Posts Tagged ‘random thoughts’

8 Apr

My Sunday ramblings

Posted by renxkyoko in random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , .

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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 ?

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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 ! ”  o_O   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^)/

 

Check out my manga/anime/video games blogsite @  https://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/

 

Bye ! ! !

 

 

 

3 Nov

What’s in my purse ?

Posted by renxkyoko in Italy, mangas/animes, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , .

Hi there ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

 

What’s with the title ?  Who the heck cares what’s in my purse ?  Well, I do, because  what’s in my purse is very important to me. a)  There’s a set of car keys in there.  It would be troublesome if I lost that. ….. I don’t have a spare set.  b )  a credit card   c)  driver license  d)  6 packets of  condiments from restaurants ( lemon juice ,  ketchup,  sriracha hot chili sauce, mustard and honey sauce  fr. KFC ) d )  a $ 4 discount coupon for L’Oreal mascara  … guess I have to use that soon, it expires  on No. 10……. that’s $ 4, folks, so don’t judge  )  e ) pen  f)  paper  napkins  from a restaurant )  g)  a small digital camera  h) $ 10 and some coins ) panty liner  … too much information, I know  i)  a ROSARY.

 

There’s always a rosary in my purse , and a rosary hanging on my front view mirror. However,   I’ve only prayed the rosary 6 times in my life. …… on the plane going to and from the Philippines  in 2010 and 2014 and  to Europe and back to the US in 2012.  But I think I’m going to pray once more, before election day.  I’m as afraid to be in the plane as  Trump getting elected as President of the United States.

 

A few irrelevant photos because there should be pictures , right ?

 

Alright !  This is all for now, folks !  Thank you for reading !

 

Check out my anime/manga site   http://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/

 

12 Sep

” sigh “

Posted by renxkyoko in Philippine Heritage, Philippines, Random thoughts, The Vatican. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Hello !  RenxKyoko Iglesias here !

I’ve been staring at a white, blank screen for hours now. I am still deciding  whether I will post something  about my job – hunting,  or go ahead and write about  my 2014  vacation in the Philippines.  I have tons of pictures  all ready to be posted here,  but  I don’t feel like writing about  a country,(  it does not  matter that this is where I was born, and came from) that tolerates, approves of ,  and seemingly delights  in   extra-judicial  killings of ” ALLEGED” drug pushers.  I’m sure my Filipino blogger friends would tell me I have no right to criticize  the country because 1. I am not a Filipino  2.  I  have no idea what they are going through  living in  a country with acute drug problem.

 

I do understand that. I know  the country has become the dumping ground of  all sorts of drugs  ( they call  one drug shabu  )……. Why is the Philippines the dumping ground , you ask ?  Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and other South East Asian countries have extremely strict laws against possession. It’s death penalty  . The Philippines, on the other hand,  is less strict, not to mention law enforcers are extremely corrupt.  I’m sure the authorities know exactly who the drug lords are .  They are untouchable, and, obviously  we know why.

I always write about the Philippines and its people in glowing terms. They are naturally gentle, generous,  happy, smiling people, and this is true.  But not at this time,  and unfortunately,  not for 6 years.  They just elected a rogue president who disrespects  just about anybody… President Obama,  the Pope, and Jesus Christ  Himself. And  I am  not making this up.

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Random photo. (  just because I mentioned The Pope ,and there has to be a picture, right ?)

Above is just a random pic of myself at the Vatican Museum. I think its one of  the best  pic ever taken during our  tour. I am exactly in the middle of the museum hallway,  and equidistant from the 2 walls. It’s true. I checked it.  Maybe there was divine intervention when my Mom took the pic.

To continue……

Oh, we are not entirely disconnected  from  the country. My family still own more properties in the Philippines  than the average Filipino, and we pay  taxes , without fail.  We therefore  have a reason  to pay close attention to  what’s going on there.

To my Filipino blogger friends  who have declared  their  heartfelt approval of this president’s  behavior…. I am sorry  to have a different opinion. I just hope and pray  this does not become the standard by which the country elects its officials.

I am sad and a bit demoralized.

This is all for now. Thank you for reading.

Please check out my manga/anime blogsite HERE    http://2megaworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com/

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2 May

Random Musings

Posted by renxkyoko in Hillary Clinton, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , .

Renxkyoko Iglesias here, hello !

Before anything else, here are the titles of  the posts, so far, on my anime/manga blogsite, HERE. 

