Witnessing a Political Milestone: The Barack Obama Inauguration

Barack Obama will finally swear in as the first African-American President of the United States of America! As expected, all news networks around the world are beholding at this paramount political event as it is happening in Washington, DC today.

Not only it is a celebration of a significant history of our time but also it gives triumphant finale to the struggles of the personified men and women in Amistad, Glory, Men of Honor, and my other favorite movies that depicted discrimination to minorities. In addition, it smashes the record held by Armstrong’s walk on the moon in 1969 and Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997 in terms of viewership. Millions of people around the globe are waiting for this great political milestone.

I am watching CNN right now and I'm so overwhelmed with the intensity of President-elect Obama’s journey to the White House. Commencing from Barack’s travel by train from Philadelphia to Washington that retraced Abraham Lincoln’s route taken hundred years ago, to the star-studded inauguration party at the Lincoln’s Memorial, to the big gathering of people of all colors and races at National Mall, to the preparation of Secret Service Counter-snipers on top of the buildings, to the testimonies that Barack has indeed made Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream come true, and so on. I can’t wait to see him on stage. I’m sure I will shed tears of joy.

Let’s join hands in celebrating this meaningful moment of our history. It will be streamed live on CNN, ANC, Channel News Asia, BBC, Bloomberg, ABS-CBN, Studio 23, and GMA Network at 11.30pm Manila time. The replay of Yes We Can: The Obama Inauguration Celebration at the Lincoln's Park will be aired on HBO at 7pm Manila time.

Long live President Barack Obama!

An Ode to My Father

On January 12, 1954, a bouncing baby was born into this world. He came as the sixth child from a brood of ten. He was the most favored son by his doting parents. He grew up humbly in the rural agricultural town of Trinidad, Bohol. Twenty-three years later, he would become my father.

When I was eight or nine, my loving father gathered me and my four younger siblings in our living room to record songs on cassette tape. He played his guitar while I belted out ‘We are the World’ by Michael Jackson and “Mutya Ka Baleleng” by Max Surban. Then my sister and brothers hummed to Freddie Aguilar’s songs. Until now, that cassette tape remains an unrivaled highlight in our family gatherings as well as an ultimate source of never-ending family jokes.

My father is a musician at heart. He reads musical notes, conducts a chorale, and plays musical instruments such as piano, guitar, and harmonica. He leads an all-male group named MIGS that sings on weddings. I grew up listening to their wonderful voices. (MIGS was the choir at my wedding. They serenaded me with Petula Clark’s ‘You and I’ while I walked down the aisle which really made my childhood dream came true.)

Since the day I learned to be aware of things, he already imposed strictness unto me – in a good way, of course. He disciplined me to be responsible and prudent. He trained me to be self-reliant and upright. He encouraged me to read and be informed. He taught me how to be humble and generous. He supported my interests. He listened to my whines. He gave me comforts. Most of all, he showered me an unconditional love.

Today is his 55th birthday. We talked on the phone a while ago and I told him how much I love him. I heard his voice cracked as he told me he loves me too. At this point, I feel that I am the luckiest because I have the best father one could ever ask for.

Happy birthday, Tatay Chito!

Welcoming 2009 with a Bang!

It’s my first post this year and I’ve decided to try a new leisure pursuit that is uploading my own videos to YouTube!

I hope you will enjoy watching them as much as I enjoyed making them.

First up is the New Year’s Eve Street Dancing along Palma Street in Cavite City. It’s basically done for scaring bad lucks away. It’s like the Sinulog in Cebu.

Then as the clock struck midnight came the pandemonium of bangs and squeals in the neighborhood. (where Judas’ Belt is considered ‘trendy’)

Here’s my official New Year’s greeting vid:

(I used my old digi cam in taking the videos that’s why they are not clear-cut. Hopefully, I can show you hi-definition videos sooner.)

And now I’m going to present to you the other side of my sister Datski:

Finally, here’s the other side of me:

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Wish

May the good times and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow. Wish you lots of love, joy and happiness.

Cheers,
Jane

Christmas Recipes

What comes to mind when you think of Philippine Christmas? Food! That’s what. In our family, we always have ham and queso de bola as centerpieces for holiday dinners.

This year, I decided to be frugal that’s why I won’t have queso de bola. However, I will definitely serve ham because we got one as a giveaway from Phil. Navy. Besides, it is economical and I can stretch it to several meals from a main course. I’m talking about ham barbecue, ham sandwich, ham omelet, and so on. Ham can essentially star in any meal.

