Things that made my day...

1. Yesterday, I received this lovely postcard from Rachel. Wow! I love it Rach! Thank you so much.

Vigan, earlier known as Cuidad Fernandina, is one of my dream places to visit in the Philippines.

2. Sent my first box full of summer clothes addressed to mom this morning. It will reach home after two to three months, though. However, it eased a little bit of nostalgia because one thing is clear: I am going HOME.

3. My kids' eager voices over the phone last night. Their excited voices still lingered.

4. A nice, long call to the kindest person on earth. Thank you sweet sleepyhead for sharing a good laugh.

5. Amelie Poulain's antics. I could watch your film again and again.

My cousin and S.A.D.

I got a somewhat sad e-mail from Maris, my cousin who's in Chicago right now. She was telling about me about having a S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) syndrome but I told her, that couldn't be possible as winter isn't here yet. Well, I was wrong because she is actually experiencing some distress right now. Symptoms like oversleeping, avoiding company, lack of appetite are just a few. After comforting her, I also realized that I, myself, am in this situation, too.

I have been a sleepyhead since the start of autumn and lately, I am in no mood for socialising . What's worse, my appetite has left me. Yikes. This is serious.

I am obviously stuck. Maris, you're not alone.

If you are in my situation, how will you cope up?

Fun Meme from Rach

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
"It is said, and I agree, that politics is out of place in the lecture room. It does not belong there on the part of the students...Neither does.." An article entitled "The case for value-free sociology" written by Max Weber. It's part of a new edition of the book, Seeing Ourselves.

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
Wow what a good start of an exercise! I should do the same with my right arm. :-D

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
I couldn't remember...

4.Without looking, guess what time it is?
–7:30 a.m.

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
–7:29 a.m.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
–birds chirping

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Yesterday because I had my class. I walked for about 10 minutes from my apartment to the teaching building. Oh another 5 minutes from the ground floor up to the fifth floor. Exhausting. But it was worth it because my students were very outspoken and lively yesterday.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
My kids and honeypie's photoframes.

9. What are you wearing?
My pink pajamas. :o)

10. Did you dream last night?
Hmm yes, I did. It was vague but it was like a celebration of something. Everyone in my family was in a gay mood.

11. When did you last laugh?
–just a few minutes before I started with this meme. Hehe *alone*

12. What is on the wall of the room you are in?
–nothing.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
The other day, a butterfly appeared inside the classroom (at the sixth floor)..odd, right? But "his" company made me smile. I always thought that butterflies represent something. And at that day, it was my eldest brother (deceased) visiting to remind me of his birthday.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
Fun and entertaining. I must thank Rach for this chance.
It actually made me a little mushy this morning.

15. What is the last film you saw?
In America (for the second time) and guess what I had discovered? It had a tagalog subtitle! :0)

16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
A condo in Manila, car for my elder brother, a lot (bigger one) for my mama, books, clothes and educational plans for my kids and a vineyard in Austria. Oh and piece of land for the poor, too.

17. Tell me something about you that I dunno.
I am a lazybone.
Daydreaming is one of my favorite habits.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Eradicate poverty. If I were a multimillionaire, I would give the poor a piece of land to till. I will start in the Philippines and I will try my best to create a brand new Philippines where everyone can experience a worry-free kind of life.

19. Do you like to dance?
Yup. Sometimes when I have a company.

20. George Bush
Hmm President of the US and a good friend of Tony Blair. What else? hehe

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Oh my first born is a girl and I call her Rayla Elizabeth. My second child would be "China."

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
My baby boy's name is Judien Lawrence. For my second child? Reinhard. :o)

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Yes. I would love to live somewhere in Europe one day.

24. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Welcome home Siena. Have a great life with your papa, sister, brother and your favorite granny.

25. 4 people who must also do this meme in their journal.
Sir Sonnie, Thess, Larry and Kala.

Cheers everyone and have a lovely day! :-D

Any wishes? ask a very powerful Buddha...

I could read what Justin was wishing for...a son? I believe so.

What do I always ask from him? _______, _________, _________.

If you were inside, what would you pray for?

A buddhist?

A believer, maybe.

What I love most about these buddhist temples is the smell of those incense sticks when lit. It always gives me some kind of enlightenment and deep appreciation for this extraordinarily odd but enticing culture.

