Monday, August 30, 2004

Coconuts and Guavas

Hey all. I musta been in a "relish your Filipino foods" mood the other day... Saturday? I went to the supermarket and while there I noticed that in the "asian" section there were cans of coconut milk and I thought to myself, "boy I sure liked that dish mom used to make when I was a kid, with coconut milk." So I decided I would make it and bought two cans of c. milk and went on shopping. Later, when I returned, I called mom up for the recipe since I couldn't find it online (a good one) and she told me the list of ingredients and typical mom she said "so you mix things up and there you go." Uhh? Mom, what stuff and in what order? Heh. After getting the right order I chatted to her some more as she told me that having an empty house and living with dad was just like "starting over again". hmm newlyweds? ew. heh. I realized that I was missing two main ingredients and went to the supermarket again (a different one). At the produce aisle I saw these star fruits and I'm always tempted to buy them because they taste good and because they look nice as a garnish, but then another thing caught my eye. It looked awfully familiar and after picking it up and inspecting it I read what it was and it turned out to be a guava! This teeny tiny green thing is a guava? I know they were bigger in the Phils. and weren't they more yellow than green? and shiny and smooth not kinda wrinkled and old? To hell with it! I bought it and the other two things I needed and headed home.

At home I sliced up the guava and ate it and it brought on a surge of memories. So strange. The last time I ate one was when I was 8, on a visit back to the Phils. I had forgotten about the crunchy seeds. This one was gross though, you could tell it was old because it was a bit pasty tasting. I remember my mom buying guava jelly at the market and I remember on my grandma's property (the house I lived in) was a big ole guava tree and we would harvest it and eat our fill. So good ripe or still green.

I made my ginataan (gi-na-ta-an) manok. (My translation: coconut chicken) I sat there with my bowl of white rice and pot of ginataan chicken eating in a nearly empty house watching The Shining as little Danny rode his trike around and around the hotel corridors. I spooked myself out and had to get up and relieve the strain by talking to Rich every few minutes. By the way, the ginataan was delicious. Thanks mom. Rich tasted it and said there was too much ginger for his taste but other than that it tasted like an island version of chowder. Next time I'll put shrimp in it. heh. Okay I gotta run all. Have a wonderful day!! yay!!! "This is the day, this is the day that the lord has made, that the lord has made. Let us rejoice, let us rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it!" Do you guys remember that? It was one of those songs they made you sing in school church? ahaha.

Me.

Saturday, August 28, 2004

Start a Revolution

I wonder if every generation is always on the verge of a revolution. Thomas Jefferson once wrote: "Every generation needs a new revolution." It feels as if we are on the very precipice of one. This nation (U.S.A.) became this nation because of a revolt. And it seems that people are always unhappy over something. I guess the fine line between grumbling and the real thing is just how far people have been pushed. The proverbial last straw that breaks the camel's back. Is "revolution" defined as something out in the open? Or can one work at it behind closed doors? Maybe it's the inevitable outcome, the public-ness of it. Would you consider the underground railroad a revolution? Or was it only a step into something bigger to come? We grumble about the "rich getting richer and the poor poorer" and we've been grumbling for decades. We grumble over the state of our economy, over our standard of education, living etc. We watch "The Fabulous Life of..." and are aggrieved at how the rich spend their money, while the rate of poverty just goes up faster and higher. And yet we keep it at a low hum. When will we finally raise our voices? Tell them we wont be victims any longer?

And yet it's laughable. Who's writing this? Someone in the upper middle class, who doesn't have any real grievances towards anybody. I like my moviestars and their stardom, I like my car, my security, my life. The person who should be writing about revolutions should be the "lower class", but I don't know if I write it because they can't. They're stuck in their minimal wage jobs, supporting their families, perhaps not having the time to write it or even to have time to conceive the thought of revolution. I don't know if they know from where I stand how bad they have it. It's that whole "keep 'em dumb" motto. Slave owners refused to teach their slaves how to read or write so that escaping would be harder. Weren't women told to look pretty but never to express an opinion?

But by having a revolution... where does it get us? Wouldn't we come up with the same b-s again? We'd return to our hierarchy; the rich and the poor and the people in between. Same crap, different people. If we did overthrow our current government it's only 50/50% chance that we'll get something better. Maybe even 70/30 that we'll end up worse than before. George Bernard Shaw wrote: "Revolutions have never lightened the burden of tyranny: they have only shifted it to another shoulder." Maybe the conclusion is that we'll just go back to grumbling and watching "The Fabulous Life Of..." and passing the torch to the next generation, who'll have the balls to do it when their turn comes.

