Talking meals

I used to take breakfast for granted. Usually, I'll have a slice of toasted bread, or a glass of coconut juice, or a slice of any leftover cake, puto-puto, the sweet stuff, or nothing at all. Whatever plate, I'm always good to go. But starting Monday this week, I've been eating a full breakfast, with rice and sunny side up or poached eggs, and a piece of what's leftover from the previous day.

It was an online article on the Top 5 Ways to boost metabolism that finally convinced me. Then I came upon other articles on the same goal, and one common tip they've been brandishing at hard headed pretend health buffs like me is to "Never skip breakfast." Check out these websites:

Top 5 Ways to boost metabolism article #1

Top 5 Ways to boost metabolism article #2

Top 5 Ways to boost metabolism article #3

If sixpackabs24.com is telling you to eat breakfast, you gotta listen you know.

My favorite meal of the day is, unfortunately, dinner. I don't always eat dinner because I agree with what they say of its non-purpose, "You're just going to bed anyways." But when I'm obligated to eat dinner, like at Mamita's gatherings, or at a party, or when Nang Boning is frying buwad, I enjoy them like I never do with the other two mealtimes. It's not only about getting to eat; it's the little extra that comes with dinner -- the time to sit back and simply enjoy the company. There's no meeting or pile of papers sitting at the office that couldn't wait for the next day.

I never get this with lunchtime, except on Sundays. I always look at the time when I'm eating lunch because I don't want the latest chika from the local grapevine or Al Jazeera to take more time out of my siesta. No siesta = moody afternoon at the office. But not to say I don't appreciate lunch. I always look forward to lunches. It breaks hunger strikes that hit between 10:30-11:30 whether or not I had breakfast.

It's my Birthday! (The Too Early Celebration)

My dear Action Group friends Chetty, Daisy, Abeth, Leslie Anne, and Nicole knew I was expecting a surprise on my birthday so to break this assumption and to keep a surprise a real surprise for me, they decided to have this surprise wayyy earlier than my birthday. Tonight, in fact! Boy, was I surprised.

We were at Ate Vannie's place tonight for the Joint Sisters' Action Group activity, themed Beauty and Fashion. Melody was in the middle of sharing her comprehensive beauty know-how when the gurls walked into the room with balloons, a bouquet, a cake with four candles on top and the birthday song (they even played the Chipmunks in the background). Get this, I thought somebody else was celebrating her birthday so I sang along! It's just too early; my birthday's yet on the 29th. My AG gurls really outsmarted me this time. I was so delighted, and happy, and touched, my smile ached from showing too much. It was wayyy more than I expected and I deserve. Oh, it feels great that I have friends who think otherwise.

I expect it's going to be a great few days ahead. My high school bestfriend Angel is getting married this Saturday. It's going to double as mini reunion as the other gals are headed home for this event and for the 4-day weekend. The Manila-based Danda already promised. Christina, Jamie, and hopefully Verna, I hope, are all coming, too. I'm so excited to see everyone again. I might have a little gathering of family and friends on Sunday, but that's not planned yet. On Monday, I plan to be in Cebu to visit Cai and also, to see Manila-based Jane who is visiting for a few days only and Kara and everybody else, my dear friends from college. Oh nostalgia, come take me away. I just love relivin' the old days.

I wish I can show the photos we took tonight, but Ate Vannie's camera is not working with my laptop. Melody made me her dummy during her make-up demonstration. A make-over on a rather too early birthday celebration? What a start to a new year! I hope this beauty make-over does not only show in the surface; more importantly, I hope it radiates from within.

Happy new year to me! Dear God, thanks for the wonderful, wonderful people you have surrounded me with this year.

This Sunday

It's not always you get to go on a speedboat to try catch a glimpse of a family of whale sharks rumored to be loitering in the area (unsuccessful) and then, watch some family and friends ride the waves on a wakeboard, with the sun setting in the background. So yeah, today was a good day.

