Senti-Mentality
A sentimental first blog post; mourning a broken mug while dreaming of documenting San Antonio, Nueva Ecija’s culture and traditions.
(I found this post from an old journal, circa 2004)
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I hate to admit it, but I am compelled to do so anyway. I am sentimental. It's something that I have just realized recently, thanks mainly to a small yet revealing incident/accident. I broke an old coffee mug, and I felt very distressed. Call me nuts, call me weird, but that was how I felt when it happened. I was reaching for my toothpaste on my cabinet when my elbow sent it crashing onto the floor.
But before going on, I would like to tell the story behind that mug. I have had it since the third year of high school, or roughly a decade ago. During college, it was my companion when laboring through sleepless nights for an exam or when rushing a paper. I also brought it with me every time we had fieldwork. In other words, I had a special attachment to it because of the many years that we've been together. It was, in fact, my longest ever love affair. And ending it anytime soon was never part of my entire plan.
Meanwhile, as I was seeing my mug fall, myriad thoughts flashed through my mind. Thoughts about warm and bitter coffee, about math problems, about reports, about getting to work on time, about deadlines, about music, and so on. Such numerous ideas in a five- to ten-second event.
Anyway, there's really nothing better to do but to "mourn," accept, and move forward. Well, it's hard to move on when I don't have anything to use tomorrow. So, I'm buying a new mug at the SM Department Store tomorrow after work. Still, coffee sessions will never be the same again.
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This is my first post, my foray into the world of blogging. Why blog in the first place? Well, I want a platform where I can document my town’s (San Antonio, Nueva Ecija) cultures, traditions, beliefs, practices, unique food, mga kasabihan, and a lot more. Basically, I want this as a venue to promote my small hometown, the place where I came from, as well as the province of Nueva Ecija.
What do I want to get out of it? The bigger objective is to spread knowledge about San Antonio, Nueva Ecija. I want people to get to know the rich history behind my hometown. I want other people to know that successful people can also come from small backgrounds. However, the more realistic objective is just to have an online documentation of the things that I love about my San Antonio so that I can go back to it in the future when I am older.
Now, the bigger challenge is how to start or where to start. I don’t know any local town historians. I don’t even know if we have town records that I can read. Are there old folks who know about historical events in our town that I could ask? It’s challenging when I’m in Metro Manila most of the time, and I only go home every once in a while.
Any suggestions are much welcome.
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