Since it’s going to be a busy day tomorrow, I already have prepared and studied the recipes that I’m going to cook for the first time.

Ham Barbecue

1/2 kilo ham (cubed)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup barbecue marinade
2/3 cup pineapple juice
1 tbsp cornstarch (dissolved in 2 tbsp water)
1 cup pineapple tidbits
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

Place the ham in a greased slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients; pour over ham and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through. Serve on buns.

Chicken Macaroni Salad

400g macaroni noodles
2 pieces medium sized carrots
1 big chicken breast
500 ml of mayonnaise
1 can (836 g) pineapple chunks or tidbits
1 big white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
3 hardboiled eggs, diced
1 cup diced cheddar cheese
1/2 cup raisins
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook macaroni noodles according to package cooking instructions. In a pot, boil carrots in water for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked. Drain carrots and let cool. Peal skin then dice. Boil chicken breast in water with salt. Drain chicken breast, then shred in 1 inch lengths Drain pineapple chunks or tidbits. Combine all ingredients while adding salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate, and then serve.

Fried Calamares

3/4 kg calamares (squid)
1/2 kg flour
1 liter olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Remove the squid heads, tentacles, ink bags, fins and skin. Wash them thoroughly under running water, drain them and slice them into rings. Salt, dredge in the flour, and shake them one by one to remove excess flour. Fry them in plenty of hot oil until they begin to turn golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

I'd Still Say Yes

Christmas is my most favorite time of the year for a lot of reasons. One of these is that people are happier, richer and more giving. This morning, I found one more reason to love Christmas – it magnifies love.

The moment I woke up, I saw my husband smiling naughtily at me. I knew right away that something was cooking up. Then he said he wanted me to be his girlfriend (not as a wife) for the day and we would go for a date like we used to do before we got married. I exclaimed “What?!” I wondered why he felt like living our amorous girlfriend/boyfriend past and I swear he acted like an infatuated school boy. Was it because of the cool weather? Or the massage I gave him the previous night? I wish I knew.

Anyway, I said yes.

So we rode his bike to SM and had lunch at Maxim’s Tea House (their sweet and sour pork is mouthwatering). After that, we watched Keanu Reeve’s The Day the Earth Stood Still. We held hands throughout the movie and he would steal kisses on my cheeks that eventually made me blush. Then we went shopping for clothes (slacks and polo shirt for him from Wrangler and white tops for me from Kirin Kirin). Lastly, we braved the overcrowded supermarket to buy more stuffs for the Noche Buena.

When we arrived home, we had a meal of daing na bangus and steamed rice that brought back memories of our first month as newlyweds (I could only boil eggs or prepare corned beef out from the can back then, so he was glad when I was able to fry daing na bangus for the first time! Actually, that was the onset of my confidence to discover the kitchen world). We talked general issues during dinner such as the anatomy of aliens and Kobe Bryant’s low-cut shoes (we basically talk anything under the sun, you know). Before we went upstairs, we watched the 14th and 15th episodes of Prison Break which we downloaded from mininova.org using uTorrent.

All in all, it was a romantic day with my husband. Next time he asks me to be his girlfriend or wife or even as a mistress, I will say yes to him over and over again!

Party Like a Child

There were lots of children having fun at the NASSCOM Christmas Party today. They enjoyed the fun treats from the hired clowns and they cheerfully joined in the parlor games, raffle draws, pabitin, and karaoke singing. Their laughter blended with the jing-a-ling of the ice cream and cotton candy bells much to the pleasure of their parents who were able to chill out as well.

At lunchtime, we mused over some old jokes while we feasted on lechon, chowking lauriat, pancit, hotdogs, and fruits. Everyone was in high spirits - smiling from ear to ear. Nevertheless, we weren’t able to evade talking about serious stuff like how the colonist Spaniards imbued negative traits to the Filipino people. I was so engaged in our discussion that later made me feel like a renegade adult at a children’s party.

Mark and I participated in the Compatibility Contest for Couples afterward.

We were seated back to back and we separately had to write down our answers on a piece of paper. The judges would compare them subsequently. We got three correct answers from six questions such as how many girlfriends Mark had before we got married [3]; where he spends most of his time when he is not at home [at the barracks]; and when our last dinner date was [Nov. 25]. On the other hand, we differed on how much we spent in our wedding [his - 200k, mine - 250k]; what particular thing we always argue about [his – smoking, mine – jealousy]; and who I get jealous on all the time [his – his ex, mine - his bike]. We took home the second prize.

