Goodbye My Friend

Last November 28, I lost a dear friend to uterine cancer.  News of her death reached me through Facebook.  Her death came as a shock to me as I wasn't aware that she was very sick and I came face to face with my own mortality.  I learned from her husband, Oliver, that she came to know of her cancer only six months ago and that it was already at stage 4.  Thank you Oliver for posting about it on Facebook, allowing me a chance to say goodbye to her.

I met Guia Librojo Senia at De La Salle University when we found ourselves blockmates of section LIA 23.  From our first meeting at the ENGLONE classroom at the LS Building up to graduation from BS Applied Economics, we were inseparable.  We were such, that the number of subjects that we weren't classmates did not exceed the fingers of my hand.  Since we took the same course, we had the same set of subjects and electives.  The times we were not classmates were due to the enrolment schedule that La Salle experimented on every semester then later on every trimester.

BS Applied Economics, De La Salle University

When we had the whole afternoon to hang around as the next class was at 6 o'clock in the evening, we spent some of our vacant periods at Guia's hometown at Cabuyao, Laguna.  Her mother served us sumptuous dishes that I and our other classmates were so happy to indulge in.  These getaways allowed all of us to get to know her family.  I met them again at Guia's wake and I was so touched when they still remember me from those countless fiestas that I attended and from Guia's stories.

My only regret is that we were not able to spend time together recently.  The last time we saw each other was when she was one of the secondary sponsors at my wedding almost twenty-five years ago.  Last year, we chatted on Facebook and she invited me to visit her at her bakeshop in Cabuyao.  We never got to it as we were both busy with our own lives.  It also pains me that I wasn't able to offer her prayers during her illness, not able to visit her and share her pain.  I take comfort though that she is with the God that she served faithfully all her life, away from all the pain and basking in His glory.  So long my friend.  Put a good word about me to God. 

Kitchen Equipment I Can't Live Without

This article is a follow up to my earlier articles, Surviving Maidless Days...Months and The Art of Coping in a Maidless Existence.  Hopefully this will be my last article on the subject of "domestic survival'.  I have a housemaid for a week already and I am counting the days to liberation from housework.

Housemaid or no housemaid, there are kitchen equipment I couldn't live without.  Topping the list is my microwave oven.  My microwave oven is a remnant of my food cart business days. It reheats both food prepared earlier and left overs or pangat, short for pangatlong luto (literally means thrice recooked).  Another function that it does is to thaw frozen meat or fish.  Thawing becomes a necessity when I spend more time outside doing errands that I failed to move meat or fish from the freezer to the refrigerator hours ahead.

The rice cooker has been around for more than thirty years already that I haven't learned to cook rice the usual way.  If I don't use a rice cooker in cooking rice, chances are the outcome is not fit for eating as it always comes out charred.  Having a rice cooker is a big help as it eliminates the time waiting for the rice to be cooked when using an ordinary cooking pot otherwise it will be burned.  Just wash the rice, put the desired number of cups of water and switch on.  Once the rice is cooked, it will turn off on its own while keeping it warm.

Rice Cooker

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

My portable induction cooker is a steal at P1,700.  I bought it years ago when it first came out of the market.  It cooks foods faster and it is perched conveniently on top of the dining room counter.  Because the dining room is very near my work station, it is easier for me to check on my cooking while doing other things.  No problem on charred food.

Portable Induction Cooker

The only downside of using the induction cooker is not all cookware are compatible with it.  It requires cookware with magnetic bottom.  Fortunately, I purchased earlier a cookware set that I paid in 90 days because of its steep price.  I intend to get the most from this pricey cookware by using it regularly.  

Another gadget that I can't do without is the turbo broiler.  I just replaced my first turbo broiler with a new one last month as it conked out already after ten years of service and countless Turbo Chickens.  With my new turbo, I still cook Turbo Chicken using different marinades (depends on who among my three children is requesting), pork belly barbecue and other fried recipes and eat minus the fat.  Talk about eating "unhealthy" food without the guilt.

Turbo Broiler

My list will not be complete without my old reliable pressure cooker.  It tenderizes beef and other meat that requires more time to make tender.  Aside from tenderizing, my pressure cooker comes in handy in making my Portuguese sardines.  

Pressure Cooker

What about you?  What kitchen gadget can't you live without?

