# 56 of pearls and middle age woes

silver.  pearl.  coral.  ruby.  sapphire.  gold.  this is how dear old mater distinguishes jubilarians. silver is twenty-five. thirty is pearl. coral is thirty-five. and so on. counted in terms of years after graduation from high school. 

silver.  check.  pearl.  check.  coral.  three years away from now. that is where we are.  do the math.  it takes just but a few seconds to know that we have had forty-odd years of life.  to be more exact, we are in the vicinity of middle age.  no one acts like it, much less look like it. we have will and grace. not the comedy show of not too long ago. the will to defy the ravages of time. the grace to face it with stubbornness, if not mirth.

batchmates get together for pocket reunions in between grand alumnae homecomings.  reasons vary.  someone comes home from foreign shores. birthdays.  milestones.  christmas.  all the happy reasons.  inevitably, the sad ones, too. these reunions seesaw in attendance from full-force to smaller intimate gatherings. any which way,  a grand time is enjoyed by all. a well-deserved break from the realities of middle age to relive the carefree high schools days.

the last get-together was of the small, intimate kind. by the time tea was served, everyone was ready for after-dinner talk.  updates on children, domestic affairs, vacations, disclosure of medical woes.  retirement got mentioned a lot, too.  

the flames of this fiery choco mousse is a cue to the evening's steamy revelations. the censored version without the raunchy details was enough to keep everyone riveted to their seats. 

yes, that is hot chocolate and no, we are not showing our age by ordering that instead of the more adventurous options on the menu.  we are, after all, working professionals with eight-to-five jobs out on a weekday.

let the hands do the talking.  any get-together is not complete without the spotlight on someone's love story. could be the unfolding of a brand-new romance or a rehash of last year's fairty tale.  chapter 1 of the story was ho-hum. lacking in tickle-to-the-bone factor. not a surprise as it happened some 25 years ago. 

 chapter 2 provided the oh-my-God-that-couldn't-be-true-shocker-of- the-night gasp.  the punch would have been enough to knock pacquiao down and out. chapter 3 was a love story so sweet, it would make the  ants troop to our table. 

 synchronized elbows on the table could only mean intense fascination with and absorption of the juicy details of middle age romance. the it-is-written-in-the-stars-i-can-wait-forever-fit-for-telenovela kind of romance.  ah, the joys of middle age!

back in high school, the batch was grouped by sections. four for each level. everything and anything was done by sections. from the first year to the senior year. it followed that friendships were developed by sections. rare was the bond that was formed outside of it.  over the years after graduation, sections dissolved. the whole batch is now just collectively known as HS8O.  

it is hard to notice the clock tick away when one is having fun.  a minute longer at the dessert place and the ladies behind the counter would have shooed us away. good times with old friends while cameras click away to capture those special moments.  isn't that awesome? 

# 23 bursting a bubble !!

literally. bursting. a. bubble.

let us keep things simple. no confusing techy talk analyzing the bits and bytes of the internet bubble nor the highly philosophical interpretation of the bubble of happiness.  we are not experts on these. let us talk gums. not the one inside your mouth. leave that to your dentist. it is the one that is blown out of your mouth. the one that bubbles. bubbles and bursts.

big in flavor and color, bubble gums are a constant companion in good times and bad.  we pop one into our mouths when anxiety threatens to knock us out. stress levels are kept low chewing on an artificially-colored piece.  overflowing joy over some good news blends in with its savory and sugary smell.  yes, artificial smell, too.  the cluck and pop of a burst bubble is a source of amusement. when we have nothing to do, we chew. when we have tons to do, we chew even more.   we start out young with them and blow bubbles well into adulthood.

despite the shrill shouts of gugud and wawa to keep blowing, yangi can't make the bubble grow any bigger.  her air-busting effort is but a small fraction of the 26-inch bubble that holds the guinness world record.

messy remnants of a burst bubble

 a burst bubble and a mess - they come together like coffee and cream.

once in a while, we face up to the challenge of blowing the biggest bubble. we know it is a losing game but we give it a try.  just for the fun of it.  we start out small. and end up small.  simple joy!  isn't that awesome?

#14 feeding frenzy !!

this one is without the deadly predators of the well-known computer game.  not a hint of violence here, just a sight that fills one with awe - refreshing and relaxing awe.

koi (plural: koi) is the japanese term for carp, domesticated species of fish. they are known for its vivid colors - crimson red, fiery orange, golden yellow, sapphire blue, dark burgundy - and of course the more traditional black and white.  their metallic scales and distinct markings give them added sparkle and make them perfect for decorative purposes. koi can grow to as big as three feet.  imagine a big colored koi, gracefully swimming by its lonesome. that in itself is a pleasing sight! imagine close to a hundred koi at your feet in a play of colors, all jumping around. put in a generous spray of sunshine to spotlight their watery stage and you've got a spectacle right in front of you.  no wonder koi are referred to as living jewels.  

 to the koi's delight, dudud and wawa think they deserve more food than necessary.

wawa is mesmerized and won't take her eyes off.   tete thinks one more handful won't hurt.

dudud says its time to slow down but the koi say otherwise.

 yangi  favors a particular koi and names it big bob.

 the koi refused to leave and the kids couldn't say no to them.

no computer game needed for this feeding frenzy. just a fun day at the beach and a koi feeding experience for the kids  --  isn't that awesome?

# 9 growing a centimeter overnight !!

a water slide, be it a small and simple one or a  highly-structured elaborate maze, is sure to capture a child's fancy, anytime, anywhere. the imperial palace resort in mactan boasts of  a water park like no other in cebu. the long and winding giant water slides, the park's main attraction, make for great bragging rights. a 15-year old, a couple of 11-year olds and an 8-year old just couldn't get enough.

due to its elevation and the twists and turns along the whole stretch of the slides, a height requirement is imposed. one has to be at least four feet to get on them. 

the easiest and kid-friendliest one among the three is the white open-type slide. the green one, being the tubular kind, is not for the claustrophobic. this is tete's favorite. after some hesitation, yangi soon got the hang of this one, too.  

the red and white one, with the spinning motion in the big bowl before the stomach-heaving drop into a 6-ft deep pool, is definitely only for the daring and the fearless. count dudud in in this category.

on her first try to measure up to the height chart, wawa fell short of a centimeter. the lifeguard refused to let her in. this was a big blow to an eight-year old kid. not wanting to be left out, she tried again the next day. there was a different lifeguard on duty. with moral support from tete, yangi and dudud, she went up to the chart and made it to 4 feet, according to the lifeguard. 

priceless joy and bragging rights!!

a very considerate lifeguard on duty - isn't that awesome?