- mga mumunting pangarap -

chireh and i were walking along sun yat sen memorial hall when we thought of our classmates from gradeschool or highschool who were born to privilege ... we were not born to privilege ... simply put, we were not born rich ... don't get me wrong, we're not bitching about that fact ... but we did remember some of the things that we were envious about ... things that the affluent kids got to enjoy ... things we only gaped at ...

(1) the crayola crayons with the gazillion colors ... with color names that you definitely won't find in a color wheel and that will never be mentioned in a "normal" conversation on colors ... ie, cerulean, periwinkle ... chireh and i finally made this dream come true ... mine was given to me as a bertdi present from jeni and dallas and aeon (jeni's nieces) ... oh looooook, look at this - http://www.crayola.com/colorcensus/history/chronology.cfm

(2) the "swiss knife" pencil case ... this is the pencil case which has it all ... with "two doors" - front and back! ... pencil and pen storage area ... magnifying lens ... sharpener ... eraser holder ... scissor ... razor ... freezer ...

(3) stuffs from gift gate ... anything from gift gate ... back then, it was the "in" thing ... it was a "status symbol" ... being able to buy something from gift gate, you will probably get this reaction - "huuwaawww, gift gate!" ... you get your hello kitty, sanrio, kerokerokeroppi (a favorite of one of chireh's classmates) knick knacks ... we've yet to do something about this ... but when we have the chance, we'll make sure we'll go out of gift gate bearing ultra-mega-big gift gate bags ;)

fun facts ... i can't remember having any collectibles ... chireh had tansansss (bottle caps).

- talent -

fact - i love kids. there's this something in them which never fails to make me smile ... true, sometimes they can test your patience ... but it's just a part of their being kids ... looking at them helps me put things into better perspective - they give me a fresh insight ... they make me realize that life has so much to offer ... they make me hopeful ...

earlier today, i was looking for something in my PST file when i came across this email sent to me by my ate mean last july 2005 ... this is one of my favorite stories about my nephews - rafael aka raprap, kurap, rapee and roi aka duyduy, duduy (both 4 years old now) and riane *just riane for him :)* (3 years old) ...

note - ate mean is the mommy of raprap and riane ... ate alma - my sis-in-law - is the mommy of roi and ann ... ann was too young at that time so wala pa mashadong "dog tricks" yung bata :)

so here are the stories as told to me by my ate mean in her email ...

Si Raprap

... masyado nang matanong ... bakit ganito.. bakit.. bakit..bakit.. parang tatanungin ka:
rap: anung kulay?
mean: puti
rap: bakit maputi?
mean: pra malinis?
rap: bakit malinis?
mean: hmmm?

... nakakatuwa din yun pag nakakakita ng airplane alam mo yun lumiliwanag ang mukha ... tinanong ako bakit daw garahe ang airplane ... sabi ko inaayos.. bakit inaayos ... para ayos lipad ... bakit ayos lipad.. lalagyan ng gas *nahihirapan nang mag-isip ng sagot si ate :P* .. saan lagay ng gas ... sa airport ... nde nde dun sa (nde nya masabi sa gasoline station) ... aba naman nung isang araw kakagising pa lang tapos tinanong ako ... bakit ayos airplane (uulitin na naman namin yung cycle)

Si Roi

... nung isang araw nasa bahay sila, nakita nya yung mga kumot nila kurap... sabi niya "wow Nemo" (kay rap).. tapos yung isa,"wow Shrek" (kay riane) ... "wawa ako!" ... hehehe.nakalimutan naman kasing bilhan yung bata galing baguio ... yun yung mga makakapal na kumot kasi ... sabi ni te alma sige bibili tayo ...

