Oh No! No more Spiral!?!?

One of the places worst hit by Typhoon Pedring was Metro Manila, particularly those places near the Baywalk area or near the Manila Bay. At the time of Pedring’s wrath, we were ‘trapped’ in Tagaytay to facilitate a seminar-workshop for the office. So we were unaware of the havoc that Pedring was then wreaking across the country. It was only much later when we saw in the news what really happened. We saw Roxas Boulevard looking like a huge river so some famous establishments along it were expectedly also flooded – like the US Embassy and our favorite hotel – Sofitel! It’s like Manila Bay was trying to reclaim the sea that was originally part of it.

From the news feeds, we saw Sofitel’s pools totally flooded and what’s even worse – Spiral (its famous buffet resto) was totally destroyed. The people they interviewed claimed that huge waves crashed towards the hotel and so its glass walls just broke open and all their state-of-the-art kitchen equipment and wall-to-wall carpeting was just damaged by the sea water – oh no! Later on, when I was finally able to talk to my aunt she says even their entire offices (located in the basement) were affected. Good thing, though, that her car was saved when it was taken by the valet service to higher ground before the floods reached the parking lot. They said everything was just so unexpected and happened so fast so they didn’t have time to save much else. Their primary concern was the safety of their hotel guests so they immediately evacuated them since they had to cut the power off lest someone die of electrocution.

But I guess all of these would be rebuilt soon. My aunt says they’d be closing Spiral for good – and from its ashes a new restaurant shall be born. I just hope it would be as good or even surpass the old one! Go…go…go Sofitel! I hope you’ll be good as new the next time we go for a visit!

A VISIT TO PINK SISTERS

We have been to Tagaytay for countless times already and we have probably visited most of the popular sites there (although not all of it) but this time around I made it a point to go visit the Pink Sisters chapel. My visit there was actually not without a hidden agenda. You see my son is entering college next year and I was hoping and praying that he would pass the entrance test at the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) in Bataan. Hence, I decided to seek divine intervention from the Pink Sisters of Tagaytay. We left early to hear mass and it was such an eerie and awesome experience being there. The sisters were cloistered at the front pews and they were separated from the churchgoers with railings (almost like a prison) but I guess that just shows how protected they are from the outside world.

After the mass, the others went out to take a look at the pretty surroundings while I went to the prayer area to write down my special petition. I enclosed some money which I explained to be not meant as a bribe but rather a way to seek some kind of favor, a means for them to sustain their activities as they go about being an inspiration for others. I shed some tears as I wrote my special intention because I truly want so badly for my son to enter MAAP. I vowed to the Pink Sisters of Tagaytay to return whenever I can (each year if possible) to give them some sort of donation to show my appreciation. I have been praying long and hard for this, I just hope that my son also does his part and do his best on the entrance tests.

FIELDTRIP @ ENCHANTED KINGDOM

I got up early today at 3:15 am because it’s the day my daughter had been waiting for – it’s their fieldtrip to Enchanted Kingdom! After I finished fixing our baon (which I pre-cooked last night!), I woke her up and we took a bath. Then, by 4:30 I awakened the hubby so he could take us to school. Thirty minutes later, we were leaving the VMS campus and were on our way to our first stop, Kulturang Pilipino somewhere near the Luneta compound. The place is really a fun place for kids since they would get to know about Philippine dances, songs, history, artifacts and even values. It was a bit small though so the students had to come in by batches and wait for their turn at each of the rooms that showed them a bit about our culture.













Next stop was the Light and Sound museum at the Rizal park, the only problem though was that it was broad daylight so the students weren’t able to appreciate the real show. There was only a tour guide who narrated the final events of Jose Rizal’s life including the final gunshot that killed him. It was around 11 when we finally left for Nuvali where the kids (and parents) had lunch (most of us ate at the bus since it was cooler) and only went down to use the restroom, visit the tiangge and check out the rest of the place. There were many fishes which the kids had fun feeding. By 1pm, the buses rolled off to go to the main highlight of their fieldtrip – Enchanted Kingdom!







But alas! Despite all their excitement it seems these girls are not really so adventurous after all! Because they preferred to ride the more conventional rides and wouldn’t dare to take on the more exciting ones. But I did not pressure them since it’s their field trip after all and so it is their wishes that should be followed. The girls decided to go and watch RIALTO first, a 3D type of moviehouse that has moving chairs to enhance the experience that the viewers are actually not just watching the movie but in the movie itself, well, almost! The movie that was currently showing then was Happy Feet and it was truly a riveting and jolting experience but still short since it lasted all of twelve minutes and yet we waited almost an hour in line to get inside. But then, I guess we didn’t have much choice since all the other rides have the same kind of long lines. The next ride they decided on was the Up, Up and Away. Afterwards, they went on a carousel ride and then ate some snacks at the food court there. We wanted to ride the ferris wheel also but there was just no more time since we need to get back to the bus already.








