Blank Sabbath Afternoon

Complaining about this may seem weird. Ever since I joined and became active in church activities, I must admit that I have never experienced such a calm and blessed Sabbath afternoon. On most Sabbaths, I kept running to and fro with tasks for the Church Youth Program, the Deaf Ministry and many other ministries that I had the great privilege of immersing my self in.

The routine was always worrying about the afternoon program and looking after the needs of the deaf ministry. It has always been my after lunch tasks. At times, I would also join the praise team in their practices. Sometimes, there are lunch meetings and after-lunch-meetings and other things in between. During retreats, I was one of the people behind the preparations. Just imaging the busy sabbath days I have.

November 27, 2010, will always be remembered. The Deaf ministry visited the Philippine Publishing House Church in Caloocan. We had a great Sabbath. We handled some parts of their program and the whole afternoon program. It just seemed that I was already used to the morning program duties that I expected something like that in the afternoon. 

I couldn't believe that this Sabbath was different among the others. I had nothing to do. Most of the deaf were lounging on their beds having a great time, some of us sat down outside talking and mingling with each other. I had nothing to do. 

No big tasks.

No running back and forth.

No meetings.

No programs to take care of.

Just me with the wonderful garden, the gentle breeze and the warm sun. It was really amazing. At that moment, I knew what I had to do. I took a walk around the garden and the memorial park, took some pictures and talked to God. 

I hope to have more of those wonderful experiences.

Moldy

Every person needs to pause once in a while from all the regular work he or she has been doing. With the week long Halloween break for me, I found it rather depressing.

Every working person would get a hard time cleaning up the house or the room especially if you work 6 days a week and on your days off, you catch up on sleep. That has already been a routine for me. Whatever short one or two hour breaks I get, I spend buffering all the other outside noises to enjoy a little personal space. Thus, you could easily picture out my room, our house to be in complete disarray. (Ok, disarray IS an understatement.) 

So today, a Thursday and the official start of my week-long Halloween break (I did mention week-long right?), I took the task of cleaning up my room (partially cleaning, that is). I have been pushing this task a long time only to regret it later.

Of all parts of the room I was meticulous about, I highly try to keep my books as clean and safe as possible. So, I couldn't forget the horror when I tried to take all the books out of my closet shelf (You couldn't imagine where else I have been putting all my books). Half of the books were wet and moldy. Ants apparently loved the place and the shelf was smelling of fresh mold.

In a sudden rush of mad panic, I immediately took out ALL the books from the shelves and started examining each one. A lot were still soaking wet, several started to have white squishy molds, but over all, the books were still salvageable if I can keep them dry.

That put all the cleaning effort to a halt and the salvaging of books to a start. I began perusing the web for potential book cleaning efforts only to find some really helpful but difficult to do ways to salvage moldy books or paper.

Here are some ways from museum SOS:

1. Find what is causing the mold growth. In my case it's a broken downspout. The water found its way behind my bookshelf. It caused the wood to warp and the books got wet as well
2. Modify the environment so that is no longer conducive to mold growth. The repair of the downspout would have to wait though. In the mean time, I tried keeping the closet open to let the air circulate. I also tried to blast the area with cold air.
3. Implement safety precautions for all the people working on moldy items. The page suggested things that are alien for me. I didn't follow it so I'll suffer the repercussions later. Great job, Worthy!!
4. Isolate the affected items. I immediately separated the bad books from the good ones.
5. Begin to dry the materials. The step suggested putting the books in an airconditioned space. Since I can't go to the nearest convenience store or fast food, to aircondition the books, I placed them outside in the sun where there's enough air circulation. (screw the sun though, it's a cloudy day today). Oh! and the guide also suggested putting the books out of humid places, but this is the Philippines for crying out loud. Humidity is best here.
6. If drying is not possible, freeze them. I had the idea of stuffing all the books inside our refrigerator but I knew someone would kill me when I do that.
7. Clean the affected items. Do not try to clean the active mold (soft and fuzzy) yourself. This got me really surprised. I just tried to remove all the molds by hand before reading this article. So good bye cruel world.
8. Dry and thoroughly clean the room where the mold outbreak occurred. Have I mentioned that cleaning the room went into a halt? Well, it's still on halt.
9. Return the materials to the affected area. I said everything went on HALT! Seriously though, I still couldn't return the books back since the closet and the downspout still is broken.
10. Continue to monitor conditions to prevent mold growth. Whatever.

Hope this really help. Just follow the instructions to avoid being like me.

Water: The Two Whites

October 10, 2010. The famed 10.10.10.

I awoke to the sound of my alarm. It was still dark outside but most of us were already up. I got up with quite a struggle. My body still bore the muscle pains of hiking the other day. It was hard to move my knees and my ankles. They were still tender. However, had I not dipped my body in the Hot springs, I might not be able to move at all. It was still a struggle moving from the bed to the bathroom and back. I had lean onto something, but it would be too embarrassing. Read more.

Earth: The Mountain Trial

Most planned trips have this rule: Expect the unexpected no matter how precise the trip was planned. A slight delay with the flight could mean the cancellation or postponement of an important business meeting. Several minutes delay could destroy the day altogether.

Our itinerary for the Sabbath of our trip was a short hike up Mt. Hibok-Hibok, one of the mountains in the island of Camiguin. Next was a trip to either the sunken cemetery or the famed White Island. We would cap the day by another dip in the hot springs of Ardent Springs.

