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.

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.

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.

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.

New Year's Day

Just few months ago I'm counting the days until Christmas, now it's over and we're looking forward to New Year's day. 

I rendered a 30 minute overtime before my rest day. I went home with a Christmas bag of goodies from the office for Noche Buena. I boughts ingredients for fruit salad and waited in line for almost an hour to get a cab home. Last minute shopping was never a good idea especially if you haven't slept yet. I still have colds so my taste buds aren't working as well as my sense of smell. Not good because it's Christmas eve and I hate feeling sick. 

We opened our presents a week before Christmas so there's really nothing more to get excited about. Our elder brother paid us a visit today and brought some goodies. 

We checked out the this new store at the Atrium later called The Soap Factory where we saw yummy looking soaps good for gifts. I thought I'll buy some for my friends but you it's made to order I have to come back after 30 minutes. The soap artist told me that they need to come up with designs and that they don't have a catalogue. They pretty much create whatever comes to mind. They also need time to bake it. I hope someday they sell something handy.

Leecher

It's a rainy Friday morning. According to the morning news that an Anti-Charter Change rally is happening today and that Ayala Avenue will be closed at 12 noon. Good thing I'm on night shift so I don't have to worry about that I'm pretty sure by the time I get off to work the rally is over. My sister have shift today she texted me that protesters are starting to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino statue fronting Insular life where ABS-CBN's crew is ready to do a coverage of the event. 

I finished downloading Twilight last night I watched it right away. I liked the plot and the casting was good. It makes me think what if vampires are still around will that scare me or willl that be cool? The ladies fell for Edward Collins because of his mysterious character perhaps. My copy is not very clear yet it's too early to find a good one since the movie is quite new. I don't have anymore complains with my Internet provider because so far I'm satisfied that I am able to downloaded with no data limit. I'm happy that I've seen all the movies I missed these years. If technology lets you do everything better take advantage. 

Our regularization paper was given to us Tuesday morning I'm happy to stay but still uncertain about what the future holds for me in this company. 

Browsing and Stuff

The death of Starstruck Season 3 winner Marky Cielo (starstruck season 3 winner) was a shock to me. I saw a video clip of his untimely death earlier from Inquirer.net. I'm not sure if he committed suicide or he died in his sleep. While still looking for answers my attention diverted to this short film by an Australian cartoonist/animator Darcy Prendergast entitled "Off the Rails." It's about 3 weird guys on a train who each have stories to tell. 

If you're into indie/experimental/off the edge stuff I'm sure you're gonna love his work. 

Check him out here:

 http://www.deepeestudios.com/.

Getting Around Baguio

I just came back from a relaxing vacation in Baguio and just finished scrapbooking photos from my sister and I's trip. We have 80 pictures taken from Camp John Hay we almost run out of pages. We spent about 2-3 hours just taking pictures and walking at the park. We found a playground and a swing. It's been forever since I've been on a swing so I got very excited.

We went to the Cemetery of Negativism, Bell House, Amphitheater and many more. Of all the places we went to, I like Bell House the most. It's an old Victorian house which is a little spooky inside but I love the antique furnitures. I checked out the baby grand piano as well as every room in that house. I felt something strange especially in the dining room. Our digicam kept clicking even if we're not taking pictures. 

Later in the afternoon we head over to SM and cooled down with yummy treats from Cerealicious. I had one of those flavored cereal with vanilla ice cream on top we want some more we returned the next day to try other flavors after we got tired looking for ukay ukay. Our vacation won't be complete without grabbing a bite at Session Delights. We ordered pancit, it's really tasty and banana split for dessert. I miss Rainbow Cafe's "rainbow rice" too which is made up of vegetables, pouched egg, lechon and chicken. This local restaurant is located somewhere near the marketplace it's worth coming to. 

Jugno's Monster Pizza

I'm no pizza fan so I'm not aware that a monster pizza exist until my officemates ordered Jugno's pizza and had it delivered in the office. The pizza box is almost the size of our mini table. I told my sister that we should try Jugno's so one day we ordered a 20 inch size of 2 of their classic flavors "spicy taco" and "beef n' mushroom" in 1 box. Each flavor was cut into 16 slices It's a lot cheaper since for that size the box only costs Php448 compared to Pizza Hut or Yellow Cab. Aside from their 24 hour delivery, you can have more than 1 flavor in a box and customize the slice of your pizza. Jugno's tastes good except the crust. 

I'm not sure if I will order from Jugno's again but it's worth a try. 