So I end it here. Gotta run to the store.

Me.

Friday, August 27, 2004

Major Fingering Legend

Yesterday I got it into my head that I should finally pick up reeds and cork wax for my clarinet. The one that's been sitting next to my guitar for the past few months. I played the clarinet in school band for 3 years when I was in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. (My parents' bought it for me). So I went into the local "music" store in the little "mall" next to our supermarket. It's (the music store) really just a small room and there are mostly things such as drums and guitars hanging on the walls. I stood in the empty room for a while, until someone finally got off the bench outside and asked if he could help me. I bought 5 reeds and cork grease, went back home and tried to play the clarinet only to realize that I had forgotten what notes were what and where the reed should be placed. Rich told me to look up fingering charts on the internet and so I found the c major fingering legend and got back into the groove, however I could not play anything since I had no music! We decided that we better just buy music books online. And so ends my clarinet travels. I will try to practice a little today and if the library were only open on Fridays I would look for a book there but since they're not then I will have to order them online. Okee I gotta go for now. Talked to mom this morning and she thought the jokes I sent them were hilarious. Chicken Nut Bread Sorry there was no gravy with this entry. I thought it was a little dry too.

Me.

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Doodads

It's sunny but cool out. I gotta get my bottom in gear and clean out Soot's litter. Not just scoop it out but I have to scrub it and wash it with soap. Not the best thing to having a cat, but all the good things make up for the chores. I was thinking the other day, "hmm, when I have kids I'll have to clean bottoms and teach them how to clean themselves when time comes. Am I up to that task?" I wasn't wondering if I were good enough to raise good kids but whether I would be able to teach them how to clean and wipe themselves. heh. It's a step at a time. Clean bums clean thoughts? hehe

Mike started classes yesterday. I hope he does well in school. I was trying to talk him into getting a computer camera so I could "see" how he is, but I think that idea is shut down. heh. Oh dear.

Oh the olympics are coming to a close and I just have to say that I'm a tad mad at their non-stop swimming coverage. I don't care for swimming. I'd rather watch track and field and some of the ones they don't show on the regular network, like trampoline and fencing (go left handedness!) and archery. Alright I got nothing else to say!

I'm enjoying "Life of Pi".

Alright, I figured if I said it I'd start to believe it! Positivity! A few weeks ago, on Trading Spouses, there was a mom who went to live in the Berkshires (she was from Cali) and she was, I hate to say it, but "typical Californian" (not typical hollywood) and into positivity. And I was totally impressed on how she watched what the other woman's kids liked and went out of her way to place them in a path that would show them that they could do what they put their minds to. For example, she knew that the son loved to eat and cook and so she went out to lunch with him and had the chef of the restaurant show him in the kitchen how to cook it and let the son cook his meal. heh. Ya know what I mean! And the kid really liked it. I gotta run!

Have a wonderful day!

Me






Monday, August 23, 2004

I have 15 minutes to write this before going on to other things so I don't have a title.

Yes Julie, I did receive your letter. I will be mailing out the reply today! I have to write my parents too. heh.

Got to talk to Mike-college-boy and he sounds as if he's having the time of his life. It's been orientation and getting to know everyone week and he sounds as if he's made a bunch of friend already. A piece of our conversation:

Me: What are you doing now?
Mike-college-boy: Oh, I'm supposed to meet friends for breakfast this morning then we're gonna take a bus to either the mall or to Woodbury Commons.
Me: How's your roommate?
Mike-college-boy: He's ok. He lives only 20 minutes away from here so he goes home on the weekends.

That's neat. At least Mike gets to have the rooms to himself on the weekends he isn't home as well.

I saw League of Extraordinary Gentlemen the other night and I have to admit it was better than Hellboy and Spiderman 2 (combined and taken separately).

I woke up early this morning and for no good reason at all. I had a dream last night that we were on vacation with my parents. (We, as in Mike and I). They decided to "rough" it in this little village area where there were picnic tables and rafting was available. Mike and I got to the hotel and the parents were busy parking the car so I went up to the room and it turned out to be more like someone's home split into areas instead of a hotel. In our room I put down the crate that held two little kittens in them and they walked around the room sniffing and cautiously stepping around. That was when I remembered that I didn't bring their litter box and so I decided to head to the local grocery store and but some disposable ones. Before I went, I looked into the bathroom, which instead of being in our room was more like house bathroom for everyone to share, out in the hallway. Looking in I saw that it didn't even have a separate showering place and there was no toilet. More like a dirty hole in the floor. That's when I decided to shower with my flip flops on. I think there was more but I forget how it goes. I gotta run all. More later.

