Tuesday


~Don't try to reason with your heart or feel with your mind
for just as the heart knows no logic
the mind can't lead you to your soul.~
~Unknown

Sometimes, I would stare and things come swimming in my head and no words come out of my mouth. Sometimes it's difficult to describe what's going on. Sometimes, there are events that no words can describe and they are just meant to be felt. Sometimes, there are things that are only meant to be seen and not to be spoken about.

A lot of times I do really screen what I write. I guess I am just a very private person. I do value privacy. But in a way I wanted to be able to express myself openly. I think I am shy to share some of the most private thoughts I have. It's almost like allowing someone to get into your head and explore your brain. Disclosure is scary sometimes. Many people aren't sure what other people think about them once they open up. Some people feel more comfortable than others. I have to admit, I belong to the people who is reluctant to open up or to discloses openly my private thoughts. I have a more reserved personality. I believe in the saying that an empty can makes a lot of noise. But it's not always. I do admire people who has a lot to say as long as they make sense. Some can be annoying though. But as they say you can pretend to be serious but you cannot pretend to be witty. Wit can be looked at in different angles, it all depends on where a person is coming from and where he's/ she's going. Anyway, you know what I mean.

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A- Act your age?: I suppose I do... but someone says I talk/write like I am 40 and I consider that as a compliment.

B- Best feature?: my eyes, I guess, someone gave me a compliment about my lips that it has natural lip lines. I suppose.

C- Chores, you hate?: washing dishes, entertaining unwanted guests.

D- Dad's name?: Eduardo
E- Essential makeup item: lip gloss and face powder
F- Favorite actor?: I have yet to discover
G- arden plants? tomatoes, garlic, onions, oregano, basil, roses, azalea, caladium, chilli peppers, jalapeno, sweet potato,eggplant, elephant ears.
H- Hobby?: Right now, gardening, and tennis
I- Idiomatic expression?: Before you criticize anyone, walk a mile in his shoes. This way, if he gets mad, you are a mile away, and you have his shoes too.
J- Jolly or not?: of course Jollibee
K- Kids?: Maybe one day
L- Living arrangements?: living with hubby of course
M- Mom's name?: Virginia
N- Number of people you've kissed?: I didn't know I was supposed to keep track of this
O- Overnight hospital stays?: 1 when I was younger for malaria when I was still living in the tropics
P- Phobia?: don't have any particular as far as I can remember, but I have a lot of fears.
Q- Quote you favor?: The man that knows something knows that he knows nothing at all -- Erykah Badu
R- ead books? Yes, reading Culture Shock by Esther Wanning, The book of Laughter and Forgetting by Kundera Milan.
S- Siblings?: 5
T-hings I think about? Life, changes, family back home and what to do when i go home on vacation.
U- Unique habit?: don't think I have one...
V- Vegetable you refuse to eat?: I almost eat all veggies, They may not be my favorites but I do eat veggies.
W- Worst habit?: shopping/ spending money that I don't have.
X- X-rays you've had?: none
Y- Yummy food you make?: adobo, bitter mellon and egg, pinakbet, pancit, spring roll
Z- Zodiac Sign?: Saguitarius

Monday


The face is the mirror of the mind, and the eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.~St. Jerome~

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I had the opportunity to watch Cirque Du Soleil show in Atlanta with the kids at work. They are on their North American tour. I watched their performance on television, so when I saw their name on the tickets, that sure gave a spark in my eyes. It is one of the biggest circus shows. I think the one I saw on television was their show in Las Vegas. It was amazingly fantastic. We watched "Alegria". It was a great meta physical experience. The music and the sound effects really made my spirits soared up to the sky. The performers were very skillful, very flexible. It was inspiring.

From the presenter:
Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth—it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.

It was so unfortunate that I lost all the photos I took because my camera fell.I was glad it didn't break. But it was a waste. Their tents were humungus and it contained maybe a couple thousand people. The outside view was magnificent. It looked like a blue kingdom in the middle of the field. The kids don't even know how fortunate they were to be able to watch a grand show like this where the tickets costs from $52-$220. The entire campus was able to go, that would mean about 70 plus people with free tickets. Sometimes these kids really don't know how fortunate they are. They take things for granted, they don't see what they got.




