Ang Aking PagHiHintay . . .(My Waiting)

Hmmm, eto ang paborito kong puwesto. Sa tabi ng pinto ng pantry. Dito lumalabas ang pinakahihintay ko. Pasasaan ba naman at lalabas na rin siya . . .

Hmmm, this is my favorite place. Near the pantry's door. This is where the one I'm waiting for will come out. In due time, she will come out . . .



Pero habang wala pa siya, malayo ang tingin ko. Waring minamasdan ang kapaligiran. Waring nag-aabang ng kung ano. Waring nagmamatyag. Waring nag-uusyoso. Waring wala lang . . .

But while she's not yet here, I look in the distance. As if watching the surroundings. As if waiting for something. As if guarding. As if snooping. As if "nothing really" . . .



Pinagmasdan ko ang mga dumadaan sa kalye. Lahat mistulang nagmamadali. Waring hinahabol ang oras. Waring naghahabol ng mga sandali. Pilit maghabol sa kanilang saksakan na taas na stiletong sapatos. Nakup, ayan gumegewang-gewang ang paglakad tuloy! Napapikit tuloy ako!
I watch the passers by on the streets. They seemed to be in a hurry. As if they are running after the time. As if they are running after the moment. Trying to run in their super high stiletto shoes which make them walk awkwardly! This made me winced!


Bakit hindi ninyo gayahin sina Lui at Luchie. Suot nila ang ballet shoes nila at baon naman nila ang stilleto shoes nila na siyang susuutin pagdating sa kanilang pupuntahan.
Why don't you copy Lui and Luchie. They wear flat ballet shoes and they carry their stiletto shoes which they only wear once they get to their destination!

Ganyan minsan ang tao. Sadyang pinahihirapan ang sarili. Waring pinipili nilang pahirapan ang kanilang sarili puede namang hindi.
But that's how people are sometimes. They seem to make themselves suffer needlessly.



Sadyang marahas ang landas ng mga taong hangal.
The path is sometimes rough for stupid people.


At bumukas ang pinto! At lumabas na rin ang hinihintay ko!
And the door opens at last! And out comes the one I am waiting for!

Hay salamat! Magaling ka na ba Lui? Makakapaglaro na ba tayo?
Nagkasakit kasi siya pero mukhang magaling na nga siya ngayon.
At masaya naman niya akong niyakap kaya masaya na rin ako!
Maliwanag na ulit ang mundo ko! At sulit na rin ang paghihintay ko. . .

Oh, what a relief! Are you OK now Lui? Can we play now?
She got sick for a while but she looks OK now.
And she happily hugged me which made me happy as well!
My world is bright once again! And it is worth my wait . . .

Ang Bertdey Ko!

Aba siyempre nagbebertdey din ako no!
Noong ika-15 ng Enero, naging 9 na ako.
Noong araw ring iyon naging 8 naman ang anak kong si Bogart.
Oo, noong nag 1 year old ako naging tatay rin ako!
Sadyang mapaglaro ang tadhana. . .

Of course, I celebrate birthdays too! I turned 9 last January 15. That same day my pup Bogart turned 8. Yes, I became a father when I turned one! Fate has a way of playing tricks on us . . .




At dahil bertdey ko aba siyempre may cake, candle at kung anu-ano pa. At siyempre kinain ko rin ang cake ko! Naku, wag ka mag-alala. Sugar-free na mamon iyan. Alam mo naman na maraming bawal sa aming mga aso tulad ng tsokolate, asukal, mani, at kung anu-ano pa na madalas na sangkap ng mga cake. Balak ni Lui um-order at magpasadya ng cake para sa amin eh medyo nagkasakit siya. . . . naku, sabi ko wag na niyang isipin iyon. Hindi naman talaga mahalaga sa akin ang mga ito. Saka kahit hindi ko naman bertdey lagi naman kaming may ganito. . .

And because it is my birthday, there is a cake, candle and other stuff. And of course I ate my cake too! But don't worry. It is just a sugar-free bun. There are many dangerous ingredients in cakes like chocolates, sugar, nuts and others which are bad for dogs like us. Lui hoped to order a special cake for us but she got sick . . . but I told her not to worry about it. These stuff are not really important for me. Besides we always have these treats even if it is not my birthday.