It was fun and it felt good bringing out the kid in me again!

Zeal Albeit Chaos

One would expect me to pout over the domestic routines that were piling up while we were away for the long weekend but today I couldn’t bring myself to get piqued as everyone around me is in high spirits.

While I was lying lazily on the bed this morning, Mark made lambing by tickling my insteps with his shoelaces. My sister was humming while dressing up to work. Our neighbors were playing easy listening songs instead of the usual loud ones. The children were laughing while walking to school. And, the man who sells taho was more jovial albeit the light rain that hushes the street.

Indeed, the air is already filled with Christmas chi that lifts the morale of every Filipino. It is the time of the year that we pay no attention to crisis. We don’t give so much damn about the rising of gas prices or the Mumbai attacks or Thais cordoning off their airports or Congress pushing the Charter Change. Instead, we opt to smile over small letdowns and see only the brighter side of life.

In line with this, I changed my blog theme from water to poinsettias. I trust that these poinsettias would inspire me to write happy thoughts throughout the season and to remind me to give a little of myself to the less fortunate children as well. (Please support my advocacies featured on the left sidebar of this page.)

For now, I leave you with this quote from Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon: Remember, this December, that love weighs more than gold!

What's Up for the Long Weekend?

The commemoration of our great national hero, Gat Andres Bonifacio, falls on a Sunday so our good President moved the legal holiday to Monday. In other words, we are going to have a long weekend!

I expect some activities lining up so I decided to have my “me time” today. By “me time”, I mean the day of each week when I don't have to do household chores or any wifely stuffs but only the things I love like spending the whole day reading a book or going to the mall to window-shop (Mark has his own "me time" as well by having a massage or drinking with mistahs at the barracks or occupying himself with his laptop). This morning, I went to SM Bacoor to buy contact lenses and to lust over the tops from Banana Republic that were on sale at P149.99. I ended up buying the green one.

Tomorrow, we are going to attend the birthday celebration of our good friend Dexter in Laguna. I’m excited to see the town again. The last time I visited there was in 1999 yet. I hope I can go to see my kins after the party. I miss them all.

Sunday, I think, will be spent on watching the latest episodes of Prison Break. We bought its pirated DVD (sorry Chairman Edu) the other day and finished the eight episodes right away yet Mark and I badly want to know the next steps of the team after the General wanted to move Scylla (Can’t keep up with me? Well, you miss half of your life by not following Prison Break). Thus, we are downloading the ones we’ve missed using LimeWire. However, it takes us longer than we want it to be and our patience is running out. Hopefully, we can download them completely before Sunday.

I haven’t talked to Mark about the plan for Monday yet, but I would like to hit the pool again.

So, have a fun-filled weekend everyone!

Love Brigade

There were exactly forty-five warm greetings pouring in from my family and friends on my birthday. Some were in form of graphics while others are in plain texts. Either way, I felt so blessed and loved.

They say friends are family that you can choose. I’m glad I choose mine well. Likewise, families are heaven-sent angels that you hold dear. I’m so grateful mine is the best one could ever ask for.

Thank you all for remembering my birthday. Rest assured that your thoughtfulness will always be carved in the soft tissues of my heart.

Excerpts:
Mark: Happy birthday, my wife, my friend, my everything! Tsupmwuah! You complete me. (he texted this while we were spooning on our bed at 12:03am, he said he wanted to greet me first via text.. cuteness!)

(I live to love you honey. You make my life worth living for. I love you so much. Thank you for the sexy Mario D'Boro shoes and the nice Kirin Kirin tops. Kiss. Hug. More kisses and hugs.)

Nanay: My loving and warmest greetings on your birthday. I love you and God bless. (4:38:21am)
(Thanks madir. I love you more than you love me. God bless. Mwah!)

Yoj: Happy birthday Manang! Does it mean you are finally out of the calendar? Bingo na lang ka! Hehe! Wish you get pregnant this year, good health and happiness. Love you! Mwahug! (06:01:26am)
(Thanks sis. Apil pa ko sa calendar woi! There are 7 months with 31 days pa baja. I refuse to join the bingo club yet. LOL. God bless sa board exam. I know you can do it. Luv ya!)

