Nosebleed

kakaloka!

Sad Mommy

This little boy had been  vacationing at my mom's for the past four days.

We missed him soooo much.

Uwi ka na, anak!

Can You Feel The Love?

Was sleeping soundly yesterday morning when I woke up to the incessant ringing of a mobile phone whose ringtone was unfamiliar to me. It was a polyphonic tone.

I have been using an old cheap-ass Nokia 1100 for a few months now since sending my Samsung J600 to the repair shop. Such a useless piece of crap, that Samsung J600.

So I've been harping Boa for a new phone. But I wasn't aiming for something na nangangain ng tanga-type of phone. It's just that the 1100's days are numbered and we can't let that happen. My loading business will shut down. Hehe.

Anyway, after not recognizing the ring tone, I thought Boa forgot his phone, so I got up and looked for the source of the irritating ring.

And what did I found on the floor!

My brand new limited edition Nokia E63!!!

So husbands CAN hear after all. Hehe.

I'm still trying to learn its feature. Apparently, nangangain siya ng tanga.  Grr.

But this was a very appreciated present.

Thank you so much, dear husband.

=)

Love.

For The Blood That Were Spilt

An excerpt from W. B. Yeats' "The Second Coming"

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Survival of the Fittest

Chains do not hold a marriage together.

It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads,

which sew people together through the years.

-Simone Signoret

On the 28th of December,  my mom and dad will celebrate their 40th year of being marriage. 

Well, dad will celebrate it alone this year as he is leaving this Friday. Really sad and frustrating. Thank God for clear phone lines, web cam and the net.

We're OCW kids. My dad started working abroad just a few months after I was born and still does after 26 years.

It was an effort to just to keep the communication lines open as back in the 80s, we didn't have a phone line but my grandmother who lives a number of blocks away does and what they do is that my once a week, my dad would call and will tell our relatives to fetch our mom and he'll call back in 10 minutes.

But since telephony was not available to us 24/7, mom and dad wrote each other letters. Lots of letters on ruled yellowed pads.

Mom had a special desk on which she wrote in, and which I inherited when I took over my eldest brothers' room after they got married. 

She wrote week after week after week for a lot of years until finally, PLDT reached our area and we got our own phone.

And then there were the voice tapes!

Every OCW family knows about the voice tapes inserted into the Balikbayan Boxes every holidays. My brothers would push and shove because they want to have their wishlist recorded before the tape runs out of space. Since I was a still a baby then all I ever said was 'goo--gaga'. Whatever.

I just wanted to say how lucky we are that we did not become one of  those broken families whose parent or two worked abroad for a living. My dad wasn't a philanderer (Hello Manny!!!!),  we all took care of each other because he wasn't around and though we've had financial issues from time to time, then again, which family hasn't, right?

I'm proud of my Mom and Dad.

They are such a source of inspiration to us, 5 punks.

 

Spot The Difference

2006

2009

Word World

This is so cute. Wolf is now able to string words to form a thought.

Like this afternoon, he was tugging on my shirt and pointing under the bed, and he said:

"Mama. Baw (how he pronounces BALL)."

Oh my heart, my hormones, and loins.

PLease, don't let this boy grow up too fast.

Heartbreak City

It's painful to see when little children become casualties of fractured homes or when they get caught in between their parent's marital turmoils.

Up until what point can one fight for a union that is legally and spiritually bound before the towel can be finally thrown?

How easy is it to walk away when you know that home is just not that anymore?

Blast From The Past

Christmas party with the Sheila And The Insects band, around 2005(?)

Jhamie and Jay, you were with me on this one, right?

Pic taken with their front man, Ian Zafra.

I was supposed to interview them but then they started serving lukewarm Red Horse so I got hammered early in the evening. And the rest of the evening was a little bit blurry.

Below is a picture of me with Chito during one of the OPM's Xroads Anti-Piracy Concert Series at Gateway Mall.

Cannot believe I was THIS fat!

My post-pregnancy body was better. Ugh.

