Hmmm....

2005-08-23T08:39:00.000-05:00

I was tagged, and Tag was my favorite game. Actually, I never quite outgrew the joy of just playing Tag. Sure there were variations like Monkey-Monkey, Stuck In The Mud, and Langit-Lupa, but nothing beat the joy of just plain Tag. The thrill of running with someone chasing you...If he was faster than you, then you had to change directions often so he couldn't catch you, or hopefully lead him to someone else to tag. If you were faster than him, then...mwehehehe. Anyway, my reverence for Tag demands a response when I am tagged. As such, here is my 7 Things thing.

Seven things that scare you:
1. Something bad happening to family or friends
2. Not being ready (which is rare)
3. Living a mediocre life
4. Frogs
5. Toads
6. Some scary movies
7. When I hear the tires on my car skid like they did during my accident before

Seven things you like the most:
1. Chai Tea Latte
2. Caramel Affogato
3. Jamaican Patties
4. Brie Cheese
5. New England Clam Chowder
6. Thin crust pizzas from CPK
7. Having good talks with friends

um, okay, maybe these aren't things i like THE MOST...but i like them anyway

Seven important things in your bedroom:
1. Bible
2. Laptop
3. iPod
4. Pillows, all 6 of them
5. Cellphone
6. Books
7. Knife collection

Seven random facts about you:
1. I love it when it rains: watching it, walking in it, driving in it, everything, except for the traffic caused by it.
2. My desire for good grades has been on a decline since grade school.
3. If I could be anyone, I’d be Batman, minus the emotional gunk.
4. I like war movies, but enjoy romantic comedies too, provided they’re good, witty, and not sappy.
5. I have a high tolerance for pain. I just don’t feel it sometimes. I don’t think it makes me macho, just dense. hehehe
6. I’m undergoing a gustatory renaissance right now.
7. While I’ve got huge dreams, goals and everything, I find personal contentment in reading a good book in bed with some cookies and milk nearby.

Seven things you plan to do before you die :
1. Tour more of the world
2. Walk barefoot in Valencia, Spain
3. Eat in Italy and order in Italian
4. Give people houses, cars, and other stuff I can’t afford right now
5. Watch the sun set at the beach with a nice bottle of wine and some good cheese. I dunno why this is so important to me.
6. Fly…either like Superman, or through hang gliding, or, at the lowest level, as a pilot.
7. Take over the world…just kidding…I think

Seven things you can do:
1. Eat
2. Sleep
3. Walk
4. Talk
5. Compartmentalize
6. Read, sleep, or concentrate even with a lot of activity or noise around me.
7. Forget names in a heartbeat

Seven things you can't do: I’m gonna add “RIGHT NOW” to these things. Coz I think with God’s help, I can do anything eventually, if it’s worth doing, that is.
1. I can’t fly
2. I can’t tolerate people who fish for compliments.
3. I can’t stand fakers.
4. I can’t drive a car off a 20-story building and land it on a 3-foot square trampoline.
5. I can’t understand why some people blog the things they do.
6. I can’t appreciate modern art that much.
7. I can’t think of anything else for this.

Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex:
1. Faith
2. Love for God
3. Depth
4. Sense of Humor
5. Intelligence
6. Looks (hard to say what exactly)
7. Security. A secure woman is just so attractive, fun to talk to, and a delight to be with, whether she be a friend, an ate, a cousin, or whatever else.

Seven things you say the most are known for saying: (I'm not sure the question is phrased right.)
1. Shut up.
2. Stupid.
3. That doesn’t make sense.
4. That’s a great idea!
5. Hmm…
6. Hey. Good to see you. How are you doing?
7. Anyway…I’m off to bed…

Seven celeb crushes (whether local or foreign):
1. The Old Lindsay Lohan
2. Leizl in the Sound of Music
3. Alizee, this French singer. I dunno what she stands for or anything, I just saw a picture.
4. Emily Mortimer’s character in The Kid
5. Eva Green
6. Diane Kruger
7. Keira Knightley, just coz of Pirates of the Caribbean, even though she can’t seem to close her mouth. She always has her mouth slightly open.

Seven people you want to torture see take this quiz :
This is the hardest question yet…
1. No one
2. Everyone
3. Some people
4. Most People
5. Exactly half of the people
6. Everyone who reads this blog (So that means YOU!)
7. Everyone who reads this blog and hasn't taken it yet

2005-04-02T22:58:00.000-06:00

Alright...I'm back on blogger because it allows me to link to friends who aren't on the same Blog-whatever I'm in, something Xanga or Multiply never let me do. (Well, it's probably possible or possibly probable but I never could figure out how.)

I've been travelling quite a bit for the last month. I'm now on my fourth continent in as many weeks. It's been fun, exciting, tiring, lonely, trying, educational, worrying, challenging, and inspiring. There are so many things I could write about, but today I want to focus on the little, unplanned, unexpected things that made my trip special. I started planning for this trip in December 2004. I've written emails, made calls, bought tickets, etc. But some of the best things that have happened are the unexpected, unplanned, sometimes little things that make such a significant impact. And here they are:

1.) Getting all those cool pics at Dubai with Paul - I was really planning on taking cool, silly pictures but to have Paul Pajo with me, and for him to come up with funny, silly, ideas too was really fun. For a detailed listing of all said pics, check out his shutterfly page. I don't know the link to it, but you can probably find it in his blog. Click on the link to the left, the one with his name of course. Clicking on any of the other names would result in you going to the respective person's blog. *END OF LINKS LESSON*

2.) Having the Muteena Family celebrate my birthday - It was my birthday last March 7. It didn't really feel like one because I wasn't with my family. But the people I was staying with in Dubai, bought me a cake, a gift, and even wrote me a card. I was so surprised! I'd never met any of them before, except Paul. I was really touched by everything they did.

3.) Running into Pastor Ferdie and Tito Banjo in Frankfurt - I had a 15 hour stop-over at the Frankfurt airport. What worse is, I didn't have a Schengen visa so I couldn't leave the airport. I was stuck there the whole time. It was my very own version of the Terminal. After just 2 hours, I was starting to crack so I started filming myself talking to the camera about the different features of the airport. Then I ran into Pastor Ferdie and Tito Banjo. They were on their way to Poland and they had a 12 hour stop-over. So we just hung out and talked most of the time. It was so much fun...much better than the alternative. You can't plan that sort of thing.

4.) Going to a game reserve in Durban, South Africa - I was already having a good time in Durban, when someone suggested I go to a game reserve. The next day, Fien from Nigeria and Nklibi from Sierra Leone (I think) took me to the Itala Game Reserve which was an hour's drive out of Durban. Neither of them had been there before, so it was an exciting experience for all of us. It was so much fun! We saw zebras, warthogs, rhinos, ostriches, impalas, hippos, blesboks, and many other animals that I only used to see on tv or in books. (Notice how the animals are listed in reverse alphabetical order. Wala lang.) We had a blast. There was this one time that Nklibi and I leaned out the windows to take pictures only to realize that the car had started swerving into the grass because Fien, who was driving, had stopped looking at the road and was looking out the windows too.

