Saturday, January 30, 2010

Provincial Pleasures: Cabanatuan City

What: Second of twenty Negosyo Seminars ("NegoSems")
When: Friday, January 29, 2010
Where: Ma. Assumpta Seminary, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Region 3 (Central Luzon)


The surprising treat: Cheap, fresh oyster mushrooms. Just seeing them got me salivating, with scents and images of them pan-fried in olive oil, onion and garlic simmering in my head. Or smothered with butter. Or open grilled. Mmmmmm. In a sandwich with eggplants and zucchini. Or as a siding to meaty dish, mixed with carrots and asparagus.

Some were packed in portions styrofoam + plastic wrap. Sold for an amazing price of P25.


Then another kind was in a grow-able, harvest-able pack. Sold for another crazy price of P35. Just keep in place away from sunlight and wind, spray with water 3x a day. Harvest by hand-picking when fully grown. After 2-3 days, baby mushrooms will re-sprout and become fully grown in about a week. 


Of course I bought one for myself, but let's see if I can actually keep it alive til ready for harvest and consumption!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

the ticklist

  • laid-back skate fun: CHECK! 
  • car trunk buffet of bihon, lumpiang shanghai and egg pan de sal: CHECK! 
  • exercise ball from eika: CHECK!
  • sewing kit from mitzi: CHECK!
  • get out of bed at 4:45 am: CHECK!
  • hot lugaw in cold montalban morning: CHECK!
  • cold (by my standards) climbing weather: CHECK!
  • roman holiday: CHECK CHECK!
  • sun on my skin...even just a little bit: CHECK!
  • shoulder exercises using makeshift weights: CHECK!
  • loacker quadratinis: CHECK!
  • quality time with loula: CHECK!
  • mahimbing na siesta (kasi ang aga gumising): CHECK!
  • good news from hk: CHECK!
  • mom's stuffed pork chops and mashed potatoes: CHECK!
  • reply sa mga nag-greet sa akin: CHECK!

good night!!! twas a fulfilling day. :-) 

sa lahat ng bumati, salamat ulit.

Me on Roman Holiday (V5), Wawa, Montalban


*Photo credit: Dennis Diaz (thanks for Sunday sessions! more more more!)

Friday, January 8, 2010

on my list

i like compiling pictures. they take up so much time, but i like it when you open a page, folder, or album, and they're all neatly, prettily laid out there....ahhh, instant pleasure.

or maybe i'm just a sucker for neatness, which is reflective of some items on the images below. these are things i'm planning to buy soon, in my quest for more effective time management. 

i do believe organization is key, at least for me. if i don't get myself and my stuff arranged physically, if i don't get my to-do lists in order, say goodbye to my efficiency. kind of anal and devoid of memory work, but i will admit that it's the only way i get by.

yung ibang items....they're just little temptations that i never give into. and i thought...maybe since my birthday is coming up, you'd like to buy them for me? hahaha.


there's only one socket beside my bed, while i have my laptop, phone and itouch to be regularly charged. add to that miel's gadgets when he's there. there's no question that i need to get myself one of these soon.



this year, i'm going to get my shoulder back in shape. it's been over 10 months since i aggravated my rotator cuff injury, so i vow to be disciplined this year in rehabilitating it. and i want to get back to proper climbing shape, and this exercise ball will be one of my key tools in strengthening my core and antagonist muscles.



i used to carry three flash drives in my pencil case. then two suddenly got corrupted (in a single night -- virus from an internet cafe) and my 1 gig one got lost. grabe, burara talaga ko last year, lost my phone too remember...nowadays, these things are must-haves, so, well, i MUST have one of these.



nothing like a fresh set of neatly-writing pens. like in the school days when you bought new ones every start of the school year, to replenish your pencil case, and to play with in between subjects. (bahay-bahayan using pens as the characters and the double-level pencil cases as two-storey houses?) i haven't been buying pens since i started working because the office always had steady and free supplies, but now, my new office doesn't....



i've been attempting to keep my underwear drawer arranged by using old boxes as dividers, but they remain unkempt because my boxes are too low. oh alright. i'm just looking for an excuse to buy myself these adjustable drawer organizers because it's been at least 10 years since i first spotted them, and i never let myself buy one out of practicality. maybe it's about time i actually doled out some cash?



