Archive for January, 2012

29 Jan

Versatile Blogger Award Part 2, Thank you ! !

Posted by renxkyoko in my life, random musings, Random thoughts, rantings, Versatile Blogger Award. Tagged: , , , , .

Hi ! !

Great ! I managed to publish 3 posts this month.  ( Good job, Ren. * pats head  * ) . Well, school’s here again.  I have to work harder this semester. But then, that’s what I always promise myself  every beginning of semester. I guess my best efforts have plateaud.  Seriously, though, how else can I work harder than last year’s?   Like, don’t sleep anymore?  Four times a week I work up to 10 PM,  study up to the wee hours of the morning, ( friends/ bloggers  who see me online are not surprised  when they see me  at 3 AM, right , Rob?   We do our homeworks online, and we have to pay the website  to do them, can you believe that ?  We also take tests online, sometimes. I find that really weird. ) So, anyhow,  I do household chores, don’t date, don’t hang out….. ….. Ha ! I’m a freakin’ Mary Sue,  !. . So, what am I yapping about? I don’t know. I’m just frustrated. I tried  getting into a course that I desperately need the whole day today. There are 54 of us  waitlisted.  Do you know what happens if I don’t get this course ?  Alright, in a fantasy world, I should be graduating this semester, but in real world, if I don’t get this one?  I graduate next year, or the year next, or the year next, next, darn it.  Am I the only one with this school problem? Tell me, please ?  Misery l0ves company. Okay, I’m done ranting.

On a happier note………..

I recieved  more Versatile Blogger Awards… my 11 th.  I’m so happy and honoured , guys. Thank you.  I have already thanked Becoming Bitter, Topiclesbar, laurenrantnrave, twisteen, therhymingmedstudent, and  zendictive. I now have to follow the rules again. I’m not going though the motion, mind you. I really want to do this again.

I’d like to thank the following awesome bloggers who honoured me with the Versatile Blogger Award. Please check them out.

7. Koopa

8.Viv

9. trjensen

10. jeninesilos

11.willofheart

I’ve already posted 7 things about me here . Well, I  wrote there that I was a fan of Michael Jackson, and still am.  I bought 2 cds of him to play in my car, ( Off the Wall  and Bad ) and you know what , there’s a song in Bad that I really like, and I keep playing that, over and over again, just that one.  It’s the Spanish version of  I  Just Can’t Stop Loving You…… Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu.

Oh, and here’s MJ and me.

Kidding aside,  he was just a look – like.  Rest in peace, MJ. 

Anyways, I’m adding a few more ” about me “, if I may…….

1. I’m 80 % social liberal, believe it or not. I’m for gay marriage, partly pro-choice ( this is where  10 % of my conservatism comes in ) approves legalization of marijuana for medicinal purpose, a tree hugger, pro-gun control….. However , I don’t want to be called a  bleeding heart liberal .  Twenty percent of me calls for social responsibility and plain common sense values.

2.  My favorite colors are aquamarine and red.

3. I put choco syrup or Nesquick choco in my coffee. Both sugar-free.

4. I   dream of playing the violin in a full orchestra. But I  think I’m not good enough.

5. I find political shows more interesting and entertaining than regular Tv shows . I actually watched all the Republican debates. Ahahaha ! They’re killing each other.  What a bunch of …. never mind.  Alright, those on the other side of the political fence, don’t hate me. But one of  the  guys, Newt Gingrich, promises to establish an American colony  on the moon by 2020, and  with about 16,000 Americans up there, the colony can become a US state. He says this is going to happen if he becomes the President. ( He said this 2 days ago in Florida ) * Earth to Mr. Gringrich, hello, how would you like to solve some  problems here on our planet  first, like , poverty?  Or add more classes and teachers  *.  And all of them, most particularly Rick Santorum, want to ban The Pill, and condoms   * crickets *  Really ? What the heck .  .   Sorry. I hate to be political but I couldn’t resist.  I’m supposed to be writing ” about me”. lol

6.  If I could afford to buy a car, I’d buy a BMW.

7.  I want to have an online business, mostly for ladies’ accessories. I think I have a flair for fashion and stuff like that.

