Since Kenneth started playing the guitar, he's been practicing daily for at least an hour, most days two hours a day. He wants to be a music major in college. I admit he's got the discipline and the talent, or at least the creativity (I would be biased in saying the word "talent"). My uncles were very good with the guitar. And I've got cousins who had a band and toured Japan before. At least he's got the genes for it.
He mentioned something just this week about an audition for a band at school. It was supposed to be today after school. Turns out there would be no audition as a band member. But an audition by the band for a school affair of some sorts. There were four band members who had performed at school before, and they needed another member. And Kenneth has been playing guitar with them at school for some time now, teaching one another. So there. I think they'd be playing a song by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I don't remember the title though. Well, good luck to him.
--andoy
31 January 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
A Ride Round the Triangle
Yesterday, Monday, the barker at the terminal where I catch a ride to Makati was distributing flyers to the commuters waiting in line. A captive audience for flyers, he does this every month or so. This time it was an announcement that their member drivers were going to use the Gabriela Silang car park for their terminal for the evening commute back to Marikina. Well and good, I thought. The Marikina drivers had used this car park before and besides, it's almost just across from the office building where I work (the Makati offices, that is).
Several shuttle lines have been using the Gabriela Silang parking lot as a terminal through the years, and it is practically at the center of Makati, being right beside the Makati Stock Exchange building. It was named that because right at the corner of Ayala and Makati Ave. is a statue of Gabriela Silang riding a horse. And for all intents and purposes, the area is the oldest developed block in the Makati business district. It's located at the Ayala Triangle, a large green area which was formerly an almost park, but now just waiting development with more Ayala buildings. Right beside the car park is the old Nielsen Tower, now the Filipinas Heritage Library. This is the oldest building in the whole Makati Business District, predating the business district. The two storey building was called the tower because it was the control tower when the place was still the airport during pre-World War II. Notice the three streets bounding the triangle, Makati Ave., Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Ave. were the airstrips at that time. The Nielsen Tower restaurant is now located right across the old Nielsen Tower, in the Peninsula Hotel. And yes, there's Shangri-la Hotel Makati just across the intersection. But I digress...
So late afternoon came and end of shift, I walked to the parking lot, asked where the queue was for those going to Marikina, and was pointed to the right van. There were two vans going to Marikina, one via Bayan, and the other via Masinag. I got in to the Bayan van and waited. There was only one passenger besides me. So we waited. And after thirty minutes, the van still had space for about six passengers. I didn't really count as I was busy snoozing in my seat. I just approximated by the number of voices in the chatter. The driver noticed that there was a very thin trickle of people who knew about the terminal, decided to move out of the place and find passengers. There's always two long queues at Ayala for Marikina passengers. He parked in front of the Stock Exchange and tried to get some passengers, those crossing the street to go to the long queues. Since this was a no parking space, and there were lots of jeepneys, he wasn't able to properly position the van at the pedestrian crossing, he drove round the block, through the traffic and tried again. This time he was able to park right at the pedestrian crossing. After fifteen minutes of this, and sans one passenger who decided to get off, he finally decided to drive to Marikina. A wait of more than an hour, with a tour of the triangle, before finally leaving Makati.
The good news was that, considering it was a Monday evening, there was relatively light traffic. I got home about an hour later. Normally this would have been an hour and half ride from Makati via a shuttle. And about the same length of commute if riding the train and jeep.
All in all, a different end of workday for the start of the week.
--andoy
29 January 2008
Several shuttle lines have been using the Gabriela Silang parking lot as a terminal through the years, and it is practically at the center of Makati, being right beside the Makati Stock Exchange building. It was named that because right at the corner of Ayala and Makati Ave. is a statue of Gabriela Silang riding a horse. And for all intents and purposes, the area is the oldest developed block in the Makati business district. It's located at the Ayala Triangle, a large green area which was formerly an almost park, but now just waiting development with more Ayala buildings. Right beside the car park is the old Nielsen Tower, now the Filipinas Heritage Library. This is the oldest building in the whole Makati Business District, predating the business district. The two storey building was called the tower because it was the control tower when the place was still the airport during pre-World War II. Notice the three streets bounding the triangle, Makati Ave., Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Ave. were the airstrips at that time. The Nielsen Tower restaurant is now located right across the old Nielsen Tower, in the Peninsula Hotel. And yes, there's Shangri-la Hotel Makati just across the intersection. But I digress...