Me

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Catching Up

I need to post a new poll. Look at that, all but one has 5-8 telephones in their house and one person has no phones! I need to update my book section too. Since reading "Daughter of Fortune" I read and really enjoyed a book by Melissa Bank called "The Girls' Guide To Hunting and Fishing". It's Sex and the City-esque and it was so funny and good that I read it in a day. Now I'm reading and am half way through Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" and it's very good.

Just to go back to the Bank's novel, it was one I bought at a thrift shop in N.Y., by my old high school, and only paid fifty cents for it. So that night, when I had finished "D.O.F" I placed the new novel on the floor by the bed and noticed that my Sooty was sniffing it and I thought to myself, "she must smell the old, musty book scent" and thought nothing more of it. And so the next day I read it and got toward the end with about forty pages left and noticed that the pages were a little wrinkled and yellowed (stained) as if something had spilled on it. Curious I leaned in and smelled it and caught the odor of urine. hmm. But instead of throwing it to the floor, I couldn't not finish the book. (Yes it was that good) and so devoured it. (What a word to pick). So that's what my cat was sniffing at. Needless to say when I was done I put it away and washed my hands. It was still a good book. Maybe the person before me read it and laughed so much that they had to pee and trying to be discreet used the book...? heh

Okay everyone gotta go. I'm catching "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" tonight on HBO. Oh congrats to Julie for passing the certification exam! Hope you get a raise! hehe.

Night night all. Night to my bro, who's first day in college was yesterday. Reminds me, gotta call mom. It's supposed to be beautiful tomorrow. Perfect.

Me


Thursday, August 19, 2004

I'm gonna be physically violent.


Wednesday, August 18, 2004

"Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu." (The Sound of Music)

Oh my, in two days time my brother will be headed for his first immersion into college! haha. I hope he likes it. Ooh I hope it helps him to grow up and shed that haughtiness that hounds him. I love my brother and I like him (a lot more from a distance) but sometimes he can get on your nerves. But doesn't everyone? And so I say "farewell" and I hope that you have a wonderful time. P.S. I don't watch the show 24. P.P.S. You must give me your college address so I can send you letters and tasty treats that comes with the college experience. I might send the parents treats too, but they might not be around the house to get it. heh. Oh those two! You get them together in a room and they wreak havoc.

We must also say "farewell" to George, who will soon be heading up to Buffalo. Have a great time!

Hey both of you should keep up your blogs so we all know what's going on. You don't have to write everyday but update it at least twice a week. That's all I ask!

We must adieu Charla and Mirna, a.k.a. Mirna and Shmirna. Oh shucks. I was hoping you'd stay long enough to see Colin and that girl go. Now I'm rooting for Chip and Kim, the "tokens", but we wont go into that. Ooh Colin and Christie get on my nerves, and so do the Jesus twins. Eh. I gotta go.

Lovely day out isn't it?
Me.

Sunday, August 15, 2004

Twilight of the Gods

Hmm how fitting. Anywho.

The other day I went to the backyard and found that where once lay my garden now is a rectangular patch of dirt. Yes, my lovely garden is no longer. It really was on the chopping block since the beginning of spring when I saw that squirrels were eating my ripened and non-ripened strawberries off the vine!! Ooh how I seethed over that. I did manage to savor a handful but just the whole intrusion into something that I worked and cared for really took all the wind out of me. I've let it run free since then. The weeds were tangled with my tomatoes which were jumbled together with the peas, which in turn were being choked by my strawberries and their runners. There were good memories from that garden. The world's best broccoli was grown there, and so were purple peppers and juicy red plum tomatoes. A moment of silence for my poor garden... I did, however, manage to have someone save me four of my strawberry plants. Poor things seem to be languishing on the porch pots, luckily for them a storm is a-brewing and they will not be subjected to scorching heat and lack of water.

Well it's cold and wet outside. Hopefully this storm that's putting everyone in a tizzy, (or if you like: has put everyone in a dither) wont be so bad. No signs of anything too scary and strong, but it does dissipate by the time it reaches us, (after traveling some 1500 miles).

Can you imagine, in a month's time my brother will be 18 and I will be 24 two days after. 24!!!! That's "hitting the wall" age. Heh. You shouldn't take note of my hitting the wall, but rather take the date that i've given you and decide on what birthday present I would care for. Is that big enough of a hint for ya? haha. Really I don't care what you give me as long as it's expensive. haha.

