More Catching Up!!!

Told ya hubby was coming home already! And so I didn't have the chance to put up all the posts I wanted to copy from my Coffee, Anyone site. I heard the garage door go up and just saved my work.

He didn't bring pizza this time so I proceeded to making some dinner as I didn't want to make hubby wait.  Why? I don't like him making me wait either. As simple as that. And so I made quick refrigerator concoctions with soft corn tortillas. A set of turkey slices, salad greens, cheese and wasabi mayonnaise in rolled corn tortillas. Then another set of hot and spicy chicken tenders (cooked from frozen), salad greens and ranch dressing.  Voila! That's our dinner. We ate them in front of the television because this is our movie night! I still have half a roll to deal with and hubby's not taking no for an answer.

And so I'm blogging while he finishes this gory movie I can't even look at (so much more eat my dinner at the same time!). I'll wait for the next movie.

So, while I'm at it, here are a few more posts...

TGIF  5-08-09

And so I got a lot of compliments at work today...for being cute wearing a purple and black checkered summer dress and a cardigan. I was not trying to be cute. In fact that was the last thing on my mind. I was just trying to be CLEAN.  Why, you ask? Because most of my jeans and slacks (at least those that still fit anyway) are on the dirty laundry hamper awaiting the weekend for the glorious Downy-infused bubbly spin in my washing machine. Unwearable for now, unless I suddenly decide to give the skunk a run for its money. I'm close to turning the closets inside out because of the busy couple of weeks I've just wriggled from. I came out of it sane and smiling so I can't complain.  I didn't hear a single complaint from THE HUSBAND either...even if I would find him wearing his nice party shirts to bed, for lack of available PJs in his drawers.

I am invoking the spirit of a warm, peaceful and activity-free weekend. I'm doing the incantations right now, can you hear it? Just kidding.

I'm eating lunch right now. It's the left-over spaghetti I made for hubby last night.

As you can see, this is random. I'm just writing as unpredictably as my thoughts go.

Oh, hair! I sort of promised my head that I'll get some weight off it by having my lengths chopped off after the hula show, maybe a couple of inches, maybe more. I will accomplish that this weekend. I need a serious makeover. I'll probably try to sport some salon-cut bangs too. Hopefully it will be different this time since I normally cut them myself when I'm bored. I'll probably have my highlights re-done too since the last one I had was last year. Only if my Vietnamese stylist decides to be generous as I am not willing to spend a fortune at this point. I've even tried uploading my photo on virtual hairstyle sites. I've found a few that suit me, but truthfully, they are really only good for a day, you know.  You step out of the salon as the celeb you've always wanted to look like, but then reality will bite you hard after your first shower. So, try not to take a shower for as long as you can to get your money's worth. *LOL*

Hmm. That ought to pass as my Word of Wisdom for the day. What a floppin' failure...

So anyway, obviously I don't know how to end this post. But since we are in the topic of vanity...

I hope my co-worker (the one who spends one grand per year on eyelashes) doesn't ask me for a ride home today, because I'm not giving her any. I used to let her hitch a ride with me because I felt sorry for her that she's a single mom with a teenaged daughter and it would cost a lot to bring her old car back to running shape. But not anymore. Not when I found out last week from a little birdie that the reason why she's not getting her car fixed or at least buying a cheap used one (cars are necessary here in America for you to function as a useful working adult, Miss Eyelashes!) is because she is going to have a liposuction procedure done in June so she can party in a two-piece with her friends in Georgia this summer. Now that's messed up. It doesn't surprise me, I thought one grand per year on eyelashes is a warning sign enough of screwed up priorities, especially if you're trying to live off other people's time, mileage and gas. And most especially at this time when the homeless and hungry populace is burgeoning into galactic proportions.

Or maybe I'm just jealous of the liposuction.  *duh*

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B.O.  5-12-09

I have B.O. -- not the stinky one.  LOL. I think I am slightly "Burned Out" over everything in general these days. First of, my blog muse has been eluding me lately. I can't think of anything to write about and I can't even be as spontaneous as I am usually with my writing. You know, usually I'll just log in sans any idea what to say and then words would just pour as naturally as rain in a vessel that would magically transform my thoughts, feelings and even my usually incoherent babble into a concoction that makes sense, however little.

Then the laundry! You'd think I would have been able to do that already since I have been complaining about it in my posts the past couple of weeks. NO! I haven't done it either. Blame it on the non-stop activities last weekend. At this point, I just feel like forever-vegetating and staring at the wall at every given free time. Blame it on the hormones too. It's highly likely...

Because I haven't been blogging on coffee breaks and lunch breaks either!!! What do I do? I take off my shoes (ballet flats lately-- with the heels taking an indefinite hiatus from my regular garb) and then walk barefoot around my cube, even once or twice going as far as the xerox machine without shoes on (how barbaric!), then I pour ice over my half a cup of hot-morning-coffee-gone-cold-after-two-hours-of-sitting-on-my-desk so I can enjoy it on the rocks -- giving the caffeine fix its second life. I sit back, relax, put on my reading glasses and read ghost stories online. I'm hooked.

Last night, after a bazillion errands at South Shore (post office, bank yada yada) and an unspectacular haircut, I chose to be catatonic on our couch, with a bowl of leftover chinese sticky rice with chinese sausages on my chest and launched into a movie marathon with hubby.  Thank God it is sort of "fixed" now, hopefully not temporarily anymore. I've been blabbering incessantly about our TV problems and satellite issues in this blog too for the past six months now. It turns out, one of the MAJOR things we needed to do was prune the tree on our sideyard that's knocking our dishes off the alignment with their coordinates everytime the wind blows hard. And it usually does since our house faces the San Francisco bay and sits just a little more than two miles away from the water with that expanse consisting of marshes, trails, a reserve sanctuary for some endangered species I've never heard of (and we pay 30 bucks a month for to help protect them) and NO HOUSES at all.

So, online Ghost Stories and the highly interesting, entertaining and engaging (despite one's burnout) shows satellite are tiding me over this pitiful state of weariness these days.

Or is it just my way of justifying my swelling indolence and sloth? (read: L-A-Z-Y)  

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BURGER KING  5-14-09

We just had a very scrumptious supper. At home, not at Burger King. I cooked Carne Asada and some corn and we threw in some homemade spicy salsa from hubby's aunt. Scrumptious. I made sure to take my Fish Oil pills. Although it will not directly wash out the sinful indulgence that we just succumbed to, at least it's one way of taking the guilt from such cholesterol-building treat. Anyway, the meal was a far cry from what I ate last night. I went to Burger King, which is starting to be a routine on wednesday nights now since I started enjoying my window of solitude between work and hula class. I'd usually head to South Shore instead of home and wait for class time there because it's more practical. Sometimes I'd go window-shopping or catch up on some groceries but it all boils down to sitting by myself inside Burger King, eating a quick dinner (food I'm already getting tired of) so I can just chill and watch people in the remaining time (something I'm NOT getting tired of).

Last night, it was an old couple that caught my attention.  They didn't seem to belong the high-income slice of the population but they certainly were very decent, notwithstanding the old lady's worn-out sandals, her white purse, a faded yellow cardigan and the old man's clothes and loafers.  I worried for them. Are they feeling the pinch of the economy too? I wonder how their home looks like. Do they come to Burger King a lot? Was it a date? Where are they going? Do they have children who can take care of them? Do they have enough money? Do they have enough stashed away for their remaining future? Investments? Are they still affectionate to each other? Do they ever fight?

All those questions because only a few days ago, hubby and I were at Burger King when we had to get something to tide us over while waiting for our salon appointment. I wonder how we looked like to other people. Do they ever wonder about our situation in life too and our relationship? Sometimes, I wonder what our future will bring.

Definitely, I want us to grow old like the old couple at Burger King. Together, for better or for worse, scrumptious dinner or not.

---

Catching up accomplished!

So, I'm logging off now to bond with hubby. His gory movie's done.

A light one is comin' right up!

 

Toodles!

 

IT'S COUPLE TIME!!!

Catching Up!

TGIF!!!

I'm home alone because hubby's still at work. I don't think he's working late but I am happy to let him stay there because he only does once in a while anyway. I want him to have some time with the guys off work, with beer, pizza and some bad jokes. I end up having some of the pizza most of the time anyway. He's usually home early, I'm very pleased with that. But I appreciate rare occasions like tonight because these give me a little window of some "ME" time too in order to accomplish my own business. Which is mostly blogging, anyway. And a little Pilates perhaps (my beautiful mat is one neglected object), a short scented candle and spa music moment OR just picking up the whole house without anyone tailgating me around, yes that too!