So late afternoon came and end of shift, I walked to the parking lot, asked where the queue was for those going to Marikina, and was pointed to the right van. There were two vans going to Marikina, one via Bayan, and the other via Masinag. I got in to the Bayan van and waited. There was only one passenger besides me. So we waited. And after thirty minutes, the van still had space for about six passengers. I didn't really count as I was busy snoozing in my seat. I just approximated by the number of voices in the chatter. The driver noticed that there was a very thin trickle of people who knew about the terminal, decided to move out of the place and find passengers. There's always two long queues at Ayala for Marikina passengers. He parked in front of the Stock Exchange and tried to get some passengers, those crossing the street to go to the long queues. Since this was a no parking space, and there were lots of jeepneys, he wasn't able to properly position the van at the pedestrian crossing, he drove round the block, through the traffic and tried again. This time he was able to park right at the pedestrian crossing. After fifteen minutes of this, and sans one passenger who decided to get off, he finally decided to drive to Marikina. A wait of more than an hour, with a tour of the triangle, before finally leaving Makati.
The good news was that, considering it was a Monday evening, there was relatively light traffic. I got home about an hour later. Normally this would have been an hour and half ride from Makati via a shuttle. And about the same length of commute if riding the train and jeep.
All in all, a different end of workday for the start of the week.
--andoy
29 January 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Spaghetti
I cooked spaghetti yesterday. It was a request by my sister, for the birthday party of Angel, she's seven-year old and she celebrated her second party in two days: Saturday in Antipolo; and yesterday in Marikina. It was catered, but for the spaghetti. My sister was supposed to cook chicken, but seeing that we only had a small table and not too many guests, she decided against adding chicken to the buffet table.
I asked her what she has for me to cook, and it turns out that was for a large batch, with two kilos of spaghetti, two kilos of spaghetti sauce and two kilos hot dog.
I asked her to buy oregano and basil. She said that there was oregano, which I found to be the ground powder type. And no basil on the cupboard. I also asked for a can of potted meat or liver spread -- not the small tins, but the double size tin -- as well as a medium carrot; onions -- there were small onions, the pungent strong tasting type, not good for spaghetti for kids -- and a can of mushrooms. She got back and had the items I requested. Almost all that is. She bought dried oregano, whole not chopped. I coarsely chopped it and may have added more than necessary. And she bought bay leaf. Not basil leaf, bay leaf, also called "laurel." (I think I should buy her a pot of basil herbs.)
Sad to say, I flared up after a particular comment about the pasta. I didn't add oil after the cooked pasta has been drained. And my sister gave a comment to that effect. It's been a running game between us to trade barbs. It's okay as long as it's all between us siblings. Unfortunately, this time, one guest, who I never particularly liked, seconded the comment. No, I didn't like her, and I think that as a guest, she should have shut up seeing that this was a disagreement between siblings ("away bata"). Yes, I immediately apologized to my sister.
So there, the spaghetti was sticky, and the sauce was slightly burned. It was sweet, no pepper, no chili, no bite, but not too sweet. And not enough spices. It was okay, I guess, for kids. And no, I didn't eat any spaghetti.
--andoy
28 January 2008
I asked her what she has for me to cook, and it turns out that was for a large batch, with two kilos of spaghetti, two kilos of spaghetti sauce and two kilos hot dog.
I asked her to buy oregano and basil. She said that there was oregano, which I found to be the ground powder type. And no basil on the cupboard. I also asked for a can of potted meat or liver spread -- not the small tins, but the double size tin -- as well as a medium carrot; onions -- there were small onions, the pungent strong tasting type, not good for spaghetti for kids -- and a can of mushrooms. She got back and had the items I requested. Almost all that is. She bought dried oregano, whole not chopped. I coarsely chopped it and may have added more than necessary. And she bought bay leaf. Not basil leaf, bay leaf, also called "laurel." (I think I should buy her a pot of basil herbs.)
Sad to say, I flared up after a particular comment about the pasta. I didn't add oil after the cooked pasta has been drained. And my sister gave a comment to that effect. It's been a running game between us to trade barbs. It's okay as long as it's all between us siblings. Unfortunately, this time, one guest, who I never particularly liked, seconded the comment. No, I didn't like her, and I think that as a guest, she should have shut up seeing that this was a disagreement between siblings ("away bata"). Yes, I immediately apologized to my sister.
So there, the spaghetti was sticky, and the sauce was slightly burned. It was sweet, no pepper, no chili, no bite, but not too sweet. And not enough spices. It was okay, I guess, for kids. And no, I didn't eat any spaghetti.
--andoy
28 January 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Start of the Day (and I'm glad it's already the middle of the week)
Darwi is on a field trip today. They're off to Subic, and left the school at 6:00am. I think it's great that the school chose that as the location this year. It was a good start for the day.
