Liv in a Life Well-Lived

At different points in my life, I wanted to be a nun, an actress, a maid, a teacher and a dolphin trainer. But in all points of my life, there is one thing I consistently wanted and that is to be a mother. I am at a point in my life though when I think that might be the one thing I may never be. My weight, let's admit it, will probably never go down south of 100 kilos. I have diabetes, and a history of difficult pregnancies in the family. To top it all of, my boyfriend still doesn't have any plans of asking me to marry him soon, and my chances are getting slimmer by the literal second. Sometimes I am angry at myself, for not connecting the dots about health and getting pregnant. Then I assuage myself by saying, I'm not financially ready anyway. This will be followed by a spate of resentment against my boyfriend for being so slow and contented while the one thing I want in life grows in jeopardy. It's not like I never discussed this with him. He's just too happy...

Cast of Hunger Games: Catching Fire I am biased. Way biased. No young adult fantasy could be as good as Harry Potter. Flawed as some characters may be in Suzanne Collins Hunger Games, the distinguishing factor of this series compared to, let's say Twilight, is the tight storytelling. The best thing about this movie is that it does not stray far from the book, so instead of confusing the audience, it actually serves as companion material to the book. Say for example,  I honestly appreciated seeing the film's idea of how the Dome looks like. I have to say it's even better than my own imagination's rendering of the Arena. Very few book-to-movie rendition can claim this, but the Catching Fire movie actually helps deepen the mythos of the book instead of distract from it. I also have to say that half of the reason why I loved the film was because of the heroine. Some people say Katniss Everdeen breaks the mold of modern heroines everywhere, but I disagree. Katniss...

Here's a window into my soul: I am the type of person who will not do something if I can't be the best in it. Some people actually exist who chooses to learn and be good at something even if they repeatedly fail at it. I am not one of them. Which basically explains my whole life. Which is why I know I am actually an underachiever, even if a few people may think otherwise. Gosh, even my parents believed it, i think. Case in point: If I took up a Math-based course in college, I will be lucky to generate a pass. But taking another course which has less structure in it can make me a magna cum laude. Maybe I shouldn't be belittling my past achievements, because let it not be mistaken that I didn't work for them. It's just that, I didn't work that hard for them. My sister always had an impression I never studied in college, which is of course a fallacy. But it's saying something that I can afford to read all the books I wanted and still get the grades. ...

Last night, I bought this book in an Islamabad old books shop for Pkr 595 (Php 250) in one of the many book shops scattered all over the city. For a nation that claims they do not like to read over much, they sure have a lot of bookstores. This particular bookshop though had a certain asset to it that very few bookshops nowadays can boast of -- a bookseller who apparently reads books. It helped he was a denim-clad, lion-haired, bollywood handsome young man with a fantastic smile. Upon entering his shop, an unusual conversation started --- unusual in the light of me not able ti imagine having a similar conversation at my local Booksale outlet in SM Fairview or any of the National Bookstores. Book guy (BG): I am glad you put down that book (referring to a bootleg copy of Dan Brown's Inferno I picked up only to check if it was indeed bootleg), it's a lot of talk, but not really good, eh? Me (trying to stay distant and still digesting the fact that apparently, cute guys ...

I write of books as I would write of an aging parent. With reverence, admiration, a lot of love, and a deep sense of foreboding at their possible demise. I have been raised by books as much as I have been raised by my loving parents.   I know all things are lost eventually, but mortality makes it difficult to accept that   a loved one who was so instrumental to your being alive could be lost. We have to wrestle the delusion of their invincibility as they take their last breath right in front of our eyes. So it was with me.So it is with books.   If you dig away at the layers of my humanity, you will find you won’t have to dig very far to find the solidified layers of lessons, values and stories that reading has given me. Each bone of my body has a patina of literature protecting it; a silvery sheen of extra strength that calcium or any mineral on earth cannot provide. With every book I have held, I have understood worlds. The firm hard covers, th...