  1. Kimi no Sei manga , 5/10  ( about bullying, where the male protagonist falls in love at first sight with the girl whom he has bullied  and tormented during their elementary years….. female protagonist plans revenge….. you’ll read about my own perspective on bullying)
  2. Anime/ cartoon outsourcing and Philippines’ comics culture
  3. Hiiro no Kakera, 9/10
  4. Gunslinger Girl,  9/10
  5. Golden Time, 5/10
  6.  Moribito, 10/10
  7. My Favorite Animes
  8. My First Time                            There’s so much on my mind right now,  but I promised  I’d avoid politics,  so , what else can I talk about ?   Can I at least say I’m so happy  HC  is the presumptive  Democratic Party candidate  for POTUS ?  Yes ! Yes! Yes!   * happy dance *
  9.                    And why the heck  is my post automatically numbered ?  I have no time to fix this so please ignore the numbers, okay.  Anyways, I’d like to tell you guys that I’ve been working 40 hours for over a year now, not a part – timer anymore, y’know  ? and for some reason, my blog reading time has been drastically reduced.  Also,  I have finally decided to participate at my university’s graduation ceremony, albeit one year late. As you know,  I ‘m graduating  with two majors, 1)  Cellular Biology, concentrating in molecular Biology, 2)    Forensics
  10. Biology, and a minor in Chemistry.   Since I can only  ” walk ” in one major, the chairman of  Forensics Bology has decided  that I walk under her department (  since Forensics Bio is a fairly new department, she wants to have more graduates under her wing. ) Fine !   She did promise she’d write a letter of recommendation for me  to some  law enforcement ‘s  Forensics labs or the Justice department’s own Forensics department. * Don’t renege on that promise, Ma’m.  I’ll hound you. * Seriously.   Anyway,  Graduation Ceremony is on May 21.  Watch  this space.
  11.              Well, this is all for now, folks.  Thanks for reading.
  12.                Hillary

10 Mar

A political rant

Posted by renxkyoko in Hillary Clinton, political rant, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , .

Hi ! Renxkyoko Iglesias  here. * waves *

There are so much I want to talk about that  I don’t know where to begin.

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Believe it or not, I wrote the above  2 days ago.  It’s a good thing  I didn’t write what was on my mind  that time, otherwise I would have gotten myself in trouble.  You see, I  felt like  virtually   punching a certain  politician’s supporters’  faces. But then, we had expected this kind of behavior from the fringe, the far Left and the far Right.  The far Left has overran  all the Democratic Party’s fora, and had the temerity and gall to call  Hillary Clinton all sorts of names, like cunt, corporate slut , whore. It’s cringe – worthy. Majority of them have vowed to never vote for her if she becomes the nominee of the Democratic Party…. all of these on the Democratic party’s  forums.  Omg, these are nasty people. My gawd, how can we expect them to vote for her after all the things they have written about her ?

Do you know what they did  to Dolores Huerta , a well- known Latino activist and a Hillary supporter ?  And you guys are wondering  why poor minorities aren’t with you, despite dangling  FREE STUFF  on their heads ?   You guys knock on doors of poor people , and tell them  Sanders’  going to increase WIC, welfare checks,  food stamps, besides the big  deals like  free insurance, college,  and I don’t know what else  the fuck you guys are promising, and at whose expense ?  You see a minority  opening the door to you,  then  you start peddling  your  free stuff, hoping  they will be seduced .  Well, that’s how    some otherwise   Sanders  supporters  changed their minds.  You just looked down on them.

You actually think  you can  distribute free money  for 300 million people from businesses and rich people ?  You are like climate change deniers.  Almost all progressive economists  are saying  your policies will wreak havoc  on the US, except for one ,from whom your candidate based his economic mumbo jumbo.

Clinton won in Nevada because of the poor but hardworking  union workers’ votes .  They don’t need your freakin’ free stuff…  they need  social justice .  And you guys bash the symbol of   ” real promise” in the  hearts and minds of black folks…. Pres. Obama.  Your candidate had called him weak, another corporate lackey, and wanted him primaried in 2012.  You look down on Obama care . Whatever you guys say about it, it does work.  I have a friend who simply cannot afford insurance for her and her child….. but  she enrolled and qualified  , and is now paying just $24  a month .  She has been told it would increase  with increase in income, as it should be.

Another thing,  you made Cornel West the Black face in your party.  Google the nasty things he said about Pres. Obama.  I heard him on TV.  He was one nasty guy. And another thing, when a group  endorses Clinton,  you call them ” establishment ” .  UFW (  United farm Workers , SEIU ( government workers in California )  Planned Parenthood, LGTB, and others. Planned Parenthood and LGTB are establishments?  You guys bash anyone that doesn’t conform to your ideology.

And do you guys actually  think  your candidate  can do this on his own, once he sets  foot in the White House ?  That’s how you sell your ideology .   Oh, wait… there’s REVOLUTION !!

Politics involves good governance, and compromises. After all,  you’re not only the president of believers of socialist ideology.  You are the president of 300 million citizens with differing persuasions.  Compromises do work. Obamacare works.  Sanders has vowed he will never compromise.  A person who  doesn’t compromise ,  and doesn’t evolve  should not be President.

This is all.  I’m not going to accept  any  shitty  comments, like Hillary =  evil,  , by the way. I’ve had enough of that  crap talking to these people. Not on my blogsite, anyway.

My manga/ anime blogsite.   http://2megworthitwordpresscomblog.wordpress.com

Check it out.

The Democratic Party memo has sent word to Democrats not to  ” displease ” Sanders’ supporters.   Nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Feb

My Last Day in Paris

Posted by renxkyoko in European trip, France, Louvre Museum, my life, Paris, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , .

