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 !
Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
dreamsending
renxkyoko
renxkyoko's space 
Posted by simpleek on January 19, 2012 at 12:22 am
With all these food photos, maybe you should start a foodie blog. You take nice photos of your family spreads. So scrumptious looking. 😀
Posted by renxkyoko on January 20, 2012 at 12:38 am
Ah, how I wish I could do that, but , I don’t think so, unless I make another site dedicated to food. And another one for manga fans. But then I can hardly update this one site ! So what I do is try to talk about anything under the sun, all on one post. It’s like there’s a little something for every one. .
Posted by Belle Reveur on January 19, 2012 at 5:09 am
I agree with simpleek! Now I feel like cooking!
Posted by renxkyoko on January 20, 2012 at 1:06 am
Ahaha ! That’s what I did all through the holidays ! ! In fact, before I cooked the paella for Christmas, I tried the recipe one week before the main event. ( and wrote down notes, by the way…. I’m so like Mom ! )
Posted by willofheart on January 19, 2012 at 6:36 pm
Yes I agree with them they look all yummy , I think I am going to the kitchen now to eat something hahaha… any way it is so nice if we have relatives who visit us it is some kind of a bonding with our loveones…
I am nominating you too for vesatile bloggers award pls. check at: http://willofheart.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/yay-for-the-awards/ … 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on January 20, 2012 at 1:09 am
Whoa ! That’s my 11th versatile award ! yay ! Thank you ! I am honored !
Cheers to both of us, willofheart ! ! ( and you got so many awards too, Wow ! )
Posted by Zoe @ Pantry and Fridge on January 19, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Always nice when you catch us up, even if it’s about nothing I particular.
Hope youre having a nice New Year. Enjoy being lazy – a few more days 🙂
Zo 😀
Posted by renxkyoko on January 20, 2012 at 1:11 am
Omg. I know, a few more days , then back to school ! Ugh !
I’ll be visiting you soon, Zoe… I bet I’ve already missed a lot of your recipes….. better catch up on that !
Posted by Zoe @ Pantry and Fridge on January 23, 2012 at 8:27 am
You never miss many and always catch up. I wanted to thank you for that, actually. You’ve been so supportive of me and have really helped me to keep going. 🙂 You’re very appreciated and I love all of your comments. Thanks so much for being such an awesome WordPress sister.
Keep writing your delightful posts, I’ll be here and will keep reading!!!
Zoe
Posted by renxkyoko on January 23, 2012 at 10:21 am
I love your recipes, zoe. I think I got my interest in foodies from Mom. Mom though is not a great baker. So she doesn’t really have that much baking recipes , well at least recipes that she has actually made herself from scratch. Blame the store bought cakes in the box and Costco’s baked products , ha ha ha.
Posted by Iya Santos on January 20, 2012 at 6:08 am
ohg wow! awesome holiday spread!
Posted by renxkyoko on January 21, 2012 at 5:05 pm
There really was too much food. Sometimes, when there’s too much, we are not able to appreciate the taste of each dish.
Hey, thanks for the visit ! !
Posted by The Hook on January 20, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Those shots ahve aroused my hunger!
Posted by renxkyoko on January 21, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Oh, good, good ! It’s nice to know the pics are arousing something ahahah. Cheers, Mr. Hook !
Posted by belleofthecarnival on January 20, 2012 at 10:50 pm
What a wonderful feast! All of it looks so delicious!
Posted by renxkyoko on January 21, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Thanks ! !
To be honest, our food the rest of the year is so-so, lol. Well, simple stews, some fried foods and soup, etc. We go all out only during the holidays.
Posted by mooselicker on January 20, 2012 at 11:26 pm
I’m not a huge zombie fan or anything but if you haven’t already you should check out the show The Walking Dead. I’ve only watched 3 episodes but it’s pretty damn good so far. I remember playing the first Resident Evil game and how much it scared me. It was the only game I ever played where you could run out of ammo. Wow was that realistically scary.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 21, 2012 at 8:40 pm
Oh, guess what, I have a dvd of the first season of Walking Dead. I didn’t even know there was a show like this until a few bloggers informed me about it.
Resident Evil is scary coz there are always dozens of zombies the player has to fight . It’s insane.
Posted by Eva626 on January 21, 2012 at 2:56 am
Omg do much food!!! Looks delish. And your cousin and husband are really impressive people. Hospital stories are always interesting!
Posted by renxkyoko on January 23, 2012 at 5:49 pm
Thanks , Eva 626 !
Yeah, they are…… and they’re young and fun to be with, esp. my cousin who is so bubbly and always laughs.