Putting Up My Online Store

I've been busy for the past two weeks putting into reality my dream of having an online store.  I timed putting up My Gift Shop this October to take advantage of the Christmas gift buying frenzy.  I sell scented candles, perfumes inspired by well-known brands and cosmetics.  

My Gift Shop

My store should address the needs of why people buy online in the first place.  From my experiences in buying items be it food or what have you, booking flight reservations and  paying for seminars through my credit cards or through cash payment portals, my main argument was convenience.  I need not go out of my house to get things that otherwise could be purchased from the web.  True there are fees like delivery rates that a buyer shoulders when buying online but if you thing about it, the delivery charge is just a small price to pay.  Try putting a price to the fuel that your car consumed in going to the nearest mall to buy that item.  Chances are it is cheaper paying for the delivery charge than going to the physical store.

Another thing that makes buying online attractive is that it is most of the time cheaper.  Sellers have minimal overhead expenses maintaining an online store.

When my dream of an online store was about to be hatched, I thought of what items to sell bearing in mind the reasons why people buy online.  I thought of gift items for my first ever online store as Christmas is just around the corner.  Again from past experience, home decor like scented candles, toiletries, perfumes and cosmetics are popular gift items.  But for my retailing business to succeed, I have to partner with payment gateways like PayPal, Cashsense, banks, and telecommunications companies for Smart Money and GCash to make it very convenient on the buyer.  This is literally shopping at your fingertips!

At first I was apprehensive in buying online because of the many horror stories that I heard about credit card scams that came about from divulging credit card information when purchasing online.  This has already been addressed with the emergence of bank debit cards, virtual cards and cash payment gateways like PayPal, Cashsense, GCash and Smart Money.  No need to give out credit card details.

It not enough to have payment gateways, it pays to partner with a reliable courier service company like Xend, OCS, LBC, JRS, Aboitiz ToGo.  Delivery charges are shouldered by the buyer.

To date My Gift Shop is still a work in progress.  I am customizing the theme of my website to give it a distinct and personalized touch with the help of professionals.  I also attended the PayPal 101 Workshop under Eireen Diokno Bernardo to know more about PayPal and putting up an online store.  I am also not letting up on finding unique items both locally and internationally.

I hope dear readers you will visit My Gift Shop.  We know we have something that will appeal to you that you or your loved one will treasure.

True Friendship

For the past weeks, the news feed of my Facebook account had been flooded with sayings, words of wisdom and quotations, ranging from the serious to the hilarious.  One of the postings that caught my attention was about true friendship.  Here goes:  

We may have a lot of good friends, but a best friend is hard to come by.  At least for me.  I treasure all my dear friends but it can't be helped that a few stand out as my best friends.  My best friends were there for me during the good times as well as the bad times.  Even though some may be thousand of miles away, I know that they are just a phone call away.  Physical presence is not necessary to show their love and support but if they happen to be around town or nearby, that is a bonus.  

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ5-Gh_66OPMhfeMSBNBK3rOnuvDGO0

To all my best friends, thank you for your friendship, love and moral support.  Looking forward to sharing menopausal tales, karaoke sing-along nights, coffee breaks, birthday celebrations, online chat sessions and what have you. 

http://wallpapers.free-review.net/wallpapers/15/Cat_and_Dog_-_the_Best_Friend.jpg

Tinolang Free Range Chicken

I wrote an article on free range chicken farming because I heard a lot of positive things about free range chicken.  Aside from the health benefits that one will get from eating chicken raised as natural as possible, advocates of healthy living said that this kind of chicken tastes more natural and is tastier.  

When speaking about healthy chicken what always comes to mind is the native chicken.  Filipinos who spent their growing up years in the provinces know only of one variety of chicken, the native one.  These fend for themselves and propagate naturally.  Their meat is sought after for tinola, chicken ginger soup with green papaya and chili leaves.

Magnolia chicken came out with their own line of free range chicken lately.  I welcomed this development as the bird only costs P145/kilo, a price much lower than my expectation.  Native chickens from the wet markets cost more.  At least, eating healthy chicken has become affordable compared to the other brands that are pricey.  Not all supermarkets carry free range chicken, though.  

I bought two pieces from HiTop Supermarket, one for tinola and the other one I intend to do as adobo.  The meat looks leaner than the ordinary dressed chicken which is plump.  The ordinary one also comes whiter than the free range one which is reddish.  I was surprised that the healthy chicken cooked easily like the ordinary one.  No need to use the pressure cooker to have tender chicken.  Come dinner time, I cooked tinola and paired it with grilled milkfish.  What a hearty and healthy dinner we had.