I guess we wasted too much time trying to decide which ride to take; trying to find something they would all like – others want the bump car but the others don’t; some want to ride the Roller Skater – which is a mini roller coaster actually but the others don’t; even the Giant Ferris wheel and Anchor’s Away were shunned by the kids, they think it was boring! I guess the kids failed to take advantage of the ride all you can ticket that they bought. Besides, all the other rides were not allowed to them like the Rio Grande, Jungle Log Jam, Space Shuttle Max and the Extreme Tower Ride. Oh well, I guess I shouldn’t have lifted my hopes up. Maybe when my daughter is a bit older we could go back and enjoy all those other rides we failed to take. That is, if I am not yet too old to ride!

Kitchen misadventure series 36 – Mac and cheese for baon…why not?

Today, I decided to wake up earlier than usual because I wanted to cook something special for my kids’ baon – no there’s no special occasion, it’s not anybody’s birthday or anniversary - I just wanted to cook mac and cheese -that’s all! The recipe I used was a very basic one – I just boiled the pasta in water first. Then, while I was waiting I cooked the sauce – some basic red sauce recipe wherein I used some leftover ham and corned beef sautéed in garlic and onions before adding the spaghetti sauce. It took me a bit longer than usual though to finish cooking because there were just so many things I needed to do for the mac and cheese – like grate some cheese, chop onions and garlic, boil the pasta, etc. But I guess it would be well worth the effort knowing the happy surprise in my daughter’s face when she sees her baon!

MS UNIVERSE 2011 – Our bet made it to the top 5!

We spent the entire morning today just glued to the TV to watch Shamcey Supsup as she vies for the Miss Universe crown. Admittedly, the country is filled with citizens just waiting for the time when the Philippines will win another Miss Universe crown and I am one of those hoping against hope that Shamcey will be the one to finally break the lull. After all, she is beauty and brains rolled into one. But, despite being among the crowd favorites and despite her straight English and perfectly acceptable answer during the Q and A, she only got the 3rd runner-up crown - why oh why???

I think her answer was great! She stood by her beliefs and proudly pronounced that God comes first in her life. Well, the Philippines being a predominantly Catholic nation, that should be understandable to all, even the judges. But I guess they didn’t see it that way. The idea that Shamcey would impose her religion on the person she loved probably did not sit well with them. I guess they would have wanted her answer to be more on respecting the religion of the other and accepting the person you love for what they are, but hey that’s her belief! She should not have been judged on how she answered but rather on how she remained calm and collected while answering the very very difficult question they asked her. Oh well, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. What matters is that Shamcey once again made it to the Top 5! The Filipinos have shown (thru Shamcey’s victory) that we truly are indeed among the world’s most beautiful women! We’re so proud of you Shamcey!

Kitchen misadventure series 35 – Chicken curry

Here’s another favorite comfort food, which thankfully my son also shares. My daughter has not developed a taste for it yet since she says it’s a bit spicy but eventually I hope she’d like it. The hubby, however, doesn’t like it so I am only able to cook this dish for the kids baon (and mine of course!) The recipe is actually very basic – I just sautéed the chicken in ginger, onion and garlic then let it simmer until cooked. Then you add the curry and some patis for seasoning, milk or gata (whichever is available) and the carrots and potatoes. Let everything simmer for a bit longer until the vegetables are cooked and voila! Chicken curry!

MONA LISA SMILE – a film review

[photo/poster grabbed from IMDB]

Finally, here is one good movie about teachers – totally unlike Bad teacher, since this movie is about Kate Watson, an art teacher who had a very modern outlook and wished to imbue her passion not just for art but in life to her mostly conventional and traditional students of Wellesley College. Katherine soon learns that her students have memorized her entire syllabus through their textbooks so she decides to disregard her lesson plan and teach them in unconventional ways to let them start thinking for themselves. She gets into a conflict with some of her students and their parents not just for her teaching methods but for her beliefs that a girl should strive for more in life than just wait for the right man to marry.

The movie kinda reminded me of another film – Dead Poet’s society but this time the students are all girls including their teacher. But the similarity ends there since their storyline is totally different. Mona Lisa Smile was set in the 50s and it tackled the women’s need to gain more academic freedom and independence. And with a progressive teacher like Watson, they eventually manage to think out of the box, well, most of them. Betty (Kirsten Dunst) is highly conservative and failed to understand why Watson remains unmarried and is pushing her students to think beyond marriage and embark on ‘careers’ of their own. When her marriage fails near the end of the movie, she realizes that marriage isn’t everything and decided to pursue a law degree and enroll in Yale.