Well, I have nominated 15 bloggers already……. I’m  glad though that I can nominate a few more.  Please check out these bloggers.

1. DearLora    Very interesting ! It’s like Dear Abby.

2. Goneflyingakite

3. bunny teeth no more

4. theworldofwilma

5. PM

6. simpleek  if you’re a manga and anime fan, this is the blog for you

7.WordsFallFromMyEyes

8. belleofthecarnival

I’m allowed to nominate 7 more bloggers, but I think I’m stopping on the 8th and continue on  my next post.  Actually, I started writing on Jan.23. It’;s now the 28th and I’m not done yet.  There are just so many distractions. For instance, at this very moment, I’m watching , again, the Republican debate in Florida. I have to stop what I’m doing to  listen to them, more attentively,  this time. ………. Aaaargh ! ! I don’t know if I’m going to cry or laugh at the ludicrousness of their issues.  For instance……. Rick Santorum is accusing Mitt Romney of flipflopping regarding the health care issue. As Governor of Massachusets, Mitt Romney patterned his healthcare policy after Pres. Obama’s health care … and it was successful. 98% of the people in his state now have health insurance. Rick Santorum’s mouth is frothing over this fact. Do you know what he said ? ” It’s the Republican’s policy to change /repel/ take out so called Obamacare , so how can you, Gov. Romney , defeat Obama when you have actually used his Obamacare ?  It’s unacceptable  ! “, or something along this line.  What Santorum had failed to mention was that, Obamacare was successful  in Massachusets and THAT  was anathema to the Republican’s agenda of  taking Obama down at all cost, and if the country would  go  down with him, so be it. Party first, before country. Friggin’ idiots.   When Detroit automakers were about to go bankrupt, and Pres. Obama wanted to bail them out to save the icons of  US industry, the Republicans yelled in unison, ” Let Detroit Go Bankrupt. ! ! ”  Pres. Obama bailed them out , just the same, and now, the motor industry  and  thousands of jobs  have been saved,  and  guess what, GM now is the biggest – earning auto manufacturing company in the world.  Isn’t that the height of  irony?  Democrats aiding ailing corporations,  and corporate-loving Republicans wanting the opposite . Do you know why? I know why …. the Republicans want these icons  of America to go down under Obama’s watch, and  who cares what happens. Their objective is to make Obama a one – term President.  The rest of  those who would be affected  by their agenda  are  mere collateral damage.

 Eh. I better stop here before I offend anyone. 

Ah, here’s something that I found  from my archives. It was a word for word online chat with a friend from England ( not Rob ) that made me laugh for days… nay, weeks. I know you wouldn’t find it funny, and I don;t even  know why I did.  Maybe I have a weird sense of humour.

Friend: opens ya page and takes a gander in a few

Me: what does that mean?

Friend:gander to look at something

Me : What’s the origin of the phrase, why gander?

Friend: to stretch ya neck and gaze like a gander?

Me: how does a gander gaze?

Friend :  don’t know, like this  ??

      * stretches his neck and looks around *

Alright, this is all for now. PEACE and be happy.

 

18 Jan

Random inanities

Posted by renxkyoko in Filipino food, my life, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , , .

Hello !

I promised I’d write more often in 2012.  So here I am, 10 days after.  I know, it’s more than one week.  I’m a procrastinator, and the fact that  there’s nothing major happening in my life adds to my laziness. So, pardon me , I’ll just regale you with the mundane, as usual.   

First off, I go back to school next week, on Jan. 23.  I’m eager to meet new classmates,  have new friends, and hopefully, find my Destined One. Hahaha !  Aaaargh.  There’s  snowball chance in hell it’s gonna happen.  (=_=) # So, erase the last one. But, as they say, we find love when we least expect it. I’ll wait.