(Inspired by a link shared by a common friend of Ian and I --- Thanks, Elaine) It has come up, it did. My boyfriend and I have skimmed through the M word for some time now, and making itty bitty smattering of plans that more or less falls on the other side of the line of our relationship. I am glad that our plans constitute of real things like where should we live, where our kids will study, who will be good cop or bad cop to the children. I think it's so much better than just talking about the wedding ceremony itself. I don't care a fig if Ian wears an Armani suit or something bought during the further reduction sale of Marks and Spencers. I don't need a Vera Wang gown, and I don't want fakey grated styrofoam posing as falling snowflakes to annoy my tropical climate guests. I know that girls are stereotyped to be the kind of creatures that  keeps Dream Wedding Journals since they were 8 years old. But I have always had what I thought to be a healthy disdain for ...

I have a craving today, and it can't be sated. I want to eat Paella. I know that this dish isn't anything like Sinigang na Baboy which has a huge following in the Philippines. But this has always been one of my favorite dishes. As a rice lover, I enjoy the richness and softness of the rice, the mixture of tomatoes and saffron, and the myriad possible toppings you could put on top of a paella. It's on my top 5 list of Spanish things I love (in good company with the Spanish language, the word delicadeza, the unique chorizo, and my own surname). I don't understand why Ian and Ella can't get into the paella craze. It's a complete meal on its own. I could eat it for days on straight! Anyways, the last Paella meal I had was in Shangri-la Mall's East wing --- in a new quaint resto called Corazon. It features Spanish-Filipino food, and serves the kind of meals you have grown up with. I luuurved it. Ian ordered the Molo Soup, and it was ok for tastes, but I on...

Of all the Marvel superheroes, the least I expected to love was Ironman. I was more of a Hulk kinda gal, until the Edward Norton movies ruined it for me. He was just too... wishy-washy, too emotive. A lot of people disagree with me, and at this particular point, I am not trying to dissuade them. But something was off and I couldn't put a finger on it. That is, until they got Mark Ruffalo, of course. Now I could just say, Hulk is more Mark Ruffalo than Edward Norton and let's leave it at that. But Ironman? Whoever was the casting director is a visionary because Robert Downey, Jr. IS Ironman. He has the grits, the slick, the brass and the vulnerability down to a pat. Downey's life hadn't been easy. He had his moments of slip-ups --- a whole decade of it. So it's this guy who has been so down, but managed to rise up again who could bring a love-to-hate character to life. Anyways, please don't expect this to be an unbiased review. I'm a fan, so of course...

Hi Everyone! It's another good news Sunday! This weekly blogging is harder than I thought! I had been occupied with a barrage of work and currently, I'm even in between trainings. But i couldn't let another Sunday pass without a slew of happy news. :D Today, I choose to be happy about the fact that our dear President, Noynoy Aquino, is in the top 100 Most Influential People of Time Magazine for 2013. A lot of politics can make it hard to view any politician as decent, but I really believe the Aquino administration is sincere about their fight for corruption. We just shouldn't expect instant results. There's a possibility that the full impact of the changes being made now won't be felt for at least one more generation. But at least we're doing something about it, and if we do manage to sustain it, we might just deserve our "Rising Star" branding from the global economic market. And how about this insighful thought about the realit...

 Each of us have a favorite restaurant, one which nourishes the soul, and not just your tummy. I'm not talking about Jollibee or McDo. I am talking about a place that offers food you know isn't bad for you and the ambiance alone can make you forget how vexing your work week had been. Ella and I consider Chelsea Market & Cafe one of our "nourishment for the soul" places. It's a bit on the pricey side (for our budget), so just the fact that we could only eat there once in a while makes it all the more special. And the restaurant itself has that inviting feel of homely coziness. Quiet, uplifting music plays in the background, inviting you to stay and relish your food. No crazy, ubiquitous jingles trying to make you shove your food into your mouth faster than you can say Mississippi.  Last Sunday, we decided to eat late lunch at Chelsea again. We've planned this for two weeks and my mouth is already watering at the thought of their glorious food. It...

The other night, I was at Highlands Coffee in Emerald Avenue where they are selling Smoked Salmon and Egg Salad Sandwich for Php 139. I remember being flabbergasted but I bought it anyway because I haven't had a good egg sandwich for ages. Unfortunately, the sandwich was a disappointment. The bread was too dry, and the spread wasn't as generous as I needed it to be. I made a resolution to make my own and avoid being hoodwinked into commercialized egg sandwiches again. The problem is, I have never ever made an egg salad sandwich in my life ! That's the thing about egg salad for me, I see it as a token of love because my Mom and my Tia Ely were the only ones who ever made one for us. It's always just there, isn't it? And it's just for the kids, right? . This first of a series will feature how I made my own grown-up version of the Egg Salad Sandwich. What You Need: 3 large eggs 1 pint Mayo / Pickle relish combo or        I used Ladys' Choice Sandwic...

