Brown Skin Girl

The baby was very active in the missus' belly yesterday, kicking at around 4pm in the afternoon. Since the baby is still about 6-7 inches in length, the kicks were so faint that it was only the missus who felt it. I admit that I'm envious everytime she says, "Ayun oh, naramdaman mo?" when in fact I'm trying hard to feel the said sensation ---to no avail.

So anyway I wanted to try out something ---observe what the baby's musical tastes are. I grabbed my mp3 player and probed the missus' belly with the L and R earphones.

The kicking was very frequent when "Brown Skin Girl" by BoBice/Santana was playing. Amazingly, it stopped when I fast-forwarded it to "Kailangan Ka" by Hale, and "PeaceMan" by Bamboo. I set the song back to "Brown Skin Girl" and whadayouknow, it was kicking again.

It's either this baby of ours has acquired the missus' inclination to Bo Bice's music or the baby is soothed by the songs that I like (alternative OPM rock). Whatever the reason, the baby has good musical tastes ---just like the parents.

Yup, we'll try Mozart and Bach next weekend.

Hello Palmville!

The missus has never experienced moving houses. She has lived all her life in their Spanish-style home in New Manila so our move to the new pad was quite an experience for her. Immediately after we told the agent that we're taking the unit, she was already thinking of what to move out first and then where to put what. She refers to it as "copy-pasting" our stuff to the new unit.

She has been wondering what the units in Palmville Resort Condo looks like. We had looked into several other condos prior to this but she didn't want to leave Sunway, or to be particular, Sunway Pyramid. She attests that it's her favorite mall ---anywhere in the world. If she had the chance to take anything back in Manila, she'd choose to shrink the said mall into her luggage. She finds it easy to walk around the mall and its Egyptian theme makes it more unique versus the other malls she's been.

After going thru 3 units shown by the agent, we chose a fully-furnished 3-bedroom unit on the 6th floor.


What we found lovely about this unit is that the balcony and bedrooms offer a great view of the surrounding areas, including a glimpse of the KL tower and half of the Petronas Towers. The missus has learned to appreciate the new view compared to the "still life" background of our former home as her a.m. and p.m. siestas are interrupted by the splendid view. Here's the master's bedroom (king-sized bed baby yeah).


I guess God agrees as we saw a rainbow welcoming us on the balcony-view during our first 24 hours here.


The unit comes with 2 parking slots so I guess the car-cleaning gods won't rain on the car when it's newly washed. There's a convenience store on the 2nd floor, free-copies of the morning-newspaper at the main lobby (yes, free).

The poolside offers a panoramic-view of the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park and Pyramid Mall.



On the open grounds there's a children's playground, an adult and kiddie swimming pool, a jacuzzi...

...YES my friends, merong jacuzzi. We even tested out the pumps if it was in working condition and it didn't disappoint. Mental note: make tampisaw in the jacuzzi with the missus one of these days.


Palmville Resort Condo really lives up to its name as it emanates a resort-like environment to its residents, most of which are expats like myself. I have to admit that I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment as I look around our new pad. I'd always let out a smirk as I often catch myself say, "Ang ganda naman ng bahay naten!"

The missus agrees. She could've never said it better: "this is where we belong!"

Goodbye Sunway Court

My family has moved into 4 homes as far as I can remember. From Makati then Paranaque then Makati then finally Paranaque again, moving has been second-nature to me and my siblings. When you leave a place that you've been so accustomed to living in, you can't help but get sentimental ---taking more attention into every detail of every nook and cranny of that place you called home. Tired of the old landlady irritating our apartment door for rent money, my Mom persisted to set aside two thousand pesos a month for 10 years so that we can settle into our current home in Paranaque since 1995 which we have known to love and appreciate.

My 5th home was here at a quaint area called Sunway Court. It had two bedrooms and two baths, a balcony facing the inner square containing the lush greenery, and a swimming pool. It was often described as "homey" by our visitors who've stayed in one time or another. It was walking distance from the convenience store, gas station, and the friendly neighborhood Chinese takeout. If you look at the building from the road it's not that splendid but it was enough for me. It was home.

Three years have passed since I last moved in to Sunway Court. It was time for us to move. As many of my visitors should know, there are no lifts to our unit. Since our place is on the 4th floor, I can't help but hide a laugh when I see our visitors walking up the stairs with their heavy baggages on hand, panting all the way up. The missus is pregnant so we thought it would be bad for the baby if she, to borrow my Dad's term, mamanik-manaog often.

Second reason was due to our neighbors. They have suddenly turned to the worst, displaying mala-jolog tendencies: they don't put their trash in the main container, the stairways leading up to our unit was often dirty, the missus had grown tired of some of the ladies swimming in the pool with their shirt AND maong pants on, and that brief episode of robberies in certain units (which later found the gardener as the culprit). The "kicker" reason for us to move was one of the units displaying their "native" culture, apparently praying to the gods that there would be a plentiful harvest of bamboo ---in their apartment.

So we found our new home and it was time to move our stuff. Not an easy task as I was already pondering on how to bring down our Orbi-bike exercise equipment four floors down (I discovered that it wasn't that hard at all as I was able to load it into our car with 3 liters of sweat to boot).

I can't help but be on senti-mode the whole time we were packing as I tried to remember how a certain item came to this house. I was caught between keeping or throwing to the trash bag most of the stuff that seemed to have a story behind it. The missus had coined me as a Sentimyentong Basurero for it. In the end I had to throw some of it away as they'll just end up as useless junk.

We made 4 (or was it 5?) trips back and forth between our old and new home. I swore that everytime we come back to Sunway Court to pick up some stuff, I'd feel that the apartment had a certain sadness, as if it knew that we were not coming back. I too felt sad. As I would sit on the couch and gaze at the whole unit, I'd hear myself say, "Wow 3 years! I've stayed here for 3 long years! How time flies!" (When I first arrived in Malaysia I said to myself that I'd only stay here for the whole duration of my contract which was 1 year. Who would've known that I would stay here longer than that?)

I said my final goodbye last week to Sunway Court when I handed the house-keys to Mr. Lee, my landlord. I scanned every bedroom and bathroom, the living room, the kitchen (that the missus loves), and whispered farewell. It was somewhat heart-wrenching to move out of this place where I called home but I knew it's for the best.

As my Mom used to say, "it has served its purpose." Time to leave the old and bring in the new.


(Part Two: Hello Palmville Resort Condo)

Spend more time with your kids

Hope I don't become like this father.

Creative Pinoy Meals

(I didn't realize that the "Adobong Morales" article was my 100th blog 'til I published it. So to all the avid readers of my blog (kung sino man kayo) I'd like to say thank you for spending your precious time to drop by and see what's going on with me. Here's to the next 100 blogs!)

I got this from a forwarded mail by RC. Hilarious! Read on:

CREATIVE PINOY MEALS

Pinoys Favorite Food:
THIS WAS POSTED IN ONE RESTAURANT NEAR NAIA AIRPORT,
so, maybe next time you are around the area, you may
as well dine-in there, and check out their menu; AS
YOU GO ON, IT'S BECOMING INTERESTING AND MORE
FLAVORFUL!!! (this is based on true facts...)

