Six Weird Things and an Interview

The first meme was a tag from Salen. Here are some "unique" things about me. :)

Six Weird Things About Me

1. I keep the DVD of Prison Break in my laptop's disc drive all the time. Anytime that I want to take a peek of any of the episodes (or should I say Wentworth Miller), I can. Anytime. I guess this is not weirdness but an obsession. Haha!

2. I love chocolate cake but I have to have something salty with it. Like potato chips or fries. Here's a proof. Had some snack at Chocolat. Since there are no chips sold at the said restaurant, I asked my husband if he can buy me some chips or fries from any of the stores nearby.



3. Listening to music is quite an extreme activity for me. There are times I don't finish a whole song. I go to the next song even before it's finished. I can't even stay put on a radio station. I keep on station surfing until I find a song that I like. And if there's nothing that I like, I play a cd but then I skip songs and listen only to the songs that I like, sometimes over and over. I guess my daughter Andz got this habit. :) This goes on usually in the car on the way to work. The hubby gave up asking me to stop this.

4. I love the smell of new books, notebooks and magazines. I go to my favorite bookstore to take time to browse on the pages of a particular book before I buy it. As I browse, I can't help but smell the pages also, well discreetly. Hehe.

5. I love watching horror movies but it gets into me. I can't sleep properly for a few days.

6. I text someone and right after sending it, I find myself calling the person to get a faster response. This is being impatient I guess. Guilty as charged.

I will be tagging some bloggers after checking if they haven't done this yet. :)

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The interview of one blogger to another has been going on in blogs. I wanted to join the fun so I asked Julie to send me questions. Here they are:

1. If you were to choose your fate, would you choose the life you have now or would have rather have a different life? Please explain.
I would still choose my life now mainly because I would like to have the same family. They're the best. My life too is generally good, great even throughout the years. With setbacks, yes, but nothing that God cannot handle for me. :) But to be realistic about it, I will edit the things that I should have not done in the first place especially when I was still a teenager and choose do the right and sensible things.

2. I know that you treasure your only daughter. What if one day she tells you that someone from school is bullying her, teasing and calling her names. What would you do?
*I will not go on a rampage but I will empathize with my daughter.
*I will get all the details so I can have a good reading of what is happening.
*I will also tell her bullying is not right but definitely, retaliation is out of the question.
*I will tell her I am going to do something about it. I believe it is important that a child knows you are listening to what he/she is telling and if there is something that needs to be done, he/she has to know one way or another. Like adults, I believe children also don't want to be kept in the dark. The assurance should always be there that whatever they are saying are important.
*Definitely I will inform the teacher so he/she will be extra observant of the students' behavior.
*I will teach or help my daughter how to "counter" bullying. I will tell her to seek help from her teacher or an adult when someone is bullying her.
*But the best "shield" I believe is to support my daughter's confidence level so she can face up with the bullying in school. This is not about hitting back or doing the same thing, definitely not. But having that confidence even as a child will definitely serve her as bully-proof. :)

Let me also say that when our child is bullied, we should also check why they are being bullied. Is it lack of social skills? Is it being poor academically? We just have to get to it further to correct them the soonest possible time.

3. If you were to choose a "perfect vacation" for your family, where and what would it be?
The U.S., either in California or Las Vegas. My whole family is there, my parents and my sister and brother. I just want us all to be together again. That would be a great vacation!

4. What charity or community or organization would you be willing to support? Why?
In my own little way, I have supported several organizations that take care of our old, our young, our single mothers. Participated even in Gawad Kalinga. But there are these organizations I have been looking at and wanting to be a part of actively but one at a time. What's the most doable for me is to get involved in Children's Hour (which is affiliated I believe with UNICEF).

5. If you were to put up your own restaurant, what kind of cuisine would you be serving? Why?
I used to be in the Food Industry. The most lucrative really is the fastfood - burgers, quick fix value meals, the like. But personally, I will go for Italian cuisine and a cake shop. I love pasta and I love baking! :)

Photo Hunt 14: Shoes

It's photo hunt time. I thought I wouldn't make it. Had a lot of errands to do today and the past days. But will I ever miss my weekly photo posting? Nope. :)

Shoes is the theme. I love shoes. I have so many shoes, and it follows that it's the same thing with my only daughter. I love buying her shoes, all kinds. And I am a pack rat kind of mom when it comes to my daughter's things. I kept almost everything she used when she was a baby.

