cooking for the holidays

hmmm..i could almost smell the holiday break and its going to be a long vacation! woot! and for that, i've already decided to spend my time experimenting on different menus.

about a year ago i decided to put an end to those kiddie spaghettis that was always present during cook fests at home. so i told mom that the kids have already grown up and they have no immediate plans to produce their own kids so we have to come up with more "grown-up" pasta dishes.

and that started my long-standing romance with pasta. the most basic thing i did was to ditch the spaghetti and alternately used spirals, linguine, fetuccine, angel hair, penne and bow ties. i love using linguine and fetuccine in carbonarra, alfredo and the pasta ala pobre which kuya art taught me. i used spirals for the dish i cooked up during the staff dorm open house which marco named as tomato pesto pasta.

at first i strictly followed what's on the recipe, then i started to incorporate some ingredients to give it a twist. the basic ingredients i use are butter, garlic, my basil and the ever-reliable mccormick series of pasta sauce spices and mixes. i've also ditched the standard del monte spaghetti sauce and opted for the gourmet line of hunts and clara ole. my favorites include clara ole's three cheese, hunts' parmesan cheese and mushroom. these are all available in your local grocery stores. in fact, i discovered these pasta sauces in rural science city of munoz.

oh, and may i add that i am also concerned with the budget so i try to come up with affordable dishes. my principle is that a good pasta need not be expensive, and so far i've shelled out not more than 300 bucks for my pasta dishes. the thing is, we have a basil plant at home. its so easy to grow and it has been the standard herb i use on my pasta dishes. rosemary is hard to grow in our area, same with thyme and the others. these dried herbs are so expensive when you buy them at the grocery. i also plan to grow lemons on pots this holiday break so i wont have to buy those at the supermarket. :) olive oil is also so so expensive so i use canola oil instead. :)

am planning to add these to our Christmas lunch menu:

apples with cinnamons

1. cut the apples into bite-size wedges
2. sprinkle with cinnamon powder

**it is best when you chill the apples first, then pour some lemon/calamansi juice to prevent it from getting a brownish color after you have sliced them. this is a good side dish to your barbequed dishes.

pasta a la pobre

500 g fettucine/penne/linguine pasta, depending on your choice
1 big can mackerel (pwede na yung Saba brand)
2 250grams Clara Ole three cheese sauce, or Hunt's Parmesan spaghetti sauce
1 head garlic, diced
1 onion, diced
2-3 long eggplant, cut into strips
half of Eden's chedar cheese, grated or shaved (mahal ang parmesan, and besides, if you use Hunt's its good enogh na din)
small-sized block of butter (pwede na yung dairy creme, actually its margarine.mahal yung anchor eh. )
salt and pepper to taste

1. cook the pasta al dente, which means 5-6mins in boiling water. set aside.
2. heat the butter in a non-stick pan, add a little oil so it wont get burned. put the garlic and pag mejo brown na, toss in the onions. pour the "mashed" mackerel, strips of eggplant and the sauce from the canned mackerel. bring to a boil.
4. pour in the sauce mix, halo-halo ng konti. please use a wooden panghalo.hehe.add the grated cheese.
5. pag mejo lamog na yung eggplant, toss in the pasta. add some herb if you have and the salt and pepper. depende sa panlasa niyo. the idea here is you cook the pasta with the sauce for about two minutes.
6. am thinking of adding lemon zest into this one, lets see what happens. :)
6. that's it. :)

an alternative pasta dish is this:

1 500 g spirals pasta, cooked al dente
2 250 g Clara Ole three cheese or Hunt's parmesa spaghetti sauce
2 sachets McCormick Herb and Garlic pasta sauce mix
half of Eden's cheddar cheese, grated or shaved (again, mahal ang parmesan cheese mga kapatid)
butter
1 head garlic, minced
1 big can button mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

1. heat butter in a sauce pan, toss in the garlic until golden brown
2. ilagay ang button mushrooms. add a quarter of your grated cheese, cooke until you think the mushrooms are okay na
3. pour in the spaghetti sauce and herb and garlic sauce mix, halo-halo
4. add the remaining cheese, again haluin para hindi masunog
5. toss in the spirals
6. add salt and pepper, halo-halo for 2mins.
7. put out the fire

this is best served with buttered toast and iced tea with a small dash of cinnamon and lemon.

dalandan salad (i got this from yummy magazine)

toss together dalandan wedges, diced onions and salt and pepper to taste.add fresh herbs if available :)

or this:

ripe mangoes, cut into cubes
ripe tomatoes, diced
onions, diced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
chilli powder
ground pepper
patis

**toss together and you will have a mango-tomato salsa :)



so help me god.

sometimes the braver thing to do is give up

... especially when the other person gives you no reason to hold on.