Oh, my gosh. We got a call from a first cousin from the Philippines, my Dad’s niece.  She informed us they ‘d come here to the US for vacation last week of April, she and her family. ( a husband, and 3 kids aged 7, 12 and 13 ) My cousin is a gynecologist and her husband is a nuero-surgeon, and also teaches at a medical school there. I’m so excited to see them again. They’re actually a relatively young couple, and not stuffy at all. When we were there, my cousin took time to entertain us despite her extremely busy schedule. One time, the two of us were  getting a massage ( at a country club where she’s a member) , then she got a call from the hospital. A patient was about to give birth, so she left in a hurry and told me to wait…… ” Hey, have some breakfast at the dining room ! This won’t take long. It’s not ceasarian ! ” She came  back after 4 hours. I had a leisurely and sumptous  breakfast  alone ( it was buffet ) and was about to have lunch when my cousin arrived.  It was the patient’s first time so it took a while, she said. Over lunch, we had an interesting conversation.  I asked her if there were  men still  taking ob/gyne as a specialty. She said it was like 1 out of 100. Women will not          get male ob/gynes, if they can help it. Well, I wasn’t surprised. Who would want to have her unmentionables exposed to a total stranger, even if the stranger was a doctor?  =_= #

I also asked my cousin about a doctor’s threshold for desire and passion.       It’s , uhm,, ” very high “, she said.  (^__^)  Male doctors don’t get easily excited about seeing a female’s naked body.  My cousin herself has to work hard for some lovin’,  lol.  Anyways, they’re going to stay with us for 2 weeks, so, I guess it’s going to be full house again in May, and very, very busy. And not to forget, very, very expensive. Her mother, and 2 brothers came here too in 2009 and stayed with us for a month ( Don , remember him ? and Al ) . Mom’s credit card balance  at the end of the month was to cry for, hahaha !  I’m sure it’s gonna be the same this time. Problem is, this is something we can ill- afford at the moment. Less than a month after my cousin’s  visit, we’ll be leaving for Europe , and though everything has been paid for, we still need a fair amount of cash in our pockets.  Splurge, then eat dried fish the rest of the year. That’s Filipino culture . It’s Fiesta time !

Oi ! I managed to watch 7 movies ( dvds ) from beginning to end, without any interruptions, all in 2 days……. Aliens and Cowboys ( Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford ), Zombie Apocalypse,  Peter Pan ( cartoons ), Thor, The Debt, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and  Apollo 17. There are really no sci-fi, horror, thriller movies that I don’t like , ( Oh, in fact, I consider myself  the Goddess of B – movies. Movies like these are the only ones that can command my full attention. ^___^ #  ) but , for some reason, I didn’t like Apollo 17.  It was filmed like a documentary, (  so unoriginal ) it was blurry, and tiring to watch. Has anyone watched  it ? If you haven’t, don’t, and  coming from me, that’s saying something.  =_=  Oh, and another thing….. over dinner, the family discussed an old movie that my father just watched, The Da Vinci Code.  ( I read the book by Dan Brown and watched the movie, too. )  My father was annoyed that the movie made  this Catholic organization , Opus Dei, seemed  so evil .  It’s nothing like that, he said. Well, Dad is an Opus Dei member  ( my aunt too, Dad’s sister ) and he says Opus Dei is really not that mysterious. But, he admits  it is indeed a fundamentalist  religious organization. He had never been an active  member, however, he did  send my brother to a school ( for elementary and high school ) owned by the Opus Dei in the Philippines. The school was Southridge School for Boys. The students there attend Mass at school every Friday and the Mass is said  in Latin !  Also, they take Latin language course from 7th grade to 4th year high school…….. 5 years of Latin ! My brother says even  though  he can’t speak  it ,  he  can still write an essay  in Latin.  Not to mention another weird course that students in that school take….. Metaphysics.  It’s not a topic. It’s a course !  Seriously, what  do they need it for?  I don’t know if my  readers who live in the Philippines know of this school. Oh, but I digress. I’m writing about Opus Dei.  As I said , there’s really nothing weird going on . It is Dan Brown’s fantasy novel, just like his other book, Angels and Demons , where he glorifies the Illuminati’s far-reaching influence and power.  Nobody even knows if this secret organization of influential and powerful people even exists. Has anyone heard of the Illuminatis ? It’s just a phantom organization that conspiracy theorists swear  exists and wh9se purpose is to dominate the world, that is, make all the countries in the world beholdened to only one power, not necessarily the US.

