Grrr....

... I'm going to Eurostar. Alone. Just so I don't miss out on it before it closes on 28.

And if you value our friendship and your well-being, if you have been to the WWE shows, or if you managed to catch them yesterday at Galleria, do not give me any unsolicited stories. I am in no mood to hear any of them.

Over and out.

Sigh....

.:The JGL Update:.

Tita Harvey asked me to tell you that the Chat Party has to be on March 11, Saturday night. If you guys are amenable to going, please let her know. I'm sure you know her e-mail address.

This is the last time I'll try organizing anything like this... and no, I'm not going to the chat party, either.

.:When Everything Falls Apart:.

Not going to Eurostar after eons of planning was bad enough.

Not being able to watch the WWE stung quite a bit all the same, although it can't really be helped.

Being shafted financially by not getting Nautilus and not getting a raise from WAVE was definitely horrible.

Not having a laptop for over a month is equally as bad.

As if all these weren't enough, issues left and right have been arising from other fronts in Marcelle's life.

He can only take so much.

Maybe there are just some things he doesn't deserve, after all.

Like good friends.

So it's time to return to his roots...

... and be alone.

He's lived without people around him all his life. No point bucking that trend now, while the going's good.

Yeesh.

.:What Do Suman And Spider-Man Have In Common?:.

For my Suman post today, here. Find out for yourself.

.:Furious Friday:.

Friday was all about Vintage. We had a pretty interesting tournament going on, and I came in second while using Cheng's Workshop deck, with a few tweaks of my own that just made the deck pretty much go over the top. Only lost once to a lot of maindeck hate from one guy, but I got him back in the playoffs for second, when Yawgmoth's Will practically nailed the coffin on him.

Afterwards, we were hanging out at Sta. Lucia, and we had a lot of amusing discussions there, particularly at the point where someone castigated me for "not knowing the history" of my team's cards. That was a riot, to say the least. Pwnage then followed when I told him that Team TX had better things to do than study the history of our cards... heh.

.:Sentimental Saturdate:.

Pomelo and I watched The Pink Panther, which was pretty funny. We ate at Tokyo Tokyo first, though. All in all, it was a pretty simple date, but next time, I'm definitely gunning for ice skating... I think we can do it now...

.:Sunday Mayhem:.

From Vintage, the tournament shifted to Legacy. Let's just say that it wasn't easy at all, and I really should've run combo. Apparently, playing Landstill simply isn't my style...

.:Monday Meh:.

I'm still not making enough money. But hopefully, my bid for teaching in ADMU will change that. Nonetheless, at the WAVE meeting last Monday, I did prove that I should really be part of creatives for the station. I believe I have the capabilities of giving great input for the station... they really should give it a try...

.:Terrible Tuesday:.

Not entirely terrible, but just really... non-happening...

Gawd, I miss my laptop. It's still gonna be over a month before I get it back. Brrr.

.:Today's LSS:.

Re-reading an old e-mail led me to think about this song...

Much Has Been Said
by Bamboo

Much has been said
Said you'd never leave
Why'd it have to be
Harder than it had to be
Now don't you throw the blame
You were part of this
Wasn't supposed to end
With us just walking away
So many times we tried
Holding on to the pain
But in my baby's eyes i see my shame
Asking why you had to leave
Wasn't i strong enough
To make you see
That the biggest part of this
It's not about you or me
But just been wrong
If we held on

So maybe tomorrow we'll find
A taste for the old days
Hard lessons we've left behind
This mirror's an open door
I can barely stand to see myself
I don't know what to do anymore
I'm crying out for help

Ooh lord
Ooh lord

Much has been said
Well i never learned
Keeping my fingers crossed
Praying for my luck to turn
But i can't complain
I'm living it easy
Job's keeping me busy i'm going crazy
Can't describe the way it felt
When you left said you goodbyes
It just seems crazy for me to think
That i found love the same time
But we all know how it all wraps up in the end

So maybe tomorrow we'll find
A taste for the old days
Hard lessons we've left behind
This mirror's an open door
I can barely stand to see myself
I don't know what to do anymore
I'm crying out for help

Ooh lord
Ooh lord
Ooh lord
Ummm...

