Sorry Mickee, it took me a long time to do your tag.
4 movies i could watch over and over --> It varies, and it changes depending what mood I have. I normally can't watch a movie over and over again, unless I really really love it. Can't think of a movie that I can watch over and over again at this moment.
4 places i've lived --> Kowloon,Hong Kong,Metairie, New Orleans, Macon Georgia, Lawrenceville,Georgia
4 tv shows i love to watch --> CSI, Sienfeld, Law and Order, Monk
4 places i've been on vacation--> Philippines - Baguio, Ifugao, Quezon Province, Isabela
4 websites i visit daily --> yahoo mail, blogspot, hotmail, friendster
4 of my favorite foods --> Pinakbet, pancit, Vietnamese Pho soup, Dinuguan
4 places i'd rather be right now -->Philippines, Europe, Carribbean, Egypt
YOUNG ONCE( upon a time)
Would you rather be young and reckless or old and wise?
I can say that I still consider myself young but not that reckless, maybe sometimes. More of carefree maybe. I am getting old and is learning a lot. Old age does come with wisdom only if we are able to learn from our experiences. I still have a lot of things and still many journeys to take. There's still a lot of learning experiences to involve myself. There is still a long way for me to go. There's still miles and miles for me to walk. There's still a an oceanful of expieriences and explorations I still have to conquer. I still have innumerable mountain peaks to climb. There's still imeasurable heights and horizons for me to reach. There's still so much for me out there to see and feel and experience. So, yes, I haven't drank enough water to call myself wise. I will always be a student in this university of life, taking quizzes, taking tests. Sometimes I fail, sometimes, I succeed. But it is in the failing sometimes that I learn the most lessons.
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Going to the doctor isn't really one of my favorite things to do, especially to the gynecologist. I would think a lot of women doesn't like going to the gynecologist either. It's not really a very comfortable experience. But it is necessary for every women to be tested in the most private parts to make sure they are healthy.
I was watching a show at Paula Zahn one evening and she was talking about a certain male gynecologist who is a pervert. Now how would you feel if your doctor asks you inappropriate questions while he is touching you down there? A lot of the women who actually went to this doctor felt violated.
At Oprah's show, they were talking about necessary tests woman should have like pop smear especially for the sexually active. And women who are in their 50's should atleast have a colonoscopy test. Older people are vulnerable of colon cancer, especially when they don't take in enough fiber in their diet. I found the show very informative.
I have to admit that I often postpone or refuse to see a doctor because I don't feel anything wrong. Well, a lot of things going on in the body may not necessarily show any symptoms. As they say, some illnesses creep up slowly and quietly that we don't even know we have them until too late. I also sometimes wouldn't like to know if I have any disease at all. Which I think most people wouldn't want to know. But it's in knowing that we are able to prevent and cure what illness we have.
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Old age is a disease, according to a doctor in one of the CSI shows. That's really something. Old age cannot be treated, it can be slowed down, but it's not something that cannot be treated. Some of it can be prevented but I have never thought it to be cured. It it a natural life cycle, others can live younger physically for a longer time, but time would eventually catch up. The only people that I know that never grew old are those people that died young.
And then there's the urine therapy. That's right, people drink their own urine. There's actually some scientific explanation to this according to
this site. I can't see myself drinking my own urine. I don't know if there are people who really does this. Would you even consider this kind of therapy, to drink your own urine just so to stay young or to cure cancer?
HEARTS OF HEARTS
When I recall my younger days when I was so naive, inocent about a lot of things in life. Well, I still am in a lot of ways. The younger days of my life full of dreams. I used to dream of a perfect love, a perfect partner. It's looking forward to a future. How did you envision your future ten years ago?
Ah, love, such a great thing that lots of people do anything to posses the real thing. To posses, to acquire, to have it, feel it. I have seen and heard of a lot of people that would do a lot of things in the name of love. It is a powerful thing, powerful that it can also devastate people. There's so many faces of love, so many degrees of love. Degrees and it may be in celsius or in fahrenheit. Depends where it boils down to.
I have my own experiences of puppy love, of infatuations, of love unreciprocated. Puppy loves do die after a short period of time. Infatuations do too. Remember the times when you have crushes, I think those days were just silly. But it's part of growing up. It could be fun too. I mean, from time to time it still happens but as an adult I find that I am more reasonable compared to when I was just a teenager. I understand that crushes do happen and it is a normal thing that happens to people. It's just what people do with those emotions that matters. Emotions can be just a short term only. Real love lasts as long as it lasts.
