Miss Universe Habit

Today was a treat for me and for any other woman (and gays as well) because of the coronation of the Miss Universe 2007. People from around the world converge in a single monent and it only happens when this event occurs. Never mind the issues on feminists rights; of wearing swimsuits as poor judgement on the beauty of a woman; or that it is flaunting too much of a conservative dame. Watching the Miss Universe pageant is at least fulfilling my forgotten dream (and every girls dream I guess) of being a beauty queen.

Looking at my past, I seem to be surrounded by facts about beauty pageants. For one, my name was taken from a Miss Universe candidate from Columbia. So I wouldn't mind if anyone calls me Miss Columbia or Mrs. Columbia to be accurate hehehe...Another thing is that my Tita Bong Dimayacyac is a Mutya ng Pilipinas Winner with the title of Miss Asia Pacific. Tita Bong is the first cousin of my mom. I could remember vividly when the Dimayacyac clan were watching the live telecast of Tita Bong's pageant night where she eventually won. Since then I have anxiously waited to watch beauty pageants both local and international ones. My mom also was recognized for her beauty when she was chosen as Reyna Emperatriz during her haydays in the beautiful island of Oriental Mindoro.

My dear husband respects this enjoyment I have whenever I watch shows such as these and he would voluntarily take care of chores for me when I am glued to the tube. Like this morning when the Miss Universe 2007 was on cable, I heard him say to Matthew, "Matthew behave, mom is watching TV".

This year's winner, Miss Japan Riyo Mori was indeed a deserving winner. Other finalists such as Miss Korea and Miss Brazil may be more beautiful than she is but I believe the judges saw how natural she was on stage. The others were too concerned about their poise, and how they should conduct themselves in a formal manner but Riyo was waving like a normal person and projected that she was really, really having fun even during that crucial and perennial question-and-answer portion. Thus I give my thumbs up to the judges for seeing beyond beauty and poise but considering the true person in the candidates. Mabuhay Riyo!

Missing my Sweety

Mu husband has been absent for 2 days now from our humble abode because of a teambuilding event at Zambales. The jealous wife in me wanted that he doesn't go and that he just enjoys his two-day off with us instead of being surrounded by officemates. Sometimes I am so selfish that I don't want to share him with his friends. But what is good about my husband is that he has a way of comforting me that the trip is just something he needs to do as part of his work.

That's just me as a wife. We have our quarrels over these things that I tend to forget that he is not just a husband and a father period (hmmm sounds like my previous post hehe). He also needs other people so that he can allow himself to mature and eventually be a better person.

Being married means knowing that despite sharing the same interests and values, you will always end up realizing your differences. Talk about men are from Mars and women are from Venus (I wonder where is my copy of that book). Willie is definitely a man who is only concerned about straight answers and straight solutions; I on the other hand delve (too much sometimes) on repercusions and consequences of decisions; and he likes to sleep all day or stay at home while I would like to discover new things outside.

But what I have learned on being married is that more than just loving, respecting and honoring one another is that each one should ACKNOWLEDGE the inevitable differences that man and woman have. This means that if you sacrifice something, you should not expect that the other person to do the same. And if you do you just end up being hurt. Expectations can bring great pressure on the relationship and may even be the root of all marital problems.

That's why for Jane and Karlo, acknowledge the innate differences you have. Love you guys!

Been Sooo Busy!

It has been more than two months that I last made an entry in our blog. This is because I have been busy with my home based work that I failed to update what has happened in the days before. O well better late than never!

Work for me has become an avenue to express one of my frustrations - be a writer. Well at first I wanted to be a creative writer in the hopes of joining the ranks of J.K. Rowling, Nicholas Sparks, Mia Sandoval and the great Almira Jose...shucks how I really wish...Instead I ended up with technical writing. It's not that I am complaining or anything but it was quite a big plunge for me. Academic research writing is so much more structured and most especially when clients demand a very particular format of writing. Anyway that's life and the pay isn't bad either.

It may be a very feasible set-up to work at home but it also has its drawbacks - staggered time for my Matthew. Everytime I sitdown in front of the computer, he'll surely follow and ask to be seated on my lap. But as deadlines burn my head, my impatient heart gets the best of me and sometimes asks him to play alone. How I dread every minute of that but momma's got to work. It's not that I need to but I WANT to.

I really feel guilty when I sometimes put my work first before my family. I'm not afraid to admit this (even with the possibility of being judged by others) because I believe it does happen. The guilt I may be experiencing may come from the years of society's upbringing on the female role that when one is married she becomes a wife and a mother period. I don't want to forget that I am a person first and foremost and that I have my own personality, wants and desires. After I stopped working, having the research writer work makes me feel fulfilled because I am doing something for myself. Even when I get into trouble with deadlines; or that I have no knowledge of the topic whatsoever; and even when most of my clients can be overly-demanding; at the end of the day, once I have completed my work, I feel so happy. The kind of happiness you don't get from your husband or from your child - but from yourself.