I haven’t “watched ” the news for about 3 months now.. I am tired of all the political burlesque that’s going on here in the US and around the world. Like, what the heck happened to Venezuela? It’s like an apocalypse over there … empty shelves at grocery stores, Mickey Mouse money… almost a million Venezuela Bolivars for one cup of coffee ! …. and a million per cent inflation rate. ( I watched it YouTube, BBC Channel )
On the homefront, I’ve turned into a political zombie. …. I’m more like a ” deadma “ , I think. What’s a ” deadma ” ? It’s a common Filipino slang word coined from 2 English words ” dead malice ” . A person is deadma when he/she feels, looks, and acts unconcerned about what’s going on around him/her,. ( or fiddles while Rome burns, as the saying goes. ) . However, I’m only deadma on the outside. Inwardly, I’m judging….. Yes , judging , but in the most sensible, reasonable , logical and most fair manner as possible.
That’s the reason why my politics has slid from far left to just a bit left of center. Extremism is toxic. Anything taken in excess is poison. The only thing that has not budged is my position on environment and guns, and my unwavering disgust with you – know -who…
I know exactly when the slide towards the center started. It started right after the 2016 US presidential elections.
a) Read Fear by Bob Woodward…done ! Currently reading Fire and Fury ( Inside the Trump Whie House) by Michael Wolff . Next is Omarosa’s Unhinged.
b) Vacuumed and shampooed the carpet.
c) Ironed a pile of clothes, bedsheets, pillowcases, etc.
d) Mowed the lawn, frontyard and backyard
e) Went to a 2 – day Rock Concert, with co-wokers, ( with production workers, not lab techs )
That’s me in the photo below……
Observations at the concert :
a) Almost 90 % of the males wore black shirts….
b) Almost all in the concert were white , jajaja, and just a handful of Asians, (including yours truly ) … I didn’t see any African – Americans… well, except Slash. I felt just a tad out of place , but then ,when one band member snapped at you-know – who, the crowd went wild. Yes ! !
That’s all. Ah, wait… about the new US Supreme Court justice, Kavanaugh…. I’m done with politics… for now. So dirty and tainted.
I bought a security camera for our house. Just one camera . I’ll add more later. It’s not cheap. ( $200 ) . It’s wireless, 130 degree angle, HD , night vision, illuminates up to 25 ft., audio, ( speaker and microphone) , and there’s a built – in siren
So, why did I buy a security camera? Most of you have read my 2 previous posts. This week, my car’s window had been smashed, and my dad’s had been egged. We have no proof who the culprit is, that’s why I can’t file a Restraining Order against my ex. At least, the culprit didn’t key my car. Thank goodness for small mercies. Even though my car is 10 years old ( a 2008 BMW , my mother’s originally ) it’s in mint condition. It’s so clean it sparkles. lol Just kidding.
Oh, yeah, I went hiking last week with my co-workers. Photo taken in Auburn, California. That’s yours truly in the photo.
My mother and I are planning to visit Japan in Oct. 2019. Well, when we went on European tour years ago, we bought our tickets and tour package 9 months earlier. I wonder why our 30-day packaged Euro tour is so much cheaper than the 10 -day Japanese tour, though. I mean, almost the same price ! ! Is Japan really that expensive ? Anyways, I’m already excited to see Akihabara shopping district , the center of Japan’s manga/anime/otaku culture.
This is all for now. I hope this will be the last post re that troublesome person. No news is good news, right ?
Nothing to see here, folks. Move along…….. * just kidding *
To be honest, today, I’m just winging it. Let’s see where this post goes.
I’ve been reading blogs from The Reader , and that means I cannot read those that get posted from 11 PM to 6 AM, ( sleeping time ) and from 12 PM to 9: 30 PM ( I’m at work ) . Also, I’ve been busy doing some yard work in the morning, and that means, I don’t get to read any blog , at all. Yardwork and gardening are no laughing matter in my book. Remember these photos that I posted 2 years ago ?
The amount of yardwork isn’t as bad this year . Our lawn was rehabilitated after California’s 4 year drought ( back then, our water use was monitored …. our front yard lawn was brown but not dead, but at the backyard, the lawn was completely dry, except the weeds that grew vigorously with little rain, completely overpowering the lawn ) , but there are still a staggering amount of weeds to manually pluck out this spring. Anyway, the photos above speak for itself. I’m not exaggerating this time, folks…….. as I wont to do. Ha ha ! * sweats *
We just gave a goodbye pot luck party for a co-worker who’s moving to another state. I brought baked macaroni. My co-workers were a bit disappointed that it wasn’t an ” ethnic” food. I told them it was a Filipino style baked macaroni, and they were like, ” Yay, Filipino style ! ” They loved my macaroni dish . It was cleaned out in one go, and those that came in late didn’t get to taste it. Some of them asked for the recipe. I usually balk at giving away ” original ” recipes ( my mother’s ) . My mother had a successful catering business in the Philippines, and you know, one should not ask the caterer for the recipe of the dish that one likes, for obvious reasons. In fact, a former co-worker ordered from me 4 kinds of food for her Christmas party ( she’s Muslim, by the way ) …….. baked macaroni, spring rolls, potato salad ( she got to taste test my salad, and loved it ) and turrones ( wrapped fried banana with jackfruit ). Just a favor given, guys, ( with mini monetary compensation for my efforts, a few dollars and some change ). This isn’t a business.
Back to my co-workers……………… I do plan to give them the recipe, if they ask for it again. It seems they have forgotten about it, he he. Anyways, how is my recipe different from other baked macaronis ? Well, I add fish sauce ( Filipinos call patis ) and soy sauce,. Fish sauce is a South East Asian favorite condiment. It’s a basic ingredient in their dishes , particularly Thai , Indonesian, Malaysian and Filipino dishes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans use fish sauce in their dishes. It’s really a Southeast Asian thing.
