The Sad Little Red Pig and the Lonely Little Girl
A lonely little girl living in a little shack by the mountain side once wanted to have a pet - it does not matter what kind of pet as long as she has one. There is one problem though; the little girl has barely enough to feed herself, certainly not enough to feed a pet. But she wanted a pet with all her heart that she is even willing to give her pet half of whatever food she gets. The little girl patiently waited for her pet to come, day after day, she would spend her waking hours looking out the window hoping, yearning for a pet that may never come.
On the other side of the mountain, a sad little red pig, shunned by others of his kind because of his funny red color cried himself to sleep every night. With no friend to comfort him, he wandered the mountain side and came upon the little girl’s shack. The little red pig wanted to knock but he was afraid. Very afraid. What if whoever lives there would turn him away? He could not face another rejection. He could not face being laughed at again. So he turned away without knocking. Just then, the little girl came to the window and saw the little pig slowly walking away from her door, from her life. She quickly ran outside and called the little pig.
“Little pig, I love your lovely color, will you be my pet? Will you be my friend?”
The little pig could not believe his ears, he could not believe his eyes. Is this a dream? The little pig slowly turned around and walked towards the little girl, “Are you for real?”, asks the little pig, “Do you really want me to be your friend? What are you going to do with an ugly red pig like me? You are better off with another pet, any pet.”
“But it is you I want, you have such a lovely color. Do you know that red is my favorite? And you are my favorite pig. Please stay with me, I am so lonely.”
A little tear fell from the little pig’s eyes and the little girl hugged the little pig, comforting him, and he comforting her. Both found what they were looking for and both knew they belonged to each other. The little girl and the little red pig help each other face each day, it does not matter if they have barely enough to eat, as long as they’re together the bad times turn into good times and suffering is not as unbearable as before. Together they face each problem, together they lived not happily ever after - life after all is not a fairy tale - but as comfortable as possible. They are content, they have each other. Never again will they be lonely, never again will they face problems alone. The little Red Pig and the Little Girl are no longer sad or lonely. They have each other and in their hearts and minds that make up for everything they’ve been through.
My first tattoo
One peso + a dash of vinegar + a piece of skin = instant tattoo
I must have had a lot of time in my hands, actually, I was waiting for someone to finish a test for a client. With time to spare, I got my hands on my husband’s mumps remedy. Its not really a remedy for mumps according to doctors, but our oldies say otherwise. I do not really know what its real name is but I have always known it as “aniel”, it is a blue powder used to dye clothes. What you actually do is make a paste of it by mixing it with a little vinegar and then you paint it over the inflamed part of your face and that’s it. Even the doctor we went to told us to try it, so it must have some healing qualities. No harm in trying. 
Anyway, back to my tattoo. I searched the internet for a very basic tattoo template of a lizard and this is what I found:
So I donned my artist’s hat and went at it. Does it look the same to you? It does to me…
The other side of Paradise Philippines
Paradise is wherever you choose it to be. What may seem like paradise to you may look like commonplace to others - its just a matter of perspective. The Philippines may be a paradise to me but to those who have to struggle each and every single day to make ends meet may not see that. They are those who have barely enough money to buy food and eat at least once a day, they are those who do not know where they are going to sleep come nighttime, they are those who depend on others for alms, they are the children roaming the streets looking for someone who cares. They are the other side of the Paradise we call Philippines. They do not understand nor see the beauty that we see, that I see. Some of them may be aware of the beauty of this paradise, but it means nothing to them. They could not eat beauty, they would never experience paradise the way we do, to them finding enough money to eat at least once a day is good enough, to them feeding their families is paradise enough, to them being together will always beat living in paradise alone.
If you can see the street children running around playing with each other, you could see that they are enjoying their freedom at least for the moment. When their stomachs grumble, when their backs ache from sleeping on sidewalks, when they get cold at night, when they get sick - the reality sinks in, and no matter how young they may be they will come to see the world they live in as a cruel place. It is up to us to make these little children realize that paradise can be anywhere, even on the other side of Paradise Philippines.
