The musical was awesome! The cast was great. It was totally worth it, and we got good seats – really more than what I had expected. I had written some of my opinion over here, and perhaps some other time I’m going to say more here. Maybe 🙂
I really enjoyed my evening, and I know my parents did too. While we were seated and waiting for the show to start, Dad reminisced about seeing A Streetcar Named Desire with Mom many many years ago. He said it was before my birth and starred Philip Salvador (?) and Laurice Guillen. Ma, on the other hand, couldn’t remember anything of it other than the fact that they did go see it. Haha.
We’ve been home for five hours give or take and I’ve been surfing, checking mail, downloading. What I really wanted to do was work on another layout for Scrapbook Saturday. PSP just isn’t cooperating with me right now. And frankly, whatever inspiration I got for a layout went to sleep already. I’ll try again later.
On the way out of the office building earlier this evening, I noticed this new booth at the lobby selling health and diet supplements, you know, the ones that have protein and body-building stuff in the product line. I’d love to take a closer look at those sometime. I wonder if they say meal replacement shakes or protein bars? I’d love to try having those on some days. Might help, who knows.
Oh, I just saw a Twilight movie trailer – looks great! I wasn’t sold on the actor that plays Edward but seeing the trailer has changed my mind 🙂
This one’s hot off the press as the senators just finished their long discussions and the voting for this very controversial piece of legislation. JPEPA or the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement has been ratified by the Philippine Senate just this evening. It has been drafted, discussed, disputed, and defended by all sides for a very long time. One of the biggest concerns of those against this agreement is how prone it is to being abused, with the Philippines being on the losing end.
Since I don’t have comprehensive information on this issue, I will reserve my comments for a later time.
A third product has been added to the list of milk that has been found tainted with melamine. Apparently, it is not at all unusual for traces of melamine to seep into food products but there is an allowable limit. JollyCow Slender High Calcium Low Fat Milk has been found to have about 7 times more than the allowable amount of 0.5 parts per million (ppm).
According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque, a 50-kg person can take only as much as 25mL of melamine a day. Babies in China have become ill because they are small and all they have is milk all day, their bodies are no longer able to fend off the toxicity of melamine.Â
3 – BBC producers defiant over racist slur –
Filipino expats in the UK were outraged by a recent episode of the comedy series “Harry and Paul” for depicting Filipina maids in a bad light. Though the Philippine Government has yet to issue a formal complaint against the BBC and the producers of the show, our ambassador to the UK has already released a statement regarding the issue.
Although the production house that makes the show maintains that the scene was in no way intended to demean or upset any viewer – it has offended many Filipinos.
During the sketch, Enfield’s character urges his neighbor to have sex with another neighbor’s Filipina maid, saying he is trying to see if “we could mate their Filipina maid with our Northerner, but he’s not having any of it”.
He then says, “Come on Clyde, mount her” and addressing the maid, says: “You, you, present your rear.”
Claudio Teehankee Jr’s father and namesake was a former Supreme Court Chief Justice. His brother is currently the Philippine Representative to the World Trade Organization, and a known ally of the President.Â
In 1992, he was sentenced to life imprisonment (and two more lesser sentences) for the brutal killing (shooting) of 16-year-old Maureen Hultman and her friend. Another person was also seriously injured.
Last Friday, just before midnight, he was released from the New Bilibid Prisons – having been granted an executive clemency. He is now back under public scrutiny.
Seems that due process was not followed for his pardon. The family, and the prosecutor who put him in jail were unaware that he had even applied for amnesty.
6 – No proof Teehankee reformed – Right, how can there be restorative justice when there’s no real rehabilitation/treatment plan for convicted felons?Â
They say there may be up to ten corporations interested in buying. I hope it goes not just to the highest bidder, but also to the company that will be most able to take care of our interests. Hmp.Â
The Yuchengco Group of Companies has also expressed interest. But many may not feel safe with their term life insurance in the hands of the company that still has pending complaints after the fall of their previous pre-need plans venture. Already, former policy owners from a Yuchengco subsidiary are making noise against any move for this company to take over PhilamLife.Â
8 – Philamlife’s suitors – In a way, knowing that many corporations are interested in acquiring PhilAm makes it easier to be confident that our savings are safe.
