Habang tina-type ko itong cheat sheet ng aking asawa for his comprehensive exam, binuksan ko si iTunes para naman may background music.  Linagay ko sa aking E-Heads playlist.  Naalala ko na supowsably, may concert sila itong buwan na’to.  Tapos na kaya?  Di ko man lang nalaman kung kelan eh.  Sayang talaga.  Halos buong college life mo eh tumatakbo sa saliw ng musika nila (among others siyempre) pero di ka man lang makakapunta sa (malamang di na mauulit) na reunion concert nila.  Kakatuwa yang Eraserheads eh, pag naririnig mo, di pwedeng di mo maalala ang mga panahong nasa kolehiyo ka, sa UP, at lahat ay happy-happy joy-joy.

Balak ko balang araw, pag nagka-pera, magpapakasal uli kami ni B.  Tapos, ang reception, isang malaking luau sa tabing dagat.  Tatlong lechon ang naka-parada (among others din siyempre), walang kamatayang yelo at sari-saring inumin, tapos walang humpay na kuwentuhan, kulitan habang namamapak ng pulutan at nakikinig sa mga kanta ng aming kabataan (aba, di pwedeng mawala sa playlist ang e-heads!).  Simple lang ba.  Di masyadong magarbo yung handaan na gusto ko, marami at masasarap na putahe, at simpleng set-up lang.  Wala nang gaganda pa sa isang handaan/kainan na tabing dagat.  Simoy pa lang ng hangin eh nakaka-gana na!

Pero bago dumating ang araw na ‘yun, trabaho muna, tapos ipon, at pinaka-importante, tapusin ko na ‘tong pinapakisuyo ng asawa ko, at nang makapaglaba na.

Ang ganda ng panahon ngayon, parang naka-aircon ang buong Chicago.  Di mainit, di rin naman sobrang lamig. Tama lang - tamang California, ika nga.  What would normally take two bus rides; nilakad na lang namin.

Kaso humid na naman daw next week.  Huling hirit siguro ng summer season.  Pa-autumn na eh.

Limang tulog na lang, pasukan na naman.  Wonder what the new term holds for me?  Mas magaganda kaya grades ko this time?  Sana naman.  Ah hinde, walang sana-sana, kakayanin ko yun!

Most of my classes will be in the other building.  I guess that’s a good thing because I can walk over to Bloomingdale’s or Neiman Marcus if I arrive too early for class.  Nothing like a daily dose of eye candy - good for the soul!  Nah, who am I kidding?  I’ll probably be in Borders most of the time… on account of my loving books, and notebooks, and fountain pens… jeez, tamang loser ba?

I wish S would be in at least one of my classes but since she’s traveling all the way from Wisconsin (jeez, I do hope she got that apartment in Rogers Park already!), she just opted for 2 classes this term.  Nakakapagod daw taking the Metra everyday to go to school.  Heniweys, we promised to meet on the first day of classes before taking off for our respective buildings.  

Okay, inspection:

• writing materials?  a legal pad, 2 pilot varsity pens, and a pencil = check!
• books? still using Bluebook, and 2 others from previous term; will pop in the bookstore later this week for the other one = (partial) check!
• clothes? will have to bring out some sweaters as temperatures are not likely going back up again (at least not here!) malapit na rin itago ang mga flipflops so bugbog na naman ang aking trusty Adidas Bounce (which, btw, is hands down the best ever in terms of cushioning. way better than nike, and that’s saying a lot coz I was a huge nike fan!) so = check! 

So far so good, I’m psyched already so that’s a big check too!

When it comes to pageantry, nobody rocks it like the Chinese!

Can’t wait for Dara Torres to swim!!!

Kahit nag-aaral ako, di pa rin ako tumitigil looking for a job.  Ke part-time o paid internship, or whatever.   It’s now official, kahit saleslady, ayaw ako tanggapin… Syet.

I guess di na ako dapat nagugulat.  Sa dami ng nale-layoff dito - na dito nag-aral o dito may experience - eh uunahin pa ba naman ako?

