Christmas Chow Time

They start in November.

Big get togethers... Small get togethers... Indoors... Outdoors... With Friends... With Family...

There's always one to go to during the Christmas season. It can be dizzying. I hosted so many parties this year. Filipinos always bring something when they go to a party so I ended up with loads and loads of food each time. The tricycle boys enjoyed it. They had their own little party and kainan while mine was going on because I would send over trays and trays of food. They're a jolly group who rush over when I cry for help and they protect me and mine.

I don't think I've ever seen as many variations of tokwa't baboy until this year. I love that dish and my friends and my husband's friends know it so someone brought over a special tokwa't baboy on each get together. Amazing how ingredients are just thrown in with the basic onions, garlic and chili. That must be how it is when a person loves to cook... he diversifies and re-invents.

After writing this one, it occured to me that I can talk there-being-no-point-in-this-talk talks a lot of times. No wonder I talk to my own hand.

Whatever.

Travelling Light

Tomorrow, we're off to a 5-day holiday in Singapore and Indonesia. Bali, here we come! My Mom, my daughter and I are all packed. One back pack each. Light enough to carry for hours should we be thrown out on the street due to some canceled hotel booking or something as horrid as that. Travel light is our motto.

Very basic to packing light is to roll your clothes to avoid wrinkles. That's definitely a MUST. Somehow, the clothes take up less space. Also, to take hardy clothes... meaning take jeans that can be worn more than once. My daughter tried packing by herself and I found WHITE SKINNIES! Number 1 impractical gear.

Another thing I do is to make sure I have enough bottoms - pants or shorts, whatever is suited for my destination. It's cheaper to buy tops than bottoms should the need arise.

My husband can't pack light. He's a big man with big clothes. His jeans are bigger than Manang, our laundrywoman.

Chikoy's Merry, Merry Christmas

I talked about Cukay getting her period last week and how Chikoy has been trying to mount her. Today, Christmas Day 2008, he finally succeeded! This is how my babbeezz lost their virginity. This morning, I gave them their bath and blow-dried their coats to fluff and both were looking and smelling swell so I happily went to take my own. What do I find when I stepped out of the shower? WAAAH! Chikoy and Cukay mating in the second floor sala, away from everyone's prying eyes. Gadratz! I kinda twisted them this way and that til they came loose.

Typically, I ran to the phone to call the vet not without first screaming at Kayla and the yayas who were supposed to make sure they DON'T mate. You see, Cukay is only 7 months old, too young to have babies. Dr. San Pedro (whom I address using a different saint's name each and every time - San Isidro, San Jose, San Carlos, San Diego, etc.... he untiringly and politely corrects me each time. He probably thinks I'm a senile fool.) gave me some pointers on what to do. Number 1 is to prevent any more mating to lessen the chances of Cukay getting pregnant.

Poor Chikoy. He seemed so happy during mating. I can imagine him saying, "Ooh, yeah... this is the best Christmas yet! Kah! Kah! Kah!"Merry Christmas indeed.

Salbabida!

That's what I have for a belly. For non-Filipinos, a salbabida is an inflatable life ring.

I have been putting away yummy food for MONTHS! This is the result... a salbabida around my waist. I practically bulge everywhere... more than ever! If I wear something a bit too tight, I SQUIRT upwards or downwards depending on the item of clothing. Help! I cannot breathe. BURP! AAH, that's a relief!

It's Christmas for a few more days so I can still eat, eat, eat! I love it!

Warning Signs

Last office day so naturally, I was idle. NOT because I'm a lazy fat witch but because I work fast. I just browsed some sites and found these funny signs on pyzam.com.

That's how signs should be... C L E A R.

EQ and Florence's Gift

Florence handed me this fancy little gift for Christmas. I went whoopee! Is this expensive? She said, very, very, veeerry expensive.

Whooppee! So I turned and turned it in my hands. What is it? I wanna know... Florence kept saying EQ... EQ. What's that??? Diapers??? And she told me about this marshmallow test done on kids who were left alone in a room with a marshmallow and told that if they wait for an hour without eating the marshmallow, they'd get more. EQ = Emotional Quotient

What a cruel experiment! It must have damaged some children permanently... they're probably the ones who don't grab the opportunity... those who don't live for the moment... those who are not ALIVE!!!I opened the present.

On the Last Working Day of the Year

Whut... nuthin... Idle...

