I'M BACK!

been quite a while since my last post.... so here are some updates:

-> post grad class will be ending on the last Tuesday of this month (hurraaaay!)

-> with all the training that happened during the last quarter of last year...and the post-grad class, i wasn't able to spend time in the kitchen. but that's gonna change a few weeks from now.

-> my mother dear is coming home for a vacation! (yehey!)

well, that's all for now.

and thanks again for dropping by.
:)

Ponder on this

from my inbox

- - - -

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.

He held up a sign which said: 'I am blind, please help.' There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy
recognized his footsteps and asked,

'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'
The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.'
What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.'

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:

Be thankful for what you have.

Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

Invite others towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets.

When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Keep the faith and drop the fear.

Great men say, 'Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness…. In the journey of life, if you want to
travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a good conscience.'

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling…

And even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

Almost!

Who hasn't heard of Jennifer Chung?

She's an Asian teenager based in the US and quite popular in YouTube because of her videos where she sings with her beautiful voice (a lot of viewers actually commented that she should join American Idol).

Jennifer did an excellent rendition of Make Me Whole by Amiel Larreux (one of my favorites) but she's also got a couple of original songs. One of my favorites is her song "Almost" which you can check out here.

= = =

It's another weekend and the month is almost over.

Just had our defense on our research proposal last Tuesday and we're on the process of revising it per recommendation of our adviser.

Next week, we'll be having our last subject for the trimester. Yup, almost done. Soon we will all be singing "I Will Survive" for surviving the first trimester of the post-graduate course. And before we know it, a year has passed and hopefully we'll all graduate from the course.

Good thing that work was breezy lately. The paperworks trickle in manageable quantities. I hope it stays that way while i wait for my busted scanner to get fixed, but that's another story.

= = =

On another note...

Baking skills are starting to get on a steady pace. Most times I find myself researching for recipes and thinking of ways to make them more interesting.

My cookies have taken a backseat for a while because my brownies and cupcakes are getting rave reviews from the office people.

triple chocolate delight:
choco cream-filled chocolate cupcake
with chocolate frosting
mmmm....

They said they wouldn't be surprised if one day i resigned from my job and just concentrate on the baking business or put up a bakeshop.

Although i like the idea, i just don't think i'd be doing it very soon. It would take a lot of work and capital to start with.

For now, i'm happy with what i'm doing. I have a day job which serves as my steady source of income. The baking stuff serves as my stress buster and an outlet for my creativity (or kaartehan, hehehe!). Sometimes, those baked goodies also provide me extra dough! No pun intended.

= = =

Oh well.
Have a nice weekend!
And see you again next month!
:)

Bills, bills, bills

The phone bill came today and i was surprised that the envelope was red (meaning: notice for disconnection). Now this rarely happens because i pay the bill every month -if not on time, i just never let them pile up. But it's there already so i decided to pay both the previous month's bill and this month's even if the latter is still due next month because i don't want to risk disconnection.

Now i end up having just enough cash on hand to get me by until the next payday. Oh well! At least i don't have to worry about the bill next month!

Flowers

Happen to pass by Dangwa on my way home. The jeepney driver was taking detours and shortcuts to avoid heavy traffic jam. So there i was, sitting inside the vehicle looking out the window, taking in all the sights and sounds of the busy street brimming with flowers and people haggling with the vendors.

Looking at the flowers, i began to get lost in my thoughts. I remember ninang's flowers, which i took home and adorned our little grotto for a couple of days. I remember the last time i had flowers on my desk at the office. I remember that one time i took home some mums bought form Tagaytay, which died after a week (maybe because i didn't have a green thumb?). I remember the orchids that papa was able to grow and the pretty white flowers that bloomed under his care.

And before my thoughts went any farther...i let out a sigh to get me back to my reality.

I just thought, if i wanted flowers, i'll buy them myself.
;)

Today's stress reducer

From my inbox (as you might notice it's directly copied and pasted here)
;)

- - -

For anyone who didn't see David Letterman's Show when he
talked about this incident on his show:
(And it's a true story...)

On a recent weekend in Atlantic City , a woman won a bucketful of quarters at a slot machine. She took a break from the slots for dinner with her husband in the hotel dining room. But first she wanted to stash the quarters in her room. 'I'll be right back and we'll go to eat,' she told her husband and carried the coin-laden bucket to the elevator.

As she was about to walk into the elevator she noticed two men already aboard. Both were black. One of them was tall...very tall...an intim idating figure. The woman froze. Her first thought was: 'These two are going to rob me.' Her next thought was: 'Don't be a bigot; they look like perfectly nice gentlemen.' But racial stereotypes are powerful, and fear immobilized her.