Oh this has made me a bit sore. Turns out the dog has contracted the disgusting malady known as fleas. She in turn has passed it onto the cat. Not my cat, mind you. She does not mingle with that class. However, it's put me in a somewhat disapproving state because she can still catch it since those animals live in this house as well. "I take care of my kids". I brush her twice a day and feed her and make sure she doesn't get too messy. I know not to let her out because of all the things that could happen or she could bring into the house. I'm careful of what others bring into this house for fear that they might harm her. I would not like her to get fleas because I know what an irritation a little bit of water causes her and I can imagine what a bath would do. I wish other people were more mindful of where they bring their animals and what they bring into this house. eh. Yesterday Rich and I tried to see of she had fleas, but it took us about a minute to finally part her thick, short fur to get to her skin. Hopefully her lovely, thick fur will be a useful weapon against the diseases that unthoughtful people bring in. And so ends my speech. I will have to go and write my sunday sermon. Ali G and Def Poetry Jam is on tonight, as well. Last week a guy was on who read his poem on "Niggaz...". It was very intriguing and laud inspiring. No not lawd, or lord, but laud. Oh lawdy. (That's meant to be comic/ironic/sarcastic.)

Me


Thursday, August 12, 2004

Sweet Little Nothings

Last night I woke up to use the bathroom and Rich helps me out of bed and whispers softly in my ear, "Soot left vomit in the closet" and that jolted me awake, and he fixed it saying "no it was a hairball". heh. I've never had a cat for all of my life until Jake then Soot (Victoria) and had no clue what a hairball looked like. In my head, whenever I heard of them on commercials or whatever, I would picture something like a tumbleweed except made with hair. A hair ball. Ya know, "rolling rolling rolling... rawhide!" But now that I've been around cats I know that they don't look anything like that. Rich put it well when he left me a message on the marker board saying "Large hairball in closet [then an arrow pointing to the place] Looks like small grey felt poo". And it does! So now you all know what it looks like. Okay I gotta go! Have a wonderful time all! Beautiful day out.

Me.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Mish Moshing

I'm coming with the new poll... hold ya horses. Got a new book to put up as well. Finally got through Howard's End. I have to admit, though it was slow going, it was a pretty brilliant book. Hmm, what shall the next poll be about? It was hot today wasn't it? It's nice and windy outside right now, but it's hot. I'll need to shower later so that I'm nice and cool for bedtime. I played some more Ages of Empire with Rich and it was pretty fun. It's neat to build a fleet of ships and watch them attack the enemy. Although I'm guessing Rich doesn't like it so much. Next time we wont be on water. Oh I haven't been listening to the Shrek Soundtrack either, so that's gotta change. I'm slowly collecting good Louis Armstrong songs on itunes. Each time I get a new one I consider getting another but never get around to it. I have about 5 of his songs as of now, all from different albums. What do I listen to? Well I listen to everything, from dance to opera, even country, but it changes every time I listen. My latest purchase from the itunes music store included George Michael's "faith", Louis Armstrong's "A Kiss to Build a Dream On", a little cajun flavor with "Jambalaya (on the bayou)" and "Aint No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. I was thinking about creating a new layout too, but there's so many incidentals to worry about. Like my sweet side stuff, but I'll see what I can do. Please excuse the jumbly way that this thought flows, I'm just writing whatever comes to mind first. Trading Spouses is on tonight. That woman from the berkshires is driving me insane. heh. This is the last I see of her, after tonight. Yeah yeah I gotta run. New poll? maybe tomorrow. Or tonight after dinner. Peace owt.

Have a wonderful night all.
Me

Sunday, August 08, 2004

Conquests and Villages

Rich has been hounding me to try this pc game called "Ages of Empires II" and finally I caved in and had a great time with it. You slowly build an "empire" and try to gain as much people and warriors in a short amount of time. Then you battle it out with your opponent. Today was my third attempt at it. Being more inclined to domesticity (be it the estrogen or lack of testosterone?) I enjoyed building farms and universities, and peopling my little town/village rather than focus my attention on war mongering and battles. But that turned out to be a mistake since I play against one whose soul purpose in life is to rule the world... Of course it's overwhelming to fight against someone and I tend to shirk from such things, besides, that's what ends the game. I rather liked watching my little town grow. But today we decided to be allies and defend ourselves from the computer enemy, who, sadly, was not up to our speed. It was fun to play and look forward to the next installment. P.S. You can choose from different peoples from the mongols to the britons (even spanish and aztec) and also choose from different landscapes. I've tried a wooded area, then a snowy area then to one that was more rich all around i.e., in wood, gold, stone and food. A good time, though I was devastated when Rich came along and destroyed my towers, walls and university. It's heart breaking!