Looks like I’m having a zombie overload, too, these past few days. I’m playing the video game Resident Evil 5 with my sister.  It’s a -2  player game , but we’re both bad at aiming. We’ve been playing for 50 hours, but  couldn’t go past Level 3. Hahaha ! But it’s fun to play with her.  Come to think of it, I’ve never really played with my sister even when I was a kid.  She’s 8 years older than me, you see. I’ve always thought of her as grown – up.

Lafemmeroar had  requested  to see a picture of our 2010 Christmas day feast. Food again, I know, and I guess you’ve have had enough of  food galore on my blog. But I think it would be interesting to compare what we had in 2010 and  2011,  so here they are…  2 pics of 2010’s Christmas Day meal and a repost of 2011’s.

 2010 X’mas ……Too much food, actually.

And  that’s our Christmas meal, 2011 .

This is all for now. the Versatile Blogger Award acknowledgement  comes next. I  now have my 7th, 8th, 9th and 10 th, the last one from jeninesilos. Guys, coming ! Sorry for the delay.  PEACE and be happy !

6 Jan

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! 2012 !!!!!

Posted by renxkyoko in Filipino food, my life, Philiipine culture, Philippine Heritage, Random thoughts, Versatile Blogger Award. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Hello ! Hey , HAPPY NEW YEAR ! !

Gosh, here I go again, apologizing for neglecting my blog. I can’t make school as my excuse this time coz  I’m on vacation.  (=_=) # Well, first off,  I ‘ve been given longer hours at work, and that’s good.  I need the dough for school and my European trip this summer.  Oh, I’ve written about my Euro trip , right?  Five months to go. When I first wrote about it, it was 8 months to go. Time does fly, doesn’t it?  So, how was everyone’s Christmas ? This year, my family’s Christmas celebration was pretty quiet. There weren’t any guests, just us family. As per family tradition, we went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. ( Midnight Mass was at 11 PM ) Then after the Mass, we had a simple midnight dinner we call  Noche Buena ( or is it  called Media Noche ? ) . It was just hot chicken /rice porridge and ensaimada ( bread , also called brioche ). It’s melt in your mouth Philippine  bread, topped with butter , sugar and  shredded Edam cheese. We call Edam cheese Queso de Bola.

———————

(=.=)

I started writing this on Dec. 31, 2011. It’s now Jan. 5, 2012. I feel so guilty abandoning my blog like this, but I promise to write more often this year. Make that my New Year’s Resolution.  I’ve been busy doing things that I won’t be able to do anymore  when school opens in 3 weeks……. like hanging out with friends, going to parties, playing video games , and reading mangas. Gosh, I haven’t even read Eragon yet.

So, where was I ?

Oh, yeah, my  holiday activities….. Well, Christmas dinner was just family. We didn’t have guests this year ( that is, if I even consider my Sis’ BF and BFF ” guests “. They’re like family already… this year, he was in San Diego with his Dad, and BFF was in Ohio with her grandma ) . There wasn’t much food compared to last year.

This year…….

As usual, we had eggrolls( lumpia ) and  caldereta ( beef  stew), ham, paella ( Spanish rice ), galantina ( fancy name for chicken loaf ), roast pork, sauteed mushrooms with veggies, and desserts. I’m proud to say I made the paella, my first time to cook that.

Paella

Another view of the spread

Galantina and sauteed mushrooms

Desserts ( leche flan, cassava cake, fruit salad , cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, pastries, and muffins ) The small pastries have sweetened coconut in them. In the Philippines, they are called pan de coco.

Cheesecake and chocolate cake ( bought from Costco)………. Oh, by the way, do you see that thing , on upper right hand of the pic above ?  It’s Afghan bread….. it’s flat and it’s 3 feet long, and tastes better than regular sliced bread. And do you see the one on the left? That’s pineapple sweet bread. Sooo good.

So, that’s it, our Christmas day meal.

