It's this time of the year again!

Presents Galore!

Because I've been a nice li'l girl this year, I received so many presents, and it's not even christmas yet!

Yaye! Yipee! Yahoo! Hehehe!

Putting an End to All "Pasi" Cab Drivers

My friend Rene hails a taxi on the other side of the street. The driver signals him to cross, meaning he will take passengers. So Rene gets into the cab. “Sa Fort po,” he tells the driver. The driver scratches his head to signify that much as he’d like to oblige, he has to decline. “Ay, pupunta kasi ako sa LTFRB para magpa-seal ng metro.”

“Ganoon ho ba?” Rene says in a pleasant tone of voice. “Eh di sasakay na ako papuntang LTFRB para i-report kayo.”

“Bakit naman?” the driver says.

“Hindi niyo ba napanood sa news kagabi?” Rene says. “7pm at 11pm. Sabi ho nila, pag may taxi na ayaw tumanggap ng pasahero, i-text sa LTFRB hotline.”

The driver scratches his head again, to signify that he would rather not oblige, but has no choice. Or maybe his dandruff is eating his brain. He mutters darkly to himself—something about passengers who make his life difficult.
Rene never stops smiling. “Pagpunta ho ninyo sa LTFRB, itanong ninyo kung ano ang hotline para sa mga pasaherong makulit na ayaw bumaba.”

The taxi brought him to The Fort without further incident.

*Source: Jessica Rules the Universe

Wanted: Contravida

I don't know what came over me when I asked Herbert what's his first impression of me. He said I was "mataray". He answered much too quickly if you ask me.

My mom who was within hearing distance, joined in "maldita."

NO!!!

Really?

I used to think I come across as timid, gullible, naive...I couldn't for the life of me believe the adjectives they associate me with.

I tried to rephrase the question, hoping I'll be able to generate a different answer because they are honestly sounding greek to me, "Eh, sa mga artista, kaninong personality mo ko pwede i-compare?"

"Yung babae sa Ana Luna." Herbert struggled to answer, laboring on remembering the name of the actress.

"Sino si Janice? Eh di ba kawawa nga sya don, eh bakit magiging mukhang mataray?" This is it. I'm almost winning the battle.

But Herbert just wouldn't let me, "Hindi. Yung si Gladys, 'yun kahawig mo."

Ouch! That guy knows no bounderies, below the belt! "Ha! Ang sama naman nun! Di nga? Parang mas cute naman ako don."

Herbert faltered for a moment before correcting himself, "Hindi, parang yung personality lang, di ko naman sinabi itsura." That's amore. Herbert was able to look the other way and made me feel like a million dollar baby, almost.

The conversation didn't end there but it still got me questioning myself till now. Do I really have the makings of a "contravida"? or at least my face? (You'll be doing me a big favor if you keep that thought to yourself. No replies please for this entry. Thank you.)

Is there a lesson to be learned here, honestly? hehe!

Newest Survivor!

Yipee!

I just saw the good news in the paper,

Yul won Survivor Cook Islands!

Strangely Common

Shortly after I told my friend about an event that happened last week, she said to me, "fan ka na nya."

Hahaha! Funny she should think that because I'm not. Groupies are for celebrities, boy bands and professional athletes. Joe McIntyre is enough for my lifetime. I'm not her fan but suffice it to say I like her.

I'm neither competing nor threatened by the past. But past is good, no matter what they say. I believe in Freud when he said what you are as an adult is a reflection of the kind of childhood you had. I am a happy adult because I had a happy childhood.

Burying the hatchet is one of my many advocacies in life as well. Seeing that they have moved on & have done well for themselves, it just goes to show there is still justice in this world. On my part, I'm all out for peace and quiet.

I hope having presented my arguments will earn me a clean bill of (mental) health.

However, I can't excuse myself for my curiosity, or fascination thereof. I find that we have so much in common that it amazes me. If it hasn't crossed her mind, (girl) open yourself to the possibilities! Hahaha! Apart from that one obvious common denominator, I noticed there's a lot of parallelism between us --- we share the same interests, birthdays (almost), hobbies (well, not entirely), school, city of residence, etc. (I think I'm sounding nutter than intended hehe!). I never met anyone who is so like me, yet so different.

Given a different history and opportunity, I wonder if a friendship could have worked out between us.

Cooking 101

Sundays in Antipolo have become an unofficial going-to-market-slash-cooking-lessons for Herbert and me. It's usually Herbert who wakes up early and drags me (forcibly) out of bed so we can go to church, proceed to market after.

Whenever we wake up late, which usually is the case, we go straight to the market and buy ingredients for our staple Sunday lunch offerings --- fish, clamshells (alternated with mussels), seaweeds, chicken (alternated with pork) --- going to mass will come at a later time.

When it gets really late, almost-lunchtime late, we don't bother tidying ourselves. Off we go, wearing the same clothes we slept-in. (It has its merits actually) We need not worry about snatchers and we can fix all our concentration on huggling, hence, getting the best out of the palengke experience.

Sunday lunches in my abode are synonymous to smörgåsbord . With only 4 of us at home (me, Bec and the 2 oldies), the feast is more than enough, so usually we partake a portion to the neighbors (much to their delight and dismay, depending on the state of the dish we offer).

Oh, if the world doesn't know yet, Herbert is an excellent cook. I can continue living life in peace, knowing I will never go hungry if he decides to take full dominance over the kitchen.

Yesterday, I cooked pininyahang manok, only without pineapple (huh?!) under the supervision of my head chef. At first it was going smoothly, I was waiting for the chicken to be tender when my head chef instructed that I should be putting the milk on the pan, so I did. But while he was busy waging war with the fish on the pan next to mine, I decided to not ask for his guidance and poured the whole can of milk onto the dish.

But when he caught me doing this, he quipped in a highly-pitched voice, "inilagay mo lahat?!" I was like "uhm, oo. lahat," with much bravado I could muster. Truth is I didn't know what I was doing, not the slightest. It was like I was programmed to think the creamier the better. the better. the better. the better?

My head chef, poured water and other magical stuff to repair the damage I have caused. In the end, it wasn't anymore pininyahang manok without pineapple but carbonara without pasta.

But lunch wasn't totally ruined, in fact, it was a very tummy-satisfying meal. Even the neighbors said so. All's well that ends well.

Lesson: Don't trust me with cooking duties. hehe!

Ho ho hoy there!

Bringing cheer to the christmas season by making do with just about anything we can grab at the office, as it turned out christmas decors & gift wrapping materials worked very well as props for these three wise men.