Living in suburbs is supposedly peace and quiet even in broad daylight, right?

Sometimes, its really hard to find concentration when you're forcing yourself to write and yet the mind is already tired and ready to go blank.

And so there I was, trying my best to focus, from tuning in the radio, playing randomly with the CDs and just when I’m about to start back to really write again and not the bits and pieces of phrases whirling in my head, suddenly the neighbor on the other side of the fence full blasted their stereo system with…

Nursery rhymes!! Yes nursery rhymes and not too long in coming the children’s voices singing along with the microphone. Only to be replaced after 30 minutes with raised voices of the kids fighting over the microphone and 30 minutes after?

Adult voices trying to pacify the kids only to have their own spats with one another.

Great! Just great. They only made it worst, effectively terminating my struggles to concentrate.

So, I sighed and went out to play with the family dogs and cats who were seemingly harmoniously socializing with one another.

‘What’s the difference between the 2 scenarios?’ I asked myself.

Does it seems sometimes, animals behave better than humans?

Or is it just because these animals do not have the means of communication?

Since, how can a dog tell the cat to go to hell where she came from?

Or the cat telling the dog to scrub his face on the wall?

So the day went, my computer finally cooling down after 5 straight days bearing up with me, pounding my fingers on the keyboards, not hearing the sounds around me, so wrapped-up in my own world.

I guess, I need the respite after all and better thank the neighbor.

But when I went back to my writing desk, I saw a text message for another writing assignment. I sighed, ‘okay,’ I told myself.

Just when I’m about to sit down infront of the computer, the kid in another neighbor’s house, right exactly across the street started singing…guess what is it this time?

“Bayang magiliw…Perlas ng Silanganan…” Wouldn’t you be proud for the little patriotic tyke singing our national anthem? *****