Joan (Julie Stiles), another student, is early on seen to have been influenced positively by Watson and inspires her to pursue a degree in Yale law school where she is eventually accepted. But in the end she elopes with her fiancée and instead asks Watson for understanding and to respect her choice. Watson is also shown here with an ex-boyfriend who flies in from California to propose marriage but she declines since she feels she doesn’t love him enough. Then, there’s another Italian teacher whom Watson starts dating but when she discovers that he continues to have affairs with his students and that he lied about being in the war, she breaks up with him.

In the end, the school realizes that Katherine’s course has become popular with students and asks her to return next year but imposes conditions for her to follow. So she decides to leave and explore Europe by herself. This is a good ending since it showed how she is unwilling to compromise her principles. Her students all cry upon seeing her leaving but she still dashes off, leaving them with her graceful Mona Lisa smile. Indeed, this is one movie that would make you smile and believe that there are still wonderful teachers out there like Katherine Watson. In the movie, however, the term Mona Lisa smile is made to refer to how the women in the 50s conspire to hide the lies and frustrations that they have in life - outwardly smiling even if deep inside they are hurting and totally unhappy with their lives.

NEW KITS FROM WHITEY (AGAIN!)

Since we bought the bunnies last year (around August), Whitey had given birth three times already - imagine that? Spaced three months apart, Whitey gave birth to five kits on her first pregnancy, then three on her second and you won’t believe this - eight kits this time around. I first heard her scratching wildly inside her cage at around 4:30 am so I went down and saw that she was once again already molting. I just made a makeshift nest for her using an old shoe box since her regular wooden box I found wet under the langka tree. I noticed a wide gash, though on Whitey’s left cheek, maybe she hurt herself while she was removing hair from her body to place inside the nest. I touched it a bit and saw it wasn’t bleeding and so I just let her be lest I agitate her further.

It was around 10am when Whitey started giving birth and at that time, Ace counted three kits all at the same time. I thought then that it would be the end but when we lifted her out of the box, it seems she was giving birth to one more, in fact, five more! But it was just too bad that two of them died quickly. I guess they were just too small when they came out – seemingly premature and unable to move so they can’t nurse properly. Or maybe mother rabbits have only six nipples??? I don’t really know, I never got around to checking but what really got me so excited was seeing Whitey give birth to eight new baby bunnies - hurrah for Whitey! Here are pics of her new babies.

P.S. Another one died a few more days later, so I guess it's now just down to five...

NEW LANGKA FOR 2011

It has been quite some time since we had seen any fruit from our langka tree. In fact, I don’t recall having any fruit at all this year. Imagine, it is only now that we are having another fruit after the langka gave us so many last year. I think it bore fruit twice last year and it had as much as 5 fruits each time so we didn’t know what to do with it! But thank God that the tree didn’t truly make ‘tampo’ because that’s what the oldies say when the trees stop bearing some fruits. Well, finally we have a new fruit from our tree, just one though for this particular tree and none yet from the other one. I just hope it gets ripe before Christmas so we would be able to use it for our sweets.

LINGGO NG WIKA @ VMS

Today I went on leave to watch my daughter’s presentation for their school’s Linggo ng Wika celebration. I gave her a bath, dressed her up and let her go with the schoolbus while I will just follow to bring her things since the program starts at 11 am. When I arrived at their school, she was anxiously waiting for me already at the gate and so I hurriedly dressed her up and made up her face before proceeding to their classroom. Then, I went down to the Grand Zenith to wait for the program to start. They performed ninth so I was unable to leave to go to the canteen and buy some food. Instead, I waited till they were finished performing before I fed her some lunch. She too can’t leave their place in line until their performance is over. I was unable to appreciate their performance this year because they used a folk dance from Bohol. In fact, even their music wasn’t something that everyone would recognize so it got a bit boring after a while. But I still stayed behind to watch all the presentations. Kaye and I left after the program ended and we went straight home, just bought ice cream at Palmera and some snacks. Here are some pictures of her and some classmates in their colorful costumes.

BRINGING BUNNY TO THE VET

It’s now Bunny’s turn at the vet and I do hope he gets cured soon. He’s been sick for so long. I would have wanted to have him injected since June but the budget and schedule does not allow it. During the rare times that we are at home, it seems we do not have any extra money to bring him to the vet and now finally, we had the time and the money to do so. I just hope he gets back to his old form soon enough.










