Yey! I spruced up my blog a bit and here it is, hope my friends would like it, coz i do. :)
Any plans for tonight?
Badminton
Queer Eye marathon
Uwi kami 2mrw for my cousin's 1st birthday :D
Happy Halloween!!
As much as I want to blog about our (me & my beloved opism8s) very serious and thought-provoking discussion over lunch regarding the problems which beset our nation, I can't. I'm having menstrual cramps right now and I'm doing the hot water bottle therapy. It really works for me. So, I'm sharing here a quick and easy pain-reliever to all my womyn-friends :D
Here's how to do it:
1) Get an empty bottle. (I use a gatorade bottle.)
2) Put some hot water. (I fill mine directly from the thermos, so it's super hottt!)
3) Be careful not to scald yourself, seal the bottle tightly.
4) You need a small towel or a hanky to hold the bottle, if it's too hot for your hands.
5) Roll it over your lower abdomen while it's hot, and roll it until the pain subsides. No need to put it under your shirt or blouse , the heat will get through your clothes.
Since I'm into cramps and all today, I'm gonna blog a little about period pains or what the scientific community calls "dysmenorrhea". Women suffer from such pain because of the higher production of prostaglandins during menstruation. Prostaglandins are the hormone secreted by the lining of the uterus (uterine lining). It is advised to avoid a diet high in saturated fats , those with high sugar content and processed foods, during this period so as not to exacerbate the condition. The health site that I've browsed through suggests some vitamins to take but if your not into pill-popping, try the following recommendations:
1) Drink herb teas such as ginger, mint, chamomile.
2)Eat foods high in vitamins B6 (banana, tuna, broccoli, lentils) and C (citrus fruits green peppers), and magnesium (whole grains, soybeans, spinach, fish).
3) Reduce amounts of animal fats, dairy products, meat, margarine, coconut oil, palm kernel oil.
Of course, you can engage in light exercises (yoga, stretching or a bit cardio) if you like or regularly take multivitamins high in magnesium, Vitamins B6 and C.
A much detailed post will come later, for now I just want to share this image of the film we have watched yesterday. This blog's title is the translation of "Shi mian mai fu" or House of Flying Daggers. Directed by Zhang Yimou with Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Outstanding cinematography. 7 out of 10 stars.
Here's a list of some outstanding Asian Films which conquered Hollywood that we have watched:
(Chinese)
1) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2) Hero
(Korean)
1)Taegukgi (We were very lucky to be the first ones to watch this movie and have our picture taken with the director, courtesy of Dr. Kim Sang Woo at the EACOS Youth Forum in Suwon, South Korea.)
or A Glimpse of Land Distribution in the Country
Just now, I'm thinking what will happen to Alimall when the much hyped Gateway mall, developed by the country's elites, the Aranetas and the Ayalas, opens to the public come November or December. I tried to relate it to urban planning and thought that the unjust distribution of land in the country is made more inequitable by the country's flawed economic policies and our insufficient knowledge on sound land use management in the face of globalization.
As a student of urban and regional planning, we were taught that given the scarcity of land in urban and urbanizing areas, it must be planned and designed in such a way that the land would be able to achieve its maximum utility while providing for the needs of the majority of its stakeholders. In the case of Cubao, particularly the Araneta Center, redevelopment is essential to spruce it up and entice more businesses, and because the land is privately-owned, the immediate stakeholders would be the Araneta & Ayala corporations. Now, what about the "other" stakeholders, meaning the small, hole-in-the-wall establishments and the residential areas around it?
The usual problem which besets redevelopment is gentrification. It is a term which connotes social classification, coined by the sociologist Ruth Glass in the early 60s. Gentrification is best described by the following experience of London:
"One by one, many of the working-class quarters of London have been invaded by the middle-classes - upper and lower. Shabby, modest mews and cottages - two rooms up and two down - have been taken over, when their leases have expired, and have become elegant, expensive residences....Once this process of 'gentrification' starts in a district it goes on rapidly until all or most of the original working-class occupiers are displaced and the whole social character of the district is changed." (Slater, 2002)
Years before, Cubao caters to a mass-based clientele, thus, the rise of Farmer's market, Plaza Fair and Fairmart. It was a place where mothers can haggle while their kids enjoy the rides at the Fiesta carnival. Today, its history of affordable commodities is slowly being replaced by expensive products made by global corporations, guilty of child labor practices in its sweatshops. The fresh produce cultivated by Filipino farmers in the uplands are taken over by imported ones: vegetables and fruits from China, rice from Thailand, chicken from Australia, beef from New Zealand.