Tatay: Happiness, good health, and more blessings from God – these are my wishes on your birthday. May you have so many more birthdays to come. (7:45:26am)
(Thank you tatay gwapo. I love you so much. God bless. Mwah!)

Sir Roy: Jane, belated happy birthday. Wish you and Mark more happy times and your wish to have a baby to come true the soonest. I’m sure you had fun on your birthday. God bless. (11/26/08)
(Thank you so much for the greeting sir. I appreciate it a lot. We had fun last night dining out at Asiong’s, picture whoring at the boulevard, playing billiard, and singing karaoke at E-Place. I posted some pictures on my album entitled 31 at Friendster. What matters most is that I have Mark in my life. I really couldn't ask for more. Well maybe, a baby and more blessings. Hehe. Ingat po kayo sir. All the best.)

Here’s my birthday video..

Belated greeters: Allan, Bernadeth, Emmy, Richel and Mareng Joann.. Thank you!

I Celebrate My Birthday with a Cut

It is my ritual to have my hair cut on my birthday. And so after attending the Holy Mass at Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga early this morning, I went to Index Salon to have it done with a fringe.

To my astonishment, Rica (my favorite stylist) didn’t approve because according to him, my hair is wavy and it can’t carry a fringe well. He suggested that I should have it rebonded first before I can have it styled my way.

Is the slogan ‘customers are always right’ a passé these days?

Well, I excused Rica because I know he just wanted the best look for me. Maybe I can have the fringe on New Year’s Day. Of course, only after a rebond or a change of heart that I would go to another salon.

For the meantime, here is the traditional before and after photo of my new layered do:

The Nymph

My cousin May has an alter ego that is talking to her at SilentMoan and she named her “nymph”. I’ve never been spellbound on ethereal creatures until I get to know a nymph on her blogs.

According to Encarta Dictionaries, a nymph is a goddess of natural beauty such as woods, mountains, and rivers and traditionally regarded as a beautiful woman. Or it can be the larva of some insects such as dragonflies, mayflies, and grasshoppers.

If I would meet a nymph face to face on the eve of my birthday and she has the enchanted power to grant my wishes, I would gladly ask for the following:

First, a weeklong vacation in Palawan. It has been my yearning to indulge myself in the mantel of rainforests, majestic mountains, primeval caves, best diving sites, and pristine beaches of the Palawenos. It is where I could be one with nature completely.

Second, an all-expense-paid trip to any of the ATP Masters Series and Grand Slams events. To say that I am a big tennis fan is an understatement. I so love Nadal and Safina. I follow their careers religiously. It would be exciting to watch them live and experience the thrills of their matches in real time.

Third, a Blackberry. It’s a caprice, I know. However, if I could have one, it must be the Red Blackberry Pearl 8100.

Fourth, a Claude Monet’s painting. I like to paint but painting doesn’t like me. And so I only admire the works of the genius artists like Claude Monet. I was in awe of his paintings that were embellished on my stationeries in high school days. I would love to own one of his masterpieces and hang it on our dining wall.

Last but certainly not the least, a chocolate mousse tiara cake. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a cake on my birthday. Maybe three years ago? This time, I want to pamper my sweet tooth. I dream to get lost in the heavenly flavors of chocolate, cream, and nuts baked on tiara pans. It should be a tiara design as I want a nymph theme.

Well, these are just my whims. I could live through without these things but it surely is a bonus to experience them before I die. On the other hand, I fervently pray that God will continually bestow the true desires of my heart – good health for my loved ones, peace of mind, world peace, blessings and more blessings.

(Happy birthday, pretty May! See, we were born just 5 years and a day from each other that’s why we look and think alike. Haha. Rock on, cuz!)

Related Post: 10 Things I'd Like to Do Before I Die

Best of Mistahs

We'll fly to Cebu tomorrow to attend the wedding of our dear friends, Kenneth and Nina. Their love story is the epitome of a love found, a love lost, and a love found again. Finally, they will tie the knot! I'm so happy for both of them.

Kenneth was the Best Man at our wedding. He did a wonderful job with his speech so as not to endorse Mark. However, Ken made a mistake in asking Mark to be the Best Man to his wedding as well because i know Mark will be "brutal" on him. Haha!

Here's an excerpt of Ken's speech during the reception:

I am a proud classmate and best man of Mark, or Bujix as we used to call him.

I have been with him for quite a time, and that means I have a lot to tell about him. But then, I only choose to tell the best stories so as not to endorse my classmate.

