Just Call Me Rose

Merry Christmas To All Our Family and Friends!

We send you all our love and wish you all the best tidings the holidays bring.

We also wish you an even better 2012!

Our biggest family news this year is the opening of our store front called The Computer Lab! In May 2011, we opened the doors to a local PC/Laptop/LCD TV sales and repair store conveniently located only a block away from where we live. Sandwiched between a music store and a carryout, we have been received well and now see customers that come throughout Columbus and neighboring cities. We have been truly fortunate that we’ve seen success despite being open for less than a year.

Topher graduated from High School and works at The Computer Lab while waiting to get started with college this Winter 2012. He has been taking his job quite seriously and shows up consistently, and has been learning the combination of professionalism and customer service. YAY! We have truly been proud of how he has stepped up to the plate. We have a Store Manager, Michael, that works Part-Time and has been with us for over a year now. The hours that Michael and Topher put in make it easy to keep the store open as Tom continues to focus on his IT consulting work.

Alex is now a Junior at Thomas Worthington High School. He continues to take these impressive Advanced Placement classes. We try to remind him not to rush through High School but he seems intent. He is now on a track of researching colleges, universities, degrees and careers so if you get a call from him for advice, don’t be surprised. What a big decision that will soon be coming his way! He also helps at the store as needed but his spare time seem spent on creating elaborate ceramic bowls —- watch out Christmas gifts for uncles, aunts and grandparents!

Dakota is now in 6th grade and is enjoying every bit of his last year with Colonial Hills Elementary. He is still our sporty kid, juggling both basketball and competitive swimming. He also picked up a paper route this year to help us pay for some of the sports equipment/gear he needs (uhm, wants). He is also big into art this year and declared (at least to Grandpa Huff) that he wants to pursue architecture….we’ll see if that sticks. One of his art work was selected to be displayed at the School District’s main office lobby for a month and another art work was selected to be sent to Japan for a local school competition in a sister city. He looks forward to finding out the results from that but he’s also just glad thinking that his work made it all the way there, the other side of the globe.

KJ is 5 and started Kindergarten. He loves (LOVES) school and everything about it….from the new friends, the lunch boxes, the homework, recess, his teachers, playdates after school — the whole bit. He is also learning how to swim and goes to gymnastics classes once a week. He LOVES gymnastics where he tumbles, does cartwheels, attempts head stands and all that — all without getting into trouble. We are glad.

Our children continue to be our biggest blessing as we watch them grow into their own selves and become the person that they are/will be. Tom and I took a trip this year to London and Paris that was a big treat for us. We have been fortunate to be able to take time away from our daily hustle bustle so we can also have time to enjoy each other. Rosa lost her job at Nationwide Children’s in September after a higher than usual cut in federal funding for her area. She’s been spending her time helping at the store and reassessing what 2012 might bring for her (will keep everyone posted!). Tom has seen a lot of out-of-state trips for more national clients. The trip to Europe is one we continue to talk about, cherish and enjoy remembering.

Our schedules have been hectic and green seem to be ‘in’ so I hope this blog sends everyone the same warmth and sincerity as our usual greeting card.

We send you all our love.

The Huffs

Tom, Rose, Topher, Alex, Dak and KeiJay

Early this year, I whimsically googled my great grandfather’s name, “Sabas Gaerlan.” I was not expecting a result. I thought perhaps a mention of a Sabas of Hispanic and/or Latin American origin but certainly, not one who was related to me.

What google brought up was this entry:

 http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000258867

Sabas Gaerlan’s journal, as translated by Jane G. Guerrero. The synopsis confirmed that the book was my great grandfather’s journal. He wrote it in deep, deep Ilokano (a regional Filipino dialect) that the author could not translate the whole journal, but just sections of it.

I immediately bought the book (and several copies for relatives) and I am taking my time reading it. I cannot find enough words to express how important this gift was to us, his descendants. It is a wonderful insight into who he was as a person, what our family was like, how involved our family was in helping communities rebuild right after the Spanish-American war and more importantly, a documentation of how life was for Filipinos right before the turn of the century.

Thank you Sabas.

Thank you Jane Guerrero.

I have been away from home for over 16 years. At some point, when I’ve lived longer away from home, than lived “at” home, I wonder if it would ever change the way I feel it. I don’t think it ever will change. What does home feel like? For me it’s that place where you can just take off your shoes, kick back and relax. It’s where jokes are funnier…because they are said in your own language and you’d never miss the punch line. You will always be understood and words would always flow naturally, the way they should. Food will ALWAYS be appetizing. It is also a place of love, where family and close friends are just in arm’s reach.  Two seasons, wet or dry. Humid, all the time. Watching the sun rise…or the sun set? Everyday.

I will be home soon and I’m happy for that.

Sunset in Boracay - Taken in 1997

I have lived in 3 countries through my 39 years. The Philippines, Thailand and the U.S. Though migrating might ordinarily be perceived as a stressful event, I actually thrive in it. Perhaps that’s because on the two occasions I have, I was a single, adult woman.

Living in Thailand, I had to adjust not just to the culture, but the language. I follow the old adage, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” I find that Thai people speak very gently and this is actually purposeful. The speaking in gentler tones is all part of the whole societal hierarchy that citizens abide by. Speaking in gentle tones mean respect for the other person, whether they are deemed above or below you in hierarchy. To me, it is actually a helpful exercise in staying calm and collect….speaking in a gentler tones. On the other hand, I can see that for a Westerner, the speaking in a gentler tone can be perceived as passivity (as in the opposite of assertive). I remember Tom observing that their ‘speak’ almost sounds apologetic even though it’s not.

I learned enough survival Thai to get me by for the two years I lived there. Enough to tell a cab driver to ‘stop’, ‘turn Left,’ ‘turn Right’ and to bargain at the flea markets. I was also able to assimilate myself to speaking in gentler (what might sound sing-songy) tone although if I pronounce words real well, I find that I get longer responses that I don’t understand.

Today, I remember my Thai experience and use the same gentler tones when needed. Mostly I find that I miss the kinder, gentler manner in which they speak and wish I were on the streets of Ramkhamheng (Assumption University (Thailand)) just one more time.