23

Does warm milk taste good with dark mildly sweet chocolate? Or is it the other way around? I'm wondering because I've got a bar of chocolate in my room, but I've already drunk up all of my milk in the dining room. What's left with me here is water.

Another random thought: I finally found my cough meds after days of hiding in my bag, and apparently, the other set was on the bed. Just in time. My cough (which is now about two weeks old) has worsen overnight (which might have been caused by my late night to early morning spells in front of the PC). yes, even though I'm just tutoring, a much-too-connected me is spending plenty of time on the net well after tutoring hours are over (yes, I've told myself a few times before that I need to disconnect).

It's December! Some sort of Christmasy mood is making itself felt. Little by little, I hear people wondering about what they would get for others this Christmas (as we can notice, my generation has changed - we think about others first before we think about ourselves ^_^) . What drove the fact (that Christmas is just 23 days *gasp* away) home to me was when I was reading Avalon.ph's monthly newsletter that for those who are gonna be ordering stuff as gifts for the holidays should take note of the deadline so that the deliveries will be completed on time. Things have been evolving. Now, we wouldn't just have to contend with beating the Christmas rush as we go shopping on foot; the mail-order business (yes, my dears, I'm quite new to this; rephrase that -  I haven't had any experiences with this not with my family, or any close friends, so yes, this comes as a new experience to me) also experiences a lot of pressure around this time of the year.

<Singit uli ng isa pang random thought (haha)>  I couldn't find the Dong-A pen which writes like a sign pen. I tried going back to the events of last Sunday but my memory tells me my hand was the last to take hold of it. Bagong-bago pa naman iyon. Di ka pa nga makikita ng bawas sa level ng ink sa loob nun. Sana naman isa na naman siyang case ng misplaced-but-will-soon-be-found. Mura lang naman siya, siyam na piso, pero kapatid ko pa bibili nun sa Maynila. Tsaka sayang talga iyon.

Kanina, habang nag-aagahan ako (chicken noodles + adobo-flavored tuna with rice), may mga naisip akong firsts. Iyong mga perstaym kong maexperience nitong mga nagdaang taon, mga 5 years back lang naman. Naiinis ako dahil di ko maalala iyong una kong naisip. Ready-ng ready pa naman ako nun na isulat silang lahat. Parang pangkalahatang theme para sa post na 'to (bilang nag-aadik na naman ako sa buhay net at isinama ang sariling blog sa NaBloPoMo blogroll for December).  Another time then.

Christmas doth approach, so doth the gifts

Ich würde dir gerne ein Geschenk kaufen, aber ich habe kein Geld. (Translation: I would like to buy you a present but I haven't got any money.)

I was going through the German Words of the Day that have accumulated in my feed (I am using FeedDemon 2.7 synchronized with my Google Reader account, although I'll be upgrading the program in a little while) and came across that sentence, which reminded me of the coming festivities in about two months' time (by the way, I came across a funny observation about this occasion via an overly understated (and uber less than satisfactory) cake for Christmas).


I've never had many occasions to think of what to give during celebrations such as this or birthdays. It is explained by the fact that my parents never really bothered to honor the tradition of gift-giving especially to others. It's because of their overly thrifty nature (and of course, since we're the kids, much of those have also been passed on to us) that Christmas is celebrated at our home with heaps of food and gifts only for the children (meaning I and my siblings), for why would they give things to others when we ourselves are lacking so many things. As for birthdays, I think I have gotten away with not giving any gifts to my friends, well, because usually, parties are never in order when the mandatory getting-old day comes around. Maybe when I was still younger than grade three, and parties were still the norm that I still got to go to parties and probably, my mom also had to buy gifts. After that, I can't remember anymore instances when I had to give gifts (except the usual exchange gifts tradition during school Christmas parties which is still quite different from what I want to talk about). As for debut parties, as far as I can remember, only been in one, so that's about it.


So there's the history of gift-giving in our family. I would love to receive gifts though (which, now I realize, is the reason why the one of the more expensive parties my family planned was not well-attended). And every Christmas, we still do from some of our cousins' families (hi Tita Cora, hi Tita Tessie). But my thoughts today lie on the time when you have to think of the people you're giving a gift to, and then thinking of something appropriate to give them. And then there's the actual search for the aforementioned things, and if you fail to come up with a list of things to buy, you have to be creative (flexible?) enough to realize that what you're looking at during your frantic search for something appropriate is indeed the one. 