Pizza for everyone! Yeah! Four of us in the office... where's everybody? No show.

As if I don't count the no shows as vl's. No Christmas spirit of giving there! mwahahaha!

Dora, Diego... and the rest of their family

Kayla was ranting about the family of Dora the Explorer this morning.

She thinks Dora is an irresponsible kid because all she does is gallivant. (Duh, she's an EXPLORER, isn't she? ) She said Dora is a "lakwatserang negra" (that sounds like someone I know). Diego, her cousin, is stupid. Apparently, he is already seven years old but still needs help in counting! Dora's abuela/abolita is a cook and she has a chocolate tree and she makes chocolate goodies for the cousins.

Dora has her own show... Diego has his own show... and soon Alicia, Diego's sister, will have her own show! Nickelodeon is going to be dominated by Dora's family!

Kayla is NOT amused.

My Pink House

When I posted pictures of my dogs, people remarked about the background. Pink walls. Yeah, yeah... I have two-toned walls, beige and pink.

The house was not painted yet when we found it. The owner told me the walls will be beige with pink baseboards. So I said, ok... baseboards are only about 3 inches anyway so they will not really clash with my terracotta motif. On the night before our big move, I brought my team of cleaners and was surprised that the pink baseboards were 3 feet tall. Waaah! They were MMDA pink!

It was too late to back out. Besides, the house has a jacuzzi on the roof, 5 floors up, with a 360 degree view of the Metro. Beeaauutiful view. Definitely worth ignoring the pink walls until I bother to have them painted. I just got some salmon stuff to pull the look together.

No Christmas Shopping

I love Christmas so I find it remarkable that I have no urge to go shopping at all this year. Not one bit.

I have a couple of godchildren that I had to give gifts to and I ended up giving gift checks. These are the kids of old, old friends, Lizelle and Dina, who will not let me get away with no gifts. And of course, a gift for my beloved bruha friend, Ruth. Yesterday, she drove all the way from Bacoor to bring me the baking dish she promised me for Xmas and it was with a baked macaroni, too. That's how she is. My friends for 27 years or so... they are the ones who will take me in if I lost my mind and became a vagrant. My bestest friends.

Last Friday, I had lunch with another dear friend, Vina, and I told her we'll walk around and I would buy her whatever she wanted. She wanted a breakfast tray, the lazy ass... so we combed Greenbelt 5 and found nothing but teenagers on vacation wandering the mall. We both wondered if they actually buy anything there since there are pretty expensive shops in that mall. There we were armed with credit cards and whatever Xmas monies we had with a combined purchasing power of gazillions but we didn't buy anything. Typical working moms. Parsimonious to the max.

Who wants to join the giant crowd of Christmas shoppers anyway? I'll just give post-Christmas gifts.

Cukay, my baby girl

Cukay is my baby girl, a 7-month-old Shih Tzu. I named her after my long-lost college friend, Cukay Mendez (whom I've found so she's not lost anymore). Cukay, the pup, is a hefty 6 kilos because she eats like a lab. She catches "cucas" (Spanish slang for cockroaches) really well, too. Icky little dog.

Last night, I smelled blood while I was brushing her hair so I flipped her and saw that her bush was wet. My fingers came away bloody! Typically, I called the vet. He said to bring her in. So I loaded her into the car and sped off to the hospital. The vet checked and felt her belly and said he needed to ultrasound her because her belly was big. He found everything normal and said she's just fat. The vet's finding? She is menstruating! Wooohooo! She's going to be Chikoy's mate... I'm going to be a grandma soon!

Eeww Moments

Have you ever unconsciously muttered "eeww" while doing some routine activity like scrubbing your face with toner or something like that? I have...

My memory is shot to hell but sometimes I get flashes of stuff that I did when I was young and I involuntarily say "eeww".

Once I was lecturing my daughter about the usual stuff parents lecture about and I asked her if she has ever heard me say "eeww" for no reason at all. She said, "yes, I have." "Why do you think I said that?" "Maybe you remembered something?" "Exactly! The reason I talk to you about life is so that you'll not have "eeww" moments as often as I do."

Every now and then, when she's contemplating on something it helps her decide... will that be an "eeww" moment or not?

How often do you have "eeww" moments?

