Spring in HG Wells country

My poor blog hasn't been updated for 2 weeks now. I've been very busy lately with real work, mummy work, achay (maid) work at home (where else) plus my unrelenting obsession with baking and cooking. Somehow these take precendence over blogging here. But nevertheless, hopefully from now on I can update this at least once a week.

We've had a respite from the cold since it started getting warmer last week. Spring is here! It's about time. The endless biting cold, overcast skies were beginning to affect my moods. Only the snow was welcome and it did indulge us with longer than usual visit. Normally, it snows here 2 days a year max. This year there was a stretch of almost 2 weeks with medium to light snow. I know my friends in the NE USA were cursing them what with back to back blizzards that dumped about 4-5 feet of snow at its height. Thankfully they're thawing already.

This sign I see almost everyday at the high street of the town in Kent where I work. It's only now that I remembered to take a picture of it and share it here.

Herbert George Wells or H.G. Wells is a giant in relatively contemporary English literature. He authored works ranging from science textbooks to comedy to science fiction (The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine). A man known for his inventiveness, he nevertheless showed much compassion for the plight of the common man with his works touching on his hope for social progress and human evolution.
For more insight on the man and his life and works click here and here.

Weighty Weight Week 7

I forgot to weigh myself last week so my log right now is 2 weeks’ worth. According to the old fashioned (non digital) weighing scale at the mall, I am now 14 stones and 7.5 pounds. That’s about .75 pounds loss per week. Previously it was 1 pound a week. Seems my weight loss is slowing down. At least it’s still going down which I am pleased. I really do hope I could sustain this long term. I guess time to exercise more rigorously.

What's in a Name?

It is a word that a thing, a person, a place is called. It identifies the entity. To some extent a name defines it. For an institution it can signify status and reputation. A façade of some sort that can attract the right kind of people it wants to draw in. Normally a good reputation is built up over the years. A result of hard work and good intentions among its members to generate good products much admired over the years.

This is what happened to the educational institution called Mapua Institute of Technology. For the past 80 years it had been known as a technical school of good repute. The high regard for it did not happen overnight but through the years of toil by professors and students alike to turn out an institution worthy of its name. And this is the main reason why I could not understand the plan of the current owners (Yuchengcos) to change the name to Malayan University. They have various ruses on their actions, among them being that Mapua will still retain its name but under the banner of Malayan University.

Firstly I don’t really trust that they will retain it for long. They have done things without any prior announcement or consultations with faculty and students like changing the school year periods from semestral to quartermestral, hiking up school fees, etc. Question is how can we be sure of they would stick to their word?

Secondly, Mapua’s name will be diluted with the name of Malayan University looming right above it in any document and signs on the walls.

The students and faculty are demanding that Mapua as an institution be left alone and consequently its name left intact. It has thrived in the past 80 years in its current setup, why fix something that’s not broken?

If ever they change the name why not it be Mapua University? Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a university of very high status in America but it still retained its ‘Institute of Technology’ title. Why? Because it’s what is has been known for a long time. And because the years of goodwill has been built up on it. Precisely the same case with Mapua.

Now, why ‘Malayan’? Is it because according to President Vea that the name ‘Malayan’ has sentimental value to the Yuchengcos? Well what about the sentimental value of the thousands of students and alumni? That just goes to show they don’t give a horse shit on their customers. I thought the Yuchengcos are good business people, why would they then alienate their customers? Did they not realise that a lot of parents send their children to study in Mapua because of its name, because of its reputation. And if you’re going to take that away how would you entice your customers with a product name that has no providence yet education-wise? I don’t get it, it doesn’t make good business sense. Nag-iisip kaya sila?

Right now almost all the students, faculty, and a large part of the admin staff are still in protest. As an overseas alumni I can only join you in spirit. If you would like to join us in protest please sign this online petition - click here.

No to Malayan University!!

Viva Mapua!!


You can also go to other blogs and sites that wrote about this:

Apple Blog
Carpe Diem
Little Devil's Haven
Mapua Online
MIT Students
My Hideaway
No to Malayan Forum
Stranded on the Same Ground
United Mapuans

Loggins & Messina

My son dug out an old cassette tape of The Best of Friends of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina a few weeks ago. I was secretly pleased that he liked it and had even learned a few of the songs there. Realisation came when he played it in the kitchen radio, produced the accompanying lyric sheet and sang with gusto. Well I wouldn't let myself be beaten so I sang eagerly with him. Why oh why did I forget this great song writing duo when I was doing my music meme. I relived memories brought about hearing old favourites like Your Mama Don't Dance, Peace of Mind, Travelin' Blues, or Watching the River Run. If you notice my selection in that music meme, a lot of the songs are arranged with just acoustic guitars and vocals. I love those type of songs where it exposes the beauty of the words, melody, and the human voice. And Loggins & Messina have a lot of those.

In that tape of Loggins & Messina, my son have 2 favourite songs. One was about Winnie the Pooh (which I will blog later) and the other the dainty and refined Danny's Song - song about the joys of parenthood, the metamorphosis of an otherwise aimless young man to a responsible father, of his love to the mother of his son. So poignant.


Danny's Song
(Kenny Loggins)

People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one
And we've just begun
Think I'm gonna have a son
He will be like she and me
As free as a dove
Conceived in love
Sun is gonna shine above

Chorus:
And even though we ain't got money
I'm so in love with ya honey
And everything will bring a chain of love
And in the morning when I rise
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes
And tell me everything is gonna be alright

Seems as though a month ago
I was a Beta Chi
Never got high
Oh I was a sorry guy
And now a smile, a face
A girl that shares my name
Now I'm through with the game
This boy will never be the same

(Repeat Chorus)

Pisces, Virgo rising is a very good sign
Strong and kind
And the little boy is mine
Now I see a family where there once was none
Now we've just begun
Yeah, we're gonna fly to the sun

(Repeat Chorus)

Love the girl who holds the world in a paper cup
Drink it up
Love her and she'll bring you luck
And if you find she helps your mind
Buddy, take her home
Don't you live alone
Try to earn what lovers own

(Repeat Chorus)

Weighty Weight Week 5

As usual I'm late with my report on my current scale indication. I weighed myself last Tuesday and I'm now 14 stones and 9 pounds. Another pound off which is really nice considering that I've not been so virtuous this week. But I guess, unless I go on a whole day pig out, I'm relatively okay.

I can understand now the merits of eating with low carbs or with the right ones. The other day I was in the car with my husband and my youngest. Me and the kid were famished, really hungry. We were on the move and have no time to find a resto and sit down and eat. So the only option at the time was a McDonald's drive thru. I ate chicken nuggets and had some french fries. You know what, those little fries I had made me even more hungry. I now discovered that with processed or easily absorbed carbs I get hungrier and the feeling of hunger is more intense unlike the ones I feel when my food is primarily vegs, fruits and proteins. What a revelation. At least now I will know the warning signs when it comes. Unlike before, when I will indulge my stomach with every smallest little hunger pang I experience. The downside with this is when you go out to eat or shop. Almost every food or dish available is catered for fast consumption and absorption of the body. White bread, white rice, processed food. I don't mind having them once in a while but the choices for a low carb eater is certainly narrow.