1. TAPSILOG - Tapa, Sinangag, Itlog
2. LONGSILOG - Longganisa, Sinangag, Itlog
3. HOTSILOG - Hotdog, Sinangag, Itlog
4. PORKSILOG - Pork, Sinangag, Itlog
5. CHICKSILOG - Chicken, Sinangag Itlog
6. AZUCARERA - Adobong Aso
7. LUGLOG - Lugaw, Itlog
8. PAKAPLOG - Pandesal, Kape, Itlog
9. KALOG - Kanin, Itlog
10. PAKALOG - Pandesal, Kanin, Itlog
11. MAALOG NA BETLOG - Maalat na Itlog, Pakbet, Itlog
12. BAHAW - Bakang Inihaw (akala ninyo kaning lamig
ano)
13. KALKAL - Kalderetang Kalabaw
14. HIMAS - Hipon Malasado
15. HIMAS SUSO - Hipon Malasado, Sugpo, Keso
16. HIMAS PEKPEK - Hipon Malasado, Kropek, Pinekpekan
17. PEKPEK MONG MALAKI - Kropek, Pinekpekan, Monggo,
Malasado, Laing, Kilawin
18. DILA - Dinuguan, Laing
19. DILAAN MO - Dinuguan, Laing, Dalandan, Molo
20. BOKA BOKA - Bopis, Kanin, Bokayo, Kape
21. BOKA BOKA MO PA - Bopis, Kanin, Bokayo, Kape,
Molong Pancit
22. KANTOT - Kanin, Tortang Talong
23. KANTOT PA - Kanin, Tortang Talong, Pancit
24. SIGE KANTOT PA - Sinigang na Pige, Kanin, Tortang
Talong, Pancit

25. SIGE KANTOT PA IBAON MO - Sinigang na Pige, Kanin,
Tortang Talong, Pancit - Take out
26. SIGE KANTOT PA HA - Sinigang na Pige, Kanin,
Tortang Talong, Pancit, Halo-halo
27. SIGE KANTOT PAIBAON MO PAPA - Sinigang na Pige,
Kanin, Tortang Talong, Pancit... Take out with Ketchup

28. PAKANTOT - Pandesal, Kanin, Tortang Talong
29. PAPAKANTOT - Papaitan, Kanin, Tortang Talong
30. PAPAKANTOT KA BA - Papaitan, Kanin, Tortang
Talong, Kapeng Barako
31. PAKANTOT SA YO - Pandesal, Kanin, Tortang Talong,
Saging + Yosi
32. PAKANTOT KA - Pandesal, Kanin, Tortang Talong,
Kape
33. PAKANTOT KA HABANG MATIGAS PA - Pandesal, Kanin,
Tortang Talong, Kape, Inihaw na Bangus, Maruya,
Tinola, Ginisang Aso, Pancit
34. SUBO - Sugpo, Bopis
35. SUBO MO - Sugpo, Bopis, Molo
36. SUBO MO PA - Sugpo, Bopis, Molo, Pancit
37. SUB O MO PA MAIGE - Sugpo, Bopis, Molo, Mais, Pige
38. SUBO MO TITE KO - Sugpo, Bopis, Tinola, Teryaki,
Kochinta
39. SUBO MO TITE KO BILIS - Sugpo, Bopis, Tinola
Teryaki, Kochinta, Bihon, Tawilis
40. SUBO MO TITE KO BILIS, HAYOP! - ...same as #39,
minura mo lang yung waiter kasi ang tagal ng order.

NOW, YOU BELIEVE, FILIPINO CUISINE MENUS CAN BE SO
APPETIZING, SERVE WITH SIZZLING LIBIDO... ENJOY YOUR
MEAL, BON APPETITI!!!

Adobong Morales

I have to say that my vibe prior to the fight was that I thought Pacquiao was going to lose again. I'm not pro-Morales, mind you, but based from the interviews leading up to the match it seemed that Pacquiao's camp was "talking too much" as the ombre from Mexico had mentioned. It would've been better that they shut up and focus on the training, which in duration was quite short (in tradition of our mañana habit) compared to Morales' 4-month exodus in the mountains.

There was also discussion about the Reyes Gloves. This made me more uneasy. If Pacquiao lost again, he doesn't have any excuse anymore about the gloves. Wonder what excuse he'll say next? Will he curse the First Gentleman or Chavit Singson for bringing in malas to the Las Vegas arena?

But of course, the heavens had a different plot to unravel:

Last Sunday was a day to remember. I've set my phone to alarm at 9.45am so that I'd still have 15 minutes of snooze time before the fight via Pay-Per-View (PPV). This was actually my 2nd time to subscribe to the said service, my 1st being Pacquiao-Morales 1 wherein Manny lost by decision.

Well I should've known. By 10am I've turned on the tube and switched to the PPV-channel. Hmmm....3 fights before the Pacquiao match. Still got enough time to cook adobo.

300kgs of thawed liempo was waiting to be diced and spiced to one of our most classic dish. The missus had learned to cook the said concoction by observing me a la Jamie Oliver some months back. I had the recipe somewhere in my head but I had to confirm the amounts. Thank goodness for telephony! I was able to ask Shangu for the recipe and has since remembered it by heart. I agree with the missus that however you tancha-tancha the soy sauce and the vinegar, it would still taste great. Of course I'd still like to have liempo as the meat since all that greasy taba holding on for dear life between the skin and the lean meat makes me want to forget all that health-crap and just munch away. That Sunday brunch was heavenly tasteful.

Well the 3 matches had passed and it was time for the main event. The Philippine national anthem was sung dramatically and heartfelt by Jennifer Bautista, except of course, by that last note. I even thought her pahabol cheer of "Go Pacman!!!" would've jinxed it. If Manny had lost, I would've asked my friends in the US to have a search-warrant for her on the grounds of jinxing through kakikayan.

Yes it was a truly dramatic scene: Jennifer singing in a red baro't saya, Philippine flag waving at the background, a quick-shot at Manny trying to hold his tears, and that old guy lifting the championship-belt (who's he btw?). I suddenly felt, "Hey! I think we're just gonna win this one."

But then, on the 8th day, God created Jon Secada.

It was dejavu-ish as I remember the missus and I were tirelessly trying to remember his name when we heard "Just Another Day" being played on the radio midway last year. We were having a hard time I tell you. It was the first time that the missus, a contestant to their "Name That Tune" competitions during engineering week in UP, had missed it. Who would've thought that he would be singing for Morales' corner? Good thing Morales was not Puerto Rican as the missus would've surely switched teams if Ricky Martin was in Jon's place. Btw, the missus' heartbeat was literally running like a horse in San Lazaro ---note that this was only during the national anthem. I advised her not to watch but then I got a "Whaaaaat???" for my diagnosis. Yup, dumb move to make her not watch what could be one of the greatest fights of the year. Jon had sung both Mexican and US national anthems, a la Johnny Mathis. Well it's a good thing to see that he still has a career singing in the ring as there are a lot of Mexican boxers out there. So anyway....

"LLLLLLLLet's get ready to rumbleeeeeeeeee"

I've seen the two fight before so I was wondering what their respective strategies would be going into the fight. As you may have seen, Morales had developed this "laser fast left jab" that Manny just could'nt get enough of ---note that Morales is NOT a southpaw. You could see from the slow-mo replays that Manny's head just swings back after that laser-jab. This new arsenal would've caused Manny to lose with all the head-shots he was taking.

