Happy at Home

Baubles, bangles & beads

2010-07-26T19:54:00.000+08:00

Ever since college, I've always loved big, chunky beaded jewelry. I'm kind of limited to necklaces nowadays because I've developed allergies to earrings that aren't real gold or silver, and keyboarding is tough while wearing big bracelets, but whether they're earrings, bracelets or necklaces, one thing is certain: they're always difficult to organize neatly. Traditional jewelry boxes are made for fine pieces; their necklace hooks are small and fragile, and the compartments for bracelets are too shallow. I've tried using plastic boxes with multiple layers, laying down necklaces flat in them, but no matter how carefully they're laid down, they eventually end up getting all tangled up.

I finally found a good solution with the My Closet brand of closet organizers sold in one of our local department stores. Made specifically for clothes, they come in different styles, from coat bags and shoe pockets to under-bed storage bags. The ones I use for my chunky bracelets and necklaces are those advertised as hosiery bags. The twelve-pocket design is perfect for most of my baubles. The pockets are flat and are 3 x 4 inches in size. But for my chunkier-than-usual pieces, only the organizer with six expandable pockets will do—it can accommodate my favorite and very thick multi-strand wooden bead necklace. I also love the fact that the pockets are made of clear plastic; one glance and I know what to reach for.

I like how they keep everything neatly organized, so much so that I've started using them for other things, like brushes and hair accessories. I may never use them for hosiery, but who knows.

The Universal Prayer

2010-04-28T21:28:00.001+08:00

Lord, I believe in you: increase my faith.
I trust in you: strengthen my trust.
I love you: let me love you more and more.
I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.

I worship you as my first beginning,
I long for you as my last end,
I praise you as my constant helper,
and call on you as my loving protector.

Guide me by your wisdom,
correct me with your justice,
comfort me with your mercy,
protect me with your power.

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you;
my words: to have you for their theme;
my actions: to reflect my love for you;
my sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me:
in the way you ask,
for as long as you ask,
because you ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,
strengthen my will,
purify my heart,
and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins
and to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
and to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love you, my Lord and my God,
and see myself as I really am:
a pilgrim in this world,
a Christian called to respect and love
all whose lives I touch,
those in authority over me
or those under my authority,
my friends and my enemies.

Help me to conquer anger with gentleness,
greed by generosity,
apathy by fervor.
Help me to forget myself
and reach out toward others.

Make me prudent in planning,
courageous in taking risks.
Make me patient in suffering,
unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer,
temperate in food and drink,
diligent in my work,
firm in my good intentions.

Let my conscience be clear,
my conduct without fault,
my speech blameless,
my life well-ordered.

Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.
Let me cherish your love for me,
keep your law,
and come at last to your salvation.

Teach me to realize that this world is passing,
that my true future is the happiness of heaven,
that life on earth is short,
and the life to come eternal.

Help me to prepare for death
with a proper fear of judgment,
but a greater trust in your goodness.
Lead me safely through death
to the endless joy of heaven.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

~ Attributed to Pope Clement XI (23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721)

A Marinduque fisherman begins his night fishing as the sun starts to set.

Marinduque, 17 April 2010

Hanging on for dear life

2010-04-24T23:04:00.004+08:00

When I saw the Cupmen in a Japanese website, I just had to ask my sister in Tokyo to buy some for me. If there ever was a most useful useless gadget, this has got to be it. A plastic man whose job is to keep the paper-foil cover of instant ramen noodles down. He turns white when the noodles are heating up and goes back to his original color when it cools down. Isn't he just too cute?

The Cupman in my office gets a workout every now and then during emergencies, but the one at home is probably bored out of his skull. Maybe I should just hang him on my computer monitor.

Win a Boracay vacation package!

2010-04-14T17:00:00.020+08:00

Win a Free Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency

WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating it's 5th year in business during July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us, so we have decided to give-away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5 Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package.

Vacation Package Inclusions:

5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5 Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel
Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
Island Transfers - Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila
Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Boracay Activities - Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
PLUS - 5,000 peso Spending Cash

Read More Information: http://www.boracay-packages.com

Image from http://www.boracay-packages.com

I don't know whether to scream or cry

2010-03-08T20:19:00.007+08:00

I just saw a video prepared by the Ateneo School of Government about its many projects. It was a public relations tool, but never mind about that. What hit me hard—very hard—was a segment of the video showing one of their faculty during a lecture. He said that it is estimated that 30% of the annual Philippine national budget is lost to corruption.

Right now, that's 300 billion pesos!!!

The agricultural and infrastructure damage of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng combined was 15 billion, a measly 5% of the money that ended up in the pockets of our corrupt politicians.

In the meantime:

30% of Filipinos live below the poverty line.
We are experiencing rotating brownouts now because our power generating capability is too low. So low that when one power plant gives up, we're incapacitated.
An average of 20 typhoons enter the Philippines every year. Yet we are never prepared for the damages that they cause.
Every three years or so, we experience the El Niño phenomenon, but again, we are never prepared for its effects. The water in Luzon's dams have already reached critical levels and summer has just begun.
It's impossible to make an actual count, but a study which gathered data from charity organizations and the Department of Social Welfare and Development estimates that there are more than 100,000 street homeless in Metro Manila alone. And I don't think that figure includes those who live in makeshift shanties all over the metro.

I can go on forever with a list of problems that 300 billion pesos annually can alleviate or solve outright.

Suddenly, I am inarticulate. I do not have enough strong swear words to say how I feel about this government.

Make it pretty

2010-02-21T21:22:00.005+08:00

I prefer using liquid hand soap for several reasons. One, there's nothing to get soft and mushy with frequent use. Two, I can dispense just the right amount of soap I need so there's no waste. And three, I don't have to worry about the person before me not rinsing the bar of gunk and stuff that can get stuck on it.

The only problem with liquid soap is the dispenser that they come in. It's such a waste to throw them away when they're empty. Aside from being still perfectly usable (unless it gets broken for some reason), they're usually made of plastic which isn't biodegradable. So I've taken to reusing them.

But first, I try to make them a little prettier. I remove the labels then use scrapbooking plastic and foil stickers to decorate the body all around. Unlike paper stickers, these won't rub off when they get wet, which makes them ideal for the project.

But now, I have a different kind of problem. Unless our stores begin selling liquid soap refills, I'm going to have more dispensers than I know what to do with.

Art marks

2010-01-10T14:00:00.004+08:00

As I promised in my previous post, here's an idea for how to recycle the artwork and photographs of smaller desk calendars.

The easiest is to turn them into bookmarks. The handiest width for bookmarks is about two inches so that usually means having to crop the artwork first. In cropping, try to follow the photographer's Rule of Thirds (click the link for a tutorial). Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule; in cropping my 2008 desk calendar (these photos are from the middle of last year), I was limited by the height of the images. This is how I decided to crop two of the paintings; many of the sheets gave me two bookmarks rather than one.

After cutting all of the sheets, I punch a single hole near the top and add a ribbon (or yarn). As much as I can, I try to match the colors in the images, but since I only work with what I have on hand (and many of these ribbons are scraps from the packaging of gifts given to us), it's not always possible. My all-purpose ribbon for those instances is a narrow, gold gauze ribbon.

If you have no need for so many bookmarks, then just give them away to family, friends and colleagues who you know to be avid readers. Even consider giving them to your local library, with instructions to give one each to the next several people who take out books. You'll be making some people happy and you would have done a small part in helping reduce environmental waste.

Artsy drawers

2010-01-01T14:09:00.005+08:00

It's the first day of the new year and if you're like me, you have several 2009 calendars to dispose of. Before chucking them all in the garbage or recycling bins, first see if you can re-use them.

Calendars of all sizes made of paper stock (not cardboard), as long as one side is blank and the paper is not too thin that the print shows through, can be used as note/memo paper. Just cut them into squares or rectangles in the size of your choice. This is best done with a paper cutter or an X-acto knife with a steel ruler and cutting mat; but lacking either, scissors will do, though it will take longer.

The bigger wall calendars that are made of card stock, especially the ones with paintings, photographs and illustrations, make for great drawer and cabinet liners. I use them everywhere, from clothes drawers and the closet we use to store toiletry products to our kitchen cabinets.

Lay the loose sheets down on the drawer bottom, making sure that each piece overlaps with the others. When you are satisfied with both the coverage and the placement of your favorite designs, keep the sheets together with adhesive tape. Pay special attention to the corners—you don't want to accidentally tear the sheet out while getting something near the bottom of the drawer.

These liners may not be as pretty as the big drawer liners you can buy at home centers, but they're more eco-friendly and much sturdier, being able to withstand several years' use as long as there are no accidental spills from food and bath products. And chances are, you will always have replacement sheets every year at no extra cost.

Next, how to re-use smaller card stock desk calendars.

Inexpensive ornament

2009-12-28T11:10:00.003+08:00

More than any other Christmas decoration, I love Christmas trees the best. Especially those that are heavily laden with ornaments. We have a word in Tagalog that describes it perfectly: busog. It really means 'a full stomach,' both the feeling and how it gets distended when you've eaten a lot. Through the years, I've accumulated all sorts of ornaments to try to get our tree as busog as it can get. Aside from ornaments that are hung on branches, I've bought garlands to string around it (though I didn't use them this year) and glittery flowers to put on top of boughs. Thanks to a friend of mine and her Christmas tree, I discovered another ornament perfect for filling in spaces between branches. And it's DIY so it's also very inexpensive. All you need is that wide ribbon with wire at the edges so they can be shaped and those little ornaments on thin wires. Cut and cross the ribbon, wrap the wired ornament, and voilà!

A 10-yard roll of ribbon gave me 16 ornaments. To see how I used it on our tree, click here. Although I made them specifically for the tree, you can also use this simple ribbon trick to accessorize gifts, for Christmas or any other occasion.

He's home!

2009-07-21T21:46:00.006+08:00

My husband's back from the Mildura Writers' Festival. I took the afternoon off from work so I could be home when he arrived. I'm happy. And I can finally sleep well again.

He took this photo of the Mildura Weir on the Murray River. We're both city born and bred, and this is absolutely lovely to us.

Not happy at home

2009-07-15T20:18:00.000+08:00

As I'm writing this, my husband is in a plane on his way to Melbourne to participate in the Mildura Writers' Festival. He will be back on Tuesday, July 21.

In our thirteen years of marriage, this is only the second time that we will be apart for more than three days.

I feel almost edible

2009-05-17T17:47:00.003+08:00

Coconut scalp care cream
Brazil Nut intensive hair treatment
Beer shampoo
Lemon and Honey bath soap
Cucumber and Avocado facial scrub
Raspberry and Pear body lotion
Orange cologne

The blessings of Easter

2009-04-12T11:11:00.000+08:00

Despite being the middle of summer here in the Philippines, it's been raining almost every afternoon these past two weeks. A happy result of this is that I've discovered more flowers blooming in our garden. Of course, like the other flowers I've posted before, I have no idea what their names are. But whatever they are, I think they're such wonderful blessings especially for this season.

Spiky. I'm just glad this is soft and small.

Red clusters. Tiny, tiny flowerets growing in clusters. The leaves are round, thick and waxy and remind me of jojoba somehow.

Pale lavender. Orchid, definitely an orchid. But what kind?

Spring skirt. It looks like a lady wearing one of those frilly skirts that seem to be in season this spring.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Valentine wreath

2009-03-22T14:06:00.002+08:00

I know that it's a very late post, but I've been very late about a lot of home stuff lately because of the work load in my job. I'm still posting it anyway. As they say, better late than never.

When I took down our Christmas decorations last January, I told my husband that I'd remove the Christmas ornaments on them but that I'll be keeping the wreaths on our front door and kitchen door. My idea is to change their ornaments depending on the season or holiday.

For Valentine, I made little red hearts out of cardboard and outlined them with black glitter. I didn't have time to go to a shop to look for other Valentine ornaments though, but I hope to add more through the years.