P.S. Too bad that I was unable to get a pic of Bunny when he was finally cured of his mites. The last pic was taken Sept 9, about two weeks after he was vaccinated and he is healing here quite nicely. We brought him to BP when we went home last Sept 24 and our nephew, who resides in Tondo, asked for a rabbit and we decided to give Bunny to him since there were new kits that needed to be housed in Bunny’s old cage. Now I won’t be able to see him again… boohoo!

MY DAUGHTER’S FAVORITE BREAKFAST

Everyone in our family has a different breakfast favorite – my husband likes dried fish (daing, tinapa or dilis) with scrambled eggs in tomatoes while my son, likes tocino or luncheon meat with fried eggs. My daughter, on the other hand, enjoys bacon so much! But I refrain from serving it to her every day, in fact; I only buy it once every two weeks since I know very well that processed meat is just bad for the health. I would have shunned it altogether but I can’t since it’s only very rarely that she eats with much gusto like when her baon or breakfast is bacon. So I have no choice until I can find a better and healthier alternative, I guess I have to continue serving her some bacon every two weeks or so.

THE ORPHAN - A movie review

[photo grabbed from IMDB]

Creepy - that’s one apt word that would fully describe this movie! But I got interested to watch it after seeing the movie listed as one of the scariest movies of all times. It was not really scary in the real sense of the word but rather disturbing, especially if it is something that would happen to you or to someone you care about. The movie is top billed by a young girl named Esther who was adopted by a young couple, Kate and Jon. They already have two children – Danny and a deaf-mute girl named Max. But still the couple opted to adopt a child so that Kate could cope with the death of their last child, who was stillborn. Kate became an alcoholic and had been seeing a therapist who also encouraged them to adopt so that Kate could get over the loss of her daughter.

The next scene shows Jon and Kate at an orphanage for girls and there they meet and immediately fall in love with Esther. They soon take Esther home and find that Max takes an instant liking to her new sister while Danny remains aloof and even asked why she dresses differently. A celebration at home is held to welcome Esther and she is entered in the same school as Danny. At home, Kate begins to sense something different about Esther – while taking a bath she locks her doors though Kate said they don’t lock doors in the house, particularly bathrooms. But Esther says she doesn’t want anyone walking in while she is in the bathroom and so she says she will just sing for Kate to let her know she’s okay. Kate also found an old bible with a photo of a man inside, hidden in Esther’s drawer.

Meanwhile, at school Esther’s book is purposefully knocked off by Danny and as she bends to pick it up, another girl, Brenda tries to remove the ribbon at her neck and she ends up screaming and kicking in anger. The next day, at home during piano lessons with Kate, she tries to encourage Esther to talk about what happened but she says there was nothing to talk about. Then, another incident is shown with Esther pushing the girl Brenda off the slide at the neighborhood park. Max saw what she did but did not tell anyone and merely said the girl slipped because she was afraid of Esther.

A few days later, Sister Abigail from the orphanage comes to visit after learning about the incident at the park. She tells them that details about Esther’s past have remained a mystery even to them so they should try to find out more about her past. Esther panics and so with Max’s help she kills Sister Abigail with a hammer and they push her body off the hill. Afterwards, they change out of their bloody clothes in Danny’s tree house. Danny, hiding in the bushes, sees them going out of the tree house. Esther sees him but doesn’t make a move. While he slept, Esther visits him in bed and holds a cutter blade to his throat to ask what he saw. But he said he saw nothing so she threatens to castrate him if he tells anyone.

The next day when Kate dropped Danny and Esther at their school, Esther releases the car’s brakes with Max still strapped in her seat. Kate runs after the vehicle as it rolls down the hill but she is unable to stop it. Finally, the car bumps into a huge pile of snow and she is able to retrieve Max unharmed. Jon and Kate get into an argument about what happened but Kate insists she put the car brake on. Jon finally relents and lets Esther see a psychiatrist but surprisingly she was able to make the psychiatrist believe that it was Kate who had trouble accepting her.

In the next scene, Jon is seen waking up Esther to bring her to the dentist but Esther refuses to go and instead said she wants to spend the day with Jon. Jon allowed her to paint by his side while he works (as an architect). Esther says she has waited a long time for a father like Jon and that she feels Kate doesn’t love her. Jon suggested that she do something nice for Kate. So at dinner time, Esther presents Kate with a surprise – cut white roses from Jessica’s garden – and Kate in her fury grabs Esther by the arm. Jon arrives and sees Esther rushing off crying while Kate crumples to the floor with the roses in her hand. That night, Esther sneaks into the tool shed and places her arm in a vice to break it. Then, she goes to bed and cries for Jon who rushes to comfort her and bring her to the doctor. He sleeps with Esther in their bed while Kate, still insisting that she didn’t grab her that hard, slept downstairs on the sofa.