5.) The trip to Port Elizabeth - Port Elizabeth is another coastal city in South Africa, south and slightly west of Durban, and east of Cape Town. I wasn't really planning on stopping there at all, but the pastor in Durban suggested it and set it up with the people there to host me. So I flew to Port Elizabeth, where I met Jida and Eugene, two of the campus workers. They put me up in this beautiful bed and breakfast by the sea. It was just amazing! Afterwards, we had a quick prayer meeting at the beach with the sun setting. I got to speak to a number of their youth leaders and stuff; it was really fun. I also got to meet Lisa in Port Elizabeth. Many of my friends in Manila had met her and told me to look for her when I got to South Africa. I thought she would be in Cape Town, but I was wrong. But providentially, I still got to run into her at PE. Best of all, the church paid for my stay so I didn't pay for anything. It was like God was showing me that he could easily give me the best things without me worrying or even planning for it. By then, I had firmly decided to stop all my silly worrying and just trust Him.

6.) The moonlight in Cape Town - This isn't as big as any of the other stuff in this list. But I really like it when the moon is bright enough to make a shadows on the ground, and when there aren't other artificial lights around to ruin the effect. I was in Cape Town for a week and I stayed with Pastor Luther and his family. They let me stay in the servants quarters, which are in a different building, right next to the house. The full moon came out while I was there, and every night I'd cross from the kitchen to my room, I'd see my shadow on the ground. Several times, I'd stay out a bit longer to look up at it. It was really beautiful.

7.) Finding out that Angela's flat had wireless internet - For my last two nights in London, I stayed at my friend Angela Padilla's flat. She lives with this British couple, and they were kind enough to let me stay in their living room. Now, I had been looking for a wireless internet place in London that was free the whole time I was there. Most places I found made you pay, and I was already spending a lot on other stuff (like delicious crepes with Belgian chocolate and bananas! yum!), so I didn't want to do that. Then when I got to Angela's I found out that she had wireless internet! I was so happy I slept at 3 am the first night and 530 the next. hehehe

8.) Going to Covent Garden in London - I had a small list of things to look out for and visit in London, stuff like watch Les Miserables, see Big Ben, etc. But there were so many other things that I hadn't expected or planned to see, foremost of which was Covent Garden. Angela took me there one night, and it was just so amazing! That's where Henry Higgins met Eliza Dolittle for the first time in My Fair Lady. She was a flower girl, and Angela told me that Covent Garden used to be a flower market. I have a few pictures of it, and it looks like the set in the movie. (Or was it shot there? I dunno...) Anyway, it was really cool seeing it. If we'd stayed a bit longer, I would've started singing.

P.S. When I got to St. Louis, the family I'm staying with was watching My Fair Lady just as I got to their home. I immediately told them that I got to see the actual place where Eliza and Professor HIggins met. hehehe

9.) Getting Bumped Up to Business Class - I was late in getting to the airport, so I was the last person to check in for the flight. But this probably was a blessing in disguise (so thanks Angela. hehe) because they must've found out that there still were free business class seats, so I got bumped up to business class, which was a real blessing, coz it was a pretty long flight. It was so fun, being able to recline fully...stick your feet out...eat real food...etc. They really spoil you in busness class. And I loved every minute of it.

That's it. Of course, there are so many other things I did and experienced in my trip that were also very significant and meaningful. This is just a short list of the little, unplanned, unexpected things that made it extra special.

2004-10-29T23:52:00.000-05:00

I was driving from St. Louis to Chicago last Tuesday. This song started playing on the radio, and I started listening to it. I'd heard it several times before, but never really listened to the words. This time I did, and before I knew it, tears were welling up in my eyes, and I was gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles were turning white. This should be the anthem for Youth on Fire or something. As Christians, we should realize that everything we do is for the detriment or benefit of future generations.

For Future Generations
The signs are obvious, they are everywhere
All that we hear about is the gloom and despair
Too many would be prophets saying
"It’s the end of it all"
‘Cause mother earth can’t take much more
The hammer’s gonna fall

So nature has its needs, that’s a lesson learned
But it appears to me there are greater concerns
‘Cause we can save the planet
Thinkin’ we will somehow survive
But father time is calling us
To save somebody’s life

Chorus:
So I won’t bend and I won’t break
I won’t water down my faith
I won’t compromise in a world of desperation
What has been I cannot change
But for tomorrow and today
I must be a light for future generations

If we could find a way to preserve our faith
So those who follow us
See the price that was paid
Then maybe when they question
What it’s gonna take to survive
They’ll find the strength to carry on
In what we leave behind

So I won’t bend and I won’t break
I won’t water down my faith
I won’t compromise in a world of desperation
What has been I cannot change
But for tomorrow and today
I must be a light for future generations
Lookin’ in the eyes of the children
Knowing that tomorrow is at stake
When the choice is up to them
Will they have the strength to say

We won’t bend and we won’t break
we won’t water down our faith
We won’t compromise in a world of desperation
What has been we cannot change
But for tomorrow and today
We must be a light for future generations

We won’t bend and we won’t break
we won’t water down our faith
We won’t compromise in a world of desperation
What has been we cannot change
But for tomorrow and today
We must be a light for future generations

2004-09-30T16:07:00.000-05:00

I am sorry to say that I will cease (temporarily or permanently) to update my blog here on blogger.com. It has served me well, and I am very happy with it.

I am moving to www.xanga.com which my brothers and some other friends told me about. I opened an account there with apprehension but I quickly found that uploading pictures onto the site was much easier than the system I used here on blogger. Therefore, I will continue what little web journalling I do there.

Should anyone wish to visit it or create a link to it, my personal site is at www.xanga.com/arkalion.

As a final tidbit, Arkalion is the elvish name I received when I used the Lord of the Rings Name Generator at www.barrowdowns.com. I kept it as handy username or id since "joe" is always already taken, as well as every other possible variation on it. I'm a little creatively-challenged when it comes to making nicknames so any sugestions would be appreciated.

So this is, at least for now, goodbye.

Adios patria adorada
Region del sol querida
Perla del mar de oriente
Nuestro perdido eden

Wow...I memorized that thing 6 years ago, and it's still there.

2004-09-02T22:10:00.000-05:00

Pictures!

This is me speaking at the youth service of the Every Nation church in Mandeville, Louisiana. Notice how quickly my head jerks back. This is essential when preaching. The jerk drives a point home, lightens the mood, or builds on the tempo, depending on the direction.....Just kidding. I have no idea what I'm doing, or why I'm jerking my head back, while my body stays still. hehehe...weird.

This is the Chicago skyline. The tallest building is, I assume, the Sears Tower, which was at one point the tallest building in the world. The body of water in the foreground is Lake Michigan, which is what they swim in in the absence of a real beach, which we all know is only found in the tropics. The smoke comes from the airplanes, as this picture was taken at an air show.

