This WAS me

For those of you who can't believe it (me included hehe!), this was me 20 years ago. This was sometime in 1988, my Mom was on her very first vacation since she left for the Middle East, my sister was 1st year in college and the baby I was holding was Sam, barely 2 years old.

I was a swimmer at PLM hence the nice arms and shoulders. Unfortunately, that was the last time I've seen myself to be that fit. I lost gained weight after college and lost it again sometime in '96 but was never able to get that same kind of physique. Blame it on bad metabolism. haha!

Goodbye Past, Hello Present

Thanks to our new broadband connection, along with the new laptop (and of course to my mom who paid for the connection), I was able to clean up my email account. That account was opened when I worked for AMN. We were all required to have a new yahoo account for business purposes. I was reading mostly my Sent Items and Drafts when I chanced upon two letters that were not sent. One was an open letter to James during our "hard times" and the other was a copy of my conversation with a person that shall we say "changed our lives". It felt different reading those two letters. It did remind me of those times but it doesn't seem to hurt anymore. I know I saved those messages to remind me not to get hurt again. But it doesn't seem to be like that anymore. So, along with the other messages stored in my email account, I deleted them. It's my version of letting go and living in the present so I could move on to my future... our future.

TOP DESIGN

I've always dreamed of remodeling a house. I remember when James and I had our first place,I've always had these fantasies of how our bedroom should be, how the bathroom would be like. That's why it didn't come up as a surprise to me when I took the job when my mom said we're gonna renovate our house in Cavite. I couldn't go to work then as per doctor's orders so I took the job.

Figuring out what to do with the house was easy but designing it was the hardest part. First off were the painting. The house sure needed a new coat of paint but I never thought there would be so many colors to choose from. I decided to come up with 2 different colors for each bedroom. Since my mom is expected to stay in the master bedroom, I choose a very light pink for it's shade. Since she also liked violet, I decided to use a small hint of purple on the borders, as well as the doors and cabinets. But then there was also the issues of the tiles to go with the paint. I chose a darker shade of red that looks but doesn't feel like a carpet. The second room was easier. Since I've grown accustomed to different shades of blue, I've decided to use it as my basic color then added some darker shades to highlight the doors of windows. The tile, of course, was also blue. And so, we now have the pink room and the blue room.

When we got to the kitchen, we had to consult a geomancer. I am not really a feng shui fanatic but I remember somebody telling me once that it is bad to build your kitchen on top of a septic tank as every food you cook could bring sickness to your family. It was the geomancer's idea to use green tiles on the floor, along with other buried stuff to prevent "bad spirits" from spoiling our food. Since we were supposed to tile the floor green, we decided to color the entire kitchen green. I got to discover the beauty of ceramic tiles. Unlike in the 70's and 80's, when ceramic tiles were just 1x1 in dull colors, ceramic tiles nowadays come in different sizes. It also has different colors and some, like the ones that I chose for the "green room" has designs like flowers and vines. Unfortunately, not every design would fit every decorator. The first thing you have to keep in mind is that you should have a good tiler, one like mine. He's very particular in every detail, from the cutting to the lay-out of the design.

We applied the same principle of tiling in the bathroom. Only this time, it became more delicate since he also has to create a slope going to the drain to prevent any standing water, to prevent accidents, plus he had to carefully set the toilet in place. Everything was perfect.

Well, we're halfway done. They've already put the first coat of paint at the second floor hallway, which will also be the main color of the entire house. There's also some painting to be done on the kitchen and bathroom walls. It could still take us a while, since we are still waiting for additional funds to come in but when it's all done, I'm sure it's gonna be perfect.

I Did It!

Remember what i said before about not knowing how to cook adobo? Well, after being forced to go on leave for 30 days by my cardiologist, I've finally got it. My doc advised me to go on leave due to medical reasons. When our kids had their trip, I've decided to cook adobo. I know it was like wishful thinking but I had no choice. Besides, adobo is the most advisable baon to bring since there's no fear of spoilage and it still tastes good even if it's not warm. So, ok i got all the basic ingredients ready: vinegar, soy sauce, pepper. I didn't do the standard procedure, you know pour everything in one pot, set it on fire then magic! I started putting the ingredients one portion at a time.

I mentioned that my cooking had something to do with my forced leave of absence . Well, since I've been out of work for a couple of days, the boredom was starting to kick in. And since I got nothing to do but cook that day, I got to do it without rushing things. hence, the one portion at a time. I started getting nervous when I first tasted the sauce. I was getting a taste of the vinegar which wasn't a good sign. It meant the vinegar didn't blend well with the rest of the stuff. But I kept my cool, I simmered everything on low fire for about, hmmm, 30 minutes. When i tried it again, it was getting there but not quite yet. Something was missing. I checked my pantry to see if i can find anything that I could mix in. Fish sauce (nope!), Sesame Oil (nope!), Italian seasoning (nope!), corn starch (uh uh!) ... hmm then i noticed something new in my pantry, something I don't normally buy from the groceries. Hmm... maybe a little drop would help. I poured some of my secret ingredient in my mix. Not bad ... maybe if I added a little more ... and then let it simmer again ... After 15 more minutes and a lot of prayer that this batch wouldn't turn out to be a dud like my other batches, I noticed something different. The sauce was starting to thicken and the smell ummm ummm umm!!! I tried tasting it and WOWZAH! I DID IT! It was the same thick sauced, spicy, sour, salty adobo I've always dreamed of cooking!!! I was estatic. I couldn't believe I was really tasting the "fruit of my own labor" (hehe!)