13 – ‘Lean, mean’ budget pushed in House – Hmm. I’m not sure they’re going about it the right way. Scrutinized the budget, there may be more double entries there.
What’s happening in your city/country?
**Checkout my previous TT’s here and here. Also don’t forget to sign Mr Linky, and leave a comment so I can go visit you too.
Yep, that is me alright – miss hap-hap-happy! 🙂Â
I endured not having the use of my desktop PC for several days, and I am now rewarded with a much faster and reliable system!
Short of dumping my old PC in the trash, Alfred and I bounded to Gilmore Avenue and came home almost two hours later with boxes and boxes that held what would make up my new PC tower. I blabbed about it over there, so if you want to know a little more of the specs of my brand new tower, go there and read up. 😉
Another reason to smile is this poem shared by fellow blogger Dette of Mammadawg and MuthahoodCrib fame:
We need friends for many reasons,
all throughout the season.
We need friends to comfort us
when we are sad,
and to have fun with us when we are glad.
We need friends to give us good advice,
We need someone we can count on,
and treat us nice.
We need friends to remember us
one we have passed
sharing memories that will always last.
I’m only spreading this to one other friend though: Tracy 🙂
Â
I, and the rest of the family, Alfred included, are looking forward to our new fitness equipments. Okay, I haven’t actually confirmed if my parents made the purchase, but my dad is suddenly motivated to exercise. We’ve had this treadmill for years but it mostly just gathers dust, until my dad started using it again daily since last week.Â
The treadmill was also my equipment of choice when I used to go to the gym. The ones there are electronic, and were more comfortable for me to use than the one we have here at home. If dad is getting a stationary bike though, there’s something I would definitely make time to use.Â
Remember that Alfred and I are supposed to be on a program now? Well I still wouldn’t remove the supposed in that sentence. But you should see how animated our conversation got when I told Alfred about the pending arrival of new workout equipment. I just hope he does get to use it. He says he’s really looking forward to getting rid of his beer belly. I’m not quite confident. I’ve been kidding him and saying that he should probably pop bodybuilding supplements because he needs all the help he can get to have a body that girls would swoon over. 🙂
My favorite part of his body is still his chest and all the way to the shoulders, because of the way I feel so comfortable just snuggled there. I don’t really want that to become rock solid, but lifting weights might just give him the build that I know he wants too.
And I’m not just talking about a simple reluctance to get up everything and go to work. No, this isn’t just because I am lazy (because I am lazy). And it isn’t because I hate my job, boss or co-workers either – because I don’t. I enjoy my job too, it’s just that, I’d really rather prefer to stay at home where there are a million and one ways I can be more productive.
Funny how I used to think that I wasn’t that kind of girl. For Twilight fans, you know how Bella thinks she’s not the kind of small town girl to get married right out of highschool? I had thoughts like that too – about not being the kind to stay home while the hubby went out to bring home the bacon. And it’s not just about earning money for the family – it was more of the idea of really doing something that I was passionate about. For a time I fantasized about being a communist rebel (not exactly a glamorous career); then I also dreamed of working in a top corporation and making it big. When my life revolved around working with children’s NGOs, I knew that was my place in the sun.
But as I grew older, things changed and my perceptions changed along with it. I know now that when it came time build my own family, when it was time to have babies, I would not be able to keep myself away from home on a regular basis. Not even for an eight hour shift.
Lately, this idea of just staying at home has been occupying my mind and it isn’t just for when I had babies anymore. Why should I have to wait? Why can’t I just start now?
Thus the theme for this week’s 13: things I’d rather do than go to work.
+ Blog about so many other things that matter to me and the world (sheesh I’m still not done with the Bohol posts) and bloghop like crazy.
+ Watch DVDs
+ Read (I’m down to 11 books from last week’s list, but really there are several more that didn’t go up there)
+ Workout. Swim. Learn Tennis again.
+ Finish my digital Scrapbook project for the girls. Start scrapping our Bohol vacation.
+ Bake (for family, and also to sell) and/or go to baking school.