Manny's fight tactics had improved vastly. His swift-combo-punches and powerful left (and right) were pounding Morales from Round 1. There were nerve-wracking moments as it seemed that he almost got clobbered by Morales' combos but he always found a way to escape ---same too with Morales on the other end. It was an evenly fought match wherein NO ONE had the upperhand. The missus didn't know what to do: whether to indian-sit on the sofa or spread her legs over the coffee table ---both while covering her mouth with her trusty bimpo. It was killing me I tell you.

All changed by Round 6.

The fatigue-factor had crept to Morales while Manny suddenly had a rebirth. Inside sources also said that Morales may have tired his eyes from reading all those ads on Manny's shorts: Motolite, Cafe Puro, NoFear, etc. Ahhh yes Philippine ad-media will never be the same. It was like Manny had taken a power-pellet lying in the ring and it seemed to have weakened the Morales ghost. The Pacman was out to eat El Terrible alive. It was like every Pacquiao combo was chipping away Morales as every round breezed by. The sure sign of fatigue was the last 10-seconds of round-9 when Morales decided to jog around the ring to wake himself up, much to the boos of the crowd.

There was this PPV-commentator who was obviously pro-Morales, trying to convince the tv-audience, and himself, that Morales is "one tough ombre" who can get out of any sticky situation. During the broadcast replays I was able to confirm this as he was able to translate the communication on the Morales corner in-between rounds. He certainly speaks Mexican. Hmmm...he must've been watching a lot of Marimar in his off time.

It was all over by round 10. Morales' punches could not connect. He was like trying to control an unruly mob of Noranians trying to get his autograph, swinging pitifully in the air. His feet were obviously wobbly. It took only a trademark Pacman-right to finish him off, hitting him in the left-cheek and kneeling to the canvass. I could vaguely hear the PPV-commentator shout "Morales is down! Morales is down!" as it was overpowered by me and the missus shouting and clapping in the sala. The referee, a near-semblance to Danny Glover, was in the 7th count when Morales stood up.

Game on!

The Mexicans must've thought there was a resurgence. Nosotros ombre esta vivo!!! <---tama ba?

But no.

You know that feeling when you first get off from bed in the morning after a full 7-8 hours of sleep? It's that state between dreaming and waking up? THAT was what Morales must've felt when he stood up. He just took a few steps and when he got his focus back, there was Pacquiao right in front of his nose. Another Pacman-combo against the ropes, and Morales was down again. Mr. Glover went to check on Morales ---it was like those old films when the doctor takes a tap of his stetoscope to the patient's chest and says, "He's not gonna make it." Dr. Glover waved his arms in the air (like he just don't care) and took off Morales' mouth-piece. Simulatenously, Pacquiao went to the neutral corner and knelt in prayerful gratitude, as his corner comrades went into the ring to celebrate this famous win.

It was all over. The pro-Morales PPV-commentator was distraught, "collapsed in his chair" as his colleague had aptly put it. There was only the Philippine flag and banners waving with the hiyaws of the Pinoy crowd illuminating the tv-screen ---except of course for the 1st Gentleman and Chavit Singson in the ring. Ahh yes, a Philippine victory ---be it in sports, music, or elsewhere--- will never be complete without a cast of clowns around.

Pacquiao's English totally undermines his boxing skills. Only Jimmy Santos could be proud.

Asked about his improved right hand: "Ah yes yes my right hand is improvement! My right hand is improvement!"

About his tactics: "I’m careful to his head. I can take his power but I’m lucky to survive that."

About the Reyes gloves: "Using my gloves…cause that’s my gloves!"

To his defense, Manny thanked everyone ("Americans, Mexicans, and Filipinos") who support the sport of boxing. Even during this proud moment, he was still humble and diplomatic to thank everyone. 100 pogi-points to him.

Morales walked the dark alley back to the locker room while Manny was still in the ring throwing kisses to the crowd ---obviously only the Pinoys had stayed behind.

In the end it was a memorable Sunday. Morales was diced and spiced by the Pacman, adobo-style.

Pacman checklist

Pork adobo for Sunday lunch (walang lalabas ng bahay!)......CHECK!

Chichirya....CHECK!

Coke-Light....CHECK!

Pay-per-view subscription....CHECK!

Yup, I'm all set for this Sunday....GO MANNY GO!!!

My Top 10 Albums for 2005

It's either playing in my car or my mp3 player, these are my favorite albums for 2005:

10. 5-Man Acoustic Jam (Tesla)

9. X&Y (Coldplay)

8. Light, Peace, and Love (Bamboo)

7. Tears Roll Down Hits 1982-92 (Tears For Fears)

6. Wave Sessions (Paolo Santos)

5. Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morissette)

4. Strike Whilst The Iron Is Hot (Orange and Lemons)

3. Hale (Hale)

2. As The Music Plays (Bamboo)

And my top album for 2005:

1. Ultraelectromagneticjam (E-Heads Tribute Album)

Relief Goods

Here's a list of goodies we brought back from Manila:

Flat-Tops Chocolates (100pcs)

SkyFlakes (2 bags containing 20 bags each) ---bilin ni boss' boss, a Malaysian who used to work in Manila

Choc-Nut (48 pcs) ---pasalubong for my officemates; turns out there's an exact equivalent here in Malaysia

Chippy

Taquitos

Clover Chips

V-Cuts

Spanish Sardines in can

Spanish Sardines na naka-garapon

Corned Beef

Sisig in Can

Sinigang Mix

Of course there are the other stuff: Safeguard, Closeup, Divisoria clothes, paper-stem cottonbuds, atbp.

Ahh yes, there are some things you can never leave home without.

A trip to the Ob-Gyn

We went to the obgyn yesterday. As we have decided not to have the missus give birth in Malaysia, it's important that she met with her obgyn here in Manila. I brought along one of my sis who was fortunate enough to see the baby jumping/somersaulting about in the missus' womb under the ultrasound. Hmmm, I guess the somersaulting feat must've been genes from the athletic father (ehem!).

The doc even had a doppler-microphone so we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. It's amazing, really, as I was like sucked into one of those Discovery-Channel programs that me and the missus often watch.

***

Dr.M, her obgyn here in Manila, was comparatively more accomodating than Dr.T, her Malaysian obgyn. The latter we have aptly nicknamed "Baby Tsina" for her resemblance to Vilma Santos ---20 years from now.

I remember on our 1st visit to Baby Tsina, the baby still didn't have a heartbeat. She said we return after 3 weeks to check if the situation improves. She said, matter-of-factly, that if God had meant the baby to live then it is meant to live. If not, then it was not for us to have in the first place.

How's that for a RM200+ diagnosis? At least she's Christian. Hehe.

Our visit to Dr. M yesterday was quite, well how do I put it, sooo worth-it that the P500 consultation fee did not give her justice. She was kind enough to answer all the missus' inquiries, although I was disappointed with the "no contact" policy she advised during the whole term.

Doc: "Pwede naman iexpress through other ways. Kissing, halimbawa."

Me: "Naku doc. Mabibitin lang ako sa kissing."

Doc: "Ay ganun ba?! Mahirap palang mag-asawa kung ganun!"

Yep the doc is single. No issue really. As long as she does her job well, no problem with us.

Just leave the "contact" part to me. Hehe.

Hinahanap-hanap kita Manila

I really needed this two-week vacation in Manila. Work has been piling since I moved up for higher responsibilities. Before, I was going home 5.30pm sharp ---enough to catch the mid-episode of The Simpsons. Now, I barely make it in time for ESPN Sportscenter which starts at 8pm. Add to that the early-morning calls due to failed upgrades or requests to test 3G video-call, much to the chagrin of the missus who seems to be updated with my office-work that I can let her proxy for me if I get sick.

