hurdling the last hours of the year with a town trip and a gift...

Today is the last day of the year 2007 and it seemed it will not leave without me getting errands for the community.

Today, I left the monastery very early in the morning to drive down a monk Dom John Thomas to Albuquerque who has decided to leave the monastery for good but will continue with his monastic life in another community at St. Meinrad Monastery in Indiana. His leaving us is a sure loss to the community as he did a very good and efficient job as our acountant-bookeeper. But weeks before, He already started training another monk, Dom gabriel (Korean) of the rudiments in the accounting office, so the flow of our finances will not get affected.

We had an early lunch at La Chosa restaurant in Cerillos Road, Sta Fe before dropping by at Sta Fe Place's GAP and picked some garments which he will use when he goes to Farnborugh, England for a three-month break before he finally step his feet to St Meinrad. Afterwards, I drove him to the Franciscans of the Renewal's community in Albuquerque where he will spend the evening for his early morning flight the next day.

It seemed John could not decide what food he will order for his last lunch in New Mexico, or is he just so overwhelmed of the fact that he will be entering another phase in his life in another place with another set of community members of different personalities and values and customary practices? I am just curious really!

He ended up getting a Mexican specialty: with extreme spicy beans and sauce,and he ended up sprinkling sugar to balance its spiciness.

In coming back home, after helping John with his luggages to the room of a Franciscan Brother Simon (who is out for his family visit, so John was lodged in his room), I stopped over a rest area along Interstate 25 highway for a drink and a stretch when I suddenly thought to check the bulks of mails I picked up at Abiquiu Post Office in coming to Sta Fe this morning. Look what I got! A package from my blogosphere sister Vera!!!!

I was so glad, it went through and got itself to its destination.

To my dear Vera,I thank you so much for such gesture of thoughtfulness!

EEEEEKKKKKKKKK, I forgot to include the bookmark in the photosession!!!!!...There is still one item she gave me and it's sooooo cute bookmark. So here it is: my addendum image to the images I took last night. "Vera dear, I am sorry, I was so nauseated last night due to my whole day's driving that my vision failed to hit the bookmark!"...

Wednesday Shopping

Yesterday, Nov. 28th, I was out of the monastery for one whole day to shop for the community's food for the week.

Since it was already clear to me that I am the substitute kitchen manager of the community while Dom Benedicto is away and is currently struggling to get his US Visa in Mexico, it was clear in my mind, too, that I will be going out every wednesday to do the regular shopping with another monk brother as my assistant.

So, I decided to, once and for all, get my US driver's license.

In the past, I have been having second thoughts whether to get one because I thought to myself that I won't be needing it anyway, but now, securing a driver's license is just as inevitable as going to town weekly.

Now I realized that going to town every week is gonna be an indispensable one.

I was glad that the processing of my NM driver's license did not give me any trouble as I brought with me all the necessary requirements in getting a regular one. ( Social Security ID, Passport in place for Greencard, State ID, and a certificate of my physical address from Rio Arriba County).
In an hour's time, I got my US license:
------>>

After i got my license, we proceeded to Sta Fe for the shopping. This week, I was accompanied by Dom Francis, OSB, a 52 yr-old Peruvian monk. (he left the community in 2005 and is now back, hopefully, for good to continue his monastic vocation in our community). We went to Sam's Club, Wal-mart and Southwest Cash and Carry ( all in Sta Fe downtown ).
We arrived at the Monastery at 6:45Pm and immediately unloaded the grocery stuffs we got for one week, and headed to our respective rooms for a good and sound night sleep.

a Sub-prior shops with his monk

Yesterday, I was with my Sub-prior Dom Andre. We did the grocery shopping for our community--

And one thing i discovered, he got so amused at my skill in doing simultaneous clicking of my shutter and picking up stuffs from their display shelves to our grocery pushcart!
Our itenerary started at the Valley Naional Bank, then we went straight to Wal-mart, and afterwards to Country Farm Supply, then we headed to Sta Fe for Sam's Club where most of our groceries will be picked up from there. We took our late lunch at Furrs nearby Cash And Carry Southwest Grocery.
We arrived at the Monastery at 7:45Pm.

off topic: Today, our schedule is a Sunday one. Light day for the monks as it is Legal holday here in the USA- it's thanksgiving day and the banquet for the community this afternoon will be prepared courtesy of the nuns of the monastery of our Lady of the Desert (our neighbor). They also cooked the foods to be served at 4:20Pm this afternoon.

Images of my shopping with Sub-prior Andre:

doing errands for the community

They say that in a monastery, anything that a monk can offer to his community from big to small offerings of oneself, of his time, of his actions and of his efforts as well as doing small to big errands are a sure way of offering himself to God and by doing such, a noble sacrifice is offered for the greater glory of God.

Yesterday, I was off the whole day and did grocery shopping with another Filipino monk, Dom Marcus, OSB for the community's week-long consumtpion. Dom Anton (Vietnamese juniormonk) went with us as he did buy his personal needs and intentions! (we call it that way when a monk asks permission from our superior for his personal stuffs, that is, clothing...shoes... toiletries, etc.)

In coming back to the monastery, We could not imagine how huge the bulk of groceries we put in our truck from Sta Fe's Sam's Club and Espanyola's Wal-Mart.

Anyways, We arrived back at the monastery in the evening. And as soon as we parked our truck in front of the kitchen's pantry, we immediately unloaded the grocery stuffs as silently as we could and after we put in the last item inside the pantry, we parted ways and sneaked silently to our respective cells and called it the longest day.