What am i leaving behind
Sweet how we see the big picture
When your life's not on the line
I know the way out but do you see what i see
A tortured life always second guessing the bookie
Put money on the table thought that was all i had to do
Never came home never said a word to you
No one ever said it was going to be easy easy yeah
Start over again this time this time let's do it right
Start over again but this time this time let's keep the fires burning burning yeah
Start over again start over again but this time this time let's do it right sweet child
Start over again start over again but this time this time let's keep the fires burning burning yeah
You say i only hear what i want to no, no, no, no
You say i talk so all the time
I talk so all the time

.:On-Air Quips...:.

Kel: Can you believe it? We've been at it for three hours already!

Gia: Yeah. Wow.

Kel: And for those of you listening, get your minds out of the gutter. We meant music, of course. But it's a Feel Good Friday, and I know stuff like that would make you feel g-oood...

Gia: If it were another guy, maybe....

Oww. Pwn3d.

.:Valentine's Day Recap...:.

Actually, I didn't go for a dozen roses this time. I know, I know. I could've done better, but current financial issues tend to hamper that...

Nonetheless, Pomelo and I had lunch at Gerry's Grill. Not the most romantic place to have a Valentine's day lunch at, but hey, it was her idea. We had the grilled squid and pork sisig, and I know she enjoyed the date as much as I did.

It's funny to think that a year ago, I gave her flowers, too. Of course, she didn't realize I did. At the same time, I never even thought she liked me at the time.

I guess fate has a funny way of leading people to where they end up... and I'm glad for it.

Afterwards, I went to the Chua residence, as Kathy had Carnivore Night. It was fun, really.

Except for the fact that Kathy, upon finding out I had a commitment on February 25, decided to actively search for WWE tickets on 25 just to spite me...

And Peppy even decided to sweeten the pot by mentioning to her that there's a steel cage match on 25 while there's none on the 24th, so of course, Kathy was more stoked to take pictures of a cage match than a mundane special guest referee main event...

Argghh.

.:I Thank You...:.

Thanks, Pomelo. I'm very grateful that you and I met up yesterday. Wednesday was a horrible day, and I guess I just needed to meet up with you to ease the pain a bit.

Being financially constrained as I am right now feels rather horrible, but it gets just that much more bearable knowing you're there for me and you love me.

And you know I love you so much, too...

More Frustrations...

.:30 To 45 Days? What The Hades?!?:.

I can't believe it. That's how long it'd take for parts from Singapore to ship here for my laptop to get repaired.

What the Hades? You mean I'm going to be stuck that long without a computer of my own?

This is absolute crap. As if I didn't have enough troubles already.

I guess my blogging is going to be as crappy as this, thanks to that...

Separation anxiety is setting in... Homina, homina, homina...

.:Financial Woes Come Back:.

It wasn't a raise. It was a bonus.

Screw them. I've worked for this company for close to two years, and I'm sick and tired of being looked over. I am fully entitled to expect an increase from my salary after working this long for the company, and I am definitely not happy about this.

You can bet that I'd leave them now the moment something better comes along that required me to drop them. I am not the least bit amused of their casual ignorance of my contributions to their programming over the past year and a half.

Especially not after I've sacrificed GMA-7 for them, when I was asked to choose WAVE or GMA.

Screw them. I know I deserve better.

.:Now Half-Unemployed:.

Nautilus did not accept my application. You cannot begin to imagine how frustrated I am that all of a sudden, I am now shafted with a job that refuses to loosen its purse strings with a loyal employee, and how I am effectively screwed now.

I am currently holding one job. A job that does not offer nearly enough financial stability for me to live off of. I am not in the least bit pleased, and pardon my French, but I think I need to get this off my chest.

Marcelle is absofuckinglutely tired. Marcelle has done his best to be nothing but an employee of merit, and no matter how tired or how sick he has gotten, he has never failed to deliver on what he has promised to. With Nautilus' rejection of his application, the problem is clearly magnified.

Fuck this crap. I've more than paid my dues to the radio industry. I've more than shown that I am definitely willing and able to handle two jobs at the same time, and no matter how frustrated I may get with the setup, I have still performed my job to the best of my abilities. This rejection at Nautilus is pretty much the nail in the coffin to what has proven to be a completely horrible day. From my obvious financial woes that restarted with the discovery that my salary is stuck to where it currently is to the woeful month I will spend waiting until my laptop even begins to get repaired, you can tell that this is the last thing I need.

I currently have three applications left to bank on, and all of them are at Ateneo de Manila. If even that gets rejected, you can tell that I would definitely be having a lot of problems financially. Practically half of my salary goes to paying the rent and paying for my cellular phone's bill. For me to expect to survive the summer with a salary as paltry as I currently have is laughable at best.

