comes as somewhat of an anticlimax?
By this time of the year, too, I'm sure most households would be caught up in a tizzy of preparations. Actually, I'm being kind, for "households" usually means the woman of the house, on whom responsibility for the emotional and social life of the family usually falls. Even if throughout my marriage I've tended to stray from the traditional boundaries of wifely and motherly work, meaning I hardly cook and rely on house help for much of the household maintenance, I've gladly taken on the usual womanly role when it comes to family celebrations. The role of family cheerleader and keeper of traditions is one I enjoy and savor, but sometimes, and this time of the year is a prime example, it can be more stress than it's worth.
These days find us in a particularly crazy state as we're just putting the finishing touches on a home renovation project. It began, innocently enough, with a wish to convert the garage (which we had been using as a storage room for junk) into my office (to free the hubby from having to sleep with the detritus of a busy journalist's life), then expanded into a plan to build our son's bedroom above it. And then, as my sister-in-law and her husband, our contractors, explained it, his old room's walls would be knocked down so we could have a bigger entertainment area. As the weeks passed, we also began nursing dreams of establishing a pocket garden in our walkway, the better to increase what real estate agents call our house's "curb appeal."
As a result, what was envisioned as a month-long project is now nearing three months, with our original budget doubling and then tripling, our wish list and shopping list expanding and lengthening along with our fantasies of a "showcase" home.
* * *
FOOLISHLY, I also volunteered to host our clan's Christmas Eve dinner and program. I admit I was seized by a desire to show off my home's "new" look. But this also means that for the last few days our home has been caught in a whirlwind of cleaning, dusting and hauling out all sorts of household junk. It's incredible the amount of stuff a couple and family accumulates over the course of 26 years!
Digging through a seemingly unending pile of books, to be divided into "to keep" and "to give away," I wondered out loud if I ever had the time to read all of them and why on earth I had bought and collected so many! Distressingly, the black garbage bags of books "to keep" seem to outnumber the bags "to give away." There goes the hubby's fantasies of a minimalist lifestyle!
Still, the craziness will come to an end on Friday evening when, I hope, our home will for the moment be clear of dust and dirt, the floors waxed, the furniture polished. Then these frantic preparations would have been all worth it, as our extended family gathers to re-live a tradition that has sustained us through the years. I just have to make sure no one peeks into our planned "music room" and espies the garbage bags with contents still waiting to be sorted!
* * *
HERE'S an early Christmas gift for you (and me!) that I downloaded from our pagbabago e-group. See how much sense these wacky definitions make, based on the very Pinoy tendency to make fun of our twisted pronunciations of English words. A few laughs to see you through these frantic last-minute preparations for the Christmas bash...
"The pinoy does it again!
Contemplate-Kulang ang mga pinggan
Punctuation-Pera para maka-enrol
Ice Buko-Nagtatanong kung ayos na ang buhok
Tenacious-Sapatos na pang tennis
Calculator-Tawagan kita mamaya
Devastation-Sakayan ng bus
Protestant-Tindahan ng prutas
Statue-Ikaw ba 'yan?
Tissue-Ikaw nga!
Predicate-Pakawalan mo ang pusa
Dedicated-Pinatay ang pusa
Aspect-Pantusok o pandurog ng yelo
Deduct-Ang pato
Defeat-Ang paa (ng pato?)
Detail-Ang buntot (ng pato?)
Deposit-Gripo (Call DIPLOMA if DEPOSIT is leaking)
City-Bago mag-utso; A number to follow 6
Cattle-Doon nakatila ang Hali at Leyna
Persuading-Unang Kasal
Depress-Ang nagkasal sa PERSUADING
Defense-Ginamit ng mga pangsulat sa kontrata sa PERSUADING
It depends-Kainin mo ang bakod
Shampoo-Bago mag-labing-isha (11)
Delusion-Maluwang (kapag maluwang ang damit, eh DELUSION)
Delivery-Walang bayad. Kapag working lunch, eh DELIVERY na ang tanghalian
Profit-Patunayan mo
Backlog-Bacon saka egg
Beehive-Magpakatino ka
CD-ROM-Tingnan mo ang kwarto
Debug-Ang ipis
Defrag-Ang palaka
Defense-Ang bakod
Defer-Ang balahibo
Deflate-Ang plato
Detest-Ang eksamin
Devalue-'Yon ang susunod sa letrang V
Devote-Ang boto
Dilemma-Brownout! a!
Effort-'Dun nagla-land ang efflane
Forums-Apat na kwarto
July-Nagsinungaling ka ba?
Thesis-Ito ay..."
posted by Dante at 12:42 AM
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