Lake House and Keanu..

After watching the "Lake House" yesterday, my love for KEANU had been rekindled hehe.

Just one sentence to express my deepest love for him coz someone might get really, really jealous. :o)

To all the globetrotters out there...

This snapshot is for you...

Have a great weekend everyone!
Mwah!

Massage parlors and their rates..

In Shanghai, massage parlors are very popular. Want to know their rates? Please check the pic.

There's only one question that bugs me until now. Why is Thai massage more costly than body massage? It was a great pity we were not able to try this.

Actually, I was urging Reini to try but he simply declined. Hmm nice guy hehe. :-D

Grape moment

My wonderful grape moment with Cassie in Xi'an.

Good and Bad Numbers

The good numbers are eight (fortune), nine (longevity), two (easy life), three (lively life) and six (continuity).

The bad numbers are four (associated with death) and seven (connected with mourning).

This piece of info is from a Chinese numerologist named Raymond Lo. (Thank you)

This blog came to mind because I had one student who told me this morning that she is very particular when it comes to choosing numbers for her mobile phones (I think she has three). I asked why. She said that here in China, gathering auspicious numbers is a part of life. And they would pay a big amount just for a set of lucky numbers.

After hearing this, I remember my old mobile phone number which was 13844777444. Now I know why it was so cheap!

Note: Don't call the number anymore, pls. It was disconnected after a week's use. :-(

Kitchen that is fashionable?

I was on my way to Carrefour this afternoon when I saw this. Hmm interesting kitchen. I should find out how it looks like. Soon. :o)

Paper bag na censored?

I bet ladies will love this shopping bag.
If you were a shopaholic, would you buy if you would get this kind of paper bag?

Note: Thanks again to Kuya N. for the pic.
To the viewers, please write a note if it may cause a big trouble.

Cool Shopping bag!

For almost 3 years of staying here, I think I have already collected hundreds of shopping bags. The problem is how to get rid of them as I was keeping them that loooong. It's just hard to let go lalo na ang mga ganito hehe.

You might wonder how I get to acquire such. Dito kasi may mga super mura din (but semi-high end looking hehe) so kahit bumili ka ng worth 50 yuan (or even less than that), they will give you a paper bag, cool diba?

Note: Thanks to Kuya N. for forwarding this picture of a cool shopping bag to my inbox.

Para...para...

I was grinning after taking this photo. I remember the old days..."Para para po!" while waving at the approaching jeepney. "Para..para po!" when it's time to get off the jeep.

Sorry po. I am feeling homesick right now. I want to go home waaaahh! I want to go back to the good old jeepney days..

Ang Bata at ang Sapatos

Ang ganda naman ng bata. Naalala ko si Chachie ng bata pa. Ganito rin chubby. Sooo huggable.

Ang cute naman ng sapatos. I was really attracted. So fab!

Tiny Watermelons

To tell you the truth, it was my first time to see these tiny watermelons. I couldn't help taking a photo because I was just astounded after seeing one. At the moment, Changshanese are crazy about this fruit. Ang tamis kasi, very affordable pa!

This fruit of the season costs only 1 yuan (equivalent to 6 pesos).

Cuddly puppies

I was almost tempted to buy one of these puppies which were for sale along Ping He Tang as they looked sooo cuddly. I have a soft spot for these cute dogs. But I suddenly remember my plan of not staying here for long so I had second thoughts of purchasing one.

Sayang! Mura pa naman.

Bricks for life

Instead of hollow blocks, they use bricks. Mas matibay ba eto? Siguro nga. One concrete example is the Great Wall hehe.

La as in peppery

Being in Changsha (Hunan) is like being in my own region, Bicol. One very distinctive similarity is the fact that people love pepper in here.

I am surrounded by spicy dishes everytime I have my meals. At the cafeteria, everyone loves to nibble these dishes. Even if you hate the food, you are not spared as the cook always makes sure to sprinkle a lot of "la jiao" (hot pepper in Chinese).

When I was back home, I wasn't a big fan of Bicol express though for some obvious reasons, I would enjoy a little bit in front of my friends from other cities. It was just to show that I am proud of being a Bicolana who can manage to handle that awful taste. Haha just pretending.

But in here, I eventually learned to appreciate it. Food isn't yummy anymore if it's not peppery.

