by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
MANY Dabawenyos probably know her as Davao City’s register of deeds who handles land registration issues, including dealing with those who indulge in deceit and fake land titles. But, lawyer Aster E. Cruzabra is more than what meets the eye.
At 57, she manages to stay healthy and live a purpose-driven life featured by hectic schedules and daunting tasks. Having recovered from a cancerous thyroid gland which was successfully removed in the ‘90s, Cruzabra has remained energetic and full of life.
Petite and glamorous, she wakes up at five o’clock in the morning to attend to her spiritual duties, after which she takes to the treadmill equivalent to about one and a half kilometers, and at other times jog on a basketball court of the subdivision where she resides. Such is Cruzabra’s daily morning routine.
After working in the office from seven in the morning until seven in the evening, she brings home from her office some unfinished tasks, like documents for signing, until 11 o’clock p.m.
A six-hour sleep is enough to restore her energy, while she naps during the lunch break. “Kung nay mag-invite sa akoa nga mag lunch out, dili gyud ko mosugot kay mag-nap gyud ko (I decline when someone invites me out for lunch, I’d rather take a nap),” she shared.
She still goes to the office on Saturdays to attend to a number of pending tasks and serves as lector during Sundays at the St. Paul Parish at the Juna subdivision in Matina. She also allots an hour once a week for attendance in a Eucharistic mass, saying, “Dapat unahon ang spiritual, and everything else will follow (Prioritize Spiritual needs, and everything else will follow).
“Find time to address your spirituality. You can’t achieve anything if God is not the center of your life.”
Cruzabra has a way of balancing her spiritual, mental and physical needs. Twice a week she plays badminton, referring to it as one of her passions, while every now and then taking to the dance floor or indulging in a game of bowling.
Last February 12, she bagged an award for scoring the highest single category in the Palaro 2011 Invitational Bowling tournament of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines of which she is a member.
Enjoying a normal blood pressure along with normal levels of sugar and cholesterol, she is active everyday and how she does it is no secret at all.
Aside from having a positive outlook, drinking tea made from Garcinia mangostana helps Cruzabra to boost her energy vis-à-vis the inevitable ageing process.
Having experienced the rejuvenating and relaxing effects of MX3 tea, she said, “Mura na nako og tubig ang tea. Mas makahurot pa gani kog tea kaysa sa tubig (I consider the tea as my water. I consume more tea than water).” At home, she has a separate tea dispenser for her convenience.
She also takes MX3 capsules three times a day, which helps raise her energy level by burning fat, thanks to its L-carnitine ingredient. “No matter how busy my life is, I don’t feel tired,” she said.
A self-confessed coffee drinker, she drinks MX3 coffee with a slice of bread for breakfast. She eats only vegetables for lunch and only viands for dinner. “I don’t eat rice,” she said, shrugging.
Garcinia mangostana as a healing fruit is not a new discovery, according to her, only that it is easier to prepare this time. She recalled that in her childhood her mother regularly bought Garcinia mangostana from the market. Instead of putting the fruits’ pulp to waste, she dried them under sunlight.
“Whenever the need arose, my mother simply boiled them,” she said, “for me and my siblings to drink when we suffered from diarrhea and stomachache.”
“Garcinia mangostana detoxifies and has several medicinal properties,” she shared.
Cruzabra had always believed in the fruits’ health benefits even before MX3 was introduced to her. “Way back sa life sa akong mga ancestors, nagagamit na gyud sila og Garcinia mangostana (My ancestors were already using it). It’s already proven that it has benefits to address certain illnesses,” she said.
When she travels to California, USA to visit her husband, Jaime Castro Cruzabra, an American citizen, Aster always brings along MX3 capsules. It’s not only that she finds it easy to bring the capsules instead of bottled tea, she also brings additional supplies for her daughter, Ana Vanessa, 21, who recently migrated to California after passing the examination for enlistment in the US Navy.
Ana Vanessa was the 2007 Miss Teen Philippines USA second runner up in New York. Even before she migrated, Cruzabra said, Ana had been taking MX3 capsules to achieve their slimming effect.
Left behind by her family for a foreign land, Cruzabra has not felt loneliness despite their long distance relationship because she keeps herself busy with many activities aside from her regular job.
This strong-willed lady admits that she has had her share of personal problems in life, but she simply takes them in stride. “Problems come and go. That’s a harsh reality in life. What’s important is you have your own coping mechanism. You need friends, family and God,” she said.
Cruzabra took her preparatory law course at the Southern Island College in General Santos City, and graduated from the college of law of the Ateneo de Davao University. She was also a scholar of the National Defense College of the Philippines in 1982 and chairman for five years of the board of directors of the Philippine Red Cross, General Santos City Chapter until 2003.