Like this one...presenting the shoes she used on her first birthday, a yellow Sesame Street shoes featuring Big Bird. Her first stuffed toy was also Big Bird. :)




Not even the toes fit now. Of course, my daughter's going nine years old already this year. :)

Dona Nobis Pacem

A Tale For All Seasons
by Kurt Kauter

"Tell me the weight of a snowflake," a cola-mouse asked a wild dove.

"Nothing more than nothing," was the answer.

"In that case, I must tell you a marvelous story," the coal-mouse said.

"I sat on the branch of a fir, close to its trunk, when it began to snow-not heavily, not in a raging blizzard-no, just like a dream, without a sound and without any violence. Since I did not have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952. When the 3,741,953rd dropped onto the branch, nothing more than nothing, as you say-the branch broke off."

Having said that, the coal-mouse flew away.

The dove, since Noah's time an authority on the matter, thought about the story for awhile, and finally said to herself, "Perhaps there is only one person's voice lacking for peace to come to the world."

*****This is Mimi's site for Peace.

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Be the change you want to see in the world so goes my favorite quote. Tough, idealistic, eyebrow-raising...maybe. But have great faith and a great deal of conviction, it can be done. Little things that matter, little things that can help our house, our office, our school, our community become a better place to live in will surely inspire others to do the same things. What goes around, comes around. Let's take this positively too. :)

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I love this song, All You Need is Love. When love abounds, peace reigns.

Photo Hunt 13: Art

Dos Palmas by night. This is such a wonderful place. It's as if you don't want to leave the place. Nature is God's work of art. And the talents He gave to the brilliant architects and engineers of this place are obviously put into good use.


Inside the island. They peppered the place with glaring lights. This is one of my unforgettable trips. I mentioned in my Water Photo Hunt entry that this is where I experienced our boat stopped in the middle of the deep blue sea for ten minutes. It felt like forever. But the island is just gorgeous. The island resort is located in Palawan, northwest of its capital, Puerto Princesa. It is one of the sixteen islands nestled in the waters of Honda Bay. If you are into diving, this place is great for you. One can do a lot of sporting activities here or just sit back and marvel at the place with its breathtaking view.

*I did not take this picture but a friend of mine did. I just asked for a copy because I couldn't resist the beautiful shots he did. Please click the pictures if you may for better appreciation. :)

Coffee While Blogging

It rained hard on the way home. All the streets we passed by were flooded. Imagine, EDSA was flooded, even the flyover in Cubao was flooded. Tsk, tsk. But then what else is new. Good thing, the traffic was bearable. 'Pag ganitong umuulan, hinahanap ko ang kape. Kahit anong kape, 'wag lang yung nasa dispenser ng Nescafe. I don't like it. It could be the paper cup they're using. The coffee tastes like paper. Anyway, finally home, I got my coffee.

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Everything's quiet now. Mommy 'obligations', all check. I've a paper due on June 4. I've to start with it now. But blog first to set the mood. :) Good excuse to procrastinate.

I'm glad I've taken up the Leadership class this semester. I have to admit I thought of skipping this subject till the next term and take a more 'relevant' subject. Half of my class 'ditched' Leadership for the same reasons I had on my mind. We all know about leadership. We've read so many books about it, we've attended so many seminars and team buildings to understand how it is to be a leader and develop people to become the leaders that they are. I've been taught about it since my girl scout days. I can again read a book now and interpret it on my own. Gahhh, I don't need anymore of this.

But then nothing beats hearing an expert's words, and my professor proved to be one fellow who sees leadership in a different perspective. He goes deeper, more on a personal level. From my assessment, he made the course an understanding of one's own leadership. How it affects the lives of the people you interact with. And what else one can do with it. I like it that he doesn't sugar coat his lectures with big
words and big stories. Because we talk about our own heroes, our own crossroads, our own life book.

I must say this course reminds me to keep grounded. With all the decisions I have to make in my daily life at work, with all the interactions I have to do, I always have to uphold personal humility and professional will.

Lunch with the Mommies of Pinoy Moms Network

So I attended, I'm glad I did! Like Feng and Salen, I have no expectations really of what will go on. I just want to meet whoever will attend and have a hearty lunch with them, have fun. Big thank you to Noemi and Connie for setting up the lunch-out. Great idea.

