Getting to Know Dhang

Dhang is a neighbor. She rents an apartment two gates to our left. The apartment has 3 rooms and has bedspacers. Dhang also has her family with her: her parents, her siblings, and her toddler. Notice? No husband.

But Dhang is special. IN the past years/months, I'd smile at her when we'd pass by her place where she sold barbecue, tapsilog, newspapers then (no longer now), cigarettes and cellular phone loads. Last Monday, I finally met her up close and we talked for a while.

I went to the barangay because earlier my husband was there to get a barangay clearance. He didn't need to give a picture, he said, and that pleased me because I can't find my ID photos. So I thought of getting a barangay ID, thinking that was what he got. Serves me right for only half-listening. Besides I also called and was told I didn't need an ID picture. So there.

One time, I should take a picture of our barangay hall, office, grounds. It has a garden, a pond with two turtles, a bridge, a structure where there's a botica ni Gloria or something, a canteen, covered courts, a fire truck etc. Oh yes, there's a gazebo that leads to the offices. Thing is, the path to the office is a bit rough, the gazebo has two steps. So whenever I need something from the office, I let the maid go to the office to tell them I'm just outside, may I get a residence certificate? They graciously accommodate my request and step out of their airconditioned office if I have to sign something. last Monday, they just handed the stuff to the maid for me to sign.

The wait was a bit long and so I gazed at the skies every once in a while as its hues morphed from bright to gray, a clear indication of rain coming. We didn't have any umbrellas. Occasionally, I'd feel a drop or two on my arm but I wasn't alarmed. Then Dhang came. We smiled. I was alone then because the maids were in the office. I decided to strike a conversation with her and I'm glad I did.

I asked why she was there and she said she was waiting for her barangay clearance to be signed. She had filled up the form in the morning but the barangay captain wasn't around which was why she was back there again. She needed the clearance because she had just bought a franchise for a tricycle. If I'm not mistaken, she got the franchise from a person who held it previously for either P45k or P75k. Days back I saw the body of a trike beside our gate. At first it was painted orange, the following day its paint had been peeled off. Also saw several motorbikes. This she got for P45k, ok so the franchise must have been P75k. She said she could have almost paid for the motorbike in cash using her earnings from her loading business but needed a few thousands more. So she paid for most of it and the balance spread over two years at P3k per month. She also told me about her brother whom she'd sent to college in Dumaguete. It was he who prepared the marinade for whatever food they were selling, because he had taken up HRM. He worked in PHOA Libis for 10 months and was the resto's direct hire. After 10 months, they had to be coursed through the agency and he balked. The agency would get a good portion of his pay. SO now he's helping Dhang manage her business. He explains to her whatever documents she has to sign (franchise, bank) etc. because Dhang said she hadn't gone to school.

Dhang is ever on the lookout for a business to start. She said it isn't easy but she has to do it for her family. When she finally got her barangay clearance I saw an ID and I asked what it was: postal ID. Cost her P300 and she said she had to get it so she could open an account in a bank -- a revelation that reminded me of how I couldn't open an account in Citibank because I didn't have enough valid IDs. Strange no, considering I have a CItibank credit card. They don't want me to deposit to their bank but they "lend me money" through the card. Does that make sense? Dhang's story about how she sets up one business after another so her money works reminds me of the ideas from the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad.. If she doesn't give up, she'll be rich.

Dhang has one bad eye that cannot see. It's grayish in fact. Seems while playing as a child, part of a broom hit the eye or worse and blinded it.

What an amazing woman.

The Early Morning

Well, not that early. But for the second time this week, two maids and I wheeled/walked to church for the 6:30 a.m. mass. Prior to doing so, I asked Maid C if it were raining or seemed like it would rain. She said yes, the skies were dark. As I could see a glimmer of the sky through the blinds in the room, I wasn't sure she had answered me truthfully. So I asked her to call my husband who was in the sala surfing. Asked him the same question. His answer "the sky is clear, no threat of rain is evident." I called Maid B and prepared for mass. As maid C was putting on my sandals, she said "Abi ko anay kaina daw ma ulan, indi gali." Whoops, now I wonder how many times they had deceived me in the past just so I stay put and not be asked to be wheeled to mass or the grocery. Hmmmmmm.

As we reached the gate, I saw a tiny plant on the ground where the cement had given way to soil, maybe two inches in diameter. The plant had dicotyledons breaking apart revealing a stem creeping up. what a refreshing sight.