At etong pose na eto ay para sa iyo Happy!
And this pose is especially for Happy!

Naku si Happy ang nagbigay niyan sa akin. Salamat Happy! Pamasko niya ang pulang unan na iyan pero tama naman dumating ng bday ko so tipong, aba parang pasko ulit! Kaya't totoo nga ang nababasa mo sa taas. Malapit na ulit ang Pasko. Aba sa isang idlap, matak mong 9 na ako! Parang kailan lang tuta lang ako pero ngayon malapit na akong mag-10! Kung bibilangin mo sa edad ng tao, 63 na ako! Oo, senior citizen na ako! Kaya't sa susunod na dilat ko, sigurado Pasko na muli!

Happy gave this to me. Thank you Happy! This red pillow is her Christmas gift but it arrived on my birthday so it was like Christmas all over again! That's why don't be surprised at what you read up there: "Malapit Na Ulit Ang Pasko" Christmas is almost here. At a blink of an eye I am 9 years old! It seemed only yesterday when I came here as a puppy and soon I will turn 10! I am around 63 in human years. Yes, I am a senior citizen now! When I blink my eyes again it will be Christmas again!



Pero mukha bang senior citizen iyang postura na yan?
But does this look like a senior citizen?


Aba teka. Maputi na nga ang buhok ko. Pero maliksi pa rin ako. At ako pa rin ang pinakamabilis tumakbo sa pamilya ko. Sa maniwala ka o hindi . . .

But wait. I do have white hairs but I am still quick and I am still the fast runner among my family. . .


Mabilis na nga lumipas ang mga araw. Aba sa ilang buwan na lang, birthday na ni Sweepy sa Marso 18. Noong Marso rin ako iniwan ng pinakamamahal kong asawang si Pica. Malungkot isipin pero masaya na rin kasi hindi ko siya nakitang naghirap at marami kaming masasayang gunitain. Hay, tenkGod, nakaraos na naman ang isang taon sa buhay ng isang asong itim!

Time flies so fast. Soon it will be Sweepy's birthday on March 18. In March I lost my great mate Pica. It is sad to remember but since I did not see her suffer and we had a lot of fun, happy times together, it was also happy reminiscing for me. Thank you God for another year in the life of a black dog!

Ahahay, lumipas na rin . . .

. . . and isang damukal na inggay, gulo, at katakaw-takaw na tsibugan.
Finally, it passed . . . the non-stop noise and feasting.


Yan.
Iyan ang pasko sa aming nayon.
Putukan para raw alisin ang malas.
Sayawan para mag-aliw at magsaya.
At walang kamatayang tsibugan
sa mundong haharap sa darating na hamon
ng bagong taon . . .
There. That's christmas in our town. Fireworks to remove bad luck. Dancing to be merry and non-stop eating in a world about to face a challenging year ahead.


At nandoon lang ako sa bahay ko. Tipong nagmumukmuk. Nandoon ang halong takot at inis sa putukan, pag-iwas sa mga inggay at gulo ng mga bisita at labis na antok. Aba eh masarap ata matulog nitong mga nakaraang araw at gabi. Sabi ni Lui namnamin ko raw ang kakaibang lamig na ito kasi sa summer sobrang init ulit. Naku, hindi na niya kailangan sabihin ito. Tingnan ko lang ang bahay ko, ina-antok na agad ako!
And I just stayed in my house looking grumpy with a mixed feeling of fear and irritation of firecrackers, trying to avoid the noise and flurry of guests and fighting the feel of drowsiness. It is quite tempting to sleep these past few days and nights. Lui said I should enjoy this rare cold weather while I can because by summer it will be too hot again. But she did not have to remind me. One look at my comfy house and I get sleepy right away!