Left home to catch an early ride to Makati, in order to catch the shuttle to Alabang. Forgot to take my medicine. And I don't bring the prescription with me. Once at Makati, took a look at my ATM balance, which should reflect my credited salary, and it's still the same negligible balance. And I am now wondering if I'm still employed here or not. hmmm Too early in the morning to be thinking those thoughts.
And getting to the office in Alabang, I turn on my PC and it has this intermittent sound, rhythmically going like a syncopated hiccup. One of the hard disks is dying on me. And lucky day, it's the one with my data. Wow! Great!
And since I wasn't able to take my meds, I can't afford to get mad, angry, let go my temper, or show any real emotion about all this. Normally, I would be fuming, trying to find a trash bin to kick or had already thrown my cell phone to the floor. It's a great start to the morning.
--andoy
16 January 2008
Left home to catch an early ride to Makati, in order to catch the shuttle to Alabang. Forgot to take my medicine. And I don't bring the prescription with me. Once at Makati, took a look at my ATM balance, which should reflect my credited salary, and it's still the same negligible balance. And I am now wondering if I'm still employed here or not. hmmm Too early in the morning to be thinking those thoughts.
And getting to the office in Alabang, I turn on my PC and it has this intermittent sound, rhythmically going like a syncopated hiccup. One of the hard disks is dying on me. And lucky day, it's the one with my data. Wow! Great!
And since I wasn't able to take my meds, I can't afford to get mad, angry, let go my temper, or show any real emotion about all this. Normally, I would be fuming, trying to find a trash bin to kick or had already thrown my cell phone to the floor. It's a great start to the morning.
--andoy
16 January 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
UPCAT Results
The UPCAT results came out online on the web last Friday. Sadly, Kenneth wasn't on the list. I hope we receive the notification mail soon so we know what score he got. That would give us an idea on whether he can still get into the UP system or not. We'll see.
Of course, we're looking at other alternatives. He got a brochure/application form for FEU. And we're looking at other schools based on what course he likes to take, his current interests and what career he wants to pursue. And then maybe we can take a look if we can afford the school. For now, I can say definitely that we cannot afford the expensive universities and colleges. But we'll see what comes up.
His choices for UP were Diliman first, Los Banos second. For Diliman, he wanted to take up Fine Arts and Music. I informed him that the exam for Music required that he be able to read notes. He changed that to Fine Arts (first choice) and Computer Science (second choice). His UPLB choices were Computer Science and Chemistry (second choice). I think that with other schools he'll have to content himself being enrolled in Computer Science, not a bad choice, but I'm not sure if he's got the temperament for it. The next few months to the start of classes should be exciting.
Meantime, Darwi has to start preparing for the UPCAT.
--andoy
14 January 2008
Of course, we're looking at other alternatives. He got a brochure/application form for FEU. And we're looking at other schools based on what course he likes to take, his current interests and what career he wants to pursue. And then maybe we can take a look if we can afford the school. For now, I can say definitely that we cannot afford the expensive universities and colleges. But we'll see what comes up.
His choices for UP were Diliman first, Los Banos second. For Diliman, he wanted to take up Fine Arts and Music. I informed him that the exam for Music required that he be able to read notes. He changed that to Fine Arts (first choice) and Computer Science (second choice). His UPLB choices were Computer Science and Chemistry (second choice). I think that with other schools he'll have to content himself being enrolled in Computer Science, not a bad choice, but I'm not sure if he's got the temperament for it. The next few months to the start of classes should be exciting.
Meantime, Darwi has to start preparing for the UPCAT.
--andoy
14 January 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Black Dot
There was a long thread in a Mac OSX forum several years ago, and it revolved around a dead pixel on an LCD monitor. At the time, the monitors being discussed were 14-inch ones. The contention was that for graphics professionals and for the high-end buyers, buying expensive LCD monitors must be worth it. Meaning that they want it perfect. Not a single dead pixel in all of the 14-inch screen. They're paying for quality and expect it from the product that they buy. In the grand scheme of things, the thought has lived out its usefulness.
I don't get it. I have a dead pixel on my phone, and I only notice it if it's on screen-saver mode. I don't care one way or the other.
A single black dot in a sea of white. It does need a refocusing in order to see the white background. All of the other spaces. Admittedly, even after all the large space surrounding the black dot, the single black gets the attention. And the more attention it gets, the larger it seems to become.