Tuesday

The plan


Reality leaves a lot to the imagination~John Lennon~ English singer and songwriter of the "Beatles", 1940-1980

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I do seem to have this spring summer fever. I want to keep doing something outdoors. My gardening fever have gone high and I just keep getting excited. I got some wind chimes with stained glass on them for light catcher and some ceramic bird feeder. I still have a whole bag of bird feeds in my closet from the previous year.

I love herbs, so I thought of starting some basil and oregano in some planters. My tomato plants are already growing robust and healthy. They seem to have survived the couple cold front the previous weeks. Now, it's all warm and sunny that allowed a lot of greens and plants to spring out from their dormant state to evergreens. Most people are crazy about ornamental plants but I prefer herbs and some ornamental plants to beautify and to drive the bugs away. I put some of the flowers that have some scents to keep the bugs from eating my herbs like marigolds at the middle. My asparagus beans and garlic and onions have sprouted already and they would be ready to be replanted in bigger pots in a few days. I guess that would keep me busy for the rest of the spring and summer. Fertilizing and watering the plants could be very exciting. I remember I would ran outside every morning to see if there are new sprouts. I was impatient when I didn't see any sprouts, but now, I can't wait for them to grow big and robust. I can't wait to put some trellis or steaks for the vine ones liker the asparagus beans and maybe the tomatoes when it starts to bear fruits. They need something to support the weight of the fruits, so I would steak them with bamboo poles or wooden poles. There are some plastic ones too in the garden centers. My elephant ears have grown again this year. I didn't dig out the bulbs from last year, but they survived the frost and they are growing again. I am still waiting for the caladiums to sprout. I guess it still early. They usually come out in summer. And we are looking to put blinds to our patio screen so that we can have privacy since our very neighbor's patio is just adjacent to ours and can see us through the screens. We are thinking about something earthy like those bamboo or something similar to put as blinds to match the brown walls and wooden walls. It's best when we do evening grill or just hang out by the patio in the evenings or have candle light dinner there. It's also very convenient because we can just turn on the bug zapper and we don't have to worry about mosquitoes and bugs. Maybe light citronella candles too.

I hope I get to organize my garden tools this week and clean the patio. It has accumulated dusts and pollen from winter and fall when it hasn't been used. I love a screened patio, the only problem we later realized is that we are very close to the street where one can hear the cars passing by. It can get more quiet in the evenings though. We have decided not to choose a place very close to the street anymore. We have to turn on a big fan every night just to masquerade the outside noise since the day we moved here. And now, I cannot sleep without the noise of the fan because I am a very light sleeper. Even the slightest noise can wake me up without the fan on or worst couldn't sleep without the noise of the fan. Some people can sleep with the television on or with the radio on, but not me. I guess it depends on what you are accustomed to. I met a friend of J's who can even sleep at the middle of the living room with people talking and chatting and with the TV on and he just slept like a baby on his blow up air bed. That, I can't do. Unless I am too tired but even then I might be able to sleep. I sometimes doze off in our living room and I can even hear J typing on the computer or his foot steps when he walks around the room or when he moves his bottom and the chair makes that squeak sound. I jump at every loud noise. I think I have used to this kind of sleeping especially when my guards are up. I also have this paranoia that I need to double check that the doors are all locked otherwise I couldn't sleep. I have to check them even if I know they are locked. I guess I have a bit of obsessive-compulsive behavior when it comes to that. That's also true about having the burners on and I had to go somewhere or even upstairs. I had to turn them off. I have this fear it might cause fire, or I would forget about it. It might be because I had burn a few pots when I forgot that I was boiling water and then I get so engrossed doing something or chat on the phone or on the computer. I guess those are healthy behaviors that would ensure safety. Better be sure than to regret it afterwards.





