Perfect for summer: HALO-HALO

It's here!!

I was going to hold off buying it online and just wait if my sister would be able to find the same thing in Manila. But after telling me that this style is sold out, I had no other choice but to buy it online and so I did. It didn't get shipped until 2 weeks after I ordered it. Don't know why. Then it took another 7 days to get to me since it came all the way from Ohio. I had no idea it would be coming from there. All in all around 3 weeks, but important thing now is it's finally here. Yay! And I am trying to stay away from any site that features havaianas because I don't want to buy another one. I will just wait for the pair that my brother promised.

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It's a small world after all!!

You don't know who you will see when you go grocery shopping on what seemed to be an uneventful Sunday afternoon. We were at IslandPacific because my relatives opened a food stall over there when my sister saw someone familiar. It was my sister, Camille's friend, Derrick and with him was Jenn who happened to be the daughter of a family friend. Though younger, we have moved around the same circle since both our dads were part of the Rotary Club of SanJuanico. She was a lot younger then so I didn't really recognize here right away. But I did recognize her sister, Joana who joined us a little later. She is after all my dad's goddaughter. With them was their cousin, Chris. I never knew they were here so it was a really nice surprise to see them of all places, a grocery. Notice the broom? Kids nowadays are sure tall.

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Papa, I need a new phone!

I inherited my phone from Papa and that was almost 3 years ago. I had an opportunity to change my phone early this year but I opted not to. And now I regret not getting a new one because I dropped my phone just tonight, well actually I dropped the remote control which landed on the phone which made it fall to the ground. Two of the keys fell off and I had to put a tape over it since they wont stick anymore. I have one of those casings, though not the original ones but I am finding it difficult to remove the present one so I guess the tape will just have to do for now.

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Bummer!

ApoloAntonOhno decided after all to join the DWTS tour this summer BUT he will only be performing in 5 cities and none of which is Los Angeles.

Rising up to the challenge

The past year has been full of challenges and experiencing new things for me.

- I have never planned a party that was as grand in scale as what we did for Lola's 85th birthday last year. I did with tons of help from my cousins and also with the assistance of aunts and uncles. Everyone had fun and the party was a success.

- I have never planned a medical mission in my life and here I am from the initial volunteer to handling part of the administrative side of it.

- I have never planned a formal dinner dance/coronation night of the Ms. An Maglipayon before and here I am about to assume the chairperson position from being vice-chair.

Th first one has passed, the next two gave me gastritis yesterday. The medical mission part I am not that stressed about it since I will only be handling some aspects of it. The other committee members have a huge experience with this. But the Ms. An Maglipayon, I will be at the helm of it and just thinking about it is making my stomach do somersaults. When I became vice-chair I didn't worry much since to me it was just a glorified title for assistant and doing what the chair requests. But being chairperson entails more than that: from conception to execution and everything else in between. With the recent events, the probability of it has crossed my mind and the brave part of me was all "sure I can handle this" but when it became a reality, I was at a loss for words. Doubt somehow found its way to my mind. I have a very capable committee and a full support of the officers but there is still that nagging feeling of dread and fear of the unknown. I don't know why. All I know is I cannot let myself be brought down by it since there are so many things that I need to attend to at this point. Its going to be in November and I don't have much time. LIke all the challenges that has came and will continue to come my way, I will face it because its what I am supposed to do, it is what I have to do. Its not going to be easy and I have big shoes to fill but I can only my best. I am taking on the challenge and hope that things will turn out good not only for me but for everyone as well. Good luck na lang!

Papa got me bugged

I was really surprised to learn today that it seems Papa got wind of one of my posts that was only supposed to be for a selected few to read. How did my not so tech savvy dad able to do that? Beats me but I think I have a faint idea as to who could have been his source. I know its you!

