mama's plates

remember what i told you about mama's shopping for the ultimate plates? see what she bought...


nice, aren't they?

tigre

life, oh life nga naman ano?!

noong isang araw, nakatanggap ako ng text sa crush kong si ShoeShine kaso lang nabwisit nga ako sa kanya, di ba? Magte-text, tapos kung sasagutin mo, di ka na niya sasagutin! so anyway, pinilit ko na lang siyang kalimutan. hanggang sa... nagtext siya noong sabado. at heto naman akong si loka, natuwa! hanggang sa nabasa ko ang text niya:

"o, ano, kumusta? nabasa ko sa isang magazine kanina lang na ang mga pinay raw ay tigre sa kama haha totoo ba yun?"

haaay, naku! di ko alam kung matatawa ba ako o mabubwisit muli. kaya dinaan ko na lang sa biro ang sagot ko sa kanya (bakit pa nga bang kailangan sagutin ang tanong na iyon?!):

a malay ko! di pa naman ako nakakasama sa babae ng ganyan e. at anong magazine ba yan? lumang balita na yata yan!

eto na ba ang lot in life ng general na ka-pinay-an?! nakakainis ha!

at dagdag ko pa: pero alam mo anong mas okay sa mga pinay kaysa sa pagiging "tigre sa kama?" sila ay mababait, mapagmahal at maaruga.

bakit hindi na lang ilagay sa mga magazine na iyan na ang mga pinay ay iyong mga nasabi ko na at! mababait, mapagmahal, maaruga, maaalahanin, matatalino at iba pa! sa tingin ko, meron pang mas kanais-nais na katangian ang isang babae kaysa sa pagiging tigre sa kama.

pero maganda rin sigurong "skill" yun, ano? hehehe ibig kong sabihin, wala naman sigurong masama dun, ano? dapat lang talaga ay mas pahalagahan ang mga mas importanteng katangian ng isang tao, di ba?

o siya, nasabi ko na ang gusto kong sabihin kaya tatahimik muna ulit ako...

MY mom

she didn't recognize me.

i stood just outside the door with my back to them and she said to my sister that it was not me. when i turned around after putting my umbrella down, she was astonished. she didn't expect me to be that "chubby" and she has not seen me with my curly hair yet.

but still, i love my mama.

she ran me ragged after two days of shopping from afternoon till evening looking for her always elusive blouse (which we didn't find) and ended up buying lots and lots of plates for her to use in the coming fiesta. i know, she would again be envied by her friends who always come to the house to help out and have fun whenever there is a big celebration. i can just here them asking my mama: "na, flor! donde tu ya compra este? bale man!" or "kay guapo jud! asa man ni sya napalit?" and my would just say, "na! gipalit na sa sm sa akuang mga anak!" *laugh out loud*

last night, we took her to the bus station so she could go home and visit her parents, brothers and sisters and my father's family. i was a little bit worried about her traveling alone even if i know there's nothing to worry about since she's used to it. i was like a mother, texting her and calling her just to make sure that all her stuff was with her, if she left anything behind, asking her to text me when the bus is on its way already.

anyway, the house is now pretty quiet again for the next couple of days. early in the morning, while i was still in bed, she texted me that she's on her way to her home now. but i had to text her later in the morning to know if she arrived well at home and she told me that one of my uncles met her and brought her home and she's enjoying some time with inang, our grandmother. later, i know that my uncles, aunts and cousins will drop by the family house to visit with her. for sure, everybody is excited because they don't always get to see mama. some of my younger cousins might not even know her as they were still babies when she last visited. i hope my cousins will like the clothes we sent them.

i miss her already. how much more when she goes home on saturday? oh well... i still have friday to be with her because i will the one to pick her up at the bus station. later in the day, i know we would do some last minute shopping.

