With children, Bow and Beep
Aida Libarios-Kosoladulkitt 
Aida -the preternaturally unruffled one -balances the elements in her life. Effortlessly. Opting to work only part-time as an English lecturer in Bangkok University for years now, she has decided early on to allocate equal devotion to her homelife and family; her social & religious affiliations; and herself. And so she does regular exercises and goes for physical check-ups, listens to her kind of music and plays the piano, does not fall behind in the beauty and style department, keenly watches CNN and Larry King Live on TV, and consciously tunes out of the cares of the day to remember her husband. As her older sister, I admire her for her loving nature and sense of equanimity which have served her in good stead through the years as a wife, a daughter-in-law and a sister-in-law of folks who don't share her language, culture, and religious beliefs. Here are her answers to the questions:
1. What 3 words aptly describe you?
A: calm, cool, collected - and religious, as in devout Catholic (if I
may add another one)
2. Describe your present lifestyle.
A: laid-back, a part-time lecturer, doing my workout most days of
the week
3. What is your Utopia, if you ever have one?
A: when I'm alone with my thoughts recollecting joyful years with
my late husband and lots of our family moments
4. What is most engrossing about your job, or what's special about it?
A: Making my Thai students write just one simple sentence in
straight, correct English is one totally engrossing part of my
job.
5. Who are some people who have influenced you in certain ways?
A: my daddy - for his dignity and self-righteousness
my nanay - for her compassionate and unassuming ways
6. What would you have been if you weren't what you are now?
A: I would have been what I am today.
7. What reading materials do you favor most?
A: magazines, short articles, biographies
8. Name 3 books ( or a piece of article or literature )
you've read and would like to recommend to your friends.
Why?
A: inspirational books by Dale Carnegie and Bishop Fulton Sheen
9. What kind of movies move you? Name some.
A: I'm not much of a movie buff, but films about life and family
move me.
10. Who do you love most in your life?
A: Jesus Christ and Mary, my children, myself and my siblings
11. What is your magnificent obsession? ( come on, you have!
A: to have a house on a hilltop with lush tropical vegetation and
wild flowers, surrounded by my children and grandchildren, in
my twilight years...
12. What's the biggest embarrassment you've ever had, but can
tell it, anyway
A: none so serious that I remember
13. In a scale of 1 to 10, rate your life in terms of
personal satisfaction and happiness.
A: An 8 would be most approximate.
14. What inspire/s you - set/s your adrenaline going great guns?
A: Uhuh! when people remark " You don't look your age!" or " You
are so elegant!" ( perfunctorily, nothwithstanding)
15. What get/s your ire?
A: hypocrites, know-it-alls, tactless people
16. What has been your lowest low?
A: when my husband passed away
17. Are you, or have you been, an embarrassment to your
children? How so?
A: when I speak the Thai language with the wrong choice of
words and wrong intonation!
18. How do you perceive the present world order?
A: I think we have reached the peak of man's best and worst -
we need to go back to basics
19. Any regrets so far?
A: that I hadn't learned to play the piano the way Richard
Clayderman does...
20. How would you like to be remembered by people you care about?
Or how would you like your epitaph to read?
A: well, that I was just an ordinary person who lived life my own
way and for my children; that I was a special mom
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