A few days later, Jon confronts Kate with Dr. Browning about her going back to drinking. She denies it and he countered by showing two empty wine bottles. Kate insists she did not drink them but poured the wine down the sink. But Jon was not inclined to believe her and threatened to divorce her if she does not go to rehab. Meanwhile, Danny has gotten tired of always being in fear of Esther so he decides to do something about it. He asked Max what she knew and so Max showed him drawings of what happened to Brenda, Sister Abigail and the car accident. She even told Danny that the bloody clothes and hammer she used were in his tree house. They vowed to get the evidence to convince their parents about Esther so she can finally be locked away. Their only problem was that Esther overheard them.

So when Danny sneaks into the tree house to find the hammer and clothes, Esther suddenly appears behind him. She pours gasoline over the ‘evidence’, locks Danny inside the tree house and lights a match. Danny crawls out the window and screams for Kate but she doesn’t hear him. The tree house crumbles beneath him leaving him broken and unconscious but still alive. They bring him to the hospital and while Jon and Kate were talking with the doctor, Esther sneaks into Danny’s room to try to kill him. But the nurses were alerted when Danny’s heart flat lined so they rush into his room to revive him. Kate sees Esther inside the room and screams at her to stay away. Kate is sedated and is confined in the hospital with Danny. Jon decides to bring the girls home.

At the hospital, Kate receives a call from the Saarne Institute in Estonia where Esther was last held. It turns out that Saarne Institute is not an orphanage after all but a mental institution. The Doctor Varava she talked to further revealed that Esther wasn’t a nine year old girl but a 33-year old woman named Leena Klammer. She was one of their most violent patients hence the bruises from her straitjacket in her wrists and neck (now Kate knows why she wears those ribbons all the time). Meantime, at the house Esther puts on tons of makeup and wears a revealing outfit to try to comfort Jon. Jon, who had been drinking sobs openly to her and tells her of his worries. But when she comes on to him and tells him that she loves him, Jon snaps out of his stupor and tells her to go back to her room.

Kate escapes from the hospital to try to rescue her family. Jon goes off to search for Esther in her room and is horrified to see hidden beneath her paintings so much scenes of sex and violence. Esther then turns out all the lights in the house and stabs Jon. Max saw everything so she runs off and hides in the greenhouse. Kate arrives and breaks down upon seeing Jon dead. But she continues to search for Max. Kate ends up in the roof of the greenhouse and when she sees Esther about to discover Max she screams and so Esther shoots her instead. She falls on top of Esther who is rendered unconscious. When Kate wakes up, she takes Max to the pond and they see cops enter the house. But when the cops reach the greenhouse, Esther’s body can’t be found. It seems she followed them to the pond and she then stabs Kate with a knife. Max gets Esther’s gun and fires but she hits the pond so the two fall into the water. They continue to wrestle in the water and as Kate climbs up, Esther holds on to her leg pleading with her to not let her die. Kate kicks her hard and she sinks down into the water as Kate and Max escape.

Now for the review – the movie was beautifully done – particularly with the almost natural performance rendered by the child/woman Esther. But this movie is definitely not for kids because of its ‘anti-adoption’ theme and dangerous imitable behavior. The violence shown against and by the children in the movie is shocking and brutal. This movie was just totally, totally disturbing …one that could chill and thrill at the same time. Would I watch this movie with my kids, well I already did but I just need to properly guide them that such kind of behavior is not something to be emulated.

GALAXY TAB OR LENOVO NETBOOK???

I joined some officemates today who went to SM North Edsa to buy a laptop. I went with them during lunch hour so I could also browse and see if there’s anything I want for Christmas. Well, I saw not one but two that I liked and since I can’t afford both of them, I have to decide what I really want to buy. I first saw the HP 110 netbook on sale at a newspaper ad they put out about a month ago. It was priced at only 17K and at the time, I figured it was already a reasonable buy. But when my officemate changed his mind and decided to buy a Lenovo laptop instead of a netbook, I saw this stylish red Lenovo netbook priced at just 19K but had definitely higher specs than the HP and so I changed my mind too! Here’s a quick look at their specs:

Lenovo Ideapad S100 106722U Specifications

Operating System: Windows 7 Starter
Processor: Intel Atom N455 (1.66GHz, 512KB L2 cache, 667MHz FSB)
Chipset: Mobile Intel NM10 Express
Memory: 1GB DDR3 RAM (1 slot, SODIMM 204-pin, Max 2GB)
Storage: 250GB HDD (5400 rpm)
Display: 10.1 inch WSVGA VibrantView LED-backlit (glossy screen)
Display Resolution: 1024 x 600
Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 (integrated graphics)
Audio: Integrated Sound Card
Built-in digital microphone
Speaker 1.5W x 2 speakers
Webcam: 0.3 megapixel
Ethernet LAN: 10/100 Fast Ethernet
Wireless LAN: Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Memory Card Reader: MultiMedia Card (MMC)
Secure Digital (SD)
Ports: VGA for connecting to an external monitor
3 USB 2.0 ports
RJ45 LAN port
1 x 3.5mm Headphone/Microphone Combo jack
Keyboard and Touchpad: 98% full-size AccuType keyboard with individual rounded keys
for comfortable and accurate typing and touchpad
Dimensions (W x D x H): 10.6″ x 6.6″ x 0.6~1.1″
Weight: 2.7 lbs. (1.22 kg)
Power/Battery: 6-cell 48Wh Lithium-Ion Battery, up to 5 hours

HP MINI NOTEBOOK 110

Processor - 1.66 GHz Intel Atom Processor N280
Cache - 512 KB Level 2 cache
Memory - 1024MB (1 x 1024MB)
Memory Max - Up to 2GB
Video Graphics - Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Hard Drive - 160 GB (4200 rpm) 1.8"
Display - 10.2” Diagonal WSVGA HP Brightview Infinity Display w/ Built-in Camera and
Microphone
Fax/ Model Network Card - High speed 56K modem 10/100 LAN
Wireless Connectivity - 802.11b/g WLAN
Bluetooth
Audio - Integrated Intel High Definition Audio
External Ports:
• 3 USB 2.0
• RJ-45
• Headphone-out/Microphone in combo jack
• Expansion Port
• AC adapter
Weight - 1.11 kg (2.89 lbs)
Operating System - Genuine Windows XP home

My REAL PROBLEM came when I saw the 7-inch Galaxy tab and boy, oh boy! There was a product on display at the Samsung center and I just enjoyed fiddling with it and playing Angry Birds. I also saw that it had an e-book reader and word apps like word, excel and powerpoint – just what I need! But the problem is the price – it costs a whopping 25K coz I wanted the 3g version not just the wifi! Oh dear, I’m gonna have to save up some more so I would be able to buy this on December, otherwise this is a gonna be a real problem for me! I hope the office gives us a hefty bonus or else all my dreams would be --- pfft!

SINUS ARRYTHMIA AND UTI AGAIN!?!

Yesterday, I received my results from the APE (Annual Physical Exam) that we had just a week ago and to tell you frankly I wasn’t quite surprised with the results. I had UTI again, with the pus cell count just TMTC (too many to count!) I was even diagnosed to drink some medicines for a week before going back to the doctor again to have my urine rechecked if there’s any improvement. Meanwhile, I searched the internet for some home remedies for UTI and found quite a few I could use – including herbal ones like sambong and banaba which I could regularly drink as tea. There was also cranberry juice, yogurt and Vitamin C. There were also certain foods to avoid like coffee, tea, chocolate (oh no!), peanuts, softdrinks, spicy food, cheese, processed sugar and flour, and spinach (but why???) But most of all, I need to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day, something I really need to monitor because if not, I tend to just drink during meals. So in essence I drink only 3 glasses per day, the others are coffee or choco drinks which do not really count at all! Oh dear, I truly need to make a serious effort to drink water regularly so that I can beat this UTI once and for all.

What got me a bit worried though was my ECG reading that I had sinus arrhythmia - what does that mean? My heart has a cold??? So I immediately searched the internet and was a bit calmed when I learned that it is just a normal occurrence since the heart may experience a regular increase in heart rate due to breathing or any other normal activity. Sinus, by the way, refers to the natural pacemaker of the heart or the sinus node. The heart beats in a normal regular rhythm when we sleep or when motionless. Hence, the term sinus arrhythmia refers to the lack of a regular/normal sinus rhythm or an abnormal heart rhythm. Therefore, it is not something to be worried about though I would rather have my ECG repeated, after all it’s for free, just to make sure that my heart is in tip-top shape.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 34 – Steamed fish in olive oil and sweet and sour fish

Today for our lunch, I decided against cooking tilapia the usual way – simply frying them and serving a vegetable dish on the side. Instead, I opted to cook a healthier version of it via steaming with lots of garlic and ginger and a dollop of olive oil. The recipe for steamed fish (which I got from Pinoycooking rocks) called for some parsley but since I didn’t have any, I substituted onion leaves instead. I also used tilapia because I didn’t have maya-maya or any other bigger fleshy fish since it would just be for myself lang naman. For the rest of the family, I cooked sweet and sour tilapia.