I do read posts of other bloggers of course though I don't go around much. I am so sure I was the least known among the attendees. Much as I want to post and post, and blog hop, there's time constraint. But honestly, after this mommy lunch, I got really enthusiastic to get to know them better and interact more. Not just the ones in there but the others as well. The good thing though is all of them are very accommodating and I did not experience any awkward moment conversing with them even if they are not familiar with me. The truth is it's as if this is not our first meeting. It was easy connecting with them.

One pleasant discovery, Julie, Cess and me live in the same area. The three of us can easily meet up and shop! Haha. I only got three pictures on my camera because I spent most of the time talking to the moms, listening to them, especially those sitting near me. I'll just steal request copies of pictures from the others. :) I would have wanted to go around, it's just one table afterall, but time was kind of short. I came in thirty minutes late and the lunch ended around 2:30 pm. Next time, I'll take the opportunity to meet and greet everyone.


(Row 1, L-R) Jane, Salen, (Row 2, L-R) Rachel, Me, Noemi, Connie, Dine, Feng, Julie, Lissa with her little Lex, (Row 3, L-R) Chat, Cess




Pretty moms, I'm thankful I signed up for this first meeting. I hope too this will be the start of our friendship and more bonding moments.

Mid-week

This week had been full of presentations - me, presenting and giving them answers to what seems like endless questions - me, watching others make their presentations, and commenting/giving feedback/asking questions that might seem endless to them too - and these are both at work and school. Days pass just like that. It's mid-week and I thought it's only Tuesday. The class extended till ten in the evening because our topic interests everyone. What else interests everyone but Money. Wink wink. I was there with my partner presenting about supply of money, the Federal Reserve and local currencies for about two hours.

I did not feel the stress from preparing all these presentations and meetings with different sets of people from all these simultaneous activities until after class tonight. But even so, I felt so relieved. I just want to relax now.

And while I am at it, here are the Thirteen Things that relaxes me.


1. Snuggling with my daughter after a busy day.
2. Calling my daughter in the middle of a hectic day at work.
3. A trip to the beauty salon of course - for foot spa and hot oil especially. Scalp massage definitely relaxes me.
4. My husband's massage. (It's a running joke between us that we should set-up a spa business and he'll be the head trainer for Swedish Massage.)
5. Comfort food like chocolate ice cream and champorado. Yum-yum!
6. A feel-good movie or tv show like Prison Break, haha! I'm giving my Prison Break DVDs a rest for a while. I've memorized all of Wentworth Miller's lines by now. It came to a point that I minimize my player when my husband comes in so he won't see I am watching Prison Break for the nth time. It gets embarrassing sometimes. Now, I'm into Heroes and he is too. But definitely, Scofield is not forgotten. That would be sacrilege. :)
7. Blogging - updating mine and reading other people's blogs.
8. Pillows all around me and soft sheets soothes me.
9. Meeting up with my friends with conversations going just about anywhere gives me a light feeling too.
10. Taking pictures gives me some fun.
11. I don't have a green thumb like my mother but flowers, plants relaxes me.
12. A good shower at night.
13. Soft music.

Of course a good sleep relaxes me. And I'm going to do just that. I'm the only one up at this hour in this house. Time to put myself to sleep. :)

Photo Hunt 11: Cooked/Cooking

Squidballs is one of the fun foods that I really enjoy. It's popular here in the Philippines. There are food carts and kiosks in almost all of the malls here selling dimsum including fish and squidballs. I read in one website, which I cannot remember right now the address, that there will be a squash-enriched squidball to promote a healthier 'pig-out' food. Most prefer to dip these in chili sauce but some opt for banana sauce which is a little sweet.

These meatballs are of Chinese origin. Fishballs were the first to become popular in this country since it's cheaper and it used to be classified as a street food, meaning, it was peddled by ambulant vendors in various communities like residential areas, schools, even near office establishments. They still do but as its popularity became strong, we saw a lot of improvement as how it was prepared and how it was presented. Squidballs followed suit. It made its entry too in the 'go and grab' food category. As we know these meatballs are often a part of hotpots, it's chewy characteristic is a good match for noodles. There are a lot of things we can do with these squidballs - can be soup or curry, there's even squidball ramen.