*naks.

a pic is going to get published!yehey! =)

this publishing house has been emailing flickr users asking permission to use their pics for its publications.they wont pay, just give you the credits. so some of the professional photographers in flickr didnt agree. i, on the other hand, was excited. getting your pic published plus the credits to your name is more than enough.

i am not a professional photographer, just your average employee who takes pictures from a borrowed camera during her trips to project sites. and so im really happy that a publishing house took notice of my pictures. =)

when a sociologist falls in love, s/he...

1. analyzes every freaking event in their relationship, making reaction papers in the form of texts, long emails or love letters and sending these to their stunned partners. who in turn gets a nose bleed.or worse, brain hemorrhage.

2. twists concepts on deviance and uses these to justify wrong doing.

3. a simple scenario gets oh-so-complicated because she OVER ANALYZES.

4. is good at power play.

suddenly nostalgic

We used to share this crumbling house south of manila. The original cast was M, Y and L. L had this college friend who offered her aunt’s house in a too-convenient location that they couldn’t resist. I later joined them when I found out my housemate was a freak.  So there we were, cramped in a double deck bed – all four of us. The “lower deck” was for Y and L, while I shared the “upper deck” with M.  

 

We were actually a strange group. M is the loyal daughter who would send money to her sibs right after she received her paycheck, the same sis whom I had to drag out of Gilligan’s when she started to speak oh-so-slang English after a few bottles of beer. L is the fashionista chick, having graduated from one of the exclusive schools along U belt. She’s the master in running-jogging-brisk-walking-in-stilettos. Y is the conservative-whatispekpek- prim-and-proper-lady-who-wears-skirts-at-church. And well, there was me, the loud mouth.

 

M is the pack leader. She is Y and L’s high school classmate, my sorority sister too. M, Y and myself work for the same capitalist company, while L works for a sister company.

 

We would bond at night with L’s latest break-up with a zombie, sometimes the three of them pestering me with “you-people-who-fall-out-of-love” sessions. I would try nicely to explain why we-people-who-fall-out-of-love would decide to ditch a so-so-perfect-relationship because our partners have become so alarmingly boring. Not that L is boring because she is so full of colors. It’s just that she’s become so perfect for her a**hole boyfriend. 

 

Anyhoo, past the break-up and now so fully emotionally bonded with each other, we settled nicely in that about-to-collapse house. We would cook food for breakfast, baon for lunch and dinner. Almost always just M, Y and myself because L have become a zombie herself with work. During weekends we sleep like dead people, waking up near lunchtime and with grumbling stomachs. The fastest way to go for a decent meal is our neighbors’ trusted silog series, downed with mugs full of coke. Yes, we were your typical yuppies, young urban poor, haha! as M would put it, the kind who survived on caffeine and preservatives.

 

We would go malling whenever we felt like it, especially when its sweldo time. We would watch last full shows on a weekday and sleep at work the following day. We would go on afternoon walks around the village where we lived, ogling at the beautiful houses and the gorgeous sons of homeowners.  L and I would be tagged as the rock concert hunters. With the first gig at the first Rockestra, then followed by the Muziklaban stampede in Amoranto, and then the second Muziklaban in CCP which brought in the start of coffee sessions in Starbucks.

 

Later on M decided to join her boyfriend, gets pregnant, marries off and lives in the province with her young family. L resigns from work and finds a more fabulous work in Makati and thus had to move to a dorm nearby. And so it was just me and Y. And then much later on, I get an offer I couldn’t resist and had to move to the countryside too. L would go with me to the bus terminal to see me off. I remember clearly that day --- it was a Saturday afternoon. And while I was about to board the bus, L hugs me tight and tells me to go visit her every weekend for our coffee sessions. That was the last time I saw her.

 

It’s been almost three years since.  At around lunch time today my phone rang. It was from one of the pack members! L was calling from a ski resort in the US. She’s been working there for almost a year now.  

 

How I miss her.

 

tragic.

his name is jonjon sinsuat.he belongs to one of the powerful political clans in Maguindanao. he is a board member in the province. He is on his late twenties, just starting out a family. 

Just last month we met him when he came over to see us interview farmers in Datu Odin Sinsuat town. He is shy, a very down to earth guy you'd never think to be a politician. 