Wednesday


"Remember that when you are pointing the finger at someone, there are three fingers pointing back at you."

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I had my hair cut about six weeks ago. It seemed great at that time. But after sometime, I couldn't control my hair anymore. I had to curl and shape it everytime. I didn't like so much the layers on my hair, so I decided to go back and remove about three inches again. I had a coupon for the same place, so we went there. I was hoping not to get the same hair stylist. So, when we got there I looked through the glass door if the lady who did my hair was there. I didn't see her, so we went in. After talking to one of the ladies there, I was told to wait for 10-15 minutes. I just looked through the magazines laying on the magazine rack, looking for a hair style that I might like. When my name was called I was totally surprised because it was the same lady who cut my hair six weeks ago. I was a little embarrassed but I tried not to show it. She looked on the computer screen and exclaimed,"But you just had six weeks ago." I just tried to remain casual and said that it felt like it grew very long so quikly and that I want it shorter in preparation for the hot season. I guess she knows that I didn't like the way she cut my hair before because she made comments like "Oh I must have had started something going, because you could have three inches off now then 4-6 inches later." Of course she could just be trying to converse, but I didn't feel very comfortable and not very at ease. I just wanted to just get out of there. I really got out in a hurry as soon as she was done with it. It was just an awkward situation. Maybe I just had a wild imagination. But, oh well.

When I went to work the next day, one of the teen age girls noticed I had a hair cut and told me that I should be spanked for having my hair cut. I don't exactly know what she meant, but I told her she's the one who would get some spanking if she doesn't behave.

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I sometimes watch Conan O'Brien on comedy central, he is a funny guy. I happen to watch him interview Larry King. I guess to promote King's book entitled "Remember me when I'm gone". It's actually a book he wrote of how he wants people to rememeber him when he's gone. He asked Conan what Conan wante to be written on his epitaph, and Conan said " I won't be right back." Pretty clever. And then King added "Or maybe, give me three days". The interview was also in theme with the Easter holidays. If you were asked,what would you want to be written on your epitaph when you're gone?


Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.~Anne Lamott~

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I had been very busy the past weeks that I didn't have enough time to do a lot of blogging. But even then I sneaked in my very own sanctuary and wrote down a few thoughts that I thought were worth contemplating. I would love to share them to you, perhaps you could pick some grains of salt that might make life taste better.

* Life is like paddling a boat towards where you want to go.It is not easy,
there will be strong winds that might knock the sail down. It requires perseverance to go where you want to go.*


Like what a friend of mine said " What matters most is that everyone strives for the best in life. When you notice that your best isn't good enough, try harder."

*Children are like trees, once they mature, they are hard to bend. Once they get old, it's hard for them to learn new tricks.*

There comes a time in children's life that they got to go out into the world and test what they have learned. Got to bend them while they are young bacause once they hardenned, they break when you try to bend them. There comes a time when parents has to stop beating a dead horse. Sometimes parents have a hard time letting go of their kids, especially mothers. I often hear mothers say " but he/she's my baby!" and you look at whom she's referring to and he's/she's a very grown up person.

*Big thoughts get big results.If you think of yourself as a weakling you'll become one.You are what you feed your brain.*

I think that eventually what you think and practice in mind would eventually become you. The mind is very powerful. You can think and condition your brain into becoming what you want to. Although it is sometimes hard to do, it requires constant practice. That's why people could be mentally brainwashed. We become precisely what we habitually imagine ourselves to be. Or we become what we are constantly told to be.

*How do you wear your life? Do you decently wear your life?*

Monday


Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain~Charlie Chaplin~. British comedian regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen, 1889-1977

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Can't have anough zzzzzzz. I slept until ten this morning. After drinking a big cup of mocha frapuccino, I still felt very sleepy. I took a nap for an hour. J was just telling me that oversleeping could be a sign of underlying problems like depression. And I agree with him. I just lack the luster and vitality this morning. I just stayed on the couch and watched " Liscence to drive". Then later just spent the rest of the day just hanging around. Maybe I should get a liscence to bum. Loafing could become my favorite past time, and I know a lot of people who do that. Maybe sometimes overdo it. I'm guilty of that myself. I miss the laid back pace in the Philippines.