*Currently Listening to: Virgin Radio playing - Tubthumping (Chumbawamba)

Weighty Weight Week 4

It's the start of week 4 and I should have blogged this 2 days ago. But I was (and still am) snowed under with work.

Weighing myself again, now I am 14 stones and 10 pounds. I'm 1 pound lighter. Well, that's expected. It says in the book that at phase 2 the shedding of weight will be about 1-2 pounds every week. Hopefully this continues on. I know what did me in last week, it's that darn Sugar High Friday event in the food blogging world. I tried to make some pain au chocolat and who else is gonna eat it afterwards? Of course waste-abhorring me! ::sigh::

Red is for Valentine ... or Bull's Eye

An unforgettable Valentine's Day happened to me eons ago. I was attending a local primary school which was within walking distance from my grandma's house where I was staying. That day I decided to do the full monty and dress up for the occassion. I put on my reddest dress and proudly walked to school. I was imagining in my 8-year-old mind the looks of approval or envy from my classmates.

As I was walking, I noticed there weren't many people or kids on the road and I realised I was already late. So I hurried on hoping I won't miss the flag ceremony so everyone could see my nice dress in all its red glory. I was just outside the school fence I did not notice that there was a bull (note: big bad cow with big horns) tied to the other side of the road. In the corner of my eye, I saw that it looked up from eating its breakfast. Stared at me. Saw my red dress and then charged me at full speed! It probably thought I was a matador's rag. I was pinned against the wire fence with the bull breathing down on me, its horns about a foot from my chest. Horrors of horrors!

cartoon courtesy of my BIL - Roland Mikey Ilagan

So there I was on my Valentine dress ready to be gored by a bull not exactly admiring my red confection. Knees shaking, tears were about to fall from my eyes. But I willed it not to, someone might see and I was more concerned with my street cred than my fear. I was rooted on the spot not daring to move at all lest the friggin' beast charge again and break free from its ropes. Luckily I noticed that the wire fence was broken at the base precisely where I was standing. I was able to wiggle in and make my escape to the other side. Whew! What a relief. You might understand now why no matter what incentive anyone give me I never want to wear red again on Valentine's Day. Even if it meant getting extra points from professors when I was in college. Who knows there might be a tethered bull just round the corner.

I've been Tagged !

Mrs.Tweety and Baby Rambutan kindly tagged me in this music meme. Actually I felt sooo constraint by the second to the last question because I am allowed only 5 songs! 5 songs! I've got a lot of favourites and my taste is somewhat eclectic so I would have put easily 50 items in there under normal circumstances. But howell, never mind...

Update: I saw other posts on this and they have a 'Random 10'. Now I just have to add this because I feel a list of 5 songs is too limiting. Here goes:

Random 10

1. "No Woman No Cry" - Bob Marley (live version)
2. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" - The Clash
3. "Under the Bridge" - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
4. "Lady Marmalade" - Patti Labelle
5. "Beast of Burden" - Rolling Stones
6. "More Than Words" - Extreme
7. "Superstition" - Stevie Wonder
8. "Oye Como Va" - Santana
9. "Mais Que Nada" - Astrud Gilberto
10. "Tell Momma" - Savoy Brown

What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
1228 songs, a total of 4.55GB - most of them my husband's and kids'

The CD you last bought?
Beatle's Revolver and Abbey Road - to start my Beatle's collection

What was the last song you listened to before reading this message?
Benny and the Jets (Elton John) - I heard it over the TV

Write down five songs that you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
"Do It Or Die" - Atlanta Rhythm Section - in my lowest times this gives me hope
"True" - Spandau Ballet - our song
"Peg" - Steely Dan
"The Joker" - Steve Miller Band
"R.E.S.P.E.C.T." - Aretha Franklin

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?
*CaT of Now What, Cat? - I'm curious about the music taste of this funny and intriguing lady (meow!).
*Keiko of Nordljus - because she's one of my newest blogging friends
*Analyse of My Hideaway - I wanted to know what this young vivacious Pinay in France listens to.

Weighty Weight Week 3

So here I am at the start of my week 3. I am eager to move on, meaning eat other types of food. Last 2 weeks I was so vegged out, why I have vegetables practically coming out of my ears! I know it's healthy, makes me feel spritely and gives me nice smoother skin. But I can only eat veggies for so long I am dying for some fruits! Strange this diet, I thought I'm going to crave for carbs as in great mounds of rice or hot oil drenched chips (thick fries). What I found I'm craving for are sweets especially after a main meal. Just hope I can stick with this in the long run.

I weighed again as usual and I now tip the scales at 14 stones and 11 pounds - meaning I lost a further 2 pounds! I am mighty pleased. At least all the will power and self control I mustered to prevent me gorging on the fluffy mash my daughter made last night or the banana cake I baked last weekend or the disastrous egg tarts last Sunday, had not gone to waste. Roll on week 3 and hello to fruits and beans in my diet.

Three Angels

See my beautiful angels? That's one for each of my children. This is what my husband called 'katas ng blogging' :). They were sent by a very kind blogging friend. I believe in people encountering things and circumstances that they need at the time. Right now we need guidance, direction and strength. I believe help is on the way symbolised by these lovely angels. What exactly they bring I do not know but I believe we will be given exactly what we need to further our education here on this plane in a school called 'life'. Thank you very much dear CaT for your gifts. They are much appreciated.

Here is a song my family love to sing and recently hubby taught J1 to play it on the piano so our 'karaoke' sessions are becoming more lively.


Angels
by Robbie Williams

I sit and wait
Does an angel contemplate my fate
And do they know
The places where we go
When we're grey and old
'Coz I've been told
That salvation lets their wings unfold
So when I'm lying in my bed
Thoughts running through my head
And I feel that love is dead
I'm loving angels instead

Chorus:
And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I'm right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won't break me
When I come to call
She won't forsake me
I'm loving angels instead

When I'm feeling weak
And my pain walks down a one way street
I look above
And I know I'll always be blessed with love
And as the feeling grows
She breathes flesh to my bones
And when love is dead
I'm loving angels instead

(repeat Chorus 2x)

Weighty Weight Week 2

Ta-dan! It's the start of week 2 of my diet and have to report on my current weight. I used the same scale in the same mall in roughly the same clothes I was in before, and guess what - I'm now 14 stones and 13 pounds. That means I lost 4 pounds!! Wooohooo! (cue Blur's Song2 riffs) Ain't that great? I just hope they keep coming off 'coz I'm really getting the hang of it.

Years ago I did the Weight Watchers diet and I vividly remember in the first 2-3 weeks I was sooo hungry all the time. I did lose about 1 1/2 stones that time but it only lasted about 6 months and I was back to my old ways again. With this South Beach diet, I only feel hungry occassionally. Quite a strange sensation. We're supposed to be in a very strict no-carbs-no-sugar-diet in the first 2 weeks but I didn't follow it strictly. I eat a little amount of carbs when I'm feeling woozy probably from too low sugar level. But even then I lost weight. Great! Looking forward now to next weeks' weighing in.