There’s not much to do but suck it all in. It comes with the work, and the paycheck. I guess they thought, “Aba tatlong taon na itong walang ginagawa ah! Kelangang sulitin naman natin yung binabayad naten sa kanya! Ilagay naten sya dun sa system na up for migration. Siguradong maraming problema yan pagka-upgrade.”

It’s been a daily battle ever since. There’s always some new issue/problem popping up, and fortunately my team of expert engineers were able to cope. The sword has to go thru fire in order to be sharpened (or something like that), and they have delivered. For that, I’ve thanked them via free-lunch at TGI-Fridays. A small gesture of saying, “Hey! You guys did a good job. Keep it up.”

***

I’ve been under the weather since I arrived. I must’ve been not used to the cold December weather here in Manila. It’s so cold that even our aircon back in Malaysia would have to cope (Yup sira na ata yun. Kulang sa freon siguro). Christmas morning I was feeling so chilly that I grabbed the poncho, my sister’s gift to the missus, and wore it with matching Mexican nonsense-dialogue:

“Ahere bonito!”

“Bonito tequila!”

“Eser aqui aqui!”

“Nosotros!” <-- I just love saying this word. Btw, what does it mean?

Hope I get well soon. Except the missus’ request that we watch several MMFF films, there’s so many things I want to do and visit (and eat, of course).

Manila...Manila...I keep comin' back to Manila...

The Games We Play

The missus and I have created several games, usually out of boredom. Ahhh yes, such is the beauty of married life.

SILIP. This game is played lying in bed, facing each other. Both parties close their eyes, making each other assume that they're sleeping. After a while, one party peeks at the other's face, without the other knowing that he's peeking. When the other party thinks that she's being looked at, she opens her eyes to try to catch him, that being the object of the game. The game ends when she times his peeking and catches him red-handed.

SALONG-PAA. Both parties are in the living room watching TV. His hand acts as a venus flytrap, which will try to catch her speedy foot that teases his hand, as if coaxing him to catch it. He is only allowed to look at the TV. Timing is extremely important in this game. The game ends when he gets tired of the coaxing and grabs the foot to tickle it.

TWO-WAY. This can be played alone, by the bedroom window facing the highway. You cannot leave the window until you see two cars moving in opposite directions of the highway. Warning: this game is VERY addictive.

SOFTEST "HMM." Another bed game, both parties facing each other. With both parties taking turns, they blurt out a short "hmm" which the other party should imitate/beat in terms of volume. The person with the softest "hmm" wins. I've yet to beat the missus in this one.

KNEE-SPIDER. Both parties in the living room. One party sits, knees bent. With only one hand, he willl tickle the knee slowly, starting with all ends of the fingers joined together touching the knee. The degree of tickling is increased by slowly separating the joined fingers. If the person with the knee shows her teeth, she loses.

HIDDEN CHEESE-RING. Wait for your partner to be out of the kitchen or the living room. The object of the game is to open a bag of Cheese-Ring snacks without the other party hearing the tearing of the bag nor the "crunch" of that cheesy bite. There's a bonus of 50 points if you are able to fillup a glass of Coke. Additional 5 points if your Coke has ice.

Friendly Coo-worker

So when's your next meeting?

Doing Good

Last Sunday after Mass, the missus and I were in a bookstore at The Curve (that Rockwell-ish mall) doing some Christmas shopping for her inaanak: looking for a book-guide on making scrapbooks.

As the missus was searching for her gift, I passed the time by grabbing a book entitled “Dropping The Pink Elephant" from the business-section, amazingly finishing Chapter 1 (a good read I might add). My "browsing" was nothing compared to this auntie (Malaysian term for "old lady") who was sitted comfortably along the cookbooks section scribbling out the recipe for blueberry pie on the back of an old receipt (ingenius ey?). After 20 minutes, we headed out of the bookstore since the missus' search was fruitless.

Before we went out of the bookstore, we were able to do something good. It doesn’t matter what it was we did but let me assure you that it was something good, a small gesture of kindness. What’s more important to tell was that I felt a sudden rush upon realizing that I did good, even in a small way. It was like I felt a rush of adrenalin.

After a while we were at our favorite Kopitiam (coffee house) sipping our daily dose of legalized caffeine and bread with butter and kaya. Our discussion dwelled on the issue of doing good, leading to (where else?) but PBB. Last week’s PBB task involved the housemates to take care of several Golden Acres residents. The missus shared that she and her org did something similar during college, visiting an orphanage to give sewing machines as gifts. At the end of the day she felt guilty parting with the orphans, as she and her orgmates went back to their cozy lives in the outside world.

I think the purpose of doing good, like visiting an orphanage (or anything similar) is two-fold.

First, there is the obvious: that we share ourselves to the least of our neighbors, be it financial or otherwise. The effect is towards the recipient. This is the most common.

But there is that other reason that I have just realized: it makes the giver feel better, i.e. the effect is towards the giver. No, it’s not that feeling of “ang swerte ko talaga wala ako sa ampunan” or something like that. That, I think, is a selfish reason. The “good feeling” that I’m talking about is that of realizing that you’ve given something, not of the “ang swerte ko talaga” feeling.

It’s like roti bakar (that toasted bread with butter and kaya), the missus always has that “good feeling” after she gives up her remaining share of that delicious bread to her hungry loving husband.

"The thing is..."

The missus was able to find out my favorite phrase. She noticed it after overhearing some of my business-calls. I didn't give it much thought until I was replying to an email earlier. I started typing:

The thing is that...

I guess the missus was right. I tried to rephrase my email but I suddenly had writer's block. Just can't think of a phrase to replace it with.

Why? Well, the thing is...

Thai Conversations

We had dinner at our favorite Thai place earlier. The missus was salivating for tomyam so I obliged but on the condition that I won't sip the spicy concoction.

So with the dinner-list already reviewed from the menu, I called the waitress:

"One deep-fried ffffrawn...."

I guess my F's and P's got mixed up with that tongue-twisting appetizer. The missus obviously noticed it, unable to control her laughter in front of the waitress, who at this time was wearing a smirk.

With the rest of the menu given, the waitress left. The missus and I were discussing on our next problem: where to eat on Sunday evening (ahhh yes, we have very huge problems here). She suggested the Ming-Tien open air food court:

"Alam ko na! Portuguese Pish."

Touche!

Lines

Isn't it amazing sometimes, that the simplest of things affect us in the greatest of ways? The virus that can define the line between life or death, the simple "hum" that can end up to be the greatest song you've ever written, or that right dash of pepper that will make your t-bone steak taste perfectly well.

Another example of this is a simple line. If one would see a line or two drawn on a piece of paper, for example, most often the average Joe (or Jane) would think nothing of it.


Yes you maybe curious at first, but only for a few seconds. It is of no significance so it doesn't scare nor excite you. It is totally devoid of meaning. You'd either leave it alone, or pick it up to throw in the trash bin, or recycle the piece of paper for later use. It is forgotten during the rest of your day since it is of no importance, for your mind is too busy on sentences that begin with what-if's or where-shall-we's.

But, what if, you see those same two lines on something like this?