I’d like to end my post at this point ( it’s almost 500 words now ), But I feel I need to say something. Political, I’m afraid. ( ~ .~ ) I try not to pay attention to news re Trump and Liars , Inc. It was hard at first, but I’m getting better at it. Nowadays, I just wait for Trump and Liars, Inc. to implode, then start from scratch when this nightmare is over. I call this a Susan Sarandon syndrome. ( He”s not going to be impeached, but who knows . The alternative is worse, in my opinion. VP Pence ? He talks to God, and more importantly, God talks to him. But I don’t know what kind of God he talks to .. not a compassionate and moral God, that’s for sure…….. maybe a gun- toting God who kicks beggars off the streets, and , definitely not Jesus ) I’m sorry for my harsh words.
This is all for now. Thanks for reading, and Peace ! ! \(^w^)/
My parents just sent out the last mortgage payment on our house this week. They’re ecstatic. They now truly own the house, and there will be extra cash in their bank account from now on. However, there’s still another house they’re paying for, but no problem…. it’s being rented out and therefore, it’s paying for itself.
I had an enlightening conversation with a co-worker from Afghanistan. He said he had a hard time finding a job here in the US ( he used to work as an airplane mechanic at a US air base in Afghanistan ). He felt that because he was a Muslim he was always viewed as potential terrorist. He also joked about him coming from a sh*thole country. I blurted out , ” Me, too ! ” Then, I suddenly had a mental image of the city where I was born. Hmmm, is it really a sh*thole, or just a sh*thouse ?
Here’ s a video of the capital city of Manila, Philippines . It doesn’t really look like a sh*thole , does it ? But then, that’s just my humble opinion.
And why did HE build a Trump Tower in Manila , and plan to build another one at Clark City, Angeles, Pampanga, about 4 hours from the metropolis , if he now thinks immigrants from terrorist countries, like the Philippines are ” animals” ? Yep, he did mention the Philippines as one of the terrorist countries. Ha Ha Ha ! Who gave him that idiotic, ridiculous information ?
Below is the Trump Tower in Manila ( the one on the right )
About Clark City….. it used to be US’s Clark Air Force Base. It was on lease from the Philippine government for 99 years, the largest US base /territory outside of the US. When Mt. Pinatubo erupted, the whole base was covered with ash, and since the US was then downsizing all its military bases outside the US, the US government decided to just bail , without renewing the lease which was about to expire , instead of spending billions of dollars to clean up the base . Now that the Philippine government has started the conversion of the base to a modern, futuristic, green, city , we were all surprised to learn that piece of US property was about 1/2 the size of Metro-Manila. They will also build an international airport to relieve the one in Manila which is already bursting at the seams. In fact, there’s already an existing excellent international airport at Clark….. it was a US airforce base, for Pete’s sake. The runway is so long and so well-made that it is actually an alternative landing runway for a space shuttle.
Now, for a bit of fun…..
There’s a town in Angeles near Clark base named Sexmoan, I kid you not. Well, you know, where there are US soldiers = Red light district, strip bars, etc. You know what I mean. But, that’s been its name for hundreds of years, Spanish colonial era, and it’s pronounced Ses-mo-wan. I’m guessing the origin is from Bilbao, Spain. When I was in Bilbao, I saw a lot of letter X in signboards over there. ( Here I go again, I’m making theories, he he he , but it makes sense, yeah ? Besides, the Philippines favorite chorizo/sausage is Chorizo de Bilbao…so, there you go. ) ~_~
I’m calling this post chopsuey because I have nothing specific in mind…… just a mixed bag of stuff that’s on my mind at the moment. So , here goes….
I went to a 99 cents store to buy kitchen rags and sponges and my favorite scented soap, Palmolive. Of course, we inevitably get to buy other things that do not have to be expensive, such as seasonal Holloween decorations. Then, I saw this……..
It is furniture polish wipes, but its Warning states ” Do not use on furniture “, or as personal hygiene , such as “baby wipes.” Made in China. I hurriedly left the store. Goshdarnit. I’m assuming some people over there use this as baby wipes, hence , the warning.
The dairy plant where I work is huge. Employees have to drive through 3 gates ( using a remote control ) with road spikes to stop illegal entry. We do allow a few visitors to get in, like the one I encountered at the parking lot. Please watch video down below ( I’ve done everything to post this video on its proper place, but it seems it always goes down below. The old WordPress features were easier to work with. I don’t even have a Preview now. So , yeah, I just gave up fixing this. ) Anyway, the video shows a light brown fox near where I parked my car.
I finally met a person ( a co-worker ) who thinks he had been abducted by aliens. He acts normal, though….. just don’t let him talk about his alien abduction experience.
I’ve been watching on You Tube anything on North Korea for over a year now. To me, the worst thing that these dictators’ family has done is to make zombies and robots out of their people . Zombies are the undead. They may look human, but they don’t act like one. And the children ….. The way the children smile and act is uniform and robotic. . They look so creepy. So, Ren, what exactly is your point in saying all these ? I won’t tell because you’ll hate me if I do.
There is a North Korean video of New York City in nuclear ruins , with the song ” We Are the World ” playing in the backround,….. and North Korean audience applauding gleefully as they watch the video.
” Ah, I love the smell of napalm in the morning. ”
And with this, I say, adieu, sweet dreams, and peace and goodwill to all men.