I watched "Lost in Translation" a few days ago. I would say it's not really a great movie, but it reminded me so much of Hongkong. The night life and the big metropolitan and the crowded trains, streets and roads look like Hongkong, except the trains are underground as opposed to the above ground trains in the movie. The part where the main characters were in a restaurant and they ordered some thinly sliced meat and veggies with a boiling pot served for them to cook their own food is called "hot pot" or fondue. The Chinese do that in winter time where they are served with all uncooked thinly sliced meat or seafood and veggies and different kinds of sauces, then they provide you with either a sizzling pot or a personal pot with boiling water. Everything would be thinly sliced and all you have to do is to put them in the boiling water to cook. Then fish them out with tongs and dip them in whatever sauce you choose. Some people just like soy sauce, some people would dip them in some hot sauce. For the sizzling pot, it's like a personal grill, just grill all your food and then dip them in sauce. I have enjoyed this way of cooking when I was in HK. So, when I came here in the US, we actually bought a "hotpot and I would show J, how to do it. In the US, they somehow Americanized the Japanese and authentic chinese cooking. The Japanese restaurants are famous for the "hibachi" style which is a big grill and a chef would cook the food. The traditional way really is that everything is prepared, and cut and the customers would cook their own food. Most Americans won't understand that. Just like Bill Murray's comment after the meal. " What restaurant make their own customers cook their own food? I want the tip back!

Hongkong and Japan are not very far from each other, so, when it comes to advancement in Technology, Hongkong would get the latest inventions not to mention, Hongkong is a trading and business commercial center. If you love shopping, Hongkong is one of the best places to shop. You would really have your retail therapy.

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Lately, I have noticed that more and more of my black hair are turning white. Gosh! I must be getting old. I had a few when I was in college, but now, I can really see streaks of it on my head. I actually asked my sister-in-law once if it is a lack of nutrient and she she said it's not. It's normal for some people, so I didn't worry then. But now it kind'a bothers me. There's always the remedy of coloring my hair, but I never really wanted to do that. I want it natural. Oh, well, when it really comes to a point then I would just dye my hair or just let it be. J, would says, it's actually pretty. Yeah right, whatever. But maybe I should believe him and don't worry about it. It's just that I feel like a grandma. Or maybe because it's a constant reminder that I am getting old.

Friday


A bachelor's life is a fine breakfast, a flat lunch, and a miserable dinner. ~Francis Bacon~

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Spring has fully sprung. Seasons change and I am burning in the flame of time. You know what, that's shows that time is moving. Living in a place where there are four seasons, I can readily feel and see the changes right before my eyes. The trees change colors and then they froze in a dormant state until they spring to life when the weather gets warm. That's something I didn't notice growing up in the tropical Philippines. The trees never change their colors. They are always evergreen and always alive. Winter could get very gloomy especially in places where it snows and stays cold and freezing. Not only birds and animals fly to the South but also people would travel to the South because of the cold. I guess living in the South is a good thing for me. I may always want to see and play with snow but not to live in places where it snows. I love it here. One thing that I love about Georgia are the woods. Lots of trees, greens and blooming plants, trees, vines almost everywhere and the mountains.

We went hiking the other day although it seemed a gloomy and windy day, we persisted on our hiking plans. I already had a bad feeling about it, but we still went. We just hang around by the big rocks and watched the murmurring water. There is a waterfall too and naturally it flows a route down. We followed the water and into the hiking trail. At about 3 p.m., the skies started to show a dark angry face. Clouds blanketted the woods and in a little while it started pouring. We started running trying to beat the rain. But of course we still got wet. It was also blowing like hell. I felt the winds slapping my face as I ran for it to find a shelter. We were able to make it. Not too wet. Sometimes it's fun to play under the rain, but only if you are really ready for it and you got ready dry clothes to put on. It was fun though. We might still go explore some other places soon.