My problem now is, it's already the last week of March and I still haven't replaced the hearts. Again, I haven't had the time to go shopping. I'm scheduled to have my monthly mall trip next Sunday and I hope I can sneak in the ornaments. I also hope that I can find something appropriate for summer. At least, the way our summers have been the past few years, I won't have to worry about replacing them until July!

Off with her hair!

2009-03-13T22:27:00.000+08:00

After more than a year of having shoulder blade length hair, I finally had it chopped off. The past few months, I'd been putting it up in a bun or ponytail anyway because it was too much of a bother to blow dry and style. Then there's the fact that we've been hitting 33ºC already and it's only the start of summer. So I'm back to my short shag and my head feels so much lighter. I hope this means I can keep a cool head longer too!

When the hairdresser swept up all the hair he cut from me into this pile, he said, "Ma'm, there's more hair on the floor than you have on your head."

New year blessings

2009-01-01T10:22:00.000+08:00

My wish for you in 2009:

Beauty for your eyes to see
Comfort on difficult days
Faith during your lowest moments
Smiles to brighten your day
Rainbows to follow the clouds
Courage when the way gets dark
Laughter to kiss your lips
Patience when you need to wait
Hugs when your spirit sags
Friendships to lighten your being
Love to fill your life

Happy New Year!

Image from wallpapers.dpics.org

Rejoice!

2008-12-25T10:14:00.002+08:00

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord."

Luke 2:10–11

May this blessed day fill your hearts with love and peace.
Happy Christmas!

Adoration of the Shepherds
Domenico Ghirlandaio, Florentine, 1449–1494
Image from the Web Gallery of Art

O Tannenbaum

2008-12-08T20:30:00.000+08:00

Or, The Making of a Christmas Tree

One note before I begin: all Christmas trees here in the Philippines are synthetic. No fir trees. There are pine trees in certain places but they're huge and left to grow freely—no pine tree farms. So, synthetic it is.

The tree we have right now comes in three sections. Except for the main trunk, all the branches are flexible—a boon when storing the tree because they can be bent close to the trunk. It's five feet tall and I place it on a round side table both to make it look taller and also just to make sure that our dog doesn't decide to 'mark' it as part of his territory.

The bare, synthetic tree.

After it's set up, the first thing I put on the tree is the star topper. It has lights and needs to be plugged into the first string of lights. The cable's too long and I have to loop it several times around the top and make sure the plug ends where I want the lights to begin. The plug's white too, which is irritating. I nestle the plugs on the joints of branches and the trunk so they're more secure.

The star tree-topper. That white plug has to be covered up later. Notice the mess of light strings—sure looks awful up close.

Then comes the most tedious part of the process: the strings of light. Just looping the strings around the tree creates line patterns which I don't like. So I use the 'in-and-out' technique, using green twist-ties to anchor the string where needed. This technique ensures that there are lights on the tips and the inner sections of the branches. It's tiring though. This five-footer uses four 100-bulb strings. So I don't waste time and energy, I test each string out of the box. When I plug a new string into the previous string, I test it again. When I'm done placing the string on the branches, I test it a third time. Have you ever experienced stringing lights on a tree just to find out when you're done that they don't work? It's enough to make a Grinch out of anyone.

A note about the lights: the Philippines is a big importer of very inexpensive lights made in China. I stopped using them several years ago for many reasons, which all boil down to the fact that the quality is terrible. The brand I use is quadruple the price but I don't get scratches from poorly molded plastic and even after being turned on for several hours, I don't feel heat from the bulbs. Oh, and I only use steady, clear lights. No colors, no movement, no music.

The final light test. I adjusted some of the branches after this shot to fill in those holes.

After a break to rest my poor triceps, I begin the fun part: the ornaments. I always use a very limited color palette and most of our ornaments are very simple too. Much as I love the many designs available in the market, I avoid ornaments that are easy to crush (and therefore difficult to store) or those that can rot (like our native ornaments made of twigs, rattan, abaca and other natural materials). I have silver, white, clear, red and gold ornaments in storage. Last year's tree was all gold and I didn't feel like having a white Christmas, so I decided on red and gold.

What our ornaments lack in shape, they make up for in texture. There's matte, shiny and glittery.

The problem with using mostly ornaments on strings is that the tops of some branches can look bare. This happens when the ornaments hanging from the branch above don't quite reach the branch below. For those bald spots, I have silk flowers on plastic stems which I just lay down on the branch.

Et voilà!

The unlit Christmas tree on the round table. The tree skirt will hide the stand, the switch of the extension cord and the table.

Hmmm… some of those branches need more adjusting. But all in all, I'm satisfied with this year's Christmas tree.

Squeak, squeak, squeak

2008-11-27T06:48:00.000+08:00

Help! How can I get rid of the squeaking of leather shoes with rubber soles? It's so embarrassing! Especially when I'm walking across a quiet room full of people working.

Sigh. Maybe it was an instance like this that inspired Marc Jacobs.

Creating hope

2008-11-16T14:22:00.001+08:00

I just learned about World Challenge this morning and I've just spent quite some time reading through almost their entire website. If you are despairing of the world, your government or your circumstances, then I suggest you spend some time there too. The stories are uplifting but I also found them personally challenging. There are so many ways to make a difference—and what am I doing?

While you're there, and if you read about all the projects, please vote for the one you like best. This is a competition and the winner will receive US$20,000 to plow back into the project. That's a lot. Voting will end on Sunday, November 22. I've summarized the twelve finalists below—a teaser to encourage you to go to the site.

All images and information are from the World Challenge website.

World Challenge 2008
A global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level.

Keystone Foundation
India
Keeping the ancient and sustainable tradition of the Adivasi people of Southern India, who collect honey from wild bee colonies on cliffs, alive by creating markets for wild honey

The Leakey Collection
Kenya
Gives Maasai women a sustainable income, making jewelry from an abundant native grass, without interrupting their traditional way of life

Hashoo Foundation
Pakistan
Processes, packages and sells the honey of women beekeepers in Gilgit, one of the poorest and most isolated regions in Pakistan, to high-end shops and hotels of Islamabad

UniquEco Designs Ltd.
Kenya
Cleaning the coast of East Africa from the thousands of flip-flops which wash up on shore and providing an alternative source of income for coastal communities

Oro Verde
Colombia
Producing gold without harming the rainforests of Chocó, a treasure house of biodiversity, and paying the miners fairly

Yurt Kindergartens
Kyrgyzstan
Carrying classrooms on horses and donkeys to follow the children of Kyrgyz herders and give them the chance of education

Heiveld Co-operative
South Africa
Banding together to give the small-scale farmers of Koysan a fair price for their organic, caffeine-free Roobios tea

Shanti Sewa Griha
Nepal
Building self-sufficient communities with workshops, a school and a free health clinic for leprosy victims and other social outcasts

She Hope Society
India
Bringing dignity and independence to the disabled in war-torn Kashmir through physiotherapy, corrective surgery, basic education and micro-loans

Escuela Agricola
Paraguay
Educating the smallholder-farmers of Paraguay, one of the poorest countries in Latin America where two-thirds of the land belongs to two percent of the population, about the latest organic techniques and general life skills such as literacy, numeracy, sexual health and saving money

Hawkers Market Girl Centre
Kenya
Providing education and income-generating skills to girls from Nairobi's slums

Oficinas Querô
Brazil
A film academy which gives the young people in the slums of Santos have a shot at a better future

October 2008: Happy elsewhere

2008-11-11T22:29:00.000+08:00

One whole week with my sister and three nieces! I think I did more eating and shopping (alright, my sister shopped, I walked with her) in that one week than I did in the previous six months. I loved baby-sitting the girls so my sister could spend some undisturbed time with family and friends. I hope they can come back next year, and for a longer period!

Before they arrived, I squeezed in five performances in three weekends. Hubby-dear had to watch more. Much more.

La Bohème
Philippine Opera Company
http://www.philippineoperacompany.com
Music by Giacomo Puccini • Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Helen Quach • Directed by Floy Quintos

Disney's Mulan Jr.
Repertory Philippines
http://www.repertory-philippines.com
Directed by Joy Virata • Choreographed by Denisa Reyes

Piaf: Love Conquers All
MusicArtes
Written by Roger Peace • Director, Designer, Actor: Naomi Emmerson • Piano Accompaniment by Carmela Buencamino-Sinco

New Beginnings
Ballet Philippines
http://www.balletphilippines.org
Night Creature
Choreography by Alvin Ailey • Restaged by Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish • Music by Duke Ellington
The Hurt We Embrace
Choreography by Max Luna III • Music by Jan Ap Kaczmarek
Mga Awit
Choreography by Max Luna III • Music by Michael Dadap • Lyrics by Nelson Navarro
Thresholds II
Choreography by Alan Hineline • Music by Jerome Begin

Master Class
Philippine Opera Company
http://www.philippineoperacompany.com
Written by Terrence McNally • Directed by Michael Williams

September 2008: Happy elsewhere

2008-11-08T23:10:00.000+08:00

My very late chronicle of what I watched in September.

West Side Story
Stages Production
Book by Arthur Laurents • Music by Leonard Bernstein • Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim • Stage Direction by Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo • Musical Direction by Gerard Salonga

Isang Panaginip na Fili
Dulaang U.P.
http://www.upd.edu.ph/~dup
Written & Directed by Floy Quintos • Music by CJ Javier • Choreographed by Van Manalo
Photograph by Joel Reyes

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute
Philippine Opera Company
http://www.philippineoperacompany.com
Directed by Kokoy Jimenez

La Revolucion Filipina
Ballet Philippines
http://www.balletphilippines.org
Music by Ryan Cayabyab • Choreographed by Agnes Locsin
Photograph by Victor Ursabia

September is also when I met with blogger friends Cheyenne and Christine. Chey came to Manila for a week and we met for lunch at the People's Palace restaurant, where we had a Thai curry overload. It was great meeting you, girls!

Also during this month, I learned a lot about the inner workings of online and cellphone payments—much, much more than I ever wanted to know.

Of blogs, time, and family

2008-11-04T20:49:00.001+08:00

First of all, I would like to apologize for not logging in for a couple of weeks. When my sister told me around mid-October that she and my three nieces were coming to Manila for a week-long visit, I decided that I wanted to spend all that time with them and I asked for a vacation leave from work. Which meant that I had to make sure that I tied as many loose ends as I could before my leave started. Then I also had to have the bathrooms in the house repaired—something I'd been putting off for some time—which meant going out to buy all the materials and fixtures needed then scheduling the plumber.

The week that they were here was wonderful! At least, for me. I can only hope that 'my' girls had a great time too.

I'm back at work now, and of course I'm having to catch up with everything.

And not just at work, but also at home. My clothes are just stacked up on a dresser and I have yet to store the mattresses properly (I wrap them up in black plastic to keep them safe from pests, dust and humidity—perennial problems in Manila). I've also just realized that it's already November and I better start giving away the early Christmas presents which I bought back in February (gosh, how time flies!).

Finally, I also have to catch up with my blogs and those of my friends.

I've been pretty faithful in posting to My Manila (though I haven't been able to respond to any of the comments there these past couple of weeks either), which is now part of the City Daily Photo portal, but I've slowed down quite terribly with Happy at Home. I've never considered myself a writer and I actually started Happy at Home as a challenge to myself, aside from wanting—no, needing—to share what I've learned over the years. But generating ideas for blog topics can be time-consuming, sometimes I need to research, and I still don't find writing any easier even after a year of semi-regular writing. A photo blog is so much easier to maintain. The text can be minimal and it won't matter much, and the photo itself gives my writing focus.

Anyway, I hope I can get back on track soon—with all aspects of my life, not just my blogs. I seriously have to rethink how to spend the limited time I have to myself. I guess it's something we all have to go through every now and then. And that's good.

Excellent Excellence

2008-10-05T18:07:00.000+08:00

In November of last year, I wrote about my preferred brand of hair color, Revlon's ColorSilk, in "My whites are showing." I've recently just changed brand loyalties. Now, my hair color of choice is L'Oreal's Excellence Creme.