Bon appetit!

My Foray Into Blogging

My love affair with blogging began not on a rosy start.  One day I found myself one of the participants in a one and a half day-seminar held at the Cubao branch of a known internet cafe chain.  The basic of blogging using Blogger as the platform, how to earn through Google Adsense and some stuff which I later found out to be email marketing parlance were cramped into that span of time.  To cut the story short, I went home not knowing where and how to start if I will do blogging on my own.  That was in 2008.  My initial attempt at blogging was sad to say just an attempt.  

Fast forward to 2009.  I enrolled for the Certified Digital Marketing Program (CDMP) at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.  For the first module, Digital Wiki, we were to submit an essay that has to be uploaded via a blog website.  Making the article was a breeze but how to upload?  Fortunately for me I had a partner for this project and he took care of the technical side.  After that incident, I promised myself that I have to do something to conquer my feeling of inadequacy.

Seven months after Digital Wiki, I was at the Blog Revolution module under Janette Toral, an institution in the Philippine blogging world.  To pass the module, my group mates and I have to submit a blog that we started from scratch.  That exercise of creating a blog from thin air was very useful and gave birth to my blog about green business and entrepreneurship, There's Money in Green.  Weeks after the blog module has ended, my new found confidence kept me busy updating my new blog with new articles. 

There's Money in Green

I did not stop with the CDMP.  One month after the eleventh and final module of the CDMP, I again enrolled for a three-month special course on blogging, the Certified Blog Entrepreneur Program (CBEP).  This course takes a more in depth study of blogging.   I learned a lot about blogging specially the technical side from Janette Toral.  Out of the first module, I was able to create  My Life as a "Couples for Christ" on my lonesome.  Yes you can say that I am now more comfortable with the platform.

My Life as a "Couples for Christ"

To date, I am maintaining four blog sites, each blog talking about a different theme.  The challenge for me is not the technical issues anymore but on how to come up with a new article every week for each blog.  I keep my creative juices flowing by digging into past experiences, by reading and through research.  

Stuff I Like to Try

They say that when we reach middle age, we ponder on our accomplishments and think of things that we still would want to do.  Yes, at this age we may have already lost the agility of our youth but we think that we can still do a lot.  We want to try deeds or exploits that never entered our minds back then.  Maybe because we have more time for ourselves today as we have been relieved of parental duties and of preparation for a good future.  

There are stuff that I would like to try before arthritis and other age-related diseases catch up with me.  I would like to try:

Dancing.  I am not gifted with terpsichorean skills.  I find difficulty in coordinating foot, hand and body movements.  My mother often said that I got it from my father as she is a graceful dancer.  When watching dance presentations on the television and stage, I marvel at the adroitness of the performers.  It is as if to the dance floor they were born.  

Getting a dance instructor (DI) would be the first order of business.  Luckily, DIs are dime a dozen and can be contracted for a reasonable amount of payment.  Maybe after a couple of months of regular dancing sessions I will be able to show my mother a number of cha cha or swing.  While getting that dancing groove, I will be doing my health a favor.  Those extra pounds need to be shaken!

Singing.  Music pervaded my growing up years.  I woke up and sometimes went to sleep to the sounds of Filipino, Bicol, Spanish music blaring from the stereo player.  I love singing even if I have a difficult time hitting the notes.  It is only through singing that I find total appreciation of my favorite songs.  Kudos to Mr. Roberto del Rosario for pioneering the "sing-along" system in 1975 which later became the karaoke machine thus giving singer wannabes like me the proverbial fifteen minutes of fame.  Maybe my classmate, Abby Luz of ACIATEAM will be able to help me hit those notes.

After the dancing and the singing, I would like to try my hand on Chinese and Japanese Cooking.  My family loves Chinese and Japanese dishes and having a degree tucked under my belt will just be cool.  I can easily whip up their fave dishes.

I think dancing, singing and the cooking will make me extra preoccupied for quite a while.  Pass the microphone, will you?

Alaminos: My Other Hometown

I consider Alaminos, Pangasinan my other hometown.  My mother hailed from this town (now a city) known for the Hundred Islands.  I was there two weeks ago though I only passed by to show a friend the beauty of Hundred Islands from Lucap.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Ph_locator_pangasinan_alaminos.png/250px-Ph_locator_pangasinan_alaminos.png

Fresh catch of the sea at Lucap.

