Netnet Camomot
ON Monday morning, after the bonggang-bongga Christmas weekend celebrations, there was a fresh resolve again to stick to the diet till New Year’s Eve. It began with aloe, tea…
And then, the house help informed me they were cooking bulad and humba complete with boiled eggs for brunch. Juice colored! Who was I to say no to that? Goodbye, diet!
I can already predict how the diet will be in 2017—same old challenges, choosing between humba and protein shake, bulad and protein shake, boiled eggs and protein shake. But boiled eggs are good, they’re even blended with the shake now.
But the gluttony, er, feast could be justified: I needed energy for work. Would have resumed working last Sunday, yes, on Christmas Day, but who was I kidding?
Still, there should be a warning downstairs: Don’t inform Netnet of any yummy creations whirling in the kitchen.
Nina was also whirling into the country last weekend. Typhoon Nina, that is. By Monday night, it was raining cows and carabaos here in Cagayan de Oro. Better that night than on Christmas Eve, eh?
For a while there, it did seem like the heavens were also crying for the passing of George Michael.
The first thought that came to mind: “Careless Whisper,” Hayden Kho, and Katrina Halili. If ever you have plans of having your own sex video, please don’t use any background music.
Kho is now back with Vicki Belo and they even managed to “give birth” to a cute little girl, thanks to the latest upgrades in science and technology. Their reunited status proves that such videos are not the end of the world. But its “Careless Whisper” connection will haunt us for the rest of our remember-when days, i.e., Remember when Hayden Kho had sex videos? And your first thought will still be “Careless Whisper.”
I was working on Monday, thus, I was able to check out Facebook only later. FB has become my main source of news nowadays. When my sis mentioned George Michael’s death, I was in between bites of humba and a boiled egg. My first thought of all thoughts, the one that came before “Careless Whisper,” was this: What year did he die? He had been quiet lately—based on my FB newsfeed, that is. No concerts, no new songs, no interviews. So, I thought my sis was simply talking about someone who died a long time ago.
The year 2016 has seen some famous people passing away— Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Prince, Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder. And there’s George Michael on Christmas Day no less. If that’s not enough to remind you on what my maternal grandmother calls as, Kalibutan pa ni, I don’t know what will.
If only we can plan for a year the way we can picture the details of each page of a newsletter. That’s what I do, by the way, once I have the contributions from the clubs in our Rotary district. I imagine each page and the particular project or activity that belongs there.
With only a few days left before 2017, it’s time to write down your plans or what people love to call as their New Year’s resolutions. Yeah, what for? Resolutions, like promises, are made to be broken anyway. But it helps to have a guide for 2017—to attract good vibes. The list should consider the lessons learned in 2016, for there are many. Focus on the positive. Don’t start your list with “avoid.” Say, write “fish and veggies,” instead of “avoid red meat, carbs, soda, sugar, milk, flour,” since your mind will see only the words after “avoid.”
Another good resolution is this: declutter. Once your brain is filled with work details, rest for a while by decluttering one drawer. Or even the tote bag’s contents. That’s more productive than scrolling down your FB newsfeed and playing Candy Crush Soda. I don’t have a TV set in my room, but there are many other ways to waste time.
Candy Crush is addictive—there’s the resolve to stop playing once you’ve survived through a particular level so you can go back to work already, but then, you see the next level, and you’re hooked for hours!
If only reading could be as addictive. But it’s not, especially when the minute brain refuses to digest the words, requiring you to read a line over and over again.
Decluttering is not only for drawers and tote bags. It may also include choosing the books to keep, and those you may have to give away without reading them, like that book your brain has refused to digest—it looked good months or years ago when you bought it, but you can’t relate with it anymore.
There can be many things you can’t relate with now, after surviving through 2016. Or should that be, there are now more things you can relate with? Here’s looking at a glass as half full or half empty. Yes, you want this year to be over already, you’re now counting the days, hours, minutes. 2016 has not been sweet sixteen.
The year 2017 may mean less FB, less Candy Crush, going online only to share posts on our Rotary district’s official FB page since that’s part of my role as district public relations co-chair. I’ve been sharing too much on FB lately, it’s time to go on vacation from that. I should read more, and write more.
And if ever I hear a careless whisper care of the chismosas in the world, the reaction should be: Keber!