You become curious and amazed at the meaning of these lines. Time suddenly stops. It scares and excites you, both at the same time. You'd never want to throw it away, for its meaning is of the greatest of importance. You spend the rest of your day on a high, for you know that, through those 2 lines, its meaning has affected you in a whole new way, and you are changed forever.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Originally written on Nov. 1st, 9:57pm, I only sent this blog out to the world now since we've confirmed the baby's heartbeat earlier today. We first learned about it last Oct.29 thru a home-pregnancy kit.

Yup, it's the best belated birthday gift I've ever had.

Back To The Beach (Day 98)

Nasa huli ang pagsisisi.

I’ve been eating a lot again lately. Sunday dinner was no different. We ate at The Gourmet Café at a Rockwell-ish mall called The Curve near Ikea. We satisfied our tastebuds with meat antipasta, veg-cream soup, baked shepherd’s pie, and chicken-pineapple adobo casserole (yup, amazingly they had adobo, a favorite Filipino dish). Like my friend CM once said to me while sipping nilaga in Singapore,

Ipikit mo mata mo pre habang hinihigop mo ang sabaw, parang nasa ‘pinas ka na, di ba?

The missus’ appetite was low so I had to lend a helping hand stomach. I had to finish it in aid of the old adage “madaming nagugutom na bata ngayon.” (as if makakatulong ano?)

Thoughts of Sunday after-Mass family lunches at Jollibee in Makati Cinema Square come into mind. I remember clearly during my early-teens when my 3 sisters would all order 2-piece chickenjoys each and I’d only order pancit-palabok with toast bread. Mom was surprised the first time I did this.

Yan lang kakainin mo?

Ahhhm. Opo.

Halfway into my palabok, my sisters, all being takaw-mata, would’nt or couldn’t finish the remaining 1pc chicken so they’d all look at dear old Kuya and say,

Kuya ayaw ko na. Gusto mo (nitong chicken)?

I guess as young as I was I had the gift of foresight. Yup I ended up eating 3pcs of chickenjoy aside from my original order. Well to my satisfaction hindi ako tinablan ng taba coz my metabolism was still high at the time (I was an all-around athlete: piko, tumbang-preso, taguan, taguang-lata, monkey-monkey, patintero, and of course that high-burning calorie game called TEX). I could swallow all I can eat and won’t feel guilty of gaining weight coz, tried as I would, I didn’t gain a single pound.

Ahhh yes, life was good back then. Of course it became a gamble on the following Sundays as my sisters’ appetites grew. So on the lean days (pardon the pun) I’d end up with only palabok and bread for lunch that I would crave for merienda at 3pm (ensaymada and Coke…mmmm).

Fast-forward to 2005 and I’m a hefty 176-pounder who can’t simply deny the penchant for food. As our previous houseguests here can agree, except for last Friday night where my homemade contribution of beef with brocolli was a disaster, ang sarrrrrap talaga ng mga pagkain dito! It is really hard to lose all the unwanted weight (40lbs to be exact, as was indicated in the ideal BMI for my height) but the important thing now is that I KNOW that I need to lose it.

Nope I’m not saying that I’m going to go on a son-of-a-beach diet again. I’m also not saying that I’ll be exercising everyday (I could hear the missus now saying “Yeah right” if I said it). What I’m saying is I’ll try to be MORE AWARE of losing weight while I look, sip, and gobble up the sumptuous food that’s on the dinner plate.

Or I can always try on the sauna-belt that the missus bought.

Yeah right.



Hmmm…san kaya kami kakaen bukas? Hehe.

Trade-in

Expect a lot of trade-ins to occur once this phone is out.



Speaking of trade-ins, I finally got to replace my old phone (Nokia 6260) yesterday. Here's my new toy packed with full 3G service:


The missus was able to "break-in" my new phone last night when she used it for surfing the 'net via bluetooth connection to the laptop. She says the speed was as fast as when we go wifi at Starbucks.

Sarap eh!

Hopefully may 3G na sa 'pinas next year.

Car-aoke

On the way to church for Sunday Mass earlier, I plugged in our American-Idol 2005 collection in the CD-player. We were able to download most of the video-files from a website and put most of it on CD for driving-enjoyment. It was really for the missus since she's a big Bo fan.

Well as Bo's "Time In A Bottle" played, I as usual, sang with it. I am convinced that I sound like Bo, much to the despair of the missus since I seem to have desecrated her crush. Anyway the song was ending so I went:

"if I....could spend time....in a bottle..."

Ano sabi mo?

Spend time in a bottle.

(laughs) Mali!!!! Save time in a bottle yun ah! Spend time in a bottle pala ah! (laughs)

(continuous laughter)

Then thoughts of a future MTV of Bo Bice trapped in an empty Johnny Walker bottle were circling my brain. I guess it went worse on our way home after dinner at KLCC:

("The Way" by Fastball playing on the FM radio)

Yang kanta na yan parang lumang style ano? Parang yung mga kinakanta pag may nagiinuman sa kanto nuong araw?

Onga parang yung Delilah.

Avoiding the obvious, I instantly replied with the song-title:

Ah oo yung "Why why why why Delilah?"

(2 seconds of silent assessment)

(continuous laughter again)

Abelgas-ah

If you’ve ever watched TV-Patrol or Private-I, you may have come across a reporter by the name of Gus Abelgas. He’s been of interest lately by me and the missus since we’ve noticed that he likes to prolong his lines. He has somehow unintentionally provided us comic-relief while we watch the sad state of our country through the news.

To give you an idea, here’s a sample mp3 (363kb). Take note of the following words he has “stressed” in his report:

fiiive

naitalaah
Taguig cityyy
makapilaaas
buwan-ah
Taguig-ah
holdapan-ah
syempre paaaah
private-iiiii
pulisyahh

Ok baaaaah?

Japanese Cake

Hmmm....yung kakaning Pinoy kaya ganito din ginagawa?

Kakatuwa talaga mga Hapon.

Stuck in Reverse

When you try your best and you don't succeed,
When you get what you want but not what you need...
-- "Fix You" by Coldplay

I've come into liking Coldplay's X&Y album. It just grew on me, really, while I'm driving from home to the office and vice-versa. Bamboo's self-titled and LifePeaceAndLove, and Hale's self-titled album had a similar effect. Thus Bamboo, Hale, and Coldplay are regularly spinning in the car's CD-player.

Well the missus thinks otherwise of Coldplay.

Ang boring naman ng tugtog nila e. Kakaantok.

Well beauty is in the eye (and ear) of the beholder. I find Coldplay as a breath of fresh-air after a long queue of alternative-rock songs on my MP3 list (add to that the missus' Kelly Klarkson and Luther Vandross CDs). Soothing, Colplay is like a kaleidoscope to the ears.

By the way, the attached pic was generated by typing my name on a website I found. Cool huh?

What you've missed

It was hectic at work last week so tried as I did, I never had a chance to blog. That is of course, say for one piece of good news. Nope I'm not gonna say anything yet but it will come soon enough. Just view my blog site in the next couple of weeks for it. So for those of you who know about it, just "zip it" for the meantime until I tell you so. ;-)

***

I'm finally getting into the thick of things in terms of work. Last week had two major holidays clashing so I had to be on-site most of the time due to some outages resulting from high-load. I have to admit that I love getting into the system, running scripts, analyzing technical faults, etc. but one week on standby-duty is enough for me. Hey I'm a manager! It's time to focus my energies from system-management to people-management. My "peeps" are already back from their holiday so it's time for them to "haul-ass" in work and for me to start, well, managing them.