Love is such a wonderful thing, it does makes one feel like they are walking in air or floating on cloud 9. Now talking about cloud 9, that was my favorite chocolate bar back home. Whoever put that name there on chocolate bar is very clever. I suppose that's where they got the expression "walking on cloud 9". Being in love does give one that euphoric feeling, a "high" feeling of weightlessness like walking on clouds, like walking in outer space. That's what I'm talking about. It makes one do a lot of wonderful things, silly things, some embarrassing things. Do you remember what you have done during this state of euphoria? I bet lots of things that you don't normally do when you are in the normal "sane" state of mind. If it is indeed insanity to fall in love. Well,some people literally go insane when this so called "love" is not reciprocated? Wouldn't you go bananas? Ah, but love is the sweetest thing when both people feel the same way with each other.
Just like one of John Lennon's songs.......All we need is love. Indeed, all we need is love. Love changes the world. Did you notice that when you are in love, the air smells sweet. The days seems brighter, even if it's raining. All of a sudden the world around you seems beautiful. You hear love songs, you sing love songs. All of a sudden you become a poet. All of a sudden you can write love letters. All of a sudden you can dance. All of a sudden there's smile in your face. People notice you are glowing. Yes, there's a different glow when someone's in love. Not only the person in love seems to be glowing but everything he/she sees and touches like he/she has this magic wand, well like the King Maida's touch, only things don't turn gold but love is gold and is even better that any treasure on earth.
Wouldn't you all agree that all we need is love? To love and to be loved?
Just a few days ago, there was snow storm warning in the county we live up here in North East Atlanta. I was skeptical because the news was like that last December on Christmas day, and there was no snow. We waited if it would indeed snow, well, it didn't. It snowed in the Nothern most part of Georgia and in the elevated parts,but not where we live. I was hoping I would experience snow even for a day. It's okey, it just rained, it was cold though. I had to bundle up even inside the house. I don't want to crank up the heater. Gas bill is soaring high this winter.
The days have passed by so quickly. In a few weeks, the season would change into spring. I love spring, the colors, the beauty, the liveliness. It's just awesome. It lifts up the spirit.
And I will start my small garden. It would be mostly in pots, but would be nice to bring out my plants that I have brought inside to keep them from dying. My pineapple is starting to bear fruit. I'm excited. I haven't noticed it until yesterday when I saw new leaves sprouting and when I looked inside there's a baby fruit growing. I know, I have such, small joys. I have planted that pineapple from the top of a pineapple I got from the grocery store and it grew. It took me two years or more, but it's bearing fruit. I have another one, which is still growing, I also planted it from the top of a pineapple we got at the grocery store. I fed them fertilizer and they just grew robustly. I can't wait to see how big the fruit will grow. I guess it would help when it is exposed under the sun.
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Moving to another place means adjusting to new things. And of course meeting new friends. Since mving up here, I haven't had the chance to meet a lot of Filipinos for months, so I tried different ways of networking. Just yesterday I was able to meet one Filipina from Bukidnon. She and her husband came over our place for a short visit. Well, we chatted for sometime over the phone and she seems a nice lady. She is pregnant and she's in her fifth month. We just chatted for a short while, before they
left I sent her some "ginataan" and "puto" which I made after she called me on the phone telling me that they are coming over. They are very nice couple. I had fun chatting with them even if they didn't stay very long. They are getting ready for their travel to Illinois to visit her husband's parents. And then after that they will be leaving for a long vacation to the Philippines. She is going to have her baby delivered over there and of course have her family help her. I think it would be awesome. Plus the long vacation until December, I wish I could go for a long vacation like that. Her husband has been to the Philippines about four times already, so he knows what to expect. He was telling me he would probably miss some stuff, like the convinience of having hot shower. But I guess, he is willing to adopt to the life over there since he agreed to have this long vacation. I don't know when will I go back next for a vacation again to the Philippines. I had fun during my last vacation, it would be expensive to stay that long though. Hopefully everything will turn out well for them.
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There are times that I miss Filipino cuisine, that's why I am happy to have found an International Farmer's Market closeby. It's mostly Korean, but they have some Filipino stuff like hopia, tocino, some Pinoy seasoning mixes like sinigang, pancit, adobo. And they have a variety of vegetable and fruit selections for even lower price compared to Kroger or Publix. One of my favorite recipe that I often make is "Pinakbet"
which consist of bitter mellon or bitter gourd (ampalaya), okra, eggplant, long beans (sitaw), onions, ginger, tomatoes, garlic of course "bagoong"(fish sauce). I get them all at this farmer's market. They also have an isle full of Pinoy condiments like Silver Swan soy sauce, banana ketsup, canned goods, and snacks like Nagaraya, chips and cookies. I aslo found these tiny pomelos called "Oro Blanco" literally means white gold, it is white inside while some pomelos are pink. It is in the citrus family, it looks like a big grapefruit, except it is a tiny pomelo. They are produced in South America.
And this Tiramisu. It's good with coffee. They are small Italian cakes. Love them. I had been looking them for long time.