Turbo Charge Your Firefox

Read from Batjay's blog about some tips on making your Firefox browser run faster. Have a look in the above link or go straight to Chin Wong's Digital Life article. I did follow all the instructions in it and there was a noticeable increase in the performance of my Firefox. Super! My browser now is like a chipmunk on fastforward. Folks, I highly recommend it.

From that article I also noticed all those extension goodies that you can add such as Adblock or Click2Tab or Bandwidth Tester. The latter was very helpful for me to gauge how well my broadband ISP performs. Well, well, well, if that bandwidth tester is telling the truth then BT Internet is not delivering 512kB to my wire's end as they have promised. It was only tipping in at around 410-425kB. Hmmm, something's not right here. Time to move to Wannadoo? Anyone out there have any experience with them (good or bad)?

Big thanks to Batjay and Chin Wong for their tips and making us bloghop faster. ;)

In This Corner, Weighing In At ...

My weight loss program starts today, as a prerequisite of course I have to weigh myself to find out if my efforts are going anywhere. I went to the nearby mall this lunchtime and weighed in at one of those ginormous scales where you put in 20p in a slot. I tipped at … tan-ta-ran-ta-ran ... 15 stones and 3 pounds! (It’s your problem to convert it to kilos and pounds. ;) Numbers in stones just look smaller). God, I hope nobody reads this. (Gagah! Ini-blog mo sa mundo tapos ayaw mong may makaalam?! My yin-yang angels are arguing.) This is sooo embarassing, it's the most I have weighed in my whole life.

According to my Body Mass Index calculations, since I am 5’6” my ideal weight is around 11 stones. So that means I have to lose at least 4 ½ stones! Wooo, that’s a lot. I don’t expect to lose a lot fast because first, I have slow metabolism due to my hypothyrodism and steroid intake, second, I am in this for a long term not for short bursts of weight loss. I would rather lose it slowly and keep it off rather than shed it fast and furious then put it back on again.

I will post my weight weekly for about 2 months. Then after that, fortnightly for a few months then monthly. Wish me luck.

Happy Happy Joy Joy !!

The Royal Mail postmen were my harbringer of treasures today. A day when I had to take the day off because of flu - aching muscles, tummy, plus a little fever. I was just lying around staring up the plastering on our ceiling when we heard the familiar drop of letters from our mail slot. My youngest daughter as always ran to get them. There was this yellow padded envelope from America addressed to me. Who could've sent this?? Well whaddaya know, my dear friend from Boston sent me a CD with a compilation of 70s and 80s music. Wow! A lot of them are my old favourites that me and hubby haven't heard for a very loooong time. Even those very familiar RJ FM regulars before - The Hurt and Tuloy Pa Rin Ako were included there. Incidentally, I didn't know that the latter was sang by Side A. And I thought that that group is 'bagets' (young bloods). So now I'm swanning around enjoying my Georgy Porgy, Midnight At The Oasis, Of All The Things, etc. No doubt this will help in my recovery. Thank you thank you very much my dahling friend !!

The second treasure came almost at the same time as my CD. A Parcel Force man rang the doorbell to deliver a big box. But I didn't order anything?! It turned out it was from one of those book clubs that gives huge discounts on books upon signing up with them. I sent my application form long long time ago that I totally forgot about it. I was expecting this around early December but since none came I thought my form got lost in the mail. And what's made me clapping with delight was the delivery included this (click on it for a bigger picture):

It's the complete unabridged collection of all of Jane Austen's novels. Wheeee! They're small hardbound and even got classy gold leafed edges. I've always wanted to collect her novels but this is just so convenient, in a good hard case and very good value, too - I got it for £1 !
Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors. I remember the very first time I read her Pride & Prejudice. I was about 14-15 years old at that time, and was getting tired of the Mills & Boons' and Barbara Cartland's sickeningly sweet love novels that my aunt was passing to me. When she saw that I had my fill of them, she pressed her paperback copy of P&P into my young hands. She highly recommended it and insisted I read it. I was intrigued but soon was getting exasperated with the Victorian dialogue. Imagine reading a whole big paragraph of flowery words only to realise that what the character meant to say was - "No." Anak ng kamote naman! (Son of a sweet potato!) But I soon got used to it and cannot possibly put the book down. I lost sleep and braved the wrath of my mother nagging me about homeworks only so that I can find out if Mr. Darcy did end up with Lizzie. I'm not a book critic and not much of an articulate person, but just like watching movies, finding out if a book is good is if it entertained me. And Ms. Austen always does. I love all the characters she puts in her books, the plots, the twists and turns that makes her so readable and hard to put down.

Some of the other books I got are the following:

They're all fiction. I've been always been a non-fiction kind of girl. I am sometimes reluctant to read fictions because it involves some emotional investment on me (if it's drama). I am a bit emotional (mababaw ang luha) that in watching drama TV shows my kids are sure my tears would be falling soon enough. If the book character is getting in a bind (they always do especially in thriller ones) I find my stomach knotting up and me getting really anxious. I know, it's pathetic! :groan: There are a few exceptions to this, besides Jane Austen's, the Harry Potter series has got me hooked. For the last installment, me and my older kids were fighting over who's turn it is to read it. Haha! I had to devise a reading rota schedule for us to have a civil family life. ;)

Be Careful What You Blog

It is the first time that I have come across a blogger in the UK sacked from his company because of what he blogged. The Guardian reports:

Joe Gordon, 37, worked for Waterstone's in Edinburgh for 11 years but says he was dismissed without warning for "gross misconduct" and "bringing the company into disrepute" through the comments he posted on his weblog.

See the full article here.

Bloggers beware! Do not post things that may be libellous or at least offending to your workplace unless you and your blog are well hidden by the anonymity you created. All this the more highlight the responsibillity brought upon by the freedom of speech that we enjoy greatly in cyberspace. We may express anything we want as long as it does not infringe on anyone's or any entity's rights.

Although the average blogger would ask - what if I just want to rant? Surely most of your ire would at least one time be poured on the people at work where you spend a sizeable part of your adult life. How to do it? A solution would be to just borrow the ear of one of your unfortunate friends and go about your tirade. Or write it on a piece of paper then tear it to tiny itsy bitsy pieces burn it or eat it. Burp! ... Hell no! you say, that's the reason why you blog - you want an audience to read your rage and see how you humiliate your objects of fury. Things that you are too chicken to say in their face. Well, I think the best option would be create a separate username and blog which will be your alter ego that will keep your vilest bile. Your negative side. So you will have a positive and a negative, yin and yang, alternating current ... just as long as you don't post anything that would a give a clue on who you are like pictures, specific names, etc. Be as vague as possible then you can have your rant and eat it, too. ;)

Joss Stone

I often write about music that I love during my youth (oh my, matanda na talaga ako! I'm really getting old!). I love old music but that doesn't mean I don't listen to the music of the now. My taste is eclectic so I can listen to pop, soul, R&B, rock, dance, garage, even hip hop (although not much of the latters). As early as last year my ears have been alerted of a major talent in the making. Joss Stone is a 17-year-old (imagine that young!) from Devon, UK, who's been wowing people with her great set of pipes ever since the release of her first album (the Soul Sessions) late last 2003. She has been dubbed the white Aretha Franklin. Well I don't think she can belt as high or as intense (there's only one Aretha!) but she certainly impressed me with her soulful and smoky voice, great singing - all these in the body of a teenager! I am definitely a fan now. She reminds me of Camille Velasco who was one of the Fil-Am contestant of the last American Idol reality TV show. Camille has a similar smoky, husky tone in her voice. I wonder if it would suit her to sing soul and R&B rather than her favoured hip hop?