I was planning to post pics of our New Year’s Day celebration on a separate post but I guess it’s too late now. Anyway,  we didn’t prepare much this year.

So, do I love cooking? Well, I did cook most of the food  seen in the photos, especially the paella, but I can’t say I love cooking.  When my mother was diagnosed with Diabetes and high blood pressure, my sister and I had to take charge of household duties.  Cooking is not a rocket science, anyways, and I’m lucky Mom has tons of recipes that have  already been taste -tasted and rated 5 stars.  You see, before my family immigrated here to the US, Mom had a thriving catering business in the Philippines. Three days before we immigrated to the US, Mom  still managed to cater  for 300 people. It was a convention…….. catering was AM snacks, lunch, Pm snacks, and dinner. I still remember that. It was rather chaotic at our house, so many people coming and going, preparing food. The whole place was like an assembly line.

Now, our New year’s day feast: There was less food on the table. That was okay though. At least we didn’t have to pig out and eat the same food for 3 days.

Almost the same thing . We had  noodles ( pancit ) instead of paella, roast pork ( I love the roast pork, with all that crunchy skin goodness ! Ugh ! So unhealthy ! ) and I made empanada ( meat turnovers )and turrones. ( wrapped fried banana ). We also had mini quiches and wanton soup.

Empanada ( meat turnover…. sauteed ground chicken with potatoes and raisins )

Turrones ( wrapped banana then fried….. it also has brown sugar and jack fruit in it ).

Mini quiches and OMG, that cake ! It’s called Fruit Basket and the taste was sublime ! Ah, but it was a $ 36 – cake, so I ‘m sure the baker saw to it it was worth the price.

Wonton soup ( I made this )\

Ahahaha ! Here’s a horrible random pic of me on New year’s Day. I didn’t get to sleep at all. I got home at 3 AM  from a New Year’s Day party , then cooked and baked the whole morning  for our New Year’s lunch. .,  I looked like a hag in this pic and intentionally picked my nose when Mom took the picture. Bleh. Good thing it’s blurry.

So, what did you guys get for Christmas ? I got a a pair of gold hoop earrings and necklace with my birthstone, and a Wii video dance game JUST DANCE 3  from my parents, a gorgeous leather jacket from my brother, and a nice sweater from sis. My best friend gave a me a nice pair of earrings too. Wow ! I just love Just Dance 3. It’s like having a fun exercise and at the same time,  learning awesome dance moves. There’s another one, Michael Jackson Experience, that I’m going to buy , too. Although they say the dance routine is really difficult to follow. Ha ! I’m sure it is.

Well, to be honest, talking about so much food and material gifts makes me a bit uncomfortable. This is not the real spirit of Christmas, you know. There are millions of children who are starving and suffering  at this very moment. I feel kind of guilty……………  Oh, my, this reminds me again of the story The Little Match Girl.  ~.~  But what can I do ? I just want them to know that amidst this merriment and celebration, I stop and think about them…… that , at least there’s one in this world who has not forgotten .  The truth is, not everyone is happy this Christmas.  Mom;s favorite first cousin died on Dec. 24. She literally died in the arms of her husband while waiting for the ambulance. At first, she was clinging to him, then she went limp. It was so sad.  Then my sister’s ex- boyfriend died from brain tumor on Dec.15.  I heard my sister sobbing in the bathroom . When she got out, she was holding the glass cell phone stand that he gave her and her eyes were really swollen.  It was really a sad story between him and my sister.  In fact, when he was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago, it was only my sister , aside from his family, that he told about his condition.  Well, it was  a short bittersweet relationship , and he told her she was the only girl  he ever loved but he was glad that she broke up with him , because 6 months after the break -up, he was diagnosed with cancer. Oh, man, my tears are falling now. There’s another sad  story I’d like to talk about, but I  don’t want to feel any  sadder than what I’m feeling at the moment.

Oh, I got 3 more Versatile Blogger Award…. one from Koopa , Viv, and trjensen…. my 7th, 8th, and 9th awards. I’ll acknowledge this on my next post. I really gotta publish this now.

This is all for now. PEACE . And be happy !