Chances are, if you love Asian cuisine you would love going to this place. They have all kinds of Asian stuff, especially Korean foods, even cooking utensils, I love those Japanese kitchen wares. If you happen to pass by Suwanee, Georgia, check out the place. I'm sure there are lots of them in the area. This one is the closest to where I live. It's called ASSI Plaza, International food. Some people who haven't been to Asian stores would think you are out of the country when you step into ASSI plaza. It reminds me of grocery stores in Hongkong. Some of the stuff are all labelled in Korean or Japanese or other languages, so if you are not familiar with it, you wouldn't know what it is unless it has English translations. Of course Filipino stuff can be labeled in Tagalog and English together, so it's so easy to find them if you are looking for Pinoy stuff. If you are really into these kinds of Asian goods, might as well go to Buford Highway, Georgia, the biggest international market is located over there with live fish and other live seafoods like blue crabs and crawfish in tanks. I have been there a few times, and you can really find lots of exotic foods. So, if you happen to be in the area, this is one place to check out.
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I am also excited, I am meeting some Filipina this Saturday at a friends' house for dinner. It's really the best way to meet other Filipinas through gatherings like this. Some other places would be at the church. Of course anywhere else, it's just that I can't sometimes I can't tell whether they are Filipinos or not. I see lots of Asians but I always know if they are Filipina, because they would ask; Filipina ka? It is also such mutli cultural over here that there are lots of other nationalities that may look like Filipinas like Hispanic people and other Asians. I don't really care much nationalities, in fact I would like to meet and befriend people of other nationalities. Of course it is easier to meet fellow Filipinas. It's nice to be able to find groups of Pinoys in the area. To be able to hang out, cook Pinoy foods and have fun the Filipino way.
I often find myself looking for whatever food in the pantry or in the fridge, you know just to cook whatever I can come up with. I'm sure I am not the only one who has lots of stuff in the cupboard, canned goods, seasoning mixes, boxed foods that just sits there, until their expiration dates. I am bad about that sometimes. You know how you would just grab a can of this and that, and when you get home you put them in the pantry, cupboard and forget about them. I do that sometimes. I would grab a can of corn, a can of fruit, even those seasoning mixes in envelopesand store them in the pantry. Sometimes I would forget about them till they get old and moldy. Since we last moved I actually dug them up and I couldn't believe what I had in my cupboards. Ancient, antiques canned goods and pickles and seasoning mixes. Some of them I had been searching but couldn't find them when I needed them. Well, I tossed them all to the garbage, seems that I have acquired on of the American habits - wasting food. And now in our new place I try not to buy any canned goods or seasoning mixes that I wouldn't use. It's one of my strategy of trying to eat healthy, I try to buy fresh stuff. Although it's unavoidable that I would grab a can of mushroom or a can of olives, tomato sauce and all the other stuff that are used for quick food preparation like Spaghetti and pasta recipes.
Well, ocassionally, I would make goulash, I was actually surprised that I found recipes for goulash. My goulash is actually quite different, really it's anything you can find in the fridge and toss them altogether in a pan, pot, as soup or stir fry. I made goulash for lunch with instant chicken noodles with broth, I cut up some left over chicken breast from yesterday's baked chicken and refried it, and tossed up some baby bokchoy. And then tossed them up with the noodles, broth and all. It was actually pretty good. I am trying to use up left over foods, more often we would toss our left over, so I try to fix foods just enough for me and hubby, but sometimes, my calculation is sometimes bigger than what we can fit in our tummys. During garbage pick-ups I would have to toss all our left over for the entire week. All wilted or spoiled vegetable and old stuff. I think it is a great practice, not the tossing of food or wasting of food but to clean up the fridge and pantry every once in a while to get rid of expired and old food stuff. It would actually drive away roaches breeding deep in the stock of food. You know when foods sometimes are not moved for many months, after sometime roaches and other insects breed under them. Not that I know exactly where they are coming from.
So, next time when you find yourself looking for spaces to fit in your groceries, maybe try cleaning up, toss old and expired goods to make room for all your groceries.
I find that when I look into the fridge or in the pantry and make a grocery list, it actually helps. I would buy stuff that would go with what I already have. Like for example; I see some spaghetti pasta or fetuccini in the pantry, I will just buys stuff for spaghetti, ground beef and spaghetti sauce and mushroomss maybe, and stuff that would go with fetuccini. We love pasta alfredo, so I would get Alfredo sauce , shrimp or chicken and that would be two meals there.
Sometimes there are so much stuff in there that wouldn't actually go with each other, I have to think of what I want to cook, and then what I need, then add them to my list. I would like to use up what I have bought in a few days before going to the groceries again. Sometimes food are stored too long, even in the fridge may loose it's freshness. Fresh foods are vulnerable. One thing that I have noticed is that when you keep wet vegetables or fruits in sealed plastic bags they rot easily,compared to keeping them dry. Even fruits that are wet and stays in these plastic containers when wet, they develop molds easily than when they are kept dry.
Well, just rambling with foods and stuff steaming from my head.