Ah, Philippine cuisine ! Where do I even begin ? Last week, a friend of mine ” ordered ” lumpia ( meat eggrolls ) from yours truly, good for 20 people. She’s Guatemalan. The truth is, friends and co-workers have been ordering trays of food from me for several years now, including 2 Persian friends whom I have been cooking for, for their Thanksgiving, and believe it or not , Christmas parties. The Persians usually order fried , vegetable rolls, beef stew ( caldereta ) , chicken adobo, leche flan ( egg custard ) and a few desserts and salads. It’s my underground business, but I don’t think the government will be interested in taxing my $ 75 earnings. I do it as a favor. In fact, I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s labor intensive, And if it’s just one tray of dish, forget it. I mean, after deductions, I get what, a $ 5 profit ? I loath myself when that happens.
Oh, wait, before anything else , here’s a video that I hope you can watch. I find it funny because I noticed it too when I was in the Philippines. Just 3 minutes, folks, so please click, and be educated.
Compress ! ! I often heard that word in the Philippines. Ha ha ha !
Anyway, this is not what this post is all about. It’s Filipino cuisine. Again, where do I begin ?
To start off……. I’ve been wondering why there are so few Filipino restaurants here in the US. Filipinos are the second largest immigrant minority group in California,( after the Mexicans,) and the third largest in the US, so where are the restaurants ? My mother and I have been discussing the possible reasons and have come up with 1 million reasons for this anomaly.
a) Filipinos who come to the US are not risk takers. They do not come here to the US to open restaurants, in the first place. I can say with almost 99 % certainty that Filipinos who come here are mostly professionals and college educated……. doctors, nurses, engineers, accountants, healthcare professionals, chemists, etc. Filipinos do not consider being a ” chef ” as a career or a profession. Besides that, even with considerable savings at their disposal, Filipinos do not like to lose it all on a venture that has a short lifespan, 5 years at most , if you’re lucky. It’s preferable to toil away at a safe 9 to 5 job for a house, 2 cars, the kids’ education, maybe for some rest and recreation in Rome and Paris , and a lifetime pension where they can spend the rest of their lives smelling roses ………….instead of worrying about their restaurants going under, for the rest of their lives. Filipinos are what my mother calls ” segurista ” ,meaning a person who makes sure things happen according to plan………… which is, oddly enough, the complete opposite of the more common trait of Filipinos, the ” bahala na ” attitude, which means, whatever, come what may, if it will happen, it will happen. ( this comes from Filipinos ‘ response to numerous yearly natural disasters….. volcanic eruptions, eathquakes, off- the- chart typhoons, floodings, dictators, colonizers, ( Spain and US ) you name it, Filipinos get it. It’s fatalistic, but at the same time, having a positive attitude. Filipinos do not mope ! I guess Filipinos accept events that they cannot control….. but segurista for things they can .
Where was I ? Oh, yeah, Filipino food…..
b) Filipino food sucks. Not true, not true at all. Filipino food can be a bit funky, but oh, so flavorful and savory , umami ! ! The taste is bold and audacious. Example : Chocolate soup, or blood soup. I mean, who will order that in a restaurant, besides Filipinos ? Filipinos eat that with gusto, with, of course, rice or , believe it or not, bread . They dunk the bread in the soup, folks. Oh, do I hear , Eeeeeew ! My breakfast in England for 3 days included blood sausage, and in Spain, morcilla . In Romania, they also have blood soup, just like in the Philippines which Bizzare Foods show’s Andrew Zimmern duly noted. Oh, wait, they eat blood in Romania ? Just kidding. Thumbs up to you, Romanians.
c) Filipinos prefer to cook at home, and family home-style cooking. Why will they go to a restaurant to eat food they cook at home , everyday, and swearing, their moms cook it better, anyways ? They prefer to eat something different. Don’t get me wrong…. Filipinos love dining out…. in fact , in the Philippines, restaurants are always full, diners wait to get seated, or they just make reservations ( 2 weeks at Vikings ) if they don’t want to wait.. Food courts are everywhere, not to mention, the ubiquitous street food , and numerous ” carinderias “. ( Carinderias are low – tiered eateries , usually located at low- income areas , schools and universities, where customers point at the food they want to eat. They also call them ” turo – turo“……… turo means point, so it’s point-point . ( Have I mentioned Filipinos like to repeat words ? ) Unfortunately, most Filipino restaurants here in the US are turo-turo style, with food Filipinos cook at home, and to be honest, they don’t look appetizing , especially to non – Filipinos. Blood soup, anyone ? What in the world , is that mud-looking dish ?
Below is a carinderia in the Philippines. Not much to look at, but the food is soooooooo delicious ( and cheap !!!!!!! )
842 words…… time to sign off, and to be continued …… 9, 997 reasons to go.
And please check out my anime/manga/video games blogsite @ http://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/ I have new entry, a review of RWBY, an anime created by an American developer, Rooster Teeth. Yay, homegrown.
Something’s wrong with me. It’s just 3 days since my last post, and before that, 2 days. And here I am again !
The reason I’m posting again is ….. well, I want to give the answer to the puzzle that I posted last time. I don’t want to keep some people hanging. Heh. ^^
So, anyway, here’s the answer. Where’s the iPhone ?
It took a lot of time to draw it, y’know. My masterpiece. Check out the original photo. It’s easy to see coz it’s waving at you.
Cheryl Wright has sent me a set of questions ( Liebster Award ) and I’ve decided to answer them here. Thanks, Cheryl !
What inspired the name of your blog ?
Renxkyoko’s Space…… Ren and Kyoko are the names of the main protagonists of what used to be my favorite manga, Skip Beat.
How long does it usually take you to write a blog post ?
Depends……. if there are photos, it takes a few hours. Otherwise, 2 to 3 hours, with long breaks in between.
Can you write anytime or do you need to be in the mood.
I need to be in the mood.
What Social Media platforms do you use to promote your blog post ?
If there were no Internet, would you still be writing ?