My parents started bringing me and my siblings to Alaminos when we were in our elementary days.  We would stay there for two weeks in the house of my grandparents who were just excited as we were to be together from a year of separation (We lived in Sorsogon back then).  My grandparents spoiled us rotten.  Before the date of our arrival, my grandmother would prepare the room where we will be staying.  She would have several baskets or tiklis in the vernacular of semi-ripe mangoes hidden under our bed.  I would count the days when these mangoes would be ready to be eaten.  Once ready, I would peel the mango then bite on the meat that is so succulent and sweet and my shirt would be wet from all those drippings.

Going to the Hundred Islands was the most awaited part of our Alaminos vacation.  We woke up early, had an early breakfast before driving to Lucap, the port where the boats are located.  The whole house was already busy for our picnic.  The maids had already prepared our lunch of inihaw na bangus or broiled milkfish, Alaminos sausages, pork adobo, pinakbet and of course, mangoes.  We have to hurry so as to be in Quezon Island before high tide.  It was a 30-minute boat ride from Lucap to Quezon Island.  The sea breeze was so refreshing and water was so clear that corrals of different kinds and sizes can be seen underneath.  I easily forgot my nervousness of the boat ride.  You see, I don't know how to swim up to now.  Lol.

The best mangoes in the world.

While at Quezon Island, we basked on the sunshine while enjoying the coolness of the sea breeze.  We "swam" but only at the shallow portion of the beach.  At around 3:00 in the afternoon, we started to get ready for our boat ride home.  The waves by that time were already at low tide.

When not in Hundred Islands, our days were spent going around Alaminos. We went to the public market and to the houses of the countless relatives on my grandmother's side (My grandfather came from another town, Bugallon).  Our grandfather also brought us to a cockfight derby which had for intermission a burlesque show.  Up to now I still don't know if my grandfather knew that there was going to be a burlesque show in that derby.

The two weeks vacation came to an end and we bade my grandparents goodbye.  We first had lunch at Dagupena at Dagupan City before heading to Manila then Sorsogon.  This went on for several years but was stopped abruptly when my grandmother died. 

I missed my grandparents and I regret that I haven't spent more time with them.  I miss Alaminos but I sure am going back in the very near future.

Childhood Dreams

Just like any child, I too had my share of dreams.  Barely ten years old, I aspired to become a tourist guide, speaking different languages while showing foreigners the different tourist spots of our country.  I said to myself I will take up Foreign Service or a related course in college.  It seems that my love for travel has already manifested at a very tender age.

Photo taken from Google Images

A couple of years passed and this time I wanted to become a nurse.  Why a nurse not a doctor?  Doctors earn more than nurses.  I was inspired by the nurses who took care of me when I was hospitalized twice for appendectomy and chicken pox.  They were the ones that came to my room to check on my condition more often than my attending physician.  I already had a picture in my mind of myself in a white uniform, white cap, white shoes and white stockings.  I would be a perfect nurse, I was not squeamish to blood and other hospital stuff.  My dream of being a nurse was replaced when I was in junior year of high school.  What made me change my mind again?  

Photo taken from Google Images

In junior year, I was introduced to a subject that is totally new to me, Economics.  Economics is a social science that dwells into the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.  I found market analyses using price, quantity, supply and demand very interesting.  Though what I had in high school was only a bird's eyeview of economics, nevertheless, it helped me on what course to take up in college.  Thirty years after, my children are questioning me why I took Economics.  All three of them find Economics boring.  Well, to each his own.

Barely two years after graduating from high school, I found myself a freshman at De La Salle University for a degree in Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics.  There was no turning back and I was able to graduate on time.  That course prepared me for my first job as a Money Market Trader at a quasi-banking institution.  I had a firsthand account of Economics at work.  It would have been a good foundation for a career in the financial market but was nipped in the bud with the collapse of the money market as a result of the assasination of Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr.

On the hindsight, I would say that childhood dreams are more often than not products of the influences of the people around or events that happened in the past.

Going Gaga over Google+

Photo taken from Google+ Facebook page

For the past two days I was preoccupied trying to find out what Google+ is.  I got so curious of this latest Google innovation as my Facebook news feed was inundated by postings from my friends from my Digital Marketing days.  From reading the articles posted by my friends, I found out that only a few were given invites to Google+.  It helped that my blog mentor, Janette Toral, sent me a link if I want to sign up for Google+ Project.  I readily signed up but was successful only after several attempts.  Who were the people who received invites for Google+?  Mark Zuckenberg, CEO of Facebook has a page already and is the most followed user right now.   

