Let's plant plants!
Since I was a kid, I was exposed to gardening even though we live in an urban place.
I can still remember clearly when I was in elementary, we had a subject EPP or Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan. I think if translated in English the subject is called Home Economics and Livelihood Education. Tell me what you think, did I translate it correctly or not?
Well, this subject was where we had activities in gardening. By group, we were assigned a small lot to take care of and nurture. It was a rectangular lot of almost 10 by 2 feet, I think, I do not know how to convert the size in a square meter. Anyway, we prepared the soil with the use of a trowel and water and barricading it with the use of straw rope tied on a tulos, a piece of wood, in every corner of the lot. We also made our own trowel by using tin cans and a piece of wood for the handle.
It was our teacher, Mr. Yambao, who guided us throughout the process of gardening. Each group planted peanuts on their garden lot as for the signal of our teacher. Now that I realized it, it was one of my favorite subjects. I always looked forward to this class, we got dirt on our hands and even in our clothes, but it was an experience and essential lesson I would never forget. I always look back to this experience whenever I see gardens or farms, especially ones with edible plants.
Every summer or Christmas vacation, we used to visit my father's province in Nueva Ecija, and this place is known as the Rice Capital of the Philippines. With my sibling, cousins, titos and titas, I got to see a vast horizon of farm fields with grains and trees like mango and some others I could not name since they were far from me, and as always I am entranced with that kind of scenery.
Fast forward during this Extended Enhanced Community Quarantine, I tried planting. There is no much available space in our residency, so the best way is to do urban gardening. My father already has plants placed in recycled plastic containers. He has been gardening ever since I can remember. Mostly, we have ornamental plants and some trees like papaya, guyabano, bayabas, and alateris in some small available lot in our residence. I am amazed by my father's talent in gardening, one of his many.
Now, I am returning to gardening. During this pandemic, I realized the importance of reconnecting with nature, to God's creation, through the simple way of gardening at home. I am aware that I got to do this and other stuff because of the community quarantine due to the danger brought by CoVid-19, but I hope and pray it can be part of my new normal after lifting EECQ on May 15.
Seedlings are coming out. Seedlings! Truest in its flesh! I felt giddy and excited when I saw the two okra seedlings this morning. I could not believe they were actually sprouting. (Yay! Yey!) This is my second attempt, and they are growing. My first attempt failed, but my father knows much better when it comes to planting. He gave me some tips on how to plant seeds the right way. I am still waiting and looking forward to the other seeds to come out.
I got seeds for free from the City Agriculture Office - the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna through the office of Barangay Caingin City of Santa Rosa Laguna. They still have plenty of vegetable seeds. You can still drop a message on their Facebook to get some seeds for free so you can start your own planting journey.
Every time I water the plants, I try to talk to the plants either silently or verbally. Just this morning, I read some Bible verses to the seedlings, since watching #CLOY I was reminded that I must talk to the plants and say good things. Aren't Bible verses good words to say?
I did not like the love story in this book.
My third book from The Deluxe Collection of Paulo Coelho's books is The Zahir. The term in the book title is quite new to me. Zahir is something that is not used in an everyday conversation and I wonder what meaning lies behind the word. At the beginning of the book, it was defined what the title meant. So you better get a copy of this book and see for yourself.
I had high expectations with this book since it was a predecessor of Veronika decides to die, and it did not fail me after reading The Alchemist. To be honest I did not like the other philosophical views mentioned in the novel, specifically the ideas of marriage and sex. The narrator of the story felt like he was so casual in taking another woman in his life when he was not even sure if his wife was alive, kidnapped, or left him for good because he was such a scumbag. He had no idea of the reason behind the disappearance of his wife and he willingly accepted a new woman to bed with him. Other people would think this is something normal, but not for me. Other people would believe that being open-minded with that kind of relationship was a sign of maturity, but again, not for me. And the same goes with the missing wife, Esther, she wasn't even different from her husband. She was missing for two years and at the end of the story, I realized she was just the same as her husband. It was like they had an open marriage with those years they were apart, and I do not approve of practicing such.
Paulo Coelho himself appeared in my mind as the narrator of The Zahir whenever I read the story. I could not shake off the idea that it was him. That's just how I imagined the protagonist and it stayed like that until I finished the book. It took me a long time to finish the book since it was thicker than the previous two books I read from the same author. I concluded reading the book in a week probably with rests in between.
I almost put down the book because I was not fond of ideas the narrator was persistently showing me, but I did not let go of the book. I was entranced by the whole journey of finding the missing wife. The mystery behind the lost and found journey of the narrator was a stronghold for me to never read the book unfinished. The narrator brought me with him every step of the way in discovering everything behind the story of his missing wife. It felt like I was with him investigating and exploring the different possibilities in life as we delved into the energy of love. I felt him, all his struggles and confusions just to find and maybe get back his wife.
This kind of love story is never my cup of tea, nevertheless, I enjoy the story, and if time and circumstance permit me I will not hesitate to read the book all over again and relive the excitement and experiences with the narrator.
The Duterte Manifesto: Mag aral mula sa mga banat at mga talumpati ni PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE is published by ABS-CBN Publishing. I got this book from the Big Bad Wolf Manila 2020 book sale for 20 pesos. If I remember correctly, 145 pesos is the original price of the book. It was part of the bundle of 5 books for 100 pesos I bought from the ABS-CBN booth.
I read this book for just more than an hour. It was just a short read, but a meaningful one. I know DU30 a little better now, before I didn't care whether he lose or win the 2016 Philippine election. I am glad that God appointed him as the president, and under this pandemic CoVid-19, he is our president. I pray for his good health and may he continue to seek guidance and wisdom from God in making every decision for our country and every Filipino.
Read this book and get to know our president a little better. I promise it is worth your time.
This book isn't about dying even though Veronika decided to die.
Veronika decides to die is my second book from the works of Paulo Coelho from the box set The Deluxe Collection. The title is intriguing and relevant. I didn't hesitate to read it after the out of this world experience with the book The Alchemist.
I like Veronika. She is brave. People of society will call her eccentric, weird, or strange. She was mad for taking her own life. She was tired of the sameness she experienced every day in her life. At the age of 24, she felt like she already at the end of whatever. She had enough of her life on earth.
What's the purpose of life if you feel like you had enough bullshit of people around you? All the pretensions and prejudice of this wicked world is something worth to be thrown and burned in hell. This world is crazy. And as if life isn't as crazy as is the author, Paulo Coelho, offers us an eccentric, spiritual, mystical view of who is the real mad man in this world full of pretensions and greed for temporal things this doomed world offers.
Vitriol is a significant term in the story of Veronika decides to die. Dr. Igor connoted the term 'vitriol' as bitterness in layman's term. He believes that this is the cause of depression and other mental health. And his unsolicited experiment with Veronika proved that the cure to this entity called vitriol is the awareness of death or awareness of life. It means that if a person is aware of the feeling or truest existence of death or life, a person with depression or other mental health will have a better chance of overcoming and defeating such a dilemma.
Simply, bitterness begone. Let's be crazy and mad enough to live life to the fullest. Do not conform to the ways of this world. Do not submit to the wicked ways of this temporal reality. Be transformed and live your life according to His will!
Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
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