Dear Kuya

namimiss ko na si Kuya Jep...

A good homemaker

A few days ago, my officemate, Maan saw me brushing and using a cup for gargling water. She remarked: Twin, (hehe), sa tingin ko magiging mabuting maybahay ka balang araw.

I responded with a burst of laughter, thinking: Ako? Mabuting maybahay?

But I am glad that someone like Maan, saw that potential in me. I have always wanted to be a good homemaker like my mother: practical, organized, wise. But when I was little, my mother always said: napaka burara mo talaga. Ikaw ang babae ikaw ang bulagsak. Buti pa ang kuya nyo (she would pertain to my eldest brother Kuya Jeffrey) kalalaking tao, masinop sa buhay, maayos.

From then on, in my own little ways, I have always wanted to prove to my mother that I can change. That I can be like her and my Kuya Jeff.

And to this day, being organized is still quite a challenge for me. It is difficult to be organized when you have a lot of things to do and to think about. But I know that even if I have not become exactly like my mother or my brother, I am maintaining my life well in my own way.

If they would only see my boarding house room now, they would be proud of me. Their bunso makes her own hearty breakfast daily, washes her clothes, conserves water, segregates trash, and maintains a generally clean and organized room. And she does this independently while working and studying at the same time. I admit I am not perfect. Sometimes creepy things grow in my trash becauseI can become lazy and forgetful . I can be a compulsive shopper, overspend and overuse my credit card many times. But at the end of the day, I try to remember my goals in life. Yes, to be a good homemaker, a good citizen, so that I can raise my family well, like my mother did to us. So that I can help improve the life of this country.

It may be a long way to go, but I am tryong to improve in every way I can. And I know am getting there someday. For now I am gonna continue managing my bills well, trying my best to be practical in buying food and household needs, saving, creating other sources of income, maintaining a clean room, working and studying well. And I’m enjoying doing all these even if sometime things would go out of control.

Recently, my all around rice cooker malfunctioned. Instead of buying a new one, I had it fixed, and fortunately for free. Maan said again, Twin, magiging mabuting maybahay ka talaga.

Thank you, friend, may that come true, someday and everyday.

7 Dreams to fulfill

so i wont forget...

1) start and grow a business: dragona foodhaus! woohoo!

2) build my own donut and coffee place where people can chillax, build relationships, enjoy my donuts and coffee for a reasonable price ;)

3) teach marketing and communications in UP and DLSU so i can share my experiences with the younger generation and in turn learn from them.

4) learn how to play the guitar, and sing... more than words and other nice songs

5) travel the world with my family. Asia, Europe, Africa

6) write a good book, a compilation of essays, poems, anecdotes, dialogues

7) get rich and help eliminate poverty and pollution

The girl in the attic

Once upon a time, in a small town, there were 2 sisters who lived with their parents. The 2 sisters were named Sally and Anne. Anne was a very nice, generous and friendly girl. On the other hand, her sister Sally, is very nasty, and greedy and unfriendly. Sally would always take away what Anne has—her toys, her chocolates, everything. But since Anne was a generous girl, she always gave Sally what she wants. But Sally was never tired on trying to annoy her sister. She would always play bad jokes on her. One time, Sally put cockroach in Anne’s bed! And another time, Sally hid Anne’s doll. And another time, Sally soiled Anne’s favorite dress. Anne would wonder… “Why is my sister Sally so mean to me?” Some times Anne was tempted to fight back, but she remained with her Sally, because she loved her sister very much. Their parents do not notice the conflict between their daughters, because in front of their parents, Sally is very nice to Anne.