For the sweet and sour tilapia, the fish was fried first in hot oil. Then I prepared the sauce by mixing together some vinegar, sugar, tomato sauce and salt. I also stir-fried some vegetables like onions, ginger, carrots, bell pepper and some onion leaves for garnish. (For the exact recipe search Pinoy cooking rocks) Then when all the fish had finished frying, just pour the sauce and the vegetables over the fish and serve at once.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 33 - CHICKEN MENUDO

Today, I decided to put a twist on a classic favorite. Instead of using pork in my menudo, I decided to put chicken cutlets instead. Well, they say necessity is the mother of invention and today I guess this is proven true since I didn’t have pork in my ref just chicken leg fillets. So I had no choice but to follow the same procedure in cooking menudo but substituting chicken for the pork - and guess what??? My children liked it! I guess it’s also a better alternative to pork especially for those people who want to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

BAD TEACHER: A Film review

This is a very light movie about an unconventional teacher Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) who curses in class, drinks heavily, and takes drugs. During class she often falls asleep and just gets by with her classes by letting her students watch movies. Her problems start when she is dumped by her rich boyfriend after he learns she is just after his money. So she starts making the moves on another teacher Scott Delacorte (played by Justin Timberlake). But when her advances seem unnoticed by Scott, she decides to have breast implants. And since she cannot afford it, she participates in her 7th grade class fund raising activity with a sexy car wash. She also coerces her students’ parents to give her money for school supplies.

Later, she learns that the teacher with the highest state scores will get a hefty bonus so she changed her teaching style and made her students study vigorously for the upcoming test. But Halsey’s efforts to prepare her students were not enough so she decides to steal the exam by pretending to be a journalist and coerces/seduces the man in charge of the state exam. She also takes nude pictures of the poor guy as insurance in case she gets caught. One month later, Halsey wins the bonus and is seen next setting an appointment with the doctor for her breast implants.

Meanwhile, the guy she is eyeing becomes chummy with another teacher (Amy Squirrel) while a gym teacher (Russel Gettis) tries to court her. She then manipulates an upcoming field trip by putting poison ivy on an apple in Teacher Amy’s desk so she ends up as the class chaperone with Scott. During the field trip, she seduces Scott and they have sex with their clothes on. Squirrel finds out because Halsey calls her voice mail and leaves the phone on during their ‘sexual interlude’. During the field trip, Halsey advises one of her students to let go of a crush on another student because she is too superficial. Later on she realizes that she, too, has become superficial with her love interests.

Amy becomes mad as hell and so she switches Halsey’s desk with hers so she can have someone unlock it and search for some evidence that she won the bonus unfairly. She finds copies of the state exam and sets up a meeting for Halsey with the school principal and superintendent. But, Halsey is able to get off scot-free by blackmailing the guy who gave her the tests. Instead, she retaliates by saying that some teachers in the school are doing drugs and so the cops are called in with drug-sniffing dogs and they soon find drugs in Amy’s desk (which is actually Halsey’s). Amy is then moved to another school.

With Amy gone, Scott tries to make the moves on Halsey but she turns him down after realizing how superficial she has been and how she had a great thing going with the school gym teacher, Gettis. The film ends with Halsey shown going to class the next year without breast implants because she says she doesn’t need them. She is now kinder to her co-workers and is in a relationship with Gettis. She has also become the school’s new Guidance Counselor.


In all, I think the movie is good if you’re into funny and sexy movies, not really a highly recommended movie for kids because of the story’s sexual content and some profanity and reference to drug use. It is also not very good to show a story to kids about a teacher who thinks she can get away with being “bad” all the time since it may change their mind about their teachers. Diaz does not really come off as a good role model especially for kids who want to be teachers someday. Maybe, if the film opted to have Diaz suffer even a wee bit so she would be held accountable for her actions it would have made a just ending. I guess this movie would not sit at all well with all the hard-working and dedicated teachers out there because of the way they are depicted in this story. But hey, after all this is just a movie and all was done in the spirit of fun!

[photo grabbed from IMDB]

A SWOLLEN TOE

Last night I found it difficult to sleep coz I had pain in my big toe on the left foot -it’s beginning to swell and I couldn’t figure out why? I had a pedicure last Sunday and it’s already Wednesday afternoon when I felt a bit of pain. Then, around 2am today I was kept awake by the pain so I took some pain reliever meds to be able to sleep and when I awoke my toe was quite swollen already. So I just wonder if this was due to the pedicure why it was only acting up after three days??? I tried to wrack my brain thinking if I somehow stubbed it somewhere but I just can’t remember anything but then again knowing me I guess I probably did since most of the time I would see some dark bruise on my thighs and I knew I bumped it somewhere.

