I had a conversation with myself last night (pathetic!). I found myself answering these random questions I read on another blog. Felt like I was back in grade school answering those autograph books (is that what they’re called?).
1. Where did you take your profile pic? - Hawaii
2. Your favorite shoes – Naturalizer(s) & Banana Rep (on equal footing...get it? Shoes? Footing?)
3. Chocolate or sex? - Mmmmm… is this a trick question?
4. Name someone with the same birthday as you - Lani & IZ
5. Ever sang in front of a large audience? – Yes (my 15 minutes of fame). I froze actually
6. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity? - Yes (guess who they say I look like)
7. Do you still watch kiddie movies or TV shows? – Oh yes!
8. First thing you see in a man: shoes
9. Do you believe in love? – Absolutely. Without a doubt. No question about it…need I say more?
10. Do you believe in God? – Not only do I believe in Him but He is my life!
11 . Any mental health issues? - I’m sure my family would undoubtedly say “YES!”
12. Who was the last person you hugged? – Erica, sweet baby!
13. Favorite person in the world - Isabel, my angel!
14. Finish This Sentence:
a. My ex...was totally crazy about me (dream on!)
b. People would say that I am... Funny… or maybe funny looking (more likely)
c. I'm totally terrified of... losing what little family I have left and my friends
d. When I wake up in the morning... I hit the snooze button (several times)
e. Maybe... this time I’ll be lucky; maybe this time, he’ll stay; maybe this time, for the first time, love won’t hurry away
15. What are you thinking right now? - Am wondering (for the nth time) why I’m doing this list. Made me realize I need to get a life!!! Help!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
just u & me kid
instead of describing my experience in many of my prayer moments, i made a drawing of it. i actually just copied this piece which, when i saw it, blew me away because it reflected exactly how i felt during those times. the picture took the words right out of my mouth. if my drawing is too bad for you to decipher it (ouch!), it's about a girl in prayer with Bro tenderly kissing her head. during some of my prayer times when i feel so alone, i feel Bro holding me protectively and saying "I'm here...it's Me and you, kid"
p.s. the drawing is still a work in progress. i was just excited to share it with you
Saturday, July 24, 2010
baby talk
My boss brought to the office her younger son, (almost) 3-year old Santoy. We had a delightful series of conversations that went like this:
Me: San ka punta? (He was to stay at the office day care for the day)
Santoy: (at least this was how I heard him say it) Hachua chi chucher (translation: dun sa teacher)
************
Me (pointing at random letters for him to identify): What’s this? (pointing Y, L, and U)
Santoy: Y; L; U (applause, applause, applause)
Me (Pointing to “J”): What’s this letter?
Santoy: Labi! Labi!
I looked at her mom questioningly and she translated: J is for “labi” - meaning Jollibee. (Now why didn’t I get that?) And of course “M” is for… guess what? – “ado” (McDo).
*************
Santoy has visited the office several times in the past and he knows us by face and some of us by name. Her mom had told him to call Atty. Chay as Tita Chay. So this time we asked him if he remembered her name. Of course he did and he called her: “Pi Chay” (This is already an improvement since he used to call her “Ki Kay”)
I was introduced as Ate Maan and Santoy said: Gogi (translation: Pogi! – I was flattered…I think)
This triggered us to ask Santoy: Are you a boy or a girl?
Santoy (with a naughty smile on his face): Chiklit! (translation: Secret!)
****************
He was holding a packet of goodies and I asked him what it was and he said: Tolek (translation: chocolate)
****************
I asked him to recite the ABCs
Santoy: A, B, C, D, E, EP, G, H, I, J, K, lemanamemanO, P, Q, R, S….
Conversations with him turned me into a heaving mass of a loud laughing machine! I can’t wait for him to visit the office again for another round of conversations. His presence sure brought sunshine to an otherwise gloomy and hectic day.
Children are such a delight to be with. You can’t help but smile and melt at their innocence. No wonder God wants us to be like children - pure of heart.
Me: San ka punta? (He was to stay at the office day care for the day)
Santoy: (at least this was how I heard him say it) Hachua chi chucher (translation: dun sa teacher)
************
Me (pointing at random letters for him to identify): What’s this? (pointing Y, L, and U)
Santoy: Y; L; U (applause, applause, applause)
Me (Pointing to “J”): What’s this letter?
Santoy: Labi! Labi!
I looked at her mom questioningly and she translated: J is for “labi” - meaning Jollibee. (Now why didn’t I get that?) And of course “M” is for… guess what? – “ado” (McDo).
