Current Rant: Oil Spill

Each of the siblings have their own passions in life. Achie Girlie (more
on the "Achie" next time) is into books, Jenjen is into (now) cooking
(and she is printing all of the Food Network recipes!), Jackie into
driving us crazy and me into photography. Each into his/her own world
when doing these stuff.

The current oil spill in the Visayas region of the Philippines is
driving one common passion in jeopardy: eating oysters. We love our
seafood, especially fresh oysters. I hope they clean up the mess before
we get there for our vacation.

I know, it is still food. Maybe next time I can get to find another rant
that will not involve eating.

~ lazy susan ~

Do you have a lazy susan on your dining table, especially if it is round? I am doing a rough estimate but I think that two out of ten Filipino families have lazy susans or have had one among their families. Growing up, we always had one regardless how many times we transferred houses. I had a very vivid memory of seeing the food going around which makes eating easier and more fun since there is no need to reach far enough or ask somebody to pass you the rice or soup. In just one easy spin, tada!, food is right in front of you! I even remember that we sometimes turn it into a plaything, much to the infuriation of our mom. We take it off from the table, set it on the floor and make ourselves dizzy by sitting on it and have it spin around.

Right now, I can only see those round thingamajigs when meals are taken in authentic Chinese restaurants.

I guess that’s how things change. Not seeing those lazy susans made me realize that I no longer spend much time eating with family members. It used to be five in a table, which became 4, then three, then two…then, eventually, one.

There has been a transition from having a big, wooden round to a small, rectangular table. But since 2001, I mostly take my meals on my work desk, my bed, in the cafeteria or in a restaurant, depending on the time, day and event. Since I live by myself here in Manila, I go home to a dining table, which is filled with books, papers and magazines instead of food and plates. I guess this is the trade off. There are situations that you cannot question but just try to live by, one day at a time.

I miss sharing stories with my family over a steaming hot sinigang, laughing our hearts out over tapsilog or going about our days over chicken adobo or bistek.

I am thankful that I have my dad and his relatives here who I get to see when there’s a birthday to celebrate. I am grateful to my grad school girlfriends with whom, once in a while, I get to de-stress with over dinner or coffee. I appreciate friends with whom I plan out events over drive-thru nuggets and fries, delivered pizza or tgifriday’s food.

But still, it is different.

Which I guess makes me look forward to having my brother, sister or mom here, even for a short period of time. When they're here, it means having the glass table outside my room as a receptacle of stories, togetherness and just being with family.

Comfort Food

Just as my brother said, there's is something about food that gathers our family together. May it be just us, immediate family, or the whole clan.

There was this book the my sister gave me few years back, "Comfort Food". It discusses that each person has his/her own comfort food, whether they know it or not. Comfort food is something the you seek when you are feeling down, when you feel like celebrating something, when you want to feel being a kid again. It is something that brings back memories as a child that just provided you with such comfort and warmth.

Each food for me brings a certain comfortness. Like for example, sinigang - it doesn't really matter whether it be fish, shrimp, pork or beef; this food just brings back so much memories around the dinner table, the sourness and the warm soup just brings comfort and somehow tells my soul that things would be just fine. Adobong baboy (pork adobo) - chicken adobo would suffice, but this sour-salty pork simmered in soy sauce and vinegar just tickles my taste buds, it has that taste that i just keep wanting more. Beefsteak - this one is fried and simmered in soysauce, with calamansi (lemon) juice, and (raw) onions!! it has a sweet-salty taste that blends well with the onions, i remember our maid has to simmer this in more sauce that usually called for since we just love the sauce so much that we can eat rice with the sauce alone. Then there's the longganisa, chorizo and tocino - these are usual for breakfast, the sauce of the tocino with rice or garlic fried rice then add a bit of vinegar and atsara with sunnyside egg on the side, how much better can one start its day? just perfect. then we have the tinolang manok - this one is perfect for those rainy nights, more than enough to warm you up, the soup of the chicken with pepper leaves and green papaya is just absolutely sumptious and heartwarming.

these are some of the filipino dishes that we enjoy the most... oh man, i can't wait to go back to manila and savor the food again. according to horacio, the food in manila is a totally different experience as to having it here in new york - the taste are so much enjoyable.

Total Recall

I can't remember where or when, but I remember hearing (or maybe reading it) that events are remembered because emotions are attached to them.

One event that I remember would be one late afternoon in our Sampaloc, Manila apartment at the kids room. Dad, Mom and us (the kids) huddled around a game of pick-up-sticks. I remember my Dad picking up one stick; trying with all his might not to move other sticks. As he completes the tasks, comes my mom (in her very competitive mode, where I guess we all got that trait from) demanding that one stick moved. It was fun. Everybody was laughing. I remember the day ending very late at night in Sinangag Express (a local late night eatery of typical Filipino dishes).

Looking back, I guess we have grown to be very simple kids, with simple wants. Where family, food and just being together is already a prize on its own. That is why the weekly family dinners or the frequent family vacations are looked forward to.

