Blogging and Me

At first, I was just curious about this blogging thing. I started to read about food blogs, then life blogs. Then, I created my own blog, first at Blogger then at Wordpress. To date, I have three blogs at Blogger, one about my daily struggles in life, second about my travels and the food I discover along the way, and third about my experiences as a cook and food lover. The one at Wordpress is a summary of all three. I tried to link both and was successful the first time. Lately, the importing process just would not work.

I envision myself writing blog entries often to all my blogs. Sigh…sad to say, the stories which I plan to write got stuck on my mind, until another story starts to form and the old one is buried and forgotten. For instance, in my ‘travel and food’ blog, I have been to many local places and have sampled many sumptuous dishes and yet they end up as memories in my mind and added inches on my waist. Nothing was written about them. Also, I have experimented and whipped up many dishes that got a stamp of approval from my family, and before I can get a picture and write about my experience, the food gets devoured in no time. Again, all I have are memories in my mind.

I envision myself losing weight and getting back in shape. But alas, the more I think about losing weight, the more I’m putting food in my mouth and gaining extra pounds instead. Another thing that I wanted to do is teach and impart what I learned to young kids. And yet, I haven’t filled up that form and applied for a part time teaching job at my alma mater.

I have so many dreams in my mind. All I need are concrete steps to make them happen. That’s why I am such a sucker for success stories, for stories of courage and will power, and stories of people overcoming their barriers and reaching for their dreams. I hope I will also have such a story to tell.

My birthday is coming up soon and I hope to make a pact with myself to make basic, concrete steps, however small. Maybe it’s better if I put all these in writing so I can come up with a plan on how to make these dreams a reality. Small, baby steps. Maybe that is enough for now.

Ash Wednesday

"You are Dust, and to Dust You Shall Return." (Genesis 3:19)

According to churchyear.net, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the 40-day period of fasting before Easter. On this day, ashes are blessed, mixed with either holy oil or water, and imposed on the head with the sign of the cross, or sprinkled on the forehead. The ashes are made from burning palm branches blessed the previous year on Palm Sunday.

When the priest imposes the ashes he says either "remember man you are dust, and to dust you will return" (see Genesis 3:19), or "turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel" (Mark 1:15).

The ashes serve a dual purpose. First, as the above words imply, we are reminded of our mortality and humanity as we begin the Lenten Fast. Second, the ashes are a Biblical symbol of repentance, sorrow, and humility.

Today, February 25, 2009, not only marks the beginning of Lent but also the 23rd year of the First EDSA Revolution in the Philippines. I attended Mass at the Immaculate Conception Church (now MCC) at 12:15 noon. The church was packed to the rafters. A lot of people were standing at the back. Some were seated outside. The ceremony already began when I arrived. I quickly made my way at the back. During the sermon, the Bishop apologized for starting the Mass earlier than the usual time, due to the length of the ceremony.

He explained that Lent starts today and ends in the morning of Holy Thursday. Easter starts in the afternoon of that same day. He emphasized that this time is an opportunity for us to reflect and repent on the wrongdoings that we have done and cleanse ourselves from sin by fasting and penance. He also exhorted us to be humble and obedient to God's will.

The imposition of the ashes was done before the offertory. People lined up in all sides of the pews and took their turn as the lay ministers say upon imposition of the ashes, "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." I made my way outside the church as I saw some vacant mono-bloc chairs. I was observing the parishioners as they lined up to have the ashes placed on their forehead. People from all walks of life came. Since it was during lunch beak , most people were from the office and stores around the area. Some were couples and families. Students also attended the Mass. I saw some familiar faces and waved at them. Since it was nearly 1pm, some people did not wait for the Mass to continue but left in order not to be late for work. Some stayed until the communion. While most stayed behind until the end of the Mass.

A thought came into my head. Is having the ashes placed on our forehead enough so as not to stay until the Mass has ended? I grew up in a catholic school and I believe it is but proper to stay until the end of the Mass. But, be that as it may, sometimes I am guilty of leaving just right after communion, and not waiting for the priest to say, "Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord." Which is more important, Faith or Work? I guess it works both ways. "Faith without work is dead." All work and no Faith makes Jane a dull girl...or something like that. We got to have both in order for it to be more effective.

Just as what happened 23 years ago in EDSA, it was the people faith in God and their will to stand up against dictatorship that made EDSA a success, more of a MIRACLE, because it was a bloodless revolution. So, it works both ways. FAITH and WORK should go hand in hand...

Have a holy and peaceful LENTEN SEASON to all...God Bless...

Sweet Reunions

Christmas is that time of the year when you just have to set aside a day for reunions.Last Christmas, I did not expect to have booked not only one day, but lots of days for sweet reunions.

Here is a picture of me with my cousins. At last, they invited me to join them on their night out...Actually, I invited myself...hehehe. It was a Saturday night. I attended our high school alumni homecoming when I saw my brother at the school. He told me that after the homecoming he will join my cousins for some cocktails at Catribo. Since I don't have a ride home, I joined them. Wow...I did not regret my decision. Being the eldest among all cousins present, I relegated myself to being an observer and let them run the show...With our generation gap, I find it strange that they enjoy this kind of entertainment. My brother warned me beforehand, no comment please. I would have nejoyed a more relaxed and quieter ambience. Oh oh..I am getting older...hahaha.