*************
Santoy has visited the office several times in the past and he knows us by face and some of us by name. Her mom had told him to call Atty. Chay as Tita Chay. So this time we asked him if he remembered her name. Of course he did and he called her: “Pi Chay” (This is already an improvement since he used to call her “Ki Kay”)
I was introduced as Ate Maan and Santoy said: Gogi (translation: Pogi! – I was flattered…I think)
This triggered us to ask Santoy: Are you a boy or a girl?
Santoy (with a naughty smile on his face): Chiklit! (translation: Secret!)
****************
He was holding a packet of goodies and I asked him what it was and he said: Tolek (translation: chocolate)
****************
I asked him to recite the ABCs
Santoy: A, B, C, D, E, EP, G, H, I, J, K, lemanamemanO, P, Q, R, S….
Conversations with him turned me into a heaving mass of a loud laughing machine! I can’t wait for him to visit the office again for another round of conversations. His presence sure brought sunshine to an otherwise gloomy and hectic day.
Children are such a delight to be with. You can’t help but smile and melt at their innocence. No wonder God wants us to be like children - pure of heart.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
better than sex
A couple of months ago, one of our travels for work took us to Iloilo for a seminar-workshop. There, I met some pretty awesome people who were nice and funny and had loads of stories to share. By the end of our dinner during our last day of the workshop, we were still pumped up. So they invited me out for a taste of the nightlife in Iloilo. Off we went to Smallville which was Iloilo's version of Libis' Eastwood.
The hangout place was smaller and less crowded but just like in Libis, it had bars and restos and cafes. But to my surprise, it did not have a Starbucks branch...nor anywhere else in Iloilo for that matter. They had, however, the Coffeebreak Cafe where we took our after dinner coffee and dessert. Aside from coffee, the cafe offered a variety of cakes and pastries but one cake stood out like a sore thumb...well its name at least. The cake was called "better than sex". Since I've never had a taste of the real thing, I thought I'd give this one a go and see how it fares.
It was moist rich chocolate cake covered with white frosting topped with choco bits and laced with caramel syrup (if i remember correctly). The looks of it was enough to keep me panting for a taste and I eagerly did. It was full of flavor and tender and sweet - but then again, I believe so is my "wrong" guy (wink!!). My new Ilonggo friends asked if it indeed was better that sex, I answered, "NO IDEA!!!" As far as chocolates go, I say I've had tastier finds. It wasn’t the mind-blowing, heart-pounding, out-of-this-world, earth-shattering (I would’ve mentioned orgasmic but I wouldn’t know that either) experience I had expected it would be. It rather seemed anti-climactic for me…no pun intended.
“IS THIS IT?” I wonder. If this is it…if this is supposed to be better…if this is better than what the people of all ages talk and blush and squirm about…if this is better than what men and women and the “confused” die and kill for, then I say all that hype about sex is overrated. Many friends have actually made graphic representations of what I'm missing. But if this is all IT…then I ain't missin' a thang, peeps!
You may find my position arguable...but who am I to argue? I know next to nothing about IT, remember? I think I'm better off not knowing what I'm missing...right?...right?
The hangout place was smaller and less crowded but just like in Libis, it had bars and restos and cafes. But to my surprise, it did not have a Starbucks branch...nor anywhere else in Iloilo for that matter. They had, however, the Coffeebreak Cafe where we took our after dinner coffee and dessert. Aside from coffee, the cafe offered a variety of cakes and pastries but one cake stood out like a sore thumb...well its name at least. The cake was called "better than sex". Since I've never had a taste of the real thing, I thought I'd give this one a go and see how it fares.
It was moist rich chocolate cake covered with white frosting topped with choco bits and laced with caramel syrup (if i remember correctly). The looks of it was enough to keep me panting for a taste and I eagerly did. It was full of flavor and tender and sweet - but then again, I believe so is my "wrong" guy (wink!!). My new Ilonggo friends asked if it indeed was better that sex, I answered, "NO IDEA!!!" As far as chocolates go, I say I've had tastier finds. It wasn’t the mind-blowing, heart-pounding, out-of-this-world, earth-shattering (I would’ve mentioned orgasmic but I wouldn’t know that either) experience I had expected it would be. It rather seemed anti-climactic for me…no pun intended.
“IS THIS IT?” I wonder. If this is it…if this is supposed to be better…if this is better than what the people of all ages talk and blush and squirm about…if this is better than what men and women and the “confused” die and kill for, then I say all that hype about sex is overrated. Many friends have actually made graphic representations of what I'm missing. But if this is all IT…then I ain't missin' a thang, peeps!
You may find my position arguable...but who am I to argue? I know next to nothing about IT, remember? I think I'm better off not knowing what I'm missing...right?...right?
