..the tale of Chicken Adobo..

(c)education today

It feels good to see your hamper empty, your room neat and tidy, and your clothes well-pressed. Well, I missed those out-of-mess-kind-of-life. It seemed that it all belongs to a good throwbacks. I could hardly visit my desert place to breathe for a good break, to pull away and be sublimely quiet. It's a blessing though that I am  giving my phalanges some exercise and dampen my drying brain cells with my random thoughts put into writing. Sleep, again, becomes a luxury. 

Let me give you a tour in the hideous part of my home, and how it taught me lessons I didn't learn from being a bookworm. 

The Lesson From The Kitchen.

I enthusiastically undressed the dressed chicken. It was my day off and I kind of being swept away by my feet to cook a decent meal. And because chicken adobo is my specialty, I bun up my hair, feel gorgeous in those racer back top, held the knife and murdered the poor 1.5kg chicken. I started from the basics of heating up the pan, waited for the cooking oil to get a little hotter, and sauteed the garlic until it becomes brown. The rest of course are my secret (?) steps why it becomes my specialty. 

I waited for the mixture to boil, and while doing that, I multi-tasked by washing my scrub suits. I also continued flipping some pages of the book I can't hardly finish. I went back to the kitchen to check, but it seemed that the chicken is still the same since I left to wash my clothes, and read a book. It nearly comes to a boil. I started complaining that probably, our stove needs some repair. Or worst, a total overhaul. I started to become impatient figuring out what went wrong since it was well this morning. I turned the control left and right, a little sexier, just in case it just needs fine touch. But my chicken adobo is not yet a chicken adobo. Until I was knocked out from an idiot reality. The heat was set on 1. Gosh, it has an ability to heat up to 6! Damn it, Kim.

Harsh. Rough. Unfair. That's how it feels when we wait for splendid things to happen that is actually not happening yet. We give the best of ingredients we can think of: our skills, our knowledge, the most positive vibes, the sincerest prayers.  Why nothing is happening?

A Story Of Not-So-Adobo.

I have a friend. Let's call her Magnolia. And she's not a chicken by the way. Magnolia wanted to transfer a work place, to a much better-paying area. Because her kids are growing up, and thus  the expenses, too. She wrote a number of request transfer letter. But it was turned down in direct proportion to how many times she made the request. It broke her heart. But Magnolia kept serving, working her best in her position. One day, the head master came to her, granted her request not only a transfer but as a Chief Head to another area! 

I believe God works following a law of mystery. That is something we fail to comprehend. We put God's ability to give at level 1. We complain so often that no matter how much you put the best foot forward, it didn't even shake the ground. Nothing comes to a boil. Life is all but a redundancy. We think that there must be something wrong in our plans, or that we need to abandon it all and change course, for the sake of overhaul. For the sake of change. For the sake of something to happen. In our course of losing grip, God knocks us down, making us realize from a perplexed abyss that He has the ability to heat the "adobo" we want to a full cook. It may entail waiting, more clothes to wash or probably more books to read until what we want comes to a full tender, juicy, tasty, adobo-licious we've been dreaming of. 

What are your "chicken adobo's" in life?

 Let God do the cooking.

Afterall, the Chef Master will never intend to give out something that is half-cooked.=)

P.S. 1

To  all the singles, (ahem): Pray for your adobo-licious man/woman. Just because he/she hasn't come yet doesn't mean he/she will never come at all. Just because you don't have someone to hold hands with doesn't mean they are futile. Use the time being yourself to care a lot, hug a lot, give a lot, touch a lot, love a lot. These are the advantages of no strings attached...yet. 

And this is also a note to self. ;)

P.S 2

Lesson From The Garden in the next blog sequel.

..I cried at 12:02 in the morning..

(c) Young Love

I was walking in the hallway. Faces I don't recognize. Voices I can't comprehend. Somehow, the place seemed familiar.

I just don't know why I'm there. All I know is that I'm looking for him. 

I continued my walk and saw my colleague. 

"Why are you here?", I curiously asked. "We have an urgent case today", Ate Neslyn hurriedly answered. I realized why the place is familiar. 

I'm in the hospital.

My heart leaped in an instant for the reasons I do not understand. It must have been my frequent intake of coffee.

 But it's not.

I searched for his name in every hospital's station, while anger started to well up. 

He hasn't told me anything, not a thing after all those hours of conversation.

 "Ah, he's in Room 10", the lady in white finally told me.

My feet seemed to drag me back everytime I move a step.  He is in Room 10.

I begin to feel afraid, and oxygen becomes a luxury as thoughts juggling on my mind as I near Room 7. 

Then there was Room 8. 

A man came out from Room 9 holding a newborn. 

I stopped for a while and looked around.

The plants seemed greener in the white hallway. "..in Room 10"..

The wind blew gently. This afternoon is different from the rest. 

A step closer.

But there was no Room 10.

I ran back, determined to find him. 

So that he can explain. 

So that I can hear him again. 

So that I can pull him away from this place.

So that everything will be back to normal in our hiding place.

I sneaked through the half-covered glass wall. 

There he was. In a numberless room. In hospital gown. Sleeping soundly.

.."We have an urgent case today". The reverberating words of Ate Neslyn flashed in an instant.

I was not born a runner. But sometimes in your life, you become one.

"What is your case today?" My persistent question the moment I found Ate Neslyn.

"Heart Stenting. I was called to go on duty for this case. They say it's very urgent.", she casually answered.

"May I know who the patient is?" Now I'm breaching patient's confidentiality. 

She mentioned his name. I felt a lump on my throat I can't swallow in disbelief.

My instinct's right. And why this afternoon is different. 

"I will attend in his case". Tears welling at the corner of my eyes. "I need to be there for his case".

"I'm sorry but the Cardiologist will NOT allow you". 

I needed to be there in his operation. See him at least. See his heart at least.

It's the first time in my life I regretted I turned down the offer to be a Cath Lab Nurse. 

I went back outside his room. Contented to see him sleeping. Angry that he hid all these things when I entrusted everything of me to him. Saddened that I can't wake him up and say "Everything will be alright" when he's not aware I can see him from here..........

I woke up in such a way bad dream has not awaken me before. 

I reached for my phone.

It's 12:02 in the morning. And I cried.

I cried for even in a dream, I can't afford to lose him.

I can't afford to lose a   f r i e n d.