When I go home, I will show them that I love Bicol Express the way true blooded Bicolanos love it. No more pretentions this time.

Nakakatawa, please read..

I just finished reading some of my favorite articles at philstar.com. Happy na ako. But I would feel happier if I could share what I discovered just now...

Courtesy of the PENMAN--Mr. Butch Dalisay (Salamat po.)
The Philippine STAR 10/03/2006

1.) Contemplate - Kulang ang mga pinggan
2) Punctuation - Pera para maka-enrol
3) Ice Buko - Nagtatanong kung ayos na ang buhok
4) Tenacious - Sapatos na pang tennis
5) Calculator - Tawagan kita mamaya
6) Devastation - Sakayan ng bus
7) Protestant - Tindahan ng prutas
8) Statue - Ikaw ba yan?
9) Tissue - Ikaw nga!
10) Predicate - Pakawalan mo ang pusa
11) Dedicate - Pinatay ang pusa
12) Aspect - Pantusok o pandurog ng yelo
13) Deduct - Ang pato
14) Defeat - Ang paa (ng pato)
15) Detail - Ang buntot (ng pato)
16) Deposit - Ang gripo (Call DIPLOMA if DEPOSIT is leaking)
17) City - Bago mag-utso; a number to follow six
18) Cattle - Doon nakatila ang Hali at Leyna
19) Persuading - Unang Kasal
20) Depress - Ang nagkasal sa PERSUADING
22) Defense - Ginamit ng mga pangsulat sa kontrata sa PERSUADING
23) It Depends - Kainin mo ang bakod
24) Shampoo - Bago mag-labing-isha (11)
25) Delusion - Maluwang (kapag maluwang ang damit, eh DELUSION)
26) Delivery - Walang bayad. Kapag working lunch, eh DELIVERY na ang tanghalian
27) Profit - Patunayan mo
28) Balance Sheet - What comes out after eating a balanced diet
29) Backlog - Bacon saka egg
30) Beehive - Magpakatino ka
31) CD-ROM - Tingnan mo ang kwarto
32) Debug - Ang ipis
33) Defrag - Ang palaka
34) Defense - Ang bakod
35) Defer - Ang balahibo
36) Deflate - Ang plato
37) Detest - Ang eksamin
38) Devalue — ’Yon ang susunod sa letrang V
39) Devote - Ang boto
40) Dilemma - Brownout, a!
41) Effort — ’Dun nagla-land ang efflane
42) Forums - Apat na kwarto
43) July - Nagsinungaling ka ba?
44) Liturgy - What comes after litur F
45) Thesis - Ito ay...

Hats off to someone who was able to compile these ideas. You're great!

Why is the FILIPINO special?

This morning while checking my inbox, this article caught my attention. It was worth reading and worth sharing, too.

Please read on..

Filipinos are brown. Their color is in the center of human racial strains. This point is not an attempt at racism, but just for many Filipinos to realize that our color should not be a source of or reason for inferiority complex. While we pine for a fair complexion, the white people are religiously tanning themselves, whenever they could, under the sun or some artificial light, just to approximate the Filipino complexion.

Filipinos are a touching people. We have lots of love and are not afraid to show it. We almost inevitably create human chains with our perennial akbay (putting an arm around another shoulder), hawak (hold),yakap (embrace), himas (caressing stroke), kalabit (touch with the tip of the finger), kalong (sitting on someone else's lap), etc.

We are always reaching out, always seeking interconnection.

Filipinos are linguists. Put a Filipino in any city, any town around the world. Give him a few months or even weeks and he will speak the local language there. Filipinos are adept at learning and speaking languages. In fact, it is not uncommon for Filipinos to speak at least three: his dialect, Filipino, and English. Of course, a lot speak an added language, be it Chinese, Spanish or, if he works abroad, the language of his host country.

To continue, please check this site: www.venusian.multiply.com.

By the way, this masterpiece was written by Mr. Ed Lapiz.

Note from the site owner: I am proud to be PINOY!

Postcards...gusto nyo?

Ako? Gusto ko! hehe

Aside from fridge magnets, I also collect postcards since 2003. And that one above was the latest I received from a good friend living in Kansas, USA.

I hope to collect more from my country, the Philippines and of course, from the rest of the world. If you like, I can post one for you from here. Please send me a note.