 

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Hi, there ! !  Just photos this time. I won’t write much  because it’s Monday, and Mondays s*ck.  Before anything else, those who are interested in reading my manga/anime site, check it out HERE.

Here are some photos of my last day in Paris…. in fact, the last day of my 30 day tour of Europe.

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I had liver pate ( I love liver ), and escargot (  fancy name for snail ).

I need to say  this , though….. tipping in Europe is massive..  We had to tip those serenaders, the waiters, the tour manager, the bus driver.  If you bought a tour package for a certain amount,  never , ever think that’s all you’re gonna spend. Some dinners aren’t free. You can opt out and not join the group, and eat at McDonald’s ,  or pay $ 75 each for a lousy  dinner in Monaco , or $ 70 in Rome. Since my cousin and I didn’t really have money , my mother had to shoulder everything , for herself, for me and my 14 year old cousin.  For the tour manager and bus driver, it was $ 14 tip each day from one tourist, and since it was a 30 – day tour,  the amount totaled $ 420 each person, and since there were 3 of us ( Mom, myself and cousin ),  we had to pay $ 1,260. Take note…. there were 50 of us in the group. Good thing credit card was accepted.  If dinner was at the hotel we were staying in, then it was free. Unfortunately,  the group always ate out , in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris,  Switzerland, Venice.  Even some tours weren’t free, like the  Rheine River cruise, etc. So, be sure to bring plenty of cash. One thing though, we drank wine like it was water, one bottle per person, I kid you not. Every night was Happy Hour.

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And one more thing,  before  Paris, I had this impression  the Mona Lisa painting was huge.  Guess what, it’s small, about a foot and a half  long

 

DSCN2023 I have tons of pics  taken at the Louvre Museum.  The Louvre was the residence of Marie Antoinette and King  Louis XIV.  The ostentatiousness was breathtaking. ” They don’t have bread ? Let them eat cake. ” , said Marie, in response to massive hunger and poverty at that time. No wonder she got her head cut off.

Alright, this is it for now.  Peace .

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My sister , Mom , and I just signed up to work for Hillary.  I walk my talk.

 

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26 Jun

I’m ranting, oh, yeah !

Posted by renxkyoko in mangas/animes, my life, Random thoughts, relationships. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Hi ! RenxKyoko Iglesias here.

So, my last post was on April 26.  That was exactly  2 months ago.  ( Right, , Captain Obvious).  Now   I won’t give an excuse like I’ve been busy, yadiya, but I do feel I’m starting to lose my muse………. oh, alright, I’ve been busy. I’m putting in at least 10 hours of work everyday, from Monday to Sunday.  I have 2 jobs, you know.  Plus, all my free time is spent watching Netflix, mostly TV series that I never had time to watch when they were on, such as Poirot, Midsomer Murders, Fringe, Medium, 100s, etc., and animes such as Hunter x Hunter,( 100 episodes at 25 minutes per episode  )  Moribito,  and currently Inuyasha , which ends at 193 episode … I finished the whole dang thing  yesterday, at 3 AM. Well, after work is the only time I have, so don’t judge. . I can’t multi task when I watch animes.  They are in Japanese, so I’m  pretty much stuck in the couch reading the English subtitles. About  InuYasha…. it is  addicting. I love all the characters, except, believe it or not, the main character, InuYasha.  He’s a freakin’ moron,  indecisive, and a two-timing scoundrel. I dislike him so much that I feel I just wasted 85 hours of my life watching this character  being   a stupid/ idiot.  Die, InuYasha ! Other than that , the anime is one great fantasy/action/thriller  story.

So, if you’re so busy doing your thing, Ren, why are you posting now ? Well,  something happened a few days ago that made the wheel in my head churning again . My best friend “O” is supposed to get married on July 10, in Southern California ( I live in Northern California ), and I’m a ” witness”  in her court wedding. ( not church wedding ) I already bought my plane ticket, and arranged sleeping accomodations (  lucky to have my brother living there ) …….then 2 days ago, I received a text from O that the wedding was cancelled, permanently.  According to her, her ” fiancé”  has been living a double life  ( they’ve been living together for 2 years ) ,  is actually married, and has a child.  I was dumbfounded.  I hung out with her at their apartment, playing video games (  we’re not even done yet with Resident Evil, we both suck at it ), and yeah, the ” fiancé” was always there. And he was nice.  What the heck.  No wonder he wanted to hold the wedding at a place 600 miles from our city….. I wondered about that…… now I know.  So, when exactly does he plan to drop the bomb before he commits BIGAMY ?  What’s even more mortifying is the fact that  this guy is a police officer ,and a Captain , at that.  My best friend is also a police officer, by the way.  Dang it.  It felt like my own stomach  got  punched, so I cannot even imagine what she’s feeling now.  I don’t know what I can do to make her feel  better, besides trashing and badmouthing  him to death. That scumbag.  I’m not generalizing, folks, but seriously, we women always get the short end of the stick….. my friend and yeah, his wife, too. Worse for his wife, to be honest.  Aaargh !  Oh, man . The heck !