So there I was washing the dishes… B was tying up the trash bag and hauling it outside, when suddenly he paused and asked, “Ba’t kaya mabaho ang basura, no?”

Kainis. 

Meron kayang listahan somewhere ng mga buset na sagot sa mga buset na tanong?

Okay, so apparently, I haven’t posted a recipe for bistek yet, so here’s one.  

Now this, is particularly special to me, because this was taught to me by my hubby (sa kagustuhang makakain kagad, eh maproseso yung pagluto ko ng bistek).

beef slices
soy sauce
calamansi (juice, squeezed)
sugar (or splenda)
ground pepper
onion (1 big, or 2 small; cut into rings)

• mix the soy sauce, calamansi extract, sugar, and pepper in a small bowl
• pour 2 to 3 tablespoons on the meat and stir it up to coat all the pieces
• put some oil in a teflon pan (now, i’m stressing teflon as we don’t want the juices to stick to the pan, we’ll be needing it later)
• fry the beef pieces, all the while drizzling the soy sauce mixture over the meat
• when the meat is cooked just enough (this shouldn’t take long), set aside and fry the onions
• soon as the onions are done, pour all contents of the pan, onions, juices and all, onto the meat you set aside

So eto yung niluto ko kanina.

Gusto ko magpa-tattoo.  Kaso di ko magawa-gawa kasi gusto ko muna mag-donate ng dugo.  Kaso tagal ko nang pina-plano di pa rin ako nakakapag-donate.  Lintek na procrastination to!

Nung una, ayoko talaga ng tats kasi, iniisip ko, pag kinailangang mag-donate ako ng isang kidney sa asawa ko (kasi na misdiagnose before si B), eh baka kako di ako makapag-donate dahil lang sa tattoo.  Eh di naman pala apektado yun, yung sa dugo lang daw.  Osha, kako, na-revive ang aking interes.

Tapos, nabasa ko itong isang article online sa CNN about tats and the workplace.  Not a good mix.  Kala ko pa naman medyo mas liberated mag-isip mga tao dito, di pa rin pala.  Hindi pa rin maaalis yung discrimination against persons with piercings, and/or body art.  So karamihan, strategic na lang ang pagdadamit, para di kita.  Kadalasan eh long sleeved tops.  Eh pambihira, pano nga naman kung 100 degrees Fahrenheit sa labas at halimbawa eh mahina ang aircon niyo sa office? Di nalintikan na?

Heniweys, di pa naman ngayon at unang-una, malaki pa masyado yung canvas  pangalawa, alaws naman akong datung eh apparently mahal magpagawa dito.  So di ko pa rin talaga magagawa ‘to ngayon.  Pero pag natuloy na, balak ko, sa likod na lang… atchaka sa batok… saka baka isa rin sa may forearm… at isa pang butas sa may taas ng tenga. Ah, bahala na!

Always a good idea!

Had I not looked at the “Incoming Links” portion of my dashboard, I wouldn’t have known that MPG tagged me.  Heniweys, here goes:

~ Start Copy Here ~

Instructions:

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence. 

“Within ten minutes, the open compound was empty except for the corpses, or the wounded who cried out until they died.”

4. Post the next three sentences.

“The Uzbeks were now outside the wall, the main gate was slammed and the prisoners were inside. The siege had begun; it would last six days, and no one was even inerested in taking prisoners. Each side was convinced the other had broken the terms of surrender, but by then it did not matter anymore.”

5. Spread this tag to as many people as you can.

Book Tag Chain: 1) Only The Good Stuff, What Simply Works 2) Working It 3) Wapakels 4) Your site here.

And I would like to read the excerpts from the books that my following friends are reading: … 

~End Copy Here~

YOU!  Yes you, you’re doing this, so get started!

(Above sentences were lifted from Frederick Forsyth’s, The Afghan)

Di na masarap ang Cadbury ngayon.  Parang nag-deteriorate ang lasa ever since ma-acquire siya ng Hershey’s.  Then again, baka jaded lang masyado yung dila ko… Kahit nga yung usual suspects, di na rin ganun kasarap eh.  Dati, Snickers lang, solb nako.  Ngayon, parang ilang gatas lang ang lamang niya sa Cloud 9 ng kabataan ko.