As we neared the church, I saw a motorcycle-riding newsboy (a man actually) make the sign of the cross as he drove past the church. Wow how edifying.

Come communion time, the ladies in brown (Mother Butler) asked me to go first (this was news: in the past, my being in a wheelchair saw me requested by at least two priests to go last so I wouldn't disrupt the flow of people). Apparently, they're trying out a new system where the last row goes first, then the second to the last, onto the first row.

Something the priest said disturbed me. He talked about how the disabled have charism according to Fr. arevalo, in that they allow those around them to show compassion. Then he said something to the effect that even the seemingly useless have charism. was he alluding to my ilk? Wow, low blow. Benefit of the doubt but coming so close to the heels of his mentioning the sector to which I belong...

Odds and Ends

We went to Shangrila this p.m. and here are a few highlights of the trip to the mall.

Bought two magazines: Yes' June edition and it's 100 Beautiful Faces or something to that effect. I buy Yes monthly without fail, so there have been instances when the magazine has disappointed me: like when it featured jessa Zaragosa. Yes one issue had several pages on Jessa. I'm not a fan. The June issue has a surfeit of articles on Sharon Cuneta, gabby Concepcion and KC Concepcion. Heavens. hello. not everyone wants to read pages upon pages on one family's members. At least there are a few pictures on Rudy Fernandez and his friends. I'm not sure I'll read the articles on the Concepcions and the ex-Concepcion, so chances are, I won't be able to maximize the issue.

The 100 Beautiful People. My son looked at it page by page. I asked, "is Heart Evangelista there?" No, he said. Who else aren't but should be? He said Angel Locsin and Bianca King. I personally believe Nadine Samonte should be there too, aside from Heart. Cheska Garcia even. Oh well...

Then later, in front of National Bookstore, saw this rich looking toddler dressed in a green shirt and long white shorts. He was being tickled silly by his two yayas. Yes, that's right, two yayas. In the process, his diaper fell off one yaya's shoulder. Maybe the yaya has back problems because guess how she picked it up? I would have fainted if I were the mother and witnessed it. She clipped one end of the towel between her big toe and the next, got the thing from between her toes and slung it across her shoulder. Promise, she did do that. Oh my.

We went to Toby's and without thinking, I asked one clerk, "do you have a pedometer?" Then I realized, I must have sounded crazy, asking if they had one, considering that a pedometer measures the number of steps one takes in a day. me, in a wheelchair, asking about a pedometer. To the clerk's credit, he remained stoic as he pointed us to the shelves containing the apparatus. costing P2000 plus, the pedometer is maid in Taiwan. My husband's attention was called to it when some professors from Singapore mentioned it and said walking 10k steps a day is ideal, and a pedometer allows you to keep track. But we didn't buy it. As my husband rationalized, actually you need to use it only once because once you've used it for a day and know the route that allowed you to take 10k steps, then you can simply repeat it day by day. There was a watch that measure heart beat or pulse rate. Too expensive at P5k more or less, so we didn't get that either.

In front of Tokyo Tokyo, Sony had a display of various products, among them Vaios. There was a pink one! SRP is P79k but until tomorrow, display units may be bought at 30% off or for P48k. What a bargain. But wait, a display unit? Remember our Godin experience? I failed to ask if the said units carried a warranty.

Rustan's has a new section on the ground floor: GAP clothes for babies, teens and thin adults. The ladies' sizes are very small, the gentlemen's reach up to 40 inch pants. But some styles cost P4k. A garrison belt costs P1250. Socks cost P900 plus for a set of three. There was one type of sock that sold for close to P500 each. Too expensive.

At the Cook's Exchange portion of Crossings which shares space with the grocery of Crossings, we looked at the many kitchen aids available. Very nice but expensive. In the grocery we bought Lipton Tea Milk which my son said is good.

The fifth floor of Shangrila has a portion that connects to the fourth floor of Rustan's via an escalator. It is Rustan's sale items outlet. My son got 2 Oleg Cassini shirts for just P400 each. I got long tongs (for flipping the meat) for P395, down a hundred. there were several kitchen items available as there were Acca kappa lotions (P795, down P200), Nars makeup, some blouses, etc. Nice notebooks too. My husband showed me a Culture Log which compartmentalizes one's life into Shopping, Entertainment, etc. Minutes later, my son handed it to me and said, "ma, get this for yourself." My husband laughed at the coincidence. Both he and my son thought it was just up my alley. wrong, I said, there wasn't enough space for keeping a shopping log. One entry in this log read "where first seen". Imagine that. How detailed.