Yes, I'm pissed off. I have gone through too much trouble already the past year, and I was definitely hoping this year was a point where things would move on up.

Instead, things go downhill from here now.

I can't take this crap anymore.

Moral Dilemma...

Argghhh...

Due to unforeseen circumstances (Peppy, I ought to strangle you. =P), there's a chance I'll be... occupied on February 25, rendering me, of all people, unable to go to Eurostar on that day.

Are people okay with 26? Or do I have to pull some more rabbits out of the hat? =P

Apparently, Kathy wants to watch the WWE tour on 25 due to the steel cage match, and my potential ticket lies in conjunction with hers, so...

Ack.

It's Valentine's Day Today...

It doesn't matter how many times you make me cry
In the end I still dream of only you and I
Today, we remember what brought us together
And hope that this special moment lasts forever

I love you with all my soul, with all my heart
I wish that never again would we be apart
But toil, we must, if we are to ever truly last
When I'm with you all the pain melts into the past

For lovers and romantics, it's Valentine's Day
For the jaded and broken, Single Awareness Day
But for you and I, it's a time to recall
Our faith in the saying that love conquers all

Pomelo, oh how I love you so.
I love you more than you'll ever know.

Sigh...

.:Wish I Could Post Longer, But...:.

... For now, feast your eyes on this...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=515642196227308929&q=russian+climbing

Arrgghhh...

My... head.... hurts....

Can't... write... post...

.:Today's LSS:.

No lyrics for today, but I'm trying to do something about "Uptown Girl". Wait a bit, and I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something interesting for it.

.:Why Am I Not Talking About Wowowee?:.

Probably because every nook and cranny, every angle, has been all but explored, that it'd seem like I'm just staring at my navel by the time I say something.

I will talk about it for sure. But right now, I need computer access. I still haven't gotten my laptop back. Grrr...

.:Thanks For The Time:.

Spent a bit of time hanging around with April, as I went to Ateneo yesterday to ask the I.S. department about pitching a class. Thankfully, I just need to submit my resume and other similar stuff. It shouldn't be much of a problem to handle at all...

On our way to having a quick bite at Shakey's, we ran into Barbie Co, a debater friend of ours. It was funny though because I mistook her former teacher, Mr. Tirol, as her boyfriend. Then again, for all I know, that could be the case, neh?

Then, when we tried to go to Starbucks, we ran into Paolo, another debater, who told me that he felt stupid every time he debated against me, which seemed amusing.

"You always seemed like you knew everything and made me feel stupid. I thought maybe you were God."

Very flattering... heh.

Anyways, yeah... thanks for the time, April! It was a blast hanging out with you. Congratulations to you in advance on your graduation.

.:I Want To Teach Again:.

And so I told my erstwhile co-workers in GMA that I'm applying to teach Communications in Ateneo again.

Their reaction?

Ay, magkaka-chicks si Marcelle ulit!

Dagnabit...

.:More Pictures That Paint A Thousand Words...:.

How's this for an LJ icon?

It's the Knight Rider!!!

Suman!!!

.:Today's Suman Post:.

A friend sent this to me... I guess I'd want to share it with you...

IN PRAISE OF SUMAN PAST
By Elmer I. Nocheseda

Suman is at the center of Philippine Christmas cooking. I had lots of them this Christmas! The Filipino has accepted into his Christmas tradition the celebrative powers of this native kakanin. Though Pinoy food accepts influences from other cultures, the fundamentals of suman remain the same. They originate from the harvest feasting of the early Filipinos before the arrival of Hispanic and American influences. The early Tagalog-Spanish dictionary of Domingo de los Santos in the 1700s even explains kakanin and calamay as alay, that is offering. All our celebrations have gone through a long process of syncretism, and yet they have survived through the years. Filipino Christmas and other celebrations have always been accompanied by suman.

Kakanin like suman is ranked No. 7 in the list of “100 Best Things About Being Pinoy” found in several Web sites managed by some Pinoy expats. The list says, “Kakanin, puto, kutsinta, sapin-sapin, suman sa ibus, bibingka, puto bungbong, maja blanka, bico, atbp. What would fiestas, Pasko, Bagong Taon, at Pista ng Patay be without these native delicacies?”

For Filipinos, festive food must be shared. The tradition of suman binds them together. More important than what is eaten is the joy of eating together, and for suman, what is also meaningful is wrapping and making suman together.