Some people have an issue with Mondays. I, however, have an issue with Mondays and the mid-week hump. Getting to Friday can sometimes feel like you're swimming in a cesspool of dead dreams. So to avoid turning into an unimaginative drone, I am going to self-motivate. I am going to gather fantastic (nothing less!) quotes which really speaks to me, or share a funny story that happened in the workplace, or simply share a work incident which makes me happy. I am not an Accountant after all (due to absolutely zero Math skills), and my work stories can go beyond fascinating actuary and into the heart warming miscellany. Just the other day, a volunteering group in Mongolia (yes, that faraway Mongolia) is asking for help in setting up systems for their volunteering programs. Aside from the pretty possibility of my going to Ulan Bataar, I am also amazed at the their enthusiasm to empower their people to participate in their country's development. If this so many people want to help...

(the first official Movie Monday post from the resuscitated Geek's Guide) Yes, I know. Haven't we all tired of Tom Cruise yet? Not sure if you've been noticing it lately, but our dear TC has become a one-trick pony. Well, true, not just one trick per se, but his bag of tricks have been needing a freshening up as of late. He's become too much of an Action Star (with Capital A and S), and every time he does any supposedly new stunt, you feel the tickling of deja vu somewhere in your brain. Perhaps nobody was excited about Oblivion. I mean, with the barrage of dystopian movies we've been having lately, one does get desensitized. But I was excited about it because I love the terrible future we have ahead of us. I love how in our movies, we overcome it all-- how we transcend. One person could hope, right? i hope it all proves true that our inner heroes emerge just as the world around us all fall down. I have mixed feelings about Oblivion. The story was great...

Today, you woke up, chose to get out of bed, cook breakfast, attend Mass, kiss your kids. Savour Sundays, if only because we only get a limited number of it in a lifetime. For the first ever Good News Sunday post here at Geek's Guide, I feel great about the following: 1. Yes, Donaire did lose his boxing bout today. But isn't it fantastic that we have two, perhaps three, of this Decade's best boxers in history? People actually turned out to watch this fight. Not just Pinoys, but people from around the world. Obviously, this is not Amateur Night, people. :D 2. Cats are all over the Internet. But Dog-Lovers unite! Here is one undeniably cute post of french bulldogs and the baldest baby I've ever seen this side of the net-verse. Ha! Take that, kitty cat! 3. According to Rappler, a lot of people are HAPPY about the recent Senatorial debates. It's been pretty telling who of the candidates wants it bad, and who might actually be decent enough to vote. Ha...

And if your story is only about how you live your life, what fascinates you, what gets you out of bed in the morning, who you love... then it is a story worth getting out there. Sounds a bit narcissistic, doesn't it? But all writers, and I mean all writers have a bit of Narcissus in them, and a huge bit of Pandora too. What if? What then? How now? I should cut ties with this blog, I feel weighed down by all the memories and the thoughts of my old self. But ... If my principle truly is about evolution, about transcendence and living life well, then what better testament than the mistakes I made in the past? My story has started years ago, and what has happened in the past has made me the person I am now. I am still a confused jumble of notions and beliefs. I still ask a ton of questions, most of them left unanswered in one big Parking Lot for thoughts. But I feel different. I can hear a voice inside getting stronger, awake now after years of forced hermitage. Nothi...

When was the last time you did something for the first time? When was the last time you were awed by something unfamiliar and new? I was 17 years old when I told myself never to allow my future self to fall into mediocrity or apathy. I had no idea what lay ahead, and it was so easy to make promises that sounded easy enough to accomplish, given the circumstances I have always known. I used to have what jaded people call the mythical drive to be someone who does something important with her life. What I didn’t know is that there will be events in my life that will terrify me, will break me and unglue me. I didn’t know it will take me preternatural effort to pull myself together and use all my energy to impede self-implosion. I didn’t know how safe Mediocrity could become to someone forced to evacuate her comfort zone. I wish I had been one of those people whose reaction to grief was to push forward, climb mountains and tame lions. My nature and nurture instinct was t...