Thoughts, Memories and Travel..

One Lazy Sunday...

2007-08-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

Not doing much today..just waiting for some visitors that we promise to see today. Not thinking of going to church since I couldn't leave my husband alone. I send my helper and my grand daughter to Cagayan.

I was sitting on the porch watching people, cabs, trikes and all sorts of vendors passing by and I realize that it's fruit season here now. Kadayawan festival will commence next week and looking forward for a happy festival. I got some "marang" from one of the vendors and it cost me only P 5.00 each. Durian also cost P25.00 to P40.00 per kilo depending on the variety. Oh my..if only I am not in control of my diet.

I continue my cross stiching..it's been a while that I did not work on it. I was just amuse at myself, looking in the future with me sitting on a recliner and doing needle work with my spectacles almost falling out hehehehe.

Anyway, we can't help getting old. It is the way you handle it in order to achieve a happy and fulfilled life. For me, I got it all and consider myself a lucky one. Problems do come by every now and then, but that makes you stronger and it's also God's way of saying, "Hey...I am just around".

A Proud Tita...

2007-08-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

Well.. I just can't help sharing my feelings to the small achievements of my niece but even though how small it is to some, for me it's really worth telling it to the whole world. The following is the script of what she wrote and with her permission <<<>>>>

"WARNING: This blog post is overflowing with subtle arrogance and witty self-appraisal.
In short, puro pagmamayabang ko lang ito, but in my humblest way (ngek!), kaya kung ayaw niyong ma-bad trip, then DON'T READ IT. Thanks.

I can't believe it. A lot of great things happened this week that I almost forgot how BAD last week was. Although I could still feel the pain and anguish over the series of unfortunate events that unfolded last week... it has been decreased by a reasonable amount because of two GREAT news:

1. I passed the (nosebleeder) editorial exam for the SENTINEL (our College newspaper). I also passed the dreadful panel interview held last July 28. Mind you, it wasn't as easy as eating a piece of cake. I had to enumerate the ingredients, bake my own cake, and tell the judges why they should choose my cake among the rest... errmm.. not literally. I almost fainted when this "hard-to-please" Ptofessor (who happens to be MY intro to journ Prof...) asked me "HOW DO U HANDLE PRESSURE?" NANDAYO! I knew right from the start that she was bound to ask something like that... and I'm also aware of how crucila my answer would be in landing me a place in the Sentinel. But that was actually the first time that someone asked me that very question. So I paused for a long time before coming up with a reply. I wanted to say something cool or "nice" to earn extra points but I decided to be TRUE. I spoke from my heart when I said, "As much as possible I try to enjoy my work and relax. I mean, not too relax, just-- I don't panic. I tend to be calm about it and think it over a few times before taking action. Because I learned from past experiences that if I panic I usually don't get satisfied with the outcome of my work." O di ba? I still remember my answer! The interview was nerve-racking! I never realized that when I first thought of joining the Sentinel. I merely wanted to join coz I love to write-- preferably poems, stories and essays. I screwed up a lot of times during the interview and for that reason, i never really expected anything good out of it... I think I firmly believe now that "GREAT THINGS HAPPEN WHEN U LEAST EXPECT IT". Tomorrow (or rather today... umaga na pala...) is the first staff meeting... Too bad I'm not keen on it, as I hoped I would be, since I already made a promise to my Korean students that we'd go shopping in DV. Darn. I wanted to spend some time with them coz they're going back to Korea this SUNDAY... Oh I'm so gonna miss them. They've made my life exciting and eventful in every possible way! *sighs* WELL, I guess some good things never lasts.

2. I got the highest score on my two LEAST fave subjects! Everyone knows I HATE CHEMISTRY. If u dunno then, who are you? I studied a little for Chem, mainly coz I don't want to repeat it for the 3rd time. But I TRULY never imagined I'd get a 93% on the prelim exam, an 85% was more than welcome. Oh well. And then there's PR. I don't really HATE the subject. I just felt like I don't need it, pretty much like Chem. So I only skimmed pages of my notes minutes before the exam, which was overflowing with nosebleeder ESSAYS. It gave me a headache. I like essays BUT there's an exception. I never thought I'd get a passing or even a decent score there... Binola-bola ko lang yung Prof ko sa mga sagot ko dun eh. AS in paikot-ikot lang siya. So I almost fainted when I saw that I got the highest score--90%. I kept mumbling to myself-- "how... why... nani?" It only means kinagat nung Prof yung pambobola ko... I honestly felt that my answers were trAsh & crappy. But then again, maybe the Prof saw it in a different light... hehe...I'm so sleepy right now... I was supposed to burn CDs full of mp3 songs for my Korean students... It's my parting gift for them... But I decided to do this blog first...