Back to Joss, she has a new album called Mind Body & Soul which was released late last year. I have yet to hear the whole of it but judging from the bits that I heared on the radio it is a cracker. It's not often that a new singing talent comes out without much of the 'packaging' that is prevalent in the business. I hope Joss' career will continue to sky rocket; continue to grow as a person, singer, and musician; her singing and repertoire to improve; and her feet kept firmly on the ground.

P.S. I forgot to give the link to her official website, click here. Go to 'Download' and hear her sing.

Toy Menagerie

Meet 'Pellet' my youngest daughter's (J3) favourite beanie baby. They are inseparable from morning til bedtime. She says Pellet's her baby and would often talk to it. Many a night we have to scour the whole house because the fake hamster was missing. J3 would not sleep without it beside her.


And here's part of the rest of her toy menagerie. The camera frame was too smal to fit them all in.

Popularity Contests and Reminiscing

The recent web “squabble” in the current popularity awardfest in a medical blog caused me reminisce about the last time I was involved in a popularity contest. Think think think. (I’m beginning to feel like Pooh Bear). Well whaddaya know, it was in my 2nd year high school circa mid-70s! It was one of those beauty contest between class sections wherein each section chooses its “muse” and pits her against the others’. Unlike previous years it was not judged by a parade of bored teachers but by the amount of old printed matters (newpapers, magazines, phone directories, etc.) that each section can gather for recycling. Of course the one with the most will win, with the proceeds of the sale of the recyclables going to good causes in school. That was all well and good.

Our muse was very very pretty. She was Marivic Arguelles (Vicky wherever you are pls. contact me), with brains to boot, too. If it were just by those measures, she would have surely won. But still we all have to work for it and work hard the whole class did. Our high school building was along Buendia Ave. in Makati almost right beside the railroad tracks and the Southsuper highway overpass. Fortunately, we were in the midst of an office district so there were no shortage of office receptionists to harrass to ask for old yellow pages. We trudged thru Ayala Ave., Buendia, Paseo de Roxas, even as far as Pasong Tamo. We had to move fast because other class sections were trawling thru the same strips as we were. Imagine that skinny 13 year olds (yes I have been skinny before) walking with enormous heavy bags of yellow pages and old papers. We didn’t have any chaffeured cars or protective parents to help us, we were too skint to take buses besides there were no buses in the ‘village’ areas of Makati, so we walked for miles while lugging these heavy stuff.

Side note: While going up and down the tall buildings of Makati we obviously have to take the lift (elevator) and since I was a promdi – I actually got motion sickness from it! Hahaha! Nahilo ako!

After a day we thought we were doing well until we caught a glimpse of the other section’s haul. Man, their mountain of newspapers were really something. Either they have parents working in a printing press or they were really that good in sniffing out big stacks ready for the taking. One look at that and we became depressed knowing that no matter how hard we try we were not going to win. :sigh: But we were not a poor people’s school for nothing, all of us were street smart and someone had a brilliant idea. ::Ting!:: This time we were more zealous than before. We dragged everything we collected to a “bote dyaryo” (recycling) dealer. Sold everything at a good price. We then went to the Quad (do you still remember ?) and the whole class saw a movie! Hahaha! When we realised it was a lost cause we thought we might as well benefit from our own sweat. How’s that for ‘gulang’ (smarts)? Of course our class adviser (tutor) was furious when she found out our collection was zero, nada, buta! Worse came when she found out the truth. We got a right dressing down, the mother of all sermons which made us all feel guilty but well at least we had a good time. ;) And I didn’t even remember what movie we saw … Hahaha!
Let's have a little song now:


Reminiscing
[Little River Band]

Friday night, it was late, I was walking you home
We got down to the gate and I was dreaming of the night
Would it turn out right
How to tell you girlI wanna build my world around you
Tell you that it's true
I wanna make you understand I'm talkin' about a lifetime plan

That's the way it began, we were hand in hand
Glenn Miller's Band was better than before
We yelled and screamed for more
And the Porter tunes (Night and Day)
Made us dance across the room
It ended all too soon
And on the way back home I promised you'd never be alone

Hurry, don't be late,I can hardly wait
I said to myself when we're old
We'll go dancing in the dark
Walking through the park and reminiscing

Friday night, it was late, I was walking you home
We got down to the gate, and I was dreaming of the night.
Would it turn out right.
Now as the years roll on,
Each time we hear our favorite song,
The memories come along.
Older times we're missing
Spending the hours reminiscing

Hurry, don't be late. I can hardly wait
I said to myself when we're old
We'll go dancing in the dark
Walking through the park and reminiscing

New Year Cliche

I haven’t done a New Year’s resolutions list since I was in high school. I thought it’s a complete waste of time. Thinking, if you really want to change you can start any time of the year. But the advent of 2005 gave me this feeling that I have to start on a ‘clean slate’ and do something about 'issues' I want to change in myself starting with:

1. Lose weight! – It is not only for aesthetic reasons but more importantly for health reasons. My steroid dosage is decreasing so I might have better chances of taking off unwanted pounds this time around. My family has a history of hypertension (high blood pressure) and my father had a stroke 2 years ago. This does not bode well for me if I keep my current weight. Since I intend to live a longer life to enjoy the company of my family, I have to do ... to rally myself to act … to liberate myself from excess weight and to steer away from the ‘Plus’ section of women’s wear. Let the battle of the bulge begin!! The main reason I am declaring this to the whole universe in this blog is to shame myself into really putting this into action. Otherwise I will constantly slip with various excuses on why so. Kakahiya if a month or two later I still haven’t lost anything. So I will post weekly weight reports. Sorry to inflict this on you people but I need an audience to really embarass me for motivation. That is my strategy … God help me if this still doesn’t work!


2. Come to work on time – Hee hee! I’ve been coming to work a bit late (so do a lot of people around me) but we have flexitime therefore, I do go home late so I definitely make up for my lateness. We really don't have much enthusiasm to come to work since we will be all chucked out of the company by the end of the year but we're still employees here we're still getting paid and I feel like I’m really slacking off if I am constantly one of the last one in. Besides I want to go home earlier so I could have more time with my kids before they go to bed. I have always been a night owl. Always sleeping late, more in gear in the evenings. Now I have to check in bed early (as in between 11 and 12) and get up early. Early to bed early to rise make Celia healthy, wealthy (buy lotto tix) and wise!


3. Less time bloghopping – This is probably one of the hardest one to do since I have internet access almost everywhere I go. I do enjoy blogging and do enjoy reading other people’s blogs but it is bordering on obession and it’s eating up on my time with my family. I have met great people through my blog trawling (made good friends, too) and read lots of brilliant posts and do enjoy it immensely. It broadened up my horizon, honed up my writing skills (if you may call it that) and have rekindled my long lost love on literature and poetry. However, I do have to put brakes on it if I still want to not miss my kids’ developments. I think I will just go on quality rather than quantity.