The Birthday-is-coming-up Countdown

I remember when I turned 25 last year I told myself it's going to be a productive and eventful new year for me. I knew the fate of that resolution would entirely depend on how I seize opportunities. Let's see how I did in this countdown to 25.

1) Took the IELTS exam (November 2010).

2) Went to Bohol to join a religious conference that did wonders to my sensibilities (October 2010).

3) Crossed the Mactan channel close to midnight with only a thin slice of fiber glass separating me from the deep blue. Then we camped out in Sulpa Island and woke early in the morning finding the tide so low we can actually wade to the next island. It was a surreal experience (November 2010).

4) My sisters came home for the holidays with their families. I saw my baby niece (my first) for the first time. One of my most memorable year-end celebration (December 2010).

5) I organized the program for the Tan reunion, which everyone said was the most fun in years (December 2010).

6) I also organized the program for the Christmas Party of my community (December 2010).

7) I joined my community's Christmas Choir that raised funds for activities and projects (December 2010).

8) Spent 5 days in Manila with my grandma and with darling Chloe, Yassy and Patrick. Joined the celebration for dear Kuya's graduation from college and had dinner one floor below where the President of the Philippines was having dinner (March 2011).

9) Run 12k on Valentine's Day -- alone, but happy (February 2011).

10) Made efforts to see my friend, one of my closest from college days, Bambam and her son in Tacloban, which is 2 hours from where I live. I include this because every effort meant I kept my promise.

11) Helped organize a second Run Ormoc Run and raised funds for a scholarship foundation. Whohoo (November 2010).

12) Organized the Mayong's Fun Run, Mayong's 25th anniversary celebration, in 3 weeks. Our suppliers have been so supportive Mayong's did not spend a dime. We gathered around 300 people, which is already a good number for any fun run in Ormoc (February 2011).

13) Surprised Mamita who had just arrived from her 3 weeks-long vacay to the Mediterranean cruise and Italy with 32 cupcakes that spelled "Welcome back! We miss you very, very much!" I could see her delight through her hard-to-win smile. And it's a big thing for me cos I don't do cheesy stuff much, not even to people I truly care for. So this was a remarkable stretch of my cheesiness (September 2010).

14) Bought my first pair of tap shoes and attended a tap dance class while in the US. Dream come true (May-June 2011).

15) Came close to a potential romance. Though it never did set off anything real (except for international friendship ha), it was so good while it lasted and so memorable while I learned from it (May 2011).

16) Spent one a half months with my sisters and my niece in the US (April, May, June 2011).

17) Watched Les Miserables, the musical. So powerful; it was amazing. It would be two months before I tire of its soundtrack (June 2011).

18) Finished my first 21k in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 22 seconds. Way ahead of my expected time of 2:30. God alone! (May 2011)

19) Visited the breathtaking Joshua Tree National Park (June 2011).

20) Made the decision to pursue God and stuck by this throughout the year (October 2011).

21) Spent four days in Singapore with the entire clan; going around with color-coded shirts, taking midnight walks barefoot and with my cousins, taking the streets to run early in the morning with no clear directions and all alone. And we watched Lion King the musical. It was superb -- I cried in the beginning (April 2011).

22) Went on a serious training for the first time in my entire life, for my first 21k. This consisted of waking up at the latest 5:30 am, 5 times a week, running, at the least, 21 kilometers a week, and... basically that's it. Though the intensity waned going into the second month, I'm still super proud for I've never dedicated myself physically to anything before. I think it was the $91 registration that my sister paid in my behalf that did it (February, March, April 2011).

23) Volunteered to teach the kids at the local orphanage, 3x a week, at 4-5pm. This worked for a few months, but I eventually had to give it up because I got busier and the 4pm exit wasn't making it easier. (Which I totally regret. To come and go is no way to treat kids who has had to deal with too many temporary arrangements w/o my adding to it.) (October 2010 til early 2011)

24) I sent my application for a 6-month Children's Services course in Sydney, with high hopes this is going to lead to my ultimate goal -- live in Sydney! Ok, let's not get too excited. Let's take this one step at a time (August 2011).