But now he's dead. Gunned down by still unknown killers last weekend. 

He could've been a hotshot leader in their province.

Too bad the good ones have to die first.

celebrating one hundred years of academic excellence in a hundred peso bill.

got this as part of my change when i ate breakfast at Chowking in Manaoag. yihee. :) 

according to this site, 

To commemorate the Centennial of the University of the Philippines (UP), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has issued 100-piso banknotes overprinted with the image of the UP Oblation. The Oblation is the iconic symbol of UP, represented by a man with arms wide-stretched and face facing up, symbolizing selfless offering of one's self to his country.

The UP Oblation overprinted on the watermark space to the right of President Manuel Acuña Roxas' portrait, symbolizes 100 years of "academic excellence, leadership and service to the nation" by "one of the most influential institutions" in the Philippines that is UP.

P.S. 

I got another one today!haha.when i googled more about these banknotes, i found out some folks are selling them for like 300-4,000 bucks. four uncut bills are being sold at around four thousand.

detox with fruits!

got this email from toni. was so convinced that i bought fruits from the market kanina after i went to the bank. some important points:

• Fruits have the highest water content of any food. In addition, the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids that a human requires can be derived from fruits.
  
• A survey found that those who eat fruits more at every meal tend to want to eat less in the next meal. The reason being the sugar content in the fruit. It was also found that a particular substance in some fruits could cut the risk of heart diseases or heart attacks. The substance protects the heart by preventing the blood from becoming too thick and plugging up the arteries.
  
• Its digestion, absorption and assimilation requires only a short time, rather than to break down food like chicken, mutton, etc. Other foods spend about 1-4 hours in the stomach! Fruits do not digest in the stomach. Most fruits are predigested except for bananas, dates and dried fruits. They pass through the stomach in twenty to thirty minutes as if going through a tunnel. They break down and release their life-giving nutrients in the intestines.
  
• Fruits should be eaten in an empty stomach, for it plays a major role to detoxify your system, supply you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other activities. Let's say you eat two slices of bread and then a slice of fruit. The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but is prevented from doing so. In the meantime the whole meal rots, ferments and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to rot.
  
• There is no such thing as some fruits like orange and lemon are acidic because all fruits become alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Sehlton.
  
• When you need to drink fruit juice - drink only fresh fruit juice. Not from the cans. Don't even drink juice that has been heated up. Don't eat cooked fruits because you don't get the nutrients. You only get to taste them.

we are hiring!

please, please please. if you are interested or you know someone who might be interested, PM me. here are the details:

• the work involves the monitoring and evaluation of the TCP4 project in ARMM. this is a collaborative project between PhilRice, JICA and DAF-ARMM.
• the successful applicant will be based in our branch station in Midsayap, North Cotabato and will visit project sites from time to time
• applicant must be a graduate of social science, agricultural economics or any related field
• experience in project M&E is preferred 
• must be knowledgeable in the following software: MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, SPSS or any statistical program

qouting de quiros

On GMA:  “the most dysfunctional ruler of the most dysfunctional country in Asia.”

On Miriam Defensor Santiago:  “Power play did her in at the UN? Nakarma siya.”

On Filipinos: “We are one of the most racist people in the world.”

On George W. Bush:  “...the dark that made Obama bright. He was the blackness that drove Americans to want change…”

in pursuit of happiness

"A magic moment I remember: 
I raised my eyes and you were there. 
A fleeting vision, the quintessence 
Of all that's beautiful and rare..."

lullaby of wind and tree -- loquy

when i was still working in manila, id stay up late sunday nights for a radio station's segment on up and coming bands.. one of the guests was kevin roy and his band loquy. there was some glitch and while they cudnt play lullaby of wind and tree, he shared this story about a boy and his tree. this was the inspiration for the next song, he said. you might want to hear the song which i embedded on the right side while reading on.. :)

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

　　Time went by…The little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree.

　　One day, the boy came back to the tree and looked sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy.

　　“I am no longer a kid, I don’t’ play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.” “Sorry, but I don’t have money…but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy didn’t come back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

　　One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. “Come and play with me.” The tree said. “I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry, but I don’t’ have a house. But you can cut off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.

　　The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn’t appear since then. The tree was again lonely and sad. One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said.

　　“I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” “Use my trunk to build the boat. You can sail and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and did not show up for a long time.