Posted by fluffymocchi on January 21, 2012 at 5:35 am
WOW! look at all the food!!! It’s almost 1AM here and your pictures made me hungry….
Posted by renxkyoko on January 21, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Hello, fluffymocchi !
Thanks for visiting ! Cheers !
Posted by allenjambalaya on January 22, 2012 at 3:54 am
“Opus Dei is really not that mysterious. But, he admits it is indeed a fundamentalist religious organization.” – The image I can remember about Southridge is that they are exclusive school for boys and most of them knows how pen spinning. Almost akin to my alma mater, Marist School, Marikina. Opus Dei’s founder is St. Escriva, one of the fastest canonized saint in Catholic history. He is known as the saint of the ordinary. I can assure that the Opus Dei depicted in the books and film of Dan Brown is fiction.
I’ve never read or watched Da Vinci Code though I read Angels and Demons, which I liked. Dan Brown really knows how to provoke and hit the right market to sell his books.
About your mention of metaphysics, I’m seriously considering to take up masters whenever it’s offered somewhere.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 22, 2012 at 4:56 am
What’s pen spinning?
Eh? You’re going to take a masteral degree in Metaphysics?
Posted by allenjambalaya on January 22, 2012 at 8:34 am
Pen spinning is a trick done with the hands. You make a spin by manipulating the pen with your fingers. I know how to spin a pen with both hands.
About the metaphysics, I’m interested about it but I don’t have the money to pursue it. It would be nice if I receive a scholarship. By the way, I’m in a religious congregation formation right now. Maybe that’s the reason why I’m kinda interested with metaphysics.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 22, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Ahahaha ! Pen spinning is the only thing they’re known for?
Bro said they were soccer champions for several years though. Brother was a goalie.
@__@ Are you studying to be a priest?
Posted by allenjambalaya on January 23, 2012 at 2:25 am
Of course they’re known in some other areas like sports and Catholic education. When I was still in the HS varsity team, we played them once. I’m not really familiar with them that much though. Usually, it’s the universities participating at the UAAP that gains attention in sports events. Here, UAAP is more famous than our local version of NCAA.
Have you heard about religious brothers of the schools? That’s the one I’m in right now. Like La Salle and Marist brothers. 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on January 23, 2012 at 2:51 am
Oh, you’re a La Salle Brother ? ^_^ Wow !
Southridge is with the Jesuits, if I’m not mistaken, Well, that’s what I heard from the family. Our house there is very near the school, that’s one thing. Dad says Southridge is pretty low key. They are afraid of kidnapping for ransom which was very rampant that time. My brother’s best friend then was the son of the owner of Francisco Motors, the company that makes Mazda vehicles.
Posted by allenjambalaya on January 23, 2012 at 5:32 am
No, not La Salle Brothers. Their just an example since our congregation is inspired by their patron saint. I’m still a postulant, the stage before going into the novitiate. Right now, I’m still deciding if I’ll continue or not. I’m still free to go out. Continuing to the next stage would mean 2 years without internet connection and blogging. That why I need to discern more.
Oh. The Jesuit priests. The same founders of Ateneo de Manila. We owe them a lot since they devoloped our hometown, Marikina City. I’ve never been into Southridge but I know the combination of Jesuits and Opus Dei works well in giving quality education. No wonder why big time businessmen enroll their sons there.
Posted by renxkyoko on February 2, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Is your congragation Catholic, or what / Whoa, you sure will be doing a lot ot thinking. That’s the rest of you’re life we’re talking about here ! So what percentage probability that you’ll go through with it?
Posted by Akshay Khokhar on January 25, 2012 at 6:19 am
Ohkk… first things first, reading your blog after a month, and this is 3 back to back posts full of delicious looking, juicy food on the table, you must know someone is trying to control his food habits here… 🙂
Oh you won’t believe Da Vinci Code (Movie) was banned in some territories of India, Catholics were protesting against citing their religious sentiments, though I like the book better, good average read for travelling..!!
Goddess of B – movies.?? seriously… ? I too like them… upto a certain level of gore though.. haha. recently saw these ‘Tucker and Dale vs Evil’ and ‘Jennifer’s Body’ they were good..!!
Posted by renxkyoko on January 25, 2012 at 8:44 pm
I know right ? I’m afraid to get on the weighing scale myself.
Oh, I heard about some boycotts somewhere, but the Vatican ( seat of the Roman catholic Church ) chose to ignore it. It’s funny… Opus dei’s membership actually increased after the book was published, ha ha ha.
Oooh…. I’m going to watch those movies. I’ve heard of jennifer’s Body, but not of Tucker and Dale vs Evil.
Posted by Jarryd on January 25, 2012 at 4:43 pm
How was The Debt?