So now it's 2 a.m. and I did nothing but this. dammit. I have to wake up at 4 a.m. coz we need to leave the house at 6 to make sure we arrive at DV by 8. I hate WAKING UP EARLY! Arienaittsuno! "

Again..CONGRATULATIONS for your achievements and I know you work hard for it and you deserve it because you're a smart girl..

What He Can Do...

2007-07-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

Last night, me and my helper were having a hard time opening the canister which she closed so tightly. She overdo closing the lid that it was displaced on its grid and pressure accumulated inside the bottle. We tried all sort of things to open it up but to no avail. We even ask the driver next door to do it for us since he is a big guy but he failed too. What we did, we put it back on the fridge and stop thinking about it. Morning comes and we saw the bottle empty lying on the table. I ask my husband who opened the bottle and he said he did. I really didn't think that he is kidding because nobody will help him open that bottle in the middle of the night. He keeps on snacking during the night while watching tv and playing his computer games. I even let him demonstrate to us how he did it. He said he clipped the bottle between his legs and open it and he said it was not really a hard job for him. He has a left weakness resulting from his stroke two years ago and he needs help in doing things like this but to our surprise he was the only one who made it. We ended up laughing at each other and teasing one another about us being a weakling hahahaha...

What a day...

2007-06-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Something turned out funny this morning. We plan to give my husband a surprise since it’s his birthday. I bought a strawberry chocolate cream cake the day before his birthday. Since he is up most time at night playing his computer game and watching tv, he tends to attack the fridge and look for something yummy. So in order to keep the cake from being attacked, I put it somewhere else where he couldn’t find it away from the fridge. I woke up early to wake up everybody and greet him and I took the cake out from where I keep it. We were all surprised and my husband was laughing at us because the cake melted hahahahaha. But anyway, we still have our birthday cards and we took him out for dinner and all’s well that ends well. What a funny way to celebrate his birthday.

Gaining Weight..

2007-06-22T01:47:00.000-07:00

I panicked when I check the tape and found out that I measured inches more on the waistline...OMG I need to do something fast. Check the scale and gained 1 kilogram and most of it went to my waistline. This is due to constant sitting in school while waiting for my grand daughter. Make some friends there too and everyone keep on offering food to munch the time away. I said to myself, I promise to do something quick and started it with drinking the slimming tea that I always have when I feel bloated. It helps me feel empty without really feeling hungry. Then in the morning, I tried doing belly dancing with my own style LOL and sweat it out. I will try to avoid carbs specially before going to sleep. Will write updates from time to time maybe I could give tips to those interested if this will work fast with me.

Modern Fashion and Passion???????

2007-06-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

As I was browsing pages of young people at Friendster, I always encounter this word EMO which is very strange sounding to people like me LOL. I was really curious what it means that my nieces and nephews are so interested in. I am a grandma and I want to know what young kids are into today. I need to know so that I can connect with them later on. So I made my research and found out that this refers to emotionally-charge punk music. Actually there are a hundred other meanings of EMO but the young generations today take it as an “in” thing among themselves. They integrate the music to an unenthusiastic young kid who doesn’t smile, who wear tight wool sweaters, tighter jeans, scarves, black square glasses (that make them look like nerds), unwashed hair that will cover the face. For a while, I was not aware of these things until I get into these pages where young people browse a lot. Now I understand why these young generations don this kind of outfit. It’s like getting into the fashion like what happened on the 60’s and 70’s when the Afro hairstyle get into the mainstream. Now it’s the EMO look hairstyle. But anyway, talking about hairstyle, have you tried also cornrows or dreadlocks?

Medium of Instructions.

2007-05-27T17:32:00.001-07:00

I remember prior to the People's Power of 1986, the education system uses english as a medium of instruction. We also learn a little of Spanish during our high school years. When I went to college, I remember that the school put Chinese on the curriculum to abolish Spanish. I was young then and I don't understand about these changes but according to them since commerce is dominated by Chinese it would be better to learn their language. In fact, long time ago if you speak chinese well you can be hired right away. Took 3 units in Chinese and all I learn is to count 1 to 1000. I took 6 units of Spanish in college plus my basic Spanish in high school and that makes me understand Spanish fairly well and speak a little. Never used Spanish when I went to work LOL. I am a product of a public school in my elementary days and during our times we are already good in the english language. After the People's Power, english was replaced by tagalog as a medium of instruction in public institutions. It is really a big change among later students specially those who finish grade school from public schools. Comparing them generally with students of the past, the present grade schoolers have difficulty in english after finishing grade school. I think using english as a medium of instruction in public institutions will help these students understand their lessons in higher years. We couldn't teach tagalog in physics, in algebra, in geometry and so many more. The students will face a big problem in understanding the subject because of their inability to understand the instructions. Just my two cents.

