question left unanswered

long day this has been. my family drove to Minalin to visit my grandfather's wake. wifey & i were expecting a "difficult" drive to the north since our van's aircon broke down the other day. when you've got a baby travelling with you, that would be inconvenient to a high level considering the sun's heat and worse, the pollution.

anyway, dad texted me something. it was actually a request. a request to befriend (or at least be polite) to someone whom i've been intentionally ignoring. weird as it can be, i really feel awkward whenever we meet at my oldies place. not that i disrespect the person but honestly, i just can't face someone against my own will. maybe not at this time. but giving respect to my dad, i did try to utter some words to that person, and act as civil as i can.

the question my dad asked me this morning has become stuck in my mind: "can you at least befriend...?"

i guess that question will still be left unanswered.

Apung Tino will be missed...

"namahinga na apo Tino, kanina 8:08 (am). Ibuburol sa sta. rita chapel." reads a text message from my dad who currently resides in Pampanga.

i don't know how i'd exactly feel but knowing that apung tino's hardship was put to an end, i guess i can say i'm happy. the respected old man died of old age and not of any sickness. he celebrated his 89th birthday this year.

one thing i am proud of my father's side of the family, most (if not all) grand children has undergone living under the care of the grandparents. from the first grandchild, who incidentally is my sister, up to the youngest grandchild to the grandparents child living near them--- we all had the "taste" of their care. perhaps it also explains why we are closely-knit cousins. apung tino is a man of principles who wish to live life at the simplest. the not-so-blur memory of my early teens introduced me to a head of the family that knows nothing but to do good to everyone in his own silent way. his day to day routine included waking up early, taking his breakfast while tuning in to the AM radio for the days news & commentaries, visiting his children's place and do gardening, come back home for lunch, siesta, come back to gardening in the afternoon, meet with some social groups within the barangay, come back home for dinner and end the day while tuned in to his favorite AM radio station. he's well-known in our town and well-respected as well, for he served as school superintendent in the only (well-famous) public school of our barrio, and later on served the province as school district supervisor. he's active in doing voluntary works for the (catholic) church and almost became the official care taker of the chapel in our barrio. he's one of the tireless members of the musikos in town, giving his old saxophone an added value to the family's treasures. apung tino's values is something to be admired. he never compromises it for anything. he stands by his principles. maybe its only now that i fully can understand how he lived as my sister pointed out in her friendster testimonial for me (when i still have my friendster account) that my principles in life are like that of apong tino. i am proud of that!

my unforgettable memory of apung tino was during my primary years of living with them. i transferred school at the time i am graduating from grade school. it was difficult for a graduating student to transfer school (honestly up to now i don't know why) so apung tino had to accompany me to the school i will be enroling in. tirelessly, he talked to the school administrators & principals carrying my "credentials" and asking me to be accepted in their school as a graduating student (as i was really on my last grade school year). i sensed my lolo's patience and never did he leave me in a hanging status. even after i was admitted, he made a few days visitation in school to check how i was doing. my parents were then working in Manila and i was left under the care of my grandparents in Pampanga. through apung tino, i learned to appreciate living a simple but peaceful life. i learned to value other people that even if the situation permits you to take advantage of anything, it still is more preferable to be fair--- that everyone has the right to live like the other in spite of social status. i learned that any dispute can be settled in the most peaceful & civil way. apung tino is a silent man but within, he is full of everything good. everyone has their own weaknesses but in the short span of time that i've lived with apung tino, only his goodness and positive traits were the ones i came to see and never was a time i remembered i ever saw what his weaknesses were.

the old man will be missed...

FOOD for thought

literally, i'll be talking about FOOD (randomly). it's almost lunch time and i'm getting a bit hungry. rawrr!!! well, who doesn't take interest in this topic?

my ulam today is bopis, courtesy of my mother-in-law. i so love her bopis! Bopis is a spicy Filipino dish made out of pork lungs and heart sautéed in tomatoes, chilies and onions. matagal-tagal rin na panahon bago ulit nakapagluto ng bopis ang biyenan ko at nung isang araw nga pagdalaw namin sa bahay nila, excited nyang ibinalita na nagluto sya ng bopis at pababaunan niya ako, yey! tamang timplang-asim yung luto ni mama aning at gaya ng adobo, habang tumatagal ang bopis ay lalong sumasarap!