And I was here as an accredited member of the press. See my ID? But it did not stop me from acting like a fan girl. Hehe.

Snip! Snip!

This boy's hair badly needed a haircut. His last haircut was on his first birthday. He was sleeping and held by Tita Leila so the Manong Barbero had no problem cutting his hair.

Last Saturday, we trooped over at Cuts 4 Tots Glorietta to give this boy that badly needed haircut.

So he was all okay riding in the car, right?

When the actual cutting started, this little boy had created a ruckus so bad that all passers by would stop and probably check what kind of torture we are subjecting this kid to.

I swear, below were the last normal pictures I was able to take because for the next 15 minutes, there had been a lot of screamng, and crying, and screaming.

Man.

Kudos to Ate here who was cool as cuke during the whole time. Used to screaming kids, I guess.

Aaaand, here's Wolfie:

Pogi, noh?

They're Getting Married!!!!!!!! AAAAHHHH!!!

I loooove PB & J!!!

Cotton

"Love is the greatest refreshment in life."

-Pablo Picasso

I haven't been blogging much these past weeks. We have moved again and this time we are practically on our own. Still adjusting. I miss my mom. =(

We still don't have internet or cable connection. It sucks.


I lost my yaya a week ago due to an unfortunate incident (may blog about it soon). Hassle sobra.

And the digicam is with one of my brothers so I'm unable to upload Wolf's latest photos.

In short, everything is still in chaos. >.<. Have not even finished editing the lay out of this blog.

But last Monday, September 14, was marked on our calendar.

September 14, 2009 meant that I have been blissfully married to my big hunk of meat for TWO YEARS. And I/we don't care if you call him baboy. Well, he's MY baboy and atleast he was single and unattached and not married with three kids when I met and married him. Bwahahahaha! (and a lot more snigger)

So how do we top last year?

It was a boon from heaven that a colleague told me on September 2 that Circles at Shang Makati was having 50% off their buffet the whole month of September. And reservations, here I come!

So we totally starved ourselves and apparently was too excited as we were there 30 minutes early. Hung out in the waiting area and took photos. This year was no different. We used a camera phone except that for this year, the camera phone is 3mp. =)

That's the waiting area:



Our obligatory official 2nd anniversary photo:



We were planning a Mafia-style photoshoot (Boa's the mob boss and I'll be his number one assassin and bitch) shoot courtesy of Ronniekins. It's a killer concept, with 1920s costumes and kick-ass machine gun and everything, but there was too much gastos the past few weeks and there's the CHAOS...so that was put in the can. Will try next year.
Anyway...
There's a shot of the next table:


Aaaand Circles. Lots of 'em.


More boring pics:



That's a photo of a huge man in mission:




For our first round, we attacked these wonderful, wonderful fruits of the sea:


Holy Hell! There were LOBSTERS! There were LOBSTERS. We paid 744.++/head so by the amount of lobsters we ate, super-duper bawi kame! These babies paid for themselves! And those mussels were really HUUUGE!

For the second round, we went Asian. Ate some dimsums and tempura. They don't have hakaw though.

Pork and shrimp siomai was good.

Husband took a sliver of the prime rib, some sausages, and for some weird reason, a slice of pizza. Prime rib was good. There was a white type of sausage that would be good on a hotdog bun.


I was a bit full by this time, so I stayed away from the heavy stuff and took some pieces of cheese and nuts and dried fruits and drank a whole lot of peppermint tea.
My tongue is definitely un-cultured as I found the blue cheese and emmenthal cheese quite disgusting. Husband pointed out that the cheeses should've been paired with wine and grapes. And then I realized, emmenthal cheese + lobster = lobster thermidore. Yum.



Husband had another round of the sushi and lobster. But by this point, he is also full.




I, on other hand, had started attacking what I actually came here for: DESSERTS.


This Halo-Halo was gone in a matter of minutes.

Sansrival, some fruit cheesecake and fruit salad.



More desserts. I don't know what they're called but they're all good. Except that brown thing...I thought it was chocolate. Coffee pala. It was too bitter.