*laugh out loud* i used up all my current salary in this visit but i won't have it any other way. i'm glad i can buy stuff for my mom. money is nothing compared to her smile, her delight at seeing her new plates with the pretty designs...

i miss her already.

tribute to our soldiers

you have our prayers
you have our respect
you have our support

we believe in you
and the good in you

i feel humbled by your passion
to serve our country,
our fellowmen

i know that there's nobody
more courageous than you

my gratitude goes out to you

vacations and rains

wahoo! my mama is here for a vacation! lots of things to talk about *laugh out loud*

it's just a shame that it's been raining so hard lately...

how to spot a geologist

from Uncyclopedia

To spot a geologist in the wild, look for:
Hand-lens, compass, pen-knife, handcuffs etc. tied round neck with string.
Someone with a beard and Sandals... Jesus was a Geologist
Ownership of a pet rock (in the case of paleontologists, this will be their closest friend) often found hanging from keys.
Overenthusiasm on the subject of dinosaurs.
Someone explaining to airport security that a sidewall core covered in gunpowder residue isn't really a weapon.
Takes photos, includes people only for scale, and has more pictures of rock hammer and lens cap than of his family.
Someone with collection of beer cans/bottles rivals the size of his rock collection.
Someone who brings beer instead of water when hiking.
Someone with unnatural amounts of facial hair (or in the case of women - leg and armpit hair) and wears lots of polar fleece.
Someone whose lunch consists of rocks, instead of ordinary bread.
Someone who consumes tonsil-killing chili for dinner every night of the week, and warms it up in a can on the drill rig engine block.
Someone whose child is trained to know the geological timescale before it can walk.
Often has hair in a pony-tail (this applies to male or female geologists).
Someone who considers a "recent event" to be anything that has happened in the last hundred thousand years.
Someone who licks and/or scratches & sniffs rocks or in case of china clay will eat it to prove its perfectly safe.
Someone who eats dirt and claims to be "getting an estimate of grain size"
Someone who will willingly cross an eight-lane interstate on foot to determine if the outcrops are the same on both sides.
Someone who can pronounce the word molybdenite correctly on the first try.
Someone who has hiked 6 miles to look at a broken fence that was "offset by a recent earthquake".
Someone who says "this will make a nice christmas gift" while out rock collecting.
Someone who thinks a "sexual exploit" is laying naked on an outcrop so the satellite will photograph them on the next pass.
Someone who hires student assistants with an eye to whether they can run slower so the bears get them first.
Someone who can jump start a campfire in wet weather with the judicious application of a beer fart.
Someone who from personal experience knows the difference between Arctic grade and summer grade diesel fuel.
Someone who even on an average day in the field can make Indiana Jones look like a bit of a clutzy wuss
They look at scenery and tell you how it formed
Pockets tend to be filled with bits of rock.
The rockery moved into their spare room.
They have more pairs of walking boots than shoes.
Wears walking boots constantly,even for formal functions, occasionally sandals with (obligatory) socks
They think of woodlice as trilobites but would tell anyone off who said so.
When on a beach will collect shells and try to explain their muscle scars to you.
Someone who prefers to explain the sequence of events shown in a cliff face to sunbathing
Their collection of petrified wood samples are stacked like cord wood.
They plan extra time on trips to investigate road cuts along the way.
Often explains how their boozy coffee with whipped cream resembles a layered igneous complex
Their radioactive ore specimen collection glows in the dark. It is so bright you can:
use it to read by.
---illuminate your front yard.
---use it as a landing beacon.
---See it from Mars.

wish granted

*laugh out loud*

so our wish was granted today. at 1p, work was suspended. yipee!

and since i'm actually pasaway, i went to carriedo first to buy myself some dvds! i now have 14 new dvds to add to my collection! wahoo!

=======

oh no! i just remembered! i still have to start doing my spanish class assignment, which is due this saturday! well, at least i don't have a problem pronouncing most of the words!

rainy days

rainy days and mondays always get me down...

rainy days, no... mondays, yes. but i think that is how it is especially when you're already working.

when i was a kid, when typhoon season comes, my sister and i would go to the window overlooking the street and sing a song for the rain...

rain, rain, rain
come again another day
little (us)
wants to come out
and play again

it didn't happen most of the time but when it did, we always run straight outside and look at what the rain brought us. sometimes, we even go and look for little "guramay" that we can catch by plastic and put them in our aquarium. i just don't remember how long the fishes lasted there.

today, it's raining outside while i'm here inside the office, bored but needing to work. it's our fondest wish that the higher-ups call a suspension while it's still early...

i'm imagining myself at home right now...

curled up in bed, holding a good book, hot chocolate drink at hand, and the sound of rain pouring outside and doing its rittity-tap-tap on the windows...

