:)

Agitated

Sometimes/most of the time, I feel so overwhelmed with God's blessings to me and my family. So overwhelmed that I get scared.

There. I said it. You can hate me now.

Kthanksbye.

My own little minion.

This morning, I called my dearest Chanelle to ask her who her favorite aunty was. She was kinda annoyed and I asked her a dozen times more and she got extremely annoyed and passed the phone to her uncle, my cousin Clinton. Clinton and I talked for a bit until I remembered that the original reason why I called was to tell Chanelle how my dog miscarried all her 6 puppies. This is how our conversation went:

Aunty Bea: Yo! Who's your favorite aunty???

Chanelle: eeeeeeeeeh

Aunty Bea: You know what, Miss Holly's puppies died today, they're all in pet heaven now. Aunty Bea feels sad.

Chanelle: Why?

Aunty Bea: I dunno. Next time she gets pregnant, I can give you a puppy if your mommy and daddy allows it you, ok?

Chanelle: OK. But I want a fish. Can you buy me a fish?

Aunty Bea: Why would you want a fish? They're boring.

Chanelle: I WANT A FISH.

Aunty Bea: Fine, fine. How many do you want?

Chanelle: Just one.

Aunty Bea: Ok. I'll bring it to your house on Thursday.

Chanelle: Oh, can you give me 2? A big one and a small one.

Aunty Bea: I can give you a small one, and it will grow and become big. You can name your fish.

Chanelle: No, no! I want one big and one small.

Aunty Bea: What for?

Chanelle: Para may minion sya.

Aunty Bea: What?! Para saan minion nya???

Chanelle: Dapat parati sya may minion. Kelangan may minion sya eh.

Aunty Bea: Ok fine, I'll buy your fish a minion. Who's your favorite aunty?

Chanelle: AUNTY BEYHA!!! YEEEEEY!

Aunty Bea: YEEEEEY!

Chanelle: Why are you so happy?

Aunty Bea: uh...

Mr. Perfect

A while ago, over a pitcher of Tang Mandarin Orange, Victor and I were seriously discussing the sad, sad state of my non existent love life. You see, I'm turning 26 in a month. 26. As JC David would say, that's already on the other side of your  20's.
When you're Chinese and 26 and just-got-back-to-zero-single, it's no joke. Thoughts of spinsterhood come creeping in every now and then. You think your market value declines a point every single day. And so in that second of worry and anxiety, I asked Victor to find me a Mr. Perfect.
He asked me for my requirements.

I only had 3.

1) Should be adventurous.
2) Should be driven, have goals, and have passion for whatever he does.
3) Should be able to buy me whatever that I can afford for myself.

Viola, right then and there, he thought of the perfect guy for me. With all 3 points in the bag.

Bruce Wayne

Or more popularly known as BATMAN.

True, true. Tama nga naman. 

1) Bruce Wayne is very adventurous. He's Batman, for crying out loud. Adventurous na, mysterious pa!

2) He's driven. Goal nya maka save ng madaming tao. And as far as I know, nagagawa nya naman diba?

3) He's rich. Batmobile and butler Alfred. 'nuff said.

 Victor says my requirements were ludicrously fictional. So ok, since I am bored and I wanna act like a 16 year old, here is my non-fictional Mr. Perfect.