Si Riane

... nung isang araw nagpapabukas ng lollipop tapos nung open na sinusubo sa akin e ayaw ko ... aba! pinuwersa ako. hinawakan ako sa leeg nung isang kamay tapos yung isang kamay nya hawak yung lollipop, pinapasok sa bibig ko ... ayaw akong tigilan hangga't nde ako ngumanga ...gigil na gigil pa mukha nya tapos finally binuksan ko na bibig ko tapos nagpanggap ako na namatay ... aba nilayasan ako! tapos humiga na ako pinuntahan ulit ako nakihiga ... sabi ko sa kanya, alis ka dyan, galit ako sa yo... pilit tumatabi ng nakadapa, sumisiksik ...sabi ko alis ka ... siksik pa din, nung inangat ko, may luha ba naman! na guilty naman ako ... kasi nde naman siya humihikbi o ngumawa basta lang lumuha ng tahimik ...sensitive talaga yun...pag may ginawa siyang kasalanan sa yo, siya pa yung aalis at magtatampo na parang ako ang may kasalanan...hehehe

Si Ann

... for this little girl, i had the cute experience first-hand .. just happened last month, i think ... i called them at home and i told ate alma that i want to talk to ann ... i was later told by ate alma that after she gave the cellphone to ann, the kid started moving away from them - sinosolo nya yung telepono :) ... she wasn't really saying anything and i just kept talking to her ... and then i told her - ann, sabihin mo, "HA HA HA" ... and then silence ... and then a small, high-pitched voice ... an unmistakable echo "ha ha ha" ...

kids never cease to amaze me ...

- adola/tinobo -

lesson learned for today - never, never put ginger in your adobong manok. unless you want it to taste like "adobo na tinola" or "tinola na adobo" ... ergo, adola or tinobo.

magpapaka-poncio pilato ako *hugas kamay ;)* -
i just followed a recipe that chireh and i found on the internet. being the "law-abiding citizen" that i am *most of the time*, i did what the recipe said. i had my doubts about using ginger but hey, i'm not a pro on cooking.

and so it goes, chireh, farfetch and i had adola/tinobo for lunch today. personally, i still think it was great ... not just because i made it *love your own :P* but because i shared it with two great friends ...

updated: a friend of mine told me that it's ok to use ginger since it's chicken but you don't really have to use a lot ... the tinola taste on my adobo is an indicator of just how much ginger i used *so much for washing my hands*

- sunshines after the rainy days -

i was chatting with wobs earlier today and i realized that it is true what they say - the sun does shine after the rain ... a person needs to go through the pain to fully appreciate the healing that life has to offer afterwards ... thinking of where i am right now, i have to say that i am thankful for the pain : ).

- barney bag -

fact 1 - i'm not a violet person ... for the basic reason that i associate it with the filipino delicacy called "puto bumbong" (http://dessertcomesfirst.blogspot.com/2005/05/puto-bumbong-and-guinumis.html). when jeni went here last time and wore a violet shirt (note - used only at home as pantulog), i had incessantly pointed out her puto bumbong get-up until she decided to change.

fact 2 - i have nothing against violet or against puto bumbong, for that matter : ).

fact 3 - i'm in need of a new and smaller bag. the red backpack that i had before (which matched my ex-boypren's green one) has a built-in stone ... always heavy even without my stuffs inside and come on, "out with the old, in with the new" ; ), right?

lo and behold, my new bag ...















in fairness, aside from the fact that it's starting to grow on me and i actually like the design, it has a lot of space. more than enough to hold all my daily crap : ).

- iniinggit ko si jan -

jeni, as promised, i'm posting some pictures of your favorite food from shihlin.

we're not really sure what it's called but i'm guessing it's pork dumplings with peanut butter sauce. i got the xiao la *little spicy* and chireh got the la *spicy*.

oo na, binawasan ko na bago ako kumuha ng second picture :P

enjoy : ).

would you rather ...

(a) have a stick up your nose or (b) have a stick through your ears?
this was the challenge question that i posed today at our "would you rather" game (http://www.zobmondo.com/).

^ chireh and i went to papa d's house to prepare lasagna for him. his oven, after about 4 years of being ignored, was finally noticed. i was the one who opened it - the manuals were still inside : ).

^ our lasagna - which was a labor of love from farfetch, chireh and me - was fabulous ... even if i say so myself. we also had salad, garlic bread and tiramisu.

^ after lunch, we took a stab at the "would you rather" game and we found out in the course of playing that it's better played when the players are a little tipsy or maybe drunk :). since we were all sober, after one round with would you rather, we decided to switch to cribbage

^ it's a mix of melancholy and glee for today ... this sunday was actually great - great weather, great company, great food but papa d will be having an operation next week and we're all worried ...