Google+ is Google's social network which was launched to a limited number of people last week.   It was developed by Vic Gundotra, an IT graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, India.  It is still in beta version and that explains why it is not available to everyone.  Google+ expects its users to give feedbacks to further improve it and make the experience seamless when Google launches it soon. 

A picture grab from the Facebook page of Google+

It has five components, namely, Circles, Sparks, Huddle, Hangouts and Instant Upload.  Circles made me categorize my friends that makes for relevant sharing of posts and photos.  No need for my friends' Stream to be flooded by my family pictures or vice versa.  Sparks on the other hand acts like a reader for stuff that interests me and could be shared to any of my circle of friends.  I can chat to my friends in Huddle on any topic under the sun right on my phone.  Hangouts on the other hand, features a live video chat, IM chat or watch YouTube video together of up to ten of my friends..  It's as if my friends are in the same room as me.    Though the other tools could also be found in Facebook, Instant Upload could sway Facebook users to migrate to Googles+.  ReadWriteWeb said that the real killer of Google+ is Instant Upload.  The popularity of Android phones totalling half a million as of May 2011 makes photos from Android phones instantly online and could be shared with friends of an appropriate Circle.  Oh one more thing, Google+ is also coming out with Google games.  It can't afford to include game applications as these were instrumental for Facebook's exponential growth in 2007.  

The thing that I find so cool about Google+ is that once I was at my page, I need not open another site to be able to access my emails from Gmail, articles or blogs that I subscribed to in Google reader, Google documents, my blogs.  Everything is just a click away.  

Is Google+ out to topple Facebook from its ivory tower just like what the latter did to Friendster and MySpace?  What does Facebook have on its sleeve to prevent it from suffering the same fate as Friendster?

Photo taken from Google+ Facebook page

Blogging Tips

When I started blogging, I thought that having something to write about and a computer are enough.  I was able to publish a number of articles alright.  When I needed video which is not often, I go to YouTube.  As the number of my articles grew, my confidence grew alongside to insert videos for both my Blogger and Wordpress blogs.  For the longest time, my blogs only contained pictures or images from Google Images, Flickr or Picasa. 

I write my blog posts when the children are not around to compete for internet connection.  Not having them around is both a blessing and a bane. If they are around, I can always ask them about technical issues.  But when they are in school or elsewhere, I can download or upload blog posts, music, video, pictures quite faster.

When I took up the Certified Blog Entrepreneur Program from the Ateneo, I learned that grabbing a few images from Google or Flickr to enhance my article, is not as simple as copying and pasting.  I have to be sensitive to the issue of fair use.  But what is fair use?  From Jonathan Bailey's "The Basics of Fair Use", fair use sets a guidance to the use of somebody's work in limited situations.  Copyright is affixed to a work the moment it is published either offline like books, magazines, and other printed matter or online like blogs, websites, e-books, e-magazines and etc. It gives the author or copyright holder certain exclusive rights to the work and derivative works based on the original work.  

To add a touch of accuracy and lessen my dependence on other's works, I found out the necessity of having a digital camera at my disposal anytime.  No need to lug an SLR for me.  My motto is that if I have to read the operating manual before I can use it, then it is not for me.  I hate reading instructional materials.  A digital camera is now a must-have and I don't leave the house without it in my bag together with my wallet, cellphones, pen holder and make up kit.  Having my own camera at any time enables me to shoot anything that can be used in my future articles.  

Aside from my digital camera, I have a notebook which I can use when ideas pop out of the things, places or people that I see or meet in the course of daily activities.  Depending on the time or circumstance, I can compose a draft of an article while waiting for my turn at the doctor's clinic or while waiting for my hairdresser to finish the job that I asked him to do.  I only write on my notebook if I forgot to bring the Asus notebook.  I find it easier though to do my articles if I use my computer.

I attend to as many activities as I could.  Activities are a goldmine of writing materials.  Writer's block is a reality that affects all writers, professionals and amateurs alike.

Read, read, read. Read anything that could be useful to your articles.  News, both online or printed, are good sources of what's hot.  Writing about what's hot helps the article to get as many hits as possible.  My article The PNR Trains got a lot of hits that tripled the number of readers for my other blog Bicol Express when I published it after GMA7 made a story on the resumption of the service of the PNR trains.  I got free promotion from that GMA7 telecast.