　　Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t’ have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you.” the tree said. “ I don’t have teeth to bite.” The boy replied. “ No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now.” the boy said. “I really want to give you something…the only thing left is my dying roots.” The tree said with tears. “I don’t’ need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.” The boy replied. “Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest. Come here, please sit down with me and have a rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears… 

nakaka-senti.more like our relationship with our parents. i must admit that sometimes, i am guilty of this.

anyhoo. loved the song also. especially because of the flute. 

someone looks familiar!

ooops.

the lecture is pushing thru pala.tomorrow. 

false alarm

note to self: confirm ebriting before getting so excited about an assignment!

been doing petiks at work from monday to thursday. and then its feel-good friday. and then i read an email requesting me to sub for a lecture at irri on tuesday. and then i review 67 slides of nose-bleed presentation. and then its 4.30, ooops! gotta call training division for the logistics. and then jen answers the phone. 

she says, 

"wala na po yung topic na yan sa second batch."

ayun eh. 

false alarm.

feel-good moment

i feel happy right now. no particular reason. its not the kind of happiness that you feel when you finally got that something you've been dying to have... or the kind of orgasmic feeling after attending that eheads reunion concert.

its the kind of happiness that makes you sigh with a smile on your face.. no hassle, no worries. everything is good. im so loving this moment right now.

which made me remember this pic of gay rights activist harvey milk. i kinda liked how his face lightened up in front of whoever took his pic. :)

ice age 3 is coming to town! woot!!

the rowdy cast of manny, diego and sid is back! add to that the continuing romance of scrat with his nut and you get a hilarious, feel-good movie you'd never be ashamed of watching with the small kids in cinemas. never mind that you're a yuppie. me thinks its a perfect date movie.  whoops, nangangarap! haha.

gotta love these guys! donchathink their faces say it all? yiheee. 

u cant have it all *sigh*

my motorola slvr l7: 

although i hate its phone explorer and java apps, i still love it because..

1. its slim

2. its black

3. there have been no major problems for over a year now

4. its vga camera is quite good, provided lighting conditions are ok

my neo empriva laptop 

although i hate its largeness and small exhaust fans, i still love it because... 

1. its got wifi. wahaha.

2. bought it from mom's moolah

3. good enough OS

4. bought it cheap at gilmore

havies  

although i hate its design, i still love it because...

its a gift from mom. bow. 

spanking new browser!

although its still on its beta version, i think its already a great browser! its fast and clean. opening new tabs is easy. and! thumbnails of ur most visited sites appear on screen every time you open a new tab. 

take a look:

here's more from the google blog,

Under the hood, we were able to build the foundation of a browser that runs today's complex web applications much better. By keeping each tab in an isolated "sandbox", we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers.

for windows vista and XP SP2 users who want to download it, click here. I heard they're already working out on releasing versions for Mac and Linux. 

lavett!

getting ready

This is a survey about your dream wedding, whether it will be in the next year or after ten years. So, please answer after you read, the person who answered this before you

took a great deal of effort. This is going to be fun.

1. How old are you?

* 26

2. Are you single?

* Yes

3. In what age do you think you’ll get married?

* 27

4. Do you think you’ll be marrying the person you are with now?

* yep

5. If not, who do you want to marry?

* basta siya na :)

6. Do you want a garden/beach wedding, or the traditional church wedding?

* december church wedding, and then reception will follow at a lovely garden at the back of the church.o ha :) 

7. Your ideal motif?

* turquoise

8. Where do you plan to go on a honeymoon?

* bohol

9. How many guests do you think you’ll invite?

* close family and friends lang.. dont want the wedding to be a circus. cguro 50 guests. it want it to be an intimate affair.

10. Do you want an extravagant wedding or a simple wedding?

*  solemn, intimate, simple wedding

11. Do you want the traditional vows or something you’d make up on your own?

* a mixture of both

12. How many layers of cake do you want to have?

* jusme!never thot about this pa.. cguro one layer lang.. tapos cupcakes all around :)

13. Do you prefer having your reception at a hotel or at a simple place?

*  garden reception, but something secluded para hindi pag-pyestahan ng ibang tao

14. When do you want to get married, evening or morning?

* afternoon til evening..

15. You’d rather have your reception outdoors or indoors?

* outdoors 

16. Do you like a grand entrance for your groom/bride?

* yeah. and i want the church doors closed during the entire ceremony.haha.feeling celeb!

18. Name the song/tune you’d like played at your wedding.

* ikaw..

19. Are you a morning person or a night person?

* night person.

20. Do you want a solemn ceremony or a light one?

* solemn

21. What age do you want to get married?

* 27 nga!

22. Describe your ideal husband.

* he has to be adrian. :) no one else but.