- a day in pompeii -

that is what the advertisers of the pompeii exhibition here in taipei said but it only took us about 2 hours to see everything - and that already includes the ~30 minute-film showing -> http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_portents_01.shtml

let me make myself clear, i'm not bitching :). i actually liked the exhibition.

pompeii was destroyed with the eruption of mount vesuvius in 79 AD(http://www.click2disasters.com/pompeii/pompeii_ch1.htm). the exhibition at the national taiwan science education center (http://www.ntsec.gov.tw/ntsec-english/special/special.html) featured some of the artifacts unearthed from the site - cooking items, jewelries, statues of their gods and godesses and the highlight - cast of some of the people/animals who died. it's too bad that cameras were not allowed. the only souvenirs that i got are -

(1) a stamp on my arm















(2) a museum ticket
















and
(3) an eye-opening experience to an important moment in history and a lingering interest to know more about it.

ps. i just bought a book on mythology.

"sobrang tinapyas kasi ni EV yung affection e" - from chireh, talking about our Emotional Vampire here in Taipei(http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Vampires-Dealing-People-Drain/dp/0071381678)

- realizations for today -

^ *said without bitterness, i promise :)* that i wasn't really enough for my previous relationship and that it wasn't really meant to be - cause if i was/it was, my partner wouldn't have left taipei without me - for whatever reason.

^ that most bus drivers here in taipei are also the same in the philippines - swerving in and out of this and that lane, heedlessly braking, moving from the innermost to the outermost lane, travelling at the speed of light :P ... two main differences - bus drivers here don't stop at every single lamp post wearing a skirt and they only stop at the designated pick-up/drop-off areas.

^ the same can be said for some cab drivers here - they can be driving like they are in an F1 race. the main difference? cab drivers here will always base the fare on whatever the meter says.

- random musings -

farfetch - when was the last time you did something for the first time?

chireh - anne, from now on, kelangan lahat ng bagay na ginagawa natin may kuwenta (commenting on our butaw dakot-dakot lunch)

chireh - nilagyan mo na ba yan ng "las vegas"? (asking me if i already put some salt on the dish that we were cooking)

jeni - *miyagi* (describing how she catches the flies in our bathroom)

aneh - dala mo na ba yung soling i-a-id? (asking jeni about the ID card that was supposed to be returned *id na isosoli*)

aneh - disikwatro (telling jeni about the number 14)

- knowledge = power -

they say that knowledge is power ... i've been reading on MVP and i'm almost finished with the book from jeni - lyn frederickson's "confronting mitral valve prolapse syndrome" ...

i've learned a lot about this condition just from this book ... i feel so empowered that i decided to create another blog just for my MVP - http://mvptots.blogspot.com

- spamazoid -

i'm plagued with spam mails ... well, who isn't? ... the spam folder in my office e-mail account is never clean ... new spamssss come in every single day ... and my bulk mail in yahoo has hundreds of garbage in it ....

are my complaints way, too delayed? i just have to comment - i wish the spam mail writers make "better" spam mails ... if their goal is to be "noticed" or to be treated as something legitimate and worth perusing - IMHO, i don't think they are doing a good job -

(1) Subject:Re: As make be ultraviolet pluralism
(2) Subject: Concerta the medicines together If your medical doctor or dentist directs
(3) Message Boby: Empire king and did you; are for the How is a hundred thousand Empire, in the twip heah in a know. Read raised to do so.

- naming conventions -

^ because chireh, farfetch and i are postmodern and fabulous, we decided na pangalanan ang mga ari namin ...
aneh aka tori
chireh aka eartha
farfetch aka zac

^ chireh and i are addicted to queer as folk ... it was said in the series that to get your screen name, you can follow this pattern - name of pet + street where you grew up
aneh aka rambo rosal
chireh aka shadow algeciras
farfetch aka birdie carnation
rachelle (import namin from PH) aka didi king ... hmm, tama bang makalimutan ko yung last name????