Write regularly, once a week is okay.  Remember readers are like lovers, out of sight, out of mind.  Just kidding.  Writing regularly makes the blog site easily found by the search engines. 

I think I have already covered the most important things that a would-be blogger or writer has to have and to do.  Good luck and happy writing. 

   

Getting Ready for College

My youngest child Kara is entering fourth year high school in two days.  She is excited to start her last year at the School of the Holy Spirit of Quezon City for the simple reason that her classroom is air-conditioned.  Only the classrooms in the Seniors' wing are air-conditioned because the wing is situated in the warmest part of the school.

Senior year, being the last year before the big leap to college life, is a time for preparations.  First thing on the list is the one-month review for the different college entrance examinations that Kara will be taking.  During my time review classes were non-existent.  You just go to the admin office of the school to get the test permit and appear on exam date on time.  Maybe getting into your school of choice today is getting tougher and more competitive hence the need for review classes.

I am already a veteran in preparing my child as Kara is my third child getting into college.  Like her two older siblings, Marco and Nina, Kara had her review at the Loyola Student Center (LSC), one of the pioneers and is reliable.  Review classes do not come cheap.  This time I forked P10,000.00 plus another P1,500.00 for her review books.  With Marco and Nina, I paid almost 50% less than what I paid for Kara's.  Marco, being a product of the Ateneo High School, paid P6,000.00+ inclusive of books.  I don't know what's the arrangement between Ateneo and LSC why Ateneans have to pay less than what other mortals pay.  For Nina's turn, I had to pay the regular price as Nina did not come from Ateneo (an all-boys' high school).  Good thing LSC was giving out big discounts if you enroll as a group of at least six reviewers.  I gathered five of Nina's classmates and we all were able to avail of a big discount that included books in the package.  Let me share you a tip.  As early as December of your child's junior year, start inquiring from LSC as promos are being given out on a first come, first serve basis.  I wasn't able to avail of the promo discount as it was already closed when I enrolled Kara.

After setting aside a month of her two month summer vacation for the review classes, Kara readied the requirements for her application for University of the Philippines' UPCAT.  She submitted her application form and requirements for the UPCAT at her school's guidance office.  That spared her the long queue at UP.

For her applications to other schools, she googled the websites of these schools of the schedules of giving out of application forms, requirements to be submitted and the actual schedules of the entrance examinations.  These websites are also a rich source for what courses or programs are being offered by the schools.  Some schools post the course syllabi that give a good picture of the description of the course.  Different schools have different names for their course offerings.  For instance, a marketing degree in UP or De La Salle University has its equivalent in Ateneo de Manila Universtiy - BS in Communications Technology.

The review, the submission of the application forms and requirements, the entrance examinations come after the child has chosen her course.  I advised my daughter that she must choose a course that she's passionate about or something that she's interested in.  A simple exercise would be to ask this question:  "How do you see yourself doing five years from now?"  Choosing a school is secondary.  The choice of the school will have to depend on the answer to the question.  There are schools that are known for certain degree programs and it would be better for the child to go to the school where his course is best offered.

I hope I was able to give some pointers to parents who are doing this for the first time.  Don't be ashamed to ask questions to the admin people of your child's preferred schools.  You're paying good money just by applying for their entrance exams.  Good luck to all of us.

The Marry Month of June

Today is the last day of May and we are a few hours away from the marry month of June.  Are you a June bride?  Why did you choose to get married in June?  June has been traditionally known as the favorite month for getting married.  There are varied reasons why June became the favored month, most of which are not romantic in nature.  

Juno, Roman goddess of marriage

The Romans prefer June weddings because June happens to be the month dedicated to the observance of Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage.  There is also a practical side to June weddings as well.  If the bride gets pregnant right away after the wedding, she will deliver her child months before the harvest season and would be able to help out during the harvest.  Another reason why June became popular for weddings is because of the nice weather and flowers are abloom.  Still another reason and this steals the show is that brides felt that they still smell good from their annual bath in May.  Yes, during the 1500s, people in Europe took baths monthly, hardly or not at all during winters.  After the cold weather has broken out, usually in May, people took their annual baths.  