I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on some posts.  I owe this blogsite a lot. This is my first baby and contains pretty much my entire journey since 2005. Suffice it to say, I'm lagging on updates which I have already submitted at my Coffee, Anyone site weeks before -- that being my income-generating blogsite. And at this time, I need every cent that comes in from bits and pieces that I write. So I'm going to copy-paste some old entries, just for record purposes. And I'm going to do it quick because I have the feeling that hubby's coming home soon!

SMELLING THE FLOWERS 4-21-09

10 Random Things About ME:

1. I am not a good writer, but I love to write. And I always try my best to write from the heart. So that is something I'm really really really proud of.

2. I have this big passion for life. I embrace changes, crave for adventure (except if it's deep-dark-sea related or cave-moss-spelunking related), I bravely trod beyond my comfort zones when necessary, I try not to sweat the small stuff as much as possible.

3. Back in college, my friends used to call me "MAX" for Maximum Tolerance of People -- even the least likeable ones! Dingdongs, witches-beeyatches and nutheads. The funny thing was, they always gravitated to the shrink side of me, they would flock to me *LOL*. I was never a push-over, just very very patient and tolerant. Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength (Dalai Lama).  And if I do "lose it" on you, then you must be really really something: a very difficult piece of work.  I still pretty much possess the same quality right now. Still patient, but still never a push-over. I can and will still give it to you if you try to walk over me, step on my toes OR other people's toes, whoever they are, whether I know them personally or not.

4. I am lactose-intolerant but I still eat a lot of cheese, drink milk and adore cream-based soups and dishes. Then suffer later. I have prescription glasses but I rarely wear them. I have a cellphone but I usually miss the calls. I have a love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with my cellphone. If it's an emergency, call my husband. I am stubborn like that. And in so many other areas of my life too. Workin' on it!

5. I love to dance. It makes me happy. I have a special spot for ballet (something I used to do when I was little), a love affair with jazz (something I'd like to think I'm good at -- and I'm passionate about), a physical-relationship-of-some-sort, *can't think of how else to describe it but really it is a physical relationship!* with hip-hop, an on and off fling with reggae (oh, that primal beat!)...okay, it's getting hot in here. Now, my heart is in hula.

6. I have this humongous FAITH in God that's why I don't worry so much. I am at peace with HIS Divine Will.

7. Please leave the drama at the door, I don't eat those stuff. Consider me HIGHLY "BRONCHIAL-CONSTRICTION-KIND-OF-ALLERGIC-REACTION" ALLERGIC.

8. I am not afraid of ghosts.

9. I can't go out in the sun without sunglasses -- especially if I'm driving. I get antsy, woozy and sick when it's too hot and bright (vampire ).  So yeah, I'm a sunglass-freak, especially the designer ones that are trendy with real genuine UV-protection lenses. And oh, I hate sunblock.  That's why I love sunsets.

10. I wish I can have MORE time to paint and draw works of art at this point. There is a crazy restrained artist living inside me. Sometimes it screams, but Thank God most of the time it just dances inside my head. *LOL*

---

EARTH DAY 4-22-09

It's about time we take care of something that takes care of us.It's about time that we returned the favor.

It's high time that we squared up to Mother Nature.

Really.

It's long overdue.



 

---

 

 

HALLOWEEN IN APRIL  4-24-09

I could swear I heard some knockin'.Three loud taps. "Bang! Boog! Bam!" was more like it. It was loud, it was consistent and it happened several times. I heard it outside the window of our kitchen sink.  That was two nights ago when I was alone and waiting for hubby to finish his softball game with the boys. STRANGE.  And so I ended up being the most "scaredy-cat" scaredy cat that I've ever been. Normally, I wouldn't call hubby. Normally, I will walk straight into what's going on in a Girl Scout mode, confront the issue and try to be a heroine if I have to.

Normally, I would pretend I wasn't afraid even if I already was.

Normally, I WOULDN'T call hubby and talk to him as he drove all the way home until he pulled up to the garage and I sat on the couch in the corner of our living room, with no TV or stereo on to make sure I heard every sound, with my eyes as round as golf balls -- as protruding as if they were actual golf balls on the sockets, my legs curled up under me, and my head doing a perfect impersonation of a terrible stiff neck so I couldn't see the window on my left and the window on my right, or through the blinds just in case something else was going on out there.

But that's exactly what transpired!

It's the first time I've ever heard that kind of sound new house. Is it the wall or some kind of paneling between the walls giving in? Already!??? Is it a ghost? I'm not afraid of ghosts. If I do see them, I'll probably be more curious or MAD at them for walking over my territory. Suffice it to say, it's the first time that I felt a tiny ball of fear in the pit of my stomach.

I lost half of my usual presence of mind because the knocks were so loud, persistent and real. As if a real person was actually on the other side of the kitchen window, begging me to open it. Then a vision of a thousand or so horror and thriller movies I've seen in my whole life flashed before me. Or what if it was a real person? At first, I thought it was hubby playing a trick again but when I finally reached him on his cellphone, I could hear the sound of the traffic and him speeding away as he talked to me. Was it our neighbor then? What's our neighbor's business banging on my window? Plus, how could he do it if there is a tall fence and some ample space between our houses? Or is it him whacking about his garbage bins so loud I thought it was happening right on our window?

Whatever it was that night, I still have no clue. It was enough to make me avoid the kitchen while I was alone. I think I've succeeded at pretending that no one from within cared about the banging. I avoided the kitchen too since our two sliding glass doors to the backyard are still bare. Hubby said he'll probably add some automatic sensor-activated floodlights in our yard and finally, drapes!!! I do hate the thought or feeling of being watched from outside especially from an area that I couldn't even see from where  I stand. If ever, I'd want to stare back at whatever, whoever's staring at me. It's always better than not knowing at all, right?

How about you?

*And who's that one standing behind you?*

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MONDAYS AREN'T...  4-27-09

...my Mondays if nothing hilarious is happening, at least to me! Hey, I'm not complaining!!! It's just something funny and I still can't get over the fact that I didn't hear the clock radio blasting a hiphop song out so loud on my scheduled alarm of 6:55am. I opened my eyes at...guess what...7:29 am and the clock radio was still singing. I swear didn't hit snooze, I didn't dilly-dally nor procastinate. I just didn't hear it. How on earth did it happen? Anyway, the amusing part is, I usually leave at 7:30am to make it to work. And I still made it. I was just behind by 2 minutes.  Now, how on earth was I able to do that???

I promised myself I'll never ever get traffic violations anymore. I didn't today, so it's all good. I am still puzzled though because I was plucked out of delta sleep at 7:29 am. We slept at 12ish which is our typical shut-eye time.

I think the weekend had been a little tiring. Just some trade-offs for a little fun that we had.  Saturday, hubby and I had a little cute date in the city. We always enjoy doing that, just walking around, watching people, drinking our coffee, hanging at our favorite spots, shopping/window-shopping. We dined at Buca di Beppo over a generous plate of carbonara and a treat of Limoncello (that was awesome!). Sunday, we woke up late for the 7:30 am mass *hmm, I see a pattern here* so we had breakfast at McDonald's first, shopped for some house supplies at Big Lots and went to church at 10:30a instead. Then we caught up with chores at home and got the kitchen going for a simple dinner with my sister and her hubby, and my cousin and her family. That was awesome too.  I made my dad's family recipe of homemade mayonnaise, bought some fried fish at the Asian Store, and hubby made a mean, and rather deadly, pork dish with our NuWave Oven.  It was funny watching him show-off his new toy. He's really proud of it although he regrets having bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond. His friends ordered it online, so theirs came with a dome extender and a demo cd and some other freebies. I knew we should have ordered it online, I could have gotten a Slap ChOP for free. Or that amazing ShamWow -- that can be used as a flood control system LOL, or the Titan Peeler, that isn't called Titan for nothing. I'm a sucker for those! Hahaha.

Anyhoo, hubby's next dream domestic machine is a Panini Maker.  It's even in his 40th birthday wish list. Anyway, if we end up getting one, I'll make sure we won't be too tired using and showing it off on a Sunday night.

I don't want to pull off another 7:29 stunt.