I can't wait for the typical Manila dinner of having 20 people show up on a restaurant with no prior reservation, sacks of oysters for lunch in Iloilo, and even the Mo Po Tofu take out when no one wants to cook. Don't get me excited about the three day Thanksgiving pig-out event at the Poconos where food is on the table the moment we get to the cabins.

Did you notice that most of it is all about food?

~ writer's block ~

In grade school, my mom patiently coached me for a spelling contest, having to lose the final round to a sixth-grader (i was, i think in 2nd or 4th grade…uh oh…memory lapse!). Now, my favorite word is e-u-c-a-l-y-p-t-u-s.

During senior year in high school, I won 2nd place in a national essay-writing contest.

In college, I was surprised when my name was called out for an essay I wrote for a class assignment. Apparently, my professor submitted my paper in a university-wide writing contest without informing me.

When I applied for graduate studies, I wrote my application essay in less than an hour.

I wrote, edited and managed corporate newsletters for three years.

Then…why can’t I come up with a blog post, as conscientiously as my sibs?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
My sis already wrote about our upcoming trip this September. Just an update, all our flights and accommodations are confirmed. We got good rates for both our rooms and plane fares. Cherry on top for today was the fact that I was in the Philippine Airlines ticketing office for less than an hour (that was already a remarkable feat since it usually takes forever for them to call out and serve your number, that's why I brought a book to kill time!).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Some of you know that aside from the three of us, there is another person that has the same smart-aleck genes that we have. For those that don’t know her yet, let me introduce Jackie.

Jackie is a 6-year-old girl with the mind of a 30-year-old. Instead of comforting me, she scolds me when I get sick. She can test the patience of JL and yet, force him to smile in the middle of a reprimand. She has Jenjen wrapped in her small, chubby finger. And she got our mom to spoil her…

Anecdotes about her to come in future posts….

Growing Up With Everything

My earliest childhood memory that I could place in a time frame on would be the day my younger sister arrived from the hospital. The memory starts with me looking out the window at my older sister just getting off the school bus. As she approach the door, I was by the window, shouting out loud that the baby is here. Then I ran up with execitement forgetting to even open the door.

Stitches of memory follows with the whole family going out to the Cultural Center of the Philippines for Saturday picnic. Picnic would include a new paper kite, this picnic tupperware "basket" of orange plates and cups, having rice and spam for food. This is where I learned to ride a bike as well.

On some rainy day, I would remember keeping myself busy with a pair of scissors and would cut out this circular pictures from this ad on badages on the Mode Magazine my mom brings home. I know, a kid with scisssors, still I have all my fingers.

When everybody was getting matchbox cars, transformers and all these 'matel' toys, I was happy with this 5 pesos ball filled with water or this plastic rocket launcher that I would pull with my dad's fishing strings. I also remember this best toy ever, a magnet that my dad took out from an old speaker.

When my cousins would come over, it would either be playing school, playing market or if it rains, paper boat racing along the gutter.

Hot summer days would be spent around the neighborhood. Taguan. Tumbang Presyo. Patintero. Langit/Lupa. Even games that we'll make up for the heck of it. I remember taking all the markers that we received and would dip it into glassses of waters to create something I don't remember. But the taking of markers and dipping it in water by the patio is still a vivid memory.

We grew up with everything, right?

Time Flies

Everyday we hurry to go from one place to another. We try to finish one task to start with another. We look at our watch every minute hoping that we'd make it to our appointment on time. We are always on the run, even advertisements addresses that and makes is as their selling point.

In few weeks, we (my brother, sister and I) are going to Iloilo to visit our grandma. It has been like 10 years since I last visited Iloilo, and the last time I was there, everyone mused on how much I have grown and how they remember me when I was this wee. I kinda can't wait to visit Iloilo and my grandma, a good portion of my childhood memories came from there, both happy and the not-so-happy ones. I remember my grandma forcing me to take my afternoon nap, while my brother and sister are out playing or hanging out with our cousins. There were times when my grandma would cut my hair, and I would go to school with crooked bangs. She would also insist on cutting my hair really short, her reason being -- I was too skinny to have long hair, that all the nutrients goes to my hair instead to my body. She also forbade me to take ballet lessons for I was far too skinny to do ballet. I know, they also sound absurd, but at that age, I really can't argue with her or simply because I knew better than to argue with her. Arguing my grandma is just like opening a pandora's box. Yes, she's that fierce, but she is loved by a lot of people - priests, people in ranks, and the likes. She oftenly was invited to different galas and events, she used to participate in church activities.

I still can't wait to visit Iloilo and see faces that I grew up with. I am sure that when they see all of us, they would constantly reminisce of the times that I/we could hardly remember. :)

Current Rant: Still the Heat

Summer has never been kinder, especially today. Heat index of 100
degrees is forcasted for NY. People are advised to stay in between 11AM
and 4PM.

Forcast seems to be matching with everybodys mood. I myself get
irritated by small stuff. From inefficiency to down right stupidity. I
can be harsh but that's just me. Hopefully, I can cool down soon. I
don't like myself when I am like this.

Anyhows, I am looking forward to some cooling off at the beach this
September. Hopefully, travel plans will push through without a hitch.