No, I’d be reading instead…… not just manga….. you’d be surprised at what books I read. I’m a freakin’ walking encyclopedia, so much so that I can give correct Jeopardy answers 90% of the time. ( I’m bad at questions about old, old American TV shows. I don’t even watch the current ones. ) I read books on Archaelogy, History, and currently reading Calculus for Idiots.
When was the last time you wrote a handwritten letter ?
Last Christmas, I sent out real Christmas cards to relatives and friends, with short handwritten notes.
Have you ever met in person a blogger that you are following ?
Uhm…….. When I was on vacation in the Philippines in 2010, I wanted to meet this Filipino blogger……… he declined. It was clear I was totally rejected, ~_~ . Oh, well, his loss. T.T
Okay , this is all for now. And check out my manga/anime blog HERE.
Okay, I’m sure you’ve heard of this Miss Universe fiasco already. I’m surprised the media had taken notice of this inane and anachronistic event * sings and dances * I feel pretty , oh so pretty, I feel pretty, and witty and gay, And I pity any girl who isn’t me today, lalala…., but hey, we do need to lighten up, right ? Well, I have to be honest and say it got me interested , too, because, * cough , cough * the new Ms.U is from the Philippines. Not that it’s such an earth- shaking event to me, or to the Philippines, for that matter. After all, she’s now the Philippines’ 4th Ms. Universe. The Philippines has been winning at most of these international beauty pageants, big and small… in fact, some complain that it seems Ms. Phil is automatically included in top 10, top 5 , or the runner -up.
So what exactly was the brouhaha all about ? The host, Steve Harvey announced the wrong girl, Ms. Columbia. They handed her the bouquet of flowers, placed the crown on her head, she started waving, then Boom ! You ain’t the winner, Ms. It’s Ms. Philippines. Wait, what, waaaaaaa ! Yikes ! Stupid host…..
You’d think the Phiippines would feel pretty blasé about this kind of thing already, right ? . Well……. no, not really . I’m sure they’re jumping for joy. Filipinos love beauty pageants. There’s this Miss Barrio San Jose, Ms. Del Monte Street, Ms. Boracay, Ms. Manila…. yep, there’s a Miss for every freakin’ occasion and place. Oh, there’s a Miss Gay Philippines, too. Do you know the Philippines is among the top 10 most accepting, gay -friendly countries in the world ? # 9, but would rank higher if the strict Catholic country would allow same- sex marriage.” Oh, you’re gay ? Let’s open a beauty parlor. ” Aunty, not all gays go into beauty business. I’m in college and majoring in Computer Science. Perish that stereo type. ” This dialogue really happened.
So, where was I…….
By the way, the very first Miss Philippines was my mother’s aunt.
I also need to mention my new Manga/Anime blogsite Here.
This is also one of those posts that I wish I hadn’t written, ha ha…. Better get this published pronto before I change my mind.
This is all for now. Happy Holidays to you all, and Merry Christmas.
I’m in the Philippines ! We left good ol’ USA on June 21 , 10:30 PM, and arrived in the Philippines 0n June 23 at 4:30 AM. It was a 14 hour flight. It wasn’t a smooth ride, there was too much turbulence from get go, and I was so scared I almost cried. It didn’t help that I actually have plane phobia. I didn’t get to sleep at all. Instead I watched 5 movies. ( Frozen, Transfomers, X-Men, The Hobbit, The Conjuring. ) The only good thing about the flight was the food. Philippine Airlines was quite generous . Dinner was delicious, we had sandwiches and muffins and juice/coffee in between , then breakfast. I’m sorry I can’t post any pictures as yet because I’m using a teeny weeny notebook, and it isn’t mine.
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Today is July 25. I’m back home, yay, California ! ! We left the Philippines on July 21, 10:30 PM and arrived here in California , also on July 21 , 8 P.M.
It’s been a week since then, but I have not done anything here, no reading, no writing. I’ve been busy at work. I’m even afraid to check out my emails. I’m sure I already have thousands of thousands of unread emails.
Oh, well, I have to start writing , anyway, so here I am. Bear with me, please. I think I left my enthusiasm in the Philippines. So, where do I begin?
Do you guys remember this picture? I posted this in Novemeber. That’s how our vacation house in Boracay, Island in the Philippines looked in November last year, 2013.
Here is how it looks now. It’s 99% finished, except for a few paintings here and there…. and the house is empty, no furniture, and just 2 beds.
.It looks like it has 3 floors, but actually, there’s a 4th floor , which is the rooftop. I love the view from the rooftop.
It was such a hectic and busy one month vacation in the Philippines. The bulk of our vacation was spent checking out the huge shopping malls in the city. Do you know 3 of the top 10 biggest malls in the world are in Manila, Philippines? Mall of Asia, North EDSA/Trinoma, and EDSAMegaMall. . They were so huge that just walking around and window shopping at these places overwhelmed and exhausted us. And then there are smaller ones, but still 3x bigger than the shopping mall here in our city in the US.. Even the friendly neighborhood mall at the subdivision where we live in the Philippines is 2x bigger… 4 floors and 2 buildings connected by a bridge. It’s insane. The Philippines is supposed to be a Thirld World country, but shopping malls are full, people are actually shopping and we always have to wait a bit at restaurants to be seated.
Above pic is one 0f a smaller malls. I like the interior architecture of this one.
Our vacation was mostly food tripping, too. The price of food over there is ridiculously low.
For example, the takoyaki is $0.50 and shawarma is $1.50. Takoyaki is Japanese octopus balls.
We arrived at 4 AM at the airport. By 12 noon, we were already at the neighborhood mall , shopping for walking shoes and flipflops. We sure didn’t waste any time.
.That’s yours truly in the photo.