Oh, and by the way, are you aware that "Yellow is the new black." In the past years brown was the new black, then whatever else. what a way of expressing transitions/transformations.

A Search in Futility

My husband is on retreat now, he'll be back tomorrow. My son is leaving in a while to do his group project in a friend's house. I'm bored, or yesterday, I thought I'd be bored. But here I am, now blogging, not at all bored. I'll read the papers, the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad per a recommendation of a rich friend and a nephew on his way to being big. I'll watch TV and play Spider Solitaire or TextTwist online.

Yesterday, I thought hard whether I should hire the Wheelmobile and go to a mall. In no particular order, I called a friend who said yes immediately, only to text a few minutes later after recalling her mom's attendant was going to have her day off. I texted a cousin who weeks back said she might be in Manila. I was hoping that serendipitously she's now here. Sadly, she's in Bacolod, down with the flu. I was thinking of another friend but wondered whether she'd have time off from her yoga class (she's perpetually in yoga class, may guwapo ba dun? hahaha) but before I could even text her, she called to say she's leaving for Davao. Does she have ESP?

I deliberated about canceling the Wheelmobile or simply going on with it. But I also wondered: where will I go and with whom? Maid B? But she prattles and being with her the whole time, the mere thought made me feel tired. Get Ex-maid? Yes, except that I'd have to pay her for keeping me company plus she might be with me starting June if Maid B makes good her threat to leave. Where to go? Which mall? I looked at my things to do/buy and they weren't much. They didn't justify spending on the Wheelmobile. Watch Ploning? If only it were showing in Greenhills or Power Plant, I'd have proceeded with the Wheelmobile. But it's only showing in Gateway where we once watched a movie from the front row, the only place accessible to someone in a wheelchair.

So I canceled the Wheelmobile appointment. Money saved from doing so I used to buy sugpo . Other imagined savings from refraining from going out will go to my ninang gown, hairstyle and makeup, and present seed fund. The cloth of the gown has been sent me. See? It's reversible. This is one side: , this is another:
I wonder what Mia Urquico of Mico will choose as the color. Guess which I prefer.

Wedding Ninang 2

So this is how it feels to be asked again, ambivalent. It's touching that one is thought worthy to be a wedding sponsor but the more mundane issues involved in being one are mind-boggling: what to wear, who'll do the makeup, what to give. It's no wonder that a friend who was asked to be ninang accepted but didn't attend the ceremony. She didn't even send a proxy.

I don't want to do that because the couple about to be wedded is special to me, but what about the details? For one, I'll have to TRY to lose weight. TRY is the operative word there. Whether I'll succeed is another matter. is it bad to be fat and be a wedding ninang? I've seen pictures in the papers of obese wedding sponsors, may I be one of them? No, not in the papers, but just fat and a wedding sponsor.

At least I know where I'll have my gown/get-up made. And I won't buy new sandals, neither a new bag. And I'll borrow my sister's jewelry again - she doesn't know it yet. Hahahaha. In such instances, how I wish I were male. Then I could just wear one of my old barongs, black pants, black shoes, black socks, right? Why is the world so unfair?

pressure.

Blind Item

I was watching either SIS, Moms, or The Sweet Life when this socialite with so many pretty children (all grown-up and married except for one) was a guest. I think it was in The Sweet Life. She talked about how to dress up, how to use accessories, how to have different looks using the same basic blouse and pants or skirt by simply adding a scarf, etc. Fine. I enjoyed that.

But there was one thing she said that shocked, shook and amused me. She said that girls, if they are intelligent, should not show off their intelligence when they are with men, or something to that effect. I'm not sure if she said it was unfeminine but really, in this age, are we still supposed to behave like we are dumb just so the egos of the men are not crushed? I found the idea a bit outrageous, anachronistic, old-fashioned, preposterous, wrong. I mean whatever for?

Now I'll bet you can guess who she is. She's really pretty and was one of Harper's most beautiful in the sixties. She was formerly governor of a province, has a PhD or something, is interested in our Muslim brothers, was rumored to be .... never mind. hahaha. Her nickname consists of eight letters, two syllables, the second a repetition of the first.

But wait, do you agree with her? I might be presuming no one else does. Again, mwahahaha for my being so presumptuous.

