The Journey. It’s Mine. [My personal take on love, life, parenting and blogging.]

That one in the title? Is something I do not know before. I just knew that a 1GB RAM is a lot better than a 254 MB RAM computer. Ha ha ha!

Well that was just what my brother did to this 2-year old crappy PC, upgraded the ram to 1GB. This will do for now, I know I need a whole better box with really, really nice specs. I have to keep that in mind for my next project. After all, this one weathered two major typhoons.

I hope today is the end of my technical-problem-series. A bunch of sulky moods from my brother, he finally fixed this by doing his “stuff”! Well,  at least I have a computer technician for free.  Actually I have two of those for free. But the other one cannot just fix everything by remote. Great, no?

9 days to go and it’s time to turn 35. He he. I’ve nothing much planned (always never had plans for my bday!) except that I am looking hard where I can order a good pancit malabon in Sorsogon.

I used to have an officemate who can make a mean pancit malabon and it was the best I’ve ever tasted. I’ve never cooked it either because I am more of a pasta girl and never bothered to try cooking pancit dishes — except for a couple of times I made pancit bihon guisado which was really not bad at all.

BUT, it has always been my rule not to cook anything on my birthday. Either I order food or a bunch of my friends will bring the food.

Well… don’t blame the progesterone at all (imposibleng naglilihi ako, ano!) I just miss a LOT - the city I lived longest my whole life - wherein I know where to get the best foods I want when I want it. This just shows that I haven’t really settled here yet. Not enough even just to explore the city to look for food specialties.

Tita Agnes, pa-LBC naman ng isang bilaong pancit malabon! Ha ha.

I moved my computer desk near another window inside our house. This isn’t “nesting” mind you, but in a fact a “side effect” of the many technical problems I’ve experienced in the last two weeks. Thankfully, the month of May is finally over.

Anyways, going back to the re-arranging I did: the desk is now parallel to the bed. Yes, I am now a bed potato! Ha ha. But…a lot better for my legs. Go figure.

Besides, in the original window this was located, sunlight is directly pouring on the unit in the afternoon from 2-4 PM. I admit my modem has been “fried” under the sun so many times — while I took naps.

Use of exterior shutters were never an option because it will block my modem’s signal reception.

So this “move” was really long overdue. So far, so good!

I remember when my father had to install cell phone amplifiers so that he’ll get a decent cellphone signal inside our house– the old Nokia 5110 was fixed in one spot, attached to an outdoor antenna up the roof.

Before he came up with that solution, when I came home one Christmas break I had to sit on his jeep’s roof so that text messages and calls from my friends could come in. No kidding!

Two years before that, my Nokia 909 didn’t have a signal here. I had to go 1-2 kilometers from this spot just so I could get a signal.

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When my father was still around, he was our fix-all handy man: carpenter, electrician, mechanic, plumber, garbage man, etc. There’s just nothing he can fix. Among his three sons, only one is like him. The twins? They’ll fix stuff only if they want to! Not that they can’t be handy mans, most of the time they are just indifferent I guess. Or maybe lazy, or both? I really don’t know. My brother Gary…when he’s here, his day isn’t complete if he isn’t fixing stuff. On the roof, or anywhere else. I mean, give him a piece of wood and some nails and by the end of the day we have a new stool or table, or something.

During the weekend, our toilet was clogged. My mother (God bless her for being so tough now that my father is gone), kept bugging my two younger brothers to help her fix the thing, to no avail. One has has a “date” with the gf while the other one has guitar practice. Me? I’m just a lot queasy with fixing clogged toilets, sorry. Thank you very much! Ha ha ha.

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The last time I window-shopped for baby cribs, I was alone. Looking back now, I cannot even remember what I was feeling or looking for in a crib back then. I know it should have been a sturdy one that could go down the generation or at least be used by the siblings that would come after the first baby.

But I really had no time then to think along those lines, I was just thinking what my budget can afford. So I ended up buying a small “disposable” one.

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At almost 35, and I’ve yet to find the best acne treatment!

But I never really had acnes, you know. I just started having pimples since I entered college. I guess I am kinda a late bloomer in this matter.

I’ve always had just occasional pimples on certain times of the month and I often have the little white/black heads. That’s just what I get for having perennially oily face.

I’ve tried all the antibacterial facial wash i can get in the local supermarket, but I really had the best results using the Moor Allure Naturals cleanser and toner. I got the whole set for free in January, but I’ve yet to purchase a new one. Hmmm…maybe soon I should get those?

The last time I was seen by my old friends was earlier this year. I got the same reaction: you lost a lot of weight! What did you do? He he.

Nothing actually. Not Phentermine, not mesotherapy, not Atkins and definitely not cardio exercises!

It isn’t really me to hit the gym. I know we all need some kind of exercise, but I’ve been that lazy my whole life! It isn’t me to take on a diet regimen either, because I sooo love to eat. Besides, I never really cared if I have always been that chubby girl in class or at work. I’ve always been able to confidently carry myself - with matching flabs and double chin!