What made me switch? The number one reason is the fact that it is a cream, not a liquid. No dripping! It's wonderful! That alone would have been enough reason to make me switch. The second reason is the conditioners that it comes with. Note that I used the plural. It comes with a pre-color conditioner aside from the regular after-color conditioner. It's an additional step and makes the process a little longer, but for someone like me who always struggles with dry hair, it's a very welcome step. And the after-color conditioner: L'Oreal has packaged Excellence with a small bottle of its Color Vive hair conditioner, enough for two or three applications. The applicator bottle also comes with two nozzles, the regular one-hole kind and this small comb where each tooth has holes in the sides, not the tips.

I love this new discovery. I've already bought my second bottle and it's waiting in the toiletry cabinet for my next application, about two months from now—just in time for the Christmas parties.

Sweet chili shrimp

2008-09-30T12:31:00.001+08:00

How do you explain to someone who doesn't cook, or who can cook only with a recipe, what goes on through your mind when you're deciding on what to whip up?

Take this dish, for example. I had one kilo of shelled, deveined shrimp thawing in the refrigerator. I had moisturizing gunk on my hair and scalp and wanted to keep it on the whole day so I didn't want to have to go out to buy ingredients. So I was running through both the refrigerator and the pantry in my mind (I was reading blogs at the time and didn't want to get up to check). When my mind got to the bottle of sweet chili sauce, it stopped. Ah ha! Okay, shrimp sautéed in sweet chili sauce. But a kilo of shrimp isn't a lot—what can I use to extend it? Ooh, I still have a pack of fish tofu in the freezer. So I get up, take it out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to thaw. And as I do that, I see the carton of quail eggs—that'll do. Better boil those now so they'll have plenty of time to cool—I hate peeling hot hard-boiled eggs and scorching my fingertips. Much later, when the eggs have been boiled, cooled and peeled and it was almost dinner—I expected the cooking time to be less than 30 minutes—I bring out the shrimp, tofu and sweet chili sauce from the refrigerator. My eye gets caught by another bottle of sauce, chili garlic this time. Ooh, that'll add a little more kick to the dish—the sweet chili sauce hardly has any. So there, ingredients complete and all I have to do now is cook everything.

I think almost everyone here can follow the thought process, but I don't think I'll ever be able to describe how I know that one ingredient will taste good with another. Will "You have to imagine how they'll taste like together" help?

Anyway, let's cook the dish now.

Since the tofu pieces were pretty big, I cut each piece into quarters. I also cooked it first because it's not pure tofu and is actually a little starchy so I figured it would need to be cooked longer than the shrimp. In a wok, heat a teaspoon of sesame oil, add a teaspoon of chili garlic sauce, stir until mixed well. Add the tofu and sauté until the pale sides are a bit brown, adding a tablespoon of sweet chili sauce sometime during the sautéing. Set aside.

Add more sesame oil and chili garlic sauce to the wok and sauté the shrimp, with one and a half teaspoons of salt. Add sweet chili sauce during the sautéing. When the shrimp's more than halfway done (that is, it's losing its transparency), add the tofu and continue sautéing. When the shrimp's cooked, add the quail eggs. Toss—lightly, so the eggs won't break—to mix the three main ingredients well and to coat the eggs in the chili sauce (add more chili sauce if necessary).

August 2008: Happy elsewhere

2008-09-28T16:04:00.000+08:00

Noli at Fili: Dekada 2000 (Dos Mil)
Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA)
http://www.petatheater.com
Written by Nicanor G. Tiongson • Directed by Soxie Topacio

Otelo: Ang Moro ng Venecia
Tanghalang Ateneo
http://www.tanghalangateneo.org
Written by William Shakespeare • Translated by Rogelio Sicat and Luna Sicat-Cleto • Directed by Dr. Ricardo G. Abad

The Golden Child
Tanghalang Pilipino
http://www.tanghalangpilipino.com
Written by David Henry Hwang • Directed by Loy Arcenas

August was also the month we spent a long weekend in Baguio City, which calls itself the Philippines' summer capital because of its cooler climate. I posted some pictures in my other blog and if you'd care to see them, click here.

Dracula meets Sweet Valley High

2008-09-06T23:40:00.001+08:00

I just got suckered into reading Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight." Blame two of my college girlfriends. One has a grade school-age daughter whose friends were all so into it, my friend decided to read it just to find out what it was about. And got hooked. The other one has a more convoluted story involving her older sister, the sister's colleague from a large Philippine corporation, and the colleague's daughter. Anyway, she got hooked too. And so did all the moms who read the book their young daughters were reading. In my case, my friends told me about the book series on Sunday and the first said she'll lend me her daughter's copy if she and her girlfriends were done with it. And the very next day, she came by the office to drop it off!

My regular reading fare is science fiction, fantasy, history and historical fiction, with a smattering of contemporary fiction, the classics and all other genres. I also happen to like young adult fiction. About the only thing not included in my reading list is romance. "Twilight" is young adult, fantasy and romance. Two out of three. So I read it. And in the middle of reading another novel too—something I rarely do, but this is a borrowed book and I wanted to be able to return it quickly in case any of the young girls still haven't read it.

I really hate to say this, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book! I wasn't kidding about the title of this post. "Twilight" really is Bram Stoker's "Dracula" meets Sweet Valley High. (I was actually a little too old for the latter when it came out, but my younger sister had a few and I read a couple.) In Tagalog, we have a word for what I felt while reading it: kilig. I have no idea how to translate it to English. But you know the nice little shivers which run up your spine during romantic scenes in movies and books? That's it.

It was fun feeling like a high school kid again. But I think I'll quit while I'm ahead. There are three other books in the series and my friend said she'll lend them to me one by one. Thanks, Ces, but I think I'll pass on the offer. I might end up feeling like I did after I read Dan Brown's other books—I should have stopped after "The Da Vinci Code." Well, except maybe for the last book. I would like to know if Edward gives Bella what she's asking for and how.

Looking for an image of the book's front cover (which I found in Stephenie Meyer's website), I discovered that it's being made into a movie. None of the cast is familiar to me, and I've never heard of the director or producers either. But I think I'll brave the hordes of giggly pre-teens who are sure to watch it. It's coming out this November. I doubt very much if my husband will watch it with me, so Ces, Beng: it's a date?

From wet decks to wet streets

2008-08-29T21:58:00.001+08:00

I think I just found the perfect shoe for the Philippines' rainy season: Sebago's Performance Marine series.

This is the Wave Ariel, and it is probably the most comfortable shoe I have ever put my feet in. There is not a single stiff piece in the uppers—everything is meant to move with your feet. Imagine yourself trying to move around on the deck of a sailboat in rough waters—you'd want your shoes to move with you and that's precisely what Sebago made this shoe to do. The materials are made to get wet and to dry quickly.

But what clinched the sale was this:

I thought it looked like an octopus' suckers, and sure enough, Sebago calls it the OctoPod. The traction is awesome! Unless I step on a slimy leaf or some litterbug's plastic trash, I am never going to slip while walking in the rain ever again.

The Ariel is the only Wave model that didn't look like running shoes and the color I chose was a chocolate brown (but I couldn't find the color in the website so it's probably last season's). I can actually wear them to work and not be accused of not looking 'professional.'

Foamy!

2008-08-24T22:23:00.001+08:00

Bath & Body Works has some of the most fabulously delicious scented products ever. Unfortunately, I find them a little too expensive for everyday use. So you can imagine my delight when a college girlfriend came home for a visit last Christmas and one of the items she gave us was a bottle of its liquid hand soap.

Since I follow the FIFO policy even for household products, I only opened the bottle this past week. Another delight: the soap came out foamy! Silly me didn't read the label. Turns out that it was the Gentle Foaming variant. I love it! I've been like a little kid—I have to stop myself from pumping out more than what I need. And I was wondering why the pump was so thick.

I'm fascinated by that pump—it's obviously why the soap is coming out foamy. Much as I love the soap (and the scent—it's Exotic Coconut), I can't wait until the bottle's empty. I want to take it apart to find out how it works. Hey! That's what I did to find out how those child-proof caps work!

Magical blooms

2008-08-13T23:23:00.002+08:00

The best thing about the rainy season here in the Philippines is how everything turns lush and green seemingly all of a sudden after a dry, brown summer. Our garden at home is now full of flowers and to me, it's all magical because I have no idea where most of them came from or what they're called.

Some of you may already know that I'm an absolute doofus when it comes to plants and flowers. I like them, but I usually don't bother learning their names or how to care for them. I'll buy flower seeds, stick them in the ground, and by the time they've grown and bloomed—after a few weeks, months, or even years—I've forgotten the name written on the packet. One of our friends works at a property development company and would sometimes give us plants left over after the landscaping is done. Our maid likes puttering around in the garden and our neighbor's maid is her sister—I think they share plants because I see some of ours suddenly growing in their garden and I see plants in our garden that I've never seen before.

Anyway, here are a dozen flowers that I saw in our garden over the weekend. I know we have several more, but they're not in bloom right now. I'm afraid I only know the names of two of them (pathetic!) so feel free to educate me if you know what they are.

Winged. The plant is a woody shrub and these yellow flowers only grow at the tips of the branches. I love those long white petals—they look like wings.

Sampaguita-like. Except for the fuchsia centers, these little flowers remind me of Sampaguita (Jasmine), the Philippines' national flower. These grow in clusters on the tips of the branches of a shrub.

Feathers. Whatever this is, I love it's delicate wave and the wispy petals.

Tiny. Perfect as ground cover, this plant's flowers are less than half a centimeter in diameter.

Help. This poor thing's leaves don't look healthy and the flowers lack their usual vibrant color. I have no idea what's wrong or what to do to help it. I see some at my neighbor's front yard and they're beautiful and healthy. It can't be too much rain, because hers are fully exposed too. Maybe they need richer soil than what we have?

Santan. This is one plant I actually have a name for. Santan is what we call it in Tagalog and it's a shrub that is commonly used to line paths, walls and fences. They come in different colors and the flowers grow in clusters. They like being in full sunlight so now that it's the rainy season, they don't have as many blooms. When we were kids, we'd pull out the pistils to suck on them—sweet!

Red fir. Somehow, that's what this flower reminds me of. And even without the flowers, its leaves are so extravagantly round and lush, they always look great.

Everyday. Thanks to a blogger friend from India, I now know that this small, simple flower is a Madagascar Periwinkle. Here in the Philippines, it's called Chichirica or Araw-araw (everyday). It grows everywhere and anywhere, even between the cracks of the pavement. Its roots are very shallow and can be pulled out with a gentle tug, but the strongest of storms won't uproot it because it will just bend down with the wind.

Sleepyhead. This sweet flower attracts all the bees in the neighborhood during the daytime. Then it shrivels up into almost nothing when the sun goes down.

Fuzzy. Like an orange umbrella on fuzzy grains of wheat.

Yellow tongue. This grew from a packet of seeds and the blooms remind me of Orchids, but they're only one centimeter wide.

Open wide. I keep thinking that this flower looks like it has a mouth. Is it just me? The plant's leaves look like a Lily's and the stamen reminds me of a Lily's too—probably a relative.

Charming charms

2008-08-10T21:07:00.001+08:00

I have a disease called cute-itis. It makes you use cute things even if you're just a little too old for them already. Take bag and gadgets charms for example. My friends' charms have colored stones and beads and look elegant. Mine? Uh, cartoon animals?

My cellphone charm is half a heart and Minnie Mouse, and is one part of a pair. Guess who has the other half.

My alma mater's mascot is a blue eagle and I couldn't resist this charm when I saw it in the university bookstore. It's an eaglet on what's supposed to be a bracelet, but I hang him on my (current) everyday bag. Not very professional looking, I admit, but I think he's adorable! And he's only a centimeter high. Just between you and me though, I think he looks more like a blue penguin than a blue eagle.

This little mint green teddy bear is actually pretty big for a bag charm. But he's my birthday bear. The sole of one foot is stitched with the date of my birthday (sorry—I forgot to position the foot properly). My sister and three nieces each have one too. How can I not use it? I removed the key holder and attached him to the zipper of my work bag, along with mini train cards from Tokyo—mementos of a visit to my sister and her family when they were living there. One of them supposedly has the name of the station nearest my sister's home, but since I can't read Japanese characters, I just have to trust her on it.