Suman is best prepared at home. Christmas reminds us of many sumans past, of coming home from a long trip and smelling the aroma of lola’s suman waiting on the table. It reminds us of how it was prepared. For it warms the heart to know that it was done with much love and care. The preparation involves a tedious process, and the cooking takes much time.

Suman formula

We know how difficult the process is. The malagquit rice is thoroughly cleaned and polished. Some rice varieties are now even harder to find like the lavender pirurutong. Sometimes, rice has to be wet-milled to a sticky consistency. We still keep the stone mill used by my grandmother at home now just as an accent piece. Coconut meat should be scraped finely from the shell in a kudkuran and then squeezed to get the kakang gata. Then this is mixed with other ingredients like sugar and salt in delicate proportion, and afterwards individually wrapped in fresh banana leaves, or young ibus leaves of coconut palm. Sometimes sasa and nipa leaves, young nodes of buho bamboo or empty coconut shell, if available.

The wrapping is an art in itself that has to be mastered. It distinguishes one suman from the others. Then it is baked, steamed or boiled to perfection. If one is remiss, it ends in disgracia.

The process of making suman is not written in recipe books for it may vary with the available equipment. The taste depends on the obtainable ingredients peculiar to an area. The “secret” is handed down from the lola to her apo by them making suman together. Precious lessons, like tancha-tancha lang, are taught in the process. Improvements are made from the mistakes. But if the apo is not good enough to remember, much of the secret may be gone with the lola.

There is indeed joy in the anticipation of our traditional suman. These are not only breakfast food to fill the stomach but also painit food to warm the heart. For lack of exact translation, early Spanish dictionaries translate them as comidilla or slight repast, as the peculiar pleasure afforded by this food strikes our fancy, as opposed to comida, which is a full meal to satiate.

The 1613 Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala of Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura uses the Mexican word tamales to translate suman. In another text he describes it as arroz envuelto or wrapped rice in leaves, lacking the exact term to render it in Spanish.

Suman geography

There is a long list of suman in the Philippines. Almost every town boasts of a specialty. Suman sa antala and suman sa ibos are cooked with coconut milk and salt. Suman sa antala is wrapped in heat-wilted banana leaves and steamed for 30 minutes to an hour, but for suman sa ibos the malagquit rice soaked in coconut milk mixture is packed loosely into nipa or palm leaves (ibos) and boiled for two hours until done. In suman sa lihiya, the soaked rice is treated with lye, wrapped in banana leaves and boiled for two hours until done. Suman sa ibos is usually served with sugar, while suman sa lihiya is served with grated-coconut, brown sugar or latek (coconut jam).

Palitaw is made from a flattened wet-milled batter of polished rice dropped into boiling water; after the cakes float they are dropped into cold water to prevent them from sticking to each other. They are drained and served with grated coconut, sugar and pounded sesame seeds.

The espasol of Laguna and Quezon is made from coconut milk and sugar syrup to which cooked milled rice is added, followed by toasted and powdered waxy rice. The paste is rolled with a rolling pin and cut into various shapes. Roasted rice powder is sprinkled over the paste to prevent sticking. In Quezon, they also make tikoy wrapped in anahaw leaves like corn cubs. It is milky and delicious, and curiously wrapped.

We have indigenized the Mexican tamales which the Pampango version contains toasted, ground rice and a mixture of peanuts, sugar, spices like anis and ground meat, which is cooked with coconut milk until thick enough to hold its shape. They also put slivers of itlog na maalat. It is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed for two hours.

Wet-milled malagquit or waxy rice flour may be kneaded with water and converted to sweetened rice cake by adding sugar and other ingredients before steaming to make puto. Bibingka is wet-milled malagquit with sugar and coconut milk, baked in a banana-leaf lined earth stoves with live charcoal on top and bottom until brown. In Sagay, Negros Occidental, they make it smaller like tinapay, which one can eat while walking, and use coconut shell coals to broil them.

Another rice cake, puto kutsinta, is an unleavened cake textured like a stiff and chewy pudding, and is prepared from wet-milled rice flour with sugar and lye. Calasiao in Pangasinan makes them in small chewy pieces that smell heavenly indeed, as they are wrapped in green banana leaves in brown bags.