She sometimes puts one of this on her hair

Maid B - a funny episode

As the rains assaulted the grounds and caused power to fluctuate, effecting a brief brownout even, I buzzed for Maid B so she could unplug the aircon, the TV and this laptop. I called once, she didn't come. I called another time, she still didn't come. Meanwhile, the power was doing a Christmas lights act: flicker on, flicker off, not exactly a good thing for appliances. So I called her a third time.

Lo and behold she barged into the room, face angry, saying aloud, "naga todo pa to ulan sa sagwa" (it's raining hard outside) -- as if I didn't know. Then I said, "nga-a ano gina himo niyo?" (why, what are you doing?") I was expecting her to answer that they were gathering the laundry, scooping the water from the sala or something. Instead, she answered, "wala man a." (Nothing). hahaha. i wanted to comment, "I thought you were catching the rain or staving off the winds". I wanted to say, "te nga-a akig ka?" (so why are you angry). But I didn't because then she'd have had an opportunity to emote. I merely kept quiet and so did she.

See? She just wants to be antagonistic, ferocious, fight! hahahaha. All her acting prowess for nothing. I didn't take umbrage even as I wanted to be sarcastic. What for? Got her there. Silly.

Couch Potato - That's Me

With nothing much to do these days, I sometimes wind up surfing channels, reading old newspapers or reading a graphic novel: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Surprised? I am too. It happened one day that I was in the sala waiting for my husband and son to be ready so we could leave. Rather than stare at the walls, I picked up the said book lying on the keyboard of my son. I read a few boxes (it's like cartoons in book form ) and liked what I read. I'm more than halfway through. Besides the book is being made into a movie, one I'm sure we'll watch. it's well written. My son's advice: look at the graphics too. I guess he knows that adults usually read words only, haha.

Now to my couch potato experiences.

I usually start my morning TV watching with Unang Hirit. But sometimes, the news depresses me so I turn the TV off. Yesterday, I switched to She-ka but Issa Litton was interviewing some ladies in the military and I wasn't too engrossed so I again turned the TV off. A little later, I channel surfed and stopped when I saw a feature on the cartoons for the Beijing Olympics on CCTV. I guess that's China TV, no? The feature was annotated in English though, and it was very informative. It showed how the final issue of the cartoons went through a long and rigorous process that began years ago; how the mascots were chosen, how grade school students were made to see them without being told what they were for, what each mascot stood for, why the colors were chosen, in addition to the Olympic colors . Comprehensive.

Later I saw a snippet of May Lee's Faces and Places (sorry I failed to take note of the channel - it's Hallmark) and she was interviewing Philip David Henney. Who he? Well, the face was familiar to me because I saw him in Spring Waltz, a Korean telenovela. In a previous blog, I wrote about the said televonela and may even described him without a name, as usual. PDH is a Korean American who grew up in Michigan, hence his English proficiency. In the telenovela, he also spoke German. A video clip of him and his Korean mom was shown and I was impressed. The mom is short and very Korean but according to PDH, when he had to contend with racism as he was growing up in an American school, she took on the bullies. May Lee mentioned that PDH had appeared in various commercials like Samsung so I checked it out in YouTube. Wow, I saw that he even had a commercial with no less than Gwyneth Paltrow for Bean Pole. Imagine that.

By noon, as I prepared to eat lunch, I tuned in to Edu's show, Game Ka na Ba? One of the contestants was Lynn Jaleco, from my hometown, Talisay City, Negross Occidental. Not familiar to me, but not having been home in a while, that's not unusual. Had Eat Bulaga for lunch viewing but stopped when I decided to surf in the computer. In the pm, I turned on to Kapuso Network. Caught the tail-end of Magdusa Ka. Wow, everyone was screaming, fighting, hurting each other. Whew, luckily, I thought, I caught only the tail-end. Then the next teledrama rolled in. Kaputol ng Isang Awit. More of the same: screaming, meanness, fighting, hurting each other, giving each other the one eyebrow arch. They weren't kaputol, they were kadugtong. It was just so awful. I turned the TV off. At around 5 past, I switched on the TV to catch Moms. It was ok, but not earth-shaking unlike the other day when they featured parents of special children, among them Matt Ranillo, Melanie Marquez, and a non-showbiz (at least I didn't think she was) lady, Angel. Matt's youngest is harelip and he described how he felt when he first saw her with a gaping hole instead of a nose and mouth but how his wife said "ang ganda ng mata niya". Melanie has two special children: a teen or older, and a young boy. I can't remember what was wrong with Angel's child. Matt was very frank, expressing what I have long said, how mean some adults and children can be when faced with a disabled/special child/adult. He appealed for kindness. Melanie said she didn't blame God for her woes, saying maybe there was something wrong she did, not in the sense that they were punishments but she mentioned a chemical. I couldn't really fathom what she meant. I guess I wasn't listening well enough. That afternoon the hosts, Manilyn, Lani and Sherilyn were very sympathetic and tearful without going overboard. They weren't hysterical sad but were apparently affected. Manilyn didn't move her neck too much at the end of the show. Oh yes, I can't remember which afternoon now, but one afternoon, the guests of Moms were Rey Valera, Hajji Alejandro and Rico Puno. Rico is the most uncouth and green, Hajji and Rey are gentlemen. I could sense how Sherilyn didn't like RIco's jokes. She was uber dry. Good for her. I think I'd act the way she did too if Rico were cracking such indecent jokes in my face.