Like my present situation. A lot of people have hypertension. I now have hypertension. And I am not comfortable with it. Reason is that I am scared. As if I was cornered and with no place to run. I haven't asked what I was running from. I took an inventory of symptoms before and after medication (the line would be noon this past Monday). Without medication, I felt prickly, some numbness on the cheeks, migraine-like headache, pain on nape, I felt sleepy and lethargic. After the start of medication, I felt more prickly, constant pain on nape, sleepy and lethargic, and some numbness of the cheeks, slight pain on joints and knees. hmmm So unless I check my BP, I wouldn't know if I was feeling better or not. Supposedly, some hypertension maintenance medicine side-effects include lessened libido with erectile dysfunction. I don't want to check. Though I notice lots of cute-boy guapo lately. hahaha
I was dejected for most of the week. Now I have to haul ass and get out of that funk. This should be fun. Will try to shoot some hoops and jog during the weekend. I hope to live long enough to be able to beat former high school classmates in a game of basketball at the age of 70 or thereabouts.
There are lots of white space around the black dot. I need to take my eyes off of it.
--andoy
11 January 2008
Share: Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Wala lang. Kenneth has been on the guitar and singing songs by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus since November or December. And most days it's stuck with me like an LSS. Video above is from Final Fantasy VII (???).
Your Guardian Angel
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
When I see your smile,
Tears run down my face.
I can't replace.
And now that I'm strong, I have figured out,
How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul.
And I know I'll find deep inside me,
I can be the one.
I will never let you fall. (let you fall.)
I'll stand up with you forever.
I'll be there for you through it all. (through it all.)
Even if saving you sends me to heaven.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay-e-ay-e-ay.
Seasons are changing,
And waves are crashing,
And stars are falling all for us.
Days grow longer and nights grow shorter,
I can show you I'll be the one
I will never let you fall. (let you fall.)
I'll stand up with you forever.
I'll be there for you through it all. (through it all.)
Even if saving you sends me to heaven.
'Cause you're my, you're my, my-e-y-e-y,
My true love, my whole heart.
Please don't throw that away.
'Cause I'm here... for you!
Please don't walk away and,
Please tell me you'll stay... here!
Whoa-oh!
Stay!
Whoa-oh!
Use me as you will!
Pull my strings just for a thrill!
And I know I'll be okay,
Though my skies are turning gray! (gray! gray!)
I will never let you fall!
I'll stand up with you forever!
I'll be there for you through it all,
Even if saving you sends me to heaven!
I will never let you fall!
I'll stand up with you forever!
I'll be there for you through it all,
Even if saving you sends me to heaven! (fade out)
--andoy
11 January 2008
lyrics added and other revisions 15 January 2008
"Are You Okay?"
Yes, I am fine. And if I keep getting that question, I would keep on repeating the answers. Who knows, after repeating it so many times to myself, I might even believe it.
I've had this question since Sunday when I found out I had elevated blood pressure. And yes, I feel fine. I just have the regular migraine. I once had migraine attacks about every two months. Now it's just once. Per weekend. The whole weekend. Amend that, it's the whole week. So, it's once a week, the whole week. And since it's there all the time, I don't (usually) bother with the pain killer medicine. I just live with it.
So after the consultation last Monday, and the blood chemistry tests last Tuesday, it became official, I had hypertension. This was pronounced by my doctor in the afternoon after the blood chemistry test results were read and analyzed. No problem with blood cholesterol, sodium, kidneys, and in fact, all levels for the blood chemistry were within normal range. So that leaves heredity (genetics) and environment (stress/lifestyle) as the culprit for the hypertension. I'm betting it's the stress. I don't want to say that all those relatives of mine who died of stroke and/or had hypertension passed on these genes to me.
The good news is that I am now forewarned, I know it exists, and I am on medication. I can do something about it. I only have to live with it, not gripe, not worry about it. No stress on top of the stress.
Thank GOD it's Friday! And now to the business of living with it...
I've had this question since Sunday when I found out I had elevated blood pressure. And yes, I feel fine. I just have the regular migraine. I once had migraine attacks about every two months. Now it's just once. Per weekend. The whole weekend. Amend that, it's the whole week. So, it's once a week, the whole week. And since it's there all the time, I don't (usually) bother with the pain killer medicine. I just live with it.
So after the consultation last Monday, and the blood chemistry tests last Tuesday, it became official, I had hypertension. This was pronounced by my doctor in the afternoon after the blood chemistry test results were read and analyzed. No problem with blood cholesterol, sodium, kidneys, and in fact, all levels for the blood chemistry were within normal range. So that leaves heredity (genetics) and environment (stress/lifestyle) as the culprit for the hypertension. I'm betting it's the stress. I don't want to say that all those relatives of mine who died of stroke and/or had hypertension passed on these genes to me.
