Happy New Year and I am sick again

Well, tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I am sick with pneumonia again. So I can't even have a glass of wine to celebrate the occasion. Well, Joaquin bought some sparklers, and that is good enough for me.
I went to the doctor the one that I always go to here. Sad enough, he said that I frequent his hospital way too much and we have to do something else besides my usual western medicine. On top of the medicine cabinet that he provided for me, he sticks two silver pins in my ear without even giving me a proper warning, and tells me that I have to keep it in there for 10 days (acupuncture). And believe me, I am not exactly sitting around completely painless. He put one on the top part of me ear, as if I got a piercing. Supposedly this one is for my allergic reaction to the Philippines. And the other one in my inner ear which is to make my lungs stronger. This goes along with a triple times a day dose of Oolong tea with ginger. After 10 days, I have to get two more pins put in the other side. Sigh.
I really tried to prevent this. The minute I started to cough 3 weeks ago, I started drinking the tea with ginger and eating massive amounts of oranges. Then I ran out, and I thought I would be ok. I was so wrong. Maybe this method will cure me for good.

Merry Christmas!

Well, since Christmas is not yet over for us, I won't post about it yet. I do have to say that I had a really good birthday. I wanted it to be real quiet. I don't want people making a big deal about it, and I am already old. Joaquin took me to a romantic restaurant and we really enjoyed ourselves. We even got a videoke machine and we sang in our apartment. I am sure that our neighbors are really annoyed with us because they work the night shift and we were singing together during the day. I know that it sounds corny, but we love to sing now. Too bad, people in the states don't do videoke like here in the Philippines. It really is a lot of fun, especially when you know everyone else sings just as bad as you.

The true meaning of Christmas

You never really think about the true meaning of Christmas until you know you need to put aside all the presents and the trees. Then you stop going to the mall, and deal with the hustle of the Christmas rush. The traffic gets even worse even though more people walk than drive. So you give up on the whole ordeal, and you just want to stay home. Then you get to missing your family. You see all the children walking hand-in-hand with their parents. Even when they get yelled at, you secretly wish you could do that (not the yelling, but the being together part). Maybe the parents are yelling at them because they have no money, and the kids are begging for that new toy. And the parents realize that they need to work extra hard for those toys. But nothing beats the joy on their child's face when they get what they want.
People may mistake that for the true meaning of Christmas: getting what they want. But to a parent, the true meaning is that tiny bit of joy that they are able to provide even if it is for a split second a year.
So for all of you that have forgotten, the true meaning of Christmas. Brace yourself for this. Christmas: mass and Christ. The birth of Christ happened on some day, and people are even arguing it happened some time in the summer. The presents symbolizes the gifts given by the wise men, which actually never arrived until January 6. Technically, we shouldn't even open presents until then. The star on the tree is what they followed to find Jesus Christ.
Just like your birthday, and mine, we celebrate Christmas to celebrate a birth. And if it's not our own, then presents shouldn't even be an option. But the presents are there to make the end of the year a whole lot more special.
This year, I just wish everyone else to be happy. I hope that they get everything that they dreamed. I wish for our economy to get better. I wish for my dad's business to explode with exponential amounts of clients. I want my mom to take many vacations and to take a break from her hectic life. I wish for Kate to find the perfect job and maybe another xbox. I hope that Jesse and Yavon get a year full of wonderful vacations and maybe a brand new grill. I want Mom Kline to finally find that dream home that she has been secretly wanting her whole life. I really hope that the Jeff can finally settle himself and feel at ease. Maybe I can finally meet Nadia, and Rinah and Sky will welcome me with open arms. And for Joaquin, I want him to find everything he has hoped for in life, and find that inner peace (I mean this sincerely).
From me and Joaquin (my papabear), Merry Christmas to all and keep peace in your hearts.