“Sentimiento de Asukal”

A Hello Kitty bowlful of sugar, anyone?

My Lola Pita called them “sentimiento de asukal” (literal tranlation: feelings of sugar), these feelings of despair and hurt mingled with a mishmash of  pity and longing. My son calls them “emo.” My husband, ever logical and no-nonsense, calls them an emotional indulgence.

Oh, well, pain always brings out the drama queen in me. Indulge me, please. 🙂 

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Hello Kitty Emo

I’ve been doing quite a lot of housework over the last two weeks. I’m trying to do as much as I can before my neck REALLY starts bothering me again. In the last week or so, it’s been hurting a bit more each day. (Over the holidays, the pain was down to a barely felt one in the pain scale of ten—more like a very small crick in the neck; these days it’s up to a four.)  I’ve resumed pain meds, but nothing stronger than paracetamol (acetaminophen) or mefenamic acid. For now, I will just grin and bear it as long as I can.

Packing away the holiday décor seems such a dreadful chore, when putting them up weeks ago was so inspiring and so full of joy. It’s almost depressing, really. Ornaments  are wrapped in white tissue paper, put away for future use. Piles of dull brown boxes are scattered in the living room, your home once again a dull palette of earth colors. That is, until you realize that the accoutrements are representative of everything in this life — temporary, transient, fleeting. Except love and friendships.

I have to admit, I have lost a lot of friends along the way. Still, I have managed to keep the ones who matter. They are the ones who remind me that as painful as heck an injured neck can be, nothing can be worse than losing any one of them. Some are no longer with us, some are situated in far-away countries and are beyond simple reach, and some are here, though silent and hardly felt in my everyday life. Wherever you are, and you know who you are, I send you my hugs and my prayers.

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Now for a little mania in this seemingly bipolar post:

If I thought the holidays were really over with the last décor finally boxed away, then I was totally mistaken. And if I thought I could stay away from Hello Kitty in as little as 12 steps, then I better think again. My enablers span the globe, it seems.

From my “best-friend-since-grade-school” (5th grade, to be exact, 31 years ago) Cocok and her husband Bong, thank you for these wonderful treats you sent all the way from California! I am overwhelmed with love, dearest friends, thank you.

By the way, Alphonse loved the chocolate crepes so much he ate them all in one sitting. 🙂 We had to sneak a piece or two to taste them, but he was selfish, as if he knew it was really meant for him. Also, I was planning to use the bread cutter to make Alex a HK sandwich for school but he begged me not to, heehee.  Thank you also, my dearest Bok, for the picture you sent. You are growing more handsome each day. Make us proud always, Bokie!

Now this lovely bag, which is currently my favorite, came as a New Year’s gift from hubby and kids. Don’t you love the little heads and the pompoms that scream “hello kitty addict”?

Another gift for my footsies from the kids. 🙂 They know that I love my Crocs with socks (gasp!), but I love them best with Hello Kitty socks. The boys got them for me at Marks & Spencer.

Hello Kitty with Cocoa Frosties

This is Alphonse's lunch.

And just to prove to everyone that Hello Kitty does not have to be expensive, here is another gift from A. I’ve seen this in my friends’ blogs but have never seen one in the supermarkets before. A grabbed one for me on a trip to the grocery. And what do you know? I got Hello Kitty on the first try! Lucky, lucky. (If I had gotten Minna no Tabo, I think I’d have said “Lucky, lucky” too.)

So there you have it, my little happiness-es in this little life. A dash of emo now and then to spice the pot of life, add cups of gratitude to sweeten it, sprinkle liberally with faith and hope, and you have got the no-fail, weatherproof recipe for happiness. Even a drama queen knows that.