And me, still attacking the desserts. =)

---

After two years, married life is still blissful. We're happy. And that's the way it should be.

Ho-Hum

In between lots of things right now. So much has been going on that blogging seems too be more of a chore than anything else.

I'll HAVE to find time soon.

A cup of hot chocolate with Tori crooning in the background. Ahh, bliss.

Awe

Most times I still can't believe that a vile creature* like me produced a beautiful punk like this.

*I do acknowledge that I'm really vile and I have an attitude that leaves a lot to be desired. Which is why I operate within a select and small unit of friends (the way I like it) that I know accepts me for what I am which makes me love 'em even more.

Tough As Nails

Y-O-U.

It would take more than that to scare me.

Have pity on your poor old mom and don't place her the middle of this if it's me that you want.

Are you still sore about this after all this time?

Does the truth still hurt? Are you still writhing in anger?

Come on. What are you waiting for? I was just here all this time, waiting for you.

I do have a warning of my own. If you lay your finger on my son or my family I am so gonna ruin your life you'll rue the day you took up with a MARRIED man.

I am gonna wipe the floor with you.

Why So Quiet

Just plain laziness. But will post a lot soon.

Warfreak cab drivers...

AH1N1 scare and quarantine

A whole lot of birthdays.

'Tis July after all.

---

Let us be lazy in everything, except in loving and drinking, except in being lazy.

- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing -

Happy Kind of Sad

Dammit. Nostalgia is viciously kicking in.

Pheebs, Ling, Jhame: This was MARCH 2006.

This was life when we were carefree.

Pitcherful of Taho. Vanilla Ice Cream. Tuna. Pasta. MyHeritage.com. DVD marathon.

We eat, then sleep. Would repeat the process for the next few days.

Weekends would literally pass us by.

Miss you guys much.

Para Sa Ama ng Aking Anak

Maraming salamat sa pag-alaga sa ating anak. Mahal ka namin!

Happy Tatay din sa lahat ng mababait na Tatay!

More Than Meets The Eye, part 2

"I love tickets!"

-Natalie, from Charlie's Angels

Well, this is a pair of tickets that I am guarding with my life.

CANNOT wait for June 24th.

Autobots. Roll out.

(but not liking Megan Fox as of late with that big head of hers)

Of Cars And Little Boys

Wolf is now little boy, but he'll always be a baby to me. Sniff.

But oh, how he knows how to piss me off: Sticking his fingers into electrical outlet (now child-proofed), hiding things in unconventional places like the oven and the subwoofer, deliberately spilling his milk on the floor.

But he does a lot of funny stuff too. He can do a 'Hulk Smash', an 'Ugly Face, (see pics below), and yes, he can operate the DVD player and play games on a Nintendo DS.

His vocabulary totals to about 6 words: Mama, Dada, Dede, Am-am (food), Mamam (water), Hello, plus a lot of gibberish that only he can understand. He likes to listen to the Across the Universe OST and likes to watch Little Eisteins, Pocoyo and Thomas and Friends on Playhouse Disney.

And for some weird reason, he likes the TVC for Discovery Travel and Living (na-na-na-na, what a beautiful life!)

He absolutely loves to wrestle with his dada. I cringe when I watch them together. Boys.

Our bed looks like a the aftermath of Typhoon Milenyo when they're done.

And this little boy loves his car. I tried experimenting on him, I popped in Pixar's Cars on DVD, and holy moly, he was just watching and sitting still for about 30 minutes!

I love the this big, little punk.

***

excuse the poor quality of the photos. The Nokia E71 is not a phone, it's actually a human disguised as a phone but it takes such horrible pictures that even Photoshop can't do anything about it

***

Yay Mishima!

Hubby bought me this!!!

Scratch off the wish list. =)

Lurve you.

And We're Back On Track!!!!

For nearly a month until today, I was unable to take my anti-thyroid meds because the damn thing was out of stock in every Mercury, Watsons and even those generic pharmacies.

IT WAS HARD.