I have witnessed how the old C.O.D. was replaced by Puregold. COD as a small family owned business, while Puregold is an "international trading corporation." Now my kids won't be able to enjoy the annual Christmas show hosted by COD for the enjoyment of the public who cannot afford the theatres or even tickets for the Little Mermaid on Ice show at the Araneta Coliseum. I had the opportunity to witness one of their presentations two Christmases ago and I would not exchange that experience for a free shopping at Puregold.
A&W, famous for their heavenly Rootbeer floats, closed to give way to KFC* with their genetically engineered chickens (although, these are owned by one foreign corp.). The SIDCOR weekend market is another goner replaced by another superstore, Makro.
What I'm driving at is that land should not be only for those who can build on it huge malls and tall skyscrapers; more importantly, land should be also for those who are willing to till and cultivate it; land should be for those whose lives depend on it.
I believe that there should be places for people who cannot afford the Guccis and the Manolo Blahniks and such places should be preserved, otherwise, the country would eventually turn into one big, classy restaurant where only the rich could dine while the penniless poor are watching behind the glass-paned windows, slowly starving to death. And nobody's raising hell about it.
Ang daming new movies! I love Thursdays! (di ba huwebes ngayon baka may bago nang palabaaas….ely buendia..remember eraserheads..duh) Every time we watch and see new trailers, my hny ticks off which of those many soon to be shown films are we going to watch. Being the good (and beautiful) girlfriend that I am, I just say okay to avoid disagreements. Yes, that’s the secret of our four-long years of blissful togetherness. One should give in, otherwise the discussion could go on forever. But most of the time and I mean 98%, he gives in!! Yey! Woman power!! I really like this one: Men control the world, but women control the men. ‘nuff said. Hihi ^-^
Speaking of movies, hny got excited over Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. And I said, “Cut off that crap, I’m not watching it.” He also got excited over Ladder 49 and I said the same thing. I even suggested that he ask R (or any of his friends) to accompany him. See, that’s the kind of person I am, I don’t mince my words, I am 90% salbahe. The remaining 10% would account for the occasional kindness and compassion that I have for my fellow human (but lesser) beings. haha kidding! But come to think of it, why are there people like that? Those who think that they are superior over other races like the Germans during the time of Hitler and the Bushes during the time of Saddam?
I hate war movies. They evoke feelings that I would rather not feel because I easily get affected. I cry no, I bawl and no amount of Kleenex pocket tissue would dry my tears. Serious. I have a mole under my left eye kasi :D (connect?) The only war movie that I had the guts to watch is Schindler’s List. And of course Lord of the Rings. Such movies tire me tremendously. So, I have missed a lot of good movies because I want to save myself from such immeasurable sadness. Don’t argue with me. This is my blog. I’ll slap you.
Speaking of movies, hny got excited over Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. And I said, “Cut off that crap, I’m not watching it.” He also got excited over Ladder 49 and I said the same thing. I even suggested that he ask R (or any of his friends) to accompany him. See, that’s the kind of person I am, I don’t mince my words, I am 90% salbahe. The remaining 10% would account for the occasional kindness and compassion that I have for my fellow human (but lesser) beings. haha kidding! But come to think of it, why are there people like that? Those who think that they are superior over other races like the Germans during the time of Hitler and the Bushes during the time of Saddam?
I hate war movies. They evoke feelings that I would rather not feel because I easily get affected. I cry no, I bawl and no amount of Kleenex pocket tissue would dry my tears. Serious. I have a mole under my left eye kasi :D (connect?) The only war movie that I had the guts to watch is Schindler’s List. And of course Lord of the Rings. Such movies tire me tremendously. So, I have missed a lot of good movies because I want to save myself from such immeasurable sadness. Don’t argue with me. This is my blog. I’ll slap you.
**After reading Ebert's review of that much reviewed and raved film, I've decided we're gonna watch it. But not tonight coz we're watching Shark Tale at Galleria.
Notes from an avid moviegoer
Don’t ever watch at SM cinemas, even Cinema 1 at Megamall stinks. The floor sticky, the crowd icky, the seats have surot. Enough of this!! I mean Robinson’s cinemas and SM cinemas charge the same ticket price, but, Galleria is waaay better because they make sure that their movie houses are worth the money their patrons are parting with.
Another note: Why can’t people act normal whenever they’re inside the movie houses? They talk to their friends on their cellular phones, they tell their life stories to their companions, they even translate and explain the sequences of the movie, which is totally okay if their buddy is blind or deaf.
Super tamad akong mag-blog these past few days, there are a lot of things to do for the upcoming ASPAP conference on Monday here at the College. However, I can't ignore my hny's plea for me to write a new blog, so I'm just gonna write down anything that comes into my mind.
^-^ Happy ako today coz its Friday and I get to rest tomorrow. (Oh no! sale sa Robinson's!)