This reminds me of another break- up, but this time, the douchebag is my guy cousin.  He and his fiancée were about to get married….. church schedule already set,  wedding invitations, check, wedding dress, check.  So what happened ? My cousin had a co-worker who had a humungous crush on him since forever.  The woman invited him one day to dinner after work as farewell gift and according to him, a closure on her love. ( my cousin was aware she liked him. ) He obliged….. the problem was, they had drinks too many, and I assume, the woman was desperate, and men being men,  he got her pregnant.   Was the wedding cancelled ? Yes.  Did he marry the pregnant woman, ? No. Though he was threatened with a shotgun wedding by the woman’s family,  he still refused,   ( he consulted  with my  aunt …* my aunt is a judge* ,  regarding legal matters, like , was he legally obliged to marry her, and so forth ) Last news about him was, he and his ex bride got back together, not married yet,  and  he is supporting his child )  .  I met him for the first time at a family reunion when we were in the Philippines last year.  I almost told him, ” hey doosh, how’s it goin’? ”

* sigh *

Be brave and strong, sisters.

That’s all.  Rant over.

 

 

26 Apr

Fun Vacation in the Philippines, Part 5

Posted by renxkyoko in Boracay Island Philippines, my life, Philiipine culture, Philippine Heritage, Philippines, Random thoughts, rantings. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Continue reading →

20 Mar

My Random Thoughts, One More Time

Posted by renxkyoko in Israel, Random thoughts, rantings. Tagged: , , , .

Hi ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here !

So, okay, this post is about my vacation in the Philippines.  But, first, I’d like to write down a few things  swirling on my mind at the moment, and let’s see where this post  goes..

Firstly, the Republican Party’s scorch earth policy has been  pissing me off  from the time  this party invited Israel’s Natenyahu to speak before the US Congress without informing the White House. This was a total breach of protocol and disrespect for the US  Executive office.  But , what do we expect from these  people ?  They don’t even believe  Pres. Obama is an American. Then more than a week ago, 47 US Republican Senators sent a letter to the Ayallatolahs in Iran, telling them  the talks and on-going negotiations  between Iran and the US  ( and  5  others…. Russia, China, Great Britain,  Germany and France) are useless pieces of  documents, thereby scuttlling and undermining the integrity  of the US  negotiators..  Under Logan’s Law, that is treason.   They will burn the whole  country down to spite the Black man currently residing at the White House. It’s mind- blowing.

And, Netanyahu has won the election in Israel, and has  proclaimed to the world a state of Palestine  would  not happen under his watch.  Well, good luck on  that, Sir.

” Uhm, Ren, are you actually anti- Israel ? ”

Believe it or not, there’s Jewish blood flowing in my veins.  My great, great, great , great  grandparents were Spanish Jews, and though they later converted to Catholicism, this little info had been passed on from one generation to another, finally to my mother and her siblings, then to us.  ( lest we forget).  Another thing, my brother-in-law, my sister’s husband, is a Jew.  That’s the magical  asterisk  in my family’s already colorful history.

How colorful ?  Well,   a  great grandfather  was a rebel  who was  arrested and incarcerated in a dungeon at Fort Santiago, and later, his house was turned into a museum to honor him…… another  greatgrandad, a rebel, managed to escape to HongKong  before the American  colonists  came to arrest him, and no, he wasn’t a homeless  19 year old bum all the time he was on exile……. he was a student boarder at St. Joseph’s College and studied there for 4 years.  It still  exists, and surprisingly, it is considered the most elite boys school ,most revered  and best school  in  HongKong to this day.  ( According to Wiki )  How his father sent out the money  to HongKong was pretty interesting, but the American authorities  knew about it apparently. They, in fact, had arranged for him to return to the Philippines, and appointed  him Governor  of the province ( won’t mention the name of the province) for many, many years . It seems I’m bragging. Well, I guess  I am. They fought for independence, after all.  The other greatgranddad’s story was better , though. What happened to him was  in their history books.  That’s something to brag about. The other one? I don’t know.  Maybe he had fun in Hongkong. Still…. it was kind of  sad to be away from family for 4 years. I’ m  not diminishing what he had done for the cause. He was just lucky to have a family with the means to keep him out of the dungeons.   Oh, but he had a town named after him. :0  It went well for him, too..

Fort Santiago entrance

 

 

 

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Tjhe dungeons……

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Great grandpa’s  photo, the Governor, middle , left  ( interesting moustache )  I love to look at old photos…  fascinating  stuff.

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So, okay, where was I ?

Going back to the question, am I anti- Israel ?  No freaking way. But, we do seek pathways to peace , whatever they are, wherever they maybe.  I believe , and the whole world, for that matter, believe  that statehood for Palestine , is one pathway.

And what do I think of these terrorists ?  It cannot be published. omgcursezasfdgytmdie !