I think it's nice that someone is thinking about you before the festivities are over, digging (usually not so deeply) into your personality or the experiences you've been through together, to be able to come up with something that he/she thinks you would appreciate. There's the beauty of gift-giving. Someone reminiscing good memories, a token given to the person in the aforementioned memories to show appreciation, and the receiver, grateful, with another good memory to include in her growing milestones/memories storage. It doesn't matter how expensive or how small the gift is, but just the thought that that someone actually cared enough to give you something makes you feel flattered (hehe), appreciated, and in the best cases, loved.


P.S. It's still too early for Christmas, but the coming of December signifies hope for better things. Hopefully, most everyone has at least recovered by then, I have gotten myself together, and the Filipinos are looking towards 2010 with healthier mindsets. Of course, I do have a tangible wishlist (Christmas or otherwise) that any person with a kind heart is welcome to fulfill. I'll think about it so that the final list shall be manageable :D

sa iyo na hindi ko natext...

- dahil wala akong load
- dahil di pa ako pinalad na mapasama ka sa contacts list ng phone ko
- dahil wala akong tamang number mo

...

wag kang mag-alala. mahalaga ka sa akin.

Maligayang Pasko! sana'y nag-eenjoy ka sa mga panahong ito.

Salamat sa pagiging parte ng buhay ko.

[random thoughts]

it could have been my first time to go to any of bolinao's beaches, and for that matter, just to go there for leisure. when i go to bolinao, it's either to visit the grave of my grandfather or accompany my mom to settle some matters. circumstances would not permit it.

it is supposed to be a season of good cheer. for my cousins and my aunt, it may not turn out to be such. losing a husband and a father is something nobody expected at this time. my cousins are still all in school. all of a sudden, their dad is taken away from them. though the prelude had been so long, i would like to think that their minds are finally at ease, albeit, in a very melancholy way. i have no better words with which to express my condolences to you tita cyn, tj, pat and alana. i know you can get through this. be strong and don't forget that there are many people around who are willing to help, just as how your family has always done in the past.

i don't want to end this post on a sad note.

i arrived here in dagupan at 12 mn. this was because i was able to leave qc by 7pm. this after having had a movie marathon (of the four i got to watch only two), a drinking session at around 10 in the morning, and more kwentuhan afterward with pizza for lunch. i don't think i can do justice to the experience right now. another time. when we get back from the funeral.

and um, christmas is right around the corner, poking its head out. don't feel it yet. i felt some semblance of the spirit when i was watching the fireworks after the lantern parade (this one really blew me away - ang galing talaga) with pinoy christmas songs being played on the background. rightn ow, there's nothing else i can feel that comes close to the happiness brought about by christmas.

call for Yuletide entries for Philippine Genre Stories

Philippine Genre Stories is also accepting submissions for their December issue. from their blog:

"Send us a Christmas-themed genre story for the 2007 Yuletide season. Consider it a challenge to write a horror, crime, suspense, humor, fantasy, alternate-history, sci-fi, speculative, ghost, romance, or mystery tale around the Yuletide season. Just to put some additional seed to thought: how would you weave the usual traditions we see, hear, and experience around Christmas into a genre story? You can use the holiday setting and place a crime in a department store at the height of Christmas rush for a detective story, for example, or you can even turn this on its head and place the crime in Santa's workshop ("Ho Ho...Hey! Who stole all the toys?") where the Detective who has to solve it is some diminutive, smart-aleck elf, or perhaps some sentient P.I. doll. Or how about: what would zombies eat for noche buena?

"Well, you get the idea, I hope, and all the mixes and matches of ideas for a genre Christmas story--both merry and bright, and not so--are there. But of course, it's the writing and treatment of the author that will make the story worth the time for the reader.