She stood and stared at the two men. She felt anxious, flustered and ashamed. She hoped they didn't read her mind but gosh, they had to know what she was thinking!!!
Her hesitation about joining them in the elevator was all too obvious now. Her face was flushed. She couldn't just stand there, so with a mighty effort of will she picked up one foot and stepped forward and followed with the other foot and was on the elevator.

Avoiding eye contact, she turned around stiffly and faced the elevator doors as they closed. A second passed, and then another second, and then another. Her fear increased!

The elevator didn't move. Panic consumed her. 'My God,' she thought, I'm trapped and a bout to be robbed!' Her heart plummeted. Perspiration poured from every pore.
Then one of the men said, 'Hit the floor.'

Instinct told her to do what they told her. The bucket of quarters flew upwards as she threw out her arms and collapsed on the elevator floor. A shower of coins rained down on her.
Take my money and spare me, she prayed.
More seconds passed. She heard one of the men say politely,
'Ma'am, if you'll just tell us what floor you're going to, we'll push
the button.'

The one who said it had a little trouble getting the words out. He was trying mightily to hold in a belly laugh. The woman lifted her head and looked up at the two men. They reached down to help her up. Confused, she struggled to her feet.

When I told my friend here to hit the floor,' said the average
sized one, 'I meant that he should hit the elevator button for our
floor. I didn't mean for you to hit the floor , ma'a m.' He spoke
genially. He bit his lip. It was obvious he was having a hard time not laughing.

The woman thought: 'My God, what a spectacle I've made of myself.'She was too humiliated to speak. She wanted to blurt out an apology, but word failed her How do you apologize to two perfectly respectable gentlemen for behaving as though they were going to rob you? She didn't know what to say.

The three of them gathered up the strewn quarters and refilled her bucket. When the elevator arrived at her floor they then insisted on walking her to her room. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet, and they were afraid she might not make it down the corridor. At her door they bid her a good evening.

As she slipped into her room she could hear them roaring with
laughter as they walked back to the elevator. The woman brushed
herself off. She pulled herself together and went downstairs for
dinner with her husband.

The next morning flowers were delivered to her room - a dozen yellow roses. Attached to EACH rose was a crisp one hundred dollar bill.
The card said:

'Thanks for the best laugh we've had in years.'
It was signed:
Eddie Murphy
Michael Jordan

Major Slacking

It's a holiday today and i had a rather long weekend. But unlike the other weekend, i was on major slacking this time.

Well, not completely.

Saturday was a busy day at home cooking and mingling with the relatives as we remember dear old lolo who passed away a year ago.

Sunday was spent sleeping til almost noon, binging on yesterday's left-over food and watching movies on HBO.

Today, it's almost the same as yesterday. Almost.
I still have homework to do and a take-home exam to accomplish.

Signing off for now...

Balisong

Today, i'm officially 29.

Like my previous birthdays, it was rainy. When i was younger, my birthday always falls on examination week at school. Now my birthday still happens to be on a school day. And to make it worse, i couldn't have my "birthday leave" because i'm supposed to present my report in my Research subject.

Talk about being lucky.

Sometimes i wish i was born during the summer so i could celebrate my birthday at the beach.

Oh well...
Happy birthday to me!

Oh my!

Cold didn't push through (woohoo!).

But i still feel bad.

My camera-phone of 15 months is acting up crazy. I think the screen's backlight is busted coz it won't light up when i use the phone. I can't see the messages i'm trying to read and i can't see stuff i'm trying to take a picture of. What a bummer!

And my birthday's in a few days....

*sigh*

Wrong timing

(Cold Case v.2)

The past few days of taking care of my dad and sister and worrying about other stuff got the better of me. I feel like i'm catching a cold due to sleep deprivation and the very fickle weather that we're having for a couple of weeks already.

Last Tuesday's class was one more to worry about. We're expected to come up with a research project in three weeks' time.

Now's not the time to get sick.

(previous cold case here)

What's up?

I'm back!

Yeah, I've been out of blogging circulation for a couple of weeks coz I've been catching up on quite a lot of things at work and my schooling is adding up to the bulk of stress i had to manage. But with another subject coming to a conclusion on Tuesday, I'm kinda looking forward to squeezing in some other activities/pet projects that I've started but was forced to drop when my schooling started last month.

For one, my "new room project" that was put on hold after the windows got painted. Aside from the lack of funding for the repairs to be done, i find that i also don't have that much energy to sort the things out when i get home from work.

Then there are other things but i figured i only needed to manage my time with the things that needed to be done and then it would be breezy for me. And maybe i needed to take vitamins for the energy boost.

On another note, i think i'm developing an obsession with baking (and then consuming the finished product!). For one, i've just baked my first white bread today. I've also come up with my own version of banana bread (photos on later posts, promise!) and the peanut butter cookies are still getting rave reviews.

