House, M.D.

I love House! Which is why I'm not so crazy about Grey's Anatomy That should explain it.

Ampalaya Tea

Does ampalaya tea really help against diabetes? I sure hope so, because I'm drinking a cup of it right now! I don't have diabetes, and I hope I never get it, but it seems to be in my future because of genes, and because I can't shake my sweet tooth

Meebo!

I now have a Meebo widget on my sidebar — check it out. It's not really anything excitement-worthy, it's just something new to play around with. So yes, I guess I am excited! hehe

I blogged about Meebo a few posts ago. It's a web-based application that lets you log on your YM, MSN, GoogleTalk, even ICQ and AIM, if you still use it (I guess others do since they're still around) — anyway, Meebo lets you sign in on all these instant messaging accounts in one application. So all of your contacts are in one place, and you're signed in on everything. It doesn't have Skype though, sayang — kaya hindi ko rin naman madalas ginagamit.

You also have a Meebo account which you can put on your blog as a widget, so that visitors on your webpage can send you an instant message. So I guess, in a way, it's a step up the usual tagboard you see on blogs. On the other hand, like instant messaging, once the message is read, it's not displayed anymore… unlike a tagboard that keeps everything. So they both have their pros and cons, depending on what you use it for

Enjoy cyberspace! (May gumagamit pa ba ng term na 'yun? Nung kapanahunan ko kasi, isa 'yun sa sikat na terms na ginagamit para sa world wide web. I dont think anyone uses WWW anymore, either! haha) 

Nanay’s Day

Blessings to all of you who are mothers It's a wonderful day to remember the beautiful women who upheld us and led us through all these years.

Mamaya, ibo-blow out namin si Nanay, dinner somewhere. Tuwing may special occasion, tulad ng birthdays at mga araw na ganito, kumakain kami sa labas. Simple lang naman ang pag-celebrate namin, hindi rin mamahalin ang pinagkakainan namin. Just commemorating the passage of time, I suppose. Ang importante eh 'yung hindi nawawala ang diwa ng okasyon, at hindi naiisantabi ang taong pinaparangalan. Ganyan kami magpakita ng pagmamahal sa pamilya, ganyan din siguro ako hanggang sa paglaki ko, hanggang sa ituro ko na rin sa iba.

The Cider House Rules

Got John Irving's The Cider House Rules for P80 at the book sale outlet in Philcoa yesterday. This was after I had nearly bought a new book at the new bookstore in Galleria (actually I think National Bookstore pa rin 'yun — just made into a snazzy powerbooks-type of store for their books, unadulterated by school supplies and the like). Walang pumapasok kaya malamig sa loob. Di naman masyadong extensive ang kanilang fiction lineup. They didn't have Jhumpa Lahiri. But I think the books were cheaper than what you'd expect from Fully Booked and others. I was thinking of getting a Milan Kundera for P355, but wasn't sure. The inner kuripot in me kicked in, finally. So after reading a few pages here and there, I got my fill and left empty-handed. Only to take home John Irving for P80. Ayus!

Mabigat ang mata ko

It's 11:17pm and I want to be perky and awake because I need to finish some things, but I've just started staring into the monitor and already my eyes feel fatigued. 

I'm drinking warm milk now, Nestle's pro-digestion vanilla flavored milk. Okay naman.

Meebo is a good application, check it out at www.meebo.com I don't really use it because I prefer Skype, but I like what it does.  It puts all your chat clients in one web-based application so that you can log on with just one click and see all your contacts there. Magulo ba explanation ko? Masyado nang mabigat ang mata ko para pa ayusin eh. Tignan niyo nalang. Trust me, it's worth the click.

Ang isa pang worth the click ay ang website ni Corrine Bailey Rae. Just google it. Ganda. Not in a smashing awesome overwhelming way, but just nice. Anyway, I like her voice. Caught a bit of it in her performance on Saturday Night Live. Reminds me of India Arie, or maybe a hint of Erykah Badu. 

Chicken Inasal

Masarap ang chicken inasal ng Bacolod! Tinubuan na yata ako ng pakpak kakakain nun this past few days. But if I had a choice, I wish I could be Ilonggo. Napakabait nila dun at napaka-accomodating, wala akong masabi. Lahat, kahit mga tindera sa sari-sari store, kahit tricycle driver. Kakatuwa. Sana may probinsiya din ako.