Completing Bourne Series

2007-05-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

We were watching Shrek3 yesterday and a movie trailer really excites me. It's about a character that I have read about. He has no past and his face was surgically altered and he was made to believe that he is an assassin. I have read two books of this series The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy and I have been digging up book sales for the last series but I couldn't find one. And finally when I was watched the trailer yesterday, I got the third series and it's titled The Bourne Supremacy. I have learned to love the character who went underground and use the identity of Jason Bourne. The original Jason Bourne was a convicted murderer and a fugitive whose life ended with a bullet in his head in Vietnam. The new JB who use the code name Delta lost his memory and was trying to trace his identity. There are a lot of twist on the story that will keep you gripping on your seat. Watch out for it and you will love the film as well as the character. It's being played by Matt Damon and it will be showing in theaters by August. I can't wait to watch the final chapter of Bourne series.

Books..books..books..

2007-05-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

These are the books that I read these past few months. I have read some of it long time ago and just read it at random to refresh and recall my memory. Even if I review it at random, I am still gripping with suspense. I like books written by R. Ludlum and I keep on hunting book sales for more. I am also reading Grisham and Clancy. I find Nelson Demille work worth reading too. I find a lot of Grisham and Clancy at the book sales maybe I will try digging up for their work now. It's hard to find Ludlum's already. Thinking of reading about something different maybe romance????(too old for that stuff). I remember when I was in high school I used to borrow books at our school library. My library cards were all filled up with Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I remember how my dad admonished me because of reading under our mosquito nets with just a small bulb on our ceiling. I was so hooked with those books that I tend to tuck it in my armpit even if I am cooking or cleaning the house.

My grand daughter is starting to show some signs of interest in reading and I picked her some childrens books like Honey... I shrunk the Kids, Home Alone, Dennis the Menace, The White Stallion and Trixie Belden's Mystery fo the Gobbett's Island.

Busy Day

2007-05-07T01:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's really very disappointing when you try to finish something and you can't because there of some consequences beyond your control. Went early to school today to have my grand daughter take the entrance exam for the second grade. Since she is a transferee she has to undergo into this process and besides the school wants to assess the child's academic standing before admitting her to their institution. I found out that they have it re-scheduled for tomorrow because the sisters and the staff were out to attend a funeral. It is run by the Presentation of Mary sisters and considering that I am a product of this school I really wanted my grand daughter to study here. I know that the sisters are a bit tough with the students when it comes to discipline and I like that. I want also my grandchild to grow in an atmosphere of catholicism and get involved with activities that would liven up her spiritual life. Anyway, as I said..I thought I would have that done today instead of waiting for tomorrow. I really don't want to go out too much these days because of the heat.

Well..I decided to go to the bank and transfer some money to our other account and went to buy a new hand bag which I was eyeing for sometime. It's time for Mother's Day anyway so I better treat myself LOL. Went also to my dentist to get a new denture only to find out that she is out of town for a convention. Basically nothing important was done today except for my bank transaction. I really would like to finish things in a day that is why I make plans the night before so that I can trace my itinerary and refrain from getting into a detour and turn back. So I am a bit disappointed that not all were accomplished today.

2007-05-03T04:45:00.000-07:00

I am currently in love with this song soooooo much. Sing along with this on this site http://www.tristancafe.com/music/flash/someday_nina.html

SOMEDAY

Nina

Someday, you'll gonna realize
One day, you'll see this through my eyes
But then I won't even be there
I'll be happy somewhere
Even if I can't

I know you don't really see my worth
You think you're the last guy on earth
Well, I've got news for you
I know I'm not that strong
But it won't take long, won't take long

CHORUS
'Cause someday, someone's gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone's gonna take your place
One day, I'll forget about you
You'll see, I won't even miss you
Someday, someday

But now, I know you can tell
I'm down and I'm not doin' well
But one day, these tears
They will all run dry
I won't have to cry sweet goodbye

CHORUS
'Cause someday, someone's gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone's gonna take your place, woh
One day, I'll forget about you
You'll see, I won't even miss you
Someday, I know someone's gonna be there

Someday, someone's gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone's gonna take your place
One day, I'll forget about you
You'll see, I won't even miss you
Someday, someday