Don't forget, Ali G and Def Poetry Jam on tonight.
Have a wonderful week everyone!

Me.

Thursday, August 05, 2004

"Funny Ha Ha?"

I was wondering the other day how a lot of people say that they want a guy with a "good sense of humor", but then when you think about it what they really want is a guy with the same sense of humor that they have. Many people have a sense of humor but many humors don't match up. Some people find fart jokes something to roll around on the floor for while others just titter politely and find sarcastic "witty" humor funnier. Now what I wonder is, do couples adapt to the others' sense of humor as they get into a relationship? Let's take my relationship as an example... Rich and I do share a horde of things that we both find very amusing but then there are things that he finds extremely hilarious and I just smile at... however, the longer I've lived with him I've noticed that some things that were once not so funny are now funnier. Like the Stern show. Once upon a time I found it to be disgusting and not to my taste but Rich thought it was funny, however during that strange time between consciousness and dreamland the radio would play on and I came to expect it in the mornings (of course if got better when Artie came along...). There are other things that I use to find as not so funny that I've grown to think are funnier now... and I'm sure it's the same with him.

What's the point of this post? I have no idea. All I know is that I have some salmon waiting to be grilled and I must run. If I think of anything I'll post an addendum. ta-ta for now darlings.

Me

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Summer Breeze

Gosh darn hot around here! Everything's sticky and uncomfortable. I hear some kinda hurricane weather is coming along and it's supposed to cool things down. My cat sleeps all day because of the heat and at night she sleeps on our filing cabinet because it's cooler than her closet bed. I'll wake up in the middle of the night and see her outline against the window, with her little head down, dreaming her cat dreams. Poor thing wakes up to eat and purr and then goes back to bed. She's so sweet though because she wakes us up early in the morning for purrins' and Rich told me that she was walking up and down my body while I slept away. I had a pillow on my chest just for this reason, and she meowed her head off. Getting nothing from me she wandered over to Rich and meowed and walked up to his face and rubbed her head into his face.

Anywho... what was I gonna write about? When do the olympics start? Dammit, can't remembah! it's the heat. I'll write more later when it's cooler. Literati tomorrow. Bring it! heh. Cool off. (My method is hagen daaz's mint chip).

Ahaha... just remembered. Tonight's trading spouses night and things I hate about you night on bravo. Oh man that last trading spouses was funny and uncomfortable with that texas "white" mom. ooh she was horrendous. "Things I hate about you" is a "game show" in which a couple lists things that annoy them about their mate and then judges use the taped evidence of it to judge who's more annoying. The couples are followed around with cameras and there are stationery cameras watching their every move around the house. An example of annoying things? one man liked to burp everywhere and it smelled!! Another guy picked toe jam and his nose then he wiped it everywhere!! like on the bed covers and cushions. Women were annoying because they shopped too much and wanted back rubs from everyone. gotta run.


Me.

Sunday, August 01, 2004

Summerfest Pictures

Hey all! How was summerfest, you demand? Well nothing special, except it made our pretty little town square look like a horrendous flea market. So the following pictures are more of our walk around the town, minus the flea market tables and people milling around. Enjoy!


This is God's hand over the church. Or just beautiful clouds and sky.


House on a hill. I'm not exactly sure whether this is someone's home or used for something else, such as worship. We trekked from the post office, up the hill, past the shops and got to this spot.


Very old, historic house in dilapidated condition. I forget the story of it but it was in the newspaper recently. This is on the way back down. We decided to head towards the harbor.


The seedy underside. All towns have one, ours tries to cover it up as much as possible, but we caught this glimpse on our way.


This is fascinating to me. It's not the first pic I've taken of it. I guess it reminds me of villas in italy or some adobe house down south. Or maybe it's the curiously tight looking door and space.


Little Europe


At the harbor and by the boat shop. The boat dock is behind it and behind that is the little beach where we've launched our first cautious steps into the world of kayaking. It's not really a "boat shop"... though there are kayaks and canoes and a rowboat all along the front. It's more of a "bait and tackle" shop.

From there we were done with summerfest and decided to head home.


This is the wildlife preserve on the way home. Sometimes you can watch different birds here, like herons and swans and such. (There's a waterway further down).


Rich and I can't decide whether the "Beastie Boys" sign was written in the 80's, 90's or today. They seem to pop up with each new generation. (This was taken behind our local Starbucks, by the way).


And from there we trudged home.

Okay all! Have a wonderful day. It's so hot!
Be cool.

Me