23. Do you prefer fine dining or just the normal spoon & fork/knife?

* normal lang

24. Champagne or red wine?

* Champagne!

25. Honeymoon right after the wedding or days after the wedding?

* days after.. :)

26. Money or household items?

* kahit ano :)

27. Who will pay for the bills?

*  kami pareho

28. Are you ready for married life?

* i think i am :)

29. Do u think you will still be a virgin until you get married?

*  oo naman noh.

30. Will u always be true to your husband?

* op kors!

31. How many kids do you want to have?

*  5. biological ones and adopted alternate.

32. A new house for a newly wed or an old one?

* kahit ano, basta buo lagi ang family.walang absentee husband/wife, mom/dad.

33. Will u celebrate silver wedding, gold wedding, or diamond wedding??

* ay oo naman!

34. What kind or cuisine would u like for ur wedding?

* seafoods and pasta

35. Will you record your wedding in a cd or dvd?

* both

starpeesh from ian

the starpeesh has finally found its way to our sala.yey!

this is the before, while they were still in ian's nieghbor's batya:


and this is the now, a bit colorless but fabulously sitting in our center table :)



































**forgive me about the low-res pics.. took them using my vga camera phone :)

eraserheads reunion concert

was surfing tv channels yesterday when i came across a report about Eraserheads' ely buendia. the report said he had to be rushed to the hospital while performing during their reunion concert. he had earlier suffered from a mild stroke..

i so wanted to go to that concert but i was still in butuan city that time. tsk.

the best things in life are free!

see the drama behind the lives of researchers and extensionists...


we are exposed to a lot of dangers while out on the field. thank god for bodyguards.




we do not go to work riding the mrt, taxi or on our own car. we go by foot.





extension work is not an 8-5 job. the schedule is not based on company rules, but rather at the availability of farmers. this interview was conducted at around 12 midnight.








calling home.

we may be always out on the field helping farmers, but there is no greater joy than to come home to our families. a hot, home-cooked meal, a hug and the bright smile of family members sure take away the loneliness of being away for too long.





we make new friendships. they are our foster families when the biological ones are miles away.




we are constantly reminded that hey, rural life is fun too:)




... and that nature has its own healing effect to a tired soul..





hey, its fun!

they're bombing midsayap!

this war is getting too personal for me. i have friends, officemates who still continue to go to work despite the ongoing war in the area. just now im talking to one of my closest friends there, and she's telling me the ground is shaking whenever a bomb is dropped. one time they got stranded on the way home because there's an ongoing encounter in pikit. she says that rocket propelled grenades pass through the main highway. sori ka na lang kung matyempuhan na dumadaan sinasakyan niyo habang may padaan din na rpg.

i am also leading a study on bangsamoro women farmers and we are supposed to interview these women all over armm but cant do so because of the situation in the area.

i just hope this would soon come to a peaceful end.

settling in

Love is truly tested when it goes past the so-called honeymoon stage. Now that all that excitement from friends has died down, and the starfish finally arriving from freight service, Ian and I have settled comfortably burning the phone lines.

It’s supposed to be hard. But having Ian makes all things seem light.

He has this endearing personality that never ceases to amuse me even in difficult situations. Yes, we already have our share of tampuhans but it always gets resolved after no more than five sentences.

It’s like settling comfortably in your couch and having that sweet realization that hey, I gotta love this couch despite some of its accumulated dust and coffee stains.

i terribly miss baguio

up baguio

mani, kornik at mangga ni manang mani, fishbol, kikiam, chicken bols at odoks ni manong fishball, manong guard, manang zerox. sunshine park.woods.brods and sisses.tambayan.ate josie and bulletin board in upper canteen, manang amay in lower canteen.visits to the clinic when i don't want to take a long exam.killer stairs near the HS building.lower library where i can sleep.ACS and sorority meetings.work at SSD."sun bathing" at the oblation grounds when its too cold.


hala may hindi pa pala ako nasasauli na 2 libro!


im dead.


baguio city

afternoon walks down session road.




boating in burnham park at 12midnight.i miss you housemates! ate leigh, ate ming, ate kay, and laine. may kanya-kanya na tayong buhay. kelan kaya tyo magbo-boating ulit?



monday morning and friday evening commute via kennon road. i miss the times when i'd come home late friday nights, going along kennon road with a bright moonlight above.

though i cant forget the time when i was seated at the passenger's seat and i was awakened by a splash of water. thanks to the roadside falls near camp 2. tsk tsk.





p.s. thanks to google for the pics. :)

the saturday surprise

this was supposed to be 12 pieces, because according to him, "its been 12 days since we became a couple..."

since he is away, he asked my cousin to pick the flowers and give them to me. sweet. :)

how we met

Life’s surprises indeed shows up when we least expect them.