The various reasons stated above why June registered with the most weddings could be true in temperate countries.  But in the Philippines, June is eclipsed by December in terms of popularity.  June is rainy in the Philippines and those rains could turn into typhoons.  I know of somebody who reset his wedding by one week as the venue for his wedding reception was flooded due to a heavy downpour and typhoon.  December is also a preferred month for Filipinos because the temperature is cool and a lot of family reunions are held on that month.  A lot of overseas Filipinos come home to spend the long Christmas holiday and it is an opportune time to hold weddings, a major family event.

My husband and I chose to get married on January 17, 1987 because practically there are no rains in January.  January is perfect for its cool temperature and for the absence of rains.  It is also a better alternative to hectic December when you have to book way before the day for the venues for the church and reception.

Our wedding photo, 1987.

Nowadays, there are more people living in than getting married in the United States.  Maybe it is the sign of the times when people's values on marriage and relationships have drastically changed.  Little girls seldom dream of big weddings anymore.  And when before getting married was a dream come true to most, now it has ceased to be romantic.

The recent wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton put back romance to an old institution of marriage.  Obviously the two are really in love to start with.  It doesn't matter what month one is tying the knot, the most important thing is getting married for the right reasons.

Prince William and Kate Middleton

Best Lechon in Metro Manila

Whenever there is a party to celebrate a milestone in one's life like weddings, baptisms, debuts, birthdays, graduations or special occasions like Christmas, anniversaries, corporate affairs,  the lechon or roasted pig is sure to be the main attraction on the buffet table.  It is the star of the dinner table.  In our family, no party is complete without the lechon.  

Our love affair with lechon started when I tasted lechon Cebu at the Christmas party of my husband's company.  That was 1994 and it was the first time I tasted the Cebu version.  I fell in love with the lechon and I managed to get the contact details of the supplier.  It came from a Cebuano whose outlet was located somewhere in N. Domingo St., near Cubao, Quezon City.  Their lechon was best eaten with vinegar with garlic, not the liver sauce that usually goes with those that come from La Loma.   From then on, no more La Loma lechon for me.

It became somewhat of a tradition every time our family was celebrating something.  To celebrate the coming of 2010, we decided to order lechon from my old supplier from N. Domingo.  Alas, the old lechon house was sold and is now under new management.  I wasn't comfortable with that.  My daughter, Nina, suggested that we try the one that was featured in Yummy magazine, General's Lechon, of the Negros Occidental variety.  Negros lechons  have been slowly eating the market share of the Cebu version.  I placed my order but no available stock was available.  It was intended for New Year's eve and they can't accommodate my order.  We were disappointed.  We just had the usual New Year food like hotdogs, pasta, ham, fruits, salads.  No lechon.

The Yummy article that led us to General's Lechon.

After the disappointment on New Year, we trained our eyes on my son Marco's 21st birthday on January 26.  What a perfect occasion to have lechon and this time I did not pass the chance.  I ordered early enough so I can choose the size.  Come Marco's birthday dinner, everybody was raving about the lechon that my father overlooked the viands that I cooked.  My father is a very obedient patient of his cardiologist but he threw caution to the wind when he ate General's lechon.  You won't be needing the liver sauce that usually comes with an order of lechon as each bite is so tasty.  It has been marinated in lemon grass, star anise, salt, and other herbs then allowed to sit for two hours before being put on the fire.  The best part, aside from the crunchy skin (it remains crunchy the longest among the lechon that I tasted so far), is the ribs.  There were other occasions that we had the same lechon and every time, it did not fail our expectations.

This is how the lechon looked like after being delivered...

...and this is how it looked like after almost an hour.

I was able to do an online interview with the enterprising couple behind General's Lechon, Bryan and Lynne Ong of Paranaque City.  Bryan said that getting into the lechon business was more of a fate.  His wife, Lynne, is not a lechon eater but was raving about it while on a family vacation in Negros Occidental.  When they got back home in Metro Manila, they decided to have the cook fly in to roast the lechon for them.  A business was born and after more than 50 pigs, they were able to come up with their own original flavor that in Bryan's words was "approved and sealed" by their friends.

According to Bryan, the process takes four to five hours to get the perfect lechon.  They use pigs of native descent and medium-sized ones are the most salable.  You need not have the lechon flown in from the Visayas as General's Lechon is just a phone call away.  When in Metro Manila, dial 408-6850 or you can send a text message to 0917-8975966.  You have to allot time though if you are ordering during major occasions like Christmas, New Year.  Bon appetit.