The problem here is,  who am I to rant , proselytize, be holier than thou ?  The US is not  lily white , either. Racism  is  alive and kicking.  ”  Wrong ” skin color can get one killed.

I guess this post went nowhere…. as expected of  yours truly.  ^_^ ”   Fun vacation, my foot.  My thoughts just took off and went all over the place, except the place where they were supposed to go.

This  is all for now.  Fun vacation post next  time maybe ?

Thanks for reading , folks. PEACE !

 

 

 

6 Mar

Just my random thoughts

Posted by renxkyoko in Random thoughts. Tagged: , , .

Hello there ! Renxkyoko Iglesias  here.

I’m sure you have not noticed anything amiss about yours truly.  No, not about this blogsite. One post a month is normal for me.

I’ve been busy, and yes, I have not been reading your  blogs for over a week now.  I have an insane  amount of  unread subscriptions, over 10,000, ( majority of which are left-overs from last year, and  perhaps the year  before that, and which I stupidly thought I could go back to and read.  Ha ! ) Well, yesterday, I swept it away to zero. Sorry.

Anyway,  I think the only blogger who has noticed  my absence  is Cassie.  Hi, Cassie ! * waves *  I’d also like to think that she missed my glorious presence on her blog.  No, not the LIKES, but my  dozen or so comments that I post on her blog everyday.  You see, Cassie is a writer, and she posts  daily, excerpts of her on-going story.  I love her story… no, in fact, I’m obssesing on it, and no, I won’t tell what blogsite , because I don’t want more readers to read my comments. Cassie and I argue , and that’s idiotic, isn’t it ? I mean, argue with the author ?  Ha ha ha

She  just finished her first novel.  There’s a sequel, but I don’t know when she’s going to start writing again…. she says she’s resting, * what ? * but  I suspect I tired her out.  he he he.  That’s okay, though. I’ll wait.  I have health issues at the moment, anyway.  Oh, nothing serious… I  ‘m just having a hard time breathing… asthma attacks, you know… my childhood disease that I thought I had outgrown. Well, it’s come back, with  vengeance.

This is all for now.  I’ll post about  my fun vacation in the Philippines soon.  Come to think of it,  I need to write about  the last part of my European tour.  Weird.  It’s on my draft folder,  all ready to be published.  I’ve completely forgotten about it.

Anyway, thanks for reading. PEACE.

 

11 Feb

Happy Valentine’s Day, lonesome hearts !

Posted by renxkyoko in my life, Random thoughts, rantings, relationships, Velentine's Day woes. Tagged: , , , .

“Hi ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here .

This is a reblog  of my 2013 Valentine’s post.  This is just my fun take on heartbreaks, unrequited loves, and rejections.  Shed some tears then  move on, ladies. It’s not the end of the world.

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.Are you alone ?

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.Have you been friend-zoned ?

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Did you let him know of your feelings , but you were rejected?

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So, your maiden’s feelings and pure heart  have been hurt.

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You don’t have to do that !!!!!! Get off the rails !

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.Dafaq !

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.

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Bam ! An uppercut ! You wish you could do that, huh.

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You can  talk to me, you know.  Let it all out. Cry.

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I feel you, sister.

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I know it’s hard but get a grip on yourself, mull it over and meanwhile …….

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.Are you done ? Well then , let’s move on, shall we ?. We lonesome singles should stick and do stuff together. Let’s be happy in our misery.

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You’ll forget, sooner than you think, I guarantee that, and then you’ll laugh it off.

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And you’ll wonder, why the heck did I ever get attracted to this guy?

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* walks off *

Let’s just go watch The Notebook.

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27 Jan

My Philippine vacation, Part 4

Posted by renxkyoko in Boracay Island Philippines, Philiipine culture, Philippine Heritage, Philippines. Tagged: , , , , , .

Hello !  Renxkyoko Iglesias  here.

This is my first post in 2015, and I guess, the one and only post for the month.  I hope I can post more often this year. So, you ask, what’s preventing you from writing, Ren ? You’re not that busy, are you ?  Actually, I am.  I  work full time since I’m on vacation , and I’ve been doing stuff  that I’ve been wanting to do, but couldn’t find the time to do it,  because,  you know, life gets in the way .  Anyway,  my best friend  said, Get out of that nunnery black hole,  Ren !  And  get laid !  Huh ? Uhm, okay. Understood.  So, last week, I binge watched  the anime  Attack on Titan, all  28 episodes of it, and  2 seasons of Doomsday Preppers ( love this ! ). I also watched  Inside North Korea. That’s one heck of a fascinating documentary.  The North Koreans’ behavior  was so bizarre it made the hair in my arms stand on end while watching it.  Well, that’s what brain-washing does to people.  I liken them to the Fundamentalists, of any religion.  What  ? You saw the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in your ham sandwich ? Nope, I’m not going there. I’m a practicing  Roman Catholic. XD

Speaking of which….. Pope Francis just visited the Philippines last week.  The Philippines is the third largest Catholic country in the world.  Well, 90% Catholic in a population of 90 million.  Just a trivia for you.  And,  because  this post is about my fun vacation in the Philippines.