Monday, July 12, 2010
food for thought
Last Saturday was a day of firsts for me – resto and foodwise that is. I enjoy trying out new places and stuff but I had never tried out two new restos and dishes in one day. This blog is also a first for me – a food and restaurant review (sort of). Let’s see your take on these restos.
Let’s start with lunch. After the check-up/visit to my niece’s pediatrician (who is cute, single, successful and “wrong”….again!), my sister brought us to Mom and Tina’s Bakery Café located along C5 in Pasig right across SM Hypermart/Tiendesitas. The café has country-style designed interiors and has a rather homey feeling to it. The crew was nice and friendly (and my niece’s yaya thought the waiters were gwaping). As soon as you enter, you would immediately get a craving for their mouth-watery cakes, cookies and pastries as these are stowed everywhere - below and behind the counter and in the row of coolers on the side. You get to choose to sit on the usual four-seater setting or you could laze around on their couch/settee and table format good for around 8 people.
The food had a home-cooked taste to it and was delish. They serve soup, pasta and potato and meat dishes as well as rice meals. I had Chicken Alexander (P170) which was a baked dish of layered mashed potatoes with chicken (of course!) topped with a thin layer of cheese and served with a couple of freshly baked bread rolls. The mashed potatoes were creamy and tasty. I sampled my sister’s chicken spinach lasagna (P160) and my cousin’s fettucini pesto (P160) and both were also delectable. I wanted to try out their cakes for dessert but what I had was so filling I didn’t have enough room for more.
For dinner, my friend and I scanned the restos at Techno Hub (also my first time there)along Commonwealth Avenue and we both decided to try out Kanin Club. I’ve been hearing about it and I wanted to know what the brouhaha was all about. The first time I saw it was in Paseo de Sta. Rosa in Laguna (or is that in Tagaytay?) and the place was filled to capacity. And just like in Paseo, by dinnertime there was a long line of patrons waiting to be seated. So if you decide to try it out, I suggest you come in early like we did.
The design was old-Filipino inspired… and by old I mean the traditional home style with wooden tables and chairs and capiz window styled walls. The crew was also friendly and attentive. Although they offered an assortment of Filipino dishes, I didn’t read too closely their specialties since I already knew what I wanted for dinner – Crispy Dinuguan (P261). I’ve heard or read about it and, although I’m not a big fan of dinuguan, I thought I’d give it a try….and it certainly lived up to the fuss. It was yummy! Their servings were good enough for two (or three depending on appetite) and like the resto, our tummies were filled to capacity and we weren’t even able to finish half the food.
I had fun and a tummy-filling weekend (and I haven’t even told you about my Sunday at Rockwell) and I most probably gained at least 10 pounds (OA!)…ok, maybe just a couple. But I’d have to pay dearly for that sumptuous weekend with a lot of running and dancing and yoga. I had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend – maybe it was the new restos and food I tried but I say it wouldn’t have been half as fun if it weren’t for the good and fun company I had.
Go and try out these restos and if you enjoyed them like I did, bring home some doggy bag for me….hehehe.
Let’s start with lunch. After the check-up/visit to my niece’s pediatrician (who is cute, single, successful and “wrong”….again!), my sister brought us to Mom and Tina’s Bakery Café located along C5 in Pasig right across SM Hypermart/Tiendesitas. The café has country-style designed interiors and has a rather homey feeling to it. The crew was nice and friendly (and my niece’s yaya thought the waiters were gwaping). As soon as you enter, you would immediately get a craving for their mouth-watery cakes, cookies and pastries as these are stowed everywhere - below and behind the counter and in the row of coolers on the side. You get to choose to sit on the usual four-seater setting or you could laze around on their couch/settee and table format good for around 8 people.
The food had a home-cooked taste to it and was delish. They serve soup, pasta and potato and meat dishes as well as rice meals. I had Chicken Alexander (P170) which was a baked dish of layered mashed potatoes with chicken (of course!) topped with a thin layer of cheese and served with a couple of freshly baked bread rolls. The mashed potatoes were creamy and tasty. I sampled my sister’s chicken spinach lasagna (P160) and my cousin’s fettucini pesto (P160) and both were also delectable. I wanted to try out their cakes for dessert but what I had was so filling I didn’t have enough room for more.
For dinner, my friend and I scanned the restos at Techno Hub (also my first time there)along Commonwealth Avenue and we both decided to try out Kanin Club. I’ve been hearing about it and I wanted to know what the brouhaha was all about. The first time I saw it was in Paseo de Sta. Rosa in Laguna (or is that in Tagaytay?) and the place was filled to capacity. And just like in Paseo, by dinnertime there was a long line of patrons waiting to be seated. So if you decide to try it out, I suggest you come in early like we did.