I was in Tawi-Tawi and the flight to Zamboanga was cancelled that day. I did not want to ride the ship because I was so freaking afraid of the big waves, so we decided to wait for the next day’s flight. During the afternoon, my officemate told me that there is no guarantee for the flight tomorrow since the aircraft is still busted, “so we really have to take the ship leaving tonight,” ordered this officemate of mine. Remember, I am from Luzon, used to land travel and doesn’t know how to “claw-kick” (read: ice age 2). So after much prodding, he was able to “coerce” me to take the damned ship. I imagined myself being tortured by sinking thoughts from 6pm to 10am the following day. That is sixteen hours of riding this monster of steel in open sea.

When we were on our way to our cabin, a guy in red polo shirt said in an excited voice, “Ui, nandito din pala kayo!” Close tayo?, i thought to myself। But of course I did not say that loud so I just ignored him. My officemate recognized him and told me he is one of the supposed seair passengers that day. So?

We reached our teeny-weeny, cramped and claustrophobia-inducing cabin and started to make ourselves comfortable. I saw this trolley bag placed on top of the bed I wanted since it’s near the power outlet. Hmmm..must be an old lady, naka-trolley eh,” I thought to myself. Then I realized, where the hell is the old lady? Gumagala na agad? Whew.

Surprise!

The old lady turned out to be the feeling-close-guy-in-the-red-polo-shirt.

Naku, patay na. Andito na si filingero. He started making friends with my officemate, and within seconds they were laughing their lungs out like some old neighbors sharing a private joke. Their laughter was so infectious that I later joined them in their conversation.

He turned out to be a funny yet sensitive guy. He loves his mother so much. Dun ako natuwa. He has this framed picture of himself and his mom, and both of them were smiling but with eyes closed. I asked him why and he said, “Sabi ko sa mama ko, pikit tayo ma ha? Pumikit naman!” Haha.

He is so funny you wouldn’t realize you’re laughing your lungs out hanggang kita na ngalangala mo! And he made sense, not the kind of pagpapatawa from bastos jokes or making fun of people. He has this engaging personality that would really make you listen to him when he talks. And he knows how to listen when its your time to talk. He would listen intently, and lets you finish your drama first before making any comments. And comments he made! He is brutally honest but also makes sure that when he let it out, no one’s gonna feel hurt. He would let you know of his comments in a calculated, funny way that tells you something like “yeah, you have such a big mouth but hey, that’s not a big deal.”

Surprise!Surprise!

I did not realize it but I started to really enjoy his presence. His voice, the way his dimples would show up every time he would smile, his booming laughter, and the way he stared when he wanted to make a point. And he is sweet! Akalain mo yun? He invited me to go down the lower deck for coffee, and while we were out talking while sitting near the railings, he made kwento all the time so I would not get freaked out with the waves. I even enjoyed the sight of fishing boats which were out in the cold night. They looked like fireflies with their lights on, it seemed like a fiesta in the open sea!

We talked about almost everything, never running out of ideas. His work, how he was such an ass in ateneo during college, his ex-girlfriend and her father, his mom, his dogs… I also told him about my work, my family, and my less-than-popular opinions on marriage and kids. We realized there have been a lot of similarities in our lives that we started to call each other copier! whenever there is something related between us.

He loved my toes, I enjoyed watching him sleep, hearing him snore. He calls me shark, I call him roach. I am afraid of the water and therefore the sharks, and he with cockroaches.

It felt so damn right. Like we were a pair of your old, comfortable shoes.

Finally, the ship docked in Zambo at around 10am. He was like a child when he said, “basta ha, text text ha?Pag hindi ka nag-reply I’ll cut your head!”

“Sir, yes sir!”

My officemate and I proceeded to the airport to reimburse our tickets in Seair. When we were inside the jeepney on our way back to where we were staying in Zambo, I received a text from him,

From <+63917…> at 11:59 AM 7/11/2008 via Windows XP with SP2
Hay tumibok c btman

He calls his heart batman.

i wish i am a...

starbucks flask.




he gave me his 3 year old mug, i gave him this. :)

i love him.

the trip that did it

all the universe conspired for adrian. :)

i am

getting married. :)

he gave me starfish and more =)

happiness.