*sigh*

choco-coated brazilian nuts

yay! at last, i've tasted m&s' choco-coated brazilian nuts again!

and as usual, i got dizzy from eating at least half of the package! now, i better cut my chocolate intake again or the doctor will tell me i have increased sugar level after i finish my annual check-up this friday.

i'm not even supposed to eat much the night before the check-up, too! is that usual? hmmm

but my, oh my! choco-coated brazilian nuts! yay!!!

que paso

i don't think i like what's happening to me.

i love the guy but it seems that lately, i want to know what he's doing everytime, and so... the text messages. it seems that because we both live in opposite sides of the world, it's like being awake or in contact with each other 24 hours a day. luckily, it's not 7 days a week. and sometimes, therein lies the problem. because i want to hear from him everyday and because ours is a complicated thing, it's not possible. and maybe, not even healthy. and it makes me a little sad when he does not reply even when i know that he is at work and probably busy. but when i tell him to tell me if i'm bothering him at work, he says: "you're not a bother. you make my day go faster."

and so, i talk to him until i fall asleep.

and when i wake up, if he replies to my last text, i smile because he says, without fail, "te amo."

blogging from singapore

i like singapore's buildings. very modern. especially the housing buildings. very different from philippines. very colorful. but when you look inside, some can be said to have seen better days. the one i stayed in is a one floor flat with four rooms, a living room area with good lighting, and spacious kitchen and comfort room! that's more like it! but when you reach the elevator, it's obviously old and i won't be surprised when i see little creatures crawling there.











i like singapore's transport system. i like the mrt which links themselves together and i very much like the card system where you just tap in and tap out the card when you use the mrt and the bus. how convenient is that! no going through your purse for quick change! i truly hope we can adapt that here in the philippines.

i like singapore's riverbanks. it's clean and i like it that they've used it to their advantage. they have river ferry tours and the banks are full of cool places to see: the fullerton hotel, clarke quay, boat quay. when i was walking along the riverbank, i had hoped that our government had the foresight to do this and not let factories congest the riverbanks. one they give a bleary look to the river and second, they pollute the river!

i like the cars in singapore. new models of different makes. cool!

i like their parks.


BUT liking all these doesn't mean that Singapore is better than the Philippines.

i think that singapore was just lucky to have progressive thinkers for their past leaders (a.k.a. "conquerors"), unlike us who had spanish, japanese and americans for past "role models." i think these countries were just there to exploit what we had. but that was years, centuries ago and i can't blame them for what has become of us today (that is another long story). but the root is sometimes deeper than we think. enough of this, or i'd go on discussing history and our politicians and i might not stop. suffice it to say that singapore has just been very lucky in my opinion.

if i liked several things in singapore, there are also some things i don't like.

i don't like little india. too crowded. too noisy. too warm... i don't like some of the indians i was with when i toured sentosa. they are very rude. one lady (should i really call her a lady?) kept pushing and pushing me at the line when she can see that there was nowhere to go! some even cut you in the line! what was that?!

i don't like the fact that i don't understand much of what is being said by most people when they speak english.

i especially don't like the heat. it's what you call 'scorching' heat. and i don't like the fact that my feet got really dark and dirty after a day's walk around the marina. it just goes on to say that the place is not as clean as they want it known to be.


AND there are things we do better.

WE, even those of us tone-deaf, sing better than most of the ones i heard. when i went to church sunday, the choir was really boring. it was a wonder i was awake the whole time. what keeps popping to my head is that the choir better go to mass in the philippines and see the difference!

the bars are not so hot, either. there may be some who dance really well but it was actually boring. the music selection was a little tame. i don't know about the other bars but this one i went to was pretty, well... boring.

the dolphin show at ocean adventure is better than the one in sentosa. the dolphins could do better tricks!

of course, since i'm bias over this, the selection of food is better in pinas. although i'll give it to them, they have a few ice cream shops that have my favorite ice cream flavor, choco-mints!

BUT from this experience, i have seen that there is still a lot to improve in my country but there are also a lot of things that one should be proud of of their own country. truly, there's no better place than home. after this three-day trip, i was ready to go home...