The late Doreen Fernandez remembers that in Vigan of old, “a community fire was built to cook the tinubong — the rice mixture poured into bamboo tubes — while everyone was at midnight Mass. The sound of Media Noche was thus the crackling of hot, charred bamboo tubes in hands eager to get at their steaming contents.”

I have tasted the tuao tinubong in Piat, Cagayan. It is a delicacy! The burnt flavor of fresh bamboo nodes and the aroma of arrekek leaves provide the distinct flavors. The mixture of malagkit, gata, and salt provide a creative harmony and contrast from what is available. They will split the bamboo in half for you to enjoy the mixture. You can dip the suman in salt or sugar. Exquisite!

The Ibanags of Cagayan also have boiled inatata suman in banana leaves. Their tinupig has the burnt flavor of banana leaves, while their pawa is made from milled galapong with peanuts, and their biko is made from the original pirurutong.

In Laoag, people cook tupig in a more traditional way. They flavor it with molasses and grated coconut. To cook it, they bury it under a burning mound of ipa or rice chaff, so you also get that special smoky flavor. This is different from simply broiling them on live coal.

There are other regional specialties. In Iloilo, they have the suman latik made from pilit rice and generous toppings of sweet coconut jam are wrapped in green banana leaves. They also prepare in Situ the puto lanson made from grated cassava steamed with brown sugar and grated coconut in banana leaves. They make delicate compositions from available material using ingenious food technology.

One local delicacy that best symbolizes Tacloban is the binagul, which takes much time to prepare. This is a distant cousin of Bohol’s calamay. Both are related in the coconut shell used as packaging material. However, while binagul uses only half the shell, calamay uses both half bound with red strip of paper. Their relation ends there: the binagul is made from taro whereas calamay uses milled rice grain. The binagul’s chunky and chewy contents are covered with leaves, usually taro, and tied handsomely with a string.

The binagul has a coarse texture and the bottom portion is usually the sweetest part of the preparation. Groundnuts add texture. A binagul connoisseur would likely skip the crust, which is usually less sweet, and go directly to the gooey and syrupy bottom. In addition, one buys binagul early in the morning, when the product is still hot and fresh, for it might spoil by the end of the day.

The Cebuanos enjoy eating puto-maya with cups of hot tsokolate. Puto-maya is actually more like suman than the puto we know. It is steamed malagkit na bigas and flavored with grated ginger, coconut milk, and sugar. We scoop it into our plates because it is not wrapped in banana leaves. And it is perfect too with scoops of sweet, ripe Cebu mangoes!

In Tacloban, you could also have the best moron (well, yes, it sounds like …). It is actually a clever mixture of influences. They mix chocolate with your ordinary suman. It is also fun to watch how they make it.

Filipinos make good use of what is available. And they have fun in doing so.

Suman wrap

Suman wrapping is an art in itself. It is also part of the fun and its aesthetics. Like presents, wrapped suman is most festive. They use leaves found in their environment. The most common is banana leaves and coconut fresh ibus sprouts called lukay in Cebuano. They also use other palm leaves like anahaw, nipa, and buli. Some use fresh buho bamboo or empty coconut shells. Others use leaves found only in their area like arrekek in Cagayan and hagikhik in Leyte.

They make variations in shape. In Buting, Pasig the late Ti Onyang Ochoa used to wrap suman like a balisunsong while my Lola Gorya in Pateros wraps it like a rectangle. They both choose the younger banana leaves as they are sweeter. Both of them are now gone six feet under and nobody can wrap our suman as well as they could wrap a hundred pieces in a jiffy. “Pag sobrang higpit, puputok; pag sobrang luwag, sasabog.” It almost sounded like a rhyme when Ti Onyang reminds her nephews and nieces “kung paano balutin ang isang dakot na kanin.”

In Zamboanga, they make cones of banana leaves where suman is eaten like ice cream. In Cebu, Dumaguete and Glan in Sarangani, the basic pusu is intricately woven from fresh coconut leaves. The basic shape is a four-sided, diamond-shaped casing like the heart, or pusu, of the banana tree. The late William Henry Scott scanning ancient Cebuano dictionaries found long-forgotten terms to describe these wrappers like binuwaya (crocodile shape), linalaki (shape of a man) and kumol sin dato (Datu’s fist).

There is also an octahedron, an eight-sided, six-pointed complicated version, which they call pinagi (like stingray). Only dexterous hands could weave such packets from coconut leaflets. I have watched pusu weavers in Cebu make these small baskets while listening to Cebuano soap operas. I really marvel at their dexterity.

