Tsinelas Festival

Took my M.A. classmates to Liliw for a bit of shoe-shopping. We were surprised to learn that last Saturday was the shoe town's annual Tsinelas Festival! Shoes! Shoes! Shoes! At low, low, prices!!!

Best Dessert Ever!

This picture was taken in 2005, during the double birthday celebration of Liza and Julie (both standing behind the couch). With the current heatwave in the country, it is soooo nice to reminisce eating the gigantic ice cream dish in Manila Pen. Yummy!!!

Thank you Mommy Sally for the picture! I lost my copy a long time ago!

:-D

Snippets

Here are bits and pieces of the conversation that went on during Julie's homecoming dinner:

"Ma'am, kayo po ba yung mga kasama ni Ma'am Cristina?"

"Are you provoking me?" (The catchphrase of the night)

"There's a thin line between..... ano nga ang mga iyun ulit?"

"Dapat kasi sinulat natin lahat eh."

"Make-believe boyfriend...."

"Pseudo-boyfriend!"

"Kasabay niyo ba sa eroplano si Pacquiao?"

"Ms. Julie? You're back!"

"... a facsimile of the original..."

"... yung footsteps ni Rizal..."

"... gusto niyo mag-walking tour ng Manila?"

"Ano ang alcohol content ng Vodka Ice? Bailey's?"

"Alam niyo ba yung commercial ng Stresstabs?"

"Ano nga pala name nung bar sa St. Francis Square dati? Yung may Japanese resto sa 2nd floor?"

"Grabe dati, hindi puwedeng hindi tayo gumimik every Friday night..."

"Well, we can do that again, only this time we have great hair."

"Do you guys really want to go home na? Let's stay for awhile."

"Chet, kaya mo pa ba?"

Erratum and other things

BWAHAHA! Chickens CLUCK and Witches CACKLE!!! I knew that!!! Only I forgot!!!

Here are some more odd things that come from my brain and out of my mouth:

1. Kung ang "pato" ay "duck" sa English, ano ang "bibe"?

2. Kung ang anahaw ang pambansang dahon (meron ba nun?), ano ang narra --- pambansang puno...... or kahoy???

3. Talaga bang may original pancit malabon at original buko pie?

These 3 things are my personal favorite ice-breakers that are guaranteed to elicit laughs, discussions and mild irritation. Anyone want to give their 2 cents worth? :-D

Funny TOP 10

There's this show -- "Pinaka" -- on the UHF channel that is patterned after the E! channel Rank program and David Letterman's Top 10. Caught this funny countdown a couple of weeks ago. I could've written this list myself:

Pinaka-madalas na mapapanood sa mga Tagalog movies (and tv programs):

10. The lead characters talk to themselves while standing in front of a mirror, or while holding a picture of someone

9. All the goons wear black leather jackets

8. One character always suffer from amnesia

7. One character mentions the title of the movie / program

6. The police always arrive late --- just in time after the bida kills the villain

5. While one character is on the brink of death, nobody thinks of calling an ambulance or a doctor

4. When one character goes home, ang bitbit na pasalubong is always.... pancit

3. Just before magpatayan ang bida and kontrabida, meron lagi mahabang usapan muna

2. Similarly, laging may mahaaaaabang death scene coz the dying character has so many revelations and bilins pa

1. When a female character vomits, people immediately conclude that she's pregnant.

Oh, I can add a lot of things to this list.... my dear friends, maybe you can think of a few things too...

Lost in Translation?

Was watching Men in Trees last night. Pop singer, Jewel, was a guest star. Bigla ko tuloy naalala yung time na I was trying to buy her first CD at a record bar about 10 years ago:

Me: Miss, meron kayo nung CD ni Jewel?

Salesclerk: Joo--?

Me: Jewel.

The salesclerk nodded and went to a rack at the corner. She came back and handed me a CD... of Billy Joel.

At that time I thought that was something that could only happen to me. Until I told a friend about it. She laughed and shared her story with me:

Friend : Miss, meron kayong CD ni Jamiroquai?

Salesclerk: Meron.

The salesclerk grabbed a CD from the rack and gave it to my friend, who looked down and saw the CD soundtrack cover of.... Jerry Maguire.

some peace and quiet

These were the pictures taken in our small farm in Cavinti, Laguna. There aren't any fruits in season right now so all we got to harvest last week were some lemons, saging and sili. But nobody really minded... everybody loved the peace and quiet... until feeding time came and all the ducks and chickens came a-quacking and a-cackling (chickens cackle, di ba?)...

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Our Pagsanjan house has so much history. It used to belong to a lolo uncle whom I've never met. When his family moved out, they rented the place to so many people. In the early 90's, it was even a paper mache factory! When my dad bought the place, super major cleaning and scrubbing and disinfecting ang nangyari. Then a few years later, my dad renovated the place and added a few things (e.g. a new bedroom, a new bathroom, and a new riverdeck). And now after my lola passed away, the groundfloor took on a new look. To those who have been to the house several times, feast your eyes on these new pictures.

P.S. I keep on kidding my dad that my lola's ghost will haunt him and ask, "Anak, nasaan na ang kuwarto ko?" (Note: my lola's room used to be in the ground floor, and has already been transformed into living room no.2). May my lola's soul rest in peace (Lola, takot ako sa multo, don't forget.) :-D

turista iglesia

Since Holy Week 1999, my family has been doing the traditional Visita Iglesia by trying to go to at least 7 churches in nearby Laguna towns. I like old churches so this annual event is something I always look forward to doing. I even lead the prayers for each station of the cross. This year, we did it on Good Friday, and due to lack of time, only visited Paquil and Paete. Anyway, here are some of the pictures I took. Feast your eyes on the magnificence of the churches. Perfect wedding venues.

Under the Pagsanjan Sun

Had a lot of alone time this Holy Week. Stared at this beautiful view from the deck of our house in Pagsanjan... and tried to breathe in the peace and quiet. Birds were chirping... the water was softly gurgling and lapping at the riverbank... and me, periodically groaning and grunting every time I remembered the paper I needed to revise and submit by Tuesday morning.

I should be somewhere else by Wednesday

Grabe... I still have one more paper to submit on Holy Wednesday. By that time, I should have been in Pagsanjan already. Here are some really old pictures of the farm in Laguna. Will post new ones next week. Or I can just cut and paste fruit trees and chickens all over the thing.