time started: 7:36pm

1) He needs to have nice teeth.
2) Like Bruce Wayne, I want him driven. And I really, REALLY need him to have goals, be focused, and just be the perfect package for success. NON NEGOTIABLE.
3) Should be at least 4 inches taller than I am. (I'm 5'3)
4) Should have nice socks. All the time. No worn out socks please.
5) Should be able to finish a Charlie's double black angus with fries on the side and Buffalo wings to share with me.
6) Plays basketball with friends, preferably on a weekday night or a weekend morning.
7) Its not necessary for him to be outdoorsy, but I can't have him whining when I'm trying to be outdoorsy.
8) No gangsta music please.
9) Snores.
10) good skin is a plus. I want nice genes for future babies.
11) Last name should have at least 2 syllables.
12) I want him to be the type of guy who gets eternally annoyed when I ask him to buy me flowers. But he'll buy me anyway.
13) At least 6 years older.
14) Does not get easily bullied by me.
15) Difficult.
16) Has reasonably high levels of E.Q.
17) Should be able to carry a conversation with my brothers. :|
18) Should be able to hang out with my brothers' friends. :|
19) Should be liked by my brothers. :| :| :|
20) He will control me when I don't wanna be controlled.
21) And he will be mad when I try to control him.
22)  I should see a bit of his dorsal venous in his hand and lower arm. Like a golfer's arm. But doesn't necessarily need to play golf. I just like strong hands. That's all.
23) SHOULD NOT BE OBSESSED WITH CARS. ergh.
24) I don't want him to have a small digicam.
25) Likes to travel.
26) Likes nice hotels.
27) He should know the ins and outs of his business.
28) He should know something about fixing cars.
29) It should be ok for him to wear board shorts anywhere.
30) Please let him look dashingly debonaire whenever I need him to.
31) He's not magastos.
32) And he will influence me to be not magastos.
33) He can be a picky eater.
34) His car is makalat.
35) He doesn't approve of my horseback riding, but won't stop me from riding anyway.
36) Knows his math.
37) Ok narin kahit di magaling sa grammar.
38) It should be ok for him to wear butas butas na Tshirt.
39) He shouldn't have enough care to follow this blog, or any other blog.
40) Hates colored nails.
41) He cannot NOT like dogs.
42) Hould be scared of cats, cockroaches and bees.
43) Can't be needy.
44) Won't tolerate me being needy.
45) I'm bored na pakshet. Kay Batman nalang ako.

Time ended: 9:11pm

There's a difference between a great love and a right love

"This is your chance at happiness. You think you shouldn't want it because you never had it and it scares you. But you deserve your fairytale." -Chuck Bass

"I didn't wanna let you go just yet." -Blair Waldorf

*gasp*

I DIED.

Falling off your horse 101.

This is a written and public lecture for myself.

1) Never lean forward when losing balance. Slightly lean backward.
2) Never EVER, EVER put your feet behind your body. homaygass when will you ever learn.
3) While falling, avoid making loud, ratty, "eek eek eek" squeaky sounds. It just brings everyone's attention to you. Ergo, everyone sees you fall. Ergo, nakakahiya.
4) Once you've realized that you're already at the falling point of no return, don't try to hold on for dear life. Dismantle. Just do it. It hurts less, I swear.
5) When you're already on the ground, just let go of the rein. Once you let go of the stirrups, let go of the rein. JUST LET GO. Because not letting go means asking your horse to step on you. Getting trampled on by a horse is not sexy. Nope... not sexy at all.
6) Once on the ground, do not forget to attempt a fake amnesia. It makes things more interesting.
7) Try to smell if you landed on fresh horse manure or pee. If you did, it's ok to cry. But if not, I guess it's still ok to cry.
8) When trying to deny your fall, please be reminded of this conversation:
     Groom: Ma'am, Ma'am! Ano Nangyari?
     Bea: Wala nagpapahilot lang ako, libre eh.
     G: Nahulog kayo noh?
     B: Hindi ah.
     G: Hindi daw. eh puro buhangin pa yung mukha nyo eh.
9) Lose weight, please lang.
And last but not the least:
10) Falling off is not a good enough excuse to call THE EX. It's pathetic. He'll feel sorry and be concerned, but it will be seriously awkward after a while. Seriously.

S.S.S. - Secret Society Sisig

I just twisted my knee from falling off my horse. So yes, I'm blogging because there's not much that I can do right now.

I might have mentioned S.S.S. here. It's the Secret Society Sisig. This probably the best sisig I've ever had, next to the family sisig recipe.

I think this is the most perfect sisig I've tasted in my entire life. A bit of crunch and a bit of meat here and there and there's minimal "taba". It's really well prepared and well concocted. If you like sisig from Pampanga, you'll love this.

Mila's Sisig

So anyway, it's not really called S.S.S. I just invented that name because nobody knew where it was and if somebody did, they don't know the name of the place. And since nobody reads my blog anyway, I doubt that this entry would change that. ajeje.

The place is called Mila's Store, located in Angeles City, Pampanga. I dunno the name of the street exactly, but it's almost behind Chevalier School, right on the entrance of Angeles City from San Fernando Pampanga. You drive past the school then turn right after a motor shop, and at the end of the street, turn right again and you will find the most magical pork you'll ever have.