Ahh yeah yeah

All About Bruxism

2007-05-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

Some people think that bruxism is not really a big deal and that there is no permanent damage caused by being a bruxer. Bruxism by the way is the clenching and grinding of your teeth unknowingly and usually happens during your sleep. I used to think when I was young that this is caused by the abnormal set up of your jaw. I have learned from my dentist that it is actually caused by tensions derived from anger, pain and being anxious. I was a bruxer once and never knew what caused it because I never consulted a professional about it. This might be the reason why I lost all my teeth when I was still in my mid-30's. Bruxism cause damage to your teeth as well as facial and jaw pain. For those who grind their teeth so badly, you better consult your dentist to check if no damage has been done to your teeth yet. It's been said that 3 out of 10 children gnash their teeth during their sleep. This is due to their hyper activity that causes stress and tensions. Little did we know that kids are also big worrier like adults. They worry on things that happens on their everyday life. They even worry about a new sibling (more describe as jealousy) . These sometimes make them gnash their teeth at night. I just woke up this morning and notice that my grandchild was gnashing her teeth. She was so hyperactive the whole day yesterday running around with her younger sister and she was dead tired when bedtime comes. By the way, she also lost her two front milk teeth this morning.

Tagging is Fun..

2007-05-01T01:29:00.000-07:00

Instruction: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves.People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. I realize I got so hooked with my cross stitching that I should slow down and need to spend sometimes with the kids.
2. I need to have my new dentures this week. The old one starts to get loose :-)
3. I am getting old and forgetful.
4. I am the happiest woman on earth as far as my relationship with my husband is concerned.
5. But I am the saddest as far as my relationship with my step children is concerned.
6. That I need to quit being too nice to my step daughter and start bitching around.
7. I need to go to Palawan this year.

I am tagging the following:
Kenotz
Aima
Charlene
Molly
Wilma
Chat
Cheche

2007-04-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

The trouble with travel these days is the fact that I have to get the doctor's opinion all the time for my husband's health condition. Today, we have to see our doctor to get his opinion on our trip by land to Leyte. Maybe if he will say it would be too tedious for him, then we'll call if off and opt to stay for a night at Paradise instead. I don't want my grandkids to miss the fun and if they can't have fun in Leyte then we will just get some fun at Paradise Island.

Forgetfullness..

2007-04-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

Writing down my thoughts is not really my cup of tea. When I was young, I don’t keep diaries simply because I don’t have time writing. I would rather play my guitar than keeping a diary. They always call me a late bloomer and I think I now believe on that LOL. You see, I am now starting to get hooked on this blog thing. When I wake up in the morning…it’s the first thing that I do. Hello World! Hello Philippines!...(tag line ni Toni Gonzaga the Pinoy Big Brother host). Here I am again spending a few times with my pc. At my age there is really a need to write down things. I am starting to become forgetful, is it senile dementia? I hope not…maybe I am just slowing down a bit physically and mentally. I can still do mental calculations and can still organize things as it is but I have to put it on writing or else I will forget all about it later. I use to go to the grocery store with all the things I need on my mind, but now when I don’t make a list, I tend to miss things that I need and will only remember it when I get home. Sometimes it makes me upset because I use to have a very keen memory. When I work as a Loan Officer, I can pinpoint exactly the place where I put paperwork of a client. It sometimes amazes me hahahaha…Anyway, I am just sharing these thoughts today because I was a bit worried that I forget the name of the person whose image is running through my head. But anyway, I remember her after a while, just a short memory loss LOL.

To All Moms...to work or not to work??????

2007-04-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and my granddaughter is not in the bed with me. I headed for the living room and my helper and her are about to go to church. I remember that they plan to go on the first early morning mass. Then I heard my other grand daughter in the other room waking up so I went to her and let her sleep some more but she keeps on whining and looking for the helper. Kids today are getting attached to their nannies, maybe because parents have less time to spend with them because both couple are working to earn. Long time ago, mothers have more precious time to spend for the kids because they don't need to work to earn but they just remain to handle the household affairs. It is maybe because that's what they learned from their elders that it is the man's obligation to work for a living to sustain his family and the woman handles the household chores and budgeting. Another thing, life is simplier before compared to today. Today the emergence of modern technology drives the woman to crave for more. In fact mothers who still are not career oriented are doing anything and everything from knick knacks to networking to insurance and so on...just to increase the familys' income. Even caeer women are into underground economy just to augment the meager income of the family. Now what's the impact on that with our kids? Is there a big difference? I need your input...