Now, I have two questions for you:

Do you have cute-itis?
Do you use bag and gadget charms?

July 2008: Happy elsewhere

2008-08-02T21:44:00.001+08:00

Rainy season blockbusters! LOL! It may be summer in Hollywood, but it's been raining here almost everyday. Just three movies and nothing else, but I thoroughly enjoyed all three. But if you have to choose only one, then watch The Dark Knight. You cannot miss this one on the big screen!

More blockbusters in the queue, and theater season has started—I hope I'll be able to watch some this month.

Wanted
http://www.wantedmovie.com
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov

Mamma Mia! The Movie
http://www.mammamiamovie.com
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd

The Dark Knight
http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com
Directed by Christopher Nolan

Thank you, Ralph.

2008-07-31T16:54:00.000+08:00

I've never met Ralph, except online. He came to Manila a month ago, but I didn't get to meet him then. Yet when he sent my husband a box of books and videos, one book was especially for me:

My first reaction was, "Now why would I want to read about life in an Iowa farm during the depression?" I mean, everything about it seems so far removed from my life and experiences—Iowa, a farm, the depression in the 1930s… And it was even more confusing because stuck on the book was this note:

Okay, now my thought became "What has all of this to do with blogging?"

Then I read the blurb at the back of the book:

I tell of a time, a place, and a way of life long gone but still indelible in my memory. For many years I have had the urge to describe that treasure trove, lest it vanish forever. So, partly in response to the basic human instinct to share feelings and experiences, and partly for the sheer joy and excitement of it all, I report on my early life. It was quite a romp…

Little Heathens

Now, I understand. And for someone I have never met, Ralph seems to understand me better than many people I interact with on a daily basis.

Thank you, Ralph.

Erasing dirt like magic

2008-07-28T21:15:00.001+08:00

Remember that article about keyboards being dirtier than toilets? I didn't just post it here—I also emailed it to a lot of friends and colleagues and may have caused a keyboard cleaning binge at work (and in Multiply).

Anyway, my husband—who originally sent me the link to that article—didn't stop at just disinfecting his keyboard. He decided that he wanted the keyboard to be as white as the day he bought it. Thanks to Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, he did.

I read a few forum topics about keeping computers and gadgets clean, and this product keeps getting recommended. After seeing my husband's keyboard, now I'm recommending it too. Since the sponges are kind of large, I suggest you cut it up first. Aside from saving a little money, you'll also have more surface area to clean with.

Almost, but not quite

2008-07-27T20:54:00.000+08:00

Soon after I ranted about ladies' bags in Portable black hole, I bought myself a new bag from a friend of a friend who designs and makes bags. I got to choose the design I like and the leather to be used for it. This is it:

It has three large compartments—two with snaps and one zippered. The problem is, it still doesn't have as many pockets as I'd like it to have. In fact, it only has two small pockets, one in each of the compartments with snaps. So to keep my things organized, I still have to use several pouches of different sizes.

It does have one great thing going for it—it's huge! Note its size in relation to the chair. I can actually place a file folder in it and it won't be peeking out. The design comes in a smaller size, but I purposely chose the larger so I don't have to carry several bags. But then, as my friends say, I'm lucky because I can get away with it.

Because I meant to use the bag for everyday office use, I chose a dark brown braided leather so it can go with all of my clothes. It's not real braided leather, by the way—it's just stamped leather. But the stamping's so deep, you won't know it's not really braided unless you look at it very closely.

I'm satisfied with it for now. But the hunt still goes on for the perfect bag.

Or pure oil?

2008-07-26T16:02:00.001+08:00

November 2007 was the first time I ever tried using body butter, and I wrote about it in Cream or butter? July 2008 marks the first time I'm using body oil.

Body oil doesn't feel like it's being absorbed very well, but I think that's just my imagination because my skin's still well-moisturized. I especially like the sheen it gives my skin.

So what's your favorite kind of body moisturizer? Butter, lotion or oil?

Bug off!

2008-07-21T22:30:00.001+08:00

Don't you just hate it when you're alone in a room with one pesky mosquito? That you can't swat, no matter how many times you've tried? Happened to me in the office this morning. I have five angry-looking bites right now. I need to pack bug spray tomorrow. Or make sure that someone else will be in the room with me—someone whose surface skin temperature is warmer than mine. Of course, I also hope that it's dead by the time I go back tomorrow.

Image of 3-D female mosquito model from Turbo Squid. It's for sale.

Mediterranean fish fillet

2008-07-19T20:36:00.001+08:00

My version of a dish served during one of our office's special events. I couldn't ask the caterer for her recipe—that's her business edge after all—so I kind of had to guess what she put in it, ending up with another un-recipe. I do know that it's based on the Provençal tapenade (a paste of black olives, capers and olive oil), because that's what she calls her dish. But she didn't use a paste and she put sun-dried tomatoes, so I think that it's actually more Mediterranean than French.

My changes: (1) sun-dried tomatoes are not easily available here so I had to use fresh tomatoes, so I lost the tartness of the sun-dried tomatoes, which I like; and (2) the caterer's version was baked, but I couldn't get the gas oven to work, so I cooked it stove-top. This, and using fresh tomatoes, at least gave me a dish that was more moist than the caterer's.

My one kilo of fish (I again used creamy dory), had four fillets. Since I don't have a pan which can accommodate all four, I had to cook them in two batches. Not difficult, don't worry, since fish cooks quite fast.

small bottle sliced green olives
small bottle sliced black olives
small bottle capers
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsps butter
1 kilo fish fillet

1. Sauté all the olives and capers in about one tablespoon of olive oil for about one minute. Set aside. Divide into eight servings (for four fillets—the idea is two servings of the mixture per fillet).

2. Put a dab of butter in the pan and melt it. Place the fillets of fish in the pan and spoon one serving of the olive mixture on top of each fish. Cover the pan and wait about three minutes.

3. Flip the fish over with the olive mixture—try to place as much of the olive mixture under the fish. Spoon another serving of the olive mixture over each fish. Cover and cook until done.

Dry + brittle nails?

2008-07-15T21:48:00.002+08:00

Then get this darling little bottle: Sally Hansen Age Correct Strength Dry + Brittle Nail Care.

Several months ago, I noticed that my nails had suddenly turned extremely brittle. Anything and everything I did caused them to split, chip or break. Annoying, to say the least. I couldn't touch any fabric because the threads would snag on my nails. I tried using moisturizer—though the skin on my fingers turned nice and soft, it did nothing for my nails.

So I was forced to go hunting for a possible solution and found this in the beauty and health care section of the department store I regularly go to. It works! (Thank goodness. Or I would have been forced to search for another solution.)

You're supposed to apply it every other day until your nails heal. When applied, it looks like you have clear polish on, though not as shiny. Since I started using it, I haven't had a single chip or break. Of course, I'm now afraid to stop using it, but I think I will soon because I also want to find out how long it'll be before my nails turn brittle again. If or when they do, at least I know what to do already.

I just wish Sally Hansen would change its name. It's hard enough to be aging without having to use a product that shoves that fact into your face.

How beautiful we all are!

2008-07-14T22:34:00.001+08:00

As my friend Anna said in her introduction to this video, "How small the world is and how beautiful we all are!" After my blues last night, this was exactly what I needed. Thank you, Anna.

Visit www.wherethehellismatt.com to read about Matthew Harding, see his other videos (including the outtakes) and read his blog.

Sunday evening blues

2008-07-13T20:16:00.001+08:00

Every now and then (like right now) on Sundays, as soon as the sun sets and it gets dark, I start getting depressed. It's a combination of a lot of things, most beginning with "I did not…"

do all the chores I needed to do
do all the other things I wanted to do
get enough sleep or rest
read all the blogs, newspapers and book chapters I wanted to read

Weekends are really just not enough to do all these (especially when you only get half of Saturday off from work). But what really gets me depressed is the fact that I only have one night's sleep separating me from another thankless week at work. When I was younger, I felt the same way about school. I think that's why I always end up sleeping very late Sunday nights—you know, trying to keep Monday morning at bay. Because when you sleep, you don't feel time passing and next thing you know it's Monday. How juvenile can one get, right?

I'm not normally this glum, thank goodness. I don't like feeling this way at all—it's tiring and it makes it harder to accomplish anything. There's still some chocolate-filled bonbons in the refrigerator. Time to have a couple, I think.

To those in the same hemisphere as the Philippines: I hope you have a wonderful week. And to those on the other hemisphere: have a peaceful and restful Sunday.

Public domain photo of "Sunset Over the Sahara Desert" by NASA from www.solarviews.com

June 2008: Happy elsewhere

2008-07-10T19:17:00.000+08:00

Almost pathetic. I've been so stressed out at work, I hardly went anywhere during the month of June. One movie and one art exhibit—that's it. And I just realized that it's almost halfway through July and I haven't had a blog post yet. I sure hope things change soon.

Duetto
An art exhibit by Migs Villanueva & Anna de Leon

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia
Directed by Andrew Adamson

Still, busy-ness and all, I did spend some time with friends and family. We had dinner with my best friend from high school and her husband, had lunch with two good friends from university, and another lunch with my husband's brother and sister (and her family).

I always spend some time at night reading, and I've been at "Nazi Gold" for almost two months. My husband hates the type—says it's way too small, and I have to agree. If it used a regular type size, it would easily be double its thickness. But it's a very interesting read. But somewhere in the middle, I took a break to read the graphic novel "Fables: Legends in Exile" because I just borrowed it. Fun!

And finally, my husband and I watched the documentary "Helvetica" at home. Yes, it's about the font. How nerdy can one get, huh?

Time's up!

2008-06-26T22:54:00.001+08:00

For all you Multiply users out there.

If you've been using Multiply as storage for your high resolution photos and deleting them from your hard disk with no other back-up, I suggest you start downloading them again now and back them up elsewhere.

The Eraserheads: Ang Huling El Bimbo

2008-06-25T21:04:00.002+08:00

Ted recently told me that he doesn't know any Filipino songs. I'm no great shakes with them either, to tell you the truth. My husband despairs of me ever remembering song titles, lyrics, artists and tunes! I don't listen to music at home or at work (I like silence) though I do enjoy live performances tremendously. So I told Ted that I'll ask around and post some especially for him. Here's my first: "Ang Huling El Bimbo" by The Eraserheads.

I know that most of you won't understand the lyrics because it's in Tagalog, so here's the synopsis of the song from Wikipedia's entry on Ang Huling El Bimbo:

Song lyrics | Ang Huling El Bimbo lyrics

You can read a short biography of The Eraserheads in AllMusic and a longer one in Wikipedia.

Reflections on respect

2008-06-22T21:11:00.000+08:00

"Respect has to be earned."

How many times have you heard this statement, or a variation of it? How many times have you yourself said it?

I agree with it, of course. I cannot expect people to respect me if I am not honest, don't do my work well, am not trustworthy, don't have integrity, and so forth. I cannot expect respect from other people if I am not worthy of respect.

But what about the respect that I give other people? Do they have to be worthy of respect before I show them respect? Do they have to conform to my standards of what I deem to be a person worthy of respect before I treat them with respect?

This is where I begin to have problems with the statement above. I've heard it used too many times as an excuse for rude, discourteous and condescending behavior.

"I do not respect you. Therefore, I will treat you like dirt. I am going to talk to you like you are the stupidest, most ignorant person on earth."

I believe that even if a person really is stupid and ignorant, that's no excuse to be rude. Even if the other person is rude, that's still no excuse for you to be rude to her.

I believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter how flawed they are.

I know it's difficult. I find it difficult. But the beautiful thing about it is, if you behave as if that obnoxious/difficult/stupid person you have to deal with is worthy of respect, she begins to believe it and act it. Until one day, she really becomes that person worthy of respect.

I hope that made sense. My thoughts have been in such a messy jumble for quite some time now.