But that's just me. I'm no expert at this stuff but i seem to get a kick out of it. I just love the smell of baked goodies. Brings back childhood memories when i used to walk a couple of blocks from home to buy bread for merienda. I didn't mind the waiting time at the bakery to get my pandesal coz my nose was wonderfully bombarded by the smell of freshly baked bread.

Now i don't need to go far for my bread. Perhaps that walking will be useful for another purpose... to shake of the extra pounds i've gained from eating those bread!
;)

Bling!

Most people are still clueless about the spelling of my nickname.

a colleague gave me this as part of a keychain,
thinking that my name was spelled Chiqui.
So for everyone's information, it's Tsiki.

Betamax!

This video's great in its showcase of traditional Filipino games -most of which i grew up playing with cousins and neighbors.

Kids these days are glued to their Gameboys, PSPs and Nintendo Wii.

*sigh*

Whatever happened to active play?

and the name was Frank

Public storm signal #3 is up in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces and cities.

Last night, i had a hard time falling asleep because of the strong gust of wind (yup, one can hear the "blowing" sound of it) and the disturbing sound of house's roofs that one would think they will be blown away any moment. I was paranoid that i might wake up in our 2nd floor room sans the roof!

Then i remember this parody of a tagalog Christmas song i used to hear as a kid (and yeah, i'm also guilty of singing this tune):

Tuwing sasapit ang bagyo
Lumilipad ang mga yero...

+ + +

I got up by lunchtime and looked outside to see that the street was already flooded. Thank God it didn't reach inside the house as it usually does when a heavy downpour occurs.

But when i read the news today, oh boy! (hehe! Beatles!) hundreds of families were displaced by floods in Metro Manila.

Typhoon Frank (international codename: Fengshen) left a significant portion of Metro Manila flooded, leaving several thoroughfares impassable to traffic and people, and displacing some 850 families from their homes.

I'm more fortunate than them. And yet i sometimes complain about the house being flooded from inside the bathroom! I should be thankful that i'm still in our house.... and blogging about it.... with all the usual homely comforts that an evacuation center cannot provide.

'nuff said.

+ + +

one mean keychain

say what!?

In Review

The past week was a whirlwind of activities--with all the preparations for a two-day out-of-town consultative workshop and then there was the feast of the Holy Trinity over the weekend.

In two days i have gone through every emotion i could possibly feel: from apprehension and anxiety, and then being harassed by the rush of things. There were even times when my team and i seemed to be running on adrenaline alone. And then finally feeling that sense of accomplishment when the workshop was over.

And then there was our community fiesta. Another roller coaster of emotions. But i'd rather focus on my high moment when my pork piña hamonado and pichi-pichi became a hit with the folks. Too bad I only doubled the hamonado recipe which left the people asking for more. And too bad i wasn't able to take pictures of it. But then, my hamonado was just a sort of "pilot testing" of my newly acquired skill in cooking.

- - - - -

Now back at the office catching up with the paperworks. They got in when i was out and no one else was left at the office to work on it. The other staff had work of their own to be bothered by it.

So i'm the one rushing with the documents riddled with "urgent" notes.

I feel like pulling my hair out of frustration.

*sigh*

It's just another manic Monday.

And then there was more!

The excitement about my new preoccupation hasn't worn off yet (and showing no signs of wearing off me probably for a couple more months). The second batch of puto was a hit with my officemates (it sold like pancakes!) that they asked some more of it the following day.

Unfortunately i didn't cook another set, thinking that if i do it on a daily basis, people might get used to it and eventually get bored by it. But i guess i was wrong. My colleagues were clamoring for it. Hehehe!

So i did another batch last night.

Let's just wait and see what happens...

Magic!

now you see it ........................... now you don't! ;)

My Monday night blooper

Last night around 7pm, i was walking home with a choirmate after our pratice. We haven't gone far away from the company gates when a lady caught up with us and exchanged pleasantries with my choirmate. The lady acknowledged my presence and said "Uy, Tsiki, pumapayat ka yata." To which i replied "talaga? ay salamat!"

I was walking ahead of them and was focused on the traffic light at the nearby intersection, calculating the time when it will turn red so we could cross the street. As we were near the street corner, the lady bid goodbye and walked the other way. We waved her goodbye as well and waited for our turn to cross the street.

A little while later i asked my choirmate, "sino yun?"

;P

Joke Time!

Before marriage...

Boy: yes. at last! it was so hard to wait
Girl: do you want me to leave?
Boy: no! don't even think about it.
Girl: do you love me?
Boy: of course! over and over!
Girl: have you ever cheated on me?
Boy: no! why are you even asking?
Girl: will you kiss me?
Boy: every chance i get!
Girl: will you hit me?
Boy: are you crazy? I'm not that kind of person!
Girl: can i trust you?
Boy: yes..
Girl: darling!

After 5 years of marriage...

Simply read from bottom to top...

;P