I was washing the dishes one night, and the water hit the bowl on the spoon. Immediately, this curved sheet of water ensued. It was so smooth, and it looked so cool, I had to take a picture of it. hehe...

We were driving to this mall, and I was bored. So there...I have around 8 variations of this picture. hehehe

This was taken on the way back that night.

This is the St. Louis Arch. St. Louis, Missouri was once called the Gateway to the West, being the last big city before the wilderness that was the western United States.

This mother and daughter from the church in St. Louis took my dad and me up the arch. Look at the trees!!! All the greenery!!! This is in the middle of the city...It's not some exclusive village, it's not a country club, it's just something that any person in the city can enjoy. One day, I want the Filipino people to be able to enjoy simple, but meaningful benefits such as these.

This is the view from the top of the arch. The river is the Mississippi, and beyond it is the state of Illinois.

This is the view from the other side. It's a beautiful view of downtown St. Louis.

This is a trash can in St. Louis. Taking pictures of garbage cans was a habit my brothers and I started a few years ago. Our hosts couldn't understand why I did it. women...

Fudge!! Look at it! So creamy...This was taken at a store display in a mall in St. Louis. Unfortunately, I was too full to have any. So I'll have some when I go back.

And they have so many variations too!! If you look closely, you can see a ghost of fudges past at the upper left. Just kidding, that's Stephanie, the daughter in the park picture.

I wanna try them all!!!!

2004-08-31T23:30:00.000-05:00

Last Monday, August 30, 2004, was one of the longest days of my life. It was tiring, dangerous, and scary. But there was so much favor all throughout, I just know God was there with me.

Prologue:
I've been in Chicago for around a month now. But last week, I found out my dad would be in St. Louis, Missouri. Seeing as it's only 6 hours south, I took a bus down last Wednesday, and stayed with him till over the weekend. Then, on Monday morning, our hosts dropped him off at the airport, and me at the bus port so that he could fly to LA, and I could take the bus back to Chicago.

I was dropped off at the bus station at 9 am, but since my bus wasn't arriving till 11:30, I slept, with my legs and arms intertwined with my luggage to keep it from getting stolen. Not exactly the most comfortable position, but it sufficed. Eventually the bus came, and I boarded it. Unfortunately, I made a mistake, and instead of taking me to Chicago as I expected, it went to downtown St. Louis, where I had to buy a ticket and board another bus.

The bus ride was long and tiring. I eventually got to Chicago at 6:30 pm. I took a cab to my car, which I had left parked in the city. I had to refill the radiator with this antifreeze solution because the car has a silly habit of emptying itself. Unfortunately, I forgot to replace this rubber stop cap, which connects the reserve tank to the rest of the radiator. So basically, the reserve tank had the antifreeze which would keep it cool, but since it wasn't connected, the car was going to overheat.

I drove to the house I'm staying in, which is an hour and a half away from the city. Along the way, while on the interstate, the car started smoking (which is such a bad habit, and a terrible example to today's young people). I was going too fast though that I didn't notice it. And another motorist was running along beside me, and he signaled to me. I pulled over to the shoulder and sure enough smoke started coming out of the hood. So much of it was pouring out, I was afraid the car would catch fire, so I pulled my bags out. This was around 8 pm.

Basically, I had no choice but to wait for the car to cool down before I could drive again. Good thing I had my laptop, so I played games to pass the time. These cars and trucks would whiz by me in the next lane, and they were going so fast my car would rock everytime one of them passed me. I was glad it was still light, when I broke down. But it got dark so fast I had to push the car under a streetlight while I waited for it to cool.

When it finally did cool down, I drove it, but didn't go farther than half a mile before it overheated again, and I had to cool it off again. Fortunately, the family I'm staying with was eating at a restaurant at the next exit, so I only had 6 miles to go. So I maintained that pattern...drive for a bit, let it cool down for 15-20 minutes, drive a bit further, let it cool down again...lather, rinse, repeat. And I finally got to the restaurant at 9:30 pm...more than 12 hours after I had left the house in St. Louis. I ate first, then my friend accompanied me to the gas station to have my car looked at. We couldn't get it to stop overheating though. So we left it at a hotel and went home. I got home at 12 midnight. I had taken a 15 hour trip.

Epilogue: Looking back, I see how dangerous my carelesness was. I could've been hit by a car or truck since I was parked right beside this busy highway. I could've been mugged or something too. And I could've permanently damaged the engine of the car. But God is faithful, and He protected me. Today, I went back for the car, and it worked fine! Thank you, thank you, thank you, God!!! So there. The trip was a pretty tiring, scary, exhilirating, and envigorating experience. And I've learned several valuable lessons. I also got to share the Gospel to this old man in his 80's while waiting for my bus, so it was pretty fruitful too. I gotta say, this trip has changed so much in me. Oh well...love the independence.

2004-08-23T16:54:00.000-05:00

This is another serious post. I bought the new Newsboys album. They're this Christian band that played at the World Conference in LA. These are the words to their song In Christ Alone. I played this over and over again last night, it's so beautiful.

In Christ alone,
My hope is found
He is my light,
My strength, my song

This cornerstone
This solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought
And storm

What heights of love!
What depths of peace!
When fears are stilled
When strivings cease

My comforter
My all in all
Here in the love of Christ
I stand

In Christ alone
Who took on flesh
Fullness of God
In helpess babe

This gift of love
And righteousness
Scorned by the ones
He came to save

Till on that cross
As Jesus died
The wrath of God
Was satisfied

For every sin
On Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ
I live

There in the ground
His body lay
Light of the world
By darkness slain

Then burst him forth
In glorious day
Up from the grave
He rose again

And as He stands
In victory
Sin's curse has lost
Its grip on me

For I am His
And He is mine
Bought with the precious blood
Of Christ

No guilt in life
No fear in death
This is the power of Christ
In me

From life's first cry
To final breath
Jesus commands
My destiny

No power of hell
No fear of man
Can ever pluck
Me from his hand

Till He returns
Or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ
I'll stand

2004-08-03T10:14:00.000-05:00

I REALLY REALLY WANT...

1. A Massage: I've been sleeping in so many places that weren't designed for it like airplanes, buses, and couches, that my body is getting achey. It's a good thing I won't be riding anymore planes for a few months, and probably only one bus in the near future. But when I stay in the apartment of this one family I'm with in Chicago, I usually sleep on the couch, so it's all starting to pile up on my shoulders and neck. I never really liked massages before, but now I'm craving one.

2. My Basketball Shoes: I didn't pack them, you see. So I've been playing basketball with these running shoes. And while I still win (*ahem*), it hurts my feet so much. All the lateral foot movement and sudden stops and gos are what's killing me. The shoe obviously wasn't designed to support that kind of stress.

3. My Books: I'm running out of reading material here. I had to buy some books at the World Conference to keep me going. And to think I have a pile of books that I wanted to read just sitting back home.