So when I awoke this morning, I just placed a Betadine dressing on the toe and wrapped a gauze bandage around it. Tonight I plan to go herbal and place moringa leaves, since its known to have antibiotic properties. But if things still don’t go well, I guess I may be forced to take antibiotics just to relieve the swelling. As it is I’m already finding it difficult to walk and I guess I may be in for a really rough time if this thing isn’t cured at once.

XMEN FIRST CLASS: A film review

I have always enjoyed films that show the origins / beginnings of something, in fact I particularly enjoyed the movie showing the origins of Wolverine and this time the beginnings of Professor X and Magneto were quite extensively explained. The movie starts with Magneto as a young boy in 1944 showing his powers of magnetism at a Nazi ghetto camp. He is spotted by Bernard Shaw, a German scientist and so the next day, he forces the child to move a metal coin on his desk and when he is unable to do so Shaw kills the boy’s mother. In rage, the boy (named Erik Lensherr) kills two guards and destroys the entire room. Meanwhile, Charles Xavier is shown as a young boy meeting another mutant – Raven / Mystique posing as his mother. Charles, instead of getting mad at the mutant girl got so excited finally meeting someone ‘different’ like him so he persuades Mystique to live with his family.

The movie shifts to present day in 1962 with Erik Lensherr as a young man, forcing a banker to trace the address of gold shipment for Shaw in Argentina. Apparently, Erik is still trying to get back at Shaw and is shown next killing three men also from the Nazi camp. Charles Xavier, on the other hand is now an Oxford University graduate with a thesis on mutation. In Las Vegas, Nevada Shaw is shown with US Army Colonel Henry whom he is threatening to force the to US install some missiles in Turkey.

Meanwhile, due to his thesis, Xavier is tapped by CIA agent Moira Mactaggart for help with mutants and together they are able to track down Shaw. At that time, Eric has also been tracking Shaw and moves to attack him but he fails and is saved instead by Xavier when Shaw escapes in a submarine. Eric then decides to join Xavier and Raven in the CIA facility where they meet Hank, another mutant. Hank created the prototype for the cerebro machine which they use to track down other mutants to recruit and stop Shaw.

Eric and Xavier go off to a Russian camp thinking Shaw would be going there but instead Shaw sends Frost whom they capture to learn Shaw's evil plans. Instead, Shaw attacks their hideout at the CIA facility and recruits Angel and kills another mutant, Darwin. When Xavier and Eric return, they start training the mutants to harness their powers in a battle with Shaw and his team.

The battle at sea begins with both US and USSR not knowing they are being played by Shaw to fight against each other and begin a World War. But Xavier and his rag-tag team of mutants come to save them from being pitted against each other. Xavier mind-controls a Russian ship to strike at the missile ship being controlled by Shaw and his men. Eric meanwhile searches for Shaw and finds him in a submarine which he pulled out of the water. When Eric was able to successfully get Shaw’s helmet, Xavier takes control of Shaw but what Xavier didn’t foresee was Eric putting on the helmet himself and killing Shaw with ‘the coin’.

When Eric comes out of the submarine, Xavier tries to convince him to stop the madness he is planning to do. But Eric countered that they are being attacked by the humans they have just desperately tried to save. So Eric holds the missiles in the air and deflects them back to the humans that launched them (both the American and Russian fleets). Xavier tries desperately to distract Eric to stop the missiles from hitting its targets and in the ensuing fight, Xavier is hit by a bullet fired by CIA agent Moira that paralyzes him from the waist down.

In the end, Xavier fails to convince Eric to return to their team and so Eric leaves with Raven, Angel, Riptide and Azazel in a bid to dominate the Earth. Xavier meanwhile puts up a school for mutants in an old mansion while confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The last scene shows Magneto in his new uniform (still wearing the helmet that could block Xavier’s thoughts) breaking Frost out of the CIA prison.

In summary, suffice it to say that I love the entire X-men franchise - all three previous films and the origins with Wolverine. This would definitely be included in the list of movies in original DVD that I want to own/buy someday. This particular movie was dazzling in its use of effects and the numerous characters it introduced and explained their beginnings. I just hope the next installment to the franchise would be just as spectacular and the characters all the more interesting. I also hope to get a copy of the original X-men cartoons or even an e-book of the comic book (if any). Truly I am admittedly a die-hard X-MEN fan!

[photo/poster grabbed from IMDB]