Mila's Store, Angeles, Pampanga

I know most out-of-towners go to Riles, Pampanga's famous grill strip for their sisig. Aling Lucing is probably Pampanga's most famous. This place is takes around a 15 minute drive from that area. Trust me, it's really worth the drive. 

An order costs 200 pesos, already good for 3-4 persons. 

Bedtime Horrors.

I have taken babysitting to the next level--- I took Chanelle to Anilao with me for 3 nights. 

I bought her a complete set of gear perfect for the Anilao baby warrior.

I also bought her an inflatable boat that didn't have paddles with the set. BIG MISTAKE. She bugged me non stop until I was able to produce a definitely-not-kid-friendly paddle made from plywood. 

And you know how my mom denies her excitement for an apo? Tsk tsk. 

Poor Chanelle, by our second day she was literally running away from my mom. She hated the gigil kisses and gigil hugs. Kawawang harassed na bata.

3 nights = 3 bedtime dramas. QUE HORROR. 

Night #1: We left manila at around 1030pm. She fell asleep the moment we got to EDSA until we arrived at the resort at around 1230am. I was praying so hard that she wouldn't wake up because waking up means being up until 4am. But she woke up. and yes, we were up bargaining for sleep time until 4am. :|

Night #2: She took a nap mid afternoon but I made sure to wake her up and make her swim and play and scream all she wanted to make bedtime easier. Was it easier? NO. It took 2 hours of bedtime stories and questions and answers before she decided to sleep. Oh, and this is how she is when she's really sleepy and trying her best to be awake and entertain me. Mali mali na grammar mo, teh, tulog na tayo.

Night #3: War is war. She swam and ran around the pool THE WHOLE DAY. By 630pm she was already starting the drama at the dinner table. I fed her a little rice and a cup of yogurt. She was crying and telling me she wanted to sleep so I took her to bed. But uh oh, nakaramdam lang ng aircon new wave of energy nanaman. HUHUHU. She was obviously sleepy and was just trying to fight it. By 8pm she was complaining of hunger, so I had to be "mad" and told her that she had to eat when it was eating time and sleep when it was sleeping time. But I'm not a bad aunt naman, so I took her to the dining and gave her rice again, but this time, I left her alone on one table while I was on another. She was not allowed to speak to anyone (because if she was, she'd only ask for bottomless iced tea). She was "punished" for being difficult and for not eating at the right time and asking for food when it's bedtime. 5 minutes to her punishment, she was asleep. :| 

Crazy little girl. She's mastered the art of living the resort life, asking everyone to give her more iced tea and yogurt. She would go out on her own and ask someone to turn the TV on to Playhouse Disney.  She'd ask resort guests to fix her snorkel and swim with her. She's the definition of friendly. We were kinda worried that she'd feel homesick and ask for her mom and dad, but she never did. Nagtampo na nga mom and dad nya eh. HAHA. 

Ask her if she had fun and she'd say yes. She's willing to go 5 nights straight. But ask me the same? I'd say I had fun. But 3 nights is enough. Baka pumayat na ako pag 5 pa yan. ;)

I <3 Chanelle. Can't wait for the next love-hate trip with this kid. 

I'm Back!

I've been out for too long. Went to Batangas and Boracay to be with relatives. Will blog about it soon.

Toodles!

Bieber Fever

I totally get the Bieber fever, ok? 

So this morning everyone started posting videos from last night. The very first video I searched for on YouTube was the One Less Lonely Girl Manila performance. (don't judge. It just so happens that I watched the frickin' Never Say Never film, K?) Curious ako kung sino pinili nila to be serenaded by the Biebs. They say she's the daughter of Smart, or baka luto lang talaga ang pagpili. I don't know, but I hate her cap. And I don't know why she couldn't keep her mouth closed. Baka di na kinaya huminga sa ilong. ajejeje. 

Here's the video.

Nevermind that Justin suddenly disappeared right after the song, like ayaw nya na makipag mingle or to be at least nice and sincerely accomodate the not-so-lonely-girl-anymore. By the end of the video, I was seriously pikon at myself for not bothering to see him perform. Really, really, seriously pikon. After 10 minutes I still couldn't get over it. I called Meyrick and told him that I watched the video and got jealous of every single girl who was able to see him live. Meyrick shrugged me off. So I started to cry. 