To go on, yesterday, after Moms, American Idol was next. I wasn't watching, the TV was just on giving me peripheral noise. Then A Sweet Life followed. I like the pair of Lucy and Wilma. They're perfect foils for each other. Among their guests were 3 young men who're with the Kapuso network for one telenovela/teledrama or something. They tested what scents appealed more to men: the traditional (fruity/flowery) or the food scents (vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon, etc). The men were blindfolded as two girls each wearing a different scent paused in front of them so they could smell. The girls were then made to sit on the side.

The verdict: they liked the food scents better. I still find it queer why the following was then done. Asked to look at the girls, they were asked whom they thought wore the scent they preferred. Now the two girls were like Wilma and Lucy: fair and dark, but not Wilma dark. I found the darker girl more attractive, but I guess men really look at skin color and prefer the fairer ones. SO they said they believed it was the girl with the fairer complexion who wore the scent they preferred. Of course they were wrong. Then Lucy summarized the portion by saying that looks can deceive. For me the conclusion was, huh? I really found that portion not well processed. Pilit.

The duo then began to talk about thinning hair, featuring one older woman and a young lady suffering from the problem. They consulted a beauty salon owner and a derma for this episode. The former said the problem can be addressed by extensions (they were called wigs during our time) and volumizing shampoo, while the latter said guess what? A derma should evaluate the cause of the thinning hair: hereditary, normal (with age?), etc. Okay, point taken.

I can't remember which preceded what, the project portion or Wilma's forte: teaching two young ladies how to walk down the catwalk wearing a jacket, removing it, and holding it as one walks back. Wilma apparently knows her craft. She is such an expert on the matter. really. Oh, and by the way, in the portion with the three men earlier, they spoke about that "one night" when one commits a mistake (having sex with one's date/boyfriend). Wilma said "huwag" because she's been there, done that. But she has two children by two separate men. I guess like Lucy said, when one does it with a boyfriend, one hopes he'll be the last and maybe that's why Wilma did it a second time with a different man in the hope he'd be the last? I hope she has really learned her lesson and stops there.

Sorry this blog seems to be skipping and hopping but here's yet another seemingly unrelated topic. Last week, my husband and I saw the first episode of Pushing Daisies
on ETC channel. There was this man who when he touched someone who had died brought that person back to life but who'd die if he touched her again. This was cute. Among his victims were his mom (she died again because she was the first who was subjected unwittingly to his gift) and his high school crush. This week, my husband watched the second but he looked bored. I didn't watch myself because I thought what else could happen? Such a skill would be good for one movie or one episode, but several? How far can you stretch it? True enough, my husband said, the episode was no longer as appealing. Oh well, I guess the show will last a season at the most?

Years back, my son and I watched the movie The Stupids.. That was funny. If they had made that into a series, however, it wouldn't have lasted.

Now I remember the topic of Moms yesterday: bonding with children. Guests were Chiqui Roa Puno and Melissa Mendez, and a psychologist. Not bad, but not that engrossing.

Oh yes, I also watched Free of Eden starring Sidney Poitier and his daughter, I think. As SP vowed, he would only make movies with a message and this one had several, among them the importance of education, breaking oneself free of the shackles of destiny or the confining situation of one's birth, standing for the truth.