We never got the chance to go the last two in our itinerary.

Though, dismayed and exhausted, the experience we had with Mt. Hibok-hibok could never be exchanged for anything else. Read more

Air: The Wind Rush

October 8, 2010. Dawn came. I was awake the moment my alarm went off at 4:30 in the morning. People were still singing so I figured my companions might still be struggling from lack of sleep. I plugged my ears again and set my clock at 5:00 AM. By the time the alarm started, I was drowned by the sudden silence.  The singing stopped and the drunken revelers had packed and gone. It was still dark outside though so I went back to snooze.

I was suddenly awakened by someone grabbing my foot. Read more.

First Flight: Prelude to Adventure

Flight to Cagayan De Oro on this plane

I have been cooped up in the city all my life. So if there are times when an escape from the city life is possible, I instantly grab the opportunity without question. I welcome that change of environment with open arms. Yet for all those times I have travelled, I take shame to admit that I haven’t tried riding in an airplane before.

That is, until today... Read More

Walking Home

They say that the best way to save is not to buy anything at all! Yeah right! But if there was one thing I really couldn’t resist, it’s a good book.

At a mall one day, I found myself browsing books at a bargain bookstore. It was one of those bookstands offering old and new books for more than half the price. I was adamant not to buy any books that day. I already have a lengthy reading list starting with some books I acquired a week ago. To prove to myself that I could resist the temptation, I only brought enough money for my fare.

Apparently, the planets must have aligned together that day or I must have trampled a fallen star or something.

I found this book. It was old, thin and worn. Pages are still intact. Other than its age, it was still in good form. I struggled within myself if I should buy it. Prior to that, I have read the reviews online, talked to people who have read the book and even read about a person who read the book. All angles showed positive feedback. Yet I only have 50 pesos on my pocket. The book costs 45 pesos and my fare costs 7 pesos. If I didn’t buy that book, I wouldn’t see it again. It always happens in a bargain bookstore.

I tried to move to another bookstore. I saw a newer and updated edition of the book. It costs 850 pesos. Now I really need to buy that book. It was one of those spur of the moment decisions. I went back to the bargain bookstore and bought the 45 peso book. Then, I walked home – more than 3 kilometers walk.

That decision was a good one. I even collected the entire books by the same author (from the bargain stores of course!). It helped me refresh my perspective on the things I do. “All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten” really refreshes your perspective on things.

But that’s just one book. I have many others that have similar stories which end with me taking the long hike back home. Come to think of it, I have been spending all of my daily allowance for a book since grade school.

I remember once when a high school classmate found me in a bargain bookstore. I guess I was so engrossed with a certain book that I didn’t notice him. He suddenly slapped my shoulders and blurted out “Worthy! Hanggang ngayon nagbabasa ka pa rin?” (“until now, you’re still reading?”) I was taken by surprise by the slap, but I really wanted to slap him back after that remark. Eventually, I figured that he probably lost his ability to read hence the remark. Poor soul!

Another friend also told me to try and reinvent myself and do away with reading. Apparently, our definition of reinventing our selves is like north and south. She stuffed herself with fashion and fads, I stuffed myself with information, inspiration and innovations.

If you still don’t get my drift here are some of the reasons I read books. (it’s in any order)

·         

You can travel places without leaving home. Whether real places like France, Italy, Ancient Israel, just down south of the Philippines or somewhere inside our minds like Narnia, or the Hundred-Acre Wood, reading books makes you travel to these places and still stay inside your bedroom. Since grade school, I have used books to visit places real and not so real. It helps you learn the culture of various places if you planned to go in any of those real places. With the imaginary, you get to figure out what made it imaginary.

·         You can get a guide in life. For the record, only one book has been able to guide me through though situations in life. So far, it hasn’t failed me, so I would still recommend the Bible when it comes to guidance. It has helped me through social studies, science and even history when I was still studying. It also helped me learn grammar, syntax and semantics when I write. It’s practically an all-around book. Well, it’s not called the Book of all books for nothing, right? But that’s what reading gives me, it guides me with my life and has given me the most sound advices I could ever get from anyone else.

·         

You get tons of information and ideas. Since books offer doorways to various places, you’d be surprised at how much information it could give you. It would offer you knowledge valuable especially if you deal with different kinds of people. El FIlibusterismo and Noli Me Tanger gives you the things that people do and have during the Spanish era. Without Seeing The Dawn, tells you a lot about the Japanese occupation in the Philippines and the Philippine liberation during the second World War. Sickeningly Sweet tells of the dangers of too much sugar intake. These and more give you valuable information that you could use in life one way or another.

·         You get entertained. Ever tried talking to a friend all night until the next morning? It’s the same thing with books. As you read, you laugh along the quips of the author. You smile over those witty things he has noticed in everyday life. Try reading Fulghum’s works and you’ll find the entertainment that would make you laugh and ponder upon the quirks of life.

·        

You get a fresh perspective. Most of the things that I write about are influenced largely by books. The style with which I form words, the topics that I write about, and the ideas and stand that I propose are mostly influenced by books. For me, continuously reading books offers you new perspective that could influence any output.

Those are the general things that came into my head. As you would notice there’s more, feel free to comment on these if there are things you think I have forgotten. Meanwhile, it’s time to go bargain book hunting.