speaking of adobo, my mom's specialty on the other hand is this dish. combined chicken & pork, i can never ask for other adobo cooking aside from my mom's adobo. it's the best! tamang-tama ang timpla ng lutong adobo ni mamsi. batay sa tagalog-wikipedia, "Ang adobo ay isa sa mga pinaka-popular at pinaka-kilalang tradisyunal na lutuing Pilipino sa loob at labas ng Pilipinas. Niluto sa suka, toyo, bawang, at paminta ang mga sahog nito. Ipiniprito ang karneng sangkop bago haluan ng suka at bawang. Itinuturing ito bilang pambansang lutuin ng Pilipinas. Maaaring adobohin ang karne, isda o mga gulay. Nagmula sa wikang Kastila ng Espanya at Mehiko ang salitang adobo na nangangahulugang "inatsara" o "kinilaw"

and of course, will i ever forget my piiiiinakapaboritong ulam? umaga, tanghali, gabi... kahit midnight snack meal pa, wala pa ring kupas ang pagmamahal ko sa sinigang na baboy. pork sinigang has always been my favorite and now i have my dear wifey cooking it for me. i so love how wifey learned my sinigang-cooking. i remember both of us doing this dish together for the first time... i told her how i want the sabaw, what vegetables to mix in there, and sooner the choice cuts we prefer for this particular dish. sisiw na lang kay wifey ngayon ang magluto ng sinigang ayon sa timplang gusto ko. at marahil, hindi kukupas ang pag-ibig ko sa ulam na ito, saang lugar man ako mapadpad.

ngayon, masisisi nyo ba ako kung hindi ko na maibalik sa dating payatot na anyo ang aking katawan? sa dami ng masasarap na pagkain at sa mga babae sa buhay ko na nagluluto para sa akin, pano ka tatanggi sa pagkain?

kainan na!

Camilles 1st Kiddie Party Attendance

Yesterday, Nov. 15th, was Camilles first kiddie party attendance to Aries & Janes son, Amiel. Jane is wifey's long-time friend tracing back to their school days and now they are mommies! It's been a long time since their barkada met wifey again and yesterday's event was a good time not only for celebrating the first birthday but also for their friendship reunion. Camille seemed to shy away from people and the loud videoke sound system made her cry. so we brought her out on the street and from there mom & dad took turns in carrying her, went near the kids and the clown hosts, watched the games closely, sang with everyone the birthday song and took pictures with people until she got comfortable.

more related photos here.

which disaster movie did you like best?

i'm a fan of disaster movies. some people may be scared watching this type of films but i always am excited to see a production whenever there is a screening. i've watched a good number of disaster movies and just today, wifey & i went early to the movie house to catch the first hour screening of the movie 2012. many seemed to like the movie but honestly, for me, i felt the production was not that very good. special effects are awesome, though. maybe (and again) i had high expectations with the movie so when i finally saw it, i was like looking for more. i just feel that the movie was too cinematic. the director (or producer perhaps) could have opted for a more realistic approach, given that their plot was founded on the on-going debate about the world's end in the year 2012. i just couldn't buy the many scenarios shown in the film. too artificial. it was the 2nd time i felt the same when (again) Mr. Emmerich released The Day After Tomorrow production. the scenes may be "cool" to watch but its reality is highly doubted. viewers of both films may think in the end though and ask "yeah, what if it happens soon?" but then, even if we started experiencing abnormal climate behavior we picture how they were presented in both films: how do we arrive at that point, when for example, there will be a sudden drop of temperature that a jetplane / helicopter engine freezes in a split second causing it to crash? or large cities can get swallowed up by an earthquake just like godzilla eating a banana? And does it always follow that lead casts in the movie are always survivors?



Dante's Peak may be one of the many disaster movies that i liked. i can't stress out that the scenes looked artificial (although they are unreal). its production justified the whole movie setting, it blended with the story, the characters were defined and the script was simple yet interesting. veteran actor pierce brosnan played the role of a volcanologist who was assigned to investigate activity going on in the Northern Cascades region near the town of Dante's Peak. the film was said to be somewhat based on the real-life eruptions of Mount St. Helens in 1980 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991 contrary to my liking of Dante's Peak, another volcano-related disaster movie added to my not-so-impressive-disaster-movie list. its title, as if claimed exclusivity, is Volcano. it's all about having a volcano under a big city which the city residents discovered later on when signs of volcanic activities were already being experienced. can i just say, whatthe? and its effects aren't that excellent either.



two different focuses are offered by these two disaster movies: Twister gives us the story two groups battling out to be the first to introduce a warning device/system that will enable man to anticipate tornadoes on an earlier time before they create damages. not only the twister effects in the movie will catch a viewers attention but also the "twist" of the story that surely made the film more interesting. on the other hand, The Perfect Storm gave the fishermen a hard time in breaking their "streak" of bad luck in catching fish. the suspense part of the film may be a bit lacking and excitement was not distributed in the entirety of the production. this film was based on a true story and possibility of happening isn't really far from reality. the film also gave its audience a sneak peak of the "lives" of the fishermen--- in spite of danger, they will work for a living.