Remember these photos ?

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That’s the before and after photos of our vacation house at Boracay Island, Philippines.
Oh, but we don’t live there. We live in Manila, the capital city… well, Paranaque, specifically.  So from there, we took  a  6 –  hour- ferry ride to Boracay. Could have flown, instead, but it was too expensive. The ferry ride was like 900 pesos ( USD  20 ), and plane fare was Php 4,000.  I won’t bore you with money matters or lack thereof.  But for PhP 900, we got this.

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The one and only meal we had was terrible. Actually, it tasted good, but it looked so unappetizing,  and pitiful. 1/2 cup steamed rice and  3 beef cubes drowning in dark sauce. Good thing our aunt warned us about this. So we made sandwiches, brought some Cheeze-it and Oreos. We left the port at  8 PM  , and arrived  in Aklan  at 4 AM.  Since big ferries cannot dock in Boracay , we had to ride on  a small contraption they call banca.  Anyway, while on the ferry,  the passengers were entertained  by 2 pretty singers and a Minus One.  the singers were good, but they were too loud.

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The banca…. it was a 10 minute ride from one island to another.

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My cousin  , my friend/neighbor,  and I,  sleepless, tired, but none the worse for wear.  We look like refugees.

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That crude contraption is there to balance the banca, and do you see that small  thingy tied to the bamboo pole ? I assume that’s our lifeboat, just in case.  x_x

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There were no furniture in the house, no bed, nothing… just a small electric cooker,   a few stools, and a makeshift table.
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Oh, there’s an eletric fan, and an airbed. But I slept on the mat.

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.The house has 4 floors, ( the 4th is a rooftop garden, with a nice view, ), 7 bedrooms, 4 toilets and bath.  Well, I’m going into details because we’re renting out  the house to tourists.  XD  We’ve been told there are beds already, and a few furniture, and a refrigerator. ( My Mom left some money for a fridge before we left )  So, to my readers from the Philippines, if you plan on going to Boracay, email me.  ( shameless  advertising) )

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A bedroom with a nice view, airconditioned, with its own toilet and bath.

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.A small kitchenette, first floor. The first floor is ” private quarters “… for our family  and has a separate entrance.

We didn’t waste any time, and headed out straight to where the action is.. the beach.  Actually, we rode a tricycle to go there. Our house is about  a 5 minute walk to the beach, but we’re at a “quiet” part of the island.  ( which we preferred , by the way…. but we wanted to see the touristy area. )

A tricycle

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.Actually,  it was more like this.  he he

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.We were packed like a can of sardines. Fun, fun, fun.  My  US – born cousin really loved it.

The last photo is just a glimpse  of  yours truly  at the beach….  a long shot …. well, I don’t want to show my flabs, , pardon me.   ~_~

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This is it for now. … more  Boracay photos on my next post.

Thank you for reading. PEACE !

 

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30 Dec

Our Christmas Fare, 2014

Posted by renxkyoko in Christmas 2014, Filipino food, Happy Holidays, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , , .

Hi ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here !

Let me  first greet you  a happy, productive, prosperous, and peaceful 2015 ! !

As for me, I think 2015  is the year my life changes, for the better, I hope.  I am a Microbiology   graduate, minor in Chemistry, and this spring, I’ll be graduating in Forensics Science.  2 majors, 1 minor. I’ve already found my mojo, so I think  that’s enough studying. I’ve had it. I’ve covered all the bases. I’m ready to face the world ! ! ! Or not. :/    But then, this post is not about  my future….. it’s about food, and my family’s Christmas celebration.

By the way, I’m sure you’ve all received WordPress’s Annual Report. Oh, my, my total number of posts in 2014 is, ta- da !  13  .  XD   This post makes it my 14th post……. which is a good thing , because , to me, 13 is an unlucky number. Superstitious crap, I know.  But, do you know that in the Philippines, no building has a 13th Floor.  If the building has 13 or more floors, the actual 13th floor is  designated as the 14th. Also, when they erect the stairs , they have this ritual of counting , from the lowest rung,  Oro, Plata, Mata ( which means, Gold, Silver, Death ), and the topmost rung should not end with Mata. ( Death ) The 13th stair  is Mata.   There you go… a useless trivia from me. *chants*  Oro, Plata, Mata, Oro, Plata, Mata, Oro, Plata, Ma….. Noooooo ! !

So, 2 days before Christmas, my Mom and I went grocery shopping  at the Filipino supermarket.  .  We saw Queso de Bola, a standard  Filipino food item  and lots of chestnuts… we bought a few pounds of chestnuts , but not  the cheese.

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On Christmas Eve, we went to Mass at 10 PM,  temperature was 33 F (~0C ).  Darn, it was cold !

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Those are  my folks in the picture. I had to walk back to take the pic.