It seems like everyone else, my parents get updated with my life through my blog. Its not like I don't call them often enough or update them enough because I do but I guess there are just some aspects about my life at this point that I am not able to share so openly with my parents. Can you say awkward? Much as I have a really good relationship with my parents, still there are some things that I don't think they have to know. Thus, the post being for only a few people's eyes and then someone blabbed it to Papa who in turn told someone which eventually went back to me. It really wasn't something bad but its a bit disconcerting to me for Papa to know from other people and not from me. Its not as if I was going to hide it forever but the point was there really wasn't much to tell him or Mama, not yet anyway so why bother. Ma-jinx pa, di bale na!

The cool thing about my dad though is even knowing something, he wouldn't come out and tease me about it or pry for more information. He is going to wait in the wings until it comes from the horse's mouth, so to speak. It may not be so big of a news nor would it bring about world peace or end the world's hunger but for a parent, he looks at it as some hope or indication that his fear is not going to be a reality. This must be his fervent wish of late. He hasn't really exhibited subtleness anyway when it comes to this, not in the past few months at least. I know Papa means well and its really funny and I appreciate his concern in some twisted way. Hay Papa! hahahaha

How sad! C-

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out atLakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

In all seriousness

It was just last year when I became actively involved in ATASC (An Taclobanon Association of Southern California). I cannot believe its only been a year because it felt like I have zoomed through my two year term. On my first year alone, I was entrusted to this position that I wasn't sure I was equipped to handle: mentally, emotionally and socially. Prior to this, my lone experience as far as being in an organization was still back in high school which was ages ago and I was dealing with people my age certainly not with those older than I am, some my father's age or older than that. Being the youngest, I wasn't sure if I would be heard enough or listened to. Well, I thought wrong. I think in my own little way I have let my voice be heard. But I don't think its enough. I still have a lot to learn and the first year was that - a learning year, an educational year. It was more like an "on the job training" and I think the second year will now be more of a "job". Am I prepared for the year that is coming? I don't know. I learn as I go along.

Midway into the year, people within the organization has been teasing me that I will be the next president which I take in stride and in jest. They cant be serious! I still have so much to learn. When I told Papa about this, his reply made me laugh. He said that I should get married first before I even think of being the association's president. I thought Papa was just joking, teasing me or he is just that desperate to see me married off. But I soon realized how true he was. Being an officer, an active one at that is SERIOUS, SERIOUS, SERIOUS commitment. A commitment I didn't know I was ready to give but did in my own capacity. Just two weeks ago I was growing overwhelmed with the many things I had to do. I didn't realize that my plate would be that full but it was. Aside from my my duties to the association, I also have responsibilities to my family, to my work as well as to own self. Someone pointed out to me that I was already overwhelmed with so many things imagine if I had a husband and/or children or a boyfriend to attend to on top of these responsibilities. I probably would have gone crazy. I am not complaining but it made me think how many more compartments can you build in your life to make room for everything. Or am I supposed to continue building compartments or keep the same ones but learn to prioritize? Or come to a conclusion that no matter how much we wish we just cannot do everything that we want or expected of us. That is just how life is.

I don't know until when my commitment to the association will be. Now when they tease me about me being at helm of it I quote my dad. Their responses have been funny, some just laugh and some even to the point of saying they will look for one for me. Hahaha yeah right! Am I ready for it if and when it does happen? I don't know. I guess I will cross the bridge when I get there but I do know that I have to find some sense of balance within my own life in order to be able to do that. Find some sense of balance before that. Its not an easy position and I have so much to learn still. I have so many things to learn: diplomacy, more patience, more flexibility, firmness, decisiveness, etc. What am I doing? I shouldn't even be thinking about it since its not even yet a possibility. But if there's one thing the past year has taught me is that I am not a "commitment-phobe" like I thought I was. And it helped because at the onset, committing was the huge step and I think I have proven that I can do that.