Parol in the City

Christmas is just around the corner so I decided to hang our parol in the terrace to feel the holiday spirit. Our lantern is quite an eye catcher at night but some of the lights will not turn on anymore.


There is no greater symbol of the Filipino Christmas spirit than a parol. I thought the history of Parol is worth sharing so I decided to copy and paste the information from this website called MyParol.com in my blog.

The History of Parol Christmas Lanterns

Cultural Origins

In the Filipino language, a Christmas lantern is called a parol. There's no greater symbol of the Filipino Christmas spirit than the parol. All through the Christmas season, star-shaped lanterns can be found hanging outside homes and along the streets of cities and small provincial towns, farms, and fishing villages. For Filipinos, making a parol, decorating one and lighting a parol is an expression of shared faith and hope.

The earliest parols were traditionally made from simple materials like bamboo sticks, Japanese rice paper, crepe paper, and a candle or coconut oil-lamp for illumination; although the present day parol can take many different shapes and forms. Around Manila, parols made of Capiz shell or plastic illuminate the city. One of the most spectacular innovations can be found in the city of San Fernando where 20 foot tall parols with kaleidoscopic blinking lights are paraded through the streets on truck beds. Whatever the material or shape, the parol is a recognizable symbol to all Filipinos and represents the star of Bethlehem that guided the Three Wise Men to the manger of the newly-born Jesus Christ.

The word parol (pronounced “pah-roll” with a rolling "r") comes from the Spanish word for lantern, farol. According to World Book's Christmas in the Philippines, the roots of the parol can be found in the Mexican piñata. The piñata came to Spain from Italy in the 1300's, spread to Mexico and finally came to the Philippines when the Spaniards brought Christianity to the islands. The book A Child's Pasko: Christmas in the Philippines explains that the parol was originally used to light the way to church to attend the daily Misas de Aguinaldo, or Gift Masses, which begin on the 16th of December, and ends with the Misa de Gallo, or "Mass of the Rooster" at midnight of Christmas eve. The midnight mass is followed by a usually lavish meal at home, which is always anticipated by the kids. The first Misa de Aguinaldo that is held at dawn on December 16th marks the official start of the Christmas season.

To see the peak of the Festival of Lights in the Philippines, one must travel at night from December 16th up to January 6th. There you will see all kinds of parols.

The parol is a main component in the Filipino celebration of Christmas, which has become a Festival of Lights. The festivities cover the months ending with “BER” which are September, October, November and of course December. Christmas music can be heard sporadically in the beginning of September, and one could feel an increasing sense of the coming of Christmas as more and more Christmas songs are played on the radio, and as more homes, businesses, streets and parks become brightly lit with wonderful colors. The malls and department stores are the first ones to decorate, and showcase their mangers and beautiful parols.

A Christian Tradition

The parol was originally intended as one's offering to glorify the Lord. It was an important part of the devotion to faithfully attend the 9-day Misas de Aguinaldo, to petition for special favors. After coming home from church, instead of stowing the lantern elsewhere in the house, they would proudly hang it outside the window. At night, they would illuminate their parols with candles or coconut-oil lamps to display their art. The villagers would walk around to appreciate the work of others and see who had the nicest design. When new stylistic variations appeared, such as different kinds of tassels, streamers, or crowns around it, others would innovate their own creation, and make plans to display his "better" parol the following year. This friendly competition was encouraged by the church, and the Spanish priests offered incentives for the people to invest time and money to make their parol "the best" as a devotional offering to Jesus. That is why during the Christmas season, some made it a practice to visit various churches that yearly display these new designs and better craftsmanship.

The Spanish priests of old might have walked around the villages at night to appreciate the candlelit parols by the windows of his parishioners, and appreciated the beautiful symbol of the star that led the three wise men to Baby Jesus. Certainly there must have been friendly reminders to promptly blow the candles out before they go to bed.

During the Spanish times, the pale colors of papel de Japon were predominant in the designs.

Source: http://myparol.com/abouttheparol.html

Tech Support Baby

I got so stressed out with my niece's netbook last week when my dad bought a SmartBro prepaid kit in SM Baguio but she couldn't get Internet to work using usb modem that came with it. My niece was told to have the system reformatted for some reason. 

I bought buying an HP external dvd writer from Cyberzone located in SM Megamall so I can reformat my niece's netbook.  I got really OC trying to fix her computer I couldn't sleep until I fix the problem. I didn't want my dad to worry, there's no other way for my niece to have Internet access to do her homework in Baguio without prepaid Internet at least. 

Having no Internet these days would be such a pain.