Liv in a Life Well-Lived

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...