Zapped no more

2008-06-19T12:26:00.001+08:00

I finally changed my Multiply header image a few weeks ago because the first one was too big—I couldn't see my own navigation buttons. Soon after, I discovered that the ad zapper installed in our company web server stopped zapping it. I wrote about this small problem back in February (read 'This ad zapped.').

So, of course, I wondered why the software zapped the first one but not the new one. And I realized that it was just because of the file name. The first header image was named hah_banner.jpg and because I didn't want to overwrite the original file, I named the second one happyathome.jpg. The realization: the software automatically zaps all external images with the word "banner" in its file name!

I love these "Ah-hah!" moments.

A bug for my bag

2008-06-17T22:03:00.000+08:00

I've been looking for a bag hook like this for almost two decades—ever since I lost the very first one I had. Now, I've a much prettier one and I don't have to place my purse on my seat every time we eat out.

This little bug dropped into my lap last week, when the friend of a colleague visited at work and turned out to be selling bag hooks. There were other designs but I couldn't resist the lady bug for my ladies' bag. And she comes in her own little black velvet pouch with satin ribbon drawstrings so she won't get scratched when she's inside my purse.

The reason for the pot

2008-06-14T22:12:00.001+08:00

Nilagang manok—literally, boiled chicken—is the reason why I got my humongous pot in the first place.

Basically, it's just chicken (I use 8 or 10 pieces) boiled with onions and fish sauce (patis in Filipino, nam pla in Thai). I bring it to boil then simmer for about 40 minutes.

While the chicken's simmering, I cut up all the vegetables. Green beans, ballhead cabbage, pechay (bok choy) and Chinese (Napa) cabbage. I add all these to the pot after 40 minutes and keep it simmering for less than 5 minutes.

It's because of the vegetables that I needed the pot. I always use a lot, but even then, they're usually the first to go. This new one is so huge, you'll notice that the water level is way below the rim—in my old pot, it would have overflowed already.

I really love this pot.

Greenhouse gases are no laughing matter

2008-06-13T22:34:00.002+08:00

I know that global warming is a serious problem. I know that the struggle to lessen greenhouse gas emissions creates a lot of tension among environmentalists, scientists, politicians and businessmen. But, pardon me, I still cracked up when I read this piece from the newsletter of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Saving the Climate, One Cow Belch at a Time

Reuters UK

Los Angeles Times

Moo!

110 years of independence

2008-06-12T12:38:00.002+08:00

Today, we are celebrating the 110th year of Philippine Independence from Spain.

On June 12, 1898, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines from Spanish colonial rule.

This declaration was not recognized by Spain or the United States, however, because that same year, Spain ceded its colony to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris. Philippine independence was only recognized by the U.S. on July 4, 1946.

Proclamation of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898

I was going to say that maybe we should have a second celebration on July 4, to commemorate our independence from the U.S. But on second thought, are we really?

Read more about the Philippine declaration of independence at Wikipedia.

Virtual tourist

2008-06-10T20:47:00.001+08:00

I discovered City Daily Photo after I'd been a semi-regular reader of Paris Daily Photo for several months. I wasn't minding all the stuff outside the main blog, which is why I missed this wonderful website earlier.

And wonderful it is! It's a portal, a collection of blogs around the world. Each blogger's "mission": to post a photo of their city every day. Last I checked, there were more than 600 blogs registered (though probably less than 600 cities, since some cities are represented by more than one blogger).

The quality of the photos vary. There are professional photographers in there, and their photos are magnificent. The serious hobbyists' are fantastic too. Then there are the ordinary folks who just want to share about their corner of the world. And I've discovered that it is to this last group that I am usually attracted to.

I try to visit at least three places a day, whatever thumbnail catches my eye. Sometimes, it's because the photography is excellent, but more often than not, I visit—not the artistic shots or close-ups of flowers and pets—but the ones who actually show a piece of their city. I especially love the ones who bother telling stories, the story of the statue, house, bridge or ship—the stories of their cities. I've always loved stories.

The silliest holiday ever

2008-06-09T14:17:00.002+08:00

On Thursday, June 12, the Philippines will celebrate it's Independence Day.

But in an effort to boost local tourism, our brilliant president had issued a proclamation stating that the Monday closest to the actual holiday will be the non-working day. And the proclamation covers most Philippine holidays, not just Independence Day. So today's a holiday, and everyone will be at work on June 12.

I'm grateful for the extra day off from work, of course, but today's proving to be just an ordinary day for me—cooking and catching up on chores—as I suspect it is for most Filipinos nationwide. I mean, how many Filipinos can actually afford to travel?

So on Thursday, if anyone has organized events and celebrations, who will be able to attend, if everyone's back in their workplaces?

And our government wonders why Filipinos aren't patriotic.

Do I look like a matron?

2008-06-08T21:47:00.001+08:00

I had quite an unusual experience during this morning's monthly mall trip. Suddenly, all the sales people were eager to assist me. I'm still not sure whether I like it or not, though, since I like being left alone when I'm choosing what to buy. The good thing was, they weren't trying to help me out with my choices, they were helping me out with my load.

First, the shopping basket. I didn't get one immediately because I wasn't sure where the first item on my list could be found, but I saw it immediately and got it. So I was carrying it to the counter where I knew the baskets would be, and I was met halfway there by a salesman who handed me one.

Second, the rug. I had chosen a small one to put under my husband's narrow bookshelf and had it rolled neatly in my shopping basket. When I got to the other end of the store, I saw more choices and found a pattern I liked better. So I unrolled the first rug and put it back on the display pile. Then the salesman there rolled up my new choice for me and placed it in my basket exactly how I had the first one in.

Third, how about a shopping cart instead? As I was on my way to the other end of the store for the last item on my list, yet another salesman walked up to me and offered me a shopping cart so I wouldn't have to carry a basket. (Uh, no thank you, I'm not buying that much.)

Fourth, yet another shopping cart. After the department store, I decided to buy some chicken pieces in the supermarket one level down. (Our neighborhood grocery usually only has whole chicken.) So I deposited my three shopping bags in the package counter and bought the chicken. And a few other items, so I ended up with another three bags. As I was walking to the package counter, another young man, a member of the customer service crew this time, came up to me with a shopping cart to put my packages in. So I thanked him, placed the bags inside, got my other packages and rolled the cart over to the taxi stand. And the nice cab driver came out of the car to help me place my packages on the back seat.

So the first thing I asked my husband when I got home was, "Do I look like a matrona?" My smart husband, knowing there's no safe answer to a question like that, instead asked me what brought the question on, so I told him about all those young men helping me out. He laughed, nuzzled me a bit, then said, "Maybe they think you look rich." Ha ha.

Anyway, I have three hypotheses about today's experience. One, that I am really beginning to show my age. Two, the service personnel are finally getting the training that they need. (That company has always been notorious for having awful service.) And three, if you want good service, don't just be in jeans and a t-shirt. That's my usual outfit when shopping, but for some reason, this morning I decided to wear skinny, red-orange cropped pants and a chocolate brown top with a beige neckline. Did that make a difference? Probably. But I suspect that today's experience was really caused by a combination of all three.

The power of words

2008-06-05T17:55:00.001+08:00

For most of this afternoon, my mind had been dwelling on the idea—and problems—of communication. And words. For various reasons, which I don't really need to explain because they're all work-related. So it was kind of uncanny that I got this from a friend also this afternoon. There are only two instances where words will be used. Don't miss the subtitles.

Historia de un letrero / The story of a sign

May 2008: Happy elsewhere

2008-06-04T19:36:00.001+08:00

I was going to say that May was probably my most miserable month. First, I pulled a hip muscle and had to go through physical therapy. The doctor prescribed six sessions, but I had only gone to two when I caught that awful bug that laid me low for four days, after which the cough and cold persisted for another two weeks. Then at the end of the month, and the start of the workshop I had to attend, I got sick again—either food poisoning or a stomach flu. Whichever it was, the effect was the same.

But then I went through my planner, and realized that we actually did a lot despite the days stuck at home. We went to our bookworm friends' wedding and I went to the opening of an Australian artists' exhibit.

We also got to try out three new restaurants: Napoli Pizzeria (with old-style brick, wood-burning ovens), Blissful Belly (vegetarian), and Big Oli (Italian fastfood).

And even on the days that we couldn't leave the house—my husband caught the bug after I did—we watched four movies at home: Persepolis, Shake Rattle & Roll 9 (a Filipino horror film), 3:10 to Yuma and My Blueberry Nights.

So looking at the whole of May, no, it wasn't miserable after all. Maybe just the health part, and since we've finally gotten our flu shots, hopefully we won't catch any serious bug again for another year.

Oh, and we also watched two movies on the big screen:

Iron Man
http://ironmanmovie.marvel.com
Directed by Jon Favreau

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
http://www.indianajones.com
Directed by Steven Spielberg

Conversations

2008-05-29T21:24:00.002+08:00

To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation.
~ Chinese proverb

"Conversations" is the theme of the workshop I will be attending this weekend. But since this is the first time I'll be with this particular group, I expect to be listening more than talking.

We're leaving Friday afternoon and will be coming back Sunday afternoon, so I won't be online at all during this time. I found this photo of a view of Manila from the place where we're staying in Antipolo, taken by maryan54 at webshots outdoors. Knowing myself, I will not be able to see dawn breaking—I am not a morning person—but I hope I find this spot because I will enjoy seeing the city lights at night.

So, until Sunday (or Monday), be good, boys and girls. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Not quite from scratch

2008-05-27T20:43:00.001+08:00

I think I'm a little slow here, but I've just discovered how to make quick, chunky soup using canned condensed soup. My only excuse is that Campbell's soup is imported here and I don't pay it much attention when I do my grocery. There's not much variety either—we only seem to have a few of the cream-based soups plus the chicken noodle soup, and only the regular kind too—none of the chunky or low-sodium varieties. But I wanted to make a shrimp-based chunky soup last weekend—it's rainy season here already and nothing beats hot soup when it's raining—and I didn't have much time to make one from scratch because I woke up late Sunday morning. So I grabbed two cans of Campbell's New England Clam Chowder and a brick of low-fat milk and that's what I based my chunky soup on. I don't think I'll be doing this often though. I checked the nutrition information and the sodium content is high!

2 cans condensed clam chowder cream soup
1 brick (250ml) low-fat milk
1/8 cup butter or margarine
2 small onions, minced
1 kilo peeled shrimp, sliced into bite-size pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
2 small carrots, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped

Place the condensed soup and milk in a stockpot and use a whisk to mix the two until smooth. Set aside.

In a wok or large skillet, melt the butter and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the shrimp, salt, black pepper and marjoram and sauté until the shrimp turns pink. Add the carrots and zucchini and sauté for about two more minutes. Set aside.

Heat the soup. Add the sautéed shrimp and vegetables, including the liquid, and mix well. Simmer for three minutes.

When bookworms wed

2008-05-24T15:38:00.001+08:00

…they put their books together, separate all the duplicates, and give them away as souvenirs during their wedding, which they hold in a library.

That's what two friends did when they got married last week. And the wedding really was in a library, though a specialized and, therefore, very pretty library. They let their guests choose which titles to bring home, so for half an hour, their bookworm friends were too busy browsing to talk or eat. And since they had more books than guests, everyone got to bring home more than one (I saw several with five books each!).

I got two books: Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses," which I didn't read when it was the talk of the town so many years back, and Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake," which my husband assures me I am going to like. I haven't read anything by Atwood yet, so I hope he's right. He just handed me another Atwood book last night, in fact—yet another to add to my tottering towers.

Each book had a special bookmark—a more personalized souvenir of the occasion—with their names and the date of the wedding. The monogram that you see in the picture is a combination of their initials, P and S.

Here's to a beautiful life of loving and reading together, you two! Congratulations!