How’s that for a list? It’s short but at least the intention is there. And now for my prayer:

God please grant me the discipline to stick to my above list of resolutions for the whole year and please make sure to whoop my ass everytime I get out of line. Amen.

Thanksgiving Prayer

I came across a blogger's poem that really touched my heart (naks! parang totoo). RohMih encapsulated in a few words and lines what I want to express as a thanksgiving to our Creator and how I conceived Him to be.

In this holiday season, amidst the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and celebrations, let us sit back and reflect on the things that feeds our spiritual body with this little prayer. To you Roh Mih thank you for sharing ...

A Thanksgiving Prayer

I thank and praise you, God
for creating and sustaining the universe
with your infinite love and wisdom.
You are an all-powerful and awesome God
yet patient and humble
and eternally giving.
You are the giver of life:
you cause every living thing to breath,
grow, move and multiply.
You manifest yourself to us in many ways:
you are all around us,
and you are within us.
I thank and praise you
for your continuing sustenance.
Amen


(A prayer composed in summer of 2003.)

So Goodbye Yellow Brick ... Mobile

Husband’s ancient Nokia 6210 phone finally broke. The screen cracked and although it’s still fully functional, you can’t see anything on the screen. So we finally decided to get a new one. He researched all the myriad tariffs, offers, and freebies in the internet and in the high street shops. We were about to sign up with a naranja coloured carrier when he spied upon a tempting offer in the internet. It says free handset, free bluetooth headset, plus free X-box console! Wow that did us in. I really intend to buy a longed for Xbox for our son so this is a huge savings for us what with the regular retail price of one going for £99. So we readily signed up for it not wanting to lose opportunity ‘coz they might pull out the offer anytime (they do this without warning). Weekend passed and husband is now waiting for the delivery of his hand and headset. Yesterday we were doing a little shopping in Bluewater when he went in a mobile phone retailer. There he saw the actual size of the handset he’s going to receive and all us went in fits of giggling and laughter. It was a brick! Much bigger than any of our old mobile phones! Hahaha! All the time he was imagining having a nice, small, sleek and sassy phone and he didn’t know that he ended up with a right ‘ol brick! ::ROFL:: Now we know why it’s got all those freebies – they’re trying to get rid of the model to make way for new ones. To be fair it’s got video messaging and we got lots of discounts and cashbacks plus the call tariffs are one of the lowest around. Oh well, hubby says he’ll just keep it in his trouser pocket all the time – who needs ‘enhancements’? ;-) I said – “keep close to me so women will get the message that you’re glad to see me and not them!” Hehehe!

Christmas? What Christmas?

I’m feeling kinda weird lately. This time of the year I would be very excited with all the preparations and shopping for Christmas presents. I should be in a panic mode since I have not sent any Christmas card nor done anything yet. I just don’t feel it and I don’t know why. No twinge of excitement, no frantic shopping, no prep for the Christmas feast. I’m not sad or depressed … it’s probably because I’m not caught up anymore with the material side of it. All the gift giving for the sake of giving because it’s “required” for Christmas doesn't interest me anymore. I just want to be with my husband and kids, relatives, and close friends. Hold them close on that special day, be thankful for all the blessings we received and about to receive, and celebrate! So friends in case you haven’t received my card yet don’t worry I still love and care for all of you, I just couldn’t be bothered to buy one. ;-)

In a way it is liberating especially with shopping. I used to be so OC (obsessive-compulsive) with choosing gifts. I keep on changing my mind and always thinking that it might not be good enough for the recipient. Now, the first one I see that I think is appropriate I buy it with nary a second thought. Haha! I think I can do all my shopping in one go. My husband would think that as a Christmas miracle straight from heaven !

Winter Is Here !

Last night was the first time this season for Southern England's temperature to plunge below 0 degree C. We woke up to mist and fog this morning. Ahhh, that's more like England. Thank goodness there aren't any ice on the road or we would have mammoth traffic jams again. You know how it is around here, trains get delayed because of leaves on the railtracks, massive traffic jams when snow starts to fall, more train cancellations because signal light switches froze. You would have thought they'd licked these problems since they face this every year. Oh well, I guess a little excitement in winter once in a while won't hurt you.

My task right now is to wrap up well from the cold. I take the trains and buses everyday and it can be an ordeal waiting in the bus stop during winter. These buses, I tell you, you stand there waiting in the freezing weather and nothing comes in 20 minutes (where there shd have been 2 already). Then they all come in twos or threes! Grrrr!

I'll be coming home early today to prepare for a trip up north to Manchester area. It's our nephew's birthday tomorrow and we'll be there to help out (and eat) and celebrate with them. Travel time is around 4 hours but if you have to stop every time the kids go hungry or want the loo, then it takes about 5-6 hours. Besides the motorways around there are always jammed like a long car park. Why am I ranting about traffic jams and buses here? Sad life isn't it? ;)

A Trip To Valencia

My team at work occassionally go for a night out about once every two months. It used to be once a month but it's become slower now what with the ax we're facing. Normally it's dinner with drinks (of course) that's before or after a theatre show, salsa dancing lessons, comedy show, go-kart racing, concerts, etc. - you get my drift. Very very occasionally we go on a very short trip abroads in something like once a year. Last time they went to Amsterdam. 'They' because I wasn't able to go - I think I was recovering from my operation back then. This time, one was organised for a weekend trip to Valencia. Why Valencia? Because it's got the best deal at the time we were booking which was at least more than 1 month ahead. The main criterias being - cost 1st and warm weather 2nd. My travels are recorded here while the culinary side of the trip is in my food blog. Click on the pictures for a bigger view.
The city of Valencia lies in the eastern coast of Spain an area called the Costa Blanca (white coast) in the Region of Valencia. As the third largest city in Spain, it has been inhabited by Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, the Moors (who introduced Spain to olives, oranges, cumin, saffron, among other things), and the Aragonese. It is where the paella (rice dish) was invented. The city is not very touristic which is a pleasant surprise and the temperature when we arrived (late November) is a balmy 18C/65F. It is almost always sunny which makes a nice setting in exploring this lovely place.

We arrived in around 4:30PM with nary a glitch in our flight (BA) and sailed through immigration and baggage control. By 7:30PM we were on our way to the old part of town to have our first night out in Valencia!

I then encountered the reason for the bruises on my knee and legs - the Torres de Quart. It was so ginormous (about 10 stories high) and looking like chess pieces that I was in awe while walking towards it. I didn't realise the ground I was walking on dropped 5 inches lower suddenly. So my legs decided for me to kiss the ground. Hehehe! But I'm okay now just a few scraches here and there. As you can see on the right, it is pock marked by cannon balls from the many wars it witnessed mainly in the 18th and late 19th century.

We hit the pubs and bars but was quite puzzled why there were few people around. It was already 8:30PM, restaurants and bars were open but all are virtually empty. We walked in bars and staffs give us strange and puzzled looks as if saying "What are you doing here?" They did serve us but with much prodding. It was only later when we were at a restaurant that people start coming for dinner at 10PM and bars start getting lively at 12 midnight. Oh so ... this is Spanish time! So we went bar hopping and ate dinner where we had great pans of paella. Half of our group (of 8) decided to call it a night at around 12:30 while the other half carried on bar hopping 'til I think 4AM.