***

After our Vietnam trip, we got an urgent memo from our condo-security that there has been a spat of minor robberies recently. We went to the homeowners-meeting and discovered that due to poor security, there were a few units that were broken into, mostly the 4th and 5th floor units. This shocked me and the missus coz our unit is on the 4th floor. We initially thought that since our unit was on a high-floor, we should not be worried. But after the meeting, the missus and I were already thinking of moving somewhere else.

So we called up several condos-to-let. Yes it's called TO-LET here instead of TO-RENT. Must be a British influence. Since I only have until April to work here, the most that we can stay on a new apartment is 6-months max. Unfortunately most of the sales-agents said the owners renting out the units prefer 1-year minimum. So the least we could do now is stay at our "safe" apartment and maybe move to a trendier (posh?) service-apartment by March.

Anyway I've set up "high-tech" burglar alarms on all the living room and kitchen doors during the night, i.e. pots and pot-covers hanging from the door handles. It's actually an effective deterrent against burglars as proven by my Dad. The burglar tries to open the door and when he does, KAPLAAANG! The pots emanate a medium-frequency clang that alerts both the household and the burglar thus preventing the crime. O ha o ha! Well I've been in the unit for almost 3 years now and, knock-on-wood, I haven't had any untoward incident. Hopefully it stays that way until we leave.

***

I remember when I weighed in last December 2004 for my medical-checkup, I was at 80kgs. After all the "attempt" to diet, exercise, badminton, futsal, and what not, I'm very happy to inform you that I weighed in a hospital-scale last week to find out that I AM STILL at 80kgs! Crap!!!! ARRRRGHHH!

I think when I go home later I'll throw our home weighing-scale (who's a f*cking liar) out the window.

Vietnam Notes (Part II)

War Museum. It posts a collection of memorabilia from the Vietnam War. The journalists’ photos were deeply affecting. It told of the travesty of war and the hapless victims that were the Vietnamese and Americans alike. I was amazed to find out that the Philippines sent a battalion as part of the allied forces although they were not armed with guns but with T-squares and scales (it was an engineering battalion). Thus the risk of dying from dengue was higher for them as compared to perishing from an enemy bullet.

Having watched such films as Platoon, Band Of Brothers, and Saving Private Ryan, I was gawking at the site of vintage tanks, 150mm howitzers, grenade launchers, an F5 fighter, and a Huey chopper at the museum grounds. Not to mention a real guillotine used during the French occupancy, I posed for a pic at each weapon of destruction, of course.

Cu Chi Tunnels. Mukhang nawaha na ako sa missus. She used to have a problem saying the word Wednesday (she pronounces it as Weh-nes-day para Tagalized daw). My Weh-nes-day is Cu chi Tunnels.

Galeng ng pagkakagawa ng CHU CHI Tunnels ano?

CU CHI TUNNELS!

Onga, CHU CHI Tunnels.

CUUUU CHIIIII!!!

It just happened. I dunno why. I must’ve confused it with an old sitcom character with the same name, a.k.a. Lola Chu Chi of Chicks2Chicks.

Anyway this was the highlight of our trip. We were made to crawl a 20-meter section of the complicated web of tunnels so that we can get a feel of the VC experience. As you can see, the picture is quite dark such that only my phone can be seen. It was held by the missus as I tried my flash-less digicam on her. It was pitch black, I tell you. You can’t see a damn thing. Add to that the assortment of traps, no wonder the Yanks weren’t able to penetrate these tunnels.

You should see my video on it. It was also pitch black, except for the phone light illuminating the missus’ chin lagatak-ing with pawis. Yep we were laughing all the way from start to finish, only disturbed by comments such as:

Teka teka! Picture muna! Ay potek ang dilim!

OMG ang dilim!

Wow pawis na ako. Hmmm….ang alat pala ng lasa ng pawis ko.

Asan na? Ang layo pa ba ng dulo? OMG!

G.I. YOU DIEEEEE!!!!!

I guess that last one was too much. Good thing there were no US-veterans with us. They would’ve grabbed a bayonet and stabbed the alleged VC.

Notre Dame Cathedral. Located in a picturesque European-like square aptly named Little Paris, we were fortunate enough to attend the 6.30am Sunday Mass. Yes 6.30am. The last time I woke up THAT EARLY for Mass was for Simbang Gabi. I was able to complete the 9-day Novena only once so far. That was when I was still a teenager with raging hormones, and pimples.

You have to admire the Catholic Vietnamese there. I observed during the Mass that ALL MEN hearing Mass (save for one Pinoy tourist) were wearing shirts with collar and were politely dressed, much like going to work. Taimtim talaga silang nagdarasal. Admirable, really. Too bad the Mass was ENTIRELY in Vietnamese. But as Sam, our atheist tourguide said, “Praying is not with the mouth, but with the heart.” Or something like that.

Well the rest of the tour was spent on shopping at Central Market (damn cheap but not as cheap as Divi), Saigon River Boat Cruise (most of the damn tourists were singing and dancing (asses flying) like your Dad and mine, noisily with the band; good thing I got it all on video…hehehe), Picture-taking in front of a 100+ year old post office, city hall, and Ho Chi Minh’s statue.



All in all it was great trip. Bagong tatak pa sa passport, as the missus would say.

Hmmm…dunno yet where we’re going this December break. The missus wants to go somewhere with snow. I aptly told her we just go up to Genting Highlands. I heard they have a “winter-wonderland” snow room there. Hehehe.

Vietnam Notes (Part I)

So far we've enjoyed our stay here in Vietnam. The hotel was kind enough to give us a complementary 1-hour voucher each so we're here at the internet cafe checking our emails (and PBB updates for the missus). Here are some things/places that we recommend you try or go to when in Vietnam:

Christ's Temple. Located in Vung Tau some 120kms away from Ho Chi Minh City, it is a massive 22-meter statue of Jesus Christ standing on top of a hill with its arms wide open facing the ocean. Similar to that in Rio De Janeiro, it is the 2nd tallest statue of J.C. in the world. It takes 920+ steps to go from the bottom of the hill to the shoulders of the statue (yes you can climb up the statue) so comfortable walking shoes, a face towel, and a whole lot of stamina is required. No fees to pay.

Vietnamese Coffee. In the words of the great comedian Jimmy Santos, "HOLY COW!" This is THE BEST coffee I've ever tasted. Costs around 15,000 dong (or less than 1 US-dollar) for a cup, it is a must for every coffee-lover. Vietnam is the 2nd largest coffee exporter after Brazil and before Colombia. Another interesting fact: don't you know that there are NO STARBUCKS NOR MCDONALDS here in Vietnam? I find it quite refreshing, really. It makes you think at least there is one country in S.E.A. that will not succumb to American commercialism. Kaya ang papayat ng karamihan ng mga tao dito. I guess they don't need to watch that Supersize Me movie.

Oops my 1-hour voucher is almost up! I'll just blog the rest when we get back.

Itutuloy...

10 Updates

Three straight days working from 1am-10am. This system-migration stuff is really killing my body in terms of getting the right amount of sleep. Although the abundant food-delivery of Dominos and McD is steady, I'm glad today's the last day of this project.