We're playing badminton tonight with Bel. For two hours, I'm going to sweat out all the calories I've taken for the whole week. Good luck!
We're planning to go home tomorrow coz I havent seen my family for almost a month now and I'm not in Switzerland for goodness' sake..
^-^ Happy ako today coz its Friday and I get to rest tomorrow. (Oh no! sale sa Robinson's!)
We're playing badminton tonight with Bel. For two hours, I'm going to sweat out all the calories I've taken for the whole week. Good luck!
We're planning to go home tomorrow coz I havent seen my family for almost a month now and I'm not in Switzerland for goodness' sake..
Today is the last day of our director here at the office, we'll have a new one come November. Super cry-olah na naman aketch. I really should consider showbusiness as a career fallback when I get tired of serving my countrymen.
I feel so sorry for the kids who are neglected by their parents. Just last night while we were at Mcdonald's Philcoa and I am enjoying the bland Mcdonald's Barbecue (pseudo) Burger, a kid knocked at the glass window and gestured "pahingi". I told him to wait and I made my way to the counter to buy a burger and a sundae dip. As I gave him his own mcdo meal, i saw a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. I know it's not that much and it is discouraged to give alms, but what the heck, the boy is starving and your principles can't make the hunger go away. Besides, it's not money, but food. As I sat on my chair, the boy walk past the glass window and gave us a big smile and a thumbs up sign. That surely melted my heart away, and I tried so hard to fight back a tear. Hell, I'm such a crybaby.
Fast forward today: October 16 9.32 am. My joints are aching becasue of the really intense badminton games last night. Bel's sister is a good player and we tried so hard not to embarass ourselves. She's really good in powerdrives. And I'm beginning to get the hang of it. I can now hear a thwacking sound when I hit the shutlecock. But of course, I am only a beginner and it would take months and even years for me to play a smashing game. For now, keeping the shuttlecock at play for several exchanges is acceptable.
Did I mention I play volleyball, hours before our badminton tourney? Friday was such a very physical day. NCPAG has an on-going sportsfest and I am with the Yellow team along with other introverts in the college. First game, we lost to the Blue team, with the kind of performance only dodgeball players would appreciate. Later that night, we asked for a rematch due to some unfair set of rules which were applied only to our game, they used rallypoints so it should be up to 25 points per set, but they used only 15 for our game.The ending: we lost again but this time instead of feeling ashamed for a lousy play, we were really proud of what our team did. We fiercely played against the mostly pro blue team and we gave them a fight that they would remember. Ha! Yellow team fight!
Today we're going to pay homage to the earliest trading partners of our ancestors, the Chinese. We're going to Chinatown....
*French 101: mal bouffe is French for junk foodz
The following artik recounts a slew of interesting eats while watching a movie in a semi-dark theatre, most of which we actually ate; some, eaten by the person seated behind us:
and, as the cliché goes, the last but definitely not the least... (drum roll)
En joi! :D
Rants:
Hay grabe na talaga! I’m still here at the office waiting for the participants to finish their papers. Our Center is currently conducting training on research methods kasi. Feeling ko I’ve lost 10 pounds this morning running errands from the third to the second floor where our office is located.
Hay grabe na talaga! I’m still here at the office waiting for the participants to finish their papers. Our Center is currently conducting training on research methods kasi. Feeling ko I’ve lost 10 pounds this morning running errands from the third to the second floor where our office is located.
...and Raves:
I just finished my Jollibee Yumburger, is that really what they call It? I’m not really a Jollibee fan; I only like their Chickenjoy before they decided to cook it like Mcdonald’s. Nothing beats KFC, though Teriyaki Boy’s Chicken Teriyaki would make you swear your not gonna eat in those unhealthy (yet saviours for starved souls) places again. But we’re talking about fried chicken here, so it’s still KFC.
Happy Eating! :D
Raves:
*Delish breakfast inspired by the Iron chef battles...the egg battle! Hai!
*P2P TV marathon enabled us to watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Samurai 7, and That 70s Show while reviewing for our final exam this pm.
*Ihaw One's Sizzling Chicken Sisig, Ensaladang Mangga with red egg, hny's Sizzling Pot Roast, and a giant iced tea fishbowl (Lipton for me!) sated our hunger after an exhausting bout against artificial IQ measures
Rants:
*That P2P marathon had taken its toll on our exam output
*My index finger is swollen because of that exam (T-T)
*The Iron Chef Squid Battle which I have waited forever to download is not working. Crap!
*****
Quote for the day: "Is this wire hanger??! No more wire hangers everrrr!! (throws away the poor hanger)-Carson, QE4SG
Seriously though: "The wisest mind has something yet to learn." George Santayana (1863-1952)
Rants:
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