Next day we walked to explore the old city again this time in broad daylight. Above left is an old building beside the central market while the one on the right is a street scene. We visited the Mercat Central (central market) see below left.

I was so excited (nataranta ako) in the market seeing all the great variety of fresh produce and they were all so cheap compared to London prices. I left with several kilos of jamon serranos, morcillas, chorizos, saffron, etc. If I can lug it around I would have even bought jugs of olive oil. We then walked towards an area with lots of shops and that's where I encountered these 2 buskers (above right) playing classical guitar music. Wow it was heavenly! They were very very good musicians and the acoustics of the place added to the experience. I was actually reluctant to leave.

After the market it was a long trek to the beach promenade of Valencia. We tried getting taxis but we made the mistake of travelling midday which is the Spanish siesta time. There were no taxis in sight so we decided to take the train and tram. When we got to the area it was deserted. "Where is everybody?" It's a good thing we asked a guy fixing his car and he pointed us to the direction of the restaurants. It was 3PM and some of us haven't even had breakfast and were absolutely starving. We walked some more for about 'media kilometros' (half kilometer) according to the guy and found the cluster of restaurants we were looking for. It was like an oasis in a desert. An area where there was nobody around no shops open and suddenly you come to a spot teeming with people. What a relief !

After lunch we decided to go back to the hotel and have a siesta ourselves and then regroup at 8:30PM. On the way back we passed by the old Turia riverbed. The Turia River used to run right in the middle of the city but because of disastrous floods in the 1950s, it was diverted away from the centre with the old riverbed transformed into parks, childrens playgrounds, and sports playing fields. They are welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

It's a shame I wasn't able to take pictures of our second night out and you'll know why my male companions refused to budge from the bar of a club. All because the bartenders there are really seriously gorgeous girls in obligatory tight plunging neckline clothes. Just because of that! :) We seem to be "buena mano" lucky early customers because wherever we go to, the place seem a little thin on people but after awhile the hordes come rushing in. We went back to the hotel in the wee hours of the morning although the night scene we left was just starting to go full swing.

The morning saw us walking again (we did a LOT of walking) to complete our final day's tour of Valencia. On the way to the tourist spots we passed by green lush parks and dancing fountains with no music. Can you see the rainbow on the pix above right?


Then we came to the Torres del Serranos. I believe this together with the Torres de Quart are the only surviving remnants of the defensive wall around old Valencia. The stairs and steps to this tower were rather steep. I didn't go to the highest part because I was feeling height sick mainly because the railings were quite low. One wrong lean over it and you'll be free falling.

Above left is the former palace of the king of Valencia (yes they used to have their own king) now used as the seat of government of Valencia. The road leads to the Plaza de la Virgen where we were lucky to watch a cultural show of traditional dances and music (above right). The costumes reminds me a lot of the Filipino "baro't saya" dress which is heavily influenced by our Spanish colonisers. The dancers were using castanets and their movements are very similar to our traditional dances, too.

The one on the left is the Real Basilica of Our Lady of Holy Innocent Martyrs and the Abandoned - did I translate it right? 'Nuestra Senora de los Santos Inocentes Martires Y Desamparados'. It has a circular central hall inside from which small side chapels radiates from. Although it looks relatively stark outside it is completely the opposite inside with its over the top baroque designs and decorations. Unfortunately I was only able to photograph (above right) the fabulous ceiling because there was a mass at the time.

The cathedral (above left) is right beside the basilica. I wasn't able to go inside but my colleagues said it was fab as well. Above right is one of the celebrated symbols of Valencia - an orange tree. Remember the ads - 'made from Valencia oranges'. They grow everywhere in the area.

We had paella lunch (again) at a restaurant right behind the cathedral. As you can see above left paella pans can be as big as 2-3 feet across. After having paella overload almost everyday my colleagues said they don't want to see a bloody paella at least for a while. We carried on walking to a nearby market due to the fact that it's siesta time and we can't find a taxi again. On the right above is an unusual fountain in the centre of a circular market. The water looks so clear and cool.

We were walking rather aimlessly outside that market when Steve managed to nab 2 taxis. Yehey! And we zoomed to the Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) to gaze at the marvelous modern futuristic architecture of this cluster of museums, cinemas, aquariums, etc. Above left is actually the top of the car park - (sosi ano?) posh isn't it? There are still parts of it that are under construction like the above right where it positively looks like the head of a Japanese robot character.

One of the buildings looked like a bug with wings (garapata?). Above right is another view of the ensemble of structures in this centre. Beautiful isn't it?

Overall impression: I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of this city with its numerous leafy squares and parks. Things I like: the absence of hordes of tourists; the fab balmy temperature and mostly sunny weather; delicious food - seafood especially; lower prices on almost everything; very friendly and helpful locals even if we were mangling their language. Mind you I can survive here (and so can most Pinoys) because I can read the signs. Numbers and money counting is a piece of cake (dos cuarenta'y cinco). If they talk moderately slow enough I can understand them (hurray to 4 semesters of Spanish classes!). The problem is when they talk rapid fire or when I try to talk - I cannot express what I really want to say. So I would really recommend Valencia although if I come back I would definitely brush up on my pidgin Spanish. Vamos amigos !

The Things We Do For Our Kids

I made the mistake of gifting my youngest with a Care Bear movie DVD. Now she wants to watch it over and over again which is not a problem except everytime she wants at least one of us to sit with her and watch this saccharinely cutesy movie. Uggghhh!! Oh whenever I watch it, it really makes me want to puke. My husband has since hidden the offending DVD – all of us feigning innocence when J3 asks where it is. Out of sight out of mind.

Years earlier when her two older siblings were toddlers, they used to torture me with those Barney videos. ‘I love you, You love me, We’re a happy family’ … oh give me a break! Get a life Barney !! Did you know there was a Usenet group called Barney.Kill.Barney.Die.Die.Die.Die.Die (or something like that)? I wonder what they discuss there, maybe different ways to exterminate Barney?

What about the Teletubbies? I find them cute actually although it would really turn your brain to mush in no time at all. I can’t see the reason why babies – that’s right babies – love those bubble shaped alien-like tubbies. The first time my youngest saw it on TV she was only 6 months old and she was sitting rapt in attention and not even blinking while watching. There must be some truth in what they’re saying that the electromagnetic waves TV is emitting can be hypnotic. The kids certainly seem like in a trance when they watch their favourite TV programs.