***

Food intake is back to normal. Bochog normal, that is. I still try to exercise at least twice a week but I guess having to remember that I'm on a diet is rather difficult. This leads to BTP phenomena when trying on an Ambercrombie shirt at the mall (BTP = Big Tummy Protruding). The missus seems to agree as she gives a disappointed look after she tried out a ladies shirt.

***

The car has not been cleaned for almost 3 weeks now. It looks as if I've taken it for a drive from the desert, the rainforest and back. I have this spooky feeling that the gods are always conniving to make it rain after I've washed the car EVERYTIME. Note that this has been happening even when I was still in Pinas. Weird isn't it? I guess the rain-gods are daring me to wash the car so that they can prank me again but I'm not budging (it's been raining here everyday this week). You should hear me when I'm passing by the carwash-bay of our apartment, as if cursing the heavens: "Ha! Di ko pa din lilinisin ang kotse! Belat."

***

Boss is asking me (again) how's my job-hunt coming along ---with a "belittling" accent. I smiled and said, "Don't worry about me." Hmmm, I should've told him I had an ephipany two days ago. It told me to go back to Pinas and venture into franchising instead of looking for work. Well that's the plan at the moment. Subject to change, of course, depending on what other offer comes into play.

***

I've heard a lot of people migrating to Canada, Australia, and the US. The missus, in particular, has 3 close friends who've migrated to Canada and one just got approved to live in Australia. Hell, even April Boy Regino is migrating with his family to the US. Huwaw!

***

Got introduced to a new local snack: Roti Bakar. Toast two white bread. Thenafter, layer one side with kaya and butter. Goes best with coffee. Mmmmm....yummy.

***

There this unknowing geek neighbor at our apartment who has a wifi subscription that he lets open. There's no security at all that I could log-in and surf the 'net for FREE! I would use my laptop to find the strongest signal in the house, much like what we'd do with tv-antennas during the pre-cable-TV era. That was a couple of weeks back. I guess the geek noticed his 'net connection was slowing down (I was trying to download a large video-file once) and thus discovered my presence in his network. Since then I've not been able to connect to his wifi network. I assume that he has enabled the anti-barat-surfer feature in his wifi-router. *Sigh*

***

I've been loving the eletric-mosquito-racket at home. Yes, there IS such a thing. There've been frequent bwisitors in the sala and bedroom that the local mosquito-repellant is not really effective. The mosquito-racket has lessened the pest population effectively, with my Agassi-like forehand and backhand strokes electrocuting the damn bastards to death.

***

After 3 years I still haven't picked up the local language. The security guards at the office always assume that I'm local so they talk to me casually in Malay. All I could do is reply, "Aaahhh" and smile. It seems to be the only effective response with every "conversation."

***

Semi-excited about the Vietnam trip this weekend. "Semi" coz the Yahoo-weather forecast does not look good (partly cloudy with scattered t-storms in Ho Chih Minh). Even the travel agent has advised us to bring raincoats. Damn, I hope Yahoo-weather is not that accurate. Oh yeah, we'll stay away from eating chicken there as much as possible.

Wetlook

(ABOVE) You have to agree: he does look spooky when wet. I couldn't put my finger to it at first but he reminded me of someone from an old Disney cartoon...

...Ichabod Crane.

Milkshake

Halfway into the PBB season, ABS-CBN is milking the said show for all its worth: SMS-voting, tshirts, caps, 24/7 subscription of livecam, and lately, the PBB magazine. This is aside from the fact that the show is already earning from the numerous sponsors, with their ads streaming endlessly DURING the show.

I'm saddened by this since PBB-mania is draining the texting-public of all their hard-earned load just to vote for their manok from being evicted especially this week since there are 5 nominees. Add to that those senseless multiple-choice sms in between the votings that lures the ignorant cellphone user into wasting his money for nothing.

This just proves the bankable partnership of reality shows and sms-voting. That is why I think Filipino telco-operators are not eager to rollout 3G services at the moment as they are still profiting from the SMS phenomenon. In tandem with advertising and media companies, they are eager to dangle the bait. Texters are then hooked and waste money.

So, who are you voting for this week? If you're voting for Chx, I suggest you don't contact the missus.

Dear Santa

The Nokia N70 3G phone. Ah yes. Bee-you-tea-full!

I've been waiting for this phone to be released in the market since I first saw it on the Nokia website last Q2 of 2005. Finally, it's here! I just saw it from one of the cellphone shops here at the grocery. My current phone, a Nokia-6260, is a total crap. Its software hangs a lot, the bluetooth has problems connecting to a laptop, the shine in the volume buttons has faded, etc. Yeah, I was taken in by the hype of its looks. I should've listened when Melanie Marquez said "My brother is not a book!"

Hmmm...I wonder how much this phone costs. Good thing my company has just given all the employees a RM500 rebate (approx. P7,500). Some of my officemates are selling the vouchers for RM350-400 so I'm thinking, I may save an additional 300 bucks (P4,500) more. Add to that the trade-in value of my 6260.

Hmmm...not bad as an advanced Christmas gift for myself don't ya think?

Yeah, you're right. I'm one selfish bastard.

So bite me.

Morons At Heathrow

I got this (349kb) from an officemate. Sort of like what Bart Simpson does when he calls that guy tending the bar at Springville. I can't believe these guys pulled it off at Heathrow Airport.

Heathrow.

London.

Ah yes. London. I remember vaguely a week of training (which was more of a sight-seeing tour) last Sep. 2000:

Hyde Park.

King's Cross.

Westminster.

Trafalgar Square.

The Underground.

Buckingham Palace.

Tower Bridge.

*sigh*

Too bad I wasn't able to watch a Premier League game at the time. It would've capped a great week in England.

So while I'm waiting when I'll fly back to that wonderful city, the Travel-Channel and ESPN's English League will have to do at the moment.

Sweet Torture

After watching a travel-show on Thailand last Saturday, we decided to head to a Thai-resto for dinner.

Under a year, the missus has become a converted lover of tomyam. She classifies it as something of "sweet torture," much like the Japanese wasabe. The latter, when taken in above-normal portions, hits the nose's path going up your brains as if fumigating your nostrils. The feeling is overwhelmingly hot (and embarassingly stupid) while you try to quench it with green tea. Stupid because after a sip of green tea you realize that the drink is hot. So it was like trying to douse a bonfire with gasoline. Ahhghhh should've ordered a Coke!

Tomyam has the similar effect, especially when you sip it wrongly. I, for one, have been a victim to this. I would take a sip, then I feel something building up at the back of my throat, like hot magma about to flow to my lungs. I have no other recourse but to cough, to the weird smiles of the waiters and other guests of the resto.

The missus has found a way to sip the spicy concoction without coughing. She says the idea is to stop breathing while you sip the tomyam. Easy right? Unfortunately I couldn't get it right. I always had to cough. Anghang kasi eh!

Of course, there's no need to mention that I sweat heavily when I have tomyam. I could feel the sweat accumulating at my shirt collar. It's like going to a sauna, only you feel a slight guilt of the additional calories that you need to burn on the next badminton session.

As we walked out of the resto, I could feel the tomyam spice palpitating on my lips. Hmmm...this must be how lip-enhancement surgery feels. There's no other way to tone down the spice-level but to grab a cup of Baskin n Robbins and use it as a lip-icepack.

All in all it was like crossing the Sahara and then ending up at the Antartic.

Ahhhh....relief!

Terabyte anyone?