Posted by renxkyoko on January 25, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Hi, Jarryd ! How’s The Debt ? I have no idea….. But wait, Helen Mirren and 2 guys…. she and this other guy fell in love, but this guy went away to search for the Nazi doctor that these 3 wanted to bring to justice ( the nazi got away,) and she married the other one. But these two told a lie to the whole world( that they found the Nazi and killed him, yadiya )… well, it’s complicated, but the debt is….. the girl had to tell the real story for the sake of the guy who spent his life searching for that Nazi doctor ( his whole family was experimented on by this doctor ) , but this guy died, so the girl decided to search for the Nazi herself, and then tell the whole truth , for the sake of her friend. It’s actually depressing…. well, anything about the nazis are depressing.
Posted by PM on January 26, 2012 at 10:29 am
fingers crossed on finding the one. i’m sure one day you’d see him or maybe you have seen him already! i hope you have fun with your cousin. i laughed reading the on call basis for doctors, it is really like that. sometimes it is the dead of the night and you have no choice. i also agree on exposing your unmentionables to a stranger male doctor 😆 though if it is an emergency case for sure the patient won’t mind
your europe tour is so close! i hope you have a blast! looking forward to the photos!
Posted by renxkyoko on February 2, 2012 at 7:20 pm
Yes ! I’ve seen him already. He’s Keanu reeves ! Been pining for him since foreva !
Well, yeah ! LOL I’m sure any gender is fine when I’m wringling with pain , ha ha.
Maybe I’ll start a countdown before the trip. Right now it’s 4 1/2 months to go !
Posted by Lafemmeroar on January 27, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Oh my gosh! I’m hungry again and I just ate!
I see the egg rolls on both pics, but I don’t see the cupcakes … what kind were they?
BTW “Bladerunner” is one of my fav pics … have you seen it?
Posted by renxkyoko on February 2, 2012 at 7:22 pm
The cupcakes were red velvet with ” boiled” icing.
Bladerunner is an old movie, right ? I think I’ve seen it… is that the one with Harrison Ford ? Scy fy?
Posted by WordsFallFromMyEyes on January 27, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Wow. It seems to me you have a huge surrounding of family. That’s beautiful. Your photo is gorgeous too 🙂 A lovely post.
Posted by renxkyoko on February 2, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Thanks, wordsfallfrommyeyes !
I know ! Aunts, uncles, cousins, in the Philippines are family. We’re one big family. Really close. It’s a culture thing.
Posted by Zo on January 28, 2012 at 4:29 pm
The food photos look amazing.
It’s probably just as well I don’t have any close family/friends who are doctors because I think I’d want them to look at me and offer diagnoses for every disease I think I might have (why have a regular cold when there are so many more exotic things to have?)
Posted by renxkyoko on February 2, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Oh, right, Zo ! I don’t really want to see a doctor. I get more paranoid. They might find something I’d be happy not to know.
Posted by sasaliwngawit on February 2, 2012 at 9:39 am
Hello, Renx,
Thanks for coming over the site. Yes, riding LRT 2 and the MRT could be fun. Gawin mo minsan pag nagka-chance ka pa uling umuwi sa Pilipinas.
Aha, ang husay mo pa palang managalog, as in… And yes, ang hain ninyo on two Christmases ay itsurang Pinoy na Pinoy, ahaha. Karaming pagkain, haha. Ba’t di ka mataba? It’s those numbers and equations you think about in your sleep and deal with in your waking hours, lols!^^
Salamat uli sa pagdaan at balik ka, minsan. 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on February 2, 2012 at 7:39 pm
Ah ! Bakit hindi ako mataba? Kasi naman, dami namin exercise gizmos sa garahe… treadmill, Bowflex, bike, at meron pa isa. Hey, ang sarap ng fish balls. Ayaw ibigay sa akin nung vendor yung recipe. I’ve been trying to concoct a sauce that tastes like that… not successful.
Pinoy na pinoy talaga ! Lumpia at turrones. Hindi nawawala yan sa menu namin, kasi, pati yung non- Filipino regulars namin, gusto sobra. Kaya kahit Christmas, wala sila sa family nila, Nasa amin, kumakain, ha ha.
Okay ba Tagalog ko ?
Posted by Shakti Ghosal on February 4, 2012 at 3:04 am
Hi,
I was passing by and really got arrested by your so very personal and infectiously positive writing. I’ll be back!:)
Cheers and God bless. Shakti
Posted by WordsFallFromMyEyes on March 5, 2012 at 10:44 am
Your Christmas banquet was TO DIE FOR! 🙂
Posted by jmsabbagh on March 5, 2016 at 6:54 pm
Feast fit for royalty .Great traditions.