---

OVERDRIVE : Part Two (hundred) 4-29-09) 

I apologize for not having paid some worthwhile visits lately. It's part and parcel of my life to shift on overdrive intermittently. Frequently, rather. I used to hate it, but now, I am so much less unperturbed. It comes with practice. I am currently on my lunch break, writing this in between generous bites of pollo quesadilla that hubby picked up for me last night, or the other way around. And in a biological point viewpoint, have just received a booster shot of epinephrine from my adrenal gland's old reliable medulla.  Pardon my jargon, but stress leaves me when I play on that level.

Our hula show is going to be on May 2nd and I am occupied with rehearsals, dress rehearsals, photo shoots, selling tickets, finalizing costumes to the nitty gritty details. I make it sound so big, don't I? It is serious business if it's something you are very passionate about, no matter how mundane it might be.

Besides, why do things half-baked?

It is a challenge because general rehearsal week happens to fall on hubby's big 4-0 birthday week, something he has so looked forward to for one whole year. I wanted to spend my time with him but I am ending up spreading myself thinly due to the hula practices, coming home late, and impersonating a miserable zombie who pretends to be a normal person until caught offguard (doing Michael Jackson's famous thriller jerks).

We are ordering takeouts for dinner, taking clothes off the hamper because I haven't folded them, and looking for the floor because it had been missing for days -- hiding underneath layers of clutter and gunk. I'm exaggerating, my home isn't that filthy. But the laundry issue is true. I hope to catch up tonight but we have practices until around 9pm. I wanted to have dinner with hubby but it is so much more practical for me to head to the studio's direction than come back home.  Good thing he will be preoccupied with adjusting our satellite dish and configuring the TV downstairs.  Yes, the whole Satellite TV issue hasn't been resolved after 50 million years of trial and error  and blogging about it for the longest time --did you seriously think I was doing it just for the sake of blog advertising?

Speaking of which, a lot of opportunities for paid articles expired on me too. Where can I buy extra 6 hours of time each day? That will be good business, a day-booster pack? Where you can buy extra 3 hours or 6 to extend your day and accomplish all your stuff. That will be the day.

But just as I said, I am unperturbed compared to how I've managed in the past. Practice makes perfect.

I also made a big decision to quit HALF the dancing. I am no longer dancing tahitian beginning this month so that is one hour less for classes. Hubby does not want me to give up hula since he knows that the art makes me happy and I need it for exercise anyway. Perhaps, he's also proud of me.  I will probably be performing less too. But that will depend on the event or show that's happening. I just recently added three very beautiful costumes to my collection and we might have to put that to good use and milk the life out of. We'll see.

Hubby being very persnickety about his 4-0 bash isn't helping. I didn't and couldn't come up with a birthday surprise either. I want to kick myself for shortchanging the special occasion but since hubby had been initially vocal about his wishes at first, I wanted to make things happen the way he wanted it. To cut to the chase, we are left with less than 24 hours to decide because his birthday's tomorrow! Good thing we do not have hula practice tomorrow (lucky a$$~!), but I will not miss his special day for the world. I will drop everything if he wants me to. But though he would flinch and frown at times, especially on the late hours, he lets me go on. He lets me be me even if it required some sacrifice from his end. That is exactly why I want his birthday to be extra special. How do I tell this man how grateful I am???THE HOME STRETCH:

Tonight...I'm shooting out to South Shore to pick up some groceries, call my parents in the Philippines on my cellphone to catch up with them while I eat a quick dinner somewhere, and hopefully figure something out that's within proximate distance. I did save a significant amount for hubby's birthday presents. I will visit the closest craft/party store to pick up some balloons and some birthday doodads. And then dance the night away.

Thursday night (tomorrow)...We will definitely go out for dinner. He did say something about lobster. Please keep your fingers crossed that I will be able to dress up and do my hair and look extra special and hot on his special day, even if inside, I am a snuffed-out candle hanging on to the last threads of my frayed immune system. My allergies have been acting up, my nose is runny, and I am forever carrying a shroud of fog around my head anywhere I go. It's anchored to my sinuses. I hope I haven't gone down with the Swine Flu by tomorrow. Late Thursday night...come home...make sure to treat him extra special , if not knock him out   LOL. And so I can then ninja-crawl my way to the other room to steam-iron my costumes. One skirt alone is made up of 5 yards of fabric and I'm not saying that just for the sake of literary flair.

Friday...work...night...tech rehearsal. Leave all costumes at the studio.

Late Friday night...see what hubby's up to. Midnight...take a shower, clean my toes, braid my hair (hula hair is supposed to be poofy and frizzy and mine is as straight as a bunch of kebab sticks),  pack all show essentials...

Saturday noon...performance. Dedicate it to the man who wasn't fed properly (didn't feel as loved?) during this whole shebang.

Saturday night...if everything pans out as hoped, including hubby's attempt to resuscitate our satellite dish signals (we have two and both have decided to act up on the wrong time like two spoiled brats), we will have some friends and family over to watch the Paquiao Boxing match at home. Over some barbecue and beer.

My big little boy will have a 40th birthday party after all.

And I will sleep soundly on Sunday. With a little patience, we'll get there. We always do.

---

LEVMETAMFETAMINED OUT!  05-07-09

he way, that's not an illegal drug.  It's this Nasal Decongestant stick a.k.a. Vick's Inhaler that I have found myself drawn to for a week now.

Snorting Sniffing too much of it must have dehydrated my cerebrospinal fluid as I have not been able to post anything worthwhile here since Sunday after I hibernated in a long, deep and "alas, no more crazy sched stress" kind of slumber. Yes, I insist on denying the rumors that I fell into coma after doing the hula show (please click this to check out the photos if you haven't already).  It's not true that I got the Swine flu either. But I did start exhibiting some swine-like behavior such as sleeping and eating too much (but what else is new?), vegetating 24/7, snoring loudly I wake myself up every night (and you think I'm just kidding?!), and practically spending most of my time just looking down on the ground because I'm too lazy to keep my posture straight and look people in the eyes. *snort*

It's about time I collect myself before I get booted out from one of the prolific companies I blog for. They sent me a reminder memo today that I have been slacking on my projects and seriously underperforming, and yes, they might have to suspend me one day.  I've never been this delinquent before!!!

So I'm catching up with my writing and cramming on top gear, albeit with my fried brain. *snort*

And oh, I just dipped my toes in a very lucrative online business that promises good returns if you work good enough. I haven't had time to focus yet (since I am still in a swine-like period) but I have to get my ball rolling if I don't want to be threatened to be booted out of that too.  And oh, if you're interested in what I just got myself into, email me at linkmaster@wonderwifey.com. Who knows? It might be good for you too?

 

 

Not as bad as I had thought...

Monday.

I'm not complaining at all.  Not anymore. Hopefully not ever!

We reached our garage from our trip to L.A. at exactly 12:52 am, we put some stuff away until we couldn't hang anymore and decided to leave some things strewn around by our humble foyer. I was having a little bit of sinus congestion and dry throat so I turned my new bestfriend on...that's my new Vick's humidifier by the way, and then went to sleep.

Thankfully, I didn't oversleep. Monday meant the official run of our upgraded computer system, no ifs, ands or buts. Sink or swim. We had a few trial runs with the upgraded software last week, but we didn't encounter any glitch. Kinks usually show up on the actual things anyway, so I was holding my breath for that.

Thankfully again, now almost a day into the new one, I think it's not as bad as I had thought...

Everything's manageable, no major mishaps so far, even if my brain accidentally jumped out last night somewhere in a pothole by Interstate 5.

Sometimes, our fears are way bigger than the actual thing itself.

I don't even know why I'm trying to pull out a word of wisdom out of this experience. The computer upgrade is too menial of an experience compared to my bigger scheme of things.

But maybe that's how the wise come to be.

My Take on Imaginary Friends

=special thanks to my couzin annie who shared "ivan" to me=

I've never felt so beguiled and enamoured (I think "smitten" is more like it) by a character in a book as I've been by Ivan of Cecelia Ahern's "If You Could See Me Now". A real charmer. And he's not even a real person.

But then, how do we prove what's real or not anyway?

You see, Ivan is an imaginary friend. And the book showed a never-been explored side of imaginary friends, their own thoughts and feelings -- what makes their hearts sing and what makes them weak on the knees. It's such a wonderful modern-day tale that crossed the boundaries of usual paradigms we were raised to believe.

Are they real? Or are they real in a totally different sense? I personally think they are.  After all, THOUGHT IS REAL, PHYSICAL IS THE ILLUSION.