Disclaimer:  I was not paid to write about General's Lechon.  I am just one satisfied customer.

The Art of Coping in a Maidless Existence

It's been two weeks since my last article and a I feel guilty about it.  Blame it on the household chores, countless errands both for our business and family and other activities. It takes an average of four hours for me to come up with an article and if I can only spare less than that I don't start the writing.  It will just be another exercise in futility.

Since I prefer to write at least one article for each of my four blogs (the links are at the left sidebar), I have to do a lot of adjustments on top of the things I do to cope maidless days as discussed in Surviving Maidless Days...Months.

1.  One article a week.  I decided to make one article instead of the original plan of two articles per week per blog.  Housework and errands take so much of my time.  By the time I am done with both, either I am too tired or sleepy to write.  

2.  One viand per meal.  When before I feel our menu is incomplete if I only cook one dish, now I just settle with one.  I just make sure that the viand that I cooked is loved by everyone.  At least there will be no left overs that will hug refrigerator space.

3.  Dial a friend.  Aside from running to Mommy for an instant meal,  I found a helpful ally in Tita Baby de Leon.  Tita Baby lives just within the vicinity of the subdivision where we live in. Her passion is ... cooking.  You got it right.  She is like an angel sent to me by the good Lord. She used to have a small eatery but had the place leased to a Korean.  I felt sad when she closed her eatery only to find out two years later that she continued with her business from her house.  Talk about hitting two birds with one stone.  Can't blame her though.

When I have early afternoon appointments, I just dial her number around ten in the morning to know what's on her menu for the day.  She has two delivery boys who come to my house minutes before noon.  My only obligation is to have exact payment ready.  If cooking for dinner is a problem, I just order extra and keep what's for dinner in the refrigerator.  My old reliable microwave oven will do the reheating at the right time.

4.  Eat out.  If it's Sunday and Tita Baby is close for the day, we either buy take out chicken from Sr. San Pedro or Kentucky Fried Chicken or eat out from some affordable restaurants like Buddy's in Timog, Quezon City, Kowloon House or Causeway Restaurant.  These eat outs also serve as family bonding time and a respite from the routine of doing the housework. 

There are a lot things to be done and it would be a shame if you can't attend to them because you are buried in the drudgery of housework.  I am not demeaning housework, it's just that there are ways on making life simpler and easier and still enjoy the things that you want to do.  Life is too short to be wasted on inane matters.

Subic

For spur of the moment out of town trips, Subic in on the top of my list.  Subic is ideal for instant get togethers whether with family or friends.  Subic, located in Zambales province is less than 100 kilometers away and roughly 2 hours from Quezon  City with travel time made shorter with the opening of SCTEX (Subic Clark Tarlac Exchange).  Formerly a naval base of the United States, Subic morphed into an economic zone cum vacation destination after being turned over to the Philippine government in September, 1991.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Ph_locator_zambales_subic.p

Our family was recently at Subic for a much needed respite from pressures of work.  We preferred to stay overnight in one of the hotels nearby but April being a peak month for vacations, we were not able to get a booking for a room.  Instead, we just stayed the whole day in one of the  resorts inside the base, Adventure Beach.  Adventure Beach is ideal for a day at the beach but doesn't have facilities for overnight stays.  It boasts of several cabanas and a restaurant that is affordable though bringing of food from home is allowed.  It is located just beside Ocean Adventure so we were able to watch the Dolphin Show for free.  This free show made up for the very limited space of the beach.  I can't imagine how the beach can accommodate frolickers if all the cabanas were occupied.

At the entrance of Adventure Beach

The not-so-wide beach with Ocean Adventure at the background.

The cabana which is at P1500 or P750 if you occupy half of it.

Entrance fee to the resort is at an affordable P300/pax.  Children and senior citizens enjoy a discount.  Oh, to be young and to be old.  A neighboring resort, also under the same company as Adventure Beach,  charges the same rates and can bring food and drinks.  Though the beach doesn't elicit ohhs and ahhs, it was nevertheless, still worth our time.  The sea breeze makes you sleepy in the afternoon, the place is kept clean and orderly by resort staff that I think is a bit too many and there's continuous flow of water from the shower rooms.  I wouldn't mind going back even if it is not summer anymore.  Anyway, Subic is only two hours away. 

Ornamental plants

Ornamental plants

I call this the Dolphin Viewdeck.  You can watch from this place the dolphin show at the nearby Ocean Adventure for free.