4. A Magical Device that Will Keep My Skin Moisturized: I'm envisioning this to be a bathtub filled with some sort of enchanted moisturizers that you can soak in for around an hour, and your skin will stay healthy for a month. But, since I don't have that yet, I have to put lotion on twice a day because the atmosphere is just so dry. I do it right after a shower as my Mom advised, because while our skin's damp is supposed to be the best time.

5. Better Penmanship: I was reading my journal again; there's so much to go over. I couldn't understand some of the words. What a waste of a possibly great idea or statement. I was also sending some snail mail out at the post office earlier, and I could hardly read the address I wrote down. So I guessed some of the words and numbers, and I hope it goes to the right place.

You know, I don't share this much, but I have a feeling I know when this began. I think my Kinder teacher may have cursed me in this area. I was four years old at Kinder 2, which is kinda early. All throughout the year, my teacher kept telling me that my penmanship was bad, and kept pointing out my classmates' work which was so much better.

Of course, the younger you are, the age gaps make much greater differences. Like a 1 year old can stand, while a 0 year old can't even see, but a hundred years later, the 101 year old isn't any more developed than the 100 year old. So I was 4 and most of my other classmates were 5 so naturally they had nicer writing! When I turned 5 and had a party in school, the teacher was suprised to find out that I was younger than most of the others, and was only turning 5 that March (the end of the school year). So there.

One possibility is that her statements became self-fulfilling and to this day keep my writing bad. Hah! But I'll show her!!!Have you heard of that book that's titled, "You Were Wrong, Mrs. ____ (i forgot the name)"? It's written by a man who turned out to be something good, contrary to what his teacher had told him. I think I'll write a similar book, and I'll title it, "You Were Wrong, Ms. _____." (The name has been removed to protect Ms. Chili's identity.) It will be a beautiful book, proving that she was wrong about my penmanship.

It will be handwritten of course. The first chapter will be in simple writing form tracing printed words on the page. The second chapter will be in print, with all my letters within the blue-red-blue lines. And the last chapter will be in cursive, a beautiful script with all the flows and curves, nice and smooth, but not too flowery, which is girly. The actual content of the book has yet to be decided on, but the point will have been made in the format alone.

But now that I think about it, she was also a pretty good teacher. I remember she was kind and fun. I remember making chains out of strips of art paper that hung from the windows down to the floor. So it's not like she was out to get me. Besides, my writing didn't improve when I turned 5 (or 6, or 7...or 21), so she most likely had nothing to do with it whatsoever. Which is really a relief, because I didn't want mixed images of her in my mind. And at least I don't have to write that book now. It was fun to think about it though, and I'd still like better penmanship.

6. My Tiny Pillows on My Bed: They made such a big difference that I really appreciate now. They could create the perfect angle of elevation, with the necessary surface for any kind of activity. Say I was reading in bed, I'd want my back to be up and straight all the way to my head. So I'd use a big pillow for my back, and usually, the yellow, elliptical Issho-Genki pillow for my head, because it was big enough to provide the necessary support and firm enough to keep it in place. Now, say I was sleeping and my big pillow felt a little too low. I couldn't add another big pillow to the top because then it would be too high. So I use either the Rowdyruff Boys pillow or the Bubbles pillow to put on top of the big one. And of course, my preferences change per day, but those three pillows would fit any need that surfaced. Here, I just gotta make do with what's given me, which is still quite generous, but it's just difficult to adjust, when you already had a working system in place.

7. A Time Machine: I was reading my journal and I was suprised by all the things I did, that today have no impact in my life whatsoever. It was all fun, I'm sure, but I remember being tired a lot too. I'd go back in time and tell me to be more focused and to drop the unnecessary stuff. I believe if you do what God wants you to do right now, then the rest of it will take care of themselves. So I'd go back in time, and drop a whole lot of unnecessary gimiks, events, etc. And I'm sure I would've been more productive.

8. A Nice, Juicy Steak: I'm hungry eh.

2004-07-31T11:01:00.000-05:00

ok, i've been here for a little over a month now. one part of my trip has ended: the part where i accompany my dad and help him out. after that, i'll be going off on my own starting the end of july till november or december. i decided that the best way to summarize that past month would be by giving awards of the different places i've been to. we've been to five cities so far: St Louis, Virginia Beach, Austin, Mandeville (which is around 30 miles north of New Orleans), and LA. And here are the awards, with the different cities rated from worst to best:

*BEST ROOMS:
- 5th place: Mandeville. Our hotel room was alright, i guess. It wasn't that different from St. Louis or Virginia Beach, but it had this weird smell. The whole hotel did actually. Also, our wireless internet wouldn't work there, so we were pretty bummed by that. But it was alright I guess.

- 4th place: St. Louis. Same as Mandeville, without the smell and with working wi-fi internet access. Woohoo!

- 3rd place: Viriginia Beach. This hotel room wasn't that different from the other two, except that the beds and covers were nicer. They were so soft, you could kinda sink into them. It's a pity we only stayed there for two nights.

- 2nd place: LA. This room is pretty big, which is always good. It also has a microwave, stove, and ref. Unfortunately, the housekeeping here is once a week so Pop and I have to keep things clean, which I really don't mind doing, but still....hehe.

- 1st place: Austin. Big room so there's a whole lot of space. And two tv's! Enough said. hehe

*Best Hotel Trolley
- 5th place: Virginia Beach. It's a shame that this nice place had huge and clumsy trolleys that turned on their own and were so hard to maneuver.

- 4th place: Austin. Same as Viginia Beach, but the way was more straightforward so I didn't have that much of a problem with it.

- 3rd place: Mandeville. This one moved a little lighter than the first two, but was still cumbersome.

- 2nd place: St. Louis. This one had adequate carts. I have no complaints about it.

- 1st place: LA. Man! The carts here are the best I've ever tried! They're so light and manueverable! They turn so quickly and without taking up that much space. The wheels are obviously well-maintained because this thing starts moving with the slightest push. The hotel may not be the best, but the carts are 5-star in my book.

*Best Weather
- 5th place: Mandeville. It was hot, muggy, and rainy. It was like being in Manila during the rainy season.

- 4th place: Virginia Beach: It was almost as hot and rainy as Mandeville.

- 3rd place: Austin: It was hot, but not rainy, just hot in a dry way.

- 2nd place: St. Louis: This was sometimes warm, but mostly cool and colder in the evenings. It rained a few times but not enough to get you down. (or cheer you up. For some reason, rains can do both.)

- 1st place: LA: This weather is just wonderful. It's like Baguio in the cooler season, like January or February. This is fun because it's cool, but you still get the sun. It's absolutely perfect.

*Best Food:
- 5th place: LA: This isn't really fair because we've been eating tv dinners here. If we had tv dinners anywhere else, that'd be 5th place too. hehe. I did have Vietnamese food a few times, which was really good.

- 4th place: Austin: This was a tough decision. I had some really good food here in some really great Mexican restaurants. One incident stands out. A friend of ours brought us to this hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that was run by real Mexicans. It didn't seem that clean, but boy was the food wonderful. Unfortunately, we also had some boring food here too. So many restaurants here are the same, and American food (you know, the Friday's kind) tastes the same everywhere.