Sucking on sugar-free

2008-05-21T21:21:00.001+08:00

I don't usually choose sugar-free products over their regular variants. The main reason is because my husband and I don't really consume products with loads of sugar—like softdrinks, powdered juice drinks, cookies, candies, chocolates, and such. Another reason is because of all those horror stories I've heard about aspartame. And the third reason is because I haven't eaten or drunk anything sugar-free that tasted better than its original variant. (If I'm going to have something that's not good for me, I might as well enjoy it to the fullest, right?)

These past two weeks, though, I've discovered that there is one product that I like the sugar-free variant more than the original: Strepsils. For some reason, it's much smoother than the regular kind. It also isn't as sweet, which is great. Here in Manila, we don't get the sugar-free kind in different flavors—there's only one and the package, which is lime green so it's probably lemon, doesn't say what flavor it is. I don't mind at all. I like it.

And yes, our Strepsils come in foil packs—not tamper-proof bubbles (or whatever they're called) in boxes.

I am happy to report…

2008-05-19T21:14:00.001+08:00

This is really just an update to two old posts, to let you know that they actually work. Just click on the links to read the original posts.

1. My girlfriend finally tried that recipe she found for removing tarnish and texted me to say that it really works. However, if the silver is heavily tarnished or if the object is large, you have to dip it twice.

2. After taking my own moisturizing advice for half a year, I am happy to report that… Oh forget it—it's too embarrassing to say. Let's just say it that it works.

Endangered Species Day

2008-05-17T12:04:00.001+08:00

I'm a day late for this because it's already Saturday here—that's what happens when you don't check your email everyday.

Three years ago, the U.S. Senate declared the third Friday of May as Endangered Species Day. It is meant to promote the conservation of all plants and animals threatened with extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources maintains a Red List of Threatened Species, if you are interested. I've signed up at the Center for Biological Diversity to get news and to be able to sign petitions.

If it's still Friday in your part of the world, or even if it isn't, you might want to send these e-postcards to your friends and family to help spread the word. Click on the image and it will bring you to the web form for sending them.

Happy Endangered Species Day, everyone!
Although, honestly, I don't see how it can be happy.

Inhale…

2008-05-16T18:49:00.001+08:00

I finally fought off that bug I caught last week, but I still have a bad cough and the sniffles. Since Wednesday, the day I felt well enough to go back to work, this has been my best friend at night:

Vicks VapoRub. A small dab outside my nose, and a large dollop rubbed on my chest. The dab on the nose definitely eases my breathing, and I like the warm-then-cool sensation of it on my skin.

This thing's been around for ages, and I can understand why—it really works!

A gift of games

2008-05-14T20:01:00.004+08:00

Thank you, Joel, for introducing me to Ferry Halim's beautiful games in Orisinal.

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal

Just a word of warning: Right click on the link and open it in another window rather than in a tab. The Flash games resize the window, which is bothersome when you're browsing other sites.

Skins of art

2008-05-13T21:33:00.000+08:00

What do I do when I really, really want to buy something that I do not need? Buy it as a present!

That's what happened when my girlfriend at GlamExchange discovered GelaSkins and wrote about them. Right after reading her article, I spent the next hour or so just browsing the site and looking at all the beautiful artwork—because that's what GelaSkins' pride is: artist-designed skins for your laptop, iPod and gaming devices.

I don't have a laptop, iPod or gaming device—no excuse to buy myself a Gelaskin. But my husband does have a MacBook, so there's my excuse!

The two skins I chose (yes, I consulted my husband and he'll say he chose them too, but I had already decided on them before we went through the website together, hee hee) are by the same artist: Colin Thompson from Bellingen, Australia. I immediately fell in love with his colorful, whimsical art, and what he had to say in the website made him even more endearing to me: I have always believed in the magic of childhood and think that if you get your life right that magic should never end. I feel that if a children's book cannot be enjoyed properly by adults there is something wrong with either the book or the adult reading it. This of course, is just a smart way of saying I don't want to grow up.

Here are the two art skins. Click on the image to see a slightly bigger one, or just visit the GelaSkins website. Guess which one my husband's currently using.

Bookshelf

Music Castle

8 of my favorite things

2008-05-10T21:06:00.000+08:00

Linda, Laryh and Peanut tagged me ages ago to write eight random facts about myself. But I didn't want to make it the usual text-only laundry list and I also wanted to put my own twist into the game. So here it is finally, girls. I had fun doing it!

MY FAVORITE VACATION

MY FAVORITE TEE

MY FAVORITE COLOR

MY FAVORITE JUNK FOOD

MY FAVORITE BOOK

MY FAVORITE FLOWER

MY FAVORITE DESSERT

MY FAVORITE ACTORS

I love this widget

2008-05-07T21:30:00.001+08:00

The National Geographic Photo of the Day widget is one of my favorite widgets. I love National Geographic's photos! Click on INFO, and it tells you what the image is and who the photographer is. From the info panel, you can get to the Photo of the Day archive and even download a wallpaper of the image. Click on ENLARGE, and it brings you to the National Geographic website where a large image is displayed and the explanation is a bit longer.

This widget is available for web pages and the Mac Dashboard.

Eeew!

2008-05-06T12:06:00.001+08:00

After finding this article, my husband said, "I wonder what our cellphone keypads are like." Double Eeeeew!

Keyboards 'dirtier than a toilet'
Some computer keyboards harbour more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat, research has suggested.

Consumer group Which? said tests at its London offices found equipment carrying bugs that could cause food poisoning.

Out of 33 keyboards swabbed, four were regarded as a potential health hazard and one harboured five times more germs than one of the office's toilet seats.

Microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson said a keyboard was often "a reflection of what is in your nose and in your gut".

During the Which? tests in January this year, a microbiologist deemed one of the office's keyboards to be so dirty he ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned.

It had 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - five times as filthy as a lavatory seat tested at the same time, the research found.

The equipment was swabbed for bugs, such as those that can cause food poisoning like E.coli and staphylococcus aureus.

Dr Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospital, told BBC Radio 5 Live sharing a keyboard could be passing on illnesses among office workers.

"If you look at what grows on computer keyboards, and hospitals are worse, believe it or not, it's more or less a reflection of what's in your nose and in your gut," he said.

"Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you're very likely to pick it up from a keyboard."

Which? said one of the causes of dirty keyboards was users eating lunch at their desk, with crumbs encouraging the growth of bacteria.

Poor personal hygiene, such as not washing hands after going to the toilet, could also be to blame, it said.

Cleaning techniques

Which? computing editor Sarah Kidner advised users to give their computer "a spring clean".

"It's quite simple to do and could prevent your computer from becoming a health hazard," she said.

She said dust and food crumbs should be shaken out of keyboards and they should be wiped with a soft, lightly dampened, lint-free cloth. They should also be disinfected with alcohol wipes.

Research by the University of Arizona last year found the average office desktop harboured 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat.

They also found that, compared to men, on average women have three to four times the amount of germs in, on and around their work area.

April 2008: Happy elsewhere

2008-05-05T21:00:00.003+08:00

No plays. Only one theater group staged a play and I missed it. No bands. I'm not young anymore and I promised myself to cut down on weeknights out because a full day's work after not having enough sleep is just a bit too much for me now. Just two really fun movies!

And… I spent three days in Tagaytay City for a retreat. My husband and I spent a weekend at a hotel. And my office spent a day in a farm resort for our annual R&R.

And… Let's not forget the eating out! My college girlfriends and I ate at a Thai seafood restaurant. Had pizza and pasta (and more) at a little Italian trattoria with some English Department faculty. And the entire family of my husband—parents, children and spouses, grandchildren—had lunch one Sunday at an Asian curry restaurant.

Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!
http://www.hortonmovie.com
Directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino

The Forbidden Kingdom
http://www.forbiddenkingdommovie.com
Directed by Rob Minkoff

A million blogs

2008-05-04T11:56:00.002+08:00

Blooks LLC started an experiment on April 10, 2008 to find out how long it would take to get a million blogs listed on the Million Blog List. It's a DIY and Scout's Honor kind of thing because you have to list your own blog/s. Just for the heck of it, I listed mine.

Happy at Home is # 1017

My Manila is # 1018

1,254 blogs have been listed as of May 4, 12:21 a.m. (though the last five got their numbers mixed up and the web administrator will have to correct them). If you want to join in this silliness, head on over to the Million Blog List website.

Wasabi fish stir-fry

2008-05-03T22:25:00.002+08:00

That blog I wrote about wasabi-flavored snacks got me to thinking about using wasabi in a recipe. I remember printing out a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens for wasabi-glazed white fish so I read it again. I couldn't use the recipe, unfortunately, because it called for wasabi powder and all I had at home was wasabi paste in a tube. So I ended up experimenting again, and we liked the result. Obviously, this is another un-recipe—measurements are not exact and the main ingredients are fish and vegetables which are readily available here and which we like so feel free to change them.

Just a few notes about this dish (as much for myself as for anyone who encounters this recipe):

2 tbsp soy sauce
6 inches of wasabi paste, as squeezed from the tube
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 kilo fish fillet, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup fresh Chinese / snow pea pods, tops removed
1 can button mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped green onions

1. Place the soy sauce, wasabi paste and minced ginger in a small bowl and mix well. (This looked more like ginger soaked in soy sauce than soy sauce with ginger.)

2. Heat the sesame oil in a wok. Add the fish and half of the soy sauce mixture. Toss until the fish is half-cooked. Set aside.

3. In the same wok, place the snow peas, mushrooms, green onions and the rest of the soy sauce mixture. Toss until the peas turn bright green. Add the fish. Continue tossing until cooked.

Colliding galaxies

2008-04-27T13:12:00.007+08:00

On April 24, 2008, the Hubble Space Telescope marked the 18th anniversary of its launch. In celebration of this event, the HubbleSite released 59 fantastic images of galaxies colliding. These three are just samples of the awe-inspiring photographs on the site. And as you're looking at the images, remember that all these collisions happened hundreds of millions of years ago because that's how long it took the light from them to reach us. Hie yourself over to the article Cosmic Collisions Galore! and get your mind blown away.

This peculiar, butterfly- or lobster-shaped galaxy consisting of two smaller merging galaxies lies in the constellation of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder, some 400 million light-years away. It has two giant black holes—about 3,000 light-years apart—which are drifting towards each another and will eventually merge into a larger black hole. The merging process, which began about 30 million years ago, will be complete in some tens to hundreds of millions of years.

This is the staggering aftermath of an encounter between two galaxies, resulting in a ring-shaped galaxy and a long-tailed companion. It is located in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, approximately 500 million light-years away.

A remarkable collision between two spiral galaxies located in the constellation of Hercules. The galaxy cluster is part of the Great Wall of clusters and superclusters, the largest known structure in the universe. The two spiral galaxies are linked by their swirling arms, and is located some 450 million light-years away from Earth.

All text and images from the article Cosmic Collisions Galore!

Pretty enough for company

2008-04-26T21:15:00.003+08:00

Much as I love my airtight Lock & Lock storage containers (read about my love affair with Lock & Lock here), they're a little too utilitarian for the dining table.

Airtight is a must in our old house and in the Philippines' extremely humid climate. For the coffee, sugar and creamer which we always leave on the sideboard, I found these old-fashioned wire bail jars (also known as French Kilner jars). The rubber ring on the lid helps make the jar truly airtight and to make sure that it doesn't turn brittle, I rub a little olive oil on it after washing. I love the lids' colors—though I wish I found a third color for the sugar. Pink or purple would have been nice.

Old SF&F

2008-04-21T19:06:00.003+08:00

It never fails. When my husband and I go out, we end up in a bookstore. Last Saturday was no exception. This time, we visited a different branch of our favorite used books store because we happened to be in the area. It had so much more science fiction and fantasy than our regular branch, so that's all I bought.

Three of these titles are more than fifteen years old, none of which I've read yet, but they're by authors that I know and love. Mark Budz is as yet unknown to me—his book is the newest, published in 2003. That's another reason why I like buying used books—I can try out new authors without burning a hole through my purse.

Nemesis

Clade

Earth

Her Majesty's Wizard

Portable black hole

2008-04-20T20:43:00.005+08:00

When I wrote about my husband's new backpack in February, I wasn't kidding about wishing that the company made feminine versions. Not backpacks or laptop bags. Just regular leather bags I can use everyday.