Happy Mom's Day to whomever the greeting may apply

Received the following in an email from a father:

What Is a Mother?
A mother can be almost any size or any age, but she won't admit to anything over thirty.
A mother has soft hands and smells good.
A mother likes new dresses, music, a clean house, her children's kisses, an automatic washer and Daddy.
A mother doesn't like having her children sick, muddy feet, temper tantrums, loud noise or bad report cards.
A mother can read a thermometer (much to the amazement of Daddy) and like magic, can kiss a hurt away.
A mother can bake good cakes and pies but likes to see her children eat vegetables.
A mother can stuff a fat baby into a snowsuit in seconds and can kiss sad little faces and make them smile.
A mother is underpaid, has long hours and gets very little rest. She worries too much about her children but she says she doesn't mind at all.
And no matter how old her children are, she still likes to think of them as her little babies.
She is the guardian angel of the family, the queen, the tender hand of love.
A mother is the best friend anyone ever had.
A mother is love.

It's that time of year again...

No, not Christmas; no not summer. So what? Negotiation time. Every year almost, without fail, Maids A and B come up with a story so I'll have no choice but to increase their salaries. There was one time it was Maid B who was being pirated. Then Maid A. (Two separate years). And of course, the pay being offered would be higher, they said. Then Maid B said she wanted to go back to the province to rest. Another year she wanted to rest at her brother's here in Litex (near Payatas), Quezon City. One time Maid A told me that Maid B wanted a salary P500 higher than Maid A's for her medications: Alaxan galore and other liniments, Salonpas, etc. Every time she feels an ache, she resorts to either of the options or all. How ironic that only today, I read in Philippine Star how the owner of Muebles Italiano said his mother would tell him "ang pagod, itulog mo lang yan, kinabukasan wala na yan" or something to the effect. Oh well...

So this a.m., Maid A came in. She's the perpetual designated spokesman. Maid B told her she's thinking of taking time off at her brother's in Litex so she could rest. This time I will not be cowed (I hope). I'll just ask my ex-maid who lives nearby to come on a daily basis. Ex-maid is so much more pleasant except that she has a family so she cannot stay in. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

We'll see.

Shorts on Some Personalities

One evening while we were in Power Plant, I saw Apples Aberin Sadhwani. She walked past us. Then I saw her walk from behind. She has a cute gait. She was in flats and she walked with a slight bounce that was very feminine. I don't know if that showed how models walk in flats or that was a model's typical walk down the ramp. But it was cute. So very feminine. She looked better with just the right amount of makeup then when I see some of her pictures in the papers or magazines. Apples writes for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

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Was reading a back issue of People Magazine and one of the featured personalities was Roy Cosico, MD. He's affiliated with Medicins sans Frontieres and is assigned to Africa. He acknowledged the curiosity of people - why Africa, why not the Philippines? His argument: medically, Africa is worse of than the PHilippines. In Africa, the ratio is 1 doctor per a million people. He mentioned that occasionally, he calls a colleague here in the Philippines for advice on the treatment of cases. Hats off to him. (Does he earn less doing volunteer work or this kind of work? I guess so and how noble of him.)

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Dawn Zulueta in Proudly Filipina. last night, I watched Charlene's show where Dawn was asked about being a beauty icon. She said something to the effect, thank you but do you know that puts added pressure on me especially as I become older? She also mentioned how it was such a difficult time she had in the first eight years of her marriage when people kept asking about whether she had a baby already. Many years ago, we had college friends who were similarly situated. I could see their sadness each time anyone asked because they had married earlier than I and I was pregnant that time. From then on, I decided not to ask them whether a baby was coming. Some two years later, finally they had one.

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The same holds true for single ladies/men. I particularly noted this where a niece was concerned. I have stopped asking her when she was getting married. That's meddling, I have come to realize.

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There's this young actress whom I have caught twice on TV saying, "My parents have brought me up well". Gosh, can't she wait for someone to give her that compliment? Methinks she's wrong. She's a tad conceited. Years back, an international beauty titlist, Filipina too, kept saying too that she exuded a certain class that's why she won the title. She comes from a rich family. hahaha. Blind items. I should do this more often. Then years from now, I might not remember the answers myself.

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Issa LItton. Caught her in She... ka (pun for chika?) last Thursday. That was the latter portion and she was interviewing guests who were cooking (I don't know yet if that's what the entire show is about). She ... ka is from 8 to 9 every morning, Mondays to Fridays on NBN - Channel 4 in Metro Manila. She was very engaging if a bit over talkative but I wasn't irked. Actually I didn't know her name initially but thought I heard "Issa" towards the end of the show. So I surfed the Net and true enough, her name's Issa Litton. I had heard her name before but I thought she was a model period. Apparently she has hosting skills as well.

