Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Happy Birthday Sissy

It's my sister's birthday today. I want to be the first to greet her a Happy Birthday so as early as five in the morning I already send her greetings through an e-Card, I'm glad she liked it. She texted me that they are on their way to Baguio Cathedral to hear mass. 


It's a Tuesday morning and my sister's first day of work she just had her rest day so I'm cooking breakfast for her before she leaves. My shift this month changed from 9:30 PM to 11:30 PM. Thank goodness there's no more traffic and my rest day is better because I have a weekend and a weekday off. Gotta love Sunday I can go to church and Monday is my time to go to the bank to pay bills and stuff. 


My sister and I can have more time together, yay!



Monday, January 26, 2009

More Oatmeal Cookie Please

Kung Hei Fat Choi! 


It's officially the year of the Ox as per the Chinese calendar. To start off, I brought home a box of oatmeal cookies for Php165 from a friend of mine which is not bad for 15 pieces you get to enjoy such yummy oatmeal cookies that's about the size of a mug coaster. My friend suggested  I should pair it up with 7 Eleven's coffee latte because most people say it tastes good so I gave it a shot. 


I'm glad 7eleven came up with good coffee. For Php45 you get to enjoy a cup of coffee that's just as good as Starbucks. I brought home 2 caramel latte for me and my sister so she can try it too. 


My sister cooked a sumptuous fried rice for breakfast then we had oatmeal cookies for dessert. We scored a DVD rip of the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" that i just finished downloading last night so we watched it together. I didn't enjoy this movie, to be honest even if it had thirteen nominations from the recently concluded Oscar Academy Awards because I simply got bored.






Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The U.S. of A Got a New President




Newly elected President Barack Obama


Today is a historic day for American citizens as Barack Obama took the oath of office at the National Mall at noon in Washington DC. This day is about to end for Americans but will surely make another mark in the history of the USA and for the rest of the world. The presidential inauguration was attended by roughly over 13,000 people and was witnessed by millions of people around the globe according to the news. 


I fell asleep around 2pm yesterday, woke up at 7PM and waited patiently until past midnight (12 noon US time) and was glued to CNN the whole time for the inauguration of Obama and Biden. Obama's oath was delayed for like 20-30 minutes it was scheduled to be at 12:01 but nevertheless it was worth the wait. His speech was great as the New York Times puts it "it was pragmatic and hopeful," I totally agree. It was so beautiful it brought Americans to tears. One of the lady news anchors for CNN admitted that she was crying while listening to Obama's speech. 


The legendary "Queen of Soul" singer Aretha Franklin, she wore a hat with the biggest ribbon I've ever seen, sang her heart out "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." Other performances include John Williams composition whose music was heard at Obama’s victory party on election night in Grant Park his new piece was played by Perlman on violin, Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Gabriela Montero on piano and Anthony McGill on clarinet. Indeed, it was a serious moment but there were a few noticeable bluffs, I like that because it shows that they have a human side too, everyone's really serious you know. 


As a first timer in the inaugural stage it wouldn't be surprising for Obama to be nervous, like messing up the oath, he paused after saying "that I will solemnly execute..." while wife Michelle was looking at him and waiting for the rest of the words to come out of his mouth, unfortunately, she can't help him repeat the words so Chief Justice Roberts had to do it again but just like a contagious disease that Obama spread, he fumbled on the words either so instead of saying "that I will execute the office of..." he interchanged it to "the of...faithfully the pres...the office of the president of the United States." With respect to the constitution, Obama corrected Roberts and himself until it was finally over. 


Going back, Obama's 18-minute speech focused on sensitive issues like racial discrimination, the need to rebuild America with of course the help of its people and many other others but the most memorable part to me was when he stressed:


"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. they are serious and they are many. they will not be met easily or in a short span of time. but know this, America — they will be met." 


Those words made Americans emotional and spirits soar high. I hope that  Obama will bring forth change not just to his nation but and will serve as an instrument to bridge the gap among nations. 




For a transcript of Obama's speech, read it here:





Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Sleepyhead

I almost fell asleep in the fx on my way now because I'm so tired after my graveyard shift good thing my iPod kept me company, it was such a boring trip. I put on loud music intentionally, I'm beginning to hate listening to FM stations they don't play good music that makes sense anymore. 


