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Liza's Life Plan 3/9/2012 7:13:11 PM
I was awakened by a loud ringing. I thought that I was still dreaming, and then I thought that my alarm clock was that ringing sound waiting for me to be awakened. But I looked at the phone and it was neither. It was actually a call from a friend I haven’t heard from a long time. I called her just last week. I thought of giving her a buzz because…well, I don’t have any good reason. She always made me laugh and in the situation I was in, losing my job and all, I think I need a good laugh.
Liza was one of these high class women, but without the snobbishness. She was a go-getter. She just loved working. She would always joke about those underneath her but all remain tongue-in-cheek. She would complain and complain; and she would say that she would think of a way to solve those problems. But it seemed to me, that she could not allot any time for her problems to be solved. Time was too short.
She just got back from the Philippines and spent two-and-a-half weeks there in a province called Aklan. She enjoyed the Ati-Atihan (a parade about the fight between the Spaniard and the Filipinos plus the passion of Christ, to throw it in), went to Boracay (a high class resort first discovered by European when it was still a small beach town) and attended the death of her uncle. Her uncle did not die until he saw her. After which she came back to her “hell hole” which was working at the university.
We started our conversation by describing what she planned to do in three years. Blaise, her husband, has land in Aklan and she planned to cultivate it or build a school recruitment center in the province. And for pleasure, she would be at the beauty shop, having all the good things that a beauty shop provides. She’s tired of being a slave to the way we do business here in the United States. It seemed that it’s all work and nothing more, especially when she didn’t have time for anything else. She worked for this university, worked at home in her own business, and having only so many hours in a day, you would understand that there was nothing left for pleasure.
So, in three years, if God permits, she would be off to the Philippines trying to accomplish what she set out to do. But how about her health, I asked? Was she exercising as I advised some time ago? I told her not to do anything but walk. Walk, walk, walk. On the thread mill, that will be a speed of 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes. And she can build on it to one hour. The speed can vary, depending on her stamina. She said that she bought those Rumba tapes and exercises some times. I right away dispensed that at our age, Rumba and her occasional foray into it, will not do. Just walk! I know that Club Sports is over $100.00 per month. (Club Sports is a sports club just like 24-Hour Fitness.) But it might be affordable for her to be a member at 24-Hour Fitness.
Her son is now a manager at Nordstrom and had moved out of their home. Her daughter has not yet decided to. But they don’t need a huge house. And because they plan to move back to the Philippines, it would behoove them to exchange their home into something they could live with. Few people and a dog meant renting a house. There will be fewer expenses being associated with a house. Just imagine the interest, principal, insurance of the home, and property taxes plus the associated cost of maintaining the house, how much drain it would be on their income. That’s a lot!
At the end, even though our conversation was serious, we peppered our discussions with jokes. She made me laugh. If life was a collection of jokes, then life would be heaven with her. She is a friend I truly enjoyed talking to, very supportive and down to earth. I plan to have a long-lasting relationship with this friend of mine that is why I advised her to take it easy. What is being rich when life can be cut short, just like my aunt who died at the age of 56? I don’t want her to go that soon. For me dying at age 80 is sufficient. At our age, it is worth balancing the getting wealthy part of things with sniffing the roses. I think that we deserved to live longer and living longer meant finding that balance. Isn’t it?
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