never was a fan of HELE (remember home economics and livelihood education?) i was BAD and LAZY at sewing and resorted to all possible shortcuts and cheats to submit my class requirements. but now i'm all grown up, and i want to add some skills to my hand-made, crafty projects, and sewing is now calling to me. because aside from enabling me to create pretty stuff, it is certainly a useful skill to have, to mend and alter clothes and fashion emergencies. maybe one day i can even make my own quilts.



it's simple: my room's a mess, and there's way so much stuff in it that i don't know where to place them. these under-the-bed containers will surely do the trick. unfortunately my bed is not as high as in the photo, so i might have to look for thinner ones...



another space-saving tool: compression bags. ever since i started climbing, i've used ziplocks to make my clothes more compact for packing. but these compression bags can also be used for home storage, to flatten those thick, bulky sweaters that are only worn seasonally.



i think i've only bought quadratinis once in my life. but for the life of me, they're good!!!! and when i tasted the dark chocolate flavored ones in miel's house....i've fallen in love. still, i never bought myself a bag because it's clear in my hear that i can spend on more valuable things. yeah, i can be completely kuripot that way. so every time there's one in their house, count on my to steal a few squares. hehehe.



my mom has always said that it's better to invest in maintenance/prevention services than on repair ones, and in an effort to lengthen my laptop's aesthetic and functional life, i'd like one of these laptop cleaning tools. i especially hate it when grime builds up on and under the keypad....ugggh. though parang walang kasamang mini-vacuum cleaner itong kit na 'to....



my siblings and i (yes, including my brother) share headbands, and between the three of us, for the the past five years or so, we've been sharing around 3 headbands. but i think two got broken last year, and neither of us had spent on a new one. it's one of them small things that it's totally manageable to be without, but also great to have around. (especially when he's playing the guitar, or when she's cutting some paper, or when i'm giving loula a bath...it's a hassle to have your hair all over your face).



oh, this is a wallet. ;-) miel mentioned i needed a new one, which is pretty true, but since i never eyed a particular brand or style, i just posted a cute image of a simple and cute one. i like them small (yung isang fold lang), clean, and with only just about 3-5 slots for cards. para madaling isaksak kahit saan, and can stand my constant bag-switching. 



one of my most favorite childhood books. it was my cousins' so i never had a copy. but i super loved this book. i can still remember the opening lines, "Fred and Ted were friends. Fred was big, and Ted was little...." the book goes on to describe their opposite traits, and emphasizes how they remain the bestest of friends despite their differences.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

ready for 2010

my holiday season was quiet, but i'm happy with just how relaxing it was. i loved the pace of each day. while miel worried about not knowing what to do with all the free time, i had no trouble at all filling them up with the things i loved to:
  1. sleep - i got a good dose of sleep, the way i wanted it. long, uninterrupted, with no alarm clock to cut it short. and though i always insist that ten straight hours is my ideal sleeping time (and something i aspire for every weekend!), i never got it...nonetheless, felt satisfied with getting eight hours on some days. maybe because i only got out of bed to have breakfast/brunch, then returned to get 1-2 hours siesta.
  2. eat - and i refer to the once-a-year christmas feasts that my mom so lovingly prepares. her morcon, pastel, embotido, chicken relleno, chinese ham, egg pan de sal + butter + more butter, canonigo...plus a few non-regular fares of steamed lapu-lapu and stuffed roast chicken. 
  3. spend late night outs with friends - mix of planned and unplanned, with old friends and new acquaintances, with little or lots of alcohol, but always filled with good fun. whether it was a simple home-made dinner or a loud boys vs girls rock band contest, it packed my senses with things i never knew they've been missing so badly.
  4. work out - i ran, and ran, and skated, and climbed. OHHHHH, YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this one i knew i've been missing very badly, and after stuffing myself with all the good food, nothing feels more satisfying than sweating profusely and waking up all those sleeping muscles. thank you, UP, for welcoming the lone runner. thank you miel for always keeping those boards in the trunk. thank you, power-up for, well, being power-up.
  5. be updated with friends' lives and see how much they're enjoying - i know. ang cheesy, even for my taste. pasensya na. but over the holidays, i was able to check my facebook and multiply accounts more frequently, and was moved to see how people were getting to do the things they loved to do over the break. friends were reunited, families bonded. some welcomed the new year up in cold, peaceful sagada, or by spending much-needed family quality time in the province, or by having a deep water solo adventure, or by going on a surfing road trip. oh, and one gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! 
so thanks for this rejuvenating holiday break, and to 2010: let's get it on!