Imaginary friends or imaginary companions are pretend characters often created by kids.  According to Wikipedia, "imaginary friends often function as tutelaries (or perform a tutelary function) when they are engaged by the child in play activity. Imaginary friends may exist for the child into adolescence and sometimes adulthood. Imaginary friends often have elaborate personalities and behaviors. Although they may seem very real to their creators, studies have shown that children understand that their imaginary friends are not real.^" According to several theories of psychology, an understanding of a child's conversations with their imaginary friends can reveal a lot about the anxieties and fears of that child as well as the child's aspirations and perception of the world. Some children report that their "imaginary friends" manifest themselves physically and are indistinguishable from "real" people, while others say that they only see their friends in their head.

I believe that imaginary friends serve a purpose.  They are there to answer a child's undefined needs. A child unconsciously creates a character in his mind that fulfills what is lacking in his environment, whether it is deeply-rooted such as love and affection or as basic as company, a "buddy" to play with.

According to Wikipedia, a long-time popular misconception holds that most children dismiss or forget the imaginary friend once they begin school and acquire 'real' friends. According to one study, by the age of seven, sixty-five percent of children report that they have had an imaginary companion at some point in their lives.Some psychologistshave suggested that children simply retain but stop speaking about imaginary friends, due to adult expectations and peer pressure. Children have reported creating or maintaining imaginary friends as pre-teens or teenagers, and very few adults report having imaginary friends. This may, however, signal a serious psychological disorder. Disturbing, hhhmmmmm...

This sends my mind careening wildly into the past. This imaginary friend hype joggled my memory of Jack. Let's just call him Jack because I have forgotten his name since I stopped talking to him when I was around 6 or 7 years old.

Like Ivan, Jack isn't a typical same-aged imaginary friend. Jack (who looked more like a "David" but let's just call him Jack) was perhaps in his early thirties when I first met and "adopted" him. I was maybe four then. I saw him at this department store my family frequented when I was young. It's called ShoeMart.  If you're from the Philippines, you'll know what I'm talking about. ShoeMart then was a small department store compared to the huge empire that it is now.

Jack wore a pair of faded denim bell-bottoms, a white t-shirt and a faded denim jacket. If I remember correctly, he sported a wide black worn-out leather belt and a pair of shiny black shoes. You see, Jack was a store mannequin. In an instant, I was captivated by his smile, his towering height next to me, and a seemingly indestructible build radiating strength and security (hard plastic and plaster, what can you expect?)

Jack and I had wonderful days as friends. He always played with me when he's not "working", brought home food (since we were in the topic of children's needs, that was probably my basic and most sought-after need as a child, hhmmmm), he gave me little trinkets, and we traveled everywhere, parks, the circus, my grandmother's garden. And oh, his wallet. I remember he had a leather wallet too, but he didn't have a lot of money. And I thought he was always sad and tired, but helping him out and being a good friend to him brought me joy. I remember I would send him sandwiches to wherever he worked, and other shallow pretend play like that.

You know what I loved the most about my friend Jack? He always took me to the store where he worked (that, of course, was just pretend play). He told me to sneak in the fitting rooms and wait for him while he worked. He worked hard all day. Can you imagine trying to be a frozen statue and not being able to move all day just to sport whatever was the most popular fashion for that season? I'd wait for hours for him so we could play again and talk about so many interesting things. I remember the fitting room to be cold and clean and bright from the flourescent light. Sometimes he'd sneak in so we can talk about my day or introduce me to his friends and his friends' kids the same size as me. All of them, including the kids worked in that store. They were all mannequins. But they were all nice and good-natured, exactly how I wanted the world around me to be.

Jack was my imaginary friend. Or looking back now, I realize that perhaps, I was his.

 

PS. Did you have an imaginary friend too? What was he/she like? Tell me!!!

By the way, this book started out as my bathroom book (I read it one page per day, a little at a time) but as the story unfolded, I found myself cheating to no end until I got to the last page. If you're interested, grab the book now. I heard from a little birdie that Walt Disney already bought the film rights and will come out with the movie by 2011.

I still crave for more of Ivan. I'm still captivated by his charm and wish that his story never ended.  Perhaps it hasn't. How do we know anyway?

My Peter Pan

- originally posted in Coffee, Anyone? as a commercial post, duly edited to take out the commercial value -

My hubby's  excited he'll be turning 40 soon. If I remember correctly, I never even heard him say 39 when asked.  First it was 36...then 37...then 38...and then "I'm turning 40."

It's quite amusing hearing this young spirit chatter away like that. He's looking forward to aging! But that's a good sign. I know he's going to age gracefully and embrace the rust that will appear with time (including mine).

He's even got frames picked for future eyeglasses that he doesn't even need yet. He's too obvious in pushing the idea too, like complaining about a haze around images at night, or even dry itchy eyes (for prescriptions? try again). I think he's trying his darnest to sport some spectables as a form of 40-ish dashing debonaire fashion statement.

Then, he came home from a doctor's appointment once and was so darn proud of the inhalers and other breathing paraphernalia that he came home with. "I have bronchitis and I think I have asthma too!", he announced like it's a big milestone, laying them all out on a tray lined by a clean white towel in the bathroom, while doing a hilarious rendition of the cabbage-patch dance.

He embraces signs of being imperfect and weak but not to a point of trying to pull off a self-fulfilling prophecy. In fact, you can see that he struggles to prove otherwise.

I love his attitude! He's now even opening up to trying some of my beauty regimen to take care of his skin like my Oil of Olay Regenerist wipes and my secret to flawless skin facial foam wash. Far from being metrosexual still, but assuring me that he's starting to take care of himself no less.

I am also amazed at how dedicated a family man he has become. I flinched one time when his cousin tried to be cool by saying,"That's why I'm not married yet, so I don't have to ask permission from anyone if I want to buy something...and I can do whatever I want, whenever!".  Someday, dear, you'll grow up too.  Hubby still falls for toys for the big boys (those expensive Rolexes, guns and Beamers) but holds back in view of his priorities. He has gained my respect for that, especially when I know he wants them so bad.  He said he doesn't get affected if people sometimes kid him about not wearing the pants. The truth is, we are a team and he wants to wholeheartedly give his share to this very special team. I think it radiates from a sense of FINALLY being happy and whole.  You can't give yourself to anyone if you are still searching for parts of your missing self to begin with. He respects my opinions as much as I respect his. He even said one time, "I have found my ultimate purpose in life, and that is to keep my family happy. My girls, most especially" -- that means my stepdaughter and me.  That's why I'd like to give him the world as much as I can too. It is a mutual thing.

This chicks-of-the-past's former Peter Pan has finally grown up.

And this Peter Pan has chosen to grow old with me.

Off to a Good Start

 

Monday isn't cruel after all.

But I'm telling you, it ain't a breeze to combat the Monday blues, what with my knack for all things disastrous -- on Mondays. I woke up with hurting tonsils again. And I just finished my bottle of antibiotics!

With the hope of starting things right, I started my morning with a cup of a new brand of yogurt. New, for my stomach. A few minutes later, I felt so sick that I was ready to flip over in endless somersault to shake everything out of my system.

But I promised myself I'll make friends with Mr. Monday.

And I am rewarded for keeping a positive attitude.

First comes a free can of Coke, then comes F-R-E-E P-I-Z-Z-A!



I know, it looks more like chowmein than a slice of pizza, but that is so vegetarialicious good! Thanks to our baby shower at work for our IT guy's baby. She's already born too, so at 9 weeks, she came over to her baby shower here at work.

 

And then this:

 (for my Coffee, Anyone? site -- this is my second time to receive this...and it's not given by a fellow blogger, it's given by the admin staff of Bravejournal.com!) Please click on the button to view the main page where my site is announced. Hurry as I only have one week of fame...) And MONDAY is almost gone!

So...Monday and I are calling it a TRUCE!

Thank you, Bravenet! Thank you, blogsphere!

And if you have time, please visit these lil guys too:

Wonder Wifey

Clarisse After Dark

If you do, Monday and I will truly be BFF for life!

Take your Time

I decided that I'm going to change my attitude toward Mondays from now on.

I won't rush into the day, I'll take my time, I'll cherish every second.

I'll live for the present hour instead of the next.

I will not wait impatiently for the clock to do its job. Instead, I'll will make the clock wait for me as I do my job.

And I will try to give my heart to everything, my work, the food I prepare, the chores, even the casual conversation with hubby and friends. I will not float somewhere else. I will be with the moment, stay at the moment and focus on the moment.

