25 Life Lessons Learned by AGE 25
Sugar&Spice
I spent some quiet time this evening reflecting on my recent past.  And I’ve come to realize that my 25 taught me a lot about life.  So, I figured I’d share a few lessons I’ve learned along the way. I pass this list on to you with the simple hope that it makes you think.  Sometimes thinking about your life and sorting out what you have learned is just as important as tackling a new venture. Always remember LIFE IS COLORFUL and ABBEYutiful! ;)
  1. Being an adult can be fun when you are acting like a child.
  2. Love has nothing to do with looks, but everything to do with time, trust, and interest.
  3. Laughing, crying, joy and anger… All are a vital.  All make us human.
  4. The greatest truths in life are uncovered with simple, steady awareness.
  5.  If you catch yourself working hard and loving every minute of it, don’t stop.  You’re on to something big.  Because hard work ain’t hard when you concentrate on your passions.
  6. Bad things do happen to good people.
  7. Paving your own road is intelligent only if nobody has gone exactly where you are going.
  8. We are all weird.  And life is weird.
  9. Time heals all wounds… regardless of how you feel right now.
  10. Most of the time what you are looking for is right in front of you.
  11. Your health is your life.
  12. Chance is a gift, so act on chance when given the opportunity.
  13. Sometimes being kind is not good. Sometimes you need to be selfish.
  14. People deserve a second chance, but not a third.
  15. Take lots of pictures.  Someday you’ll be really glad you did.
  16. Money makes life easier only when the money is yours free and clear.
  17. .True friendship and true love do sustain the tests of distance and time.
  18. Your actions now create memories you will reminisce and talk about in your elder years.
  19. Stepping outside of your comfort zone will put things into perspective from an angle you can’t grasp now.
  20. Motivation comes in short bursts.  Act while it’s hot.
  21. It is okay to be angry.  It is never okay to be cruel. 
  22. Taking ownership of failure builds the foundation for success.
  23. First impressions are completely worthless 50% of the time.
  24. Personal glory lasts forever.
  25. If you never act, you will never know for sure.
To my Family,
A thousand thanks to you, my dear family, for your care, attention and love! Mommy,Daddy, April,Dimple, Jomel, Nanay and the rest.
To my Friends,
Thank you for being a friend indeed and not only in need, my dear friends.
O Lord, who lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!

And I leave you with this question:
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
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ANGEL OF THE SICK ROOM
Sugar&Spice
They may stare at you with anger in their eyes, look at them with compassion anyway.

They might spit on you while feeding them, feed and nourish them anyway.

They shout and ignore you when you talk,
talk and be with them anyway.

They can bite you when you tuck them in bed, tuck them in to keep them warm for the night anyway.

They can slap you when you lean closer to listen to them, hear them out anyway.

They can kick you while trying to jump out of bed, catch them and keep them from falling anyway.

They may stain your favourite trendy uniform from incontinence, wash and keep them clean anyway.

They may want to walk in the middle of the night while the rest of the patients are in deep sleep, Walk with them and keep them safe anyway.

They may consume your time by asking same questions repeatedly, reorient them repeatedly and look in their eyes with a smile anyway.

They may share to you their past stories in the middle of your busy shift,
touch them and spend a fraction of your time anyway.

They may be quiet lying still in bed for hours with tears in their eyes,
wipe their tears and ask them their favourite stories anyway.

Whenever they have a severe pain, hold their palms tight and pray for them anyway.

Laugh with them when they are so happy (a good laugh from the heart).

Sing with them even though the lyrics are unfamiliar and old fashion.

Dance with them when they are so excited or just to cheer them up.

Write this in the tablet of your heart

They’ve been a strong, intelligent and beautiful persons in their prime years and now they’re approaching their final days…

In the long run, that’s why "WE" are called...
ANGEL of the Sickness Room, Anyway.
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COFFEE, TEA or ME? written by: Abbey T. Cabading
Sugar&Spice
COFFEE?




TEA?









OR

ME?

In a world where people are idealistic about relationships, how far will one go to have a momentary happiness in a complicated world?

We can be in a simple relationship but still find ways to make it complicated. Maybe it’s in our genes or maybe it was designed to be that way. Or maybe we are born masochist to our own pleasure of hurting ourselves.. for the thrill of love.