+ Spoil my dog (so he would look more to me as his owner/mommy, than to my mom and dad)
+ Spend time with my nephews (read them books, for one, but there are so many other things we’d be happy to get busy with after school)
+ Learn other things – design stuff, like digital signage or even cards or whatever. I’d love to learn the ins and outs of Photoshop (if only that course I wanted to sign up for wasn’t out of my budget range).
+ Get involved with Sunday School at Church.
+ Find part time involvement with the NGOs I worked with in the past – I’d love to setup a new website for Asia ACTs or write stuff for them. And I’d love to facilitate workshops for ECPAT and the young people.
This seems a merry mix of things and I’m aware it all sounds like stuff I already can do while still working a regular job. The thing is, these are all distractions for me at work and I don’t want to be like that. When I’m at work, I want to be focused. That’s the only way I can be really productive. When I’m at home doing any or all these things – you won’t believe how focused I could get. Hehe.
Or, I really am just lazy. Haha 😉
As always, checkout my previous TT’s here and here. Also don’t forget to sign Mr Linky, and leave a comment so I can go visit you too. 🙂
For this edition of my Thursday Thirteen, I list the books on my current to-read pile.
to-read pile!
There are plenty of other books in the house that I haven’t read and would love to read too. It just so happens that I bought the ones on this pile myself – mostly second-hand.
New Moon – Book 2 of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. I just finished reading Twilight for the second time and I’ll probably start this one in a day or two. I gotta post about the recent two books I finished reading before I start another though.
Eclipse – Book 3 of the Twilight Saga. Okay, it’s obvious that I already own all four books in the series. I figured I’d buy them at once while Fully Booked at Gateway still had paperback stocks. I actually had to reserve these via email. The first three books were picked up for me by my friend Vanette, while Breaking Dawn in paperback was restocked only last weekend. The CS peeps over at Fully Booked were kind enough to inform me that it was already available so I picked it up on Monday.
Breaking Dawn – Book 4. Alfred is interested in reading the saga and I am encouraging him because it is rare that he shows interests in books. I’m not sure how he’d react to the cheesy stuff though.
My Friend Leonard – James Frey. I had read A Million Little Pieces and was moved, sometimes disturbed, by the story. I don’t care if he embellished and if it wasn’t 100% truthful, he had very powerful words and he painted pictures that people should see. I am looking forward to this one, and I am assuming it will revolve around the same Leonard that was part of the first book. While I was at the bookstore, I found out about a third novel that Frey wrote. If I still like this one, I’d most probably be getting that too.
Lirael – by Garth Nix. Book 2 of the Abhorsen series. It’s been years since I read the first of the trilogy: Sabriel. It’s a Young Adult Fantasy and I love it! The main character in the first book is a young girl. Lirael will continue on with what had happened after the events in the first book took place. I’m hoping I can dig out the first book so I could jog my memory a bit before I start on Lirael.
Les Miserables – Victor Hugo. I’ve seen the concert, loved the songs and even sang them, but I’ve never read the book. I must admit it’s thickness is quite intimidating, but I think I can handle it 🙂
Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey. You gotta take one when you take the other right? Haha. I wonder if I’ll understand much of what is written in these two books?
Anna Karenin by Leo Tolstoy.
PS I Love You by Cecilia Ahern – Loved the movie, I’m sure I will love the book even more.
The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin, Nicola Kraus. Here’s another title whose movie adaptation I enjoyed watching.
The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg – I had read two or three of her novels before and I truly enjoyed them. So full of heart. I’ve already forgotten what this one is about, but I’m sure I will like it.
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella – I have missed her writing and woulld love to just sitback and enjoy some light reading again 🙂
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger – Can you believe that I didn’t see the movie? I’ll read this, and then watch.
There are at least two more titles upstairs that should be on this pile, including Scottoline’s Daddy’s Girl. I’d love to skip work and just spend entire days reading and then blogging about them (and maybe even giving them away if I could figure out the logistics for that). Then I’d have visits to the bookshops to look forward to again. I really love walking into bookshops and letting titles draw me in. I have not tried book shopping online because I know I’d be addicted. Maybe it’s a blessing that Amazon books don’t deliver to the Philippines. 😉
Checkout my previous TT’s here and here. Also don’t forget to sign Mr Linky, and leave a comment so I can go visit you too.