TAKE YOUR TIME, EVERYONE! And have a great week, even before the weekend starts!

What! It's Friday again!?!

Days travel in the speed of light these days. It's Friday again! The weekend is always a welcome treat that we always look forward to. Perhaps, that's why the days seem to whiz by like bullets these days. The week is reduced to nothing but a mad scramble toward another weekend.

Maybe we shouldn't look forward to the weekends too much then. The cumulative rush brings us to a future that we usually find ourselves not ready for yet. Kids growing up too fast, old people getting even older (and then we resist the thought of them succumbing to illness and death), important and memorable events with loved ones soon being over, projects finished, another one started...our lives leaving us in restless wonder, where have all my days gone?

So instead of spending time spinning like anxious dogs chasing their own tails, let's slow down and start drinking in the cosmic serenity of the present moment. Every step we take (what's the rush?), every breath, every empty second. Stop and smell the flowers. It's been a cliche because it has proven its legitimacy through time.

Perhaps I should start enjoying, milking every second and maximizing my Mondays.

Let's not rush into the weekend. Because in so doing, we might end up not as parched for a weekend respite after all.

The Future of Blogging

Just so you'd know, I'm thinking of you. Yes, you, whoever you are reading this.

But I am not in the mood to write, or rather, write about anything in particular. Like I've never been aimless or pointless in the past! Yes, the paid projects have been put on the back burner because I just can't think.

I've been obsessed with enlisting my new project "Wonder Wifey" in different blog directories lately. A crashing headache, some floating sensations and amusing double vision later, it's still raking a whopping 0 in Page Rank. I'm not worried. It takes time. I am inclined to believe that the universe is waiting for me to finally make up my mind about what direction I'll take that blogsite to. Anywhere, except for plummet south. I hope. We'll see.

I realized that there is a tremendous benefit that one can get from blogging. I liken it to a hands-on school with self-directed training on at least some computer fundamentals. I am willing to bet that each registered blogger can now write a short HTML or CSS code in her sleep.

The free vocabulary exercise is not to be ignored too. And don't forget, the free exercise of self-expression!

Blogging is changing society and the world.  It is redefining the way we relate to each other and to issues.  It helps us take away cobwebs from our minds and it irons out our thoughts for ourselves and for others. In effect, it is helping us grow.

"The unexamined life is not worth living." (Socrates)

It is a fun and entertaining therapy for everyone too. We learn from people's experiences and points of view, and people learn from ours. We acquire more information than we normally would if we didn't blog, and we share more useful information than we normally would in the classroom or by just socializing alone. And yes, it is a double-bladed sword. Some people are able to tread private grounds without the subject's consent (Hi, Stalker from IL -- "I see dead people, but they don't know that they are dead"). But blogging itself is a blanket waiver. It is similar to opening a window when you want to let the good air in. The bad breeze whisks along with it.

 

Are we on the road to getting smarter? (or just more nosy?)

We have never imagined more than a decade ago that open journals will proliferate in the world wide web one day.

When Doogie Howser MD sort of introduced the concept (check this out: someone transcribed the shows into a real blog, THE PERSONAL JOURNAL OF DOOGIE HOWSER,MD!), I've started blogging in my XT 286 PC back in that era of green monochrome phosphor screens. I still have my entries saved in those 5.25" floppy disks back home -- except that they probably wouldn't have withstood the test of time, now moldy, dusty and warped.  Plus, who has floppy drives nowadays?

Decades from now, are we all going to be walking geniuses who communicate and do everything with computers, shrinking the entire earth into a world of interconnected and networked societies, enjoying virtual relationships and friendships. (And even "consummations"?) 

I am scared.  Technical advancements are more than welcome. But I hope we don't forget the basics of which the tapestry of mankind is still woven from -- affection (a hug, touch or a kiss); being physically present on birthdays, graduations, little league events, Thanksgivings and other holidays; family, kindred spirits around a dinner table, three kinds of ice cream...LIVING, LAUGHING AND LOVING. 

If there is anything, I'm hoping that aside from photo and video applications, there would be some kind of smell-o-vision platforms!

You, where do you think are we heading after this?

Like in 2050 A.D.  A.B.  ("Ano Bloggini")...

Be Careful What You Wish For

Still miserable but better.

That's how I feel now.

If there is anything good that came out of my whirlwind affair with Streptococcal Bacteria, I believe there are two things: I lost seven frala-la-shmalooting pounds (at least that's what the bathroom scale tells me -- and it never changed its mind on me until today) and I'm a little de-stressed in life, simply staying home and enjoying the sickness excuse to not care about anything. I stare at the ceiling, I oversleep, I watch TV, I tinker on my laptop for as long as I want, I don't do chores, I vegetate, I reek of drool, I let body hair grow out, I skip on vanity regimen...and now I'm basking in a joyous moment surrounding an unexpected shedding of some pounds I've always tried to lose-- hoping that I don't gain them back overnight as I have a tendency to do so. I can't even eat. I've lost my appetite. Oh what a perfect world, isn't it?

But I ask myself, will I ever want to go through the same painful ordeal again? The same pain that controlled all of me, since the average number of swallows per hour of humans is 68±8. That's the same amount of exposure to pain per hour I got. More than one torture hit per minute. For 48 hours straight (including sleeping non-sleeping time)...and counting.

And my pain wasn't the typical tonsillitis pain I've encountered in the past. My tolerance might have deteriorated, yes, but I'm still sane enough to know that my judgement is valid. It hurt and it hurt like hell. And I've been enslaved by the power of Tylenol and Chloraseptic (oral anesthetic) for the past couple of days. Not having the bottles in sight was enough to drive me insecure. And they only relieved me by perhaps 25%. I also believed I have developed some kind of phobia for swallowing, or even just the thought of it. Imagine this, my body involuntarily cringes and physically recoils to an impending act of swallowing and in some occasions, I even had to count 1..2..3...go. I would end up bawling after sneezing episodes and I'd be miserable just with the thought of eating. Not to mention the headaches, fever and chills. And the Rheumatic Fever scare that I constantly worried about in my heart, and for my heart.

I remember that before the weekend, I had planned to call in sick at work so I can bring my visiting cousins around in the city (SF). I was seriously tempted to take the sick day because I knew I needed some time off to relax too and perhaps appease the crazy part of me that wants to play hookie at times. I've even contemplated on the details of my lie, feigning an illness that wasn't even there. It never panned out though due to some confusion in schedule and something urgent that came up at work.

Next time, I should really be careful with what I wish for. Because my wishes get granted. And I get them big time. And excruciatingly painful too.

God really has a good sense of humor.

This made me appreciate the spunk of those who are battling more daunting illnesses, and the stoutheartedness of those who are suffering, whether physical or emotional pain.

This one made me appreciate my life, perched in the normal bracket in the spectrum of life, having better health than most people, and days and days of smiles and pain-free living.

And yes, this one humbled me.

Live Traffic Feed - Part Deux

- yesterday, at my own home: www.wonderwifey.com -

This blogsite still smells as good as a newborn baby and I'm already flaking on it? I apologize for not having posted for a week. I've been so busy with personal affairs quite recently and perhaps pushed myself too much that I'm now down with a very painful case of tonsillitis. I tell you, I need to muster all the courage and guts just to bring myself to chug a small amount of water from the bottle. One small gulp is a milestone, and is a love offering to the heavens for undergoing such kind of pain. Really.

I just got off the phone with my health-care provider after a very helpful yet helpless conversation on how to relieve myself of the pain, and after my long drawn out mutterings about my symptoms amidst the pool of drool that can't find it's way down the drain, a very red and tender uvula (I made sure I spelled that right!) that has the potential to swell into the size of Statue of Liberty given a couple more days, and underneath a blanket that reeks of illness.

So I have another phone appointment in an hour with my doctor, who unfortunately, no matter how miserable I feel, cannot do a throat culture for Strep over the phone. That means, I might have to drag my freaking tonsils to the lab. That, or I live with the risk of rheumatic fever from today onwards. I know all that because when I was a kid, they had to put me on prophylactic antibiotics because I was at a high risk some sort and I never fully understood why. And we can't take chances with the heart -- the most important muscle of all.

Anyway, if you've been here before, you might have noticed the musical chairs of links on the right side. I have not accomplished anything that is related to building and boosting this blogsite. I haven't enlisted in blog directories just yet. Haven't blog-hopped, haven't exchanged links, haven't anything!