Christmas Wish

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Isn't Christmas the happiest time of the year? I absolutely love Christmas! I can smell it in the air and I can feel it in the warmth of the sun. People's faces GLOW during Christmas! It's as if no disaster can happen during this season! No one will get sick! No one will get fat! No sadness! No heartache! I love it!

What's the best wish for Christmas? I think the best one is to wish everyone to be surrounded by happy friends!


Happy! Happy! Happy!

Chinelas

So this person told me he bought a pair of Havaianas for someone and that the chinelas were so nice and expensive and the receiver was so happy.

He looked at my chinelas and said you should use Havaianas, they're so soci...

Duh... I was wearing Hush Puppies. Maybe they looked like blah chinelas on my feet with my ginger-like toes and dead nails and cracked heels and all. hahaha!

Maybe I should just stick to wearing bakya.

My Babbeezz

Finally, something about my babbeezz... Chikoy and Cukay!


Cukay is sprouting boobies and Chikoy is beginning to notice that she's a bitch! He's practicing humping her. Problem is Cukay is a full kilo heavier than my little boy so she tends to carry him with her. He goes with her flow, if you catch my drift... He's been trying to mount her and she just walks off with him clinging to her fur like a ragdoll being dragged around. It's so cute.

Chikoy used to dog me like a dog. He followed me everywhere at all times of the day and night. Many nights I tried going to the bathroom very, very quietly but he would immediately wake up at the slightest movement. He used to curl up at my feet or on my pillow at the top of my head. But last night, he stayed beside Cukay even when I stomped to the bathroom. He just stayed with her...

I'm not the number one female in Chikoy's life anymore.

Septuagenarian Courtship

My Mom, who is a 70-year old "hot lola", is being courted by this 82-year old man. His name is Tom. My Mom was walking home from her daily morning exercise with the senior citizens of Makati at the plaza when Tom's daughter asked her if her father can introduce himself. Apparently, he's been seeing her pass in the mornings and wanted to meet her. So she graciously agreed. He told her he's an American citizen who is retired (duh) and lives here. He has 4 grown (duh) children who are all in the USA except for one who is a dentist. His relatives still live in Makati as they used to own what is now the Sta. Ana race track but he, himself, lives in Pasig.

Anyhooo... my Mom changed her route last week and had not passed in front of his daughter's dental clinic since then. He missed seeing her... so he sent his niece to search for our house to ask for her telephone number. The niece searched and found our house and got our home number. He visited this afternoon. He looks like Eduardo Ermita and hardly looks his age. He was chaperoned by his daughter and driver who held his cane as if it were a weapon. They chatted as the younger family hovered. We hovered as if they were teenagers who might plan to elope. Duh. He'd like to show her his house in Pasig. He invited us over when we are free.

It was kinda cute. Of course, I'm not really anticipating this to develop into something serious. God knows my Mom needs an elderly man to be her companion like a hole in her head. But it is a nice thing... a cute thing, like I said. Though my Mom is happy with her routine of exercise, mahjong and ballroom dancing, she might also like some sort of partnership in her old days.

Come fly with me... to Europe... NO!

My friend K, who often goes to Europe, wanted to take her 4-year old daughter baby K on a European tour this Christmas season.

I asked her when they are leaving and she told me this weird story.

She got a visa but her daughter was denied...

What... baby K looked older than her age (about 7???) and would probably try to stay permanently... they took a look at her and said, aha, a potential illegal alien. DENIED!

Right...

2pm

There's an interfaith rally in front of our building today. The staff are allowed to leave at 2pm. Maki-baka! Maki-baka!

Yeah, right... they're all headed away from the rally. They're headed for the malls outside of Makati to do their Christmas shopping. They're headed for home to start the weekend early.

Why are they not taking to the streets to rally for change? Stop the corruption! Stop the abuse! Oust GMA! Oust all the corrupt government officials! Maki-baka!

Well, they think it's a useless exercise. Rallying has lost it's power because it happens too often. Nothing is disrupted by a street demonstration anymore. Businesses in Makati have adapted to it and treat it the same as they would treat a weather condition. Our European bosses do not think anything radical will happen because of it.

I remember how the world looked in awe at the effect of EDSA 1. How they cheered the Filipino for achieving a political upheaval without any bloodshed. How we got goosebumps when we passed EDSA and remembered with pride how we linked arms to stop tanks. And the world watched... IN AWE...Nowadays, what? Oh, there's a rally today? Ok, let's not get stuck here... go, work from home or something.