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Another charmer on TV is Rosebud Benitez. Originally part of Ka-Toque, she now has her own show, Quick Fire, where she dishes out recipes in ten-minute stretches, three times a day weekdays, and twice a day weekends, before the more popular shows of QTV are shown, e.g., The Sweet Life, Balitanghali, etc. Among the Ka-Toque chefs, she actually stood out because of her nice smile and very feminine ways. She wasn't as noisy as the male chefs and exuded more confidence than the other female chef, who is charming nonetheless and could be your neighbor or friend. Rosebud's recipes are simple and easy to do. I haven't tried doing any yet, but one of these days I will. If the dish comes out well, I'll share it with you.

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Dennis Trillo. In an old issue of People Magazine, he was one of the featured gentlemen. But being very quiet, the article focused mostly on an interview with his manager, Popoy Caratativo (or sounds like anyway). Among other things, Popoy maintained that Dennis doesn't consider himself handsome. He knows how he looks but doesn't consider himself handsome. I think this may be true because he continues to be serious and quiet rather than flamboyant or gregarious.

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What's with the Internet these days? A lot of the time it doesn't work or is too slow. We're subscribed to PLDT DSL. What about you? darn.

Additional Lessons for My Maids

Yesterday, I was so bored I decided to cook dinner. At one point Maid A said she'd fry the chicken for me. Fine. When she was done she asked whIch way she ought to turn the knob of the electric stove. I said "Left" and for good measure, I said "sa wala Ilonggo for left). She turned it to the right. A little later the same thing. So aside from colors and numbers, I have to teach them which is their right and which their left.

Just a few minutes ago, I asked Maid C for the "mas damol" (Ilonggo for thicker) folder. There are two folders where I file my bills. She gave me the thinner one. SO I also need to teach them the difference between thick and thin. Sometimes, I wonder if they're really mentally challenged or just too lazy to think, are not listening or are out to irk me.

What do you think?

Psychologists - Do they know everything?

Listen to a psychologist. If you do, chances are you'll begin to think that people can be segregated into different, clear cut boxes. People are either autistic, schizoid, depressed, bi-polar, etc. To what extent should we believe what they have to say? To what extent should we allow their ideas to affect us? To what extent do they have accurate views? Are these true facts or mere opinions?

This morning, when I watched Sis briefly on GMA 7, Jaya (the singer), a mother herself, said "you know what's best for your child. Do not believe everything other people say." Though she didn't explicitly point to any one group or person, I presume she was alluding to child experts/psychologists who write volumes upon volumes of books on child rearing, childhood problems and the like.

I tend to believe in what Jaya had to say. I subscribe to her notion. More than anyone else, a mother knows her child, what's best for him/her. Most mothers see their children as distinct individuals with distinct needs, wants, traits and treat them accordingly. How much more correct can these mothers be, never mind if they defy the norms set by psychologists?

I know quite a few of them who have problem children or problems with their children. They are as human as the rest of us non-psychologists. They have flaws, commit errors. But they can be so judgmental and think they know everything. Go Jaya! Carmina apparently agreed with Jaya as she vigorously nodded her head following Jaya's expression of her ideas.

My maids again!

A cousin has described them to be "from hell" and I'm beginning to believe her. In the blog immediately preceding this, I wrote that I was out in the sala so the maids could clean the bedroom thoroughly. Tonight, when I glanced at the shelves beside the bed, I saw that the books weren't rearranged -- a sure sign the shelves weren't cleaned. So I called Maid B. She said she didn't clean them. I called Maid C. She said the table was cleaned. I said yes, this morning, not this afternoon. I called Maid C. She said they just swept the floor. Darn, darn, darn. And a few months from now they'll expect their usual annual salary increase? I'm so peeved. They just chose what to clean and they chose to clean only the floor. My goodness gracious. What a set of maids I have! if it weren't for the beautiful moments with my son in the sala, the afternoon would there would have been an utter waste. Darn!