The good news is that I am now forewarned, I know it exists, and I am on medication. I can do something about it. I only have to live with it, not gripe, not worry about it. No stress on top of the stress.
Thank GOD it's Friday! And now to the business of living with it...
--andoy
11 January 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Star City First Timer
Last Friday my family was invited by Lilia's nephew, Dictus, to join them for a trip to the Star City. Tha plan was for us (me, Lilia, Kenneth, and Darwi) to go to Novaliches first and we'd all go to Star City in the afternoon. I think there was some miscommunication there as what they meant was late afternoon. We left Nova around 5:30pm and got there after 7:00pm. This was the first time I ever got into an amusement park. No kidding. Of course, I've gone to the perya before and rode the Ferris Wheel and caterpillar, but I've never had the chance to go to Enchanted Kingdom or Star City or any of the other all-year amusement parks. It was great. And crowded.
Considering that most of the rides are in an enclosed space (a pre-existing building), it's the first weekend of the New Year (or the last few days before the start of classes), and it's in the metropolis, I was expecting it to be crowded. I wasn't surprised at the crowds, but there's the illusion that there's less people than there really were. This impression was dispelled by the queues for the rides -- the popular rides had at least a hundred people waiting in line. Roughly equivalent to an hour's wait at the least.
Only five of us were riding, that's me, Kenneth, Darwi, Peaen and Dictus (he financed the trip). Lilia and her brothers, Peping and Paquito weren't riding. She's scared, Paquito is in no condition to ride, and Peping doesn't like to.
The Zyklon Loop rollercoaster was out of commission. But the "Star-Flyer" was the real center of attraction -- and at least 200 people queueing. We never did get to ride that. Besides the long queue, Lilia didn't want us to ride. I think that if any of the kids pushed for it, we would have ridden, but the ambivalence did show. hehehe Nope, we didn't ride.
The bumper cars looked like it had less people waiting in line. After a bite to eat, we waited our turn at the Wild River. We even donned our jackets so we won't get wet. And most did get wet, though some were a lot more wet than others. Next up was The Flying Carpet had two queues, the one on the first floor was longer, but the other starting from the second floor was shorter. We took the shorter line and waited only about half an hour to get a ride. Kenneth didn't ride, though. We weren't able to get any more rides as it was almost closing. We barely had time in the Snow park. Funny that, there was a no picture-taking policy but lots of cameras. The pictures we took were mostly blurred as the hands were shaking from the cold. We left at closing time, 2:00am and got to Novaliches around 3:30am.
The following day, Peaen's birthday, I had a BP of 160/90 (rounded off). Oh well.
--andoy
10 January 2008
Considering that most of the rides are in an enclosed space (a pre-existing building), it's the first weekend of the New Year (or the last few days before the start of classes), and it's in the metropolis, I was expecting it to be crowded. I wasn't surprised at the crowds, but there's the illusion that there's less people than there really were. This impression was dispelled by the queues for the rides -- the popular rides had at least a hundred people waiting in line. Roughly equivalent to an hour's wait at the least.
Only five of us were riding, that's me, Kenneth, Darwi, Peaen and Dictus (he financed the trip). Lilia and her brothers, Peping and Paquito weren't riding. She's scared, Paquito is in no condition to ride, and Peping doesn't like to.
The Zyklon Loop rollercoaster was out of commission. But the "Star-Flyer" was the real center of attraction -- and at least 200 people queueing. We never did get to ride that. Besides the long queue, Lilia didn't want us to ride. I think that if any of the kids pushed for it, we would have ridden, but the ambivalence did show. hehehe Nope, we didn't ride.
The bumper cars looked like it had less people waiting in line. After a bite to eat, we waited our turn at the Wild River. We even donned our jackets so we won't get wet. And most did get wet, though some were a lot more wet than others. Next up was The Flying Carpet had two queues, the one on the first floor was longer, but the other starting from the second floor was shorter. We took the shorter line and waited only about half an hour to get a ride. Kenneth didn't ride, though. We weren't able to get any more rides as it was almost closing. We barely had time in the Snow park. Funny that, there was a no picture-taking policy but lots of cameras. The pictures we took were mostly blurred as the hands were shaking from the cold. We left at closing time, 2:00am and got to Novaliches around 3:30am.
The following day, Peaen's birthday, I had a BP of 160/90 (rounded off). Oh well.
--andoy
10 January 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
"A (Not so) Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Lechon... and the danggit" (?)
I'd like to post a disclaimer before anything else. I am not overly fond of lechon. Balat lang po. Crunchy and well done golden turning medium brown. Now after having said that, I'd like to make it clear that I can live without it. Basta may danggit o pusit. Kahit tuyo lang.