I'm still trying and testing the final look that I want although I know that a blogsite is a dynamic work in progress forever.

If there is anything good that has come out of my efforts, it is the Live Traffic Feed. I adore Feedjit! Now, I know who stalks me. No, it's not you my dear friends in the blogosphere. It's this guy with a stamp of Glenview, IL. I know who you are. You can snoop here and in my other sites as much as you want. But I must tell you that I know you've been here. I smell it from the grave. I'M SORRY for stuff that happened, but I hope you understand that someone like me can't patronize losers, even for charitable purposes. I've proven that over and over especially on the last blow with you posting incriminating ads of me online which is totally IMMATURE of you and totally FALSE about me. So please respect it if you felt that you got chosen over, which wasn't even the case. Who knows, if I had chosen you and I to be together, either you or me would have been miserable by now. I knew in my heart and from the start that it wouldn't work and the parade of seemingly beautiful, awesome and too-good-to-be-true things wouldn't get us too far. I gave it a chance, it simply didn't pan out the way we had thought. Things happen for a reason. And some things and people really just aren't meant to be.

And I don't even know why I'm wasting my time trying to explain.

*whew*

I think that's the most personal thing I've ever lashed out in my history of blogging. Normally, I hold back on these things. But acute and painful tonsillitis can bring out so much hatred and pain from ghosts of the past. Try to have sore throat like mine! And tell me what kind of hideous monster it transforms you into.

Free Stuff

- written two delirious days ago at Coffee, Anyone? -

I'm giving something away for free. MY TONSILS! *LOL* Oh phuleez....take them away from me.

Aside from them hurting like hell right now (and you know I don't usually use that term -- hell I mean), there really isn't anything keeping my tonsils busy right now. Well, they are succeeding at annoying me and making me burst into helpless tears each time I swallow. AAAARRRRRGH!

Yes, I'm sick. I had to come home at around lunch time and be as sick as sick can be. I was running a temperature earlier. Hot enough to make me delirious. I couldn't even blog with all that free time and stuff. What!?!

So, the fact that you're hearing from me right now means I'm feeling a little better.  Hubby got home early to take care of me and when Theraflu kicked in, I was sweating my troubles away.

My tonsils are still hurting. I guess the pain will linger around for a few days still. I think I'll be off from work tomorrow again. And hey, I'm no happy camper staying home. I'd rather have happy tonsils that are in great shape and not hurting.

Wanna trade?

I'm back!

How  I emerged from the weekend in one piece is a flummoxing mystery that can be archived next to the Crop Circles, the Fibonacci numbers and the wonky mind of the Octuplets' mommy. I'm almost embarassed to relate the flurry (or shall I say blurry) of events that I managed to whisk through from friday night onwards. 

Friday night dinner party at our house -- and cooking before that, cousin's family spending the night at our place, early breakfast before they left for a trip to the snow up in Tahoe, rushing to stepdoe's colorguard performance in Union City, pizza lunch with the guard girls and some chaperones and friends we invited to the show, entertaining the friends back at our house, hubby playing basketball with the guys and us ladies taking a leisure walk, yummy sushi dinner with bro-in-law's family for a niece's birthday, taking our niece and nephew back to our house for a sleepover, staying up for a late night chat -- some real fun and interesting teen talk *LOL*, going to church in the morning chill at 7:30am the next day, cooking breakfast for stepdoe and mom and eating with them together with our niece and nephew who slept over, buying some wine at Napa, hanging out at a friend's house near Napa, then a snack at Wingstop, then dropping off our niece and nephew at two separate houses, passing by bro-in-law's in Suisun and going altogether to a party at my sister's house for the same cousins who got back from Tahoe sunday night. And the aformentioned stops and detours all miles apart! Monday...work work work...then dinner at a cousin's house in San Mateo. That was last night. Then today...work work work.

We were able to make many people happy so it's all good. But don't be surprised if I need to be an hermit in my cave for some time again. I badly need to recoup. That's just how it works. "Tired" is an understatement. And we do need to think about our own concerns soon too. Due yesterday.

So I tell yah, it's really an amazing grace and continuous wonderment where I have been drawing my strength from, considering that I'm off my caffeine fixes for the entire Lenten season.

Crop Circles quality, eh? More like Dark Circles around my eyes.

Overdrive

Happy St. Paddy's!

Most of us at work used to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. Apparently, they left me in the dark! *LOL* I'm the only one wearing an army green jacket today. And what happened to the shamrock stickers people used to give away? And the green frosted cookies?

That leaves me dubious about this year's Halloween altogether. What if I'd be the only one coming to work in a costume...

So anyway, there will be a lot of things on my plate again for the next couple of weeks (months?). Cousins from the Philippines are staying with us this coming weekend. Hubby and I haven't put together any dinner menu yet. We've been arguing about what to serve. He and his sinful concoctions and me and my healthful-wannabe treats! Hopefully we arrive at a hearty marriage of scrumptious yet easy to pull off dishes by Friday night.

My daughter (stepdaughter) and her mom are arriving from SoCal that same evening and hopefully we'll have them over for dinner too. I know, it's strange huh. But her mom and I are friends and I have no negative feelings about it at all. If any, it is on the prospect of having to spread myself thinly by Friday and the days following that.  Daughter and mom are staying at a hotel with the rest of the colorguard team. Their performance in the competition is slated on Saturday here in NorCal (first time for her school to travel far from a competion).  It's going to be a very busy weekend: Making a huge breakfast for my cousins on Saturday morning, and probably sending some to the hotel for daugher and the rest of the girls to snack on. And then getting my cousins all set with their own weekend travel itinerary before hubby and I take off to the colorguard competition which I always enjoy watching. I'm sure we will be busy until late Saturday night. We'll probably eat out with the school reps, the parents and the guard girls. Sunday will most likely be the same. Then back to my cousins' company after the colorguard team heads back to SoCal.

I hope to still be in one piece by Monday. I want to be able to take my cousin's family around and have quality time with them. They come here to the U.S. regularly since cousin and her hubby are both doctors and they attend conventions a lot. But it's quite rare for them to be bringing their kids along since they are usually in school.

A lot on my plate. And I haven't mentioned seeing the tax guy somewhere in between, meeting with a business partner for this online business that's soon to launch (I'll keep you posted, once it starts raking in the moolah I'll show you how too), teleconferences with mentors in between getting the guestrooms ready -- scrubbing the bathrooms, getting the towels and sheets to smell good and look crease-free, stacking up the pantry with goodies, hula rehearsals for our show on May 2nd, my full-time job (ooops, yes I have that too), meeting writing opportunity deadlines..............OVERDRIVE.

But you know what? There's one thing I picked up and stuck to me from a movie I saw some months back about this american guy who was assigned in India to oversee the new call center business ["OUTSOURCED"]. He didn't have fun in the beginning until someone pointed to him that he is weighed down by his troubles with the new culture and environment all because he "resists" it. Then he eventually realizes the best way to "escape" India and get back to Seattle, ironically, is to let go of his resistance to India's culture and people. And he ended up relieved and happy as soon as he opened up.

With the many things that passed through my life, I can attest that it works. Sometimes we are weighed down by our own troubles and hurdles (including sticky situations and difficult people -- who I fondly call "Tweetum Bitchums") because we let these affect us negatively. It all begins with our own resistance to certain things. When we start resisting, then we start harboring negative feelings about them. Our stress is defined primarily by the material we put forth in the first place. If we completely let go, we get to embrace experiences rather than relentlessly blocking and blasting them out as in a silly video game, we ride the current and not stress out against it, we rise and fall with the tide and not drown beneath it, we open ourselves to a new sense of adventure. We simply go with the flow. It takes practice. But then, we shall be able to dance the dance of life, with so much liberation. And surprisingly, with so much ease.

Green

It's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!

Saint Paddy's is celebrated worldwide by those of Irish descent and increasingly by non-Irish people.

My maternal grandmother had never forgotten to recognize her Irish great grandfather. Does that make me "of Irish descent"? LOL. That little drop of Irish blood has very likely long since bled out of me when I scraped my knee in preschool. If it's any consolation, I do have a large collection of tiny polka dots all over me a.k.a. freckles, and will it count if I get visited by the faerie-folk sometimes (in my dreams) * LOL*.

Nonetheless, I still hold a special spot in my heart for anything Irish, in memory of my grandmother, if not my great-ultra-ancient-great-great grandfather.