During the height of the Pokemon craze, my kids requested to watch the movie version in the cinema. It was a pointing game between me and my husband on who would take them. Unfortunately I lost (he got a better excuse) so there I was sitting for 2 hours feeling positively suicidal controlling myself from running out screaming like a banshee. God I miss Sesame Street! Hey there are adult friendly kids show out there other than Sesame Street, there’s the all-time classic Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes. Pixar and Disney movies are always enjoyable, my favourites are Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Actually they’re too good to waste on kids – hahaha! That’s why I’m hogging the DVDs of these. ;-)

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Adwares, Malwares, Spywares, Tupperwares

Which is the odd one out above??
I blogged the other day about the Internet Tourbus. I decided to feature them mainly because of the predicament that our PCs were in, in the past few days. We got infected by these adware viruses that changed the toolbars of our IE browser, having lots of annoying porn pop-ups, and really creating havoc in the system. It even resetted (turned off and on) the PC! The Internet Tourbus has a good explanation on what these new pesky viruses are and what it does to your computer - read here.

To fight it, they suggested to use SpyBot and Ad-Aware softwares which are downloadable free! We ran both of it in our PC and it did the trick. Took out all of the hidden viruses and restored sanity in our ancient computer. They had an "immunize" feature which basically prevents all the known viruses from infecting your system ever again. I say "known" because it only shields you from the viruses it knows (at the moment). That's why it's important to download periodic updates for these anti-viruses and for that matter you also need regular Microsoft updates to plug all the numerous security leaks in Windows and Internet Explorer.

Mind you, our PC was infected while I was logged as an administrator and trying out the changes I made to the Norton anti-virus/firewall by surfing to some select website like this blog. Apparently this is a security hole in Norton. So if you've got this brand of anti-virus don't surf the web as an administrator more so in Internet Explorer. Use or create another login ID for your usual computing activities.

Our friends' laptop that my husband has been trying to fix for several days now, was also crawling with viruses of the same kinds. He ran SpyBot and Ad-Aware, cleaned most of it but was still showing signs of infections. So here I am again to rescue (naks! ala Incredibles) to give him the URL for Hijack This. A nifty downloadable freeware that zaps the remaining viruses infecting you registry files. Finally it did the trick - laptop now virus free. Moral of this long sorry story is: use all 3 mentioned spyware removers for slaying viruses, update regularly your Windows patches (if you're using), use an anti-virus software, and as much as possible use web browsers other than Internet Explorer like Firefox (download it free!).

The Internet Tourbus

Every week I get an email from a duo tandem in America calling their team the Internet Tourbus. That’s Patrick Crispen and Bob Rankin for you. They send a newsletter/tutorial where you get a lot of tips on how tos, the whys, the wheres in cyberspace and in computing all written in a straight forward, sensible, lucid, mostly non techie jargon prose. They’re quite funny too. They used to have this Southern word for the day and tracked the adventures of the power-line addicted squirrels of the University of Alabama. Every week there is a different topic where they explain details of new things in computing – from hardware issues to viruses to the latest Internet browser. They’re one of my choice sources of information especially if the techie sites are not making any sense to me and I just want a basic explanation of whatever I am interested in. They always put in links to other sites with more in-depth details.

You can subscribe to their newsletter through their website: Internet Tourbus. There you can also peruse their FAQs and archives of articles going all the way back to 1995 when they first started.

So if you want to read something technically informative but non brow furrowing, go and subscribe or visit their site.

Disney Florida Had Pinoy Animators

I read an article in Philstar from a link in CaT’s blog about a talented Filipina animator in Pixar (the creator of Finding Nemo and Incredibles). It is indeed good to laud her achievements and more so being a woman and a Filipino in a premier Hollywood movie outfit. This made me remember probably equally talented Filipino animators in Disney Florida whom I was privileged to meet when me and my family went there a few years ago. You see my younger sister is married to one.

Mikey Ilagan, my brother-in-law, and a few Filipinos were ably showing their talents in the animation hallways of Disney. Unfortunately Michael Eisner’s faction decided to hack off the whole of the traditional (as opposed to digital) animation department based in Disneyworld in Florida just this last March. And when I mean the whole dept. I mean the whole lot – from admin people to the head honchos including all the furnitures! What a shame.

The Filipino group there was headed by Ruben Aquino who was a Senior Supervising Animator. He was the key person who did characters like Shang in Mulan, Nani in Lilo and Stitch, etc. As far as I know he was born in Manila and moved to the US at a very young age. Others like Mikey was an Key Asst. Animator, Armand was a Layout Artist, and Gerry an Animator. All very talented Pinoys. They were involved in the creation of Disney movies like Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, Brother Bear, John Henry, etc. They are also very good artists in their own right, creating artworks in a number of mediums including illustrations for comics and children’s books, sculpting, painting in watercolor, oil, charcoal, or mixed media, photography, even digital/computer graphics.

Here's one of Mikey's artworks:

That one above is a children’s book illustrated and written by him. Click on the link - Baba and Friends to see more info on this.

Below is another sample of his artwork in the comics genre:

You can see his portfolio at Animatrix Studio.
I wish I could put Armand's, Gerry's, and Ruben's work here so you could see that we have a lot of unsung talented Pinoys in the animation world.

Birthday Jazz and MG Blues

It was my youngest's (J3) 4th birthday last Sunday (7th November) and we had a small dinner party at home. We invited only 2 Pinoy families (neighbors actually) to help us celebrate. J3 was in her elements, she was chatting away on the phone and telling everybody who cared to listen that she's 4 that day. She even sang "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" and "Without You" while accompanied by her Dad on the piano. (OT: the last song was popularised by Harry Nilsson and later by Mariah Carey). I'm glad that she was happy about our modest celebrations. Happy Birthday my little one! You have always brought joy in our lives!

In the food prep front, I was not happy at all with everything I cooked. (Maybe I should blog about this in my food blog.) I completely underestimated the effect of my Myasthenia (MG). I did not realise or completely forgot that I get tired easily nowadays and it has a great effect on my stamina. Not just plain tired but really incredibly tired as in I cannot lift my arms or my lower rib cage ached. I cooked from morning 'til afternoon. Before I had MG, this was a piece of cake, no problem at all. This time I did not expect to get tired so early. By lunchtime I was just pacing myself so I could cook everything needed otherwise it would be a disaster. I hid my exhaustion because I did not want to alarm my husband though I was ready to collapse. Fortunately I was able to hang on enough to finish all of it but I did not like my cooking results at all. The brownies were overbaked, there was too much liver in the caldereta, some of the lumpia was burned, the pinakbet were overcooked, too little sauce in the sweet & sour fish, etc. I couldn't even chat well with our guests because I felt so fatigued. By bedtime I was so dog-tired I couldn't sleep right away. I had to have a back rub from hubby.

At least now I know and acknowledge that I cannot do it all as I used to. I told myself, from now on I will only cook 2 dishes or prepare everything way ahead and just buy or have the rest of the food catered (or harass my friends to cook for me). It is humbling knowing my limitations. I am not a supermum anymore. Hikbi! (Sob!) I am mortal, vulnerable, weak, bound by physical constraints, finite. What a sobering realisation of my frailties. Either I deny and try to fight it or accept, learn to live with it and adapt. I chose the latter. As they say the only constant in this world is change, so I change to suit my needs.

When I am stressed out like this I try to relax by listening to music and one of the things that often comes to mind are the first few lines of this song:


The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
(Simon & Garfunkel)

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.

Hello lamppost, What cha knowing?
I've come to watch your flowers growing.
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in' doo-doo, Feelin' groovy.

Got no deeds to do, No promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy.