And that's precisely what I did last Sunday, when my niece Peaen celebrated her birthday, I snobbed the lechon. It was slightly larger than a lechon de leche. Not too fat. Relatively small. Enough for an extended family to feast on. Unfortunately, the household has more people who should be watching their diet, than those who were healthy enough to eat of the feast. hehehe
I knew that my brother-in-law bought lechon, but I didn't expect it to be a whole pig. Soon as it was settled and ready for the chopping block, I grabbed the electronic sphygmomanometer and took a blood pressure reading.
I would not have gotten a BP reading before, but just before Christmas, the company I work for had an annual physical exam for all its employees. I had a BP reading of 140/100 and the doctor warned me about my age, advising me to think seriously about a low-fat low-salt diet. I said I'll think about it. In fact, I thought long and hard about it and came to the conclusion that she's right, I should watch my diet. I've had readings of BPs as high as 140/100 before and I was wary of that becoming the norm. And that was almost three years ago. I decided to make it my New Year's Resolution: low-fat, low-salt diet. I figured to be cute about it; eat during the season and have the diet after December.
Going back to the BP reading after the roast pig came into the picture, I already had a headache that Sunday morning. I just needed to make sure that I'm safe to eat pork. The instrument read 160/93. I was stunned. I had juice, lots of it. I went to bed, and read a little bit, but the migraine was not helping me any. I think I dozed off. I sent a text message to some friends. One of them answered that the migraine and the BP readings might be related; the migraines might be because of intra-cranial pressure, which was why there was a big gulf between the diastolic and systolic readings (I have no idea which is which). To me that meant that an aneurysm was possible. I asked for aspirin, and there not being any in the household, I took a walk with my son to the corner drugstore to get me some aspirin. I was also advised to drink pineapple juice. There being none, I had what was available, four seasons juice. I peeled the pomelo and had several slivers. Of course, Darwi was there to help with the pomelo.
An hour or two later, I had another reading, and this time it was 150/97. After the scare, I had lost my appetite and was not in any mood to eat. Besides, the things on the table were a lot worse than the roast pig. Except for the char-broiled pampano, most of the food was either salty or rich in fat. There was even kilaw na baboy, boiled pork rind in vinegar and spices. Steered away from the Carlos I (not being a drinker myself, that was no great loss). I had some pancit, and a bite of ube cake (about three inches square by four inches tall, a single bite). I also made myself a fresh fruit salad, slicing apple, orange, kiwi, banana with calamansi juice sprinkled on top. No cream thank you.
And in the afternoon, I had my last reading, and it was 140/97. Most of the day was spent playing chess with the in-laws. That was the only good part, I guess. My brother-in-law Paquito played "two-out-of-three" and got mated the first two games, didn't play the third. His son, Dictus played a lot of games. We usually halve wins. This time, he got mated in all five or six of the games. Only Peping, another brother-in-law had good games against me. He won twice, drew once and lost once against me.
The following day, a Monday, I went on sick leave to go to the doctor for a check-up. My BP reading was 170/110. And in the evening I was crying over the danggit. I know if the danggit gets washed first so it won't be too salty, it should be okay. But Lilia wouldn't want to do that as the cooking oil would splash once the wet danggit is put into the pan.
Tough. But I guess this is one New Year's Resolution which will stick.
--andoy
9 January 2008
And that's precisely what I did last Sunday, when my niece Peaen celebrated her birthday, I snobbed the lechon. It was slightly larger than a lechon de leche. Not too fat. Relatively small. Enough for an extended family to feast on. Unfortunately, the household has more people who should be watching their diet, than those who were healthy enough to eat of the feast. hehehe
I knew that my brother-in-law bought lechon, but I didn't expect it to be a whole pig. Soon as it was settled and ready for the chopping block, I grabbed the electronic sphygmomanometer and took a blood pressure reading.
I would not have gotten a BP reading before, but just before Christmas, the company I work for had an annual physical exam for all its employees. I had a BP reading of 140/100 and the doctor warned me about my age, advising me to think seriously about a low-fat low-salt diet. I said I'll think about it. In fact, I thought long and hard about it and came to the conclusion that she's right, I should watch my diet. I've had readings of BPs as high as 140/100 before and I was wary of that becoming the norm. And that was almost three years ago. I decided to make it my New Year's Resolution: low-fat, low-salt diet. I figured to be cute about it; eat during the season and have the diet after December.