The next day, it was again another shopping spree, this time for real pearls. There’s a mall there ( Greehhills ) with seemingly endless stalls of pearls. It was a sight to behold.
Eh. I’ve been found out. I’m the one wearing white shirt, and wearing glasses ! He he. he. I’m near sighted.
That’s the food court at nearby mall ( SM MegaMall ) where we had lunch after the pearl shopping. SM MegaMall is one of the largest in the world.
Different kinds of food from different countries to choose from.
Check out the prices. At Philippine peso 43.50 to a dollar, that PhP 87 on the menu board is only $ 2.00.
My $2 lunch…. fried rice, pork bbq, chowmein, and fruit dessert. I bought the cheapest.
That’s Korean rice. Yep, it was hot.
It was raining heavily when we came home. Traffic was horrendous.
On the way home, I saw these showrooms.
I don’t know if you can read what’s in that building. Well, it’s Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Audi.
About the photo below, what the heck does that mean ? LOL
So, this is it…. 2 days into my one month vacation in the Philippines.
My father arrived from Manila , Philippines , Friday evening . He has tons of stories to tell because he was right there in the Visayas islands in the Philippines when the super storm happened. Fortunately, Boracay Island wasn;t hit hard. For a few hours though , it felt like the end of the world , Dad said.
My regular readers know we are building a vacation house in Boracay. A fellow blogger friend, Dead AnarchistPhil had asked about the house… was it damaged or not? Luckily, no. And here are some pics of the house, nothing much as you can see.
.It looks like a building but when it’s done, there’s going to be a nice roof, French windows and doors, verandas, etc. It’s 3 floors with a roof garden, 7 bedrooms, 4 t/b. It ‘s gonna look like a house, not a building.LOL ( We were disappointed too when we saw the pictures. )
Heh , There’s dad in yellow striped shirt.
That’s the back of the house… Dad going up the hill. Landscaping is part of the contract , so , I guess they’ll make the backyard nice too. It does look like a jungle.
.
.A relative’s restaurant, beachfront. The whole place was blown away by the storm, except the flooring. Our cousin managed to take out all the restaurant stuff before the storm… to be honest, I hope he left those pink heart thingies hanging from the ceiling. Ugh. The place needed a serious make-over, anyway. Just kidding !!! I love the open space, bamboo materials, and thatched roof !
Dad at the beach., 2 days before the super storm.
.Tourists unaware a super storm was coming.
.Those structures were blown away, too, Dad said.
.Such blue sky ! Who would have thought…….
/Nightlife at the beach. This is the ” busy ” part of the island. Ours is very quite and private, which I think is nicer, imo. Tourists can go to that place at night if they want fun.
Dad safe at our house in Manila, the capital city, far from the storm devastation.
You can see the French door on the left. We’re going to install exactly the same thing at Boracay, but the squares will be made of steel, not wood. Oh, do you notice the unusual shape of the window ? It’s a quarter moon, and it’s repeated outside , at the main entrance. Neighbors say it reminds them of The House at Elm Street. he he he
There you go… the other window. Outside. And that’s my aunt…. and what the heck , why is there a mirror outside?
.Okay, this is the French door I’m talking about. It’s on the second floor, and that’s the veranda. The house at Boracay will have verandas all over. Oooh, that’s my bedroom door.
.I’m showing you the water tank. Now I understand why we have it. We’d have water , just in case. When we were there 2 years ago, there was a huge storm, too, and there was no power for 3 days. In our subdivision, no power=no water. It was fun at night, though.. We had candle lit dinners, and a few childhood friends would come over, brought snacks, and talked about ghosts…….. and how our house was called a haunted house for several years when we immigrated to the US. You see, nobody lived in our house for 5 years (until my aunt who was a Singaporean resident retired and is now living in our house.) Anyway, we only had a caretaker who came in 3x a week to clean and water the plants. Some neighbors swore they would sometimes see a woman walking around in the house at night. No, not the caretaker. She didn’t have the key. Our relatives, who live next door, had the keys. And it wasn’t our relatives, either. After listening to these stories, I slept with Mom through the remainder of our vacation. LOL I’m a scaredy cat.
Speaking of which….. I post 2x a month, that’s all I can manage…. I’m too busy, especially these past few weeks, and these coming few days before Thanksgiving Day. We’ll have exams just before Thanksgiving vacation. But, guess what, I found time to guest post here. C’mon, click this , guys. I won’t tell ya what it’s all about, but it’s a true story. He he… Oh, it’s not political ! =_=”
another pic …
.A small nice backyard.
So, that’s it for now. It’s a tour of our house in the Philippines, and an update on construction of our vacation house at Boracay Island.
PS… The engineer and the 13 workers are all from Tacloban City, the center of typhoon Haiyan’s destruction . The engineers house is gone, but thankfully, his father managed to secure all his stuff, especially his 50 inch Sony TV, his prized possession. 0_0 ” All the rest of the workers had damaged homes…. but they all came back to Boracay . They say now is the time to work. They need money. In fact, some people there are begging to be taken in and work there, too. The engineer has enough workers, sadly.
Have a good day, folks ! Next will be my Paris tour. Aaargh, I know…..
This is my second post this month. I wish I could post more but.. oh well.
My father’s in the Philippines. He left last week. It wasn’t a sudden trip, though. He had been planning this for months, but we were nevertheless surprised to see him packing Thursday night, and we were like, When are you leaving? … Tomorrow. What ! ! ” My sister goes to San Francisco twice a month to be with her boyfriend . ( He now works in Frisco ). She is supposed to go there this coming Saturday, and take Dad to the airport, but her BF called to tell her he bought tickets to a Friday night game, ( baseball or football, I don;t know), so Dad just decided to leave one week earlier. San Francisco is a 2 hour drive from our house, and he doesn’t want Mom to go on long drives anymore.