- never wear leather sandals on a rainy day -

it's been raining cats and dogs the entire day today ... but chireh and i still decided to go out to check out wigs at the tienmu area and to go to the pinoy store to buy some stuffs ...

for the simple reason that it's comfortable and it goes well with my shorts - despite knowing that it "bleeds" - i wore the black leather sandals that i bought from hush puppies ...

first stop was tienmu ... i was looking for dreadlocks and chireh was looking for afro ... they didn't have it but i decided to try one of the wigs - long, black and a little wavy ... the hair feels real especially those which were hand-made ... but it will set you back by about 36000 NT - more than 1000 USD!!! ... the machine-made costs about 4500 NT ...

next stop was pinoy store ... we ate turon which was sooo hard - sakit sa ngalangala! ... we were supposed to buy some cooked food at one of the diners pero nung nakita na naming nadawdaw yung daliri nung aleng nagbebenta sa kare-kare, we changed our minds ... after buying the stuffs that we need, we decided to take a cab to go home ...

now, what's with the title of this blog? they say that pictures speak a thousand words ... so i'll let this picture do the talking ... taken while we're at the taxi *salamat chireh sa pixs! kahit diring-diri ka na ... tinalo nito ang bumubula mong sandals! :P*

- on being violated -

fact - i am well-endowed. i am thankful for it in some ways but that's not to say that i never had any bad experience related to it ...

way back in college, one afternoon, i was walking along 11th avenue corner rizal avenue ... on my way to the lrt ... i stopped walking because somebody was blocking my way when a guy at my back said to me - "miss, ang laki ng boobs mo" ... i was stunned, surprised but i just shrugged my shoulders and laughed to myself ...

what i experienced today wasn't really a laughing matter ...

i went to the doctor today to have my chest - particularly the bones -checked ... i was having pains around that area - bearable but still uncomfortable especially when i'm tired and stressed ... lifting heavy objects has the same effect ... i was requested to get a chest xray and a lateral xray with focus on my sternum ... i was amazed that i'll get the result right away - almost real time ...

i went to the radiology department ... changed to the prescribed robe ... the radiologist was male ... almost the same age as i am, i think ... there was another male but i think he was just assisting ... when i was standing in front of the xray plate, the usual adjustments were made to my position ... just to make sure that i'm at the center of the plate ... nothing unusual ... 2 xrays were taken ... lateral was taken side-ways from my right ...

i went back to the doctor and waited ... i was told that i had to go back to the radiologist because the lateral xray was not clear ...

i went back to the radiology department ... changed into the robe again and notified the radiologist ... the assistant was not there this time ... i was asked where the pain was and i indicated it by pointing ... i was made to stand side-ways with my hands stretched above my head ... the radiologist started to arrange my position on the plate ... poking the painful area ... he even said sorry because i grimaced in pain ... and then he cupped my right breast and squeezed it ... i was surprised but i thought that it's a part of the procedure ... just to get the robe out of the way ... he went out of the xray room ... went back, fixed my position again ... and i was given another squeeze ... i thought, he's just making sure he'll get it right this time ... he went out and went back ... fixed my position but this time, he cupped by left breast and squeezed it ...

it was then that i felt violated ... it was so surreal - it's like watching it being done on somebody else ... i don't know how an xray of the sternum was supposed to be taken ... it was the first time that i had it so i don't know what's the right and the wrong way ... but cupping my left breast and squeezing it sounded an alarm on my head because it was not blocking the view of my sternum ... the picture was supposed to be taken from my right side ...

i can't remember anymore what happened after that ... i guess my position was again adjusted and then the xray was finally taken ... i left the radiology department confused ... thinking, "anu daw? anu'ng nangyari? have i just been harassed???" .... i was a little shaken and dazed ... i called jeni to tell her what happened and of course, she was furious ... fortunately, chireh who had her vaccination called, i told her what happened and she went to me and accompanied me until i got the result ... i started laughing at the experience ...

i'm fine ... no lesions in my bone ... i was given some medicines ... recommended to place a warm pack on the painful area and to avoid lifting heavy objects and putting stress on my chest ....

recalling now what happened (everything was a blur earlier), i'm still left feeling weird and confused ... i guess as chireh would put it, this is "one experience for the books"

- my mitral valve prolapse (mvp) -

when jeni went here last week, she gave me a copy of the book on mvp that i've been looking for - "confronting mitral valve prolapse by lyn frederickson"

wait, let me digress a little - jeni, tenk yu for giving this to me ... you don't know how much this helps ...

i would recommend the book to anybody who has been diagnosed with mvp - especially to those who are still in the dark about this condition ... a few days ago, i was one of them ...

