sisters:::..

my younger sister came over after class yesterday. her bf had plans with friends and she wanted to show me her new car. as you remember, my sister's car got stolen from her college campus. she got her insurance money and got a subaru impreza wrx. yup, she has a phat ride but my mother insisted she gets it. my father, on the other hand, flipped out. my mother is funny. she says,"oh he says that now but wait till he sees it. he will like it."

we had a SISTERS night. no men. no brother. no parents. no outside friends. it was just me and anna. and though we are 9 years apart, we are as close as best friends can be. she brings down my age and i bring up hers. last night was our night to catch up with everything.

we actually went to the beverly center. i have been anti-mall but i needed to get some oils and makeup and i am quite partial to MAC. for dinner we dove into bbq chicken pizza at the California Pizza Kitchen, even treating ourselves with tiramisu at the end.

we headed home where she gave me my once-in-a-blue-moon haircut, while watching AMELIE and burning sandalwood incense. with the scent mixed in with my peach oil dabbed in certain pulse points, my sister says this feels familiar to her. we then went back in time when i was 16 and she was 7, and she would watch me get ready for school, wearing the same mango oil. i would purposely put too much on my hands, to then i would gently rub it onto her wrists and neck. the sandalwood incense reminded me of the philippines, 1986. that was the year when gramma marciana died and we were there to bid her farewell. sandalwood incense was burned everyday for 11 days at her altar.

and now she is one of my divine guides, working with God to guide me thru the quiet storms.

i remember you, my ancestors, and i will make sure my sister and brother remember you too...


To take inventory of every pearl of knowledge
And string them together and maybe pass it on as an heirloom
To understand where I have been and where I am going
That maybe in eagle's perspective,
I can see me growing

I want to fly…

excerpt from "Eagle's Flight"