So, anyway, I wrote about a beach house we’re constructing in Boracay Island, Philippines, didn’t I ? The plan was originally a duplex, one unit for the family, and the other one for rent to tourists. Then it was changed to a 2 floor house , 6 bedrooms, 3 toilets/baths…. then 3 weeks ago, we learned that my aunt changed it again to 2 1/2 floors, 7 bedrooms, 5 t/b with a rooftop garden. What the heck ! ! Well, it is my aunt’s and my parents’ joint venture, but this is getting out of control. My aunt assured us all additional expenses would be on her. Oh–kay …… still……..
Anyway, that’s the reason why dad ‘s in the Philippines now…… to check out what the heck’s going on with with on – going construction….. and to ask the architect about the changes, although we learned it was due to the site’s topography. It’s hilly, so the architect changed the plan based on the layout of the land. The architect assured us the view would be spectacular…. though our property is not beachfront… it’s a mere 5 to 10 minute walk to the beach, so that view from the hillside will be spectacular, indeed.
So, to my readers from the Philippines, watch out for my ” promotional plugging”, ha ha. Our problem now is , this is not a simple vacation house anymore that we’ll be renting out when not in use by the owner. We’re figuring out how to run this……… now how do we classify this ? An inn? Also, to my non- Filipino readers who want to go on tropical vacation, we’ll advertise this on VRBO.com * Vacation Rental By Owner ” . Hopefully, we’ll be ready by February , 2014.
Oh, by the way, I bought a published book by a fellow WordPress blogger. Uhm, Mr. Conley ? I haven’t read it, but I promise to read it soon, and hopefully, write a review.
Hey, I’m not going to be political on this post, even though my mouth is itching to say something. One thing though…. the total non-empathy and non- compassion of the Teabagger Republicans for the needy are stunning. And to think their base constituents from Red states * (Democrats’ are BLue states * )are poorer than Blue states’. ALL … I repeat, ALL, Red states, except Texas , get more federal welfare than they give to the government. The rich Blue States, like New York, California, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, Maryland, etc. heavily subsidize theseRed States. Oh, the irony ! ! ! Hey, teabaggers !. See that poor, homeless- hippy looking beggar listening in to your tirades againts those lazy poor and the sick – if – you- can ‘t afford it- just die folks ? He could be Jesus -come- down – to- earth. And His eyes are glazing over as He listens to people like you. The shamelessness and meanness are breathtaking.
So, I went political. Again. Couldn’t help it. * walks off, mumbling. *
* turns around *
My Paris tour next post….. Louvre, specifically. And countdown to our Asian tour in June, 2014….. 7 1/2 months. Good day and Peace.
I was hoping I could publish at least 3 posts in September, but I just didn’t have the time. All my blogging time was spent reading a backlog of unread subscriptions. At this moment , I’m scared to check out my email folder. ” So, why are you scared, Ren? It doesn’t make sense. Just delete.” Problem is, I don’t delete unread subscriptions. I read all of them, every single word. Heck, I even click the links if they say click HERE, and watch all the videos. This time , I think I will. I can actually delete everything in one click, but then, I get to delete even the ones I want to preserve for eternity. Maybe I can keep them somewhere, I know there’s a place for them . As of 2 days ago, my unread emails number is …. 0_0″…….. 25,000. Have mercy.
And by the way, these humungous emails make my reading soooooooooo slow. It takes about a minute to get one email deleted. Sometimes it doesn;t even delete and I have to click again, and wait another minute.
I am already overwhelmed. So please let me to start over again from zero. Oh, and these are getting in the way of blogging. I need to read them, too. ( ~_~)”
Oh, yeah, those too. Ha ha ha. You know what they say… all work and no play makes Jill whatever. Reading comics and mangas entertain me. Yep, Spiderman, and Walking Dead, the original. You do know this TV show is based on the comics, right? Oh, and lookit ! The new Spiderman is a Black teenager ! Cool ! ! * You do know Parker, the original Spiderman died, right ? *
*ponders*
Are you aware there’s something big going on here in the US ? The Federal government had been shut down, and to date, it’s still closed. Normally, I’d be ranting , huffing and puffing and what have you, here on WP, but I’ve decided to keep my lips zipped. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. . The issue is affordable care act ( ACA ) or what we call Obamacare. I just wish for everyone to have access to affordable health insurance. People shouldn’t die because they are poor.
It’s funny that the republicans also opposed mandated Social Security contributions and Medicare and Medicaid when they were first taken up and later implemented by Democrats half a century ago. They said it was a socialist/communistic policy that had no place in a democratic and free society . And now, 98 % of retired seniors have only their Social Security pension and Medicare to depend on. Republicans seem to abhor anything that will provide assistance to the poor, even a health insurance that’s not even free, just made affordable for everyone, including the poor. Heck , they hate anything that regulates potentially abusive business practices and laissez faire economy. One more thing, we were mandated to have all vehicles insured, why not our health ? There’s something seriously wrong with the mindset, I tell you. Hey, it’s for the common good, folks. Get over it. Even if you’re still young and healthy now you’d thank Obamacare when you get prostrate or breast cancer later in life. Enroll now and be secure.
Alright, I said enough. Zip. Peace. Miss Pollyana isn’t looking for a fight here.
So, anyway, as promised…. my Paris tour.
Shown here is the famous Notre Dame Cathedral and additional photos of the Eiffel Tower taken on our second day in Paris. We were there on our first day. And guess what, we came back on the third day.
Notre Dame Cathedral by Seine River.
.The girl in the pic is my cousin. The senior man is part of tour group, from Australia.