Well…all I did really was, eat more of the right kinds of food. I mean less meat, more veggies, more fish. Why did I do that? Because…I almost couldn’t walk with osteoarthritis! I took a lot of meds yes, but I reckoned I gotta do something with what I eat.

And of course, I don’t eat tonnes in one sitting anymore, like I used to. I resorted to small servings, every…say, 1-2 hours. Depending on how much hunger pangs I do get, in between.

Hmmm…I am not saying I don’t slip. Because I do from time to time. As the old saying goes “masarap kainin ang bawal”. But then I do pay the price afterwards.

Like yesterday, I ate pork adobo. I haven’t had pork in months! Last night? My knees were stiff as walking cane! Gosh…I’m never going to eat pork ever again. Ha ha ha.

As is the result of American Idol. Whatever Simon Cowell said last night that David Archuleta knocked out he competition, it was pretty obvious that Cook has got more talent.

Thank God America didn’t listen to Simon! He ate his own dust by apologizing to David Cook before he was announced the winner.

Yey! Yey Yey Yey!

Though they don’t say how much an idol winner gets. Or do they? For sure, he need not worry about bar tending, mortgage lenders or any other thing that concerns money, for that matter!

Tonight, I can finally watch the season finale of American Idol.

After a channel search around 11 pm last night, the 10+ channels that were gone for almost two weeks are now back.

I called Dream TV costumer service twice. I was told to re-align something in the dish first and then to do a factory reset the next time. Good thing my bros didn’t obey to touch the sat dish!

Why can customer service just tell me that they were having technical problems that’s why some channels have no reception? Is that hard to do? I mean, I am paying for the whole 50+ channels every month (Dream TV charges 890/month for the complete channel package!) so that entitles me to know what’s going on.

Besides, calling them isn’t free noh!

Even if it is just laptop rental I can still complain if the service is crap, right? Hmmm…okay, no need for my blood to boil over this thing! I’m just happy I can watch American Idol again tonight! He he.

Well…i probably said “monday blues” here countless times. But then, who were in a great, lazy, pampering weekend that did not wish to take the Monday off and wish the weekend can last a little bit longer?

My Monday blues? I wanna stay in bed and sleep the whole day if possible. But then the internet is luring me to go online today. Hmmm…not bad really that I did. At least I get to clean up my mail inbox! Ha ha ha.

And then comes Wednesday and we will all wish it is Friday already! Ano ba talaga Kuya?!

Which just proves to show that most people would rather not have work weeks if they can get away with it, me thinks.

But then life isn’t forever Hilton Head rentals. Unfortunately, most of us gotta earn a living first!

Happy Monday people!

Just when there were only the top 3 finalists, I wasn’t able to watch American Idol this week. First I thought that because it has been raining heavily recently, that’s why some channels’ signal have disappeared. Yes, unfortunately it included Channel 16 on Dream TV: Star World — the cable channel where American Idol is shown here.

Now the skies have cleared and still no signal in some 10 channels. I decided to call the Dream TV Hotline last night and was told that we need to re-align the position of the dish or something.

I told my bros to do the thing within the day…but since they are puyat last night from their first paid band gig, they’re still a little sluggish to comprehend the instructions! he he he.

So…later. I still can catch this week’s 2 episodes of AI tomorrow at lunchtime, if we Star World channel working! But I already scoured the web for this week’s development. I don’t normally do that to avoid spoilers. But this time I made an exception.

Anyways…there are just two Davids left. I just wish America gets tired of the pop-balladeer type in David Archuleta and vote for the real, whole-package talent that is David Cook.

mom: good night raine, tulog ka na. (go to sleep)

raine: good night mommy, i love you.

mom: hmmm…palagi? (always?). kahit nagagalit ako? (even if get angry?)

raine: yes ma’. masaya ako ikaw ang mommy ko. (I’m happy you are my mom!)

mom: I’m happy too Raine…i love you.

raine: good night ‘ma, i love you.

mom: (speechless and can’t sleep anymore!)

What more can I ask for? Who needs sleep when you are loved like that?

Now it’s my turn. Ready?

Sing!

I only knew you for a while
I never saw your smile
’til it was time to go
Time to go away (time to go away)

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Happy mothers’ day to all the mothers out there. I just have no words to describe what a mother is. Words just aren’t enough. Selfless doesn’t even describe what a mother does.

Now that I am a mother, I know that I am a work in progress towards what a real mother is like. I have one that is always so giving and caring, I am not even an inch of her. Though what I know, I got all from her. Everyday with her, I still am learning.

To me, it often comes tricky to tell my mother what i feel about her. Well, except when I’m angry about something, not necessarily towards her!