On one boring night talking on the phone with a friend and how she narrates the premiere opening of her love dilemma of the century, I wondered. Why do we always fall hard on unfamiliar territory, like a moth to a flame. It’s like its pulling you closer to an oblivious state of mind.

Unfortunate enough, I am the pile of boxes of her many fallen relationships. My hopes to lessen the boxes of ambiguities and vagueness, for my sake, is still hanging by a thread. As I listen intently for what could be another predictable story, I start to marvel on her words.

“Was it right to enter in a complicated relationship?”

I circled the question for the hundredth time in my head trying to muster the right lie to satisfy her hungry rationality. Where does complication really fall? Is it on the situation or the person? Or maybe it works hand in hand. There’s no right answer for it. Even a lie couldn’t convince that urge.

To what extent do we really bend for an almost perfect relationship? Yes, it’s hard to be in partnership with an erratic profession. As one takes flight, the other must adjust. Not to mention the excess baggage that hasn’t been checked-in.

Sacrifices are part of the emotional investment we are willing to capitalize on. Risk is part of the unfamiliar and uncertainty. Trust is the asset. But what happens when it becomes a liability? A liability that gets you closer to a loss than a profit.

Will it be the coffee, the tea… or you?

Are you strong enough to be in a dark, hot but temporary enticing aroma which eventually leads to a cold blunt tasting predicament that stains? Are you stable enough to be in a comfortable, refreshing, relaxing but eventually leads to dehydrate the emotions? Or would you rather have a connection with the inner soul in you first, that gives essence to security?



Complications are only complicated because we make them. You can make your own coffee and be content with it. You can make your own tea and make it sweeter. You can make your own you and erase all the complexity.

I have tried the coffee. I have taken the tea. Lesson learned, everything should start with me.
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SALOME by Abbey Cabading
Sugar&Spice


Apat na araw ng nakakaraan, ngunit di ko pa rin nakakalimutan…A real life scenario that moved me! Isang kaganapan na gumising sa aking kamalayan. It was a rainy Sunday here in London, 27th of February around 13:00 inside the bus (Bus240 towards Golders Green). I was sitting next to a Filipina who is having a conversation over the phone…
“ ‘langya! Anak ng p***! Damuho! Animal! Na naman????! Kailangan mo na naman ako? Bakit ako nalang palagi umaayos ng gusot mo? Lagi mo na lang sinasabi na hindi ka okay! Ako? Minsan ba naisip mo akong tanungin?!” . With that statement she uttered, I felt sympathy towards her specially when I saw her sobbing while she ended the conversation. Napatingin siya sa bintana…habang pinupunas ang kanyang luha. “Ate”nasabi ko sa kanya sa tonong nag-aalala, tumingin siya sa akin. At sinabing , “ Pinay ka? Akala ko…tsekwa ka. Parang me pagkasingkit ka kasi…”. Ngumiti siya at sinabing “ narinig mo?” Patungkol sa pag-uusap niya sa telepono. ” Pasensya sa pagmumura galit lang ako”. “Okey lang yun!nasambit ko at nginitian ko siya.


Tumingin ako sa malayo, may katahimikan…sa loob-loob ko, sa isipan ko, nasabi ko sa sarili ko… ”nararamdaman ko ang nararamdaman mo”, “damang-dama ko”. Bigla niya akong tinapik sa balikat at sabing…” ‘Ne, okey ka lang?” Napangiti akong bigla! At parang biglang lumiwanag ang lahat. Parang may kakaiba akong kislap na nakita sa sulok ng aking mata…Tinignan ko siya,na parang may galak sa aking puso. Inulit na naman niya ang kanyang tanong, “ Okey ka lang?”. Ginantian ko siya ng ngiti,hindi sa dahil ngumiti siya sa akin…ngumiti ako dahil sa panahon na yun, sa panahong may pinagdadaanan ako…may isang estranghero na nakatabi ko sa loob ng bus na nagtanong kung OKAY LANG BA AKO!