"Deadline is October 5, 2007."

for details regarding formattinga nd others, click here. : )

happy writing!

christmas 2006

the boys are still at city mall's internet/gaming cafe, while the rest of us are already here at home due to an emergency by dad's which resulted in him not being able to buy some clothes nor the rest of us to stroll around.

this christmas, we were not able to give our homemade cards to our parents. it was partly due to the fact that karen and i took charge of preparing our fare for noche buena. karen is usually the first one to start making a card, and since she was not able to do it, nobody started it up. anyhow, i think it's okay since we were the ones who prepared the crema de fruta (which still remains harder than the ones i get to eat which other people prepared), ham, sparkling salad (which was originally gulaman+pineapple+nata de coco, so we added sago and corn kernels), and chicken spaghetti a la creme. the spaghetti tasted good, except for the fact that there was a smaller amount of chicken than i expected. it's a good thing really, considering the fact that i do not really cook nor stay in the kitchen at all except to cook rice or clean up dishes. this spaghetti had a number of ingredients, including bacon, beer and all-purpose cream.

our christmas tree has also gotten smaller, since our bigger one is all but bereft of its leaves. there are also no more gifts under the tree. we've received our presents earlier, through trips to the mall.

so well, this is our christmas. a few changes. at least i'm enjoying staying here at home. i've sent my greetings to everyone i know in my mobile's phone book. i got at least a week more before i go back to up.

thoughts at dawn

i seem like a nocturnal animal. i get at least an hour's sleep at night, then when i wake up, it seems like daytime. i'm not sleepy, so either i watch tv or stay in front of the pc. the latter is what i've been doing most times. and i'm awake till 4 or 5 am, which time i go to bed. then i wake up around 8 or 9 am. this must be caused by all those times i've stayed awake till dawn back in up.
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i went to the christmas party of subol. it's been awhile since i've been with the subolites. i usually see some of them around at school. anyway, we did not number to 20 this afternoon. and it's great to see how org relationships and friendships have grown. ate jhet's and july's youngest sibling, chitbog (did i spell this right?), was with us. it was quite fun having him around. it's the first time i've seen him so talkative; at least he was, on the way back home. it's also amusing to see this powerplay among siblings, with july usually at the receiving end of ministrations or threats. well, that's because you've got the older sister and the youngest sibling and they kind of gang up on july, of course, with the hand of ate jhet guiding the little one. *evil grin*
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i got to watch the nu rock awards on myx thursday night. it was a spectacular show, though i didn't get to watch it from the beginning. if you paid the P350 ticket, i must say it was worth it. there were lots of performers, at least one after every award given out. the performances were great, and the energy in the whole place must have been awesome and overwhelming. kamikazee went home with most of the awards, including artist of the year. itchyworms bagged the album of the year award for noontime show, an album which has been given acclaim since its release during the last month of 2005. sandwich was also nominated in many categories, though i'm not sure if they won in any. but still, sandwich remains my most favorite among all the bands ever nominated in the nu rock award. their music is quite a genius, not sounding at all like their previous efforts. marc abaya's departure and the entry of mong alcaraz may have steered the band to new directions, and allowed each of the members to contribute more creatively. i definitely have to get a copy of their five to the floor. i might have to wait for awhile to ensure that no special edition comes out, what with a song they contributed to the supernoypi soundtrack. i really like the sound they've produced in this album.

i also like up dharma down, and a copy of their album fragmented nowhere can be found. i also intend to get a copy of it. i've only seen up dharma down perform once, when they have not yet attained this kind of success. they were already on their way, that i'm sure of, but still quite a nobody. it was upmc's anniversary gig at the educ theater. of course, i didn't remember the songs they performed then, but they had a really interesting sound. what label do the music critics place on their songs anyway? they were in good terms with nika, makopa's vocalist and since nika liked them, i thought they were some kind of acid jazz since makopa's main repertoire is acid jazz. i still don't know till now, but surely, one cannot deny the fact that armi millare is oh-so-talented and beautiful. great voice, great keyboard-playing skills and the looks. i remember my orgmate mia was a classmate of hers in a college of music-based ge class. i want to know what it feels like to have some famous person (for all the right reasons) as a classmate.

well, with all that's happened (i mean look at the list of nominees), i must say the pinoy rock scene is really making waves, flooding the industry with ingenuity and true pinoy sensibilities.
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