Going back to the BP reading after the roast pig came into the picture, I already had a headache that Sunday morning. I just needed to make sure that I'm safe to eat pork. The instrument read 160/93. I was stunned. I had juice, lots of it. I went to bed, and read a little bit, but the migraine was not helping me any. I think I dozed off. I sent a text message to some friends. One of them answered that the migraine and the BP readings might be related; the migraines might be because of intra-cranial pressure, which was why there was a big gulf between the diastolic and systolic readings (I have no idea which is which). To me that meant that an aneurysm was possible. I asked for aspirin, and there not being any in the household, I took a walk with my son to the corner drugstore to get me some aspirin. I was also advised to drink pineapple juice. There being none, I had what was available, four seasons juice. I peeled the pomelo and had several slivers. Of course, Darwi was there to help with the pomelo.
An hour or two later, I had another reading, and this time it was 150/97. After the scare, I had lost my appetite and was not in any mood to eat. Besides, the things on the table were a lot worse than the roast pig. Except for the char-broiled pampano, most of the food was either salty or rich in fat. There was even kilaw na baboy, boiled pork rind in vinegar and spices. Steered away from the Carlos I (not being a drinker myself, that was no great loss). I had some pancit, and a bite of ube cake (about three inches square by four inches tall, a single bite). I also made myself a fresh fruit salad, slicing apple, orange, kiwi, banana with calamansi juice sprinkled on top. No cream thank you.
And in the afternoon, I had my last reading, and it was 140/97. Most of the day was spent playing chess with the in-laws. That was the only good part, I guess. My brother-in-law Paquito played "two-out-of-three" and got mated the first two games, didn't play the third. His son, Dictus played a lot of games. We usually halve wins. This time, he got mated in all five or six of the games. Only Peping, another brother-in-law had good games against me. He won twice, drew once and lost once against me.
The following day, a Monday, I went on sick leave to go to the doctor for a check-up. My BP reading was 170/110. And in the evening I was crying over the danggit. I know if the danggit gets washed first so it won't be too salty, it should be okay. But Lilia wouldn't want to do that as the cooking oil would splash once the wet danggit is put into the pan.
Tough. But I guess this is one New Year's Resolution which will stick.
--andoy
9 January 2008
Danggit!
Danggit is salted/dried fish fillet about two to three inches in length and very popular locally. It wasn't always popular in the Metro. I remember when we were kids, we had the larger fish, samaral or barangan (rabbitfish/spinefoot) as a regular on our table. (hehehe) And the reason it wasn't popular, judging by the selling price in the market, was because it ugly and doesn't smells worse than fishy. Which was why we had it regularly, it was cheap. It's a common food fish in our province. Fried, or with a sinigang variant, or salted-dried, the barangan is very tasty and a real treat.
There were times when my grandma would salt dry the fish herself. So what we have are much larger than the danggit now in the market, at least twice as large and more fleshy. She once gave a comment that fried danggit could be eaten without anything remaining. Of course, she cheated: she pounded the fried fish to pulp (flakes?), bones and all.
There was even one time we had dired piay (fish eggs or roe) from the barangan. That was really something. And I doubt it would ever again happen for me.
The smell of the danggit may be a turn-off but there's a fool-proof way to mask the smell: wrap it in carbon paper. That's not hard to find, if you know where to look. Carbon paper is still out there and easy to find. It's between sheets of computer continuous form.
Nowadays, danggit is considered both a delicacy, a staple and a preferred pasalubong. And it doesn't matter that it's a pasalubong to bring back to Manila, Qatar, Singapore or New York.
Now I can only take a look at the danggit in the fridge. I'm just getting old, I guess.
--andoy
9 January 2008
There were times when my grandma would salt dry the fish herself. So what we have are much larger than the danggit now in the market, at least twice as large and more fleshy. She once gave a comment that fried danggit could be eaten without anything remaining. Of course, she cheated: she pounded the fried fish to pulp (flakes?), bones and all.
There was even one time we had dired piay (fish eggs or roe) from the barangan. That was really something. And I doubt it would ever again happen for me.
The smell of the danggit may be a turn-off but there's a fool-proof way to mask the smell: wrap it in carbon paper. That's not hard to find, if you know where to look. Carbon paper is still out there and easy to find. It's between sheets of computer continuous form.
Nowadays, danggit is considered both a delicacy, a staple and a preferred pasalubong. And it doesn't matter that it's a pasalubong to bring back to Manila, Qatar, Singapore or New York.
Now I can only take a look at the danggit in the fridge. I'm just getting old, I guess.