That includes: Leprechauns (elgk!) and faerie folk,  Tína Nog (amazing legend!), Banshee, Ad Seidh, Finn MacCool, the children of Lir, Cúlainn, the Giant's Causeway, Morholt and the Fomorians etc.  Hearing someone speak Gaelic always gives me a mystical tingle in my heart that I can't explain.

Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Woohoo, I rock (but that was copy-pasted).

Anyhoo, here'a trivia for you (thanks to Wikipedia): St. Patrick's Blue, not green, was the colour long-associated with St. Patrick. Green, the colour most widely associated with Ireland, with Irish people, and with St. Patrick's Day in modern times, may have gained its prominence through the phrase "the wearing of the green" meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing. At many times in Irish history, to do so was seen as a sign of Irish nationalism or loyalty to the Roman Catholic faith.

I'm wearing green for the latter.  And yeah, okay, for my late grandmother.Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona dár gcairde agus teaghlach!

Have a great time tomorrow, you guys. And don't end up like terminal drunks!

TGIF!

It seems like the week barely started and it's already Friday -- AGAIN! I'm not complaining. Days go by faster now I guess, don't you think? (Notwithstanding that I start functioning on Tuesdays) Monday is...what did I say again...my arch-nemesis? Tuesday is my Alka-Seltzer.  Friday is my Partner in Crime! Woohoo!!!  Wednesday and Thursdays are ... just think of them as the middle children hahaha. Sometimes unconsciously ignored so they end up feeling invisible yet self-reliant, which is actually a good thing.

I never had any back pain this whole week.  Thank God! I can't remember what the backache was like anymore. This shows us how our bodies (or life itself?) can be so naturally forgiving in that sense. I only remember not having slept good all week the last time it bothered me. I do hope that's over and done with.

Oh, guess what! I reached a milestone in the blogosphere! I have my own domain now! (I seriously thought I could keep that a secret for a long time until it's really done and ready ) I read somewhere that if you intend to get a domain, you'd better do it fast before all the good supercalifragilisticexpialidocious names are gone. So I did! Thank goodness, Wonder Wifey hasn't been taken yet. It's amazing sometimes when you realize that realistically, no one really is as silly as you are yet. *LOL* I'm not ready to launch it. Still workin' on it...still tweaking it as far as my computer skills would allow, which, come to think of it, really isn't much. But I'll crank it up to full blast within the next couple of months. I'd keep it  SIMPLE, knowing that too much visual noise has the potential to drive me rocking back and forth in one dark corner for days.

Things are looking up in my world these days. Mom and Dad are planning to visit us in the summer.  Please pray that they'll be fit and healthy to make it. I plan to do so many things with them! Such as cram special occasions in one month -- Barbecue on the 4th of July, Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners in that same summer stint complete with Christmas carols played in the middle of the year, a big turkey, some stuffing and gravy...the whole nine yards. I hope it pans out for us. Sometimes, we really just have to adjust our sails to the wind... Reframe our thinking and function outside our rigid "programs".

I can't wait for the weekend. There's not much work left to do in our house. Hubby just needs to hang the four old Tuscan Wine Label Wall tiles I ordered eons ago and one wrought-iron candle holder wall art.  The home office looks immaculate and pristine now too (thanks to one evening when hubby had to stay late at work -- ergo, no one bothered my cleaning spree). It's a pretty serene hideaway for me, especially that I left one wall empty. I can stare at it and recharge for a good length of time.  I still want the "coastal" theme for it though I haven't gotten anything to make it resemble a cape cod villa. A deserted island, maybe. It takes time, but at least, compared to previous posts, I can say that things are finally looking up in that department.

Hubby's 40th's in April but I still don't know what to do. I'm thinking of taco stands, 40th Pinata, and other festive stuff. We also have a hula show (ho'ike) upcoming for our halau on the first week of May where I'll be doing three dances. I'll probably stop doing shows after that.  I love to dance, but since I'm totally challenged in making my own costumes, I think it will soon be time to quit -- the performances at least. If I can help it.

I hope some kind of news about a baby will come in my next posts. I wish. I'll drop everything just to have my own little one now. Anyway, it's Friday the 13th today.  I'm always lucky on Friday the 13ths! Got promoted on a Friday the 13th TWICE in my life in different jobs, won something, found something, ate someting good hahaha...stuff like that.  I think I'm going to get lucky again today. 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, PEEPS!

So S.O

-taken from Coffee, Anyone? -- March 9, 2009

Monday and I are really arch-enemies. If you are my regular reader (I wish!), you'd know that very well. Plus, it's that time of the year again to set my clock forward an hour. Oh drat!

I was falling asleep on my way to work. I haven't had enough sleep since Thursday.  We went to the emergency room Thursday night and stayed until midnight to make sure my mother-in-law was fine after she hit her head when she tripped and fell in the care home. We are so upset about it.  The personnel didn't even call 911 and waited instead for her next of kin to arrive and bring her to the hospital, which of course didn't happen until everyone got off from work (since we were all informed it was really "NOTHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT").  It turns out that she had a bleeding cut and a ginormous purple-blue bump on her forehead and her left eye had swollen shut like she just lost to a boxing match.  She stared at me at the ER and said "You're very beautiful-beautiful" and reached out to touch my cheek and sweep my bangs away from my face...which led me to suspect that she was suffering from an undetected neurologic deficit following the head trauma.  Or maybe she's fine and just telling the truth (LOL). Anyway, the CT scan was okay and she's so much better now and the bruise has finally subsided.

Hubby's siblings and their families visited her yesterday and later on got together in our house. My busy kitchen was teeming with food [and people] all day. Hubby initiated a movie marathon from his laptop which he hooked to our flat screen.  For starters, we saw Taken and then Gran Torino and some B movies thereafter. But don't ask me how we got the first two in his laptop. A good samaritan uploaded it one good day as hubby was fixing his car.  We capped the day with a bountiful dinner from my stovetop (stew and veggies) highlighted by hubby's pork ribs that he grilled in the backyard.

The day before that [Saturday], one of my girlfriends came by to visit and slept over so she was with us during the family affair yesterday too.  I really didn't get that much ZZZs because from Saturday night until 3:00am (DST or non-DST, I can't even remember...or figure out), we were up talking and catching up as we watched old movies while hubby dozed off in the couch -- he didn't want to feel anti-social by leaving us alone and going up to the room to "offiially" sleep.

That explains why I've been forever at a loss of words at work today. My brain and tongue seem to have suddenly gotten into a terrible lover's quarrel, disagreeing at every form of verbal expression that needed to be uttered until I started to wonder if the weekend gave me a little stroke and left me aphasic...and narcoleptic ("stoned" is perhaps more befitting though I've never ever been that, really).  Even my basic mathematical skills -- usually, I can do some amount of elementary mental arithmetic -- seemed to have gone on strike.

That's how I usually emerge from the weekend.  But my mom-in-law's fine, she even thinks I'm beautiful -- even if that opinion is probably rooting from the recent head injury *LOL*, I got together with a friend from college, we had an impromptu joyous family gathering at our house ...and have I told you, my backache's gone! It disappeared as unexpectedly as it has come.

So, I still have so much to thank God for, however spaced-out-from-the-sleep-deprived-weekend I feel.

Weekend Gift for Myself

-posted at Coffee, Anyone? last weekend-

We are each responsible for our own conduct. Galatians 6:5 (NLT)

Your choices control your calendar and, as a result, your lifestyle. Your choices are far more powerful than your circumstances. You may not like how complicated your life has become yet, with very few exceptions, no one is forcing you to keep your life complicated.

 

You have the power to simplify your life.

 

The Bible teaches, “We are each responsible for our own conduct” (Galatians 6:5 NLT). To me, that means God expects us to assume responsibility for our lives and to carefully choose how we spend our time.

 

That’s why I’ve spent years teaching people to discover why God placed them on this planet: What is your purpose for being here?

 

Ultimately, it will be the donation of your life that will count far more than the duration.

 

In other words, it’s not how long you live – or even how much you cram into how long you live – it’s really about how you live.

 

Here are three essential steps to simplify your life:

 

· First, figure out your purpose, and then let your purpose guide the goals of your life.

 

· Second, organize your activities based upon your purpose.

 

· Finally, harmonize your schedule with your purpose; that is, bring your activities into agreement with your goals.

 

You have just enough time to do God's will while you’re here on earth. You’ve been given just enough time to fulfill your purpose. When you try to do more than God planned for you, it’s only natural that you’ll find yourself constantly out of time or stressed over your schedule.

