This week was a pretty hectic, but fun one for me. Like, what’s up with that? What has Raymond Carlos Abagat been up to for the past six days?
Well, first…I got to see my first first-degree nephew, Ian Benedict, in real life for the first time. What can I say?! He’s a really cute kid! Cute on cam, and much much cuter in person! And not to mention, really mabait! (Mana ba naman sa akin. LOL. Asa. Haha!)
I’m with the CUTEST BABY EVAAAAAAR! 
Second, I went on my first trip to El Nido which lasted for two days–where I spent priceless moments with some of my “ohana”; where I had my first snorkeling experience ever, coming face-to-face with all those fishies and a plethora of coral species; where I got the once-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing a bunch of dead jellyfish lined along the seashore; and where I have tasted the most expensive adobong kangkong dish that I have ever had in my entire life. (Talk about having to pay for the place with your food. Sheeesh! Well I wasn’t exactly the one who paid for it…my brother did, but nonetheless…I find it expensive, so whatever! Heheh.)
El Nido! El Nido! Ayayayayayay!
And third, I have managed to complete my remaining delivery room cases–three delivery assists–which means, I am done with my OR-DR requirements! (Yaaaaay! Bye bye to the blue suit for now!) Once I’m all set with the grades, clearances and extracurriculars, my BSN degree on the 23rd of May will finally be a reality! Hooray!
Tired but happy. Feeling sad but thinking positive. I’m gonna miss this!
Well again, that was a quick roundup of what happened in my life for the past six days. Now let’s not entirely forget that we have a deed to fulfill (or at least take note of) for the sixteenth week of the year. So with no further ado, here’s what the card says for this week…
Oooooh…to plant something, eh? Well, I remember planting a few seeds as a kid (those contained in foil packs readily available in the market)…but all I managed to keep alive were mongo beans (immersed in plastic cups with water which were required for a science experiment when I was in third grade…and then I couldn’t recall whatever happened to it for the remainder of its life on earth). Haha! I guess I just don’t have what they call “the green thumb”.
Moving on…a few years back when our schedules were not tight, my friends and I annually participated at what the locals here in Palawan dub as the “Pista Y ang Kagueban” or “Feast of the Forest”. It’s an event held at a certain month of the year where locals and tourists alike gather at a forest reserve, watershed, or something, to plant trees (seedlings), to celebrate Mother Nature, and basically to give back everything to nature itself. And why am I forcing this stuff into this post? Well, ’cause its very much related to the deed, dimwit! Haha. So yeah, I have…in one way or another, done this deed a few times before…what I don’t know is if the seedlings that I have planted have grown to become trees. (Ermmm…whatever the results were, it was the thought and the intention of doing the act that matters in the end.)
And now, as our sixteenth deed suggests…I will try to plant something sometime…like what, maybe a flower or something. (Yes, a flower. I think that would be nice. Hehe. I have better chances of doing this deed especially now that I don’t have any school work to do left, except for the clearances.) And as we see a fine example of the miracle of life unravel before our very eyes, we would reap the rewards of the patience and care we exerted, and we would learn to love life even more!
In an almost similar but deeper context, “planting something” may also mean “doing good”. Because as we do good during our life here on earth–much like when we plant seeds and take care of them–we will be rewarded with eternal happiness in the afterlife, just like how the blossoming of a flower will give joy to our hearts.
So ummm…I hope you get to join me to do the deed too! Happy planting, everyone! See you next week! 
![The Greatest Mystery [in Color]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3469092543_f719b6a36d_t.jpg "The Greatest Mystery [in Color]")
![The Greatest Mystery [in Black & White]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3489/3469088707_f836e04cb8_t.jpg "The Greatest Mystery [in Black & White]")
1. Abaaa– abaaah! bata palang nagpapout na ng lips.. may future etong baby chuck ah.. haha!
2. Sooobrang cute ng picture nio ni ian sa beach.. waaah kainggit.. (ung beach o ung kasama si ian? i dunno.. both? haha)
3. ang sabi, plant something.. d nmn sinabing buhayin ung something.. sabi itanim lang. lol bomba?
1. Woi!!! Dinadamay mo pa yung bata sa mga kalokohan mo, Blair! Hahaha.
2. Syempre kaming dalawa! Na-accentuate pa yung pagka-cute namin nung ganda ng beach. O diba?
3. Adik ka ba Len eh. Basahin mo kaya yung nakasulat dun sa card. Pasaway! O sya, pwede narin…BOMBA!
Salamat sa pagdaan. Natawa naman ako sa comment mo! Wahaha.
XD your nephew is so adorable. i especially like the one photo where he’s frowning with his lower lip a tad askew. XD heheh.
snorkeling is cool, isn’t it? i just find it a bit freaky when the fishies nibble on the bread. sometimes they don’t nibble. it’s almost like a peck and i end up dropping the bread. anyway, i’m sure your snorkeling experience didn’t involve bread OR pecking fishies. but i’m sure it was cool. (another freaky sea experience was swimming with turtles — or were there tortoises since they were bigger then me? — i went around the enclosed area looking for the tortoises and ended up swimming away like a maniac when i found what i was looking for and realized that if it decided i was an enemy, i’d surely end up floating face down on the water)
&& finally because, like you, i have what i would like to call a “black thumb” /defn: cursed hands that cannot, for the life of them, make seeds grow/ i will talk about the second defn of the deed. i think planting something in the (what’s the opposite of literal??) “not-literal” sense is great. it’s when you smile at someone on the first day of class which eventually leads to friendship. it’s when your profs put you through such tortures as OR-DR requirements which will eventually aid you in your career. it’s when you comment on some random girl’s blog about a silly song she wrote about a broken umbrella which blossomed into one of the coolest-funnEST online friendship she has ever known.
P.S.
I’m spoiling you with all these comments. don’t worry, i’m almost done. 2 (?) more posts to go.
I know, right? Sobrang kakagigil! Can’t wait to see him and get my hands on his chubby face again. They’re in Manila ’til the 10th. And I’ll be catching a flight to Manila with my mom on the 7th…just to see him again, and to run some errands. Ugh, whatever. I miss that kid so much!
Oh yes, the “fishies” did peck my hand…’coz my snorkeling experience involved bread too. Haha! Re: the tortoises, turtles or whatever specie they are…I could just imagine you swimming with them. Like, wow! Were they really bigger than you? Katakot nga. Buti na lang they were harmless and you dint do weird body movements for them to look at you as an enemy. Hahahaha!
And for the last paragraph: Awwwwwwwwwwww. Never mind the ‘black thumb’ thingy, ’cause I know we’re losers on that department. Haha. Basta, nakakatuwa. The last line made me smile Zee…as in like, I’m sporting a toothy grin right now. Srsly. Hahaha! I didn’t see that coming…and it CAME!
Thanks for 5 months of friendship in this world where no one can touch, Zee! [Actually, people can touch here. And you touched me! In a figurative and non-literal sense, that is. Hahaha.]
You’re the greatest.
LOL, LMAO, U&I,
-A.
ako naman, there’s one cousin i really want to see. his name’s Life and he’s 2 years old. he’s at cambodia where my uncle is a missionary. i misss hiiiim. babies are just so cuute!
yes. they were bigger than me. if it wasn’t so scary it’d be very cool. but i didn’t expect your fishie experience to involve bread too. hahah.
THERE IT IS! Figurative! woohoo.
You have touched me too.
You’re the greatest too. XD
LOL,LMAO,U&I
-Z