The design was old-Filipino inspired… and by old I mean the traditional home style with wooden tables and chairs and capiz window styled walls. The crew was also friendly and attentive. Although they offered an assortment of Filipino dishes, I didn’t read too closely their specialties since I already knew what I wanted for dinner – Crispy Dinuguan (P261). I’ve heard or read about it and, although I’m not a big fan of dinuguan, I thought I’d give it a try….and it certainly lived up to the fuss. It was yummy! Their servings were good enough for two (or three depending on appetite) and like the resto, our tummies were filled to capacity and we weren’t even able to finish half the food.
I had fun and a tummy-filling weekend (and I haven’t even told you about my Sunday at Rockwell) and I most probably gained at least 10 pounds (OA!)…ok, maybe just a couple. But I’d have to pay dearly for that sumptuous weekend with a lot of running and dancing and yoga. I had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend – maybe it was the new restos and food I tried but I say it wouldn’t have been half as fun if it weren’t for the good and fun company I had.
Go and try out these restos and if you enjoyed them like I did, bring home some doggy bag for me….hehehe.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
hopia follow up
unbelievable! Of all the things i wrote in my hopia e-mail, one of the things a few friends reacted to was this "guy i saw". I've been asked to make kwento about this. Let my clarify. In my e-mail, i wrote "...this cute guy i saw last weekend...", SAW being the operative word. I didn't go out with him or had dinner with him or even talked to him. I just saw this guy. And how did i see him? Well, i was pakalat-kalat with my sister and her family in ortigas that weekend when i saw this cute guy. The thing is, i saw and passed by him while i was running after my 1 year old pamangkin who had just made poopoo. So for all i know, this guy probably thought i smelled of poo! No chance of me making kerengkeng with that scenario. 
Friday, July 2, 2010
hopia!
hi prenships!
I was hearing mass at the office one afternoon and the priest spoke so slooooowly that I must have dozed off with my eyes open. I’m sorry I don’t mean any disrespect but if he drives the way he says mass and I was at the passenger seat, I’d be pressing on an imaginary gas pedal…and flooring it! I appreciate the act of sanctifying every word and aspect of the mass but with him talking so sloooow, my mind kept wandering to other mundane stuff like the FB shoutout I read the previous night AND the work waiting to be finished AND the cute guy I saw last weekend (the priest finished one short sentence in the amount of time I was able to conjure up all these thoughts) …when suddenly I was jolted back to the ceremony as if someone gave me a Gibbs-slap (it’s the urban term for a slap to the back of the head). And then I felt shame… it wasn’t the priest I wasn’t listening to – it was the Lord I was being impatient with.
This reminded me of an incident in the office.
I had an officemate who was entrepreneurial…she sold everything from fruits to loads to hopia to candies to cracker biscuits (skypleks she calls them no matter what the brand or kind of biscuit). One time, I could literally hear my stomach growl with hunger and as I was just thinking (more like dreaming) of buying from my officemate something to munch on, when my boss asked me, “Maan, pwedeng pahinging isang ‘opia?”
Did I hear him right? Was he also thinking what I was just thinking of doing – getting some hopia? Was he asking me to get him some hopia from Lenny (woops!! I said the name of she-who-cannot-be-named!) As I stared at him wide-eyed for a full 10 seconds, in disbelief of what I had just heard, he repeated himself (twice! this time a little bit slowly as if I was a five year old retard), “Pweeeedeeng pahiiiingiiii naaang isaaang ‘opiaaaa?” I just kept on staring and he was looking strangely at me, probably asking himself what has gotten into me. When he showed me the report I had just submitted earlier, it finally dawned on me what he was asking for, “Pwedeng pahingi ng isang KOPYA (of the report)?” aahhhh!
That’s how we are some of the time… well, that’s how I am many times. It sometimes gets difficult for us (ok…just me) to hear Him…maybe because I’m the one doing all the talking. Or maybe I just don’t want to listen. Or maybe I only hear what I want to hear.
One time, while I was at church doing my “prayer time”, I kept on asking God to speak to me…to give me direction…to tell me what I need to do…to show me the way…to tell me who He’d be sending as my mentor…if and when I’ll be in love (nyeee!)….when I heard, loud and clear, “Stop talking, my child. Listen and you will hear!”
So I stilled and stopped talking for the next hour and I listened…but all was silent. But it was in that silence that I heard…and felt God’s presence. I felt His peace…His gift…His love…His friendship! And I realized that that’s what I need to do…not just with Him in prayer…but also with my family and my friends…and yes, with priests who speak real sloooow. I need to stop talking (or let my mind wander) and just listen to what they have to say. For what they have to say may be God’s message for me.
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