going deeper inside the earth, The Core gives a different approach to a disaster movie: a group of people has to penetrate the earth's "inside" to reactivate the core. some parts of the film may be dragging but the whole production made up for it when the mission down to the earth's core was launched. amazing script. if the scenario becomes possible, i wonder though if mankind can come up with the same solution and if sending a "special" ship into the earth's core is feasible.



from the core of the earth, two promising disaster movies attempted showing how life on earth can end due to collision from an asteroid. star-studded film Armageddon showcased a group of oil drillers, claimed to be the world's best, sent up to the outer space to anticipate the collision. their mission: land on the asteroid, drill a hole, drop a nuclear bomb into the hole, then take off and remotely detonate the bomb. this is how the film production presented its solution of saving the earth should a scenario such as that happens. Deep Impact film production decided to give a more emotional touch on the same scenario, this time a comet hitting the earth. a crew of astronauts was dispatched to the outer space to destroy the comet while people on earth are aware of what is in store for them. the film does not end with one mission, it strove hard to keep the story flowing by creating conflicts on its storyline. audience watching this film will not fail to empathize when the last resort to survival was announced--- the choosing of the 800,000 people that may enter the shelter to survive the "impact".



do you know any other good disaster movies that are not on this post? among those, which disaster movie did you like best?

13th of November, Friday

i stayed home today after catching fever yesterday up to last night. i took my paracetamol until this morning and i felt better as the day progressed. it feels good to bond with wifey & little Camille for one whole day. i mean, daytime. not that we don't do that on weekends but having an extra weekday for it is just rewarding. so this morning, wifey insisted to do the laundry so we can go on to our Saturday date (tomorrow) early. that left me attending to our lovable baby. we played, watched tv together, i fed her, changed her pupu-full, stinky diaper, played again, and attempted to put her again to sleep... until her mommy's done with the laundry. but then after doing the laundry, wifey still needed to take her breakfast so another extra time was spent to watch over the baby. after the baby & the mother took a bath, both of them got ready to sleep together. "time to blog," i said but the baby woke up after just a few minutes. considering that her mommy did the duty last night (since i was sick), i took the baby and let her mother catch a few more hours of sleep. so the baby and his daddy again played but this time on her playpen. i was sipping a cup of coffee when the baby started to get "irritated". there must only be three things: she wanted to be carried, she's hungry, or she has pupu. it's the latter! so for the second time this day, i changed her stinky diaper! itong anak ko, sinusulit ang bakasyon ko sa trabaho... lahat ng pwede niyang ipagawa sa akin, pinapagawa tsk tsk...

anyway, wifey was supposed to have a scheduled visitation to her OB Gyne but it was cancelled, we were supposed to pick up some items in the grocery but it was postponed to tomorrow, and now we're home early from the in-laws! i need to attend our weekly leadership caucus though and tomorrow is my most-anticipated saturday date--- 2012 baby!

lastly, happy birthday (today) to the most prominent pinoy video blogger Coy a.k.a. Cokskiblue! man, how many times or chances are there that your birthday falls on a Friday the 13th? LOL, i know it doesn't matter. just playing with the "superstitions"... :p cheers, bro!

the hubby & wifey date 11.07.2009

yep, yep, yep.... wifey & i did have a date yesterday, 7th of November, just like the good old days. well, close to it. wifey and i were updating our respective twitter accounts to 'document' whatever happens that may be noteworthy. wifey, on the other hand, got really amused with SUN Alertz which offers a nice twitter mobile application. it's what i also actually use in updating my twitter account when i'm not logged in to the web. just like my good old PEx wireless journal account. anyway, wifey subscribed to SUN Alertz to post twits and at the same time receive twit updates from her contacts.

ok, so we started the day by taking camille to her pedia. i'm already lost as to what is being injected in her since we started this vaccine immunization 'shots'. all i hear are the so-called 3-in-1, 6-in-1 packages and i do remember (just these) the amount equivalent of these vaccines. lowest rate is 3.5K and one appointment with the pedia may reach up to 6K. T_T huhuhu... but anyway, if its for Camille, it's ok. :) she now weighs 6.8 kilos and measures 64 cms. she'll be five months (old) on the 24th and yet she looks, acts, and feels like she's already 6 months old. after our pediatrician appointment, we took our baby to her grandparents in Taytay. it's our scheduled visitation day with her lolo & lola in their place so we took that opportunity to 'escape' babysitting and have a date just like to good old times. LOL. even parents need a day off! hahahaha!