^ the book listed 8 major symptoms - i have all of them and 24 minor symptoms - i don't have 7 symptoms on the list ...

^ the symptoms are biochemically triggered ... patients "report a precipitating event" (pg. 28) ... i first had the symptoms a few months after i started living alone ... i know that i'm not built for it ...

^ "somatic preoccupation ... enhanced awareness of bodily functions" (pg. 22) ... that definitely explains my sensitivity to certain twitches and spasms in my body ...

^ "usually told that this condition *involves the heart* and *don't worry*" (pg. 40) ... the *don't worry* was the same phrase said to me when i hauled myself to the emergency room because my arms were shaking, i was having palpitations, and i had difficulty breathing ...

^ "lack of information ... feel helpless ... not in control" (pg. 40) ... my exact sentiments -> http://demensya.blogspot.com/2006/08/feeling-better-its-been-while-since-i.html

i'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel cause i'm beginning to understand what is happening ... and for that, i'm really thankful ...

- crocodile hunter died -

his name was steve irwin - i found that out just after learning that he died ... all i know about him was that he was this guy on tv who loves to wrestle crocodiles and who wears this brown dress shirt with matching brown shorts ... or is it khaki? ... and that he works with this wife .. and that he's australian ...

knowing that much, i actually felt sad after learning of his death ... i initially thought that the crocs finally got him ... i thought it strange that a stingray hit him rather than a crocodile ...

- on being sad -

jeni and i woke up at around 6am ... she had to leave the house before 7 to be on-time for her 10am trip to manila ... i didn't go with her to the airport ... sinamahan ko lang shang kumuha ng taxi to go to far eastern hotel where she took a bus to CKS ...

after jeni left, i felt so lonely and alone ... i can't sleep on my bed (maaga pa, pede pang bumalik sa tulog) ... i decided to sleep on the couch instead - bukas ang tv ... the night before, jeni asked me about this "habit" - i sometimes keep the television on without really watching it ... i explained that the sound helps mask my sadness ... i needed the noise ... the silence tends to magnify my loneliness ... and i definitely don't need that ...

i had to wake up at 8am but i didn't feel like getting up ... my alarm went on and off several times ... 8 ... 805 ... 810 ... 820 ... 830 ... i finally decided to get up at 835 ... kelangan ko pang mag-deposito sa metrobank para sa padala ko sa pinas ...

i arrived earlier than usual dito sa opis ... i don't feel like working ... but i have to ... jeni has been to taiwan several times ... but this is the first time that i felt this way sa pag-alis nya ... i feel so sluggish ... i actually feel empty ...

i'm going to get some water now ... i sure hope it can "drown" my sadness ... and i need to work ...

- keelung keelung -

jeni and i went to keelung today (http://demensya.blogspot.com/2006/05/amazing_06.html)... we were supposed to go there early (730-ish) but being the lazy people that we are *may violent reaction ka ba jeni??? :p*, we left the house at around 930am. since it's only friday morning, the train wasn't packed.

our itinerary was something like this -
(1) arrived at keelung at around 1000 am (topmost pix)
(2) breakfast at burger king
(3) took the 11am ferry (2nd pix) to guanghua tower (3rd pix) where
- jeni saw her favorite stones na kinulayan in an attempt cguro to make them look happier (4th pix)
- we slurped a mango slush (5th pix) for like 1 hour while we exchanged our stories on this and that shit
- we played with the camera (6th, 7th and 8th pix)
(4) took a bus to the fairy cave where we stayed for at most 3 minutes. jeni didn't even look at the different buddha statues. the reason behind this will remain a secret between me and jeni ... and chireh ... and farfetch .. and ... :P
(5) took a cab to baimiwong fortification (main pix, eveything on the lower portion ... and of course, that trip won't be complete without taking a picture in front of the mirror (bottom pixs pa din) .. nag-enjoy kami ni jeni sa tambay namin dun ... ang ganda kasi ng view e tas ang hangin pa tas magkasama pa kami tas tas tas ...
(6) ate kfc lunch at around 330 pm *nagpunta kami ng keelung para kumain ng fastfud : )*
(7) went back to taipei a little before 5pm