Travel Plans for April

2007-04-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

Got a text message from my big bro (I call him such, even if I am much older than him because he is always our gracious financier when it comes to travel and vacations……thanks bro!!) that the next travel will be to Leyte for the grand reunion. Although I have gone to that place several times already, I am still excited because we get to see our siblings who live far from us. Another thing is the fun and the excitement of seeing again our relatives. I can imagine now the happy faces of our folks who are very warm in welcoming us. That is really one thing we miss about going back to where our root comes from. I am pretty sure that when everyone will hear that all of us are coming, they will all be excited. I hope that we will get into this island again. So folks…..pack up your things and get ready for the “tuba” drinking and the “kuratsa” dancing.

UTI anyone???????????

2007-04-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

How wonderful God is.... He made our hands reach out our back to clean our butt. I wonder what happens if He didn't did so? What if the range of our hand's motion is only limited to our front? Well..you can still clean your butt but on the wrong direction. Can you imagine how many millions of women get to have UTI because that? LOL....it's a silly thought but it's true. Just got into these thought...I just come of of the comfort room hahahahaha...

Is modern technology liable to this?

2007-04-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many of you thought of how this modern technology practically ignored the correct spelling of a word. Actually since time immemorial we have been receiving text messages with wrong spelling on the cell phones, take note “wrng spelng”. But then, people think that’s the “in” thing. In fact, I myself feel foolish if I text using the right spelling. I feel like I am out of this world. Things like… “saan u? punta na me” at first, I was confused but I figured out that it means where are you I will be coming. I hate to think that these things will affect the minds of our younger generation. My 6 year old grand daughter is starting to learn how to use the cell phone now and she start to spell the words wrongly. I’ve been trying to let her spell words correctly and here comes the cell phone that will deliberately ruin what she has learned for. I am contemplating of buying her a cheap cell phone as a start but I am having second thoughts now. I think I just have to wait until I can explain to her the reason why people use wrong spelling on their messages. She is too young to understand and she might get confused.

Another thing that is accountable to this cell phone industry is the increase of road accidents. How many drivers got involved in road mishaps because of using the cell phone at the wrong time? How many marriages ended up in separation because of messages on the cell phone being read by the wrong person? How many wives raise their eyebrows every time her husbands’ cell phone rings? And how many husbands also suffer paranoia because of wives talking on their phone in a hushed voice?

Funny, but we still clamor to these things so much. Well…I think that’s the prize we get in this world of modern technology.

What do little kids know...

2007-04-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was a bit shocked with the kind of questions that my 6 years old grand daughter asked me. First she asked me how much does a motorcycle cost. I asked her why is she interested to know. She innocently says, "la lang...gusto lang nako mahibal-an". When I told her that it cost a lot she just couldn't simply accept that answer. She wanted a more straightforward and accurate response. And you know, kids today won't give you a chance to get away from what they want to know. So she made a follow up question, "pila na sa peso Mommy?" I throw back the question to her, "kabalo diay ka mo count kung moingon ko ug 45thousand?". She replied, "Opo..di ba maraming thousand yon? di ba 45 ka 1 thousand yon?" (she speaks in visayan, tagalog and english by the way). I said, "yes and why is it that you are interested to know..may plano ka ba na bumili?" She replied, "kasi si Mama ug si Papa mopalit daw ug motorcycle para ihatod ko sa school." Well...I ended up answering series of questions until I get bored and brush her off.

Feel of the Castle..

2007-04-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

This is where the wedding was held. Can you just imagine the chance that we missed because of the consequence that happened. Well, you can browse on their website to tour around. http://www.drumtochtyunlimited.com/home.htm

Lo..Lo...Logans...

2007-04-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

There are things that happens beyond our control and that is what happened to our long planned trip to Scotland. I got my visa so late that we were not able to book on the right flight for Aberdeen. I blame it to the courier who delivered it very late although it has been approved earlier. But anyway, I know God has some plans for us and these things happen because we are not really in control. We always think that we can do things our way and forgot that there is Someone else who knows what is best for us. I was a bit worried with my husband because he was upset these past couple of days because of what happened. Eventually..everything turned out just fine today and my husband woke me up in the middle of the night and happily says, "they are married!!!!". I found out that his son sent him an email explaining that they weren't able to call on the day of the wedding because there are no signal for their cellphones in the castle. A few hours has passed and his son called up telling him what transpired on the wedding. The bride kept him waiting at the altar because it took a little extra time to put on the bridal gown. I wonder how the gown looks, maybe a typical Scottish wedding dress and maybe the groom wear a kilt too. I have to wait for the pictures and will find out. So off they go now for their honeymoon to Madagascar.....