- 3rd place: Virginia Beach: We had some really good food here, some really fresh oysters, wonderful soup, and great pasta.

- 2nd place: St. Louis: I have some lengthy entries discussing the food here. Enough said.

- 1st place: Mandeville: Great, great, great, great food! Super flavorful and fresh! We had this friend seafood platter which had crabcakes, oyesters, crawfish, and onion rings....This other time I had some fresh, soft broiled fish (i forgot what it was) with lemon juice which gave it a bit of a tang and served with roasted pecans. I'd go back for the food anyday.

Naturally, there's so much more to say. But it's too daunting so I'll do it some other time.

2004-06-21T23:33:00.000-05:00

more pics!

this is me watching the DETROIT PISTONS WIN THE NBA FINALS!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!! in our hotel room in virginia beach. the bed im on was so comfortable. you kinda sink into it. it isn't the kind of bed i'd like to sleep on every night, but it's fun once in a while. the black thing on the left side of the picture is my bag. im not used to sleeping on such a big bed, so i stay on one side and leave my things on the other side. the blue hawaiian print thing is my boxers. they're just so comfortable, unbelievable.....but you didn't have to know that. anyway, we're not there anymore, we're in austin now.

there is a swan in our hotel lobby here in austin.

it really is very graceful and beautiful, and i understand why it has come to represent that in mythology and fables.

but i feel really sorry for it. it's stuck in such a small pool, and all it does is swim, sleep (still gracefully, though. it tucks its beak into the feathers on its back), and grub around the water for food. i remember, the first time i saw it, thinking, "i wonder if this swan ever wants more to life? is it content with just swimming around that little pool? doesn't it know that there's a much bigger world out there?"

so the poor thing does the same thing day in and day out. it swims, eats, sleeps, and provides temptation to would-be swan-feeders and coin-throwers.

it's such a waste really. such a beautiful creature with no purpose. and i guess that's what God feels on a greater extent with us, when we, the pinnacle of His creation, live lives without purpose, content with just existing and going through the motions of day to day activities without an idea of His greater plan for us. oh well....

wow, that suddenly got serious. hehe.

2004-06-21T21:56:00.000-05:00

one of the funnest meal experiences i had was on saturday, june 5. it was dinner time and our friend took my dad and i to this restaurant. it was the fancy kind, that prints new menus per day. i couldn't decide what to get because of all the fancy language, so i settled on fried chicken drumsticks. the waitress gave me this look and told me to change my order. i asked her why, and she said that i was eating in such a nice restaurant and i was going to waste it by ordering fried chicken. i was suprised, i'd never had a server tell me that. but i did as she said...i settled on cream of corn soup, but they didn't use cream, they used butter, so that it was more thick and flavorful, and this portabello mushroom, stuffed with cheeses, on a bed of salad greens. it was so good. the soup wasn't as thick as a regular cream of corn and it had a more yellowish tint to it, almost like pumpkin looking. the portabello mushroom was huge! the head looked like it was as big as a cd. and it had cheeses and other stuff stuffed into the head. it was the best meal i've ever had without meat. hehe.

but all this eating comes with a price, and i've been running so much so as not to balloon or anything. hehe. i run around 3 miles a day, and it's so fun. it really wakes me up, and it helps fix messed up body clocks. i also eat so much vegetables now; it's weird.

i really don't have anything else to write about. i never feel like writing about day-to-day activities for some reason. so that's it.

2004-06-15T20:18:00.000-05:00

more pictures! woohoo! i would like to thank tanya for teaching me and making this all possible.

these are the steaks and the salmon that we had at that farmhouse. they were the best that i've had here so far.

this is me standing in a corn field. all you see for miles and miles around is corn.

this is where all the corn gets stored after being harvested.

this little girl's name is angel. she is the sweetest thing. this was taken during a cell meeting which her parents attended and my dad spoke in. so we just played while the grown-ups talked.

she decided to take my picture without telling me. hehe

2004-06-14T12:02:00.000-05:00

these are pics from a family vacation we took over a year ago. im just doing this to show off the fact that i can post pics!! woohoo!
this is a cliff we all jumped off.

this is a ship that was beached on one of the...um, beaches.

2004-06-12T01:25:00.000-05:00

ok, i must've spoken too quickly. the food i've had lately has gotten much better. let's see if i can remember the highlights...

a.) i think it was wednesday, june 2, one of the guys from the church here took us to this restaurant called Brios for dinner. it was really fancy and the food was great! i had this steak with a blue cheese crust on top. it was so soft and juicy, an absolute pleasure to eat. i've heard people talk about steaks melting in your mouth, but this is the mouth-meltingest i've ever had. well...till recently. but that's for later.

b.) one other major highlight was dinner at one of the houses of one of the church members. the house in itself was beautiful! i can't describe it well enough to do it justice, so i'll just talk about my favorite parts.

we drove up to the house, which is at the end of the road. the front yard slants downwards to the house, and there are big stone steps that they brought in that you use to get to the door. the house is on a slant, that continues all the way down to a pond. the pond is teardrop shaped and is probably 40 feet long and is 10 feet wide at the fat end. patrick, the 15 year old son of the house owners, took me down to the pond, where he keeps his kayak. he takes the kayak to the deep end and swims there. there are fish and turtles in the pond. patrick showed me a turtle shell that he had taken from one that had died. right by the pond is a bonfire pile that they've cleared up. the dad brought in huge tree stumps to serve as chairs around the fire. it's just wonderful sitting there looking down at the pond, looking up at the trees, hearing the birds sing, and all. like the perfect place to get away, read a book, have your quiet time, or something.

the house also has a deck on the same side as the pond, where they have a bird feeder. the birds sing all around, and come to the feeder all the time. (at least, while we were there) there are cardinals (these bright red birds), woodpeckers, finches, and other stuff i've never seen before except in books. just sitting on the deck is great, and that's where we ate, watching the setting sun and all.

but enough with the ponds, birds, and sunsets! this is about the food! and what a feast it was! we first had crackers with cheese. the cheese was really good: mild, creamy, and soft. we had a homemade salad first, which was good, but it got better. we also had these baby potatoes, boiled, then sauteed in butter and spices. i dunno how they did it, but the skins had a reddish tint to them. maybe that's how the potatoes were to begin with. we also had fresh applesauce.

but the main course were these chicken breasts and thighs that the dad of the house grilled just as we got there. it was so soft! i usually don't like white meat because i find it dry and tasteless. but this was just so soft and juicy. i had two and a half servings of it. and that wasn't all.

and for dessert!! we had cheesecake with mixed berries for toppings! it was so fresh, pure, and flavorful. man..i was stuffed.

c.) another highlight was dinner at this other family's house. the setting was quite different from the house described above. this was a farmhouse out in illinois. this is apparently farm country, and the whole state almost is completely flat. pop and i were driving on the highway (excuse me, interstate), and we just saw fields and fields for miles. It was like a sea of corn and soybeans, with an occasional island of a farmhouse. well, that's how this house was, pretty isolated and very self sufficient. i have a few pictures from there, which i'll try to upload on to friendster and/or myspace sometime.

our meal consisted of a salad. which was good. we also had a green bean casserole. now, if you'll remember i hate green beans. i said so back in my tomato entry. but this casserole was just great! i still don't like green beans generally, but cooked that way, they're great!

the highlight of the meal were some steaks and a slab of salmon that were cooked on the grill also, just as we got there. the steaks were really good. probably the best i've ever had here, and that's saying a lot because we've had quite a few in some very fancy places. so that was really good. i had around two of them.

for dessert, i had chocolate pie and strawberry pie. both were excellent. the strawberries tasted so natural and fresh.