Tanong Lang

Anong nasa Negros at Misamis Occidental? Alam ko sa Negros maraming manok na pangsabong, 'yun lang. 

See you all in a week!  

Unang Swimming

Ang unang tikim ko ng dagat ngayong summer ay sa Sentosa, at sobrang olats.  Fake lang actually ang beach na 'yun so hindi ko alam kung dapat kong i-count as one official swim, pero sayang naman kung hindi dahil nag-coppertone pa ako para dun at bumili ng bagong swimming suit (lumuwag na kasi ang garter ng luma ko). Excited na excited pa naman kami makapag-swimming.

Imported pa ang sand nun dahil wala naman talagang beach sa Singapore. Parang pier nga lang ng mga barko eh, ginawa nilang resort-style, may mga mini island pa. Pero kahit nakakatakam ang itsura mula sa malayo, paglapit mo sa tubig, parang burak. Kasing-dilim ng Manila Bay ang kulay ng dagat nila, parang ayaw mong dumawdaw sa simula; may mga lumot pang lumulutang. Pag tinapangan mo ang loob mo at nag-step into the water, hindi mo na makikita ang paa mo. Ganun ka-yucky ang dagat nila.

Inisip ko bago kami dumating sa Sentosa kung maalat ba ang tubig nila. Eh di ba, kung 'yung sand nga ay imported at mga coconut trees ay pinag-tatanim lang dun, at naglagay pa ng mga malalaking bato para mukhang isla talaga ang mga disenyo nila, eh baka 'yung tubig di maalat. Pero maalat naman.

Pero kung mag-swimming ang mga taga-doon, parang di ata nila napapansin na parang burak 'yung nilalanguyan nila. Ewan ko ba. Parang enjoy na enjoy sila sa kakababad. Punta kaya sila dito nang makita nila kung ano talaga ang tunay na beach. Baka mapaluha sila sa pagka-awakening, kahit sa Bulacan lang sila makapunta.

Orhan Pamuk

After so many years, I finally bought a brand new book for myself. It wasn't on sale, too, and one of those books on the new arrivals shelf. It was out of desperation, because the bargain books have so far failed to satisfy, and sifting through second-hand bestsellers can yield only John Grishams at best. So I went to a bookstore and read through summaries and first chapters, trying to ignore the artsy book covers because they don't really tell you anything about what's inside.

I finally settled on Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, 2006 Nobel Prize laureate, and chose his latest, "Snow." I was drawn into his world after a few chapters of Snow and another book, The New Life. It was either that or my long-time favorite Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies." Standing by shelves, I've read the first short story in that collection and it was just beautiful.

It's wonderful to be reading a brand new book again! Something I took forever choosing, and even longer pulling the money out of my wallet for.  (Bakit ba kasi ang mahal ng mga libro ngayon?! I guess that's what you pay for good conversation, and after so many bad ones, sometimes this is worth it.)

Teka lang

Next week na ulit post. Enjoy muna ang bakasyon kasama ang pamilya. Masarap mag-diskubre ng bagong lugar kasama ang mga mahal sa buhay, parang nagiging mas special ang mga boo-boo, mas memorable ang mga discovery, mas exciting ang paghahanap sa toilet sa bawat sitwasyon. 

The Cross

When Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross, it was not the
blood of a martyr; or the blood of one man for another; it was
the life of God poured out to redeem the world.

     – Oswald Chambers

The timezone called a.s.a.p.

I live in a world in my head where everything is a.s.a.p. This is probably why calendars and schedules don't work for me. My priority list exists at the edges of my consciousness. The things on it just happen when they're happening, and they get finished when they're finished.

I've tried so many times to stick to a calendar, or make a list of things to do. I actually like making lists and reminders. But they're just pretty to look at. I forget about them as soon as I make them. If I look at my calendar again after a few days, I end up re-arranging the deadlines and stuff just to fit what actually happened! It takes twice the time — twice the hassle! 