Handbags (or purses, depending on where in the world you are) have been a frustration for me. My girlfriends all got themselves beautiful leather bags from Fino (a Filipino company) over Christmas, and much as I loved them, I couldn't. Their bags—and most other bags for women, no matter the brand or the material—are all just one single compartment with handles. Most have a pocket or two inside, sometimes one or two outside too, but the rest of it's just one huge black hole.

And I do mean black hole. To find anything in bags like that, you have to stick your hand inside and feel around for it—sometimes for several minutes. That is, if you're lucky your hand can fit inside. If it can't, you end up removing every item in the bag when what you're looking for is at the very bottom.

And don't tell me that all I have to do is get one of those bag organizers—you know, that removable vinyl or fabric thing full of pockets where you're supposed to put all your things then place inside your bag. (It supposedly makes changing bags easier too, because you just move the organizer instead of every little thing you've got.) I've tried it. It only works when the bag is relatively shallow—just two inches taller than the organizer. If the bag is deep, no way. I couldn't see anything in there and I ended up taking out the whole organizer!

I still have lots of those single-compartment bags, but they're not for everyday use. Evening bags; embroidered cloth bags from India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia; abaca and jute bags perfect for summer; casual bags for jeans weekends. They're fine for limited use. But someone please start making elegant leather bags with a gazillion compartments and pockets please!

It's about me

2008-04-18T17:15:00.009+08:00

Because today's my day, and because our wedding anniversary is only a month and a half away I'm sharing another essay written by my husband several years ago. He says that he wrote this as a commentary on elitism in literature. He also says that he's poking fun at himself. Except that, after it was first published, everybody who read it saw it as being about me.

I still can't figure out what this kind of writing's called. Fictional non-fiction is the best I can come up with. Whatever it's called, I hope you enjoy it.

My wife, the book-eater

Science Fiction Masterpieces

The Chronicles of Narnia

Starship Troopers

Ender’s Game

Macbeth

Mass in B Minor,

kyrie

Sonnets to Orpheus,

Karamazov.

The Iliad

Four Quartets

Requiem

Illustration by Alan M. Clark

Perfect for traveling

2008-04-16T18:59:00.009+08:00

Sachets!

I don't know how it is in other countries, but here in the Philippines, almost everything is available in single-serve packets.

These made up my toiletry kit for the weekend retreat. Shampoo, hair conditioner, feminine wash, facial wash, moisturizer, toothpaste and mosquito repellent, all in spill-proof foil or plastic sachets.

I love these things for traveling. They're not bulky, they don't spill (unless you're silly enough to keep them with something sharp and pointed), I can bring only what I will exactly need, and if I don't finish the pack, it's not painful to the pocket to leave them behind.

And I have a confession to make: you know those little bars of soap that hotels place in your bathroom? I always bring home the ones we don't use. (Just the soap, okay!) And it was one of those that I packed with these sachets. So even with my toothbrush, dental floss and hair serum, everything fit in a 2" x 6" x 2" case.

Flowers at Canossa

2008-04-15T19:59:00.004+08:00

One of the biggest differences between Metro Manila, where I live, and Tagaytay City, where my retreat was over the weekend, is the temperature. Tagaytay is on a ridge and is always about five degrees cooler than Manila. That's according to the thermometer. But factor in Manila's sun-reflecting concrete and wind-blocking buildings, and Tagaytay's woods, hilltop location and low structures, and the temperature difference as you really feel it is very, very pronounced.

In Manila right now, I can't bear to leave my air-conditioned office at noon. As soon as I step out of the building, my skin feels like it's crinkling up and shrinking. In Tagaytay, I was walking around with my shawl on.

Because of this five degree difference in temperature and the fresher air, Tagaytay's flowers are so much more beautiful and colorful than any you'd see in Manila. (I guess it doesn't help that Manila's plants are always covered in soot too.) Half an hour after our arrival at the Canossa House of Spirituality, I was in the garden with my camera. I knew that it would be the only time I'd have to take pictures, because I wouldn't be able to once our sessions started. Here are photos of the three flowers which I liked best.

I'm not really crazy about roses, especially the perfect, unblemished hybrids sold in flower shops. But the color of this rose, located at the lowest level of the garden, caught my eye while I was standing at the top: a bright salmon pink fading to yellow at the center. Gorgeous.

Now this is the kind of rose that I don't mind, though I have no idea what it's called. The petals are actually messy and kind of fluffy. And I love its baby pink color! I had such a hard time taking this shot. The bloom was so light, the wind was whipping it constantly and the plant had so many thorns, I couldn't hold on to it. I think I spent about ten minutes sitting beside it trying to get a decent picture. And it's still fuzzy.

Not much to explain here. I love lilies. All kinds and all colors. What can I say? I love their wild extravagance.

Blessed silence

2008-04-10T21:59:00.005+08:00

And silence, like a poultice, comes
To heal the blows of sound.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.
~ Mother Teresa

And so I go this weekend to revel in silence, after the deafening noise of the world. To gather the little pieces of me that I have had to carve out and distribute to those who needed it. To refresh my spirit and renew my strength. To be with my Lord and Father who has patiently been waiting for me to again look deep into His eyes.

The view from the Canossa House of Spirituality in Tagaytay City,
where our retreat group will be staying.

Photo of Taal Lake and Volcano by Lorimer Black

Better packaging?

2008-04-09T20:49:00.004+08:00

During my monthly mall expedition over the weekend, I also bought my new batch of knee-high stockings (I buy them a dozen or more pairs at a time, and I explained why here). I just buy the store brand because they're less expensive and no one's going to see them under my slacks anyway, and the only reason I wear them is because I hate the feeling of bare feet in closed shoes (you get what I mean).

Anyway, I noticed that the store brand had changed its packaging. What used to be a pink half-box in a plastic wrap was now a tan and gray box, and the price had increased by five pesos (about 20 US cents). Since prices of all sorts of products have increased this past month, I didn't think much of it. But when I got home and opened the package, I got really irritated. I found out the reason for the price increase, and it wasn't because of any improvement of the product, but because of the packaging itself. And what a waste this new package is!

There are three pairs of stockings in one package. One stocking has a piece of cardboard inside and all the other pieces folder over it. This lot is inside a plastic bag. The plastic bag is inside a box. And the box is inside another plastic bag, this time with a self-adhesive flap.

I can use the cardboard inside the stocking as a bookmark—all it needs is a little creative scrapping. The box can go to the recyclers. But the plastic bags! They're not the recyclable or biodegradable kind so they'll just add to the tons of garbage we don't know what to do with. And why two pieces when one could have sufficed? I know that this piece of plastic is really a very small thing, but not when you put them all together. Every little thing we can do to help, will.

I'm going to email the url of this particular blog to the department store.

I'm shameless

2008-04-04T17:25:00.011+08:00

It's exactly two weeks to my birthday and I'd like to ask you all to please leave me a present here. Don't forget to write your url/username so I know where to send my thank you card.

I love presents.

Just because

2008-04-03T20:59:00.007+08:00

Aren't they pretty?

I saw them in the warehouse of a gifts and novelties importer a couple of years ago and though I really had no use for them (at least not as liquid containers), I still bought a whole bunch just because I liked them.

I'd been wanting to buy some ever since I saw them in the home section of the department store I frequent, but I knew I wanted to buy a lot and the department store's price was a tad too high just for colored glass. At the warehouse, they cost only a fourth of what I would've paid in the department store.

Now they're all together on a tabletop in the living room. And when the sun shines through them in the late afternoon, they fill the spot with lovely colored rays.

March 2008: Happy elsewhere

2008-04-02T12:12:00.008+08:00

What with performance groups winding down their season for the summer (and preparing for their summer workshops), everything shutting down for Holy Week, hubby busily grading papers because it's the end of the semester, and so many things going on at the home front, we didn't get to go out much in March. But we still managed to visit an outdoor exhibit and watch two performances.

This is my third such entry for the year—an entire quarter has come and gone. Where did all that time go?

Interactive: 12 Human Senses
An interactive art installation by Impy Pilapil
http://www.impypilapil.com
At the Ateneo de Manila University
Photo of "Music Chamber" by Teya

Latin Heat
Ballet Philippines
http://www.ballet.com.ph

Slipped Disc - A Study of the Upright Walk
Goethe-Institut in the Philippines
http://www.goethe.de/ins/ph/map/enindex.htm
Written by Ingrid Lausund • Directed by Lito Casaje

Manila during Earth Hour 2008

2008-03-31T19:15:00.005+08:00

Not bad. Quite a few cities in Metro Manila joined Earth Hour 2008. I just can't figure out which areas these pictures are of. There are no landmarks I can distinguish, there were no 'before' photos, and the captions didn't identify them either.

How'd your city do during Earth Hour?

Photos by Rolex dela Peña from the web article In photos: 'Asia-Pacific Earth Hour' published in m&c

Our O.C. dog

2008-03-29T12:21:00.003+08:00

Every now and then, our dog doesn't finish his meal in one sitting. Like last night—he only ate half at 6pm then finished the rest at 9pm. This is what his supper dish looked like after he ate the first half:

Designer soda

2008-03-28T19:50:00.004+08:00

I've never been much of a soda drinker. When we were growing up, we only had water to drink at home, and sometimes, fruit juices. We'd have soda ("softdrinks" to Filipinos) only when we had visitors, so it was always a treat. Now that I'm older, I still don't drink soda much—bad for hyperacidity.

But last December, my husband came home with freebies from Pepsi: two cartons (six cans per carton) of Pepsi Deluxe. Zero calories. One flavor was Creme Caramel and the other was Strawberries and Cream. They were down to four cans last weekend and I finally decided to try them out.

They're good. Creamy is the correct word for them, and the fizz adds a nice tartness.

Why designer soda? I have no idea. At the bottom of the can, it says: "Uncover more at armaniexchange.com/pepsideluxe." See, the problem is that I didn't check it early enough and the Pepsi Deluxe page at Armani is gone. Now I'm left wondering what that whole thing was all about.

Dinner, anyone?

2008-03-24T22:57:00.006+08:00

Sigh. I have gained some inches over the past couple of months. The jeans that were beginning to become loose enough to become hipsters now fit snuggly around my waist again.

And it's not just the fault of those cupcakes—though I'm sure they didn't help! I have to confess: I'm a stress eater. It's not that I begin munching when I'm stressed out, unlike most people I know at work. But I do tend to eat larger servings and choose food that's not as healthy. More meat, less fresh vegetables and fruits. The past two weeks alone, I had McDonald's spaghetti and chicken nuggets four times. Add the pastries and the chips, and I'm looking at a 10-pound gain (minimum!) by the end of the year.

So last night, just before drifting off to sleep, I made the decision to stop all the junk, have more salads for lunch again, and go back to my cereal drink for dinner. Nestle's Nesvita. Whole wheat, soya and rice flour in skimmed milk and buttermilk. It's got sugar though but I guess I can't have everything. And yes, I actually like Nesvita's taste, and I've done this before so it's not going to be difficult at all. So here's to loose pants and saying good-bye to this heavy, bloated feeling—cheers!

Resurrection

2008-03-23T12:31:00.005+08:00

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you." Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.

~ Matthew 28:1–8

The Morning of the Resurrection
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, English, 1833–1898
Image from the WebMuseum

Happy Easter, everyone!

My Manila

2008-03-22T10:34:00.003+08:00

http://manila-photos.blogspot.com/

Since I actually spend more time outside the house than in it, I decided to start yet another blog: My Manila.

I will begin taking our point-and-shoot digicam every time I go out and take pictures of the Manila I experience everyday. This is not going to be the exotic or historic Manila that the Department of Tourism would like to promote, with its 19th century historical sites, glorious Manila Bay sunsets, or modern office buildings and hotels. I hope to be able to take pictures of those too, but this will mostly be pictures of the roads I walk, shops and theaters I frequent, homes I visit, and whatever else I see along the way.

