Jandrea...so far

What do you do when you want to share a piece of news with someone who is no longer there? You just say it aloud (with feelings pa!) as if she is just beside you. Then you tear up a bit (ok, not just a little bit) when you realize that she already knows and might even be instrumental in making it happen from where she is! I miss you terribly, Letty!

Was raining cats & dogs, and mice, & chickens, & pigs, & goats, & sheep and what have you in our area! I felt like singing "Old McDonald had a farm" but then again, no. Baka kasi lalong lumakas pa ang ulan!!!

Got a new induction cooker two weeks ago after the old one got busted due to a power surge! Hard to let the old one go because it cost a pretty penny and I had not milked its worth just yet. I also really enjoyed cooking on it with its super fast heating feature which allowed me to cook stuff in half the time it usually took in a conventional stove. But that's the way it is! While trying to cook on it for the first time, I was very careful not to cause an overload again like the last time. But the size and design of its plug made sure that this would not happen as it hogged the two outlets so that no other appliance's plug could be used there. That created a problem because I had to use a range hood when I was cooking so that my place wouldn't be filled with the smell of whatever was in the pot or pan! I also had to cook rice at the same time if I wanted our hot meal to be ready all at the same time. But it was not to be with the gigantic plug lording it over two electric...

Blame it on my many years of exposure to diplomatic practice and keeping to a tight schedule in academe, but I really get upset when people disregard appointments and agreed-upon meeting time! I have been told it is because I am not a Filipino when I try my best to come on the dot! I think we should rise above cultural expectations or we will forever show disrespect for the time of others! It should have nothing to do with what is tolerated by our society but coming on time should be looked upon as an action of being kind to others. Of showing appreciation for the effort that people put into coming on time. Of being considerate of others for not having them wait for us unreasonably. At times, I am guilty of being late and it is something I do not take lightly. It doesn'...

I think I have developed an aversion to riding taxicabs driven by men in red t-shirts. A day after election day, K and I rode a cab to school. Our ride with Cab driver #1 started out pleasantly until our conversation slowly turned into his tirade against existing ills in Philippine society, e.g. unfair taxation. Still feeling very tired after our stint as PPCRV volunteers the previous day, we just didn't have the energy to deal with his negative vibes. So the remaining 10 minutes of our ride seemed sooooo long! In the afternoon, we hailed a cab to go to PGH. Again, it was driven by a red-shirted man wearing a baller by the winning presidential candidate. We had not been in the vehicle one minute when Cab driver #2 decides he doesn't want to bring us to Manila. He said he didn't know where PGH was and where Taft Ave. was. Even if I gave him directions, he said he didn't want us as passengers. He reasoned that he doesn't even go to Quiapo. Oh my! I didn't want...

     Oh, my! It's as if that word was invented to describe me! Because I do have quite a number of unread books under my bed and in shelves all  over my house and my office. I can't resist book sales and I would rather buy a book than a new dress. But of course, there is a fervent desire to read them ... someday!      But of course, it is not for me alone. Because if such a word exists then it means it describes human behavior which occurs naturally in the culture where the word is used.   Like the many words there are in the Filipino language for rice - bigas  for rice grain, sinaing  for boiled rice,  sinangag  for fried rice,  bahaw for cold, leftover rice, etc. There are as many words for rice as they are found in our everyday activities.      And so I wonder whether there is an equivalent of tsundoku   in the English language. I couldn't come up with one word that was nearly the same....

Time to sip chamomile tea... Oh so deliberately Time to really listen to the music ... Word for word, note for note Life, not gulped by the cupful Memories of first love, savored Like watching butter slowly melting on oven-hot rolls Like watching the soft blue of clouds Seamlessly turn to orange And then grey Solace, at the end of day