No, I did not cry like Cody but I really cried. Like whinny, annoying, childish crying on the phone. For around 10 seconds. My heart ached for Justin Bieber. There. I said it. Hmph. 

I'm too emotional and yes, I'm a drama queen like that.

I think I'm PMS-ing.

Somebody's Home, Styrofoam.

Nancy just flew in from the US last weekend. I'm so happy.
I saw her Monday night, had a rainy evening dinner at C' and coffe/tang grape+cake at her place 'til dawn with the high school originals.
I pretty much spent my high school years with these people.

Me, Nancy, Ralph and Alexa 

Talking 'til the wee hours wasn't enough. We had to do round 2, now with Meyrick and Francis, alcohol, bottomless Roel's hotdog and S.S.S. High school favorites.

Spot those who aren't ready.

This is S.S.S.--- Secret Society Sisig. Best. Sisig. Ever. I'll blog about it soon.

Nancy coming home feels like home. I'm not excited for another separation anxiety drama when Nancy goes back on the 24th. 

Sigh. 

Sometimes growing up isn't fun at all.

Crowing Chicken

Once upon a time, way back before Red Mango, Tutti Frutti and California Berry took over Manila, there was a small soft serve FroYo place in Pampanga called Cold Spoon. It stood alone along Friendship Highway and was obviously owned by a Korean and people never really bothered to stop by and check out what they were selling. Until word got out that it was the most perfect soft-serve FroYo available in the whole country. Since then, a lot of people have given FroYo its much deserved attention and soft-serve FroYo, just like Cold Spoon's, became very much accessible in Manila.

Now comes fried chicken wings. There's Manang's from Mercato Centrale, Chicken Charlie, and Bonchon Manila. Way before all these yummy fried chicken with soy and sesame dressing came parading in Manila, there was Crowing Chicken. 

Crowing Chicken is a very small restaurant also located along Friendship Highway in Angeles City. It's so small, you won't even know it's there. I've seen its signage a lot of times before but never really went in. It was just a door beside my favorite Korean Grocery, Chukbuk Mart. 

So one day, while I was telling Victor how much I loved Manang's chicken wings, he mentioned that there was this Korean-owned fried chicken place in Angeles that nobody knew about. So he looked for it, found it, and tried it. Surprise, surprise. The place that's been ignored all these years served what we would go gaga over Bonchon and Chicken Charlie and Mannang's.
Meyrick and I went there tonight to try their soy and sesame dressing.

Crowing Chicken with soy and sesame dressing

Really yummy, if you ask me. Really, REALLY yummy if you ask Meyrick. A serving of 12 pc. chicken wings in soy and sesame dressing would cost you Php400. I find it expensive, given that the place is anything but fancy. Pero pwede na, masarap naman. Meyrick's sosyal, he didn't really care about the price. He doesn't even get why I'm comlplaining about the price.

In Chinese and Japanese restaurnts, they give you service tea. In this place, they give you service Coke. Oh, joy. I'm not a huge Coke drinker, but I think it's happiness to be given "service Coke".

Coke Sakto

They also serve chicken wings in Korean sweet and spicy sauce, but I like the soy and sesame a lot better. They also offer other parts, not just wings. You can order all legs, or half or whole of a chicken with the breast and thigh and pwet and all. The fried wings with soy and sesame dressing is very much comparable with Manang's but Crowing Chicken definitely is not just your ordinary fried chicken take away place. It offers tempura and other Korean dishes that I can't really remember. And while at it, don't forget to check out Chukbuk next door to get your fill of Korean grocery loot.

It's one of those days that I'm really glad Koreans are putting up businesses in Pampanga. Gives us variety, eh? Yehey 'til to the next food adventure surprise.

Sino to???

Di ko kinaya! hahaha! MALFUNCTIONS OP D FACE. win.

Today, I went back to Horseback Riding

It's been almost a year since i started yakking about horses. 8 months since I had my first taste of horseback riding as an adult. 6 months since I started taking formal riding lessons, and almost 4 months since I fell and hit my head hard, causing me to take a long break from riding.