Talk about waste of space, RT has found two websites offering free-email with mailbox sizes at 30-gigabytes and 1000-gigabytes! That's 1-terabyte! It's like uploading 25 copies of the entire contents of my laptop to the damn thing! Wow!

Man. Nakakauyam naman nun. I think Gmail's 2GB+ size is alright for me at the moment. 2gig nga wala na akong malagay, eh 1-terabyte pa? Plus I'm very O.C. with my mailbox: I always empty my trash-bin and sent-items. I want to keep my mailbox spick and span. Eliminate the "eyesores" as the missus would put it.

I remember during high-school that we'd give out ooh's and ahhh's whenever our rich classmate would bring his 1.44MB, 3.5inch floppy disk to computer-class. It seemed to have made our 640kb, 5.25inch double-density floppy disks so uncool. But we had the same argument: "What do I need a 1.44MB disk for? It's just too much!"

Years later, having a 1.44MB-diskette case-cabinet on your desk seems so uncool. It's like that scene from Austin Powers where Dr. Evil asks the US-gov't for only one million dollars ransom so that he won't destroy the earth with his (slight pause) "laser beam" a.k.a. "freakin' laser" ---to the unstoppable laughter of the US-president and his staff.


That's computer-technology for ya. We just have to expect that it will always evolve in size and shape every now and then. I guess the era of the terabyte is just around the corner.

But for now a 30-gig or 1-terabyte mailbox seems too much. I find it unnecessary at the moment.

Btw, you can email me at daytripper1021@30gigs.com.

Hihihihi.

Laptop ist repariert!

At last!

After 21 days our IT-dept has finally fixed my office-laptop yesterday. They were able to put in a new harddisk and CD/DVD-drive. It's as good as new! Too bad I wasn't able to coax the technician to replace my 40GB harddisk with a higher-capacity one so that I can put in more MP3s. Sayang.

Good thing it came back this week. If not, the missus would have asked me to reprimand them for slow-response since she cannot do her "work", i.e. emails and watching ABS-CBN shows (she's had a lot of "backlog" on the PinoyBigBrother videos). Incidentally, I haven't been watching a lot of ESPN since our sound-surround system (PC speakers) is being used when playing the ABS-CBN videos from our personal laptop. Nothing left to do but surrender to watching The Buzz as Kris Aquino unmercilessly talks about herself and her overdressedness (is that a word?). Ahhh yes, vanity becomes her. Don't you agree that you somehow get hypnotized when Boy Abunda speaks?

"So....kumusta ka na Ruffa?"

"Yes Tito Boy I'm ok naman"

Arrrggghhh!!

I just don't have the penchant for watching Sunday Pinoy TV shows. Take the Sunday variety-shows like ASAP and SOP, for example. It's like every dance/song number has so many artists(?) performing that a can of rotten sardines seem to taste better. Moreover, they ride on the hype of budding singers and bands such that the likeability of the hit-song is plunged into the deepest recesses of Hell. Back in the days when I was a fan of The EraserHeads with Ely Buendia, I would cry out in disgust when they would guest in such shows and have the "buset naman" host sing with them out of tune.

T*ngina naman mag-host ka na lang! Buset!

I felt a little relieved, however, when the E-Heads seemed oblivious to answering the host's questions after the performance. It was like showing them the finger "with a smile" pardon the pun.

Hahahaha buti nga sayo kupal ka kase!

Like my Mom's special Ilocano pakbet, the TV is an important dish to our Sunday lunch. As per instruction, the TV is adjusted such that it faces the dining table, thus offering an unobstructed view of the disgusting show(s). I had no other option but take an afternoon siesta or go out and play darts with my buddies.

Of course, when I get back the TV's still on. This time my sisters are switching the channels between The Buzz and S-files. If the variety shows were Purgatory, the showbiz talk shows were Hell.

"Wala pong katotohonan yun..."

"Ay di po totoo yun..."

"Huhuhu....he promised he will work things out..."

"Sinaktan po nya ako..."

"Yes Tito Boy..."

Arrrrghhhh!!!!!

Never-ending interviews of denial, please-star-me-in-a-movie tears, accusations, gay reporters, lesbian reporters, Mahal, the list goes on. So when I found work abroad I felt relieved that I would never see these shows again.

Then, on the 8th Day, Man created e-Commerce. ABS-CBN was now online. Double arrghhh.

For the purchase of 12 US-dollars, you get to waste your money for 3-months' worth of downloading the crappy shows that you never wanted to watch in the first place. The Sunday shows have penetrated these shores and onto my apartment living room where the missus, a self-confessed "Claudine-hating RicoYan-loving Raymart-adorer-but-now-hates-Raymart-for-wanting-Claudine" fan, awaits.

Italians vs Europeans

I got this from a former colleague. I think "Filipinos vs Europeans" is also applicable.

The "O" Cult

The missus is a member of what I fondly call the Oprah Cult. Shown at Star-World every 9am and 1pm on weekdays, she would watch every episode without fail ---including the replays.

“Di ba napanuod mo na yang episode na yan?”

“Eh Oprah eh.”

About 30% of our conversations involve the missus uttering, “Ang sabi nga ni Oprah…” or “Parang ganyan yung sa Oprah…”

I’ve got nothing against Oprah. Her topics are very timely and every new episode gives me a new reason NOT to migrate to the States ---stories such as teenage depression, child molestation, extreme obesity, infidelities of married couples, Tom Cruise dating Katie Holmes, to name a few. It makes you feel glad to say, “Buti na lang walang ganyan sa ‘Pinas!”

I think if they set up a big screen in front of the Embassy showing only the Oprah show, it will definitely deter the would-be immigrants from going to the States ---hence shortening the queue. The fishball and sago stands nearby will definitely lose profit.

The only thing I hate is the “clap-happy” audience. They seem to be applauding anything (and I mean ANYTHING) that Oprah says ---most of which I don’t even think deserves an applause. I’ve been telling this to the missus since Day-1 but she seems to have been brainwashed by the all-knowing priestess.

Then came last Friday’s 1pm show.

Fridays are a time for me to have lunch at home since it’s 2.5hours “unofficially.” With 2 packs of pork-rice, my lunch with the missus reached her 1pm high-Mass with Sistah Oprah.

The topic was regarding mean teenage-girls that had issues on not feeling pretty, and alcoholism, among others. As in most episodes, Oprah would hire a psychologist to have a professional opinion on the matters at hand.

There was this instance wherein the psychologist was explaining beautifully the reasons as to why this one girl had a certain issue (sorry the exact details escape me at the moment). I myself was amazed at how this shrink was able to analyze the whole thing. “This better deserve an applause,” I thought. To my surprise and disgust, the audience didn’t applaud.

Then the camera focused on Oprah. For a brief moment, she seemed lost for words ---rightfully so since the shrink had covered everything that needed to be said. Oprah had nothing left to say except, “Talk to the people.”

Then, as if on cue, the audience gave a loud applause.

“What the freakin’ ass was that?!?! Nakita mo ba yan?!”

“Alin?”

“Ayan oh! Yun lang sinabi ni Oprah eh pinalakpakan pa ng audience?! Ano ba naman yaaaan? Yung psychologist ang ganda-ganda ng sinabi di man lang inappreciate?”

“Eh si Oprah yan eh.”

It's official: the missus has been brainwashed.

Ayos talaga. There goes another reason NOT to migrate to the States.