  Buti na lang masarap pa rin ang Lindt… at buti na lang… di rin ako masyado mahilig sa chocolates

Hmmm… ano pa ba masarap bukod sa walang kamatayang Ferrero Rocher 

at Meiji?    (Promise, di talaga ako mahilig sa chocolates, peksman!)

I’ve been telebingeing on “Witch Blade” awhile ago and I must say, Yancy Butler is the original bad-ass chick!  Ages before Angeline Jolie came on the scene.

 Such a pity she wasn’t given more gigs…

Kalagitnaan ng summer term sa school, nagdesisyon akong i-cancel yung Friendster at Twitter account ko.  Teka, hinde, mas nauna pala yung Twitter.  Wala na akong gana at panahong i-maintain eh.  Saka parang nawalan na siya ng appeal sa’kin.  Kaso ngayong break naman before Fall Term, parang na-miss ko siya.

So ngayon, medyo nag-iisip na naman akong gumawa uli ng profile sa Friendster at magdagdag ng isa pa; pero kung sa MySpace o Facebook, di pa ako sigurado.

Minsan nga pinagsasabihan ko sarili ko, “Ayos hija, mas marami ka dapat importanteng problemahin, eh pagpe-friendster ang iniisip mo!”  Although in fairness, fairview, at fairmart, wala namang mangyayari sa problema kung problemahin ko devah?  So sige, baka gawin ko bukas…makalawa….ng susunod na buwan.  Ewan.

There’s this lawyer guy talking on TV - it’s an infomercial.  He’s promoting the services of his law firm which specializes in bankruptcy law.  There’s a fee indicated at the top of the screen, if I remember correctly it says $100.  Then the guy lying next to me says, “pano ka makakapagbayad nung $100 fee kung bankrupt ka nga?!”

Oo nga naman…

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:

• jimmy
• tika
• k

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:

• i can’t spell them out here as I’m blogging anonymously, but the other one’s 
• dphatgirl

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:

• hair
• eyes
• lips

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:

• belly
• arms
• thighs

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:

• self-deprecating humor
• love for music
• love to eat! (as in, meriendas in between meriendas)

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:

• drive-by shooting
• losing my husband
• dying without having fully-lived life

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:

• food
• coffee or tea
• pooping

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING NOW:

• tank top
• shorts
• undies 

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (RIGHT NOW):

• in your wildest dreams (by The Moody Blues)
• last thing on your mind (by Lights)
• mille lune mille onde (by Andrea Bocelli)

THREE THINGS YOU WISH [FOR] IN A RELATIONSHIP:

• longevity (as in, “till death do us part”)
• strength to resist temptation
• longevity (we pretty much have the “communication” part down pat)

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OTHER SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:

• handsome-but-not-too-pretty face
• muscled torso
• smile/grin

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE HOBBIES:

• reading
• blogging
• popcorn and Netflix

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:

• finish cooking the paksiw na bangus and eat!
• take a bath
• doesn’t matter what time it is - i need to lose weight!

THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/YOU’VE CONSIDERED:

• (considered) doctor
• (considered) teacher
• (considering) psychologist

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:

• italy (in search of the perfect thin crust pizza)
• egypt (for the temple ruins and the pyramids)
• france (for the louvre, the food, the tower, and the seine)

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:

• travel to most of the world, if not the whole world
• lose 70 lbs at least
• see my brother have a stable career/business and a happy family 

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:

• tendency to waffle
• easily diverted by shiny, pretty things (doesn’t matter if it’s jewelry, bags, shoes, or clothes)
• lipgloss!