Falling off your horse is quite normal. It does happen. It happened to me a couple of times before having that really bad fall on that really bad spot at a really bad time. That day was my last day of formal training. It was sort of my graduating day so I insisted to go out to the park instead of staying at the paddocks--- which is safer for falling because the sanded ground can sort of cushion your fall.  I was so happy that day I asked my trainer to jump Buddy, my schooling horse. I don't know what happened next, just that it felt surreal and like a dream waking up lying on the grass with my trainer and the stables' owner asking me to stay on the ground. I can't remember much about falling or what happened before and after the fall, but I do remember not remembering anything, and tweeting that I feel like suffering from memory loss. I remember getting the worst headache from trying to remember where I was and what happened and the way back home. I also remember putting my head inside a hospital trash bin to vomit my head off while I was having my CT scan. I remember my mom telling me in the hospital to never to go back riding again, and I fondly remember the doctor telling me that I can go back after 4-5 months.

After almost 4 months of rest, I finally decided to go back today. I couldn't be any happier. I used the helmet Meyrick had shipped from the U.S. a couple of months back. He gave it to me a month after the accident. Maybe to remind me that I can always go back when I'm ready. Or maybe wala lang. I've been itching to use it since. I seriously brought a camera with me today and seriously asked my trainer to take 100 pictures of me riding. Funny. He was able to take 97 photos. 

I think I appreciate riding now more than ever. I used to just go there, take lessons and be frustrated and impatient of both the horse and myself. I would try to force the horse to canter with me but he never did and he never followed. On the few occasions that I am able to make him pick up more speed, I instantly freeze and do all sorts of stupid panic sounds and make him stop. I wasn't really ready. My trainer, as well as other veteran horseback riders would always tell me: The goal is not speed. It's not about the ride. It's about you and the horse. It's a relationship.
And they're right. It REALLY is NOT just about the ride. It's discipline and patience and love for your horse. It's knowing your horse and knowing yourself on the horse that makes good horsemanship. I know I've still got a lot of things to learn, but hey, you gotta give it to me that I learned a thing or 2 after falling hard on the ground.

Buddy cantered with me for the first time today, the day I came back from the fall. I didn't force him and it was not out of frustration. I was able to direct him to. And he cooperated with me. It felt good. It wasn't perfect, but it was wonderful. I'm happy. Really, really happy.

Chanelle

Meet the world's most low-maintenance kid, my 4 year old niece Chanelle.

Last night, she decided to come to our house and have her first-ever sleepover. Yes, it was an exciting time for us because she just turned 4 and it's her first time to spend the night in someone else's house without her mommy and daddy. 

Watch how incredibly independent she is.

I think I have experienced the most drama-less babysitting in baby history. She was pleasant the whole time. She knew how to say please and say thank you. She'd automatically say sorry if she caused a little mess. And if it's not enough, she'd say "I'm REALLY sorry, aunty Bea". 

But the highlight of her stay was bedtime. I have never seen or ever imagined someone be this disoriented during sleep. :| 

Please watch til the end and please forgive the snickering and the snorting and the annoying background talking. 

I haven't laughed so hard for quite sometime now. Me and Iris were laughing for around 20 minutes. I was already tearing.

When she woke up in the morning, first thing she told me was: "good morning aunty Bea, it's already daytime. Can I play bubbles?"

hihi. I love this kid. I wouldn't call her baby or any other cutesy patootsie baby pet names. She's a big girl now and she's ready to have more sleepovers soon. 

P.s.

I really should be careful with what I say and do around her. She's a frickin' sponge it scares me. Her mom and dad might kill me eh. haha.

Isa lang masasabi ko

If William wore his hat all the time--- including bedtime, I'd be crying in envy of Kate Middleton. 

Because making pa-cute is not cute at all.

When you're not REALLY mad, don't waste time pretending that you are. Because it really. Is. Unnecessary.

Inspiration came from a love named Janah

This morning while I was smothering myself with my new sunblock, I got a much needed hello from Janah telling me she read my post about our house project.
Janah is an interior designer who worked with me once when we renovated our house in Manila. She worked with my favorite uncle when he was renovating his house. She worked with my aunt when she was renovating hers. In short, Janah's a family friend, and a very good friend to me. We've gone on adventures a couple of times and I love her to death. She's a creative inspiration. She's fun and quirky and. I dunno. I love her.