I know my mother doesn’t need a plasma mount, or anything material for that matter for her to feel loved. I need not even say a word. But whatever I do, she gives me more actually. That’s just the way mothers are, I think. They always give you more — more than you ever need or wanted, without asking for anything in return.
So…happy mothers’ day…one day is just not enough. Everyday should be mothers’ day.

what rice crisis?!

there’s the highway, man!

look who the cleaners sent?!

who doesn’t need more of such tranquility?

Today would have been my father’s 62nd birthday. He died before he reached the age of 60. In our family, we never gave each other gifts on special occasions, such as birthdays, Christmases and the likes. Not even a card.

We just never got used to the act of gift giving I guess, but that doesn’t mean we do not express our love. My parents just raised us believing that there are too many ways of showing your love and appreciation to one another, aside from gifts and words, aside from hugs and kisses. Duh? I sometimes wonder what other ways. But yeah, there are.

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Well…I am not in a any category as the bloggers that Matt Richtel talked about in his In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop, NY Times article.

Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack.

In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.

I love what Larry Dignan wrote at ZDNet:

Let’s put a little perspective on this blogging thing. You could be getting shot at in Iraq. You could be a single mom working three jobs to stay afloat (Happy Birthday mom). You could work in a coal mine. You could be in a life and death battle with Leukemia.

You could be doing any one of thousands of high-stress jobs. Sure, the Web has a lot of stress but let’s get real: If you’re stressed out over 5,000 RSS feeds chances are good you’d be stressed by any profession you chose.

The point I was trying to make was that nothing (certainly the deaths of Russell and Marc Orchant and Om’s heart attack) exist in a vacuum. You have to take care of yourself.

I agree. Whatever your job is, you’ve got to take care of yourself. Also, like what I have always believe in, your job is not the be-all and end-all of your life. Life isn’t just all work, you gotta have a real life as well, and find the balance that works for you.

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Finally, here comes scientific evidence.

From Science Daily:

Whether a young man’s mother earned a college degree and whether she worked outside the home while he was growing up seems to have an effect years later when he considers his ideal wife, according to a study by University of Iowa sociologist Christine Whelan.

High-achieving men — those who earn salaries in the top 10 percent for their age and/or have a graduate degree — are highly likely to marry a woman whose education level mirrors their mom’s.

Could this explain why the wife and the mother-in-law never see eye-to-eye, because they are too the same? You tell me, I don’t have a MIL! Ha ha ha. And I think I will never have one.

Okay, I guess that much has been given all along. Only that there are still too many men in the world who get more blinded by a woman’s pair of legs instead of her brain and personality.

It would be interesting though, to see what eventually happened to those guys who married a pair of legs. Well, as a friend of mine always say: such guys only get that, a pair of legs!

Hmmm…it’s nice to know that men are now learning that brain+personality definitely trump a va-va-boom body.

As I write this, Raine has been sitting on his bus seat for some 5 hours already on the way home. He and lola will be arriving home around 2 am tomorrow.

Goodbye alone times, Mommy! Here comes Raine — the center of your world. He he.

But gosh…I miss him a lot. The past week he wasn’t here, I have been calling almost everyday. But it should do us both good I think. if we do this from time to time. My baby is not a baby anymore. He’s like a big man telling me about his day each time I called. That and he being all A-okay even if I wasn’t there!

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Sometimes I surprise myself. I think I have always bitten more than I could chew. But I chewed it anyway, even if I almost choked to death in the process.

This is one good time as any to sit back and check on myself. Can I really handle all these things I take on and now have? Am I happy, even if these things keep me on my toes all the time?

Ever since, I’ve always taken more than my plate can handle. If you ask my mother, she would say I was running even before I could learn to walk. In fact, she would still say that I still do not walk and that I am still running.

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I got the following via Hsien,

Your Mind is Purple

Of all the mind types, yours is the most idealistic.You tend to think wild, amazing thoughts. Your dreams and fantasies are intense.Your thoughts are creative, inventive, and without boundaries.You tend to spend a lot of time thinking of fictional people and places - or a very different life for yourself.

What Color Is Your Mind?

Hmm…interesting! I’m not sure if that last one is good or not. Though I really love watching TV shows that showcases people and places, their culture and lifestyles. But I don’t know about thinking a lot about them!

Idealistic and wild?! Odd combination, don’t you think?

Also…I’m not such a fan of purple anyway! Ha ha ha.

Anyways…that was kinda cool.

20 minutes ago, Raine and my mother took the bus going to Manila to visit my sister-in-law and nephew in Meycauayan (Bulacan) for at least a week.

I was so looking forward to this day because 1) i wanted to know how Raine or me will fare during the “separation” Since we came home, I’ve never been away more than three days without him; and 2) i wanted some peace and quiet in the house because lately, we’ve been in each other’s neck!

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busy, busy. we are busy bees.

my internet connection cannot keep up with me!

ha ha ha.