25) This last one took too long to fulfill. Should I save this for December when I learned Ballroom Dancing with my lola and my sister and dared to show my stuff at our Palou Reunion? Or for two days ago when I agreed to help organize the Fatima Church run intended to raise funds for the construction of the church? Or for this morning when I successfully controlled my temper because something was not done the way it was supposed to be? Or for two weeks ago, when I agreed to take the reigns of the OPM activities in the place of Angging who will be busy with her Master's? Or for every time I pay our driver P25 for the puto that he and his wife originally sells at P10? Yes, this last spot is for these little moments. They remind me that I'm getting better.

I finally parked

I'm happy to be blogging again. For a long time, I've just been supplying this online collection of beautiful photos www.findingbeautiful.tumblr.com with short stories; and longer entries go to my non-0nline journal I named Butterfinger (yes, I was eating chocolate when I created it). But a few days back, while visiting a friend's blog, a fire rekindled and I yearned to write to the virtual anonymity once again. I thought of creating a new blog (oh no, not again) but exactly because of that (oh no, not again), I thought better and decided to go back via this "travel blog" that I revived on our US trip earlier this year. Hopefully, having this to report to will inspire me to translate more days into words, and words into interesting posts. For fellow virtual wanderers, who want somewhere to drop by at.

Fallen son

Somebody was killed inside his own car along the highway in Simangan last night. He was shot in the head. His blood has dried up when his body was discovered today at mid-morning. Those in the vicinity say they could not have guessed sooner that a dead body lay waiting inside the car. There was nothing sinister about the way it was parked along the highway; it was parked properly. This news is tragic enough -- Ormoc has not recovered from last week's shooting of a bakery caretaker -- but its reverberation reaches not only our consciousness but also our deepest sympathies. The man found dead inside the car is the son of family friends. The last time I saw his mother was at Mayong's 25th lunch celebration, with her husband and her daughter. They have been supplying flour and other ingredients to Mayong's for more than two decades. They are also in the same community as my parents.

The mother received the news through a phone call from a friend. "Ang sakyanan ni Dodong... Nakit-an dinhi sa Dayhagan. Murag patay naman ni siya. Daghan may dugo." Will she ever forget that phone call? I asked my mother, who dropped by the wake in the afternoon, if she has seen her. I wanted to know how she's holding up and that she is holding up. Though I'm only an outsider, I grieved, too, that some mother has to suffer through this.

One's death is devastating enough; but a sudden one, and tragic, too? It's harrowing enough losing somebody and never getting to see them again; but losing without ever saying goodbye?

May Dodong rest in peace. And may justice be served.

Step 1: Application to AICL

I finally lodged my application to the Australian Institute of Commerce and Language! Though I feel like I'm betraying my papa who so appreciates the extension of my "visit" here in Ormoc (giving me extra baon, always being patient with my impatience), I am so excited! I don't think I've ever come so close to the beginning of a new adventure. Nothing's final yet. But the act alone of getting to work on the application and waiting patiently for my email to send all requirements is exciting enough! Such little step towards the goal, but I'm proud of myself!

I planned this in 2009 and have been thinking about it since, but a lot of life-changing events happened between then and now, that I couldn't ignore my part in without seeming selfish. And even before I made this plan, I've always wanted to try Sydney out. I fell in love with the place the first time I was there in 2003 and vowed to go back. In 2008, I had the opportunity and stayed there for 3 months. And while there were unfortunate events in my stay there, it didn't change anything -- Sydney remains my favorite place after home.

Ok, let's not get carried away. There's a lot to do. Confirm that all requirements have reached their office. Get accepted. Pay up. Wait for their certificate of acceptance. File my docs for a Student Visa. Get approved. Leave. And throughout the process, I have to budget my savings, control my emotions, make my parents and everyone understand. So much to do. It's an adventure already!

Oh my soul, claim nothing as your own. For you, there is God and God alone.