After almost a year of construction, I've already lost my sense of creativity in this project. I am guilty of settling for convenience and safe instead of getting well sourced items and design. My mom's so square, she doesn't get me. And Ariel, our interior designer for this project, I love him too and he's great and he works wonders to address beauty and function but he doesn't understand yellow chandeliers and orange chairs like Janah does. I take it this way: Ariel would give me french vanilla ice cream for a room, Janah would give me magenta cherries to top my ice cream.

So anyway, here's a few new things that I'm pegging for the house.

This wire chandelier is amazing!  I can't believe I missed this. Suddenly all my light fixtures are boring and statement-less. I love this. I think I'll get huge one for the guest house. Nevermind cleaning issues. It's too pretty to be ignored.

Wire Chandelier

This I thought of last week but the people I cureently work with don't agree. Now I'm convinced that I can pull this off. Mustard yellow and royal blue headboards with captione for the guest rooms. I like this peg, minus all the black. I'll see if I could work on that same pattern for both rooms.

I never knew what to do with the attic until I saw this photo. Too beautiful. I'm turning it into a craft room that looks exactly like this. I just don't know why Audrey Hepburn looks like she's wearing a pirate's hat in that photo. 

Craft Room

I don't know where to get this and I am convinced that I am capable of making my own version of this for Iris' room. She'll feel like a baby staring at a butterfly mobile every day and every night for the rest of her life.

I originally wanted a B&W family photo wall with plain black frames, but Janah told me to try to mix classic and modern frames in one wall. I saw this and I'm not too sure if I'll be able to pull it off. I'm now thinking of mixing photos and paintings done by family members since I have some of my works still kept somewhere and Victor's been painting recently. Im still not sure where to put it though. 

Photo Wall

I'm obsessing over my soon to be koi pond. I want it to look as vintage as possible. None of that minimalist zen garden feel. We've already agreed with trellises. Now I just have to convince them to make it round. My grandma will love this.

I need to find vintage Vogue magazines. I need more pictures like this:

I wish I lived in this era.

 Last but not the lest, I'm turning my closet into this:

HAAAAH! Just kiddiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!! :) I'll get punished for a closet like this. haha!

Holy Week.

A few interesting photos from the week that was.

This is probably my favorite photo so far. I'm amused by all that passion to oppose the RH Bill. The Church is now in its new kind of low. 

The penitent, the people, and the NO TO RH BILL sign.

This guy came prepared. I think He's the hippest of all Jesus-wannabes. For a moment I was tempted to act as the modern Veronica. "Mag sherbet ka muna, kuya."

Green mangoes for Raisa and Iris.

I went fishing with Mimie and her cousins. I'm starting to love my camera.

This was on my plate for lunch yesterday. I didn't want to, but nakakahiya to all the guests from Manila who were all game to try. It tasted a bit like chicharon cooked in garlic and butter.

Sylvia's Camaru

Meyrick and I had Easter lunch at Feng Wei Wee at Wilson.  You have no idea how much I love this place. We had steamed chicken with sausage and orange spareribs. It was perfect. I loved every bit of it.

Orange Spareribs

We grabbed Serenitea before heading back to Pampanga. I met with Iris and Raisa and did some SM department store shopping then headed to Marquee where I splurged on all sorts of moisturizers in desperation of Philosophy's Hope in a big jar. I'm such a geek.

So there. A litte bit of my Holy Week. It was more eventful than boring. More social than reflective. 

How was yours?

House Project Update

There've been lots of progress since the last time I've posted photos of our house-building project. Here's what's been happening so far.

Windows are being installed. Here's the picture of our formal and informal living room:

This is the family hall. The ceiling's been there for quite a while now. I still don't know what they plan to do to cover the wood panels. It's either paint or vinyr. I'd rather go for just plain paint:

The yard still looks like the desert. I'm planning to have have the gardeners start fertilizing the soil after Holy Week. I don't want my mom moving in to this dryness.

Here's our biggest debate recently. Whether to get center lights, probably chandeliers, for our formal living and informal living room. I say it's too much since we're installing 2 chandeliers in the dining, 3 sets of drop lighting on the staircase landing, and a really fancy non-crystal chandelier on the foyer. Statement lights everywhere is too much, isn't it? Interior designer's still trying to convince me to install crystal chandeliers on both formal and informal. I'm thinking of just leaving the ceiling alone with the basic pin lights and cove lighting, OR, I plan to customize my own flat light piece. 