Looking forward to creating postcard exchanges with you~~

Buko...yumyum!

Ayan ang aming love affair with the buko. Ang sarap!

Sana di masyadong ginulo ni Mr. Milenyo ang aming nyugan (kuno) para naman may tira pa pag-uwi ko.

Kaya nyo ba 'to??

Di po ako yan.
Yung friend ng mga pinsan ko nagjam din sa aming picnic sa lupa namin sa barrio nuong nakaraang bakasyon.

Ang galing nya pala pagdating sa niyog! Hirap kami nung una kasi lahat kami walang experience pero she insisted that she could do it. Ay salamat po! Magaling talaga sya. Then suddenly, sabi ni Manay (Ate in Bicol) Emma tubong Quezon Province kasi at may sariling coconut plantation ang family nya. Ay kaya pala!

Thanks ha...we were able to enjoy coconut juice and coconut meat because of you...

Sana matuto din ako nito, skill 'to ah. :-D I will try when I get home next year.

My precious family

My everdearest mama and my darling angels, Chachie and Judien. I love them dearly and right now, I awfully miss them...

Can I go home now?

Let's swap..

Collecting fridge magnets is a very worthwhile hobby. It can help us build friendships and/or strengthen the old ones. An example? I met a very kindhearted Thai friend from one site on the net. I learned that she is also into fridge magnet collection so we decided to create a "swap meet." And a few weeks later, I received three magnets from her. I also sent some to her the ones I bought from here, Xian (an ancient city in China) and Manila.

To sum up, I am happy to keep a total of 26 magnets: 3 from Australia (through Justin, my Australian colleague), 3 from Joyjoei (Thailand), 2 from the US (a surprise gift from Flirt and the other one was from Mommy Beth), 5 from my Japanese friend, Takae (they are not included here I used them for my family's pictures.) 3 from Dave, my colleague from NZ and the rest are my own from my trips to Shanghai, Xian and my country, the Philippines.

I'd like to collect more so if you are keen on this, can we swap, please? Please..

To Toni, here's my little share to your cute project..

I started collecting fridge magnets last year. At first, it was a hobby. Now it's an obsession. hehe

P.S. Special thanks to Ms. Toni of www.toni.marikit.net for prompting me to share my current passion. Your Ref Door Project is very inspiring, indeed.

Manholes? Dangerous?

They said, (OK my mama said) manholes are dangerous. Don't ever step on them. Di naman ah! See? Daring in Shanghai!

Note to kids: Please don't follow me.

Smiling face

At the other side of the wall, I spotted this face with a bright smile saying: Yippee, we will start anew!

Face that says "No, please don't let us go..."

Since I couldn't read chinese characters, I interpreted the red writings like this: I hate to go!
The face said it.

Barbecues no more

I used to enjoy barbecue at one of the stalls in this building. Unfortunately, the university is currently undergoing massive reconstruction so the owners are asked to abandon their stores and soon this building will be knocked down. Sad.

Barbecues no more. Ang sarap pa naman!

A couple and the dog

Pretty much an ordinary sight in our university. A young couple with their dog.

How I wish I could have both. Inggit! hehe

Funny Fanny

Buttocks. Arse. Tooshie. Buns. Bum. Behind. Whatever. In tagalog, we call this part of the body, puwet. hehe

I saw this collection in a department store in Shanghai. Ang cute! Kaya pala di sila hirap humanap ng pair of pants, eto ang sekreto!

October 1 celebration

While everyone here was busy celebrating the 57th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China yesterday morning, I found myself occupied playing with someone's kids in my secret garden.

This was my idea of blending in. At least di ako nabore sa bahay.

Pinay meets pinay at home :-D

Filipina beauties starting from the left, Marjorie (from Naga City, wow!Nakabicol man giraray ako hehe), Ingrid (she is the new Mystica of China!), yours truly and Adel, a Manileña, born and bred in Quezon City.

Last night, we had a small "Pinay meets Pinay in Changsha" gathering at my apartment. Ang saya-saya! We had loads and loads of FUN as in!

Ang usapan nagsimula sa pansit canton, sardinas, magazines, Kris Aquino at natapos sa topic ng banana. :o) Actually, I was the butt of their jokes. Bakit kaya? Iba ang pinoy humor, kwela!

Definitely, we'll have more of this in the coming weeks.