New Book, Bad Choice

I didn't like Motiba's Tattoos. It was my new book as of a couple of posts ago. I had a lot of high hopes for it (and it was P99!) but it turned out to be a dud. It read like a dry conversation that you wished you could skip to the last page. So that's what I did. And the last few pages confirmed my suspicion: this book was lacking in insight. It attempted a grand re-connecting with the voice's Indian roots, and tracing it down to the voice's now-very-American life. But it was really a 2-dimensional copycat of the really rich, textured, culturally eye-opening stories of the more vivid pen strokes made by my favorite voices. So this voice I would rather shut out. No more brand new 99-peso books for me!  Next time, I'll prefer the second-hand books, even if they do cost more.

Humid

It's been humid since yesterday. Ilang minuto pagkatapos mag-shower, manlalagkit ka na agad. Buong umaga akong nakababad sa church, deretso sakay sa maalikabok na jeepney papunta sa dulo ng palayan at palaisdaan para sa isang meeting nung hapon, at pagkatapos ng araw ko eh talagang parang pangalawang balat ko na ang libag. Siguro ang tagalog ng "humid" ay "lagkit." Kung di man 'yun 'yon, eh dapat maging 'yun. Suggestion lang naman mula sa isang third worlder na lumaki sa lagkit.

I'm not complaining though. These are all but terms of endearment; mga asaran lang ng mag-ina paminsan-minsan, dahil hindi lang naman sa mga words of affirmation nakakapag-express ng pagmamahal. Sa pelikula, malamang. Pero sa totoong buhay, hinde. Lalo na sa Pinoy. Sa pang-iinis pa nga minsan pinapahiwatig ang tunay na closeness, eh. Talo nga lang pikon!  

My God

Nothing you could say
Can tear me away from my God
Nothing you could do
'Cause I'm stuck like glue to my God

From Sister Act
(originally by Mary Wells, with the title "My Guy") 

For some reason, I remembered this bit of lyric this morning. Maybe because God decided I had better remember it, and of course as you well know, He's right It's a very catchy tune; it stuck to me when I watched Sister Act (both!) on TV some years ago. I didn't know that there was an original 60's hit behind this tune, and that they switched "God" with "Guy." Pretty witty, and very Whoopi But I like how it plays a part in my heart and head today.

CSI

Just a quick note to say that CSI doesn't hold my interest anymore. For some reason, even if I chance upon it on TV, it still doesn't quite hit the spot like it used to. Oh no. I used to be glued to the TV especially on Sunday nights, when all three CSI's will be shown on AXN. Pero ngayon, palipat-lipat na ako ng channel. Kahit bagong season, hindi ko na mapanood ng dere-deretso. Hmm. Bakit kaya?

Toncilitis and Headache

Kakatapos lang ng 5-day DVBS ng mga bata, at parang nag-DVBS na rin ako dahil araw-araw, 8:30 ng umaga, andun ako kasama ng mga estudyante at teachers. Parang kasingdami ng bata 'yung mga matatanda, lahat iba ibang role at job description (pwera ako na nakikigulo lang at nagpi-piktyur), pero sa totoo lang, parang kulang pa rin. Parang overpowered pa rin kami ng mga tsikiting. When they decide to unite and wreak havoc, they can achieve great things indeed.

Pero nag-enjoy ako. Mahilig ako sa mga kaguluhang ganyan. I especially enjoyed being around the kids that our church reaches out to. Natutuwa ako kasi ngayong summer, nagkakaroon sila ng worthwhile experience, kahit isang linggo lang. Napapakain namin sila ng mabigat na merienda. Natututo sila ng bagong kanta, nakakakilala sa bagong mga bata. It's wonderful to see them bloom.

Kahapon, huling araw ng VBS, I couldn't shake off my nagging headache, and this difficulty to swallow. It came out of nowhere. Ngayong umaga, masakit pa rin ulo ko, after three Biogesics. Yung lalamunan ko medyo nag-calm down na, after gargling Bactidol. Siguro kailangan ko ng kape. Then it's back to work!

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Adobe Premiere Pro CS3

Drool…

Wow. Meron nang bago. Just when I was getting the hang of Premiere Pro 1.5

Small Mouse

I'm getting used to a small mouse. I have one of those small laptop-companion A4 mice. It's actually a back-up mouse because the one I prefer at home is those big ones that you can rest your entire palm on. The old-school type. But I'm getting used to the smaller one (ang mahal kasi kung bibili na naman ng bago!!). So far, I'm not feeling the beginnings of arthritis yet.