The Beginning of the End

An old Brechtian dictum reminds me never to start with the good old things, but rather with the bad new ones.

And so goes my first formal try at blogging. This is a new beginning of sorts for me as I am currently in-between a lot of things, figuratively speaking and perhaps literally in the coming weeks or in a few months from today.

Thirty four (34) years of life have gone by and I'm still clueless how I'm ever going to manage without my parents around. My mother, Aurora Custodio Beltran-Amper already met her Maker last 27-SEP-2008, survived by my father, Jules Calzado Amper, myself, my sister Frances Jules Beltran Amper-Sales (http://topazhorizon.blogspot.com/), my brother Theodre Philip Beltran Amper (http://manilastringmachine.blogspot.com/), my youngest sister Jacqueline Olirelle Beltran Amper and by her grandchildren, Gabrielle Yvonne Amper, Rachel Antoinette Amper & Marie Nicole Amper. My father is afflicted with diabetes and its complications and is also advancing in age. I wouldn't know how to handle his final affairs on this earth in the inevitable event of his death (God grant him a long life). My mom's passing, Uncle Peter's recently-concluded battle with cancer, Michael Jackson's & Farrah Fawcett's death and even Cory Aquino's passing as well as news of colleagues who have also died had me thinking seriously about a lot of things.

Act your age, Mike! Act your age!

So, what's my age again?

Geez, I'm turning thirty five (35) this coming December and yet I see younger people accomplishing more in their late teens and early twenties than what I have managed to do so far.

Yup, I'm starting off this blogging with the bad new stuff: my status in life so far, the current events (global recession), worse weather conditions than normal compared to what we had in the past, people dying around me left and right... reality slams you hard in the face like that. Instead of reminiscing of the good old days, I'm starting off with the bad ones today. The news isn't great. But hey, I still believe that the really good days are just about to happen.

I may have started this blog with a negative vibe, but I'm ending this one with a positive note.