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE NOT STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:

• watching football
• i love going to Home Depot and Best Buy
• people-watching, and how sometimes, B and I end up checking out the same girl

THREE PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE TAKE THIS QUIZ NOW:

• MPG
• Shopaholic
• my classmate, S

Ilocano version:

assorted veggies; chopped (usually ampalaya, eggplant, sitaw, okra, etc)
tomatoes (3 small, or 2 medium)
garlic
bagoong Pangasinan (aka bagoong isda)
pork cut into small cubes

-  boil the pork in enough water to cover the pieces; cook until there’s no more water and the meat has begun to cook in it’s own oil; put in the chopped garlic and sauté

- once garlic is golden brown, plonk in all the vegetables and enough bagoong to taste; and cover while simmering

- stir occasionally to coat all vegetables; there should be enough stock produced because of the liquid from the veggies, if not, just add some water and simmer some more

Tagalog version:

- substitute bagoong alamang and add kalabasa to your veggies

In a recent editorial by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the subject was Senator Francis Escudero.  Being a fan, I thought I’d take a gander at it.

Nakakadismaya.  Hindi ko maintindihan bakit kinakailangang mag-ingat siya sa pananalita, lalo na sa partido ni GMA? 

*********************************************

Usap kami ni B.  Sinend ko sa kanya yung article eh.  Whatever hope he harbored for the Senator, inagnas na rin.  Eto ang sabi niya:

“Kaya nagsasalita ng ganyan yung tao, iniisip niya, kailangan niya yung makinaryang in-establish ng administrasyon.  Wala. Walang mangyayari sa eleksyon sa 2010 hangga’t di nagbabago ang electoral system.  Iniisip kasi ng isang matinong kandidato, di siya kayang dalhin ng ideyalismo niya dahil dadayain at dadayain siya pagdating ng halalan - lalo na sa mga probinsiya.  So, there’s no other choice but to play the game.

Kung baguhin nila yung sistema - gawing electronic yung electoral process, tapusin ng isang araw ang botohan, at guwardyado yung electronic process ng whatever safeguard para di ma-tamper, dun magka-count yung boto ng tao. Dun magkakaroon ng pagkakataong manalo ang isang matinong kandidato na gusto ng tao.”

Amen ako dyan.  Kaya nga di matuloy-tuloy ang automation ng elections eh.  I’m thinking until someone has figured out how to hack election software on a grand scale - or something to that effect.

And that…was the end of the summer term.  Thank God for the break though.  Right to the very last day, it was still frantic…hectic…toxic…I dunno, take your pick!

I thought take-home exams were a boon (we were given this option in one subject), but it turns out, you’re better off just taking the standard type in the classroom than the take-home variety which will probably take you a minimum of two days to finish.  Damn, that was some painful session right there!

Heniweys, I’m already enrolled in my fall term subjects and just have to sort out the book required for one, and continue to follow up the status of my two ongoing yet-to-be-disbursed-they’re-killing-me-with-the-speed-with-which-they’re-processing-it student loans. 

In the meantime, l’m gonna sit back, relax and enjoy the brief respite, well after the household chores of course.

I have 3 final exams, 2 research assignments, and a presentation all for next week - signaling the conclusion of the Summer Term.  So pause-blogging muna tayo.

Nung unang balik ko sa Pilipinas, medyo nauuso na ang Crocs.  Di ko lang alam kung na-pick up na talaga ngayon.  Kasi kahit ako, medyo iffy nung nakita ko siya eh.  It’s butt-ugly.  Period.  Kaso, pag nasukat mo na, ay syet, para kang naglalakad sa marshmallow maghapon.  At feet-friendly talaga siya - apparently, dehins daw mangangamoy paa mo, at kahit ilang oras ka naglalakad, di mamamaltos o mananakit ang mga paa mo.  I haven’t got one yet but I’m a convert.  Once naisukat mo na, nakow, ewan kung di ka maghanap.  Wapakels ka na how you look once you’re walking on it.  Besides, once you get over the initial chunkiness of the design, it really is quite cute!

So, for general window-shopping purposes, eto isusuot ko:

For snow storms and general winter wear, eto:

For hiking, mountain-climbing (yeah, like that will happen!) purposes, eto naman:

For skirts and other dressy moments:

For beach or poolside action:

At para pambahay, neighborhood walks, o nearby pamamalengke:

Right.  That’s my Croc wish-list, thank you very much.  Now…calling the attention of Santa…halloooo???