One can buy ready-to-fry frozen squiballs in supermarkets. Or you can DIY if you're that patient. :)

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I think I have to elaborate some more about squidballs. :) Based on some comments, they are thought of as something else, like literally squid balls. Squidballs are made of squid meat wrapped in flour and egg for some, a little of salt and some spices. This is the generic way to do it but click here for some Chinese Squidballs recipe if anyone's interested. :)

Seven "Not So Deadly Sins"

This is long overdue but it's pretty exciting to do this, posting my seven not-really-deadly sins. :) I was tagged by Bonggamom a few days back. Here goes.....

1. Lust - I will use lust here on the context of "having an overwhelming desire or craving for something". After finishing season 2 of Prison Break (PB), I have this extra urge to browse on Fox Network's site on the said series. I communicate with my fellow "inmates" on PB anonymous and indulge on my daily fix. Is this a sin? Well, not really but my husband shakes his head when he sees me peeking again on anything about the Miller guy and PB. It's a harmless indulgence. :)

2. Gluttony - I can control eating when I'm at the office. I don't take rice when I am out but when I'm home, I E.A.T. I think the appropriate word is devour. My husband and I love exploring restaurants too. I'm always the first to ask the food server what's their bestseller and that's what we usually order.

3. Greed - I'm greedy about my books. Sometimes I don't want to lend them out. It's like books are very personal things for me that I just can't let them be used by anyone. But I've mellowed down now. Knowledge is best shared. :)

4. Sloth - When will I visit the gym? I postpone it everytime providing reasons like I'm too loaded already with work and family. The thing is if one really wants something, there are ways and there are ways of accomplishing them.

5. Wrath - There are times when I am so pressured at work and the team cannot give what they are supposed to produce, I let off steam by saying things that first comes to mind not thinking of the "interpersonal management" we should always uphold in the organization.

6. Envy - I tend to wish for a lot more things. There's nothing wrong about that but sometimes I know I just have to say thank you for all the blessings we have. And sometimes, I tend to see the glass is half-empty before realizing I should maximize the half-filled glass to make it full to the brim.

7. Pride - I am proud of what I have achieved so far in my family life and my professional life. I take pride that most of them are through hard work which I have made on my own (not to belittle the guidance and inspiration my parents gave me and continue to give me of course). I am also very proud of my daughter and most of the time, my conversation with my family and friends always end up about her.

Maybe these aren't exactly sins but maybe few of them are habits I have to break the soonest. :)

Monday Madness

Today's The Day, Election 2007. The indelible ink, look! It's a mess but I did my duty and practiced my right as a Filipino citizen. My husband and I didn't know that there is a lunch break. We used to be really early when we vote but this morning we woke up a little late than usual so we arrived at our designated precinct around twelve noon. We thought there's shifting.

The whole voting procedure was quick. It's just that it was so hot. Reaching home, there's just one thing on our minds...eat ice cream! I wanted some chocolate but there's none in the freezer so I settled for the mocha flavor. I had a bright idea to have some chocolate taste for it. I used the Hershey's Shell Topping which freezes in seconds. Great! It was a great match for the mocha ice cream. It gave us some relief from the heat. The ice cream shot does not look good but you get the picture of what I'm saying. :)



Just an update, as of this time, 11:20pm, the ABS CBN STI Media Count which shows that Francis Escudero is leading the pack! This is partial and unofficial but I am not complaining with the results so far.

Before Monday ends, let me share my dose of Monday Madness.


Which web browser do you prefer?
I prefer Firefox because so far it does not crash online as frequently as I had experienced with IE before. At the office though, it's IE and I still downloaded IE7. I use it a few times when I have to check if my template is also compatible with IE.

Are you a PC user or MAC user?
I'm a PC user though I'd like to have MAC too.

Will your next computer purchase happen within the next year (do you think)?
I don't think so. I just had replaced my laptop September last year and I have a new company issued laptop and the desktop does not need updating yet.

Will you purchase your next computer at a local store or via the internet?
The last time it was through online shopping. But I guess next time, I'd have it via a local store.

Have you had any experience with Windows Vista?
None yet.

What are your feelings about this new operating system (if any)?
I'm pretty excited about it. I was able to read the new features it carries. And it's just me to be excited and really curious about what is new and something that will be more efficient and effective for me.

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Posts to come, my meme from Bonggamom, the Mother's Day piece, the family trip to the north, and my food talk on various restos we visited the past days/weeks. Obviously, I need extra hours for a fair attention to my blogging life. :)