Oras na rin maglinis ng kapaligiran. Mahaba ang bakasyon kaya't ayun si Luchie, umakyat na naman sa bubong ng bahay para magwalis. Aba oo! Winawalis ang bubong, hoy! Kapag nabara ang daanan ng tubig ulan ng mga ligaw na dahon tiyak masisira ang bubong ninyo. Ang masaklap pa, aanayin ang kisame. Susmariamakiling! Ayaw na ayaw pa naman namin ng anay!
It is also the time to clean the surroundings. The long holiday vacation left Luchie up on the roof to sweep again. Oh yes, you sweep even on the roof! When the drain gets clogged by fallen leaves that will destroy your roof. And the hardest part, the termites will attack the ceiling! And we hate termites!



Sa tuwing umaakyat si Luchie sa bubong sa pamamagitan ng pag-akyat sa puno ng chico naming si Chicky, waring gusto ko ring pumanhik at maki-usyoso sa itaas. Malamang maganda ang view doon. Sigurado tanaw ko ang buong paligid sa taas ng bahay! Pero, paano naman ako bababa? Madaling umakyat, mahirap bumaba. Sabi ni Lui kung tatalon raw ako pababa, tiyak bali ang buto ko. . . . Parang buhay di ba? Madaling umakyat, masaklap bumaba.
Every time Luchie climbs the roof by passing through our chico tree named Chicky, I feel the urge to climb and see what's up there. I am sure the view is great from up there. For sure I can view the whole surroundings from the top of the house! But, how will I get down? It is easy to climb, but difficult to go down. Lui said if I jump going down, I'll end up with broken bones . . . This sounds like life, isn't it? It is easy to climb to the top but harder and painful to go down.



Hmp, maka-ihi nga lang. Minabuti ko na lang markahan ang kapaligiran. Iyan naman talaga ang ginagawa naming mga hayop sa tuwing na-aaberya kami. Ang tao tsimitsibog pag inis. Kami dyumi-jingle sa paligid. Pang alis inis. Waring nagsasabi "hoy galing dito si Sumo!" astig di ba?
Hmp, I better pee instead. I'd rather mark my surroundings instead. Anyway that's what animals like us do when we get frustrated. People eat when they get frustrated. We pee everywhere. To release stress and to say "hey, Sumo was here!" Isn't that cool?



Pero paano naman ako mag-re-relax eh panay ang tawag ng kapitbahay kong si Doggy. Nakup, mistulang wala sa sarili siyang humihiyaw at tinatawag sina Lui at Luchie. Tingnan mo ang mukha niya. Waring nakaukit sa mga mata niya ang pighati. Waring nagsasabi "hoy, ampunin naman ninyo ako!" Eh bakit kamo? Ayun, umalis na naman ang amo niya at nawala ng ilang araw na hindi man lang nagbilin sa kapitbahay na alagaan ang aso nila! Waring kampante silang isipin na kusang aalagaan ni Lui ang aso nila sa tuwing umaalis sila! Saksakan na halimaw talaga ang mga ganyang tao. Parang mga hindi nag-aral! Naku, talagang naiinis ako. Panay tuloy ang tawag namin ng pamilya ko kanila Luchie na siya namang pilit na tumatawid at binibigyan ng pagkain at tubig sa bawat araw na wala ang walang pusong amo nila!
But how can I relax when our doggy neighbor kept calling us. Doggy was frantically barking and calling Lui and Luchie. Look at her face. Her eyes seem to mirror her dilemma. Her eyes seem to say "hey, adopt me!" And you know why? Doggy's owner left her again for a few days without even telling the neighbors to watch over her while they are away. As if her owners are confident that Lui will just take care of her everytime they leave! These people are a bunch of uneducated beast! I really hate it. We often alert Luchie who always try to go over with food and water for Doggy for all the days that her owners were out!


Balang araw matatapos na rin ang hirap ni Doggy. Darating ang araw mararamdaman rin ng amo niya ang hirap na nararanasan niya. At sa araw na iyon ako mismo ang tatahol sa tuwa para sa kanya . . .
Doggy's pain will end someday. And the day will come when Doggy's owner will experience the very pain that Doggy is feeling right now. And when that day comes, I will bark with joy for Doggy . . .



*English translation by Bogart.