Things a Woman Should Know

These are some of the things us ladies should know, according to wisdom I collected from my Grandma, my mom, my friends and ladies I admire. These are in random order, and goodness, I have not mastered all of them. But I'm trying.

Love.
I've quoted my good friend Geda on this a million times: I love my friends, I don't care whether they love me back. That kind of generosity and reckless loving abandon is so admirable. I mean, I'd get really hurt if my friends don't love me back. But I see the wisdom in Geda's words. Her being a geniunely loving person, it's not hard for her friends to love her back.

Now, loving a man is a whole other story, because us girls do care whether we are loved in return. Oh well, I don't have wise words for that one. Just be yourself and it will happen.

Hug your brokenhearted girlfriend and make her feel better.
We all love a nice tight hug when we're down.

Handwash and iron clothes.
Now handwashing clothes is among my least favorite things in this world. Thankfully, there are better ways of doing it. My mom made us handwash clothes when we were younger. She said it is important for a woman to know that and also to know how to iron clothes. She said that a woman should never let her husband leave the house in un-fresh and wrinkly clothes. So I know how to handwash and iron. But it's sooo much easier to just drive to the cleaners.

Cook a decent meal.
I was about 7 or 8 when my grandma started teaching me how to cook. She let me handle a kitchen knife at that age! My first job was peeling veggies. I felt all grown up. The day she let me chop them up felt like a big promotion. Of course, I hurt myself several times over the years but one thing I know is to cook one decent meat dish and one decent vegetable dish. And rice. And that, my friend, is a decent meal.

Find your own perfect Little Black Dress.
For those days when you feel a little less than your normal sexy self.

Walk gracefully in stilletos.
For some ladies, this is not "their style". But for me, it is. There is something about a stilleto heel that just seems to make me feel more grown up and sophisticated. Never mind the pain. With great beauty comes great pain. hahahahah!

Have decent handwriting.
Okay, Miss Basilisco and Misis Reyes would be proud of most of their pupils from Argao Central Elementary School. These teachers were the best! Never mind the endless hours spent perfecting where the horizontal line should be on the small letter t. Never mind the thousands of letter A's and B's and C's written on Grade One and Grade Two paper. Most of us ended up with decent handwriting.

One of my physics teachers, Mr. Mario Tan(idol!) said that your handwriting says a lot about your personality. And that he can analyze them. From that day forward, I made sure that I submitted only the neatest handwritten papers ever! Oh, and well, getting correct answers is also important.

Change your own tire.
I thought, I'll just call the tow company. But my mom said, what if you're in the middle of nowhere with no cellphone signal? Okay, I don't go to the middle of nowhere with no cellphone signal everyday, but just in case. I should know. Someone teach me?

Drive a stick shift.
Ha! I just learned this one. On Peter's car. Hehe.

Read a good book.
There was a time when I read an entire box of Reader's Digest from the 60's to the 80's. It was the best ever. My mom let me do that. Then one day, I got attracted to fashion and gossip magazines. Of course, my mom and my grandpa voiced their disappointment fast! You'll learn nothing! They said. My Grandpa gave me 'Survival in the Tropics' - to replace my magazines. Call me a Geek, but that turned out to be really interesting.

Be very good at something.
I'm very lucky to have very good parents (I have TWO sets of parents: my real parents and my grandparents). One thing they always gave me was the opportunity to learn something. My grandpa had a lot of hobbies and whatever they were, he was good at it. He knew how to make furniture, little wood puppets, silkscreen printing, fishing, writing, calligraphy and he was really good with crossword puzzles. He always taught his grandkids. All of us his grandkids know how to handle a hacksaw, paddle a canoe, weave a coconut leaf into 'puso' (see picture) and drive motorbikes.

My grandma said that it's okay if you don't know a lot of things. But you should be good at one thing.