---i've got two other meals that should be up here but i'm tired of typing already. i would like to make a disclaimer though before i go. lest readers think that all i'm doing here is eating, we've been meeting with people day in and day out, speaking at cell groups, holding meetings, etc. all in all, it's been really fun. eating good food is just part of it. meeting all of these great people, being able to minister to them, seeing new scenery, exploring the interstates, and everything, that has all been just phenomenal.

2004-06-03T02:22:00.001-05:00

thoughts:

1. everything's so big here...
....from the people (not just tall, many are overweight),
....to the roads (huge, long roads where you can drive for miles and miles and miles without ever hitting the brakes),
....to the food portions (that explains the big people...and john. hehehe. i'm not sure if these portions are meant to be finished because i've done that everytime here and i get so stuffed.),
....to just the wide-open living space.

2. i miss...
....manila. i keep remembering that phrase from the song manila: "ang ingay mong kay sarap sa tenga..."
....asian food. my first meal here was a bland hamburger patty, fries, and hashbrowns. i want rice, soups, and FLAVOR!!!!
....my own bed with the proper amount of pillows that adjust perfectly to my head.
....everyone back home of course. it isn't that strong yet, though i presume it will only grow with time. having internet really helps though.

3. i'm really enjoying...
....meeting all these great people. the people from the church here are just excellent.
....the cool weather. No sweating at all!
....having a messed up body clock. it's pretty funny. hehe

2004-05-31T03:39:00.000-05:00

let us kill the fattened calf and rejoice! for my journal was dead and now it is alive again! it was lost and now it is found! woohoo! i'm having so much fun just reading through it. and now, it's all coming back to me, it's all coming back, it's coming back to me now. strangely enough, anyone else who reads it would probably be bored out of their minds, but to me, it's a valuable historical document. oh well...to each his own, i guess.

2004-05-17T04:24:00.000-05:00

it is now 1:37 am. if i sleep now, i will have to wake up in an hour and a half because tomorrow (today) is the first day of campus harvest in baguio. so part of me doesn't want to sleep because it's only going to be difficult for me to wake up. but, im dead tired, that even a few hours seem so precious. i'll wait and see which side wins out.

in the meantime, im going to talk about my list of boredom busters. i consider myself an authority on this (this doesn't really mean anything. it doesn't matter what i consider myself an authority on, unless i am also an authority on which people are proper authorities for what subject.). I say this, firstly, because of all the boring things ive ever had to endure in my life. but we all have to go through boring things, what makes me so different? well, i hate being idle at any time. this is why i bring a book wherever i go, because should i ever become bored or idle, i need to simply open it and i am transported out of that class, lecture, presentation, or conversation. (hehe, sama) so these two traits have combined within me to form an appetite for boredome busters, and a critical mind about their efficacy.

i actually wrote about this in my journal...*sniff, sniff...it's still missing...i can just see it out there...all alone...be strong, joe. be strong...*ahem*

anyway, i rated the different boredom busters on two scales: their entertainment value, meaning how un-bored they were able to make me, and their productivity value, which was how useful was what i was doing.

for example, one of my boredom busters was doodling. unfortunately, im not a good drawer...este, artist. and while my stick figures live rich mental and emotional lives, there's only so much that their scrawny frames can convey, so it becomes boring right away. therefore, it's entertainment value is low. however, it is my own work, an expression of my very being, and as such, will prove valuable to fans, treasure-hunters, and archaeologists in the future. therefore its productivity level is high.

another doodling example is the drawing of spirals or swirls on a page. i think i learned this from linny, and i tried it with gusto. i was so into it, that i once filled a sheet of bond paper with swirls during a really boring class. obviously, the entertainment value of this is high. however, there was no use for it. i hadn't learned anything, developed a new skill, or helped anyone by it. so it's productivity level is low.

the key, therefore, is to find an activity that has both high entertainment and productivity values. such activities are hard to come by, but they do exist. unfortunately, i am sleepy now. so i'll write about them another time.

2004-05-09T12:31:00.000-05:00

something serious for a change

it is the eve of the 2004 elections (technically, it isn't though coz it's now 1:51 am, but you get my point) and for some reason, people like to write stuff on the eve of important occasions. i guess, the gravity of the events that lie before them drive them to a deeper sense of reflection and understanding.

anyway, tomorrow the voting population of the philippines will select the political leaders of the nation. this will directly influence the next 6 years of our lives here, and the repercussions will continue to affect us for decades. clearly, what happens tomorrow is of utmost importance.

being for bro. eddie villanueva, i believe that he alone among the different presidentiables has what it takes to bring about true change in the country at this time. having attended different meetings and rallies, i've heard the various points, and two images have formed in my mind. one is full of the hope of "pagbabago" if bro eddie wins, and the other is the dark, bleak future of the nation if any of the other candidates are elected. ive heard bro eddie being referred to as the last card for this nation. ive heard of the possibilities of civil war and/or a military junta. and this drives me to campaign with passion and urgency.

but there is something wrong with that perspective. bro eddie is not the last card. he is not the source of hope; he is only a tool in the hands of the ultimate source of pagbabago, God. now don't get me wrong. i admire bro eddie for all that he's doing, and i believe he is a great man of God. i know it was difficult for him to make the decision to run, but he did so anyway out of love for God and country. i just dont agree that he is the last shred of hope that we have, that the philippines is doomed without him.

no, not at all. there is hope for the nation, even in the worst of possibilities. why? because God is still here. He is the one on whom my hope is pegged. He alone can revive this nation. and best of all, He has promised to do it. it reminds me of psalm 2, which says

Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.

“Let us break their chains,” they say,
“and throw off their fetters.”
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger and
terrifies them in his wrath...