A seven-year-old girl from Dagupan could not say anything in Tagalog but taught me how to weave their patupat wrappers shaped like a rectangular pouch. It was difficult to follow from the start considering our language barrier. She made several variations. She started using two leaflets, then four leaflets, and then eight leaflets with increasing degree of complexity! Well, I forgot them all.

Suman sacraments

The Yakans in Basilan create the shape of birds for the suman wrappers, which they call tamu. They also use tamu as a counter for rice. Together with boiled eggs, they form part of their ritual offering for the important rites of Pagtimbang and Paggunting. Like in Romblon, suman is part of their ritual called mahikaw. In Pateros, suman is used in their pasubo ritual for the legendary buaya of Sta. Marta fiesta every February and July.

Antipolo during their May-time tradition is full of suman sa ibus. They wrap their suman by making horizontal coils of the leaf and fix it with a string made from long palm strips. They color it yellow to look more enticing.

In Bacolod, they wrap their suman in leaf pockets made by vertically folding the strips and then coiling the thinner tips of the leaf around the suman.

In Infanta, Quezon, they do not just coil it, they weave the leaflets through, thus making intricate patterns. And mind you, they use suman to decorate their houses to honor San Isidro Labrador in the Pahiyas of Lucban, Sariaya and Gumaca in May.

Moreover, in Baler, they make the extreme honor of extolling the suman as part of their life, art, passion, and blessings. They have set a day in February to honor the lowly suman. They have an Araw ng Suman, where you can have all the suman you can eat for free!

.:Lord Of The Rings:.

And Legolas said, "I give you my bow!"

And what does Gimli offer the fellowship?

Grrr....

My laptop is still under repair. Grrr.... I can't blog properly...

Hurrr...

.:ANNOUNCEMENT: JGL!!!:.

Currently, the plan is to go to Eurostar on February 25, a Saturday, who is amenable to this? Replies are highly encouraged.

.:Today's LSS:.

I know we sometimes can be quite a pain in the @$$ to each other, but Pomelo, you have to admit we share one thing in common.

We're damned crazy about each other.

This song's for you.

Stick Wit U
by Pussycat Dolls

I don't want to go another day
So I'm telling you exactly what is on my mind
Seems like everybody is breaking up
Throwing their love away
I know I got a good thing right here
That's why I say (Hey)

Chorus:
Nobody's going to love me better
I'm going to stick with you
Forever
Nobody's going to take me higher
I'm going to stick with you
You know how to appreciate me
I'm going to stick with you
My baby
Nobody ever made me feel this way
I'm going to stick with you

I don't want to go another
So I'm telling you exactly what is on my mind
See the way we ride
In our privated lives
Ain't nobody getting in between
I want you to know that you're the only one for me
And I say

(Chorus)

And now
Ain't nothing else I can need
And now
I'm singing 'cause you're so, so into me
I got you
We'll be making love endlessly
I'm with you
Baby, you're with me

So don't you worry about
People hanging around
They ain't bringing us down
I know you and you know me
And that's all that counts
So don't you worry about
People hanging around
They ain't bringing us down
I know you and you know me
And that's why I say

(Chorus x2)

.:I Got A Raise!!! w007!!!:.

An unexpected raise from WAVE has suddenly given me a burst of enthusiasm. This is going to be a really good run for me, as the moment I leave GMA, I have quite a few options waiting in the wings, which I'll be talking about in a while...

.:Trying To Find Time To Understand Each Other Better:.

I think it's quite obvious that given our extremely loaded schedules and, well, extenuating circumstances, Pomelo and I simply don't have too many opportunities to really just talk to each other. Because we're always pressed for time, we end up missing out on the joys of conversation, and instead attempt to make the few moments we have as epic as possible.

Not that making those few moments epic is bad, per se. Unfortunately, in doing that, in looking at the grand scale 95% of the time, we tend to overlook the smaller things. Smaller things that, had we known more about each other, we'd be likely to unconsciously overstep. Otherwise, we inevitably seem insensitive to each other at times.

So yesterday, instead of working or going to sleep, I stayed on at the ADMU internet terminals to just chat with her on YM. It's sad she was swamped with work so we couldn't really work, but I'm glad we still found a bit of time for each other.

It's not easy. But I guess she's worth all the effort. I hope she feels the same way about me, too.

.:After QTV...:.

