Maybe Next Time

Chapter 14

The semester had ended, and summer was finally here. With no classes and no vacation plans due to budget constraints, I decided to make the most of my free time by diving into various hobbies.

I spent my days experimenting with different dishes—gulay, prito, tinola, adobo o di kaya ay merienda tulad ng mga fishball, kwek-kwek, hotcake, samalamig, juice at iba pa.

Sa mga sumunod na araw naman ay bumili ako ng tatlong canvas na painting. Inaya ko ang mga kapatid ko na mag pinta. Natapos lang namin iyon ng isang araw kaya bumili ulit ako hanggang sa napagod na sila. I-dinisplay ko ang mga gawa namin sa aming bahay. Yung mga gawa ko naman ay sa kwarto ko ikinabit.

Pagkatapos ng ilang araw ay humiram ako ng microphone at song playlist kina lolo. Dinala ko ito sa bahay at inaya ulit ang mga kapatid ko na mag karaoke. Mga tatlong araw din namin yun hiniram. Nung napansin kong napapaos na yung mga kapatid ko ay isinauli ko na ito. Baka maubusan pa sila ng boses eh. 

But the fun didn't stop there. I invited my siblings to join me for exercise sessions, so we started jogging every afternoon at the corner. We kept this up for about two weeks until one night when I came home with a fever. I was exhausted, vomited everything I ate, and felt extremely dizzy. We had to put a halt to our jogging sessions.

Once I recovered a bit, I invited my siblings again, this time for zumba. jogging was off-limits since I was told it might trigger my fever again. I wasn't a great dancer, but it was a fun way to break a sweat. Sayang naman ang mga moves ko!

I also created a page where I shared memorable quotes from the books I read. I have a deep passion for reading and collecting books. Ang hirap pa naman bumili ng libro dahil napakamahal. Kaya lagi akong nag-iipon kasi hindi ko rin naman matiis ang sarili kong hindi bumili. Parang reward ko na rin sa sarili ko yung mga librong nabibili ko. Isipin mo nasa limang-daan o di kaya ay isang libo ang halaga ng isang libro. Ang mahal. 

As I checked my phone, I saw Naina's messages asking if I was on my way to Joyce's house. We were heading there to celebrate her mother's birthday. Actually, hindi naman talaga kami invited pero ininvite na namin ang sarili namin. Ganoon kami ka-kapal ang mukha. I mean, ka-close sa family ni Joyce.

Hindi ko muna nireplyan si Naina. Nag-aayos pa kasi ako. Kinuha ko ang blower na regalo nilang dalawa sa akin noong birthday ko. Pina-putulan ko na rin pala yung mahaba kong buhok kaya hindi ko na ito mai-tali pa. Sinuklay ko ito nang maayos para hindi mag fly away. Yan talaga disadvantage pag short hair. Isinuot ko rin iyong binili kong color pink na headband. Mukha akong elementary sa get up ko. Pero okay na ito, cute style lang ang dating. Nakaka-bata talaga tignan pag short hair.

When everything is ready ay nagpaalam na ako kina mamang na aalis na ako. Itinext ko na rin si Naina na papunta na ako kila Joyce. She was so excited about tita's birthday eh hindi naman siya ang magbi-birthday.

I arrived early sa bahay nila Joyce. Wala naman masyadong tao. Usually kasi ay close family lang talaga kung mag celebrate sila Joyce pero ewan ko ba bakit nakiki-singit pa kaming dalawa. Wala rin naman kasi akong ginagawa sa bahay kaya game na game rin ako na pumunta sakanila. 

I greeted Joyce's mom and her siblings. Joyce had two adorable nieces, which made her life less boring with their cuteness. While waiting for Naina, Joyce and I chatted about the books we had read. Our common bond was our love for reading. We love books. We love to read.

There is this great feeling na naibibigay sa amin sa tuwing nagbabasa kami ng libro. It enhances our vocabulary and help us to develop our comprehension skills. Learning to read comes from your mind, but loving to read comes from your heart. Reading lets you travel anywhere, live outside of time, and understand countless perspectives. Para bang mas lumalawak yung kakayahan mong umintindi ng iba't ibang perspective ng tao. I grew up thinking only about myself. But when I start to love this kind of hobby. It helps me to become a better person, a listener and a person that understand people.