Eye to eye

I have this bad habit of falling asleep still wearing my contacts. Bad, I know! It has happened so many times and each time I find myself waking up around 4am realizing I still have them on. Only then, would I take them out then go back to sleep and put them back on like 2 hours after. Not the best thing to do but I have grown dependent on them that I have to wear them a lot. In some days when paranoia kicks in, thats when I contend myself with wearing my glasses to work. I wear disposable soft contact lenses. I have to wear them only for two weeks and I have to replace them after. There have been times that I extended it but not this time since I was told that the kind I have now would harden if its worn past its two weeks time frame. So, I keep a tab on myself to make sure that I change it after two weeks. With that in mind, I should be more cautious of wearing them to sleep but I still have difficulty with it especially the past weeks have been stressful for me. I think I have become a narcoleptic since I pretty much fall asleep as soon as I get home from work with or without contacts. Other than the occasional dryness which goes away right away, I have not experienced anything else that would be of discomfort so I thought I was fine until I saw for myself what happened to my aunt over the weekend.

She wore her contacts after months of not wearing them. She got one that was soaked in solution for some months now rather than getting a new pair. Needless to say she got an infection and was tearing up the whole time. Her eyes were itchy, painful and uncomfortable. She couldn't take them off right away since we were in the middle of the fiesta celebration. So she delayed it which proved to be a not so wise move. By the time she took out her contacts, the left eye has become embedded and hard to take out. She slept on them and the next day (Sunday) she asked if we could take her to the ER since she could barely open her eyes and it was truly painful. At the ER, it was flushed out but the ER doctor felt that he wasn't able to take all of it out so she was referred to an Ophthalmologist. Turned out that the ER doctor was already able to take it out but the rubbing and the fact that it stayed there more than it should caused her to have some abrasions/scratches on her left eye. The scratch was 10mm. Pretty long scratch. I heard the Ophthalmologist say that healing is usually 1mm/day. This meant my aunt needed to rest and treat her eyes for more or less 10 days.

1mm/day!! That scared me. Hers happened just one day and it was already 10mm, so imagine the abuse that I have been doing to my eyes. Horrors! So, now I am really trying so hard to be conscious not to sleep wearing them anymore. Its hard since I still haven't fully recovered from the lack of sleep the previous weeks and this is what is making me fall asleep right away but it would be a small price to pay rather than getting scratches and not being able to function as much as I would want to. Plus, all that medication and follow up with doctors is enough to make me squeamish. Prevention is the key now rather than treatment. Looking at how much trouble my aunt is having should scare me straight and it is.

Stressing over ironing

I have always said that among the household chores, ironing is my least favorite. I would do away with it as long as I can. If I can ask someone to do it for me, I would be jumping for joy. Anything as long as I don't do it. But... this time I really have to. And what a piece of clothing for me start on.. a barong. The hardest, most fragile and I think most complicated piece of clothing to iron. I mean, my own dad isnt a fan of ironing too or doesn't even iron but he will if its his barong. No one else irons it but him.

Why wear a barong then? I could wear anything but a barong so why am I stressing? See, that's the thing, I have to wear a barong for the fiesta this Saturday..tomorrow. Being an officer, we always wear barong. I don't own such a thing since its typically a man's piece of clothing but of late women have been wearing them too. So, I asked my mom to buy one for me from Manila. I not only got one but I have two. One is ready to wear while the other one, Papa had it made. The one that was made is much more formal and intricate which translates to higher difficulty as far as ironing is concerned. The other one is as intricate but its made like a tunic so its less complicated without all those buttons. I am leaning towards the tunic kind to wear for tomorrow.

My stress started even before I even got them. Mama told me that when I iron it that I should make sure that the sleeves wont have any folds. Okay, I am already stressed out just thinking about ironing a barong now I have this fact to add. How am I going to do that? I am really getting anxious now. How anxious? My gastritis is acting up. The only thing left is for hives to appear but good thing I never get those.

I first planned to iron it last night but I didn't feel that my mental state was ready to take on the task. I wont be able to do it tonight since I will coming home late and probably sleepy so no. I guess I am left with no choice but to iron it first thing tomorrow along with the other clothes that I have to iron *sigh* and on top of my other "to-do" things. Putting it off really isn't doing me any good because its not going to disappear when I do that. It certainly wont iron the barong either. I just have to find that stable mental state and carry on with this task. Even with ironing, I am cramming. I guess I really do better under pressure. Brat na kung brat, I wish Mana Mila was here to do this for me and I wont be stressing this much.