This is Iris' bedroom. It doesn't blue in the photo. I got her the nicest blue tiles you'll ever see. It's so rich in blue and white that you'd want to lick it right then and there.

My diva tiles arrived to day. I love it.

 So they started painting my room. It looks more yellow in real life. It feels like French vanilla ice cream. I'm still thinking of how I can make it interesting. I find french vanilla ice cream boring.

The main lanai's ceiling is almost done. It's pretty to look at. 

Mom's accent tiles also arrived today. It was more fascinating the first time I saw it. But I guess it's ok. It looks like a mom's bathroom anyway.:)

So there. Craziness has begun and stress is taking it's toll on my body. I haven't eaten a meal on time the whole week. Yesterday I woke up tired and sick and I still had to get my ass out of bed to finalize remaining tile requirements and other things like kitchen sinks and faucets and pin lights and a thousand more things. 

4 more weeks.

Happy Birthday Pa!

I still miss you. Everyday. :)

Breakfast 3-31-11

Ma: Kakainin niyo ba yun croissant?

Bea: Where?

Ma: There! Sa box ng Breadtalk.

Bea: Puro floss lang yan, no croissant.

Ma: Pinasok ko dyan, para kunwari Breadtalk. Binili ko sa Bretto's.

Bea: Uhhh... okay. (checks the box, sees a non-crusty but perfectly shaped croissants)
        Ma, ayaw ko kainin. It doesn't look good. It's not crusty.

Ma: Oo nga hindi crusty. Hindi talaga sya dapat crusty. Pag crusty ibig sabihin too much butter.

Bea: Ma diba dapat ang croissant crusty? That's the point.

Ma: Well, it's not a real croissant. I'm just trying to trick you and Vic to eat fake croissants. (VILLAINOUS laugh)

Bea: ?!? K.

***I don't know ma. Why. Why???

Dear Bea, haba ng hair mo.

Probably one of the most boring tagalog movies I've seen. But please skip to 2:08




So there I was, 10pm in my office table with still lots of paperwork undone. I was sticky and smelly from a hard day's work and I was crying WITH SOUND and using my shirt to wipe all my uhog and tears.
Feeling  eh, haba ng hair ko.  Kunwari naka relate. ajejeje.

Yucks noh, it felt so awkward even if I was alone.

Never mind the awkward love scene and Bea Alonzo's annoying laugh.
I shall wait for my own John Lloyd to tell me that too-poetic-for-you-to-be-a-real-man line.

"I cannot take away all the pain I've caused you. But if you just let me, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to  you" (sniff and tears)

ayiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. asa ka 'teh? ajejeje.

P.S.
that slapping segment was intense. i wonder if i'll ever get to do that? hmm. oh.the.drama.

While we have macho dancers for 6-year olds

Japanese boy teaches lesson in sacrifice

2011-3-24  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

EDITOR'S note: 

THIS letter, written by Vietnamese immigrant Ha Minh Thanh working in Fukushima as a policeman to a friend in Vietnam, was posted on New America Media on March 19. It is a testimonial to the strength of the Japanese spirit, and an interesting slice of life near the epicenter of Japan's crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It was translated by NAM editor Andrew Lam, author of "East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres." Shanghai Daily condensed it.

Brother,

How are you and your family? These last few days, everything was in chaos. When I close my eyes, I see dead bodies. When I open my eyes, I also see dead bodies. 

Each one of us must work 20 hours a day, yet I wish there were 48 hours in the day, so that we could continue helping and rescuing folks.

We are without water and electricity, and food rations are near zero. We barely manage to move refugees before there are new orders to move them elsewhere.

I am currently in Fukushima, about 25 kilometers away from the nuclear power plant. I have so much to tell you that if I could write it all down, it would surely turn into a novel about human relationships and behaviors during times of crisis.

People here remain calm - their sense of dignity and proper behavior are very good - so things aren't as bad as they could be. But given another week, I can't guarantee that things won't get to a point where we can no longer provide proper protection and order. 