I especially like the line there "Life, I love you". Y'all be groovy, people ...

Promdi Tales 3

More and more funny experiences in being new to a place ...

German Shopping Habits [from Ting-Aling]

A Pinay nurse and her friend came to Germany to work. It was their first time and they cannot speak nor read in German. It was also their first winter there. She and her friend decided that they have to buy some coats. So they entered a shop and pointed to the rows and rows of coats and jackets hanging. The shop owners didn’t want to sell them anything. The girls were puzzled, they’ve got the money, the shop has got the goods - why they won't let them buy? It turned out they went into a dry cleaners !!

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Soup ala Tide [from BongK]

During our study in ROC (Taiwan), we were invited to an exclusive dinner by the big bosses (officials of the host country). On the dining table there were a number of bowls already prepared that had lots of different things in it. My Pinoy friend (there were 2 of us) saw one bowl containing what looked like creamy soup. Naturally he thought the first course of the meal was soup, so he spoon-scooped and tasted it. “Wheeew, lasang sabon” (“It tastes like soap”), he said. Then the waiter came to us and said “Sir you need not taste it, it’s for washing your hand !”

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Leaving On a Jet Plane [from Ting-Aling]

My friend was flying in first time to the US on board Japan Airlines. When he was served food, the very first thing he wanted was the icing in the box. He was actually a bit peeved that the Japanese served icings in so little quantity. In short, he spooned all of the wasabi in his mouth all in one go !! (Water ! Water ! Gimme water!)

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The First Time Gardener [from Ting-Aling]

Here is my life story, I first came in the US at the tail end of winter and start of spring – March 31. Trying to be a good guest to my hosts, I donned my boots and gloves and went out to the garden and swept all the dried leaves and pulled out all the dead weeds. My host wept when she saw that I pulled out all her favourite seasonal plants. They were meant to lose their leaves in winter and grow again in spring ! She even said she had been cultivating them for several years. Waaaah! I made sure of course to replace all her beloved plants.

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Baby You Can Drive My Car

My father-in-law (FIL) was quite new in California. He was driving along the I-5 and came at the tail end of a group of cars. You know how it is in those situations, you tend to drive with the flow not realizing that you’re speeding. Long story short, a patrol car came up and nabbed him. He was explaining and complaining at the same time on why he was speeding and why he was the only one stopped. The police office said (metaphorically), “Well if you’re fishing do you catch all the fish?” feeling smug and went back to scribbling. My FIL retorted, “Well yes – if you’re good !” It’s a good thing the officer just looked at him and didn’t answer. Nahuli na nang insulto pa! (He already got caught but he still insulted the police officer!)

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Imitation is the Best Form of Flattery

A barrio-mate of mine boarded a plane to London to be reunited with his nurse wife. It was his first time to fly and his first time to be out of the Phils. He actually felt very nervous because he did not know what to do or how to behave in the plane. He eyed up his British seatmate and thought that he looked like a seasoned traveler. So he decided to follow whatever his seatmate does. And when he said “whatever he does” it means everything. When the guy ordered chicken for the meal, he ordered chicken, when the guy opened the lid of his food, he opened the lid of his food, when the guy asked for water he asked for water, when the guy pierced and cut his food, he pierced and cut his food even mimicking the number of times the knife was slid back and forth! He even didn’t finish his dessert though he likes it because the seatmate didn’t finish his. (I think I’ve seen this in a Dolphy movie). And this is all true! Hehehe!

Turning Japanese, I Think I'm Turning Japanese I Really Think So

I got this from my email inbox:

JAPANESE LESSON:

Manok - Sekken
Mamaya - Sakana
Joke - Biru
Stereo - Akai
Cook - Giza-giza
Ghost - Momo
Ayos - Furo oke
Fingernail - Koko
Laughed - Anata-wa
Flirt - Kire
This - Itto
Small piece of cloth - Retasu
Cornfield - Mais-san
Madali - Ishi Hindi
Masyado - Natsu
Cigarette - Yoshi
Ipagpaumanhin - Kamisori
Gay - Shyokki
Is this your property? - Arimoto?
Yes, this is my property - Arikoto
Is this yours? - Sayobato?
This is mine - Sakinitu
Can I have it? - Akinato?
You can have it - Sayonato
Can we have it? - Saminato?
You can have it - Sanyonato
You haven't washed your face - Mimutamatamo
You've grown so thin! - Kitanabutomo!
We saw each other - Kitakami
We had a big get-together - Kitakitakami
Have a drink before you go - Tomakamuna
That was my assumption - Inakarako
Let's go quickly! - Bachi-na-yota!
We will boycott the election - Kaminoboto
Underarm odor - Kirikiripawa
Are you a victim of discrimination? - Minamatakaba?
I give up - Sukonako
Ouch! - Haraiku!
What a sad life it is - Hainaku
Is this your car? - Otomoto?
Is this my car? - Otokoto?
Is this your noodles? - Mikimoto?
I'll take this - Kukuninkoto
This is my desk. - Itodesko
Speechless? - Wasabe?
I have a lot of things to do - Hironako
An ampalaya (bittermelon) - Kurukurubot
What are your thoughts? - Kuru-kuromo?
I am thinking - Munimuniko
Are you playing the guitar? - Gigitaraka?
Is this your underwear? - Jakeemoto?
Are you annoyed already? - Iniskanabane?
You're crazy!!! - Sirauromo!!!
You're drooling!!! - Turorawayka!!!

Going Out Of My Head Over You ... Day & Night, Night & Day & Night

Nyemet. Ano ba ito, dalawang araw na pero umiinog pa rin sa utak ko. May dala si Deng na CD mula Pinas, pinakinggan namin sa van, tawa kami ng tawa. Pero hanggang ngayon nadidinig ko pa rin sa utak ko yung kanta ...

Si-ge na (a-hay)
... At kung seksi 'kat maganda baka libre pa. (ayyy)

Ano bang title niyan? Canton? Lekat na yan, dahil asar ako sa kanta eh malakas ang recall sa akin. Kung bakit naman yan pang novelty song na napang-asar ni Joey de Leon at Sexbomb gels ang natipuhan. Kaya nakikinig ako ngayon ng ibang oldies baka sakaling ma over-write para matantanan ang peace of mind ko. Paano kaya kung parang CD-R yung utak ko, puedeng write pero wala ng bura? Ngek!

Eto ang isang peborit oldie ko na matagal ko ng hindi napakinggan:

Tell Mama
(Savoy Brown)

Quit my job, aint got no money
Seems I have to leave this town
Packed my bags, run to the station
Board the train thats eastward bound

(chorus)
Tell Mama
And all the folks back home
Sometimes a man just feels
He's got to make it alone
Tell Mama
Why I'm leaving so soon
Because this life I live
Has got me sick through and through

Nothing to do, thats why I had to go
Seemed no use in hanging round
I can't stop now, the tickets in my hand
Board the train thats eastward bound
(chorus)

Quit my job, aint got no money
Seems I have to leave this town
(chorus)


Hindi ko alam na dito pala nagsimula sa UK ang Savoy Brown. Pero sa original line-up ay si Kim Simmonds na lang ang natira. All the rest are Americans and they are now based in the US.