The World of Second Chances

Cita Astals Needs Help!

March 23, 2010

That’s Entertainment

Articulate.
Outspoken.
Smart.
That was how I thought of Cita Astals.

To the younger generation, Cita was a good comedienne back in the 90’s. She played Dolphy’s lady boss in his top-rating sitcom, Home Along Da Riles. Cita endorsed a brand of cough syrup, too. Benadryl, if my memory serves me right.

She ran as Manila councilor in the late 90’s (?) and won. Oh, I remember her feud with then co-councilor Ishko Moreno. Ishko was a total nobody then in the field of politics. Fast-forward to several years later, he became a lawyer and a vice-mayor!

Cita was probably not one of the best councilors in Manila but in her heart, she knew it was her calling. What caused her depression from losing the 2007 election was probably due to severe emotional stress. Money could play second factor. Drugs? I don’t think so unless somebody would tell me that she was hooked on it.

Wish Ko Lang host Vicky Morales mentioned that Cita lives alone; her electric supply was cut by the electric company because she could no longer afford to pay her bills. I wonder how a woman so friendly and warm would not even have a partner with her. Maybe a good partner with her would mean a lot; there would be somebody with her to cry and laugh.

It’s good to see Claudine Baretto, Nova Villa and Lou Veloso showing concern over their former colleague. I just hope that their concern is for real; not a gimmick or plain publicity. Or I just hope that their concern is continuous because it’s pretty hard to always understand a person in Cita’s position who obviously needs psychiatric help.

Cita’s case is a good reminder that even strong people need emotional support from family and friends. She needs help. She needs love. She needs support.

Update: December 30, 2014 at the Philippine Arena
I’m happy to see Cita Astals in better shape now. She’s one of the hosts of today’s event at the Philippine Arena. She’s back to her old wacky and smart self. Wait, do I hear it right that she will have a TV program at Net25?
Be My House Guest?

March 22, 2010

Life & Love

Reference: http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-House-Guest

I lived in my grandmother’s house from ages 10-16. During those six years, I was taught on how to be a good house guest. Surely, I would always be my grandmother’s favorite grandchild but it was still her home; I had to abide by the rules.

Rule # 1: No TV after 9PM. Grandma preferred to sleep by 9 PM and we shared a room. It meant turning off the TV by 9M and go to bed by that time.

Rule # 2: Rise up by 6:30 AM. Grandma would rise up by 6AM and cook breakfast for me. By 6:30 AM, I was expected to be at the dining area for breakfast. Nothing beats her fried rise until now!

Rule # 3: Clean the house. I was the one in charge of cleaning Grandma’s two-storey house.She was particular to neatness and orderliness.

Rule # 4: Never open Grandma’s closet. I never had the chance to take a look at what’s inside Grandma’s closet until her death in 2005. Respect for one’s personal belongings was what she always taught me.

Rule # 5: Never turn on or use any appliances without Grandma’s permission. Just like rule # 4, I learned to respect other people’s belongings. Up to now, I don’t even peep at my husband’s cellphone messages and this intrigues him. 😉

I hate house guests who act as if they own the house! Heck, I lived with a relative at a young age and I knew how to follow my host’s rules.

I hate house guests who leave clutters, used cotton balls and used sanitary pads. Is it so hard to thrown those things in the thrash can?

I hate house guests who turn on the radio or television without my permission. I hate it even more when they don’t share my appreciation for their kind of music or TV show.

I hate house guests who are gloomy. I am not a pyschologist. Better not visit our house if you have PMS or just having a bad day!

I hate house guests who use my cup. Oh, it’s maybe because I was assigned my own set of utensils when I was a house guest myself.

I am not a gracious host. I suck at hospitality. But I could be a very entertaining host when I feel that the house guest is not taking advantage of her being a guest.

Rules are there to guide everyone. I have my own sets of rules for guests to follow. Don’t worry, I don’t usually become a bitch when pissed off! 😉
To Love Is To Risk Getting Hurt

March 19, 2010

Life & Love

Why is loving so difficult to do?
Because to love is to risk not being loved in return.
Because to love is to risk not being treated the way we want to be treated.
Because love is to risk being hurt, being rejected, being disillusioned.

How many years will you have to wait before you let go of a person?
Some people easily let go of a person once they sense that the relationship
won’t work.
Some people continue to hold on for years until they realize that he’s/she’s not
the person she’d/he’d like to be with
for the rest of her/his life.
Some people hope that things will be better until he/she realize that he/she
spent a lifetime of pain and
emotional suffering to his/her partner.

Love is a two-way process but there is no such thing as equality in love.
If you can measure its equality, then, it is not love. You will just have to
feel that somebody
in the relation is more on the giving or receiving end without necessarily
measuring love per se.

There is no such thing as an ideal relationship because there is no perfect
person or perfect set up.
The best thing that we can do is just to take the person as he/she is and to
take the set up as it is.
But love should never be the sole reason to keep on understanding a partner’s
shortcomings.
It is not healthy for the couple to keep on staying on a one-sided relationship.
Understanding is only applicable to a partner who is willing to compromise.
Meet half-ways. Don’t be a martyr in love just because you have so much love to
give.
If you tolerate his/her annoying actions, you contribute more to his/her
immaturity.

Love is not about choosing who over whom or choosing who over what.
In love, security is always a factor to keep you from holding on.
Lack of security leads to doubt. Doubt leads to lack of trust.
Lack of trust leads to lack of security and the cycle continues.
Both of you must know where to stand in a relationship. Don’t play mind games;
call a spade a spade
because a spade could never be an ace.