--andoy
9 January 2008
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Sesame Street Characters
I asked Darwi a funny stupid question: If I were going to a costume party, what Sesame Street character fits me best? She answered Cookie Monster. I didn't ask her why. But I guess it would be because of the near-psychotic manic way Cookie Monster has with cookies. At least I hope that was the case, because I wouldn't want to think that I'm like Cookie because of the way I speak. hehehe
Going by the Sesame Street character list, I tried to see if I fit the image.
Bert and Ernie. That's a vaudeville comedy pair. The straight man and the smart-aleck sidekick. No real identity without the other. And besides, stupid things happen to Bert (see http://www.snopes.com/rumors/bert.htm).
Big Bird. Wrong image for me. Wrong shade of yellow. Now if instead of canary yellow it was green, then maybe I can say he fits just right for studying at Taft Avenue.
The Count. More OC than Bert and his soda pop cap collection.
Grover. Possible. Thin, gawky and old looking guy. Fits in the background. Pensive. hehehe
Elmo. No, sorry, but me as Elmo, I would scare the kids. hehehe
Kermit the Frog. Ooops. Sorry, but I am not a frog. hehehe
Oscar the Grouch. Close. But I am not wearing that costume! I am not a grouch! Does anyone really think I'm grouchy??!!! (Ooops, sorry about that outburst. It just slipped out.)
Oh, well. You should try it sometime, ask a friend or a kid, the same question and see what happens.
--andoy
3 January 2008
Going by the Sesame Street character list, I tried to see if I fit the image.
Bert and Ernie. That's a vaudeville comedy pair. The straight man and the smart-aleck sidekick. No real identity without the other. And besides, stupid things happen to Bert (see http://www.snopes.com/rumors/bert.htm).
Big Bird. Wrong image for me. Wrong shade of yellow. Now if instead of canary yellow it was green, then maybe I can say he fits just right for studying at Taft Avenue.
The Count. More OC than Bert and his soda pop cap collection.
Grover. Possible. Thin, gawky and old looking guy. Fits in the background. Pensive. hehehe
Elmo. No, sorry, but me as Elmo, I would scare the kids. hehehe
Kermit the Frog. Ooops. Sorry, but I am not a frog. hehehe
Oscar the Grouch. Close. But I am not wearing that costume! I am not a grouch! Does anyone really think I'm grouchy??!!! (Ooops, sorry about that outburst. It just slipped out.)
Oh, well. You should try it sometime, ask a friend or a kid, the same question and see what happens.
--andoy
3 January 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
It was a good season. But after slogging through a stretch of one and a half months which felt like a very long two months, the whole of December went by so fast. And I didn't even blink. Christmas came and went so fast, my head is still spinning.
Really, Christmas came and went. And I am happy and merry through all of it. There was one big (and long) Christmas party to start things off. And then there was a Christmas party for our company's Alabang staff, after Christmas and before New Year. That was quiet, uneventful, but significant for the bonding time it afforded us the employees. (Which meant that though most of the guys got drunk, they weren't drunk enough; shop talk and gossip was at a minimum; and lots of good ribbing and roasting.) And then we were off for a long weekend preparing and celebrating the New Year.
Yes, a Happy New Year to all.
There's food, fruits, cheese and wine in the fridge. I know no one with a New Year's Day injury. I am looking forward to the year ahead, looks good from where I'm standing. December (and Christmas just past) was okay as far as my experience goes. Not the best, but a whole lot better than most, thanks in part to the four-day weekends.
After all of that, and though I kept it to myself, I was most enthusiastic about the last package given to us last night. It was a small newspaper wrapped package of danggit, which my mom gave Lilia, with instructions to wash off the salt first before cooking.
Really, Christmas came and went. And I am happy and merry through all of it. There was one big (and long) Christmas party to start things off. And then there was a Christmas party for our company's Alabang staff, after Christmas and before New Year. That was quiet, uneventful, but significant for the bonding time it afforded us the employees. (Which meant that though most of the guys got drunk, they weren't drunk enough; shop talk and gossip was at a minimum; and lots of good ribbing and roasting.) And then we were off for a long weekend preparing and celebrating the New Year.
Yes, a Happy New Year to all.
There's food, fruits, cheese and wine in the fridge. I know no one with a New Year's Day injury. I am looking forward to the year ahead, looks good from where I'm standing. December (and Christmas just past) was okay as far as my experience goes. Not the best, but a whole lot better than most, thanks in part to the four-day weekends.
After all of that, and though I kept it to myself, I was most enthusiastic about the last package given to us last night. It was a small newspaper wrapped package of danggit, which my mom gave Lilia, with instructions to wash off the salt first before cooking.
--andoy
2 January 2008
PS: If this sounds disjointed, that's because it is. First working day and the first migraine of the year. --same
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