1st date stop
wifey and i drove off to SM Megamall, taking the long but traffic-less floodway road. we parked in building A, saw Mia, LA's fiancee, exchanged hi's & hello's, then hopped in to its neighbor shop place: St. Francis Square. my goal is to get myself a new set of boxers. i (think i) got a good deal in purchasing 5 boxer shorts for 350 pesos. a single boxer shorts cost 80 pesos, its 'bargain' price is 2 pcs. for 150 pesos. having got 5, a piece of boxers shorts price was cut down to 70 pesos. well, not bad i should say. then wifey got some stuffs for her too and we both got ourselves a pair of crocs (which we should be wearing together next time we go out). i'm not really a fan of slippers, much more of these fad fashion but seeing wifey & i together with similar "outfit" should be cool. she got a pair of pink crocs while i got that olive green color. woot! woot! it's really funny haggling with store owners and doubly fun when they finally give in to your kakuriputan. after getting the stuffs we wanted, we drove off again onto our---

2nd stop
its the first time i entered the back entrance of Loyola Memorial (in guadalupe) and having to go there during a slow time in the afternoon, the place gave a quiet ambiance. we asked where Bro. Rudy Aguilar was roomed and seeing the guestbook, wifey & i noticed that there are still few people who visited. perhaps today and later this evening, brethren from church will flock the wake venue. long-time friend / co-choir member, Jerome, was there and it was a long time since we saw each other. i have introduced him to my wife and he is now taking up BEM. wow. it made me reminisce the younger times when we used to sing for the church anniversary and now we have our own lives to give more attention to. anyway, our sincere condolences to the family & relatives of the late brother Rudy Aguilar. Ka Rudy was a choirmate in Brookside, and uncle of my good friend, CY.

3rd stop
after leaving Guadalupe, we drove to The Medical City to visit a fellow choir president who got confined for over a week now due to (asthma). Bro. Bernie seems to be more ok now as he told us but there are no advice from the doctor yet about his discharge. he already wants to return back home and wifey was telling me she knows how depressing it is to stay in the hospital room recovering from any illness or whatever the need for your stay in the hospital. after chatting for some minutes, we bid him goodbye and told him to get well soonest.

4th stop
all the travelling made us crave for something to eat and wifey & i had a common food in mind: baked ziti in white sauce. pigged out!

5th stop
after a refreshing meal, wifey got a couple more clothing for her. then finally we went to a skin care clinic to avail of the FREE aroma-facial which my dad is entitled to upon subscribing to its services. we're lucky that the freebies are transferable. so for the second time in my life i had my facial massage. but i swear i could have shouted violently at the girl who was doing my face. the freakin' blackheads removal was freakin' hurtful. my eyes were teary after she's done and i promised myself not to undergo that freakin' procedure again! good thing, she made it up with the massage proper. i should have told her its the only thing i wanted--- the massage! anyhoo, it has been done. on the other room i can hear wifey chatting joyously with her dermatologist(?) while i was deeply in pain. :(

6th and last stop
we fetched our baby from her grandparents and we headed home.

i am now looking forward to the next Saturday... it's 2012, baby! woot! woot!

November 2009 trip to pampanga

i've said it not once but many times already, nothing beats quality time with your family. today we drove to Pampanga to visit dad and the travel gave us the opportunity to bond once again. that's why i love holidays. its the only time i can be with my wife & baby for the whole day, unlike the usual workday when i need to leave home and return after a days work and sometimes come home when the baby is already sleeping.

earlier, i went online in YM to have my baby viewed by her aunt, cousin & mommy ching through the webcam. they did have a good glimpse of Camille and it was also a nice time to catch up with what's going on here & there.

then wifey, my baby & i waited for lalola to arrive at the meeting place, then off we went to the city of San Fernando.

dad gave us a lunch treat and i let him push his grand daughter's stroller and they had their share of bonding moments. :P here's a low-res video of them together:



after swapping car keys, he went back to his shop as we (wifey, baby & lalola) strolled a bit inside the department store to get some stuffs. we drove back home, good thing we went home early so we only caught the tail-end of the traffic in EDSA. we made a detour and passed by Frisco. i was delighted to see (for the first time in person) the big church (of the INC) in Frisco--- it's one of the biggest in Metro Manila!

right now, i feel my back is itching to touch the bed. wifey & baby are now sound asleep. i should do the same now and call it a day!


(photo above was taken earlier in a Frenchbaker branch)