There's good left in this world

Our first day in Coron town in Palawan ended almost disastrously. We'd taken the afternoon flight and had decided to immediately start our vacation by squeezing in Maquinit Hot Spring before dark.

We take a tricycle to the only known saltwater hot spring in the Philippines, located some five kilometers from the town proper. My daughter balks initially at the water temperature, which locals claim range from 38 to 40 degress celsius, but soon adapts to the heat. A few visitors sit around the edge of the pool, soaking their legs in the water, which is said to be good for relieving arthritis and rheuma. We soak ourselves by the mini falls before we decide to head back to town for dinner.

If only we could

We were on our way to Tagaytay last Saturday. It was one of those instant decisions (according to my husband). His boss had suddenly asked him to play golf (of course, it was an instant decision).

At any rate, I agreed that he NEEDED to go. Of course. But since he had made it a condition that we tag along, I decided to be kind and lessen any guilt feelings he might have had and come along.

And so Saturday morning found us suddenly up in a jiffy, getting ready to go out at a moment's notice because tee-off was at 10:30 a.m. and Tagaytay was a long way away.

But with construction ongoing at the South Luzon Expressway, we found ourselves crawling through traffic. And then we saw this sign.

Had we gone any slower, we'd still be on our way to Tagaytay.

When I got married

I was 34. More than old enough by the standards even of my time. In 2002, women were not marrying young. It was the sign of the times. It wasn’t just about being a career woman or being independent. It was also because it was hard enough to take care of oneself, much more a family. Women AND men were thinking twice about getting married.

I was the last to get married in my family. Five sisters -- me the middle child. Sister 2 got married first, followed by sister 1 then sister 4 then sister 5. Hmmm…if I got that wrong, one of them will correct me.