Nobody knows the future. Not even the stars or the oracle. The future is like a
running water
with no direction or form. Why do you have to think about the future when the
present is more important?
People are too worried about the future. They are worried about how many bucks
they’re going to make by
the time they are 30. They are worried about when to marry or when to have a
child.They are worried about the superficialities of life.
People can be so intelligent yet so dumb. The present is the preparation towards
the future.
So many lovers prepare too much for the future, neglecting their partner’s
feelings and emotional needs,
only to realize that they are losing them as days pass by.

To be able to love, one must love himself/herself first. You will never know how
it feels to be in pain, in jealousy, in love, in sympathy
unless you yourself have experienced it. Don’t confuse love with infatuation or
need. If you’re just physically attracted to a person
but you can’t be with him/her in times of need; it must be infatuation. If you
can’t let go of a person because you can’t live without
that person; it must be a need. Don’t fall in love just for the sake of falling
in love. Don’t enter into a relationship just because of a need
for companionship. Don’t get married just because you’re getting late for the
last trip. These needs, once fulfilled, will do more harm than good
to both of you. Have you tried lusting over a bar of expensive chocolate? Once
you tasted it and get tired of it, you won’t bother to eat the whole
bar. Point is, it is always tempting to get something or somebody that you know
you wouldn’t have. Countermeasure? Don’t fall in love,
get married and have kids for the wrong reasons.
Friends No More

March 19, 2010

Poems & Stories

Some great friendships are good until one must go
And leave the other one hoping that the friendship will still grow
Despite the distance and isolation
Despite the lack of communication

There was this childhood friend of mine
A friendship that I consider as an old wine
That I expected to continue ’til old life
Thus, I avoided to trigger a strife

When we needed to part ways to start a career
I kept in touch with her because she’s very dear
I looked forward to the day when we’ll see each other again
And talk about stories of work, life and men!

Call it a coincidence but we saw each other one day!
It was I who greeted first and she had nothing to say
The warm smiles of hers were gone and so is my excitement
I then realized that I was beginning to lament

She had a change of heart and I was left wondering
I was left alone in pain and reminiscing
The friendship with her that I valued so much
Was just yesterday’s dream to my touch

Aint it true that true friends are hard to find?
But sustaining a mutual friendship is one of a kind
People who don’t value a great friendship
Are selfish folks without a real relationship
Poem from Daddy:To My Baby Adi

March 16, 2010

Poems & Stories

Adi

Come close to me my little boy
Daddy’s home,my source of joy
The day is long and you’re my reward
I’ll hug you tightly and kiss you afterwards

My life has become more meaningful and happy
When God blessed me with a handsome baby
You gave me an inspiration to strive harder in life
I’ll bear all the troubles with all my might

God has a purpose why He gave you to me
It’s maybe the same one when He gave me your mommy
I guess it’s because He wants me to bring Him
A family that will worship together in gleam

Time is running fast and soon you’ll grow up
You won’t be a baby forever so I’ll kiss you now a lot
Remember our days of love and joyfulness
Each moment with you, Adi, is truly priceless

~Daddy
Young Love, Sweet Love

March 11, 2010

Life & Love

I remember an old friend, let’s call him Joker. I wonder where he is now, what he’s doing for a living and how he’s changed his life. Our chance for a relationship ended just before it would have started. Blame it on the wrong timing; I was 12 and he was 14 at that time.

How sweet a young love is! A young love so pure without the earthly intentions. It’s nice to be young and innocent in early 90’s. It’s nice to have strict parents and “supportive” friends. How I long to be 12 years old again! Twelve years old and beginning to discover the joy and pain of puppy love.

Joker liked me, too. He said that to me one rainy afternoon when tweeners still prefer hide and seek over computer games. It was the time when Balanga was not yet a city. It was the time when my only hobby was to play with my neighbors. How time flies!

My parents took my interest with Joker badly. They said that he was not the right one for me. Maybe it was my age or maybe it was his juvenile background.

He called me by my petname. He was the only man outside my family who called me by my petname. He knew that I was interested in him. There was a time when we thought, our relationship was getting into what we expected. He tried to make me jealous by getting involved with another neighbor. I did the same by saying that I didn’t like him anyway.

I developed a crush on my friend’s brother. He was older at 16. Until now, I am still shy whenever I see him. Lol! When that crush didn’t materialize, I got interested with my father’s friend’s son. We got along fine for a while until he started dating my friend.

Joker and I had our “lovers’ quarrel,” too. We would not talk with each other for weeks until the tension would subside. It was he who always made the first move to reconcile with me.

I was a little devastated when he eloped with a girl he barely knew that bore him a son. I set my limits with him. I didn’t want to be the cause of someone else’s pain though I must admit that she caused me a little pain when she “stole” my “man.”

That “love affair” lasted until I was 16 years old. It was a “love affair” when I was so innocent and young.

I would love to see Joker now and rekindle the friendship. No, I am not interested to keep him as my other man. I just want to connect with someone who has always cherished and respected me as a woman.
Letting Go

March 11, 2010

Poems & Stories

LETTING GO TAKES LOVE
To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization I can’t control another.
To let go is not to enable, but allow learning from natural consequences.
To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.
To let go is not to care for, but to care about.
To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their destinies.
To let go is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny, but to accept.
To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To let go is not to criticize or regulate anybody, but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.
To let go is to fear less and love more.
Remember: The time to love is short.
(author unknown)