They are humans after all, and when hunger and thirst override dignity, well, they will do whatever they have to do. The government is trying to provide supplies by air, bringing in food and medicine, but it's like dropping a little salt into the ocean.

Brother, there was a really moving incident. It involves a little Japanese boy who taught an adult like me a lesson on how to behave like a human being.

Last night, I was sent to a little grammar school to help a charity organization distribute food to the refugees. It was a long line that snaked this way and that and I saw a little boy around 9 years old. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

It was getting very cold and the boy was at the very end of the line. I was worried that by the time his turn came there wouldn't be any food left. So I spoke to him. He said he was at school when the earthquake happened. His father worked nearby and was driving to the school. The boy was on the third floor balcony when he saw the tsunami sweep his father's car away. 

I asked him about his mother. He said his house is right by the beach and that his mother and little sister probably didn't make it. He turned his head and wiped his tears when I asked about his relatives.

The boy was shivering so I took off my police jacket and put it on him. That's when my bag of food ration fell out. I picked it up and gave it to him. "When it comes to your turn, they might run out of food. So here's my portion. I already ate. Why don't you eat it?"

The boy took my food and bowed. I thought he would eat it right away, but he didn't. He took the bag of food, went up to where the line ended and put it where all the food was waiting to be distributed. 

I was shocked. I asked him why he didn't eat it and instead added it to the food pile. He answered: "Because I see a lot more people hungrier than I am. If I put it there, then they will distribute the food equally."

When I heard that I turned away so that people wouldn't see me cry. 

A society that can produce a 9-year-old who understands the concept of sacrifice for the greater good must be a great society, a great people. 

Well, a few lines to send you and your family my warm wishes. The hours of my shift have begun again.

Ha Minh Thanh

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=467066&type=Opinion

Like A Horror Film

We found a very small retreat house near Flor's Garden. All that drama for one night. I had to sleep here, ALONE:

I've never been so glad that I'm always the pinaka maarte that I always bring my own sheets, pillow, and blanket whenever I'm unsure of accommodations. 

Good thing I was too tired to imagine all sorts of Sadakos crawling under my bed. huhu. 

scared.

Not to mention the guard and the lady that looked at us like we were sent by the devil to disturb their "peace". Ugh. 

Flor's Garden

Last Friday, Aids and I went up to Antipolo with the guy who takes care of his farm to attend a seminar about natural farming. The seminar was basically about the idea of WHY natural farming and its basic techniques good for small to medium scale farms. 

It was held in Flor's garden, a small, humble Bohol Bee Farm-like garden in Antipolo. Not so hard to find. We left Manila round 6:30 and arrived at around 7:30 without traffic.

The place was sort of on the side of the hill with a nice view of bamboo forests and mahogany forests and other kinds of forests. :| 

This is their function room.

The walls on the other side of the room (which is behind the camera) were of orchid nets. The wind blew so hard and the air was perfectly cool most of the day.  We could hear the leaves of trees, the wind, water flowing and crickets all over the place. It was hard not to feel sleepy.

Aids and I were talking about how it would be nice to just lie down in the middle of that nowhere and sleep the whole day. We're both fans of the buhay probinsya.

They served this during lunch: 

Reminds me of Bee Farm. This time I'm not scared to eat flowers anymore. But it took me a long time to dig into my salad plate. It was too pretty. The salad dressing was divine. I had harass Tita Flor, the farm owner for the recipe. Will share it here next time. 

The owner of the farm was an advocate of natural farming. The part of the garden that was open to public was sort of an educational one, with demonstrations on natural farming basics. Aids told me that his farm was way better than the garden. I have yet to see his farm to believe it. 

Plant beds with organic soil

Vermiculture: Worm management

This is irrelevant but I'll post it anyway since they're so cute and fluffy: 

Organically raised chicks.

They had a no smell pig. Really. The sign said "NO SMELL PIG" and when you try, there really isn't any smell! How lovely. I wish becky had no smell and no poop. I wish she had a smaller tummy and a smaller appetite.

NO SMELL PIG

The place was perfect for the seminar, really. I learned a lot and I was telling my mom I'd bring her there one of these days. If you're into farming or gardening or any of that sort, it wouldn't really hurt to travel to Flor's to learn a little of this and that.