Saturday, December 31, 2011

...and a Happy New Year, hopefully 2012 will be a lot kinder to all of us

[For VS]


I was looking out this window as you were preparing our lunch, roughly 2 years ago. You told me, sit down, I can manage. Then you brought out a pot filled with sinigang na bangus. You cooked this? I asked in surprise, and you said of course I did. But I never thought that you could cook. You answered, in your usual unassuming demeanour, there was little need for me to cook when your Ima was still alive. It never crossed my mind that you could cook, and that you could make sinigang that tasted as good as home....

[To VS, who passed on last December 28. Take care forever.]

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas, It's The Time Of Hope

Roughly 5 hours from now and it will be Christmas.

It is very busy out in the streets. I chose to stay indoors. Sadly, I am not with my family (or whoever remains of my family, as some members have already passed on), and my aunt is very sick. I spent my Christmas last year with her.

I gave the security guard some brownies and drinks, both of which I bought at a nearby bakeshop.

There are some things I feel a bit sentimental about (considering that I am not a very sentimental person :) ) but overall I have been blessed with a good year and as such I should celebrate Christmas with joy and hope.

I hope that you have a blessed Christmas as well.


Adrian Eröd: "Adeste Fideles"


Thursday, December 22, 2011

A Star Named Joe

[If Paul Simonon would have been my lover, then Joe Strummer will always be a star in my musical firmament.]

JOHN GRAHAM MELLOR
aka JOE STRUMMER
21 August 1952 - 22 December 2002

Rest in peace, my dear star. Your music lives on. [Played on video: Coma Girl]

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Wrath of Sendong

No such thing as ceasefire, Christmas, or any form of holiday as far as the wrath of nature is concerned.

Rescue operations at CDO. Photo from this site. Read more at the Mindanao News website.

Typhoon Sendong struck Southern Philippines specifically Cagayan De Oro and Iligan and is said to have left at least 327 people dead and many families homeless, no thanks to landslides and floods.

If you wish to help the victims, please make sure that your donations won't fall in the hands of the crooks. Sadly, people who take advantage even of situations such as this do exist. Please just send your donations to reputable charitable institutions such as The Red Cross.

I would be more than happy if I am able to course at least a few visitors (even just one) a day to the links. After all, as a Filipino, I have a social responsibility, and using this blog is one of my means of fulfilling this responsibility.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Shopping For Christmas Gifts


(Well, well, who do we have here? )

Shopping during the Christmas season is one of my least favorite activities. I love giving gifts, but I hate having to brave the crowd. During the holidays, the malls, bazaars, bars, and probably every public place in the city are filled with people. Pickpockets seem to be in every corner as well.

Fortunately, I completed my shopping a week ago. Surprisingly, I had a lot of fun shopping this year. (Maybe because I did a lot of shopping in Manila, and there is not a lot of places to shop here where I am stationed right now. *sob*) 

I bought a lot of beauty products for the ladies and the men (yes, them too ^^) in the workplace. There are many new great products out in the market that I have only come to know recently. My favorite thing at the moment is this.

(Yes, it's quite embarrassing that I am talking about a beauty product - of all things! - in my blog. But now I know why women are going ga-ga over BB cream. I now have Etude House's Precious Mineral and I, too, am crazy about it. So sue me. :D)

I also had a great time shopping for wines and toys. It has become a habit of late to look into labels of toys, just so to avoid buying products that can be potentially toxic. Christmas, after all, belongs to children, and it would be best to give them gifts that are both enjoyable and safe.

So now, I am almost done with wrapping the gifts, and am getting ready to go to bed ...

*****

By the way.

The blog's template has already been modified. For 3 years, my blog has had the same look. This new template is a little more updated but is structurally similar to the past design. I like the blog to maintain its simple, uncluttered look that I cannot achieve with multiple-column templates.

One week to go and it's Christmas day. Time goes so fast, indeed ....

Friday, December 16, 2011

To Paul, (arguably) the coolest guy on the planet


<3 PAUL SIMONON <3

You are probably the coolest guy to have ever lived on the planet.

(I know, I once said that I love Joe Strummer more, but I think you're cooler ... and a lot more like my boyfriend, who passed away more than 2 years ago.)


My late boyfriend, whom I adored and admired so much, took after your coolness. He lived by Joe Strummer's ideals, dug deep into Mick Jones' pop sensibilities, understood Topper Heddon's rebellious streak. But, if he were alive to this day, he'd probably deny this, but I'd say, in my most biased assertion, he was very much like you.

While it is only coincidental, he also played the bass guitar. He was a left-handed punk bass player, a really mean one at that.

To be idolized by men may feel like identifying with you in a fraternal manner. Maybe some may even look up to you as a father or even a godfather. I can surmise that many women see you more like a good-looking man worthy of a dream. I wonder, given the above situation, to what category my adulation qualifies.

But does it matter?

I came across this piece of news, and I am convinced that you are (still) my favorite cool guy on the planet.

So to you Paul, may you have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my heartfelt greetings coming from the opposite side of the world. You can never be my boyfriend, but you were my boyfriend's hero, and my idol as well. That, for me, is more than enough. :)