I went to Ateneo yesterday, and I have to admit that I missed the place. It was definitely just odd going there after a long time of being completely away from the academe.

Nonetheless, I feel it's high time I returned.

I have sent my resume to the Philosophy department in hopes of becoming a teaching assistant again.

However, I am also turning in my resume to the Communications Department to become a part-time faculty member there. With all my Comm-related jobs, I would like to think I'm certainly qualified to teach in that department by now.

I was laughing my head off when sir Mark Escaler mentioned to me that he thought they had lost me to the Philosophy department already.

I told him that I thought so, too. :P

In any case, yeah, we'll see where this leads. I hope I can make it back in the academe soon enough. That'd be really great.

According to Jonas, it'd be cool to have me as a T.A. I'd love to get my hands on some T.A. ;)

Exciting times, all in all. With my work in WAVE picking up, with the possibilities of Nautilus and ADMU, I think this should be a much better year for me career-wise.

Post-Chinese New Year Post

.:Today's LSS:.

I love Rick Astley... hehehe.

Hold Me In Your Arms
by Rick Astley

We've been trying for a long time to say what we want to say

But feelings don't come easy to express in a simple way.
But we all have feelings
we all need loving

And who would be the fool to say that if you -

Hold me in your arms
I won#t feel better?
If you hold me in your arms
we can brave this storm together.

We both know there's a problem
a problem that we've got to face.
So put your trust in me
lover no-one's ever gonna take your place.
'Cos we all have a problem
we all have fears

But there's always got to be a way.
Yes
we all have feelings
we all need loving

And you would be a fool to say that if you -

Hold me in your arms
I won't feel better?
If you hold me in yor arms
we can brave this storm together.

You only have to hold me
touch me to make me feel so good

You only have to hold me
feel me
to make me feel the way
you know I should.

Hold me in your arms
hold me in your arms

Hold me in your arms
hold me in your arms

When you gonna hold me in your arms
hold me in your arms

Hold me in your arms
hold me in your arms

.:Eurostar!!!:.

Anyone wants to go this Saturday or the next? I think the JGL should set up a trip there before the darned thing closes already...

Please? Going there alone is so not cool...

.:Wa Ying!!!:.

Didn't realize it was so near where we had Magic tournaments. From now on, I eat my lunch there all the time... duck rice. Whooo!!!

.:Sticky Details: On Suman and Tikoy:.

I didn't really think much about Chinese New Year this year, ironically. Regardless, the occasion has passed us by already, and now, it's the year of the Dog.

One of the things that becomes rather commonplace during Chinese New Year is a very interesting delicacy we all know as Tikoy. I like it, actually. The chewy consistency has proven to be such a draw for me, as far as I'm concerned. I like it when it's warm, and the mild sweetness is really great.

And with each passing year, they put more and more interesting spins to it. I especially liked ube flavor, and pandan flavor isn't so bad, either.

Tikoy symbolizes the hope that a family would stick together and all be blessed for the New Year. It's a very nice symbol for a very tasty delicacy that I definitely like a lot.

Then all of a sudden, I started thinking about that other rice delicacy that is very much Filipino, in contrast to Tikoy.

You guessed it. Suman.

I like Suman, but I think my main gripe with it is that I have yet to see special-flavored Suman. Having different kinds of them is one thing, but they still taste very similar to each other. Compare that to Tikoy, whose rather wide range of flavors can cover a lot of ground in the taste department in no time at all.

Some kinds of Suman even have the same consistency as Tikoy, which furthers my analogy of the two.

It kind of exists as a very tangent but perfectly plausible link between the Filipino and Chinese cultures, although of course, Suman doesn't exactly represent the kind of symbolism Tikoy does, but in my humble opinion, it damned well should. It's a sticky rice delicacy that is a lot more fun to share with friends or family than it is to eat by your lonesome. Sometimes, it's not brown sugar you need to add more taste to your Suman. It's actually company.

And in the end, isn't that one of the wonderful side benefits of food? When you share your time of eating with people you like to spend time with, doesn't it make mealtime less and less about stuffing your faces and your stomachs and more and more about the leisure that allows us to relish delicacies like Tikoy and Suman and think upon their mundane but poignant contribution to people?

After all, we eat to live. We don't live to eat. Thinking upon the parralelisms and the stark contasts between Suman and Tikoy and all that they stand for, I can't help but feel that it's nice to just take a step back and take a closer look at things we usually overlook and take for granted.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!!!