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aaaargh ! Good thing , Paris fashion police didn’t arrest me. What the heck is that outfit . Sheer black blouse and a white undershirt. It’s an abomination. Who wears that? He hehe…. Take note, this photo was taken the day before the last day of our Euro tour… we;d run out of clothes to wear ! We were allowed one luggage each with specific dimension, not big enough for a one – month tour. Oh, we brought enough unmentionables, so perish the thought. We wore a fresh one everyday. ( though I wore the same blue jeans for one week. Ha ha ha )
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The Photos taken inside Notre Dame are bad because we were not allowed to use flash. The originals are totally dark, like the photo below.
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.Do you see that mini-balcony in the photo ? That’s the pulpit. That’s where the priests used to deliver their ” sermons”. Modern churches don’t have this anymore.
.The outfit ! Bwahahaha ! Whatever, I’m in the picture. ~(^_^~) (~^_^)~
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Well, this is it for now. My next post will be the last of my Euro tour, I hope. Oh, I did say I was going to have a countdown to my next trip to Asia in summer of 2014, just like what I did before my Euro tour . Well, it’s 9 months to go ! ! !
.Good day to all. Be good, be nice, and PEACE ! ! !
It’s been two weeks since my last post. Actually, I post just 2 or 3 times a month, so this is basically just right.
I’m at school now, and on my 2 hour break. I’m taking Advanced Microbiology, Advanced BioChemistry , Advanced Organic chemistry, Evolution and Scientific Analysis this semester. ( Evolution of Microbes, by the way ) Since these are major courses. I need to get a grade no lower than B ( 80% ) , otherwise, I repeat the course. It won’t affect my GPA though, so it’s okay. [ …… ] =_= ‘
No, it;s not okay. My college life is a big eye- opener to me. I thought I’d breeze through it, like my brother ( a Mechanical Engineer ) and sister ( a Microbiologist) who were always on the Dean’s List in college. But I’m struggling now, and I feel really bad about this. I mean, I study til my nose bleeds just to get a good grade, but I never saw my siblings study at home, ( my bro just played video games all his college life ) and yet, they got A’s all the time. Does it mean they are naturally gifted, and I’m not?
I was Grade 2 when I went to school here in the US. it was a public elementary school just a spitting distance from our house. The following school year, the school recommended me to go to a GATE school, which was a 15 minute drive from our house. GATE means Gifted and Talented Education. From elementary, to middle school, to high school, I was a top 10 student with a 4.0 GPA, a straight A GATE student. Then came college. I thought college would be easy coz I was smart, or so I thought. I was wrong.
I had to write tons of essays in English and Philosophy. I hate essay writing. My brain just isn’t wired that way. In Philosophy, for instance, we were asked to write a 5-page essay on Descarte’s ” I am, therefore I exist “. I hate explaining the obvious. To me , explaining stuff like this is an exercise in futility . Why do I need to study this?
So, yeah, my first 2 years of college were such a pain and so stressful. Funnily enough, I got an A in Philosophy. Not because I was smart 9_9 ‘…… Okay, here are my 2 blog entries in May, 2010, to explain how I got grade of A.
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It’s 5 AM. Just woke up. I have not done a thing ! ! Time to push the panic button. Report is due at 5 PM on line. I have no class today but I have to go to school to submit my Chem. Lab report. * teary eyed *
How can I add 560 words to a report that is so uninspiring ? Mom is annoyed that , again, I chose the side that contradicts her own beliefs, and so, she says, it’s so difficult to gather her thoughts and form an opinion ……….. I just woke her up. I’m panicking ! * Mom, wake up… help me *
It’s 7: 47 AM’. Mom finally woke up, but instead of helping , she scolded me. She said if I thought I’d somehow need help, I should have consulted her first. Yes, she did read the articles, but the problem is, she totally, absolutely, and without any doubt , agrees with John Hick’s pluralism. She asked me why I chose to be dogmatic about Catholicism.. And , she said, if you so believe that, then you must have a lot to say about it, so do it yourself. TT.TT
It’s 9: 00 Am…… I’m done. Woot ! ! I suddenly had this awe-inspiring Einstein moment where great ideas and thoughts took off and my fingers caught them and put them into words. Brilliant.
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I just want to talk about something. Well, I’m supposed to be doing my Philosophy report on Pluralism, but, right now, my mind just hit a blank wall. I need a break. If worse comes to worst, my Mom is going to help me. I did a report once on Epistimology of religion. My brain exploded with that one. Why can’t these philosophers explain whatever is on their mind in plain , simple English ? Anyway, I did my best, but I knew my best was not enough to get a good grade . So, I made an SOS to Mom. I was , like, Mom, you want me to get a good GPA , right ? Help me. So she did…. she read the articles, read my own report, found it totally lacking in sense and insight, < ha ha ha >, almost completely revised it, corrected my grammar < too amateurish > , and tah dah….. I got an A. Teacher said I could have gotten an A+, but she found some parts of the report a little strained.. Otherwise, it was excellent. She was also surprised that I chose Epistomology of religion as this topic was a difficult piece to discuss,. When I got home, I congratulated my Mom…… Mom , YOU got an A ! ! ! ^______^ ;;;
Was that cheating ? I don’t think so. I needed help and got it. They were my ideas, my thoughts. My mother merely refined them. Okay, she improved on them. [ …….] Alright, I confess. She did a lot more than that. ” Ren, your work is full of contradictions. You’re wavering. It’s really difficult to defend something that you don’t completely believe in. ” Although we had to revise my work, we did it TOGETHER. And I learned a lot. That’s important.