God laughs...think about it. amidst the fear of massive cheating and election fraud, the rumors of civil unrest and the threat of violence, and the scheming and plotting of the wicked, God laughs. He's in control. regardless of who next moves into malacanang, God is still on his throne, as He always has been. there is no reason to fear or dread the future.

this is not some form of escapism, which is a defense mechanism of people who dont want to accept reality. instead, because i know that He's in charge, like that old hymn says, "i can face tomorrow." i can look at the facts squarely in the eye, and yet draw strength and faith from the fact that the true power is in His hands.

neither is this fatalism, where we simply resign ourselves to any outcome. on the contrary, i will continue to work my hardest for this campaign. i will wake up in three hours to fulfill my role as a poll-watcher. and i will continue to pray and believe. but this time, driven by faith, not fear.

so i will give it my best, but i trust Him for the results. i'll be like that boy with the five loaves and two fish, like moses lifting up his staff, like joshua marching around the walls of jericho, or peter throwing his net in the water. i'll do my part, and trust God to work the miracle, the miracle of saving this nation. it may come tomorrow, it may come later than that. but i know it will come, "because he who promised is faithful." (heb. 10:23)

2004-05-09T03:50:00.000-05:00

ok...i must've shot my mouth off too quickly. i thought my posts were gone, but it turns out that's a regular occurence and now they're back. hehe. oh well...i'll keep them there as a memorial to my rashness in speaking out too quickly, and as a reminder not to over-react to situations.

anyway...a word struck me today...i used it while chatting with tanya. the word is "grotesque." i've used the word several times before, of course. with brothers like mine, there is never a lack for a situation requiring it. but this time was different because i "saw" the word. try it, look at the word.

"GROTESQUE"

dont even think of the meaning yet. just look at it, particularly at the "esque" ending. i dont know if it's the same with you, but it looks and sounds maarte to me. because you could easily use a "k" or "ck" for the hard "kuh" sound, but instead you have to compicate matters (and increase the length of the word by 50%) by using the "que" instead. i mean, you don't say, "im at my desque" do you?

so when i looked at the word, i perceived (or conceived) a sense of kaartehan about it. however, that is so far from the actual meaning of the word. so i was getting mixed signals in my brain. my eyes were giving me a notion of "kaartehan." while my brain was processing it and saying, "misshappen, malformed, ugly." it was a weird mix of thoughts, having to reconcile the fact that a fancy looking word was being used to convey such a different meaning...

ok, maybe that didnt make sense. i guess it was one of those "had to be there" kind of things. you would have had to be...in my head, i guess...at the moment it happened. hehe. labo

2004-05-09T02:00:00.000-05:00

let's see if this works...ive already attempted posting twice before this, and each time nothing happened. my posts were lost in the vastness of the internet, never to be read again, unless they come floating back to the shores of my blog, like a digital message in a bottle. it really is ironic...coz my last attempted post was a rant about my poor journal which is now missing. i talked about what a waste it was that all of my brilliant ideas were gone, that the chronology of my activities during that time would never jog any more memories in my mind, and that the possible money that could be made by selling it as a resource along with the movie rights to my life have been flushed down the proverbial drain. hehehe.

anyway, i dont wanna make this long. coz i'll just get really annoyed again if it doesn't work.

2004-05-05T15:06:00.000-05:00

ahem...thank you all so much for the insightful comments. i had written a much longer post acknowledging you all for them, but someone used my computer and closed the window before i could publish it. thank you, bruce, for the recipe. i'll try it some time. thank you, linny, for balancing out my tomato idea. you're right, not everything is worth trying. some things are obviously disgusting, harmful, and idiotic. so the "try everything at least once" lifestyle just gets stupid after a while. hehe.

i think one thing that helped me decide to start this blog thing was the fact that i'd tried journal-writing before and actually succeeded, at least for a few months. i succesfully chronicled my activities for one entire semester in college, 3rd Year-2nd Sem. That would be November to March of school year 2002-2003. I updated my journal every Tuesday and Thursday, beginning at 1:30 pm until 3. I would always go back and cover the period of time in between every date.

The reason for the strictness in the schedule for journalling is this was the time of one of my most boring classes. I had tried all kinds of boredom-busters already (hmm...maybe i should make a post about that), but they were all temporary. I needed one that fixed me up for the whole sem. And this one did. It was actually very handy, and provided me with a lot of insights as to how i was spending my time. one of the things i remember from it is being shocked at the number of activities i'd have in a week, from youth on fire, to cell, to prayer meetings, to dinners, no wonder i couldnt find time to study. hehehe.

but wait a minute, joe..."was handy?" "provided?" why the past-tense?

well, my journal is lost. it's been missing for months now. and it kinda gets me down to think that all of those memories are gone...well, they're still in my head, but i cant access them as efficiently. there was so much in that thing! argh! 5 months of my life! some of the best moments of the year! Bonifacio Day! (hehe) the entire Christmas season! my mom's birthday! joshua's birthday! MY BIRTHDAY! the end of the school year! i had so much in there...an analysis of all my classes...a two page description of my classroom and my seatmates, notes to one of my best preachings, fractals, my name written over and over again covering an entire page (i like my name, so sue me)...if i remember correctly, i had trips, cotillion practices, and all kinds of other stuff. but why am i not sure? coz i lost my journal!!!! aaaaarrrrrggghhh!!!!

im hoping it'll turn up somewhere. i have the strangest feeling that ive lent it to someone, but i dont know who. so ive asked different people if they have it, and it just makes me look silly. it gets me so down sometimes when i think about all the lost thoughts. ("think about the lost thoughts?" is that possible? if they're lost, how can you think about them? -- shut up, now's not the time for stupid philospophizing) obviously, i dont show this when im with other people. it's business as usual as always.

this leads me to my main point, this can only be done through the magic of compartmentalization. see, compartmentalization...oh, it's lunch time na pala. later

2004-04-26T08:53:00.000-05:00

i like to think of myself as a deep guy...i love all kinds of deeps: pesto deep, spinach and artichoke deep, and, my favorite, our homemade, world famous, taco deep...

nyeknyeknyek...annoying

that's the kind of hirit that i wouldnt find funny, unless i was really tired and needed a joke, any joke, to cheer me up. its kinda like how when you're fasting. anything you look at thats edible suddenly becomes appetizing. but if i were in a normal mood, i wouldnt appreciate an attempt at humor like that whatsoever, which is weird because im the one who said (or typed, if you want to be technical) it just now. so can i be annoyed with myself? well, this leads me to my topic for today: if you, as you are now, were to meet yourself, as you are now, how would you find yourself? o diba...i told you i was deep...

ive thought about this question quite a number of times, usually at those moments when there's nothing to do, like in school during a lecture. ive imagined scenarios where i meet myself, because while i like to think that my charming personality can override the circumstances, i must face the fact that the specific situation will play a great part in influencing the results of the encounter. so i play the situations over and over in my mind...how would i respond to my own greeting? would i be in a good mood or bad one? would i be charmed by my own personality, or would i come on too strong and be turned off at my own brashness? now, this may seem like a very narssicistic (narcissistic? narsisitic? whatever...) way of thinking. but, it can also be a good exercise to develop self-awareness. i personally think, id annoy myself at least half the time...

well, that's as far as i got...im still trying to translate the other stuff from brain chemistry to actual words and sentences. so im putting it up for observation... please feel free to write your comments (just as i feel free to ignore them. hehe). but seriously, it always helps to have something to work on. like the tomato thing came from linny having mentioned sundried tomatoes in one of her posts. so fire away!

