For Gerard, on His Special Day

On your special day, allow me to borrow these words from Abigail Adams, written for her husband, John Adams.

"My Dearest Friend,

...should I draw you the picture of my heart it would be what I hope you would still love though it contained nothing new. The early possession you obtained there, and the absolute power you have obtained over it, leaves not the smallest space unoccupied.

I look back to the early days of our acquaintance and friendship as to the days of love and innocence, and, with an indescribable pleasure, I have seen near a score of years roll over our heads with an affection heightened and improved by time, nor have the dreary years of absence in the smallest degree effaced from my mind the image of the dear untitled man to whom I gave my heart."

I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Happy Happy Birthday.

Typhoon Ondoy

In the midst of all this tragedy, it is the coming together of Filipinos that brings me to tears.

Over the weekend, Typhoon Ondoy left a wake of flood and destruction over the National Capital Region. Watching the news on TV, one cannot but feel helpless, watching the hundreds, if not thousands of people now left homeless due to the heavy rains and flood.

In this time of need, Cebuanos are coming together to help our fellow country men, The outpouring of of effort has been amazing. (You can read more about Cebuano efforts at Emily Dy's site here.)

Most especially, I am touched by the efforts of my friend Jay, who is helping put together a Live Aid concert as well as coordinating donations. If we could all pitch in together like these wonderful people, there is no telling what amount of assistance we can give to our fellow Filipinos.

Let us help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy.

Danica's Mango Cake

A few days ago, my co-worker Paul, ordered a mango cake from Danica of Talent Services. When I opened the box to check it out, my nostrils were hit by the sweet, citrus-y scent of mangoes. I'd honestly never come across a cake that smelled this good before! I had to try it.

The cake that Paul had ordered was a little too huge for me so April and I split one order instead. When Danica knocked on our window to let us know the cakes were ready, we rushed over to claim our goodies.


The first thing that surprised me was the weight of the box. Man this cake was heavy! And when I opened the box, sure enough, again, I was hit by this unbelievable smell of sweet mangoes. I couldn't wait to get home and taste it. And taste it I did!

Danica's mango cake actually had two layers of chiffon cake which sandwiched many slices of fresh mangoes. There was also another layer of fresh mangoes beneath the icing (peeking through in the photo below.)



Now, I don't normally like mango cake this much but this was very good. The chiffon cake itself was not very sweet, which made complimented the fresh mangoes nicely. The same went for the icing. What I loved most about this cake was that it had that distinct home-made taste and feel to it. It wasn't picture perfect like a store-bought cake, which made it all the more enticing.

The few bites I had, literally melted in my mouth. It was a very refreshing cake, perfect for a hot summer day!


Danica told me her family also makes other cakes including a chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting and that's next on my list.

The mango cake I ordered cost P300.00. Here's the number to the Arrojado residence, 253-4711, just in case you'd like to order too. Danica told me they may deliver depending on the location and their house is located in Lahug.

I'm definitely trying the chocolate cake next time!

A Popsicle Stick Day

I am easily seduced by paper. I admit it.

I love books. I love new packs of paper. I love journals. I love huge bookstores that I can just get lost in.

Today, after dropping off a special birthday present (composed of paper of course!) I had a quick, perfectly-portioned Japanese lunch followed by a good half hour of wandering around Cebu's newest bookstore, Fully Booked.

(I know the photo's not so great. It came from my phone.)

After a few minutes of stepping in, I realized that they were playing Christmas songs sung by Josh Groban! September really is here! And yes, the day was cloudy and a bit chilly. How I love meandering around this big bookstore, just looking at the paper and all the different books they had in display. I think it was really today, that I felt that Christmas is coming way faster and sooner than I expected.

And yes, I couldn't resist. I finally a bought a set of mini journals that I've had my eye for a while now. They're from one of my favorite journal/book companies, Chronicle Books in San Francsico.

Today was a good day. Most days are ok. Some are bad. Good days like these are like decadent popsicle sticks when you least expect one. You just want to savor the simplicity in it and the good feeling that today, was a nice day filled with simple pleasures.

Snapshots

I haven't posted in a while, mainly because last week was such a busy week.

I finally got around to downloading the few pics I had in my DSLR and I just wanted to share these shots from Dumaguete.

Shot of the banana turon from Azalea restaurant. A popular Filipino snack of banana, langka wrapped in the lumpia/egg roll wrapper, coated with brown sugar and deep fried. Haven't had a turon in a while!



Singer sewing machine turned cashier's table! Thought it was an interesting touch.



Lastly, a shot of a fisherman in the sunrise, taken from South Sea Resort.

Material Loss (Again!)

Yesterday, two cellular phones, a Canon digital Ixus camera, my mom's Omega watch, and some cash was stolen from my purse.

What can I do? Sure, I felt bad. I was stunned, I couldn't believe that it had happened to me AGAIN. I felt like a victim AGAIN. I couldn't believe it, was I just too trusting? Am I just not careful enough? Then again, who would have thought that it could have happened in that situation?

So, I took a few minutes to cry. And pray. And I am reminded that these are only material things.

If anything, that's what I learned the last time (when my credit card was stolen.) That you will lose things, and even if they are precious or expensive, in the end, they are only things. Yes it's money, but it was only money. There are infinitely many more things more precious than money and I am glad that I did not lose any of those precious things.

Again, I made a choice. I let myself feel bad for a day and I cried it out. Then I gathered myself together, attended to things such as replacing my phone and sim card, hugged my purse, and promised myself that I would be EXTREMELY careful in the future.

Things do happen for a reason. What matters is, how you deal with it. Dwell on the past? Or move on and learn? I chose the latter. As I always try to do. After all, what did I lose that cannot be replaced? (Except for my mom's watch maybe. I'm so sorry Mom.)