My other blog

or as my favorite cousin, Mama's side puts it, MOB. I started one last week. Wala lang. I was surfing the Net and saw some blogs written in WordPress and they looked interesting. Way back, my cousin also told me about WordPress but I didn't have as much time then as I do now (too much in fact, now) to explore stuff. So finally I did. My other blog's name is derdo.wordpress.com (click here to access it). Unlike this blog which only my chosen few access except for Mar Roxas' admirer and the occasional boleros who just want to advertise by commenting, the wordpress blog has received some hits. The only one who knew about it was Chona and she couldn't have accessed it that much. It's fun looking at the number of views made, actually. It leads me to wonder who accessed my site. No way of knowing, actually, unlike in multiply where I also have a site: antoinelepelican.multiply.com or click here This one you're reading though will be my most private. Though I imported a good number of the entries from this blog to wordpress, I deleted those that were too passionate, too personal. So basically what MOB contains are entries that will hopefully enlighten people re certain places, purchases, etc.

Presently, I am in the sala blogging. A rare experience actually, one which afforded me the chance to hear my son playing his keyboard for hours. You see I had the aircon in the room undergo general cleaning (c/o VIREX, which I believe has a branch in Bacolod) and to take advantage of the disarray which that undertaking results in, I had the maid clean up the room thereafter. Which meant, I had to move to the sala where I made a key lime pie following one of the recipes I found in the Net, Lina, and while it didn't exactly taste like the one in Mamou, it's edible. I'll let husband taste it later and hear what he has tot say. Anyway, it was while I was making the pie in the sala when my son came in from his walk back home from school. And so he stayed on in the sala and played the keyboard cum piano. Some pieces were familiar, some his own creations. A friend asked him to play the piano for the debut of his girlfriend's sister soon. Now son is beside me, doing stuff in his laptop. Most likely he's surfing, but I don't want to peek.

Earlier too he showed me something he bought from an Aeta in front of National Bookstore in Katipunan. I'll take its picture. Darn the picture didn't look good. I tried to take it with the videocam. Later again. Anyway, it's a bamboo thing that the Aeta was selling. It could make bird-like sounds. My son got one for P70 and the Aeta taught him how to use it. Fill the receptacle with water up to a certain level, blow into the tube, etc. It's like a flute that looks like a pitcher with a spout. Or like a pipe. So I heard my son make birdlike sounds using this too. It has nice art work, besides: . What a nice afternoon I'm having all because of the aircon cleaners.

We ordered McDo burgers: he a double cheeseburger meal go big time, me a cheesburger meal. I used a coupon he brought home from a friend so his go big time aspect didn't require our paying additional. Funny cause I as asked the operator who took my order for some coupons and when the delivery boy came, he handed over a whole stack, maybe an inch and a half high. We'd need a decade to finish all these except that it's expiring May 31. Maybe, that's why he gave so many.

Will post the picture of the bird thing later, promise.

Marriage, Money and Morals

The sequence of the words in the title of this post is random. Because I really am not sure under what sequence they should fall. But what drove me to think of writing about the 3M's? Eat Bulaga. I am an unabashed fan of the noontime TV show because the wit and camaraderie of the hosts perk me up when I have lunch by myself. Actually after I'm done eating, I can turn the TV off and just blog away or play Spider Solitaire.

So how and why did EB drive me to write about the 3M's?

I think in a previous blog, I wrote that a good number of participants in the show's various contests are single moms. Once in a while when the hosts probe deeper, they find out why. Months ago, when Joey interviewed one such contestant, she explained her predicament thus: "Na ano lang." So whenever Joey would find out a contestant was a single mom, he'd tease, "Biyuda ka ba, hiwalay o na ano lang?" Just a few weeks back, he increased the show's "lingo" by saying that there's the woman na "na ano lang" (and then broke off) and there's the woman na "nag-aanuhan sa di ka anu-ano" -- euphemism to living in.

A few minutes ago, they asked a contestant about her husband or something and she brazenly said "live in lang kami." And for a while, Joey said "libing"? But then he also turned serious and asked, "bakit di kayo nagpapakasal?" The woman answered, "Walang pera." Another contestant offered the same reason. She was on the same boat.

This is where the title of this post comes in. The issue is a matter of the 3Ms: it is a sociological issue as well as a moral issue. They claim they don't have money so they don't get married but in truth and in fact, by living in, they are living like married couples and have the same expenses as married couples have. So where lies the money issue?

Filipinos including those who fall within the lower/lowest category of the economic strata equate marriage with a wedding, as lavish as they could afford, complete with a wedding gown, lechon, the works. Which is why they say they don't have the money to get married. Wrong, they don't have money to spend for a wedding with all the works they imagine a wedding should have. so there.

Sad no?