2004-04-22T08:44:00.000-05:00

tomatoes...

such a simple word with ("toh" - "may" - "toes") three syllables. but it stirs up so many memories, and of so many different varieties too. one is the attack of the killer tomatoes (atttaaaacccckk ofthekillertomaaaatooooees...). this was a cartoon from when i was younger...it involved a world where mutant tomatoes grew mouths and teeth (i dont remember if they grew arms and legs, but they must have or else they wouldn't be much of a threat, hanging from stalks until they became overipe and plopped to the ground). Anyway, these mutant tomatoes or killer tomatoes (hence the latter part of the title) began attacking (hence the earlier part of the title) humans everywhere, threatening our very existence (what doesn't these days?). And the only hope for humanity was a ragtag bunch of...i can't remember exactly...but there was a guy, a tomato who was good, and a girl who looked normal enough (even cute for a cartoon character), but would turn into a tomato when she got wet, or something. weird memory...

i used to dread tomatoes when i was younger. i'm not really into vegetables, and the ones i utterly despised, were okra (i still hate okra), eggplant (i also still hate eggplant), green beans (don't make me say it), and tomatoes (i LOVE tomatoes). i used to hate tomatoes so much i wouldnt let the rest of my food touch the portion of the plate that a tomato slice rested on, even after the slice had been removed...i hated tomatoes so much, if my parents made me eat it, i'd stay behind at the dinner table, staring at my plate for up to two hours in silent protest...

that all changed when my mom made me try this tomato dish...here's how it is...imagine a dish, around two inches deep...now cut up a few medium sized tomatoes, not all the way mind you, just make cuts, like you're quartering it, but only halfway down the tomato, so that it opens up. now arrange several such tomatoes in the dish. stuff a few basil leaves into the cavity of the tomatoes, sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese on top, making sure that they cover the cracks of these over-sized berries. (because, that's what tomatoes are, closer to berries than any other plant, more fruit than vegetable) now, bake the dish of tomatoes until they are soft and the cheese has melted. now, be prepared to enjoy heaven...spoon out a single tomato, or eat out of the dish, the tomatoes should be soft, merely poking a fork into the skin causes some of its juices to squirt out. the cheese, should have filled the tomato and run out through the slices on the sides, while the basil leaves lend their flavor to the entire mixture...it's nothing short of heavenly.

this dish alone caused a revolution on my tastebuds...suddenly i had a craving for tomatoes...one of my favorite tomato dishes is the tomato soup in kitchen, called i say tomato you say tomato...when i first read it i thought, what the? then i realized that it's from that phrase, "i say tomato (pronounced to-MAY-to) you say tomato (pronounced to-MAH-to)" but i never pronounce it that way when i order, of course, lest someone overhear and think that im trying to act all saucy and stuff. hehe.

but then again, i dont care if anyone should think that. they'd be judging me prematurely. i know im not saucy or feeling or anything, so it shouldnt bother me. i know that if they got to see the real me, then they wouldnt think that way at all. but why do i still feel bugged by it then?

the answer: because i do that myself. i have a tendency to judge things right away. thinking that my limited perception and experience (if any at all) is the sum total of the entity, and i proceed to neatly summarize its existence, stubbornly believing that my verdict is flawless and absolute. who do i do this to? well, many such examples spring to mind, places i didnt want to visit, movies i thought weren't worth watching, books that i considered a waste of time, and people that i didnt bother to get to know. such instances remind me how wrong i was to pre-judge and make me regret all the wasted time and opportunities i had with these people, places, and things.

of all of these examples, one stands starkly in the foreground. the epitome of all the times that i havent given something a chance and judged it wrongly, only to regret my actions in the end. and that example is...

THE TOMATO

no other object or person has suffered more from my prejudices...the derision i had showed, the repulsion i had expressed at the mere sight of a slice on my plate, the way i would recoil from any dish with the slightest presence of tomatoes (except spaghetti of course, i love spaghetti) like superman from kryptonite...and all the while, the lovely, delectable, sweet, gentle tomato was patiently waiting for me to mature beyond my irrational behavior, till i was finally willing to open my eyes (figuratively of course, i had always SEEN tomatoes. so maybe i should say "...willing to open my tastebuds." but that just sounds silly).

so i guess the lesson is, don't knock it till you've tried it. who knows whether or not that new person might be one of your best friends ever...or that movie may turn out to be your favorite...or you might fall in love with that new book and buy all of the author's other works...or that one dish, cuisine, or food product might just be the one to set off the fireworks on your tongue.

but i still hate eggplant, okra, and green beans.

2004-04-20T08:21:00.000-05:00

At last...How I have longed to release my pent-up emotions...to remove the dikes (as in "the walls that hold water back, like a dam", not as in "lesbians") that have prevented the free-flowing gush of pure expression...and now that I have the will to do so, what better place to do it than on the internet where they may be displayed for all the world to see...

But all that just goes against my principles for living...See, I'm a firm believer in the wisdom that can be found in the Godfather series...especially the first two. the third isnt as good because of Sophia Coppolla (or however her name is spelled). She even screwed up her dying scene...*thud*..."dad?"...*slump*...arrgghh... annoying

you know what else is annoying? when the taho vendor skims the taho so lightly from the top so it takes forever for the cup to be filled. and here you are, this really excited kid, holding your ten pesos (coz the price went up), you can barely wait to taste it because you've finally convinced your parents to let you have some and that it's safe coz the rumor about it being full of chalk isnt true (besides, it's not like chalk will kill you...coz i had a friend...well, no...not really a friend, he was kinda a friend, you know, sometimes a friend and sometimes not...anyway, this guy once ate a stick of chalk, coz the teacher made him, and he's still alive) ANYWAY, you finally get to have your first cup of taho in months and the vendor is just taking his sweet old time, shaving little slivers off the top!!! I mean, why not scoop the taho out, plop it into the cup, pour the sauce in, add the sago. it'll be done in three steps!!! but NO...he has to go *schick,schick,schick* scraping thin layers each time...

Actually, that's an old petpeeve...I asked a taho vendor once why he did it that way. And he said that if he did it my way (coz i explained it to him, three simple steps and all), the taho would crumble and it wouldnt taste as good...So now I'm glad he does it that way, coz it's hard to find a good cup of decent taho nowadays. You've got so many of those pre-packaged stuff in groceries, but very few are close to the real thing, and it's always the original that sets the standard.

Kinda like the Godfather...among all the mafia movies, none have come close to it, and that is why I belive in the wisdom of the Godfather series, especially that which can be found in the first two movies, because the third movie isn't as good, (thanks in no small part to sophia coppolla).

None of this makes sense...I read it all over again, and realize there is no coherent thought...But that's alright, because as the Godfather, Vito Corleone, told his eldest son Santino, "Never let anyone know what you're thinking."