I practically did all the cooking .,  the sweets the day before, and  I prepared the main dishes for our Christmas lunch. While  off  the family  went to bed  after  church, I was  alone in the kitchen rolling the pork ( lumpia) chopping onions, etc. etc., etc. At 2 AM, I decided to call it a night, I mean, to  take a nap for an hour or so…. but I overslept, and woke up at 9. .I had a meltdown.  Just because I volunteered to do the cooking ( as  as my Christmas gift to Mom who does the cooking all year round ) , it didn’t mean they wouldn’t lift a finger to help me.  I was the Drama Queen for an hour or so. ” Is it done yet ? What ? So what time do we eat ? ” That was when I blew my top. My brother and sister really annoyed me. But it was Christmas. So, I just gritted my teeth and calmly told them, ” You get to eat at 3  ! ”

All’s well that ends well.  So, here are the photos of our Christmas spread.

DSCN2420DSCN2425DSCN2421From right to left….. roast pork pork roll ( lumpia ), leche flan ( custard ) chicken macaroni salad, red velvet cake, buckeye, cheesecake, and refrigerator cake.

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.Above photo is Caldereta ( beef stew in tomato sauce and liver spread. Don’t think the liver spread makes the taste weird. It’s delicious. ) The roast pork goes with liver sauce, too. ( and I love liver spread sandwich )

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I wrote on my previous post that I’d cook my specialty, Paella. Well, I didn’t. We forgot to buy a major ingredient. Instead , I cooked Pancit a la Malabon ( noodles ) and fried rice. I didn’t bake fruit cake , either, a staple at any Filipino Christmas fare.

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By the way, the second photo of the spread has the pictures of ube jam ( purple yam ) and pie on a cloud ( the one with white whipped  topping  )

.DSCN2426That’s embutido… just pork loaf, and oh, yeah, you can see the ube jam.

DSCN2437 That one above are  lychees and almond gelatin.

DSCN2433Cheesecake, buckeye ( just peanut butter, powdered sugar, dipped in choco dipping )…. and you can see the refrigerator cake, and red velvet cake, and the leche flan.

And lastly, the wine.

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Okay, a few more pictures…. the opening of gifts. My annoyance at my sister disappeared when I opened her gift… a Kindle ! And dad gave me a new laptop ! !

DSCN2447DSCN2454So, I didn’t want to show myself because I was wearing pyjamas. I was so exhausted that I didn’t bother to dress up for lunch. I know. I ‘m a slob. Ha ha ha

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Oh, that’s my Mom’s photo when she was young, it’s random, but I thought I’d just post it here.

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And a Christmas pic of yours truly from 2 years ago… dressed up , you know. 001

So, that’s it…. my last post for 2014…. my 14th post. WordPress should take note of that.

 

Happy New Year to all ! PEACE ! !.

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15 Dec

My family’s holiday food fare

Posted by renxkyoko in Filipino food, Happy Holidays, Philiipine culture, Philippine Heritage, Random thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , .

Hi there !

Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

It’s Christmas time, my most favorite time of the year.  ( If you’re not a Christian, it’s alright, you can roll your eyes.  ❤   )

But, before I talk about  Christmas, let me show you what we had for Thanksgiving Day. Yeah, it’s foodie time.

Actually, there wasn’t much food, compared to last year’s. It seems we’re getting less and less food  every year, but it’s okay, we do throw away so much , especially the turkey. That’s why we don’t do turkey anymore.

By the way, I cooked most of the food. Not bragging, though. Just sayin’.

Oh, wait, before I forget…. can someone please translate this? It’s Japanese. I want the exact translation, please.  You’ll help me win an argument.  🙂  Thank you.

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He he. I know it’s juvenile.

Anyway,  the food.

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Roast pork ( lechon),, with liver  gravy, ham,  kare-kare (  beef stew in peanut sauce,) there’s noodles ( pancit ala Malabon ) , fruit salad, potato salad, lumpia ( pork eggroll with sweet – sour sauce), and various cakes.

DSCN2391Kare-kare

DSCN2392Pancit a la malabon. Malabon is a place in the Philippines. I think this is Malabon’s  specialty.  I cooked that.  Do you know what’s in there ? Shrimps, flaked smoked fish, pounded chicharrones ( pork cracklings ) Napa cabbage, and the juice of pounded shrimp heads.

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This is Renxkyoko’s specialty……. Lumpia ( ground pork eggroll. ) I stayed up the whole night ( and morning ) rolling the darn things. I made a lot, for us, and for our Forensic class’s  assistant teacher.

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Huge pastry with Bavarian Cream filling, Double chocolate cake, cheesecake, and brownies.  We baked the pastry. We bought the rest at Costco.

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we call the above dish Ginatan. It’s made of sweet potato, cooking banana ( saba ), taro root, rice balls, and coconut milk.  And sugar, of course.

So, that’s it, our Thanksgiving Day meal.

We already have a menu planned for our Christmas meal. I am definitely going to cook my other specialty….. Paella.