How about this picture, minus me, of my high school classmates during our alumni homecoming. I was the one taking the picture. I like it that way...just a wallflower, a casual observer, taking it all in in my little corner of the world...I can't express the happiness I felt when I spent some time with my high school pals. We will host our alumni homecoming six years from now. We have lots of plans and hopefully we can make it happen when our time comes. Hello to Maxxy who came all the way from Kuwait just to be with us and her family this Christmas season. Thanks for sharing your time with us Mems.

Here's another picture of my high school pals this time at 3rd Cup with Jerico Marcos, who have resided in Davao. He was in town to attend his brother's wedding and we could not pass the chance to meet him. It has been six years since we had been together. Four hours lounging in a relaxing atmosphere is not enough when conversations are full. We can;t seem to run out of topics to talk about. He's planning to migrate abroad with his family. It seems to be the trend these days. Much as we like to do the same, we just don't have the financial edge to go for it.

Well, this is a sum of my reunions with my family and friends. No matter how short the time that we spent together, it's much better than not having spent time at all. To my family and friends, thanks for making this Christmas season one of the most memorable time in my life.

Working Mom #2 : Mental Block

so many things to do...but so little time...

my things to do list is getting longer and longer as the days go by...it's crunch time...we have to finish our interim report by september 30...the documents we've requested are slowly coming in...working papers remain half-finished, if at all...and my mind goes blank as i stare at the wall to decide on my next move...if there is a next move...hahaha

so, i laugh it off...bwahahaha...after this i am going on a loooooong deserved vacation...and take advantage of my five day force leave and force myself to forget about work and recharge my mind...i can do tons of things...but let me think about that later...now, time is precious...every second counts...tick tock tick tock...oh no, i can hear the clock ticking...in my head...oh great!!!

focus your eyes on something green...to refresh your eyes and your mind...are you kidding??? the curtains in our office is green but i don't even notice it...hahaha...

so i hope against hope with my fingers crossed that i can come up with something concrete (like an AOM...hehehe) to present before our conference on Sept. 17-18...so back to the drawing board...be critical...be analytical...consider all red flags...and DELIVER!!! (pizza???)

sorry if i sound greek to you...but to my fellow cluster four teammates...these are meaningful, powerful words...see you at the conference guys...and may HIS WILL BE DONE!!!

take care and Godbless...

(due to my continued mental hiatus...i am reposting some blog entries from my friendster blog...)

the big _5th

another birthday post...

i finally reached my 35th birthday...i hope i can make it until my 100th...

it was the most unforgettable birthday of my whole life. i don't want to elaborate. i usually cook for a special occasion at home but this time i was not able to. i celebrated my birthday a day before. the same day i went to see two doctors, my cousin and an ENT doctor, due to vertigo. my cousin JOAN (bless her jolliness...) said it was benign positional vertigo. the ENT doctor concluded the same, and said it was due to a virus...hello...i have to look this up in the internet...anyway, the world was spinning around me and i could not walk straight (kiss my modelling dreams goodbye...).

and so we just ordered take out at our favorite chinese restaurant. these are what we ordered:
seafood roll, beef with brocolli, buttered chicken, pancit canton, and seafood in cream sauce. we bought grilled fish in our neighborhood flea market, by mom gave me a chocolate cake, and i made fruit salad...that's it.

But, I can never thank the following people enough: God, who gave me another chance, and never gave up on me; my parents & siblings, who are always there for me no matter what, my husband and two kids, who are my life now and forever, my relatives and friends who have made my life an adventurous one...

sa inyong lahat, maraming salamat po...

until the next birthday....chow...

rice crisis...

The Philippines is suffering from rice crisis in two ways. First, there is perceived shortage of NFA rice, a more affordable variety of rice available to most poor people, and second, businessmen are taking advantage of this by increasing the price of well milled and high quality rice.

Taking stock of the situation, my thoughts came upon the Food for School Program of the Department of Education and the Arroyo Administration, which I wrote about in this blog.
What will happen to the thousands of school children who receive one kilo of rice per day during the course of the school year? What will happen to their families who depend on them and encourage them to attend school just to have one kilo of rice on their table?

I read in a major daily newspaper that the Secretary of the Department of Education assured the public that the Program will continue because they have the budget to cover for the rice allocation needs of the beneficiaries. That's good news.

This crisis may be good news to diabetics. It's a chance for them to cut down on the carbs intake and look for alternative food choices that is healthy and nutritious. This is all for now.

love...simply

"love you ma..."

these three simple but powerful words were uttered by my two and a half year old son as i was on my way out to work this morning. i was jolted by the profound effect these words had on me. i went to him and gave him a big hug and lots of kisses. i wished that it was a saturday and i did not have to rush to work. i wished that i was a stay at home mom and had to stay with him all day. but alas, today is the middle of the week and i'm late for work.

"love you, too..."