I've been watching a lot of new programs on TV and just recently I started watching Project Runway Philippines. I think that this is a good venue to showcase local designers and show the world what we got. To be honest, I'm not really a fan of international franchising but it seems inevitable that this is the "in" thing nowadays. I think I'm okay with the local franchise of Survivor (we have Survivor Philippines) but not movies. The movie "Desperadas" for example is obviously derived from the popular TV series Desperate Housewives. A few years ago I was one of those that got hooked watching for crying out loud the Tagalized version of Taiwan's comedy/drama series Meteor Garden. The infamous Mexican star Thalia once captured the hearts of Filipinos with her Mexican Telenovela Marimar (aw!) I think we can do better if we will try to come up with anything original or is it too risky to do so? I guess I'm just curious. 


When I arrived home I noticed a tent set up in front of our neighbor's house so I asked my elder sister who died and got shocked to find out that our long-time neighbor whom we call Aling Ludy who's a good friend of my mom, already passed away due to cardiac arrest. I sort of felt guilty especially when I learned from my mom that Aling Ludy told her that she misses us because she doesn't see us anymore. I think I saw her last month maybe a week before Christmas but I didn't realize thought that it would be the last time I'll see her alive. She even looked at me, I did not even smile or say Hi, I guess I'm just really shy. Aling Ludy used to deliver us food every time there's a birthday celebrant in their family. She would bring us Spaghetti or Pancit (I love her spaghetti) and cake and we always look forward to that. She will be missed especially by my mom because she always keeps her updated on what's going on with her life. 


My friend's grandmother also died yesterday I thought she got sick that's why she was absent for last night but I heard about what happened from our team leader she never told anyone except her so I texted her to give my condolences. 


Death is like a thief, indeed.




Thursday, January 15, 2009

H2O

I love the cool morning breeze. It's so darn hard to get out of bed these days. I've been drinking plenty of water and tea because according to my own research that that "hydrotherapy" is a good way to treat common colds. It flushes out the system and removes the toxins that cause disease. 


Doctors recommend drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day. I tend to neglect that especially if I don't have colds, I would rather drink soda or coffee. Oh well, I guess I have no choice but to drink coffee before I go to work since I work at night, to keep me awake. 


My parents are in Antipolo. They complain that it's twice colder than in Baguio and I'm like really? Who wouldn't get sick of the drastic weather change? I've never experienced this kind of cold in Manila it's almost like Baguio, in fact, we don't turn on the ac or electric fan anymore would you believe it? I can't help but reminisce when we were kids we dip "pandesal" over hot coffee or Milo... I miss the taste of good ol' pandesal. 


I envy my sister's pay she had me check it online she definitely will enjoy her tax refund whilst I don't get one for submitting my 2316 darn it. Well, that's life, she deserved it anyway.



Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Tardy

I had two tardy this month I guess I got used not having to deal with traffic during the holidays. I this is not a good sign to start the year. Tomorrow's payday I'm curious about how much I'll doing overtime plus the holiday pay. I don't know how I still managed to survive. Our last pay was before Christmas with all these tax deductions, etc. This is the first time that I will not get a tax refund I think it's just unfair that our government deducts almost half of our hard earned money but we don't know where the hell they're going. 


My cold is getting worst but I still have plans of getting a haircut later, my hair is becoming such a mess I don't know what to do with it anymore. My rest day is boring me I have nothing much to. It's a sad life in the city. I get to buy things that I want but in return, I have to sacrifice the time I spend with our family. I don't get the chance to see my parents often since they are in residing in Baguio. My parents have been asking me and my sister to come live with them and work in Baguio but that wouldn't be an easy step and a risk to leave everything just like that. But who knows what lies ahead.


Thursday, January 01, 2009

Welcome Year of the Ox

Media Noche food
Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the year of the Ox also known as "Ji Chou" in the Chinese calendar. 


Everyone's still fast asleep after having a blast last night. This is the first time that my sister and I welcomed the new year together in Shaw. It was really awesome being able to watch the fireworks display. I was in awe seeing beautiful lights, the sky was filled with different colors. Everything was so magical how I wish I could freeze that moment. 


We had Penne al Pesto, pizza and Mango float for dessert for Media Noche. The food was great but it's nothing compared to the joy of spending the holidays with family. 


My sister said that her new year's resolution is to start saving this year so I'll see if she can keep up with that. As for me, I'll continue saving for the rainy days.



Back at It: A Long Overdue Update

It's been three months since I last sat down to write, and I've missed this more than I can express. Life has a way of throwing unex...