A nice way to start my week

(source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines - Heritage architecture, the site of a historic landing during World War II, and natural bamboo resources, Leyte seems to have it all. It is no wonder then that the province was picked by the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) as one of the host cities for this year's National Heritage Month with the theme "The Culture of the Bamboo.

Here is the rest of the article... Leyte's heritage allure

I caved

I always wondered what the fascination with this slippers was. My sister wanted it so badly and when I checked at the mall it costs almost the same as a pair of shoes (not the branded ones of course). How could be something made of rubber costs so much? I saw people get addicted to it, collecting different kinds, different colors and different styles. Still I was bewildered what the fuss was about. People told me it was really comfortable. I scoffed like "yeah right". One sure can buy two slippers for the same price as one of this but still people preferred this. I shake my head in amazement and confusion and thinking "these people are crazy". Its "tsinelas" for goodness sake. One to use to the beach or to do errands or to do chores. I told myself I am not going to spend that much money for a pair of "tsinelas". No way, jose! If someone was going to give me one, I will gladly take it. My parents, oh so generous gave me one and thus started my "infatuation" with Havaianas.

When the Havaianas Filipinas came out, I wanted one. I mean I like anything that has the Philippines flag on it. I thought this is nice, I will be one of the few ones who will have this since I doubt if this will be available in the US. I asked my parents if they could get it for me and they did.

But an aunt found out about it and decided to give my other cousins the same thing for "pasalubong". So when it was only supposed to be only two of us among cousins who have it, it ended up being 10..of the same color. Finding your own pair at the door (we leave slippers outside the house) can be a task. So, I let my sister use it and hoped that another color of the same thing would be released. Imagine my happiness when a black Havaianas Filipinas came out. I immediately told Mama to please get me the black ones instead. I waited and waited until someone was able to bring it to the US. I love it. I thought at first it was just a "tsinelas" nothing extraordinary or mind-blowing about it. Boy, was I wrong! I like that theres the Philippine flag. I like love that it was actually comfortable. I thought I can walk around for hours in these and my feet would be fine. Its in black so it goes with anything I wear. I thought I would be content with my Filipinas pair but I was so wrong because after seeing this..

I wanted my own pair. I looked at the stores at the mall but I couldn't find it. I can only buy it online. Its going to cost me $23 and who knows what else for shipping but I am going to close my eyes and buy it. I already can see what my outfit would be to match this pair. I was set to buy it when my nice brother asked what we wanted so I asked for this. Hoping that that this is still available in the Philippines and he can get it for me. If not, I guess I will just buy it online and Nicco can just buy me this...


and I will gladly accept it. or any color for that matter.

I have found myself browsing through different sites for other designs and styles. Some are really funky and out there. Some, I think I will be able to wear. I say that I just have an "infatuation" with it its because I don't think I will become a serious collector no matter how much of an addictive personality I have. Well, as of now at least I just want these 3. Who knows what will happen along the road. But I really want to buy them for the purpose of wearing them and not just collecting or looking at them especially now that I am including it in the "must pack" list when I travel granted its going to be a warm place.

Its funny how life is, its twists and turns and its ironies. I was critical of it before and here I am wanting to buy my own pairs more than what was given to me. Here I am actually contemplating of buying some rather than waiting for someone to gift me with them. Yup, I am eating my words because I am now into havaianas when I told myself I wouldn't be. Now, I am willing to shell out more than I would normally for a pair of slippers. Hey, my toes and feet are happy and that makes me happy. For that reason alone, I am sold on these slippers.

Exhausted beyond exhaustion

I have close to 250 fliers to print and mail out by end of this week.
I have practices till the wee mornings of Friday and Saturday.
clothes to be folded.
closet to be organized.
room to be cleaned.
a registration process to be written.
a membership roster to be sub-divided
a committee to be briefed.
clothes to be prepared for June 16 (3).
a fiesta to not only to attend but to be involved in.
an urgent and important matter to deal with and be done with by this week.

and these are all personal. My work isn't part of this yet.

*sigh*