Gleniz da MenaceAfter a very tiring September, October was super chill. Sabi ko gusto ko naman ng maraming alone time this month, and that’s exactly what I got. Andami kong nabasang libro (I think finishing 5 books in a month was a personal best), dami kong sinubukan na bagong recipes, I went back to baking, andami ko ring nasulat. While all of that sounds like a dream, sana sa November magka-trabaho na ko. All this free time is already making me antsy.
yu;[p[[[[[[[[ (Hello, Almond)
Last night’s dream:
Ang setting ay nasa palengke ako, naglalakad, nang makita ko ang Mommy (my lola) na nagtitinda ng gulay at isda. Except it wasn’t really Mommy. It was Mommy’s hologram projection (the work of AI). She had this pleasant wide smile at suot nya ang kanyang pambahay uniform: daster. Nandun din yung mga co-teachers nya sa bandang likod, nagtitinda at mga naka-daster din. I was aware that the co-teachers are real people and Mommy was just a projection, so lalampasan ko lang dapat.
Not that any one cares, but I have a funny little PSA:
Dito sa Canada, they spell color as colour, flavor as flavour (they use British spelling more often) at gusto ko syang i-adapt. But I’ve refrained from doing that kasi laking Pilipinas naman ako. Baka sabihin bakit biglang naging ganun yung spelling ko. Kaso gusto kooo! Haha ewan ko, mas maganda lang sya sa paningin ko.
Every time I stick to my usual spelling and see that red dotted underline (courtesy of the spell check tool), one, I get slightly annoyed, and two, nate-tempt akong baguhin pero pinipigilan ko yung sarili ko.
The little PSA is, hindi ko na pipigilan ang sarili ko 😆 I will now spell behavior as behaviour and favorite as favourite. Yun laaaaaaaaaaaang.
I wanted to share an article I read about being a good person. The author—drawing from social media standards and contemporary novels—humorously summed it up this way:
First and foremost, a good person possesses a deep understanding of power structures and her relative place in them. She has a sense of humor that never “punches down.” She doesn’t subtweet, buy stuff on Amazon, or fly on too many planes. She has children in order to fend off narcissism—a bad quality—and develop a stake in the future of planet Earth, but she would never presume to judge another woman’s choice. And though she occasionally makes mistakes—cheats on her boyfriend, offends her friends after drinking too much, doesn’t call her mom very often—she admits them. A good person is not perfect (she has read enough not to fall for that trap), but she is self-aware.
Lauren Oyler — For Goodness’ Sake
Malapit na kaming mag-isang taon dito sa Calgary, at ang recurring theme pa rin ng conversations namin ni Kenneth ay: “Ang saya at thankful ko na nandito na tayo ngayon.” Hindi pa rin kami maka-move on. The locals may not fully relate, pero sobra sobra ang appreciation namin sa lugar na ‘to. Lalo na si Kenneth. Sya yung mas paulit-ulit about finally being here.
Interestingly, wala naman talaga sa wish list namin na makalipat ng Calgary. We really thought forever na kami sa Winnipeg (we lived there for 6 years). At kung sumagi man sa isip ko ang paglipat, sa Vancouver ko naiisip. Pero since hindi namin kaya ang cost of living sa BC in general, I just file that thought under my daydreams category. Until one day, bigla na lang kaming naging in-sync ni Kenneth at nagtuloy-tuloy na ang proseso ng paglipat namin dito.
Note: Eventually nakapasyal din kami sa BC, at Calgary pa rin talaga ang #1 for us. Oo maganda, pero ang mahal talaga!
I didn’t even realize that my Gleniz da Menace newsletter just turned a year old! I still have my occasional once-or-twice-a-month free posts, but September last year I started making these exclusive posts to help support this ancient blog of mine.
Though I am fairly consistent with my creative output here, I am sluggish in a business sense and find discomfort in promoting this paid newsletter too much. So if you find enjoyment in what I write here, I hope you’ll consider a paid subscription. If you’re wondering if it’s worth it, here’s a note from one of the early subscribers:
I shared this with Kenneth and tried reading the message out loud to him but failed ‘cos I started crying. Thank you for your generous words 🥺
I was connecting to my Bluetooth speaker at nakita ko sa device list yung speaker ng Mommy. My heart sank. Bumalik sakin yung mga days sa ospital na tatanungin ko ang Mommy kung gusto nyang makinig ng music, tapos tatango sya. Papatugtugin ko dun sa maliit na pulang speaker yung mga paborito nyang lumang kanta, o kaya minsan mga piano music. Tatanungin ko sya ng, “Rinig mo Mommy?” kasi nakikipagsabayan sa music yung tunog ng mechanical ventilator nya. Ipi-pwesto ko yung speaker sa may ulunan nya para sure na rinig nya.
Hay sobrang miss kita Mommy 😔
It’s 3:30AM at three hours na kong hindi makatulog. Kakabalik lang namin dito sa Canada two days ago at expected ko na yung mga ganitong nights na sira ang tulog ko. Medyo sabog yung utak ko ngayon pero na-miss kong magsulat dito. And I’m typing this on my new laptop! Well, technically hindi sya bago kasi laptop ‘to ng kapatid ko. Nag-switch kami ng gadgets. Nasa kanya na yung iPad Pro ko at nasakin na ngayon yung MacBook Air nya. Sakto kasi gusto ko nang magkaron ng bagong laptop na hindi na kelangan isaksak para lang mabuhay, at si Tricia naman, gusto nya ng iPad para daw madali syang mag-take notes when talking to clients.
I miss you.
Gleniz da Menace