 

If it doesn’t fit the purpose of your life, God doesn’t want you doing it. In fact, he may be overjoyed that you finally got the message and stopped doing meaningless activities. He may even want you to add “rest” or “have fun” to your to-do list.

 

My prayer for you is that you will find relief from stress and a new sense of satisfaction as you do only the things God created you to do.

 

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life.

All rights reserved.

Aaaaargh!!!

 

--written 2/26/09 for Coffee, Anyone? ---

Since I have been feeling kind of in the pits lately, my klutz factor has been busy wreaking havoc wherever I tread. I broke my phone at work on Monday when I accidentally yanked it off too hard. The manager kidded me that it was going to be deducted from my paycheck, a  scary joke of course, then he asked if I wanted to keep the audio piece so I can frame it and hang it alongside the other casualties of my destructive abilities.  They replaced the broken part and threw in a piece of tootsie roll for good karma. And then I almost let 3 innocent bottles of Magnesium Chloride liquid freeze as I completely overlooked the 1º temperature.  Good thing they caught it just in time. No wonder I've been having a weird gut feel in my chest (or somewhere in my body where gut feels cultivate themselves), that something wasn't right and slipped under my nose again.

I haven't been cooking either. And yesterday, I almost nodded off at a stoplight. Go ahead, Clarisse, start a personal collection of traffic violations only two days after you've settled your last fine...

Worse, I have let some opps for paid posts expire on me! ingrata... Inspiration eludes me and motivation has really been quite scarce lately as I have been pouring my attention and energy somewhere else. Blame it on gravity, the moon, or hormones going haywire.  Yeah, all of the above. This morning, I woke up at 7:18am because I ended the alarm clock's incessant cries by turning it off at 7:00am instead of hitting the snooze button.

I think I'm already withdrawing from caffeine on the very first day without a cup. My body is slowly decaffeinating and it's not liking it. But why the heck did I start writing this post again? Oh, I wanted to tell you about my dream before it fades away throughout the day. Last night, or was it this morning. Yes, I believe it happened between turning off the alarm at 7am and waking up looking like a wide-eyed human electric shock at 7:18.

In my dream I was surrounded by fairies. First there was one, she introduced herself as "Cavalieri". And then there were two...and then five.  And not only that, it seemed as if all the kids' imaginary friends started to congregate around me. They were all talking to me but no one else could see them and I felt embarassed in my dream that hubby caught me speaking to someone, this Cavalieri...who was complaining that I didn't "see" her yesterday. Funny. 18 minutes seemed like an eternity in dreamland. There were sweeping images of me living in a Victorian house and discovering a secret passage to the attic and a staircase to the basement; Imelda Marcos (the heck!) behaving like a lowly and ordinary country lass barging into my room barefoot (Imelda not wearing shoes!?!) but she was wearing stockings and she handed me a pair of signature sunglasses (woohoo!) but I tried it on and my right eye couldn't see as if it was a Harry Potter trick and then I worried that I was going blind as a complication of severe health issues; my uncle was also in my dream complaining about the scent of brooms which incidentally multiplied before my eyes; then my two old friends and a smorgasbord of other images one can only summon vividly in REM sleep.  It was strange yet entertaining. I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Really quite interesting...

I dabbled in dream analysis in my graduate school courses, that's why usually, dreams end up making me smile. They sort of rub the mounting yet unrecognized feelings on my face. And in the end, I'd give it a knowing nod. One thing about dreams, they cannot be defined by dream dictionaries. They are contextual and subjective. They lay snuggly on the life of the one who had the dream, with threads attached to the mind, the heart and even the physical aspects, and later on to be interpreted in context and according to the different theoretical frameworks of Psychology that one adheres to. So anyway, enough of this.

Among stuff that I'm revealing (of course, there are some that I'll keep) , well, perhaps it's all because I just wrote about hoping to have a Victorian house with a B and B one day. And Imelda Marcos' cameo role? I'd like to think that it's because no matter what, I still try to see the weak and human side of a person notwithstanding how powerful or vicious one has been-- and most importantly, the goodness in each one. And freaking health issues...I've been wrestling with them lately, those which aren't mine, those that befell me, and the ones in the imaginary category, which accounts for 98% of the time. And yes, I've been reading about imaginary friends too. It's entitled "If You Could See Me Now" by Cecelia Ahern. It's my bathroom book at the moment so expect that I won't finish it for a long time since I'm usually done with my business before I am able to turn a page. Ooops, too much information. I'm really losing it.

Blame it on withdrawal from caffeine. I'll get over it eventually.

 

Wednesday's Child

...is full of woe. That's what the poem says. Anyway, it's Wednesday and I can't think of anything sensible to say. Well, half of the time my posts really don't make sense at all anyway but I'd like to think that on the other 50% of the time,  my post does hit a homerun at least. So today is one of those garbage gibberish. Maybe. I usually just go with the flow.

Monday was...well, yeah, I don't do Mondays. Lately, things have been unstable. You know how it is when at last you strike a balance in your life and then all of a sudden, something happens that pulls the rug from under your feet. That's how it feels.  Well, life is like a box of chocolates (Yes, Forrest)...you'll never know what you're gonna get (Run, Forrest, run!). It's about some health concerns for the two people I love and who I wish I'm there for. I hope and pray that my mom and dad will be blessed with good health and healing and will be spared from further nerve-wracking stress. For those who haven't yet experienced that, let me tell you...medical tests are like double-bladed swords -- they are a good way to diagnose and design a treatment plan, but they also have the ultimate power to drive you nauseous and vomiting.  The results, I believe, are the only pieces of paper I know that has the power to tear right into one's heart. I hope everything goes well. We might later find out that there is really nothing I should have worried about in the first place. You know how sometimes you brace yourself for the worst and then nothing happens? You close your eyes even longer, hold your breath and clench your fists and it's still pregnant silence...no aliens, no tornado, no rapid gunfire.  It's hard when I'm far away. I can only hope and pray while I wish I am there with them every step of the way. I want to take care of them and protect them and reciprocate how much they have done for me. Thy will be done, Lord...(but here's hoping you can change your mind, Lord).  Just kidding. I am one to embrace God's plans, I know He always has something up his sleeve that is even more beautiful than my human mind can ever create. So I await.

So anyway, let me tell you about the weekend. The truth is I'm really lazy to go through the details. Let me just tell you that hubby had a blast with his friends up in Tahoe and the photos were amazing. He came back with three humonguous pine cones for me (I can see the question mark over your head...trust me, it's sweet). As for my movie marathon, us girls had so much fun too. It graduated into an impromptu slumber party. Followed by the Oscar's over a dinner of leftovers last Sunday. I did manage to squeeze in going to church too! My first time ever to attend Vietnamese services...Perhaps never again. I have nothing against Vietnamese, it's just that I'd rather have it on my dinner plate. Seriously, Vietnamese or not, it's easier to concentrate when you hear words that you can comprehend. It would have been different with the Mexican service because I can understand Spanish. Or under any circumstance, we can just speak and listen in the universal language which only our hearts can hear and speak. It's the language of prayer. Surprisingly, everyone knows it, some just refuse to use it.

It's Ash Wednesday today...for us Catholics, we normally think of what to give up as a sacrifice so we can be in communion with our Lord Jesus Christ's suffering on the Cross.  Catholic or not, Christian or not, believers and non-believers alike...This whole thing is really all about LOVE and what we want to do to NOURISH IT. After all, don't we make sacrifices for our spouses/bf/gf/bff/abcdef??? When we offer sacrifices, we give up worldly things we are attached to the most, and thus we strip ourselves of the things that obscure our senses -- these things that inhibit our ability to recognize what truly matter the most. When we make sacrifices, we purify our minds and hearts in the process so that we can welcome more goodness in. This includes being sorry for our sins and FORGIVING those who wronged us. For spiritual skeptics, you very well know that this has a scientific and psychological value too right? In other words, and in any language or discipline, when our hearts are clean, love begins to grow, and goodness comes in (and stays).

So...what am I giving up for Lent? Blogging.  And you know that I'M KIDDING -- because I have paid articles to make and a long list of opps that need to pay some bills. So what am I giving up for Lent? There are three important things but I'm not telling. I'm not going to ask you what you're going to give up either, and you don't have to tell me.  Just promise me that you'll be doing it for the right reasons and that you'll make it good. 

Let's all make it good. Hmmm. I think this post made sense after all.

---written 2/25/09 for Coffee, Anyone? ---