And I’m looking forward to a family Christmas tradition……….. the whole family going to Chrismas Eve Midnight Mass. Here in the US, it’s at 10 PM…… in the Philippines, it’s at 12 midnight.  We used to have our Christmas meal right after the Mass,  but we had discarded that. My mother said it was stressful.   But we do open the gifts as soon as we arrive from the church.  In the Philippines, the midnight meal is called Noche Buena. So, what ‘s a typical Filipino  Noche Buena ?  Bread , ( pan de sal, bite-sized French bread ) with Queso de Bola ( Edam Cheese ). Jamon ( ham , glazed with pineapple and sugar, ), castanas, ( chestnuts) noodles, ( at home, it’s baked macaroni ), leche flan, ube jam, ( purple  yam ) and yes, fruit cake !  These are the icons of Filipino Noche Buena. I’m going to bake fruit cake, that’s for sure. And it isn’;t like the fruit cakes that are sold here in the US.  They ‘re nasty. No wonder Americans make fun of them.  My recipe is delicious. Lots of rhum in it !

I actually want to have  a food blog . But, I don’t think it will happen. I don’t even have time to post here. Don’t be surprised why I’m interested in food. My mother had a successful catering business in the Philippines, and if we didn’t come here to the US, she would be holding a Dunkin’ Donut francise.

Oh. 550 words, already. Time to to say bye for now. Thank you for reading and PEACE !

Happy Holidays !

 

 

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24 Nov

Fun vacation in the Philippines, Part 3

Posted by renxkyoko in Filipino food, Forensics, my life, Philippine Heritage, Philippines, Random thoughts, Taal Volcano. Tagged: , , , , , .

Hello ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here  ! ❤

Wow. My last post was Oct. 24.  I know, I’m a lazy blogger.  I’m suppose  to post  Part 3 of my fun vacation in the Philippines, but, I feel it’s gone  stale already.  It’s  still okay, I guess.

Oh, wait…. remember my Cringe- worthy  Forensic Science project ?  I  was told  not  to talk about it. Now you’re telling me. I just did. And I’m not going to delete that post.  I mean, Forensic  shows are all over cable, so there’s really nothing  federal  about it.   Oh, and before I forget, we made 6 trials, and that means, we asked for 5 more of  THAT.  THAT is semen.  I don’t have to  act coy anymore.  I’m past that.  Here’s another jar, pal. And put it in the freezer immediately.  * ponders*  Actually, I’m sensitive and fragile so please take care of me.

The US  Congress is planning to pass a law  that will allow the government to get the DNA profiles   of all Americans and store them at  the  DNA Data Base  center.  This way, it will be easier for law enforcement agencies to catch the criminals.  That’s a good thing,  right ? Wrong.  Even  Forensic Analysts  do not agree.   Criminals are smart now, especially those who commit  premeditated murders.  The bad guy can just pick up any  cigarette butt or  beer and soda cans, and plant  them at the scene of crime.   Even if  the innocent guy has a solid alibi, he still has to explain the presence of his DNA  at the scene..  Even if the prosecutor cannot find  any motive, you can bet that the sun is up there the prosecutor will find one.  The innocent is totally screwed.  He’ll be looking at a life sentence without the possibilty of parole, or worse, death penalty. That’s what happens if all our DNA profiles are in the DataBase.  Well, you know what they say… it’s preferable to free 100 guilty men over incarcerating  one innocent man, or something like that.  In fact, this happened already. The bad guy planted a random cigarette butt……. good thing the DNA  profile found on the cigarette did not have a match  at the National DNA  DataBase.

Enough of chatting.

Here’s Part 3 of my fun vacation in the Philippines.

So, off we went to see Taal Volcano, the smallest volcano in the world.DSCN0045

.Can you see the volcano ? It’s right there in the middle of the picture. You can see the mouth of the volcano, right ? It was misty  around the area of the volcano , even though the temperature was like, 100 F  ( 38 C ), and very, very humid.

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Facing the picture, the volcano ‘s  to the right of me.

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We went up there to have lunch at that restaurant in the photo, but it was closed for renovation.   Good thing there was a Chinese restaurant  nearby, with a nice view too.

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DSCN0059.Photo below is the view from the restaurant .

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The first thing that I ordered was real coconut juice, straight from the fruit. By the way, coconut is not a nut. It’s a fruit. Oh, my gosh, it tasted sooo good.

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After drinking the juice, we scraped off the white meat with a spoon. Delicious.

This is all for now.  Oh, before I forget,  on my Part 2 Philippine post, there was this singer whose  song was played over and over  on our  trip to Taal Volcano.  Well, he was Rick Astley, and the songs were Never Give You Up and Together Forever. :/

And the owner of the car is a relative who is also a Prosecutor.  That car plate  was a souvenir  given  during a Prosecutors’ Conference  held a month ago before I took that picture. She said she wasn’t supposed to make that a permanent fixture 😮  It’s  dangerous.  I talked about her on my Part 2 Philippine post.  She received death threats a few years ago.

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She’s okay now. The bad guys are in jail. Still….. announcing you’re a Prosecutor is a bad idea. Try doing that in Mexico, and see what happens.
Oh, well, what do I know .

This is all for now, and thank you for reading.  PEACE !

 

 

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