The symptoms came back full force. Palpitations, irritability, intolerance to heat, depression, insomnia, tiredness, muscle weakness, diarrhea, hyperactivity, incontinence, extreme thirst, and worst of all: loss of libido.

Darn it.

I was supposed to be done with treatment in preparation for my surgery but now I'm back to square one.

I can't take the other thyroid meds (PTU, Methimazole, Strumazol) because I'm allergic. Only carbimazole works.

Finally, I've found a whole bunch of them at Watson's SM Marikina today.

So two more months of medication worth around 4k. Ouch on the pocket.

Any remedies on that?

Meet Bogart/Max/Wacky

I found this mewing homely kitty behind the washing machine a week ago while I was doing the laundry. Mom took pity on him and fed him rice and tinola soup and the critter just lapped it up. Brother Number 4 was aghast because he knew this kitten doesn't stand a chance. Our three dogs Piglet, Colossus, and Maya would kill any creature smaller than them.

So he let the kitten out of the house to find his way back to his mama and siblings.

But for the next two days, this mangy creature would pop in to eat and then leave. And by the third day, he didn't leave after his meal and has been staying at the laundry area ever since.

We've never had a cat as a pet except for this one brief time, before I was born, when we had a Persian Cat named Persia (how original, right?) but she escaped and never returned. We've always been dog people so we don't know squat how to take care of this feline.

And this feline, admittedly is not really cute. He is pure black and mangy, but my mom has high hopes for him. I don't know why she fell in love with this creature. It's really weird.


During the day, he can wander freely at the laundry area. He loves lounging at the hamper and rolling around in my brother's clothes. Which pisses him off. Hehe.

At night, we keep him inside the house in a crate that I used before when I was breeding hamsters.

We can't decide on a name. Mom calls him Wacky. Brother number 4 calls him Max. Brother Number 3 and I call him Bogart.

Which name would you pick for him?

Any advise on how to raise cats are welcomed too.

Love Akira Kurosawa? Here, go nuts!

from MSN News:

Japan launches digital archive on director Kurosawa
Fans of Japan's best-known director Akira Kurosawa now have access to an online treasure trove of thousands of photos, sketches and other materials from the film-maker's life.
A digital archive of 20,000 items went live on the Internet this week, ranging from private photos and newspaper clippings to notes and sketches of movie scenes, the website's operator said Wednesday.
The archive includes scripts with his scribbles and drawings of scene ideas as well as photos taken on the sets of Kurosawa classics such as 'The Seven Samurai', 'Kagemusha' and other award-winning films.
Also on display are photos showing Kurosawa as a child on a rocking horse, relaxing as an adult at his Tokyo home, and dining on a trip to France.
The director died in 1998 aged 88.
The Japanese-language archive can be accessed on the website http://www.afc.ryukoku.ac.jp/Komon/kurosawa/index.html. It was launched by Kurosawa Production and Ryukoku University.

---

Yeah, I'm going nuts too. Enjoy.

Tori Fandom

“If they keep crashing stuff into the moon, the moon's gonna get pissed off, and the tides'll change, and all the women'll start PMS-ing together. Then you guys are going to fucking regret it.”

“Some people are afraid of what they might find if they try to analyze themselves too much, but you have to crawl into your wounds to discover where your fears are. Once the bleeding starts, the cleansing can begin.”

-TORI AMOS

I love Tori Amos. A few years ago, I had this angst up to my ass, and I dealt with it by listening to a lot of Tori.

What can I say, at 450 bucks a CD, it's actually cheap therapy.

Anyway, I must've been living under a rock the last year (or most likely living under a mound of dirty diapers), but I didn't know that they released this wonderful literary piece entitled: Comic Book Tattoo Tales Inspired by Tori Amos (with an intro from Neil Gaiman!)

Wow. I mean, just wow. How could I have missed this? Karen/Ling, have you known about this?

Wish they included Strange and A Sorta Fairy Tale though

And oh, she released a new album today:

Dadgum!

I don't even have American Doll Posse yet.

Hey, husband? Are you reading this? =)