Lalong lumalakas ang ulan,malayo pa aking bababaan. Bumagal ang takbo ng bus ng marating niya ang The Quadrant, Nasabi ni Ate, “Alam mo hindi naman ako palamura eh baka sabihin mo wala akong pinag-aralan. Alam mo yung galit na galit ka…yung mga bagay na hindi mo nilalabas pag pinakawalan mo na may kasamang mura, unti-unting nawawala yung galit mo…” “ Na-try mo na ba yun?” tanong niya sa akin…iling lang ang tugon ko. “Alam mo,subukan mo! Naramdaman ko kasi na mabigat ang aura mo” sabi niya. Tumingin lang ako sa kanya.
“Halla! O cge isang stop na lang bababa na ako. Tignan mo naman kahit Linggo, kayod pa rin tayo” sabi niya sa akin. “Kaya nga po. Kayod tayo ng kayod. Buhay nga naman..” sabi ko sa kanya. Sabi niya, “’Ne, wala ka yatang payong…eto kunin mo mamaya pa titila ang ulan”, sabay bigay ang payong niya sa akin. “ Eh pano po kau?” tanong ko sa kanya. “Malapit lang yung pupuntahan ko sa bus stop pwede akong tumakbo. Cge na kunin mo na yan. Saka di pa natatapos ang drama ko sa buhay, gusto kong iiyak kasama ng ulan”. Natawa ako sa sabi ni Ate. Nasabi ko na lang sa kanya…” ang taray mo teh!” . “Ganun ba?” sabi niya. “ Salamat ‘Ne kahit papaano may nakinig sa akin at naintindihan ako…” nasambit niya sa akin. Ngumiti sya pero may lungkot pa rin ang kanyang mga mata. “ Ano na ulit pangalan mo?” tanong niya sa akin. “ Maria po” sagot ko. “ Mag-ingat ka Maria, salamat…cge bababa na ako” ngumiti siya ulit sabay pindot ng stop button ng bus. Dali-dali ko rin tinanong ang pangalan niya bago siya nakababa ng bus, “ Kayo po..ano pong pangalan niyo Ate?”, “SALOME” sabi niya.
Nakababa na siya at umandar na ang bus…nasabi ko sa sarili ko, “Salamat sa payong at payo Salome”. Tumatak sa isipan ko ang sinabi ni Salome. Nandun pa rin ako sa bus,naiisip ko na kung anong gagawin ko pagbaba ko ng bus. Natawa ako sa sarili ko. Excited na akong mag-mura! Sa tanang buhay ko ni minsan hindi ko magawang magmura. Ang pangit gawin,ang pangit sambitin,ang pangit pakinggan! Pero kailangan kong magmura! Kailangan kong ilabas ang galit ko! Ang bigat na! Napakabigat! Sobra!
Malapit na akong bumaba, kinakabahan ako. Ang lamig ng pakiramdaman ko. Namanhid yung katawan ko ng ilang minuto. 3,2,1…bababa na ako, I pressed the stop button. I told to myself “This is it!”.
Bumaba ako ng bus. Feeling ko tumigil ang ikot ng mundo, na-freeze lahat ng mga tao doon…Ako lang ang nakakagalaw. Tumingin ako sa buong paligid. Sabi ko sa sarili ko…”Ano?! Abby??? Go! Magmura ka na!” Huminga ako ng malalim…Pinakiramdaman ko ang buong paligid…may katahimikan…pinikit ko ang aking mga mata…Inisip ko lahat ng mga hinanakit ko,ang nasa loob ko…ang mga pinagdadaanan ko. ..
1…2…3…Ready na ako…” Anak ng ……” hindi ko pa rin siya mabigkas! Bakit ganun ang hirap magmura?!”. Tumakbo ako at lumayo…sabi ko sa sarili ko ulitin ko ulit. “ ANAK NG….” OKIN….” Hindi ko pa rin matuloy na mabigkas!
Bigla ko na lang nasabi, “SHIT! Ba’t di ko parin masabi?” . Natawa na lang ako sa sarili ko, napansin ko nakapag-mura na pala ako! Nakapag-S-H-I-T! na ako!
ANAK NG PIKACHU! TANG-NA JUICE! ANO BANG NANGYAYARI SA BUHAY NA ITO?! Tang-na juice talaga!
Tinuloy ko na lang pagmumura ko sa paraang cute. Salamat! Kahit papaano nakahinga ako, SALOME!
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