One day, Sally and Anne’s parents asked them to clean up the attic because Their aunt Hilda is coming over the next day for a visit. Sally and Anne brought rags, and a pail of water up to the attic. They noticed the whole room was a mess! It was very dusty and all the things inside were covered with dust. Sally yelled at Anne, “ Anne, what are you waiting for?! Start cleaning up this mess! You don’t want Aunt Hilda to stay in a dirty place…” And then Sally went out and shut the door of the attic and had gone downstairs to her room and played with Anne’s toys. Anne had no choice but to start cleaning. She soaked the rag in the bucket of water and then rubbed the dusty walls. After a lil’ while Anne heard a little girl’s voice, “Help. Help” “Where was the voice coming from?”. Anne thought. “Is that you Sally? Please don’t scare me..” But the voice lingered, “Help. Help.” It wasn’t Sally. The voice was coming from the mirror behind her covered with a blanket. Anne slowly pulled the blanket off the mirror and to her surprise, she saw a litlle girl in the mirror, still saying, “Help. Help.” “How can I help you?”, asked Anne. But the girl only uttered was “Help. Help.” Meanwhile, after a few hours, Sally went back upstairs to check out if Anne has finished cleaning up the attic. When she opened the door softly thinking of scaring Anne. But when she opened the door, She saw Anne talking to the mirror. “What is that crazy girl doing?” Sally said. She went in and saw that Anne was speaking with a girl in the mirror. When the girl in the mirror saw Sally, she said, “Come, play with me!” And then behind the girl in the mirror appeared lots and lots of beautiful dolls and huge playhouse. “ Wow!” Sally yelled with joy. The girl in the mirror, once again said reaching out her hand, “Come , play with me…” Sally without thinking touched the mirror to reach out the hand of the girl in the mirror”. Anne toldher sister, “No Sally, don’t go in there!” But Sally did not listen to Anne. Sally went inside and played with the girl inside the mirror. She did not even look back to Anne. But after playing for a few hours, Sally got tired of the toys and desired to get out of the mirror. But she could not get out. She was inside the mirror. And the girl, she was playing with was gone! Outside the mirror, Anne was crying waiting for her sister Sally to come out of the mirror. And suddenly, she heard her, “Anne help me! I cannot get out of the mirror! Help me Anne!” And then Anne saw beside her, the girl who was inside the mirror a while ago. Anne told her, “What did you do to my sister? Please let her get out of the mirror.” The girl said, “She wants my toys. I want my freedom.” But Anne replied, But she belongs here. And you belong in the mirror with your toys. Please let her go.” The girl was moved by Anne’s love for Sally. And so she touched the mirror and went back in. And after wards, Sally was set free.” Sally hugged her sister so tight and told her. “Thank you Anne. And I’m sorry for being mean to you.” I promise to be a ghood sister to you from now on.” The girl in the mirror smiled at them and waved good bye.

My Running Utopia

Whenever i visit my dear alma mater UP diliman, i just want to jump off the jeepney and run around the acad oval. sometimes i wish i live in UP so i can run everyday to my heart's content. and swim and bike sometimes.

for now im gonna content myself with running around here in pasig. I recently discovered a new place called Rizal high. they have a good track oval. but nothing compares to this... (thanks leo zulueta for the photo)

Craving for frozen yogurt

Even if it has been raining for the past couple of weeks, the weather has been constantly hot. So I have always found myself craving for frozen yogurt. I do not know if this is just me following the fad, but just the thought of this yummy treat makes me want to hunt right away the nearest frozen yogurt store.

This is reaction towards frozen yogurt is actually kind of unusual for me. I like cold desserts like ice cream but I never craved for ice cream as much as I crave now for frozen yogurt. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I am watching my weight. And with ice cream, even if I wanted to eat more, the pleasure is not 100% because there is always the guilt:

Before eating ice cream : Okay, I am just gonna have 1 small cup.
During: This is really good. And it’s 1,000 calories! I will probably just skip dinner.
After: I need to jog!

What is even more unusual is that a few years back, I wasnt really a fan of yogurt. My concept of yogurt was Nestle’s Yogurt and Dutch Mill’s Yogurt Drink, which I do not find quite appetizing. Maybe because the non-frozen yogurt, in its semi-liquid or liquid form the sour taste overpowers the creaminess and the sweetness—tastes which I and probably most people are more fond of. Moreover, I find Nestle Yogurt expensive. Even if it is only P30 to P40 a cup, much cheaper than frozen yogurt, I do not feel like its worth buying because it does not satisfy me in taste and in quantity.

It was only recently this year that I learned about this new thing called frozen yogurt. One night after dinner, my friends and I wanted some dessert. One suggested to go to Red Mango. It was funny because I had always passed by this store but I never really noticed it nor was attracted to buy Frozen Yogurt. Perhaps because the store looked expensive. And it was indeed expensive. That night I ordered one small cup of plain yogurt for P80. But of course I wanted some toppings, so I added P40 for some fruit and nuts. Oh, but it was really yummy! The best part was the balance of the half-sour yogurt , the sweetness of the fruit and flavor of nuts and all the texture combined in your mouth. The next best thing was that it is healthy, and guilt-free. That was really a treat.

From then on, I started noticing frozen yogurt stores in malls and advertisements/ promotions on TV, print and out-of-home. I saw a portion segment in a morning show featuring a franchise of Frozen Yogurt. The Pancake House billboard ad featuring Gurts is very prominent along EDSA. I also saw a ¾ page lifestyle article on frozen yogurt on newspaper. Then I realized this is a fad. More and more people seem to be talking about frozen yogurt and are getting crazy over it. I guess it is all these ads and word-of-mouth combined that reinforce my liking for this product. Now frozen yogurt for me is the new yogurt. Not very long Nestle Yogurt will be forgotten unless they come up with something really better. It is the fun of choosing your own toppings from a wide selection of fruits, nuts, chocolate, granola, cereals, candies, etc. Just the other day I saw a new Frozen Yogurt Place in greenbelt, Qoola, that allows you to make your own cup of frozen yogurt. You experience actually pressing the machine to get your yogurt and then pour on all the toppings you want. No limit for the yogurt or toppings. All you need to pay for is the overall weight. How cool is that?