Christmas here in Brunei is very much different from the one in the Philippines.

First, since this is a predominantly Muslim country, Christmas is not really celebrated here. What little air of Christmas merriment we get, we get from non-Muslims like most of the Chinese, some Indians, and of course fellow Filipinos.

Second, despite Brunei’s country wide sale-lebration, malls here don’t get flooded with shoppers. It’s true that there are more kids around, but that’s mostly because it’s their vacation and not because they’re looking for gifts to give their friends or items to show their parents.

Because of the sale-lebration, a lot of nice things are on sale – from toys, to furniture, to fancy electronic gadgets, to ornate handicrafts. In fact, I’ve found some nice gift baskets mom will love and even sports caps I’m sure dad would like. Unfortunately, the delayed release of the salary has put us in a precarious position at the moment so we opted to postpone the gift-buying to a later time. (How late though, I’m not exactly sure. hehehe)

Lastly, the absence of Christmas traffic. I remember dreading driving in the Philippines during these times. The usual hour-long commute or drive turns into three hours during the Christmas season in Pinas. You’ll see none of that here in Brunei. Roads here remain light and free.

On that fateful day of December, 6 years ago, I vowed to spend forever with you. Since then, I woke up every morning with the most radiant sunshine; fell asleep every night with the warmest embrace; woke up in the middle of some nights and found myself spending countless minutes just staring at you.

Ever since that day, life became so much more vibrant, colorful, and worth living. Every moment since then, your existence gave me purpose, direction, and meaning. And I can’t thank you enough for that.

It’s been 6 years my love, six wonderfully amazing years since we said “I do” in front of the altar. I can’t wait for the rest of forever… I love you. Happy Anniversary!

Now that I have a lot of time on my hands for housework and tinkering, I can’t help but think about all the tools that I’ve left at home. I’ve accumulated quite a lot already and I meticulously packed most of them away in my trusty toolbox in the Philippines. Now, I wish I brought them here with me. Unfortunately, that would be too heavy and impractical for an airplane ride.

So I told andrea I’ll start accumulating some tools again when I have a few extra in the budget. Some abrasives, nails, screws, screwdrivers, and probably a hammer will be on the top of my list. The question is where will I put all of them. At the moment I don’t have a big enough space to place my things so I better find one before the budget comes.

Trash management is a problem regardless of where you are. And since I’m a teacher and I do teach a few things about conservation, I thought about including composting and trash management as an enrichment topic in class. However, my experience in composting is quite limited.

To address the issue, I told andrea that we should consider composting and teaching the kids how to. We both agreed that it’s the right thing to do. (Not the most convenient, I admit, but the proper thing nonetheless.) I personally take out the trash every morning so I know how much garbage we generate, and it’s not very nice.

The problem is, starting composts involves several steps. First, we have to get a composter (a compost bin). Since I don’t think there’s any available here in Brunei, I guess we’ll have to buy a composter online. Second, we have to reserve a place to put the compost and there’s not much here that are inaccessible by the neighbor’s cats. Third, we have to learn how to and make a habit of it. This I know is going to be tough.

So we’ll see. Have to sort the details first before executing the plan.

What would you like to be when you grow up?

Sometimes I consider asking my little boy the question just to glimpse a view of what he would be 20 years from now. But then again, what can we expect from a 4-year-old? Heck, I know some people in their late twenties who still can not give a serious definitive answer to the same question.

But I still tried, because I want to see what his inclinations are. Yesterday, I asked him, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Without influence or taint from other people, kids are known give the most honest, sincerest answers, so his response would be a good marker (or at least I hope so).

When I saw him pause and think, my mind started racing with the possibilities – will he be considering Computer Programmer Jobs, or will he be taking up residency as  a doctor, or perhaps he’ll go through a teaching practicum.

His quick and unmistakable reply was: Rrrrrrrrggggghhhhhrrr! A dinosaur, dada!

I know the possibilities are endless, but I’m not entirely sure that his answer was even possible. huhuhu!

It’s the end of the school year here and the start of Christmas season in most of the world. Kinda makes me feel sad knowing that andrea and the kids won’t be celebrating the holidays the way we used to in the Philippines. Although there are still some things that I won’t exactly be missing (like the holiday traffic jams, the endless rush, and the jam-packed malls), we still won’t be with the grannies and close friends come Christmas. No brightly lighted streets. No twinkling trees and blinking lanterns to remind you of the festive season. The few Christians here who do celebrate Christmas celebrate modestly and in a more hushed nature.

Also, shopping malls here, although somewhat decorated with Christmas ornaments, pale in comparison to the ones we have back home. In fact, I’m willing to bet each barcode scanner here is also less overworked than those at home since we don’t see any Christmas rushers anymore. Mall hours are still regular and the volume of shoppers remains the same. It’s a bit of a relief thinking about Christmas shopping in a few weeks, but it’s also somewhat sad knowing that only a few of few share the holiday spirits.

Bottom line, I miss Christmas at home. I’m sure andrea and the kids feel the same way too. I hope we get to celebrate Christmas at home next year.