I hope you like my Manila. Despite its many flaws, I do.

Death

2008-03-21T10:47:00.004+08:00

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit;" and when he had said this he breathed his last.

~ Luke 23:39–46

The Crucifixion
Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Flemish, 1564–1638
Oil on Panel, Church of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, Paris, France

His final odyssey

2008-03-19T13:01:00.005+08:00

I just want to say good-bye to one of my favorite science fiction writers: Arthur C. Clarke. I hope you enjoy your newest adventure!

The world will be a much poorer place without new stories from him.

How long does it take

2008-03-18T17:33:00.000+08:00

…for a scar to completely disappear when you're religiously applying Hydrocortisone Cream to it mornings and evenings?

Back in September 2007, I had a sebaceous (there's that word again! honestly, I've the oil glands of a teenager) cyst removed from my chest. No big deal, took all of thirty minutes including waiting for the anesthesia to take effect. A month later, the wound had closed but I noticed that it was starting to form a keloid. Panic attack! I know that keloids are not dangerous or anything, but the location of the scar is really inconvenient. When I wear a scoop or V-neck shirt or a button-down blouse, the thing peeks out.

So I ran to a dermatologist, who prescribed Hydrocortisone Cream with directions to apply it every morning after my bath and every night before sleeping. It's been almost five months, and I'm happy to say that the keloid didn't continue (thank goodness! the other solution is a Cortisone injection) and the angry red color is gone. But there still is a slight mark and my girl friends say it looks like a hickie, of all things.

Summer's here. The time for tank tops and bathing suits. So I just want to know how long before the scar disappears completely, or if it ever will. Does anybody know?

New old books

2008-03-17T06:57:00.001+08:00

After visiting a friend in the hospital, my husband and I decided to go to our favorite used books shop to go treasure hunting again for a couple of hours. Our last similar trip had been way back in November, so it was high time we did it again. Here are the newest, old additions to my piles and piles of yet-to-be-read books:

Tales of the Giraffe

To Weave a Web of Magic

Legacies: A Chinese Mosaic

The Princes of Ireland

You can see the titles of my previous hunt here. And no, I have not yet read a single book from that expedition.

Palm Sunday

2008-03-16T08:48:00.003+08:00

On the next day, when the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and cried out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel."
~ John 12: 12–13

Date Palm
Phoenix dactylifera

The Date Palm is a palm extensively cultivated for its edible fruit. Due to its long history of cultivation for fruit, its exact native distribution is unknown, but probably originated somewhere in the desert oases of northern Africa, and perhaps also southwest Asia. It is a medium-sized tree, 15–25 m tall, often clumped with several trunks from a single root system, but often growing singly as well. The leaves are pinnate, 3–5 m long, with spines on the petiole and about 150 leaflets; the leaflets are 30 cm long and 2 cm broad. The full span of the crown ranges from 6–10 m.

History of dates
Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated around the Persian Gulf, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BC. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in eastern Arabia in 6,000 BC. In later times, Arabs spread dates around South and South East Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. Dates were introduced into Mexico and California by the Spaniards by 1765, around Mission San Ignacio.

Photo of Phoenix dactylifera from Murcia, Spain by Seweryn Olkowicz from Wikimedia Commons. Text from Wikipedia.

Earth Hour 2008

2008-03-15T12:07:00.009+08:00

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?

The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. If the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm on Saturday, March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.

As of March 14, cities involved include Aalborg, Aarhus, Adelaide, Atlanta, Bangkok, Brisbane, Canberra, Chicago, Christchurch, Copenhagen, Dublin, Manila, Melbourne, Montreal, Odense, Ottawa, Perth, Phoenix, San Francisco, Suva and Lautoka, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto and Vancouver.

All text, images and video from the Earth Hour 2008 website. Visit http://www.earthhour.org and get involved.

The evil gas station

2008-03-14T21:01:00.007+08:00

Okay, okay, so it's not really the gas station that's evil (though that's not too far off, what with gasoline/petrol prices nowadays).

A new gas station opened a few months ago that's right at the route we take going home from work and the owners decided to build a strip mall on the lot. All the shops opened soon after the gas station did, and one of them is my favorite doughnut shop: Go Nuts Donuts. It's not even their doughnuts that I'm crazy about (though I do like them too). It's their cupcakes. Specifically these two:

Scream Cheese is butter cake with a cream cheese center smothered in fluffy cream cheese and with butter-flavored sprinkles.

Chocolate Peanut Butter is creamy chocolate cake spread with chocolate fudge and topped with a dollop of peanut butter cream.

I think I've already gained an inch around my waist since that store opened. Evil, I tell you.

Snacking on wasabi

2008-03-13T20:18:00.008+08:00

Have you tried wasabi-flavored potato chips and wasabi-coated green peas? I swear, they're some of the yummiest snacks around. (If you like wasabi, that is.) My husband and I were perfectly happy with these, then I went to Tokyo two years ago and discovered this:

Deep-fried soba (thin Japanese buckwheat noodles) sprinkled with wasabi powder with wasabi-coated soramame (a Japanese broad bean). Even better than the potato chips and peas. The problem is, I have not seen it being sold here in Manila, unlike the other two. I sure hope someone decides to import them in commercial quantities soon.

Dazzling Dozois

2008-03-11T12:26:00.003+08:00

Gardner Dozois has been my favorite SF&F editor for the past two decades. I especially look forward to his "The Year's Best Science Fiction" every year. Unfortunately, I only discovered this series in the mid-eighties when bookstores other than that one big chain started operations, so I'm missing the earlier books.

I can never remember what month the book for the year comes out. So last Sunday when we passed by the bookstore where I usually buy it, I left my name and number with instructions to call me when the book arrives. When we got home, I did a web search and it turns out that the 25th annual collection (2007 stories) will be published in July. Hee, I'm early. That's okay though—I want to make sure I get a copy. The market for SF here is still rather limited so the bookstores never buy a lot.

Here are the 32 stories in "The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection" edited by Gardner Dozois. I can't wait for July.

David Moles: "Finisterra"
Ken MacLeod: "Lighting Out"
John Barnes: "The Ocean is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away"
Gwyneth Jones: "Saving Tiamaat"
James Van Pelt: "Of Late I Dreamt of Venus"
Ian McDonald: "Verthandi's Ring"
Una McCormack: "Sea Change"
Chris Roberson: "The Sky is Large and the Earth is Small"
Greg Egan: "Glory"
Robert Silverberg: "Against the Current"
Neal Asher: "Alien Archeology"
Ted Chiang: "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate"
Justin Stanchfield: "Beyond the Wall"
Bruce Sterling: "Kiosk"
Stephen Baxter: "Last Contact"
Alastair Reynolds: "The Sledge-Maker's Daughter"
Ian McDonald: "Sanjeev and Robotwallah"
Michael Swanwick: "The Skysailor's Tale"
Vandana Singh: "Of Love and Other Monsters"
Greg Egan: "Steve Fever"
Kage Baker: "Hellfire at Twilight"
Brian Stableford: "The Immortals of Atlantis"
Pat Cadigan: "Nothing Personal"
Elizabeth Bear: "Tideline"
Keith Brooke: "The Accord"
Nancy Kress: "Laws of Survival"
Tom Purdom: "The Mists of Time"
Kristine Kathryn Rusch: "Craters"
Ted Kosmatka: "The Prophet of Flores"
Benjamin Rosenbaum & David Ackert: "Stray"
Robert Reed: "Roxie"
Gregory Benford: "Dark Heaven"

Easy match

2008-03-08T15:44:00.009+08:00

During the past decade, I've stopped buying gift wrappers made by Hallmark, Fiesta/American Greetings, and other large companies. It's not because I don't like their designs or find them expensive, but because I've been finding some beautiful and unique wrappers from other places. One time, I bought the prettiest apple green and white checkered wrappers with orange and pink flowers from a Chinese restaurant (I have no idea why they were selling them). At one Christmas bazaar, I found laminated kraft paper with bold red swirls. At the warehouse of a wholesaler of gift items, I got several rolls of Picasso-like sketches of flowers.

The only problem with these unique gift wrappers is that they don't come with matching gift tags so I have to make my own. I used to spend a lot of time on my gift tags and cards, but now, I just don't have as much time to spend on them so I've developed a quick and easy version that anyone—even someone who has never done any papercraft—can do:

For the tag on the left, all you need is a piece of card stock (about 2" wide by 3" high), a scrap of the gift wrapper you're using, a pair of fancy-edged scissors and glue. If you have to buy just one pair of scissors, get a deckle edge. It's naturally uneven so even if you can't cut straight, it won't matter at all. All you have to do is cut the edge of the scrap paper, glue it onto the bottom of the card, then trim the excess.

Sometimes, I only use plain tissue paper to wrap a gift (especially awkwardly-shaped ones without boxes), and that's what the card on the right is for. This time, all you need is the fancy-edged scissors and a colored marker. Cut the bottom of the card then color the edge, following its contours. What color to use? I always try to match the color of the ribbon I'll be using.

Then the last step. Since I don't have corner punchers, I just cut the top corners diagonally (to avoid dog ears). To attach the tag to the gift, I use double-sided tape. If I'm using a ribbon, I punch a hole in one corner of the tag and run the ribbon through it before tying.

That's it for the tags themselves. You can now write whatever message you want to. But since it's already in the photo, I might as well describe how I do my lettering too.

First, the colors. For the one using the scrap, I always use black (or white if the card stock is dark) to write "happy birthday." Then I choose a second marker that matches one of the colors on the wrapper for the name of the recipient. For the colored deckle edge, I just use the same marker for the name as I used on the edge. I write my name (or my husband's or both) using the black/white marker again.

As to the lettering itself, basically, I just use my normal block handwriting but give the loops some swirls and flourishes. All lowercase for the greeting and all uppercase—and slightly larger in size—for the recipient's name. I purposely do not try to write in a straight line or make the size of the letters even. Since all my markers have fine tips, I thicken the strokes of the recipient's name and again, I do not try to make them even. This way, even when I've the shakes from too much coffee, I know my lettering will still look good.

What is 40 Philippine pesos?

2008-03-06T17:34:00.004+08:00

About one U.S. dollar

Three hours of parking at the mall on a weekday

One order of large fries at Jollibee or McDonald's

One bottle of local beer at our neighborhood bar

One Pilot retractable ballpen

Forty pesos will not get you a full lunch at our school cafeteria. It's not enough to get you the smallest cup of coffee at Starbucks. You'll need a few pesos more to buy one liter of gasoline for your car. You'll need ten times the amount to buy a paperback of one of the bestsellers. And you'll need a hundred times forty pesos to buy a very good leather bag or pair of shoes.

What is 40 pesos?
According to the latest (2006) official poverty statistics report of the National Statistical Coordination Board, released on 5 March 2008, 40 pesos is what more than 27 million Filipinos have to subsist on for an entire day.

Read the ABS-CBN report here.
View the numbers here.

Believe it or not…

2008-03-05T18:41:00.006+08:00

I don't watch TV.

Zero. Zip. Zilch.

The last TV series I watched regularly were E.R., Friends and X-Files. If I do get to watch new series, it's because my brother-in-law would lend me DVDs—none of which I asked for and which I'd finish in a week so I got my life back immediately (though I did enjoy them: 24, Heroes, Dr. Who, Rome).

We don't have cable TV either. When it first became available here, it was just too expensive and we weren't willing to shell out that much for it. It's gotten much cheaper now, of course, but we still haven't subscribed. We're probably the last hold-outs. My husband feels the lack during baseball season, but contents himself with various websites and blogs. I know I'll enjoy Discovery Channel, National Geographic and the DIY and cooking shows, but there are always books and the world wide web.

Not getting cable was (and continues to be) a conscious decision. We both acknowledge that we have addictive personalities and if we have cable, we know that we will easily get glued to the boob tube again. Gone will be the reading, writing, performances and crafts. Things which we both feel make our life tremendously richer. So, no cable TV.

I hope we can continue to resist the temptation.

The illustration above is from Trash Your TV! When you're ready to do so, this is the place to go.