Have you heard of Asian Tiger Moms ? You can google that. i think my parents are like that, too. We’re Asians. I remember when Mom had me memorize the Multiplication Table when I was just 7 years old. One mistake and she would make me repeat the whole darn thing. “AGAIN, FROM THE TOP ! ” Was that a bad thing? I don’t know. All I know is that at age 8, I could already do complicated fractions, and understand the concept of equality in Math, ” Ren, Math is all about equality. Remember that.” In our household, conversations and discussions always start from the question, ” What is the scientific explanation for that? ”
One would think it’s only science that my family ever talk about over dinner. We are pracricing Catholics, and we go to Mass every Sunday, without fail. But we’ve learned to compartmentalize our spiritual beliefs, scientific thought processes, and politics. As what our parish priest said at his sermon, ” don’t be a one-issue voter.”
This is it for now. My Paris tour is next. PROMISE ! ! !
My last post was 3 weeks ago. I know I should post more often but I’ve been really, really busy. Tuesday this week, a relative from Seattle, Washington, came over . The last time he saw me was when I was 6 months old. In other words, that was the first time we met. He’s gay , and he came here to California to get married to his long time partner in San Francisco. ( They’ve been together 13 years ) His partner’s parents are coming over too to attend the civil ceremony. Last year, Cee, our relative, and his partner’s parents went to France for vacation, so yeah, there’s really no family problem with their relationship. Anyways , Cee stayed with us for 2 days, his partner flew over from Seattle on Thursday, we picked him up at the airport, had lunch somewhere, then they left for San Francisco. We wished he had told us beforehand, though. We could have attended their wedding.
Below is Cee , yours truly and my sister. ( I have to distort their faces , sorry )
Guys, I wrote before that I didn’t like the US to intervene in Syria. I feel that we don’t belong there, we’ll never belong there, ever, but I’m starting to change my mind. At this very moment, I’m listening to Sec. of State John Kerry. I believe everything that he’s saying in his speech.. Sec. Kerry is an anti-war Vietnam hero. He’s not trigger-happy. He’s not some lying Neo-Con chicken warriors of former Pres. Bush. He’s not then Sec. of State Condoleeza Rice who scared Americans with mushroom cloud cr*p and lied about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. John Kerry ‘s speech is very compelling. So, if he says Assad did it , I believe him. I’ve been watching what’s been going on in Syria, watching rows and rows of dead bodies, mass – killed by chemical and biological weapons. That’s enough for me.
That said, I hope other nations will help too. It’s not enough that the Arab League just condemns it. It’s unfortunate that England had chosen to say No. I don’t blame them, though. Without the image of these children dropping off like dead insects, I wouldn’t go there, either. I will just close my eyes, change channel, and pretend nothing like that is happening in that part of the world. To me, they should solve their own problem. We have problems over here in the US, too. And though we’re slowly coming out of deep recession and our economy is improving , we’re not off the hook yet, so seriously, we need Syria like we need a hole in our heads.
It’s unfortunate too that Pres. Obama had declared this RED LINE conundrum.. I know I’m not political savvy, but when I heard Pres. Obama say that, I groaned and facepalmed. I thought that was quite a dumb thing to say. So , now that Assad had actually used chemical weapons on his own people, what is Pres. Obama to do now? He had painted himself into a corner. More than half of Americans do not want the US to get involved, the US Congress want him to get an authorization first, the UN will never approve this ( why? Russia and China have veto power ) England is not on the same page as the US, and though they condemn Assad’s actions, the Arab League do not want the US to get involved, either. That’s a good thing, though. This could very well be Obama’s escape route, his saving grace, so to speak.
It is sad that Syrians killing each other have become mere fodder for news headlines. No country wants to help. Only France and Turkey are willing to join the US. As the English PM put it, ” the well had been poisoned “, and no one will dare drink from it. The US’s interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan were started from lies, so that the US now has been likened to the boy who cried wolf. Americans themselves are unwilling and wary and not sure of the outcome. Besides, as Chris Matthews of Hardball said it, ” in some countries, Liberation from tyrrany means never having to say Thank You.”
Also, we need to know, who exactly is the US helping? The Syrian rebels ? Which one ? Free Syrian Army? There are so many. The US helped the Libyan rebels, and yet, Benghazi happened. Iraq is now lovey dovey with the country the US considers an enemy. When the US leaves Afghanistan, there’s no doubt the Taliban will make a comeback. It’s back to square one, maybe even worse than before.
One more thing, I hope Pres. Obama will intervene not because he doesn’t want to renege on his declaration on Red Line, but because it is the right thing to do….. What will happen if he reneges on this promise? Lose his credibility ? Pres. Obama should not worry about losing credibility. The US has lost that a long time ago, anyway. As long as we know who we are, what we are , and what we are capable of, who cares what other countries think of us? Google us, facebook us, youtube us, twitter us, they’re all US. Hollywood will make stupid movies, and people all over the world will still watch them.
Alright, here’s the thing. I’m sure Ms. Pollyanna ‘s going to lose so many subscribers again with this post. And I’m as sure as the sun is up there, Obama’s gonna do it. God bless America.
That’s it for now, folks. My Paris tour is up next.
They loved my macaroni dish . It was cleaned out in one go, and those that came in late didn’t get to taste it. Some of them asked for the recipe. I usually balk at giving away ” original ” recipes ( my mother’s ) . My mother had a successful catering business in the Philippines, and you know, one should not ask the caterer for the recipe of the dish that one likes, for obvious reasons. In fact, a former co-worker ordered from me 4 kinds of food for her Christmas party ( she’s Muslim, by the way ) …….. baked macaroni, spring rolls, potato salad ( she got to taste test my salad, and loved it ) and turrones ( wrapped fried banana with jackfruit ). Just a favor given, guys, ( with mini monetary compensation for my efforts, a few dollars and some change ). This isn’t a business.
Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
dreamsending
renxkyoko
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