I know this may sound boring to you all but I've always said that my marriage is just like my adobo. I couldn't really find the right blend to make it work. For the secret ingredient, well I'm not gonna disclose it right now. All I know is that it really worked. As for my marriage, I guess I still have to find that secret ingredient that would make this marriage last. As of right now, all I can say is that I am enjoying my sweet life as a married person (ahem!ahem!) and would work on it and make it last.

A Walk in the Park

When was the last time you've been to Luneta Park? I'm a self-confessed mall rat. I prefer staying in air conditioned spaces where everything is within your reach. It's been years since I've gone to Luneta. I'd often walk past Luneta park when I was still in college but never really got to relish the entire thing. Yesterday, our trip with our kids was a combination of reminiscing and discovery.

We started our trip at Luneta, located along Taft Ave. The place still looked the same. The map of the Philippines still situated in the middle, however the viewing ramp is no longer there. When I got near the map, I noticed that it has embossed mountain and volcanoes on it and on the rails, it has some markers of the provinces of the Philippines.

We then proceeded to Children's Park which was located on the right side of the Department of Tourism building. There was an entrance fee of P10/person and as we entered the place, a whole rush of memories went in my mind.

The slides ...

the giant tree house ...

the giant hippo ...

and the giant fish and turtle.

They were still there!!! It was so exciting to see our kids enjoying the same place I went to 30 years ago. What surprised me the most was to see the place clean and well maintained. Although it still requires a lot of modification but it was clean enough and safe enough for children of the new generation to play with. There were even tables where people could have their picnics but with all the greens in the area,a lot of people have decided to just stay under the trees with their picnic mats.

For the people of our generation (a.k.a. born in the year of the 70's), you would probably remember the roller rink with a globe in the middle. Well, that globe was replaced by

Lapu-Lapu

and a gigantic Lapu-Lapu to boast. Then we went to the Nokia Orchidarium and Butterfly Farm. The kids were getting tired already but the man-made pond and waterfall excited them and to our surprise, they were actually enjoying it. We decided not to go to the Rizal Stadium and bayside anymore since it was already lunch time. We decided to eat lunch somewhere but as we were crossing the street, we chanced upon a calesa. The kids were excited and although it was quite expensive, P200 from Luneta Park to CCP, it was actually worth it because we got a good view of Baywalk and Manila Bay. We ended our trip at Harbor Square to have lunch, al fresco.

So to all of you guys out there, why don't you start packing your picnic basket and head out to Luneta Park and start creating your new adventure with your friends and family?

Kung Hei Fat Choi

It's the Year of the Golden Rat and since I am forcibly on leave from work, we decided to go to Ongpin (Manila's Chin atown) to witness the festivities.

Our first stop ... MANOSA!

This has been our favorite Chinese restaurant for almost 12 years now. It's styled like the old canteen type Chinese restaurants where they have tiled walls and a short order cook right at the entrance. It's located along Ongpin St. right past the small Eng Bee Tin store alongside Baker's Fair. You can ask any stall owner or vendor and they'll eagerly point you to the right direction. The food is good and cheap. For a complete meal for two which consists of fried rice, rellenong hipon, siomai, maki and drinks it's going to be less than P300 ... that's just about the same price of as two orders of an upsized hamburger meal in any fastfood joint. And the servings are big. The second floor is air conditioned though you really have to wait for a table to be available because it seems like we're not the only ones who patronizes this restaurant. Service is just satifactory though but I don't think you'll have time to complain since you'll be busy enjoying every food they serve. Our recommendations: maki - pork cutlets served on sticky brown soup; siomai - 4 giants sizes per serving; ma chang - sticky rice with some meat in the middle; kikiam and rellenong hipon. They also serve pancit bihon, miki bihon and other noodle recipes.

After our hearty meal, we decided to stroll along Ongpin. We chanced upon a dragon dance and ati-atihan on the streets. The Chinese dragons and the loud noise created by their drums are said to drive away bad spirits.

We were planning to go to a Charm store behind Sta. Cruz Church to have our feng shui but the place was crowded when we got there so we decided to end our Chinese New Year celebration instead. It sure was a wonderful experience and to all those who believe in luck Kung Hei Fat Choi!!!

American Dream

Yep, the American Dream! Every Filipino has a dream of coming to the U.S., the Land of Milk and Honey. Well, here's the real deal. My brother Sam, the farthest on the right, has made it to the "promise land". He was there on training and would a very promising career in hand. I just like this picture cause it accurately defines every Filipino had wanted, to be in the land of snow. I'm gonna elaborate more about his adventures next time. But for now, that's him right now, living the American Dream.