Everything Under The Tropical Sun

“It’s all about the end game.” –> My husband’s favorite mantra these days. Every time we’d discuss someone’s predicament or the news, he’d somehow squeeze that line in… and make sense. He believes that if the end game sucked, every play used during the game was used in vain.

He loves using that phrase whenever we’d talk about people in their twilight years creating complicated situations in their lives like getting someone pregnant at the age of 60… and getting her pregnant AGAIN. So instead of enjoying his end game, he has to start all over again. Sure, it was his choice. He chooses to take the risk and became a father of two innocent children. But he hurt his first wife and children in the process.

The situation would’ve been a “little better” if he had oodles of money and could well support his new “wife” (there’s no such thing as divorce in the Philippines) and his two new kids even when he’s long and gone. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. He’s been struggling to support his first wife as it were and while his two grown up children have their own lives, they can’t help but worry what will happen to their two new half siblings when their dad no longer walks among us.

My husband and I would feel so bad for him because he’s basically a good person who has made a conscious choice which eventually hurt the people who love him… all of this towards the end of his game. We found it sad.

We made a pact that all the things we are doing now was towards a common goal: to have a spectacular end game. We have to make sure that all we’re working for now will eventually pave a wonderful twilight life for us. A life where we can look back and say that if we were to do everything all over again, we wouldn’t change a single thing. That our end game is what it’s all about.

Whitey is this really dirty kitty that lives around and about Peter’s house. I’m not really into cats to be honest. But at least I know that cats are generally clean. They spend a huge part of the day grooming themselves. That’s why it’s so surprising to see this little slob. Hihihi. Isn’t it funny?

Cats are also usually demure. They’re not like dogs who rummage through garbage. They’re delicate creatures who scout from the edges of the garbage can and gracefully grab the yummy treats inside and quickly jump out (in fear of getting dirty). But Peter said that this little kitty dives right in and rummages through the garbage without caring about its appearance. Just look at him. He’s so dirty.

The most unusual little thing in my world. Again, I’m not a cat person but was delighted to meet this little rebel. The sole survivor of his litter… his mother Blanca, a promiscuous thing, obviously lack maternal skills to teach her son the proper way for a cat to behave. It goes to show that instinct can only go so far while love and care (even for a cat) teaches us the best way to live.

It was my pleasure to have met Whitey. The little rebel taught me a valuable thing about life. He may be oblivious to the great cat he could have been and ignorance could indeed be bliss but he made it all too obvious to me that love and care goes beyond who we are and transforms us into the best version of ourselves.

I know that most people probably know about this already but I just read about Zimbabwe’s incredible inflation rate just yesterday. Saw it here. Unbelievable? Believe it.

Can you imagine? A $1 Billion note?! I mean, come on… it’s just so depressing. Never in my wildest imagination have I thought I’d live to see the day that a billion dollar note was printed. What can you expect from Zimbabwe right? A country filled with inner conflicts. Corruption and greed run rampant while their people starve and suffer. Not really too far off from the Philippines. Our government are filled with what we call “sharks”. They surround fresh blood… the people who truly want to help out and eat them alive if they don’t abide by their greedy rules.

I guess that’s what happened with Zimbabwe. Now that exports are down (even here in the Philippines), there’s nothing else to hold their economy up. There’s no shift in thinking, no shift in leadership, no changes made… no surprise that their economy has inflated that much. If we’re not careful here, the exact same thing could happen to us.

Well, my husband’s right when he said that if our economy starts flailing, it’s usually the businessmen/people that cry out for dear murder. Just like what happened during the ousting of former president Estrada. “Off with his head!” they cried, and so it was. When the business people are unhappy, the government listens. When the government is in trouble, the politicians fix it themselves… because that’s their source of income.

It’s just so depressing to see the Zimbabwean economy reach that level of inflation because it means that their own government doesn’t care for them anymore. They’ve totally given up on their country. So sad. 231,000,000% inflation rate… ridiculous!

Last weekend, we slept over at my husband’s cousin’s place (whew! a mouthful!) and there was Scooby. The only great dane I’ve had the pleasure to meet.

I’d think great danes would usually be temperamental but he’s so affectionate even though it was the first time we met. Such a handsome dog too.

I’ve always been impartial with big dogs. I don’t have too much of a problem with toy breeds except for the Chihuahua. I think they’re acquired tastes. But all in all, I adore dogs (most living things for that matter). I’m not too much of a cat person but I don’t hate them. The only living things I don’t have any problems in hurting are cockroaches and mosquitoes. Otherwise, I’d try to just get them out of the way (even spiders).

Anyway, so here’s HUGE Scooby. He stands about as high as my hips but he’s such a sweetheart. We didn’t have any problems from the start. At the request of his owner, we took photos and came out with a number of nice ones (soo happy about that). I’d have to ask permission ofcourse, but I’d like to include him in our portfolio. Such a handsome big dog.

I’m so proud of my Teach. He’s one of my best friends and we talk practically every day. Sharing mundane everyday things happening in our lives and a week without chatting with him seems incomplete. To think he lives thousands and thousands of miles away and yet it’s so comforting to know that in spite of the fact that it years went by before we started chatting again (which is what we did when we first met: in a chat IRC chat room – embarassing to admit that now but it’s true), we just picked up where we left off.

He’s always tried to teach me things I wouldn’t normally try to learn on my own. He encourages me to do the things he knows I love and but just afraid to try. Though he is a very intellegent person, he’s a paradox on his own. He knows he’s smart but thinks he’s not smart enough. He knows he’s got skills but wonders if it’s just in his imagination. Among my best friends, he’s the most paradoxial (is that a word?) among them.

One thing I admire about him is when he focuses on something, he usually excels. He’s recently taken up photography (just shy of a year ago) and the heights he has reached is just simply amazing. His level of learning is so awesome that I believe he’s the fastest learner in the world! He encouraged me to take up photography as well because he knew that it was something I was into when we first met (but let it go to pursue my give-in-to-peer-pressure teenage life). Isn’t he just the best? He’s so supportive.

He would sound off how bad he feels because he thinks his photography hasn’t improved. I think that was maybe about 3 months ago… but now, he’s so proficient in the language of photography that half of the things he’s trying to teach me gets deposited in my subconscious bank. Something to be accessed when the need arises. He’s getting paid gigs and he’s not even started with his portfolio! Imagine that. He’s getting all these sophisticated equipment which is more than fine but the great thing is, he knows how to use them effectively! There are so many photographers out here who keeps buying expensive studio equipment, lenses, the best DSLR and they take horrible pictures!

I haven’t seen the complete new collection of photos but Teach showed me ONE shot he took and it was awesome! I’m so proud of him. But I’m not surprised that he’s doing so well. It’s always in him to excel and he has excellent focus. He’s reached a whole new level and I’m so happy for him.