Kidding aside, Mark is among the brightest of our class. In fact, when we graduated, he brought home the most number of awards, which is 6. Can you just imagine how intelligent he is?

As a classmate, I would say that he is reliable and kind because when we were cadets, he used to give lectures or extra instructions to upperclassmen, underclass and classmates who were having difficulties in mathematics and engineering.

As a serviceman, Mark is one good example of a true officer and a gentleman, most especially with Jane.

Above all, as a brother and as a son, he is loving and caring. I am very much sure that he will be more as a husband and as father in the near future.

Although, I am not actually married myself, I thought it might be helpful if I offer them a little piece of advice.

Jane, you can either tell Mark to do something or tell him how to do something but please not both.

Mark, getting married bestows upon you many responsibilities so, be good.

Ladies and gentlemen, on a final and serious note, please stand and raise your glass to my mistah and to his beautiful new wife.

To Mark and Jane, cheers!

Fun Begins at 31

Mark had “ramos breakfast” with his troops after their road run last Friday morning. Then, he bought spaghetti sa bilao, buns, and soft drinks for his colleagues in the afternoon. Also, he treated his seniors with bottles of San Mig Light and steamed tahong as pulutan in the evening. That was just the onset of his 31st birthday celebration.

The next day, he woke me up with a kiss (as he always does) around 8am, and told me that he would bring me and my sister Jill (who’s staying with us) to NBC swimming pool, as promised. Yippie! And so, I cooked my “espesyal” pancit bihon. It’s good-humoredly called “espesyal” because my husband says that it’s neither salty nor sweet yet there’s something lacking in between. Whatever hubby! For me, it’s the yummiest pancit in the world. We also had boiled banana with latik, biko, and tinolang isda (bol-anon style). We were all set to go when suddenly, the heavy rain came! We were held up and ended up eating half of our baon. After an hour, it stopped and so we were revived.

I’m not a good swimmer, sad to say, but I know some strokes by heart. I wouldn't want to go deeper than 5 feet as I’m flustered when I couldn’t feel the ground under my feet. That’s why I admire people who can swim, I mean CAN really swim, like my husband. He’s my obliging coach but sometimes he pushes me beyond my limits.

Well, last Saturday, he was more patient to teach me nifty techniques. He gently urged me to come out from my comfort zone. Initially, I swam along the pool railings and reached the 6 feet area. Then, I freely made through the water and went wading into the 8 feet spot. Whew, that was quite an achievement for me!

Mark lectured me some physics afterwards. He told me that I have full control over the water if I really want to. All I need is to breathe in as much air as I can so that my body would expand and my density (mass/volume) will be lesser than the water’s density (1 kg/cubic meter); consequently, I would float to the surface. He mockingly added, “That’s law of buoyancy, baby!” Yeah right, navy man. Anyway, I proved to him that I was not amateurish anymore but I know I still have to exert more effort in overcoming my fear of depth. So, when can we go swimming again, honey?

Last Sunday, we invited a family friend over for lunch. This time, I cooked humba deliciously (i swear, my sister can’t get enough of it) while Mark prepared his mouthwatering kinilaw na dilis, sinugbang bangus and tulingan, and adobong baboy. We had a sumptuous meal! After Kuya Roger left, I helped Mark with his paperwork and finished until midnight.

All in all, it was a fun weekend!

An Open Letter to My Husband

October 24, 2008

Dear Honey,

Few weeks ago, I posted a poll on my friendster page on what I should do to make you happy on your birthday. The choices were:

* bring you to the spa for a full body massage
* buy you a pair of shoes
* prepare a candlelight dinner
* set a picnic at the pool with friends
* write a poem or a love letter

The candlelight dinner won, but you told me that you couldn’t make it to a dinner because you are scheduled to be on duty tonight. It’s one of the special days that we put off a celebration owing to the mandate of your profession. However, I am not whining because when I married you, I accepted the fact that you should do your duty to God and country first, before your personal commitments.

Except for the romantic rendezvous, you seem to get all what I have mentioned above anyway. You got new leather shoes and body massage the other day, the billet-doux that I’m writing right now, and then tomorrow, we’ll eat al fresco at NBC swimming pool!

What matters most is that you know how much I love you, honey. The everyday things that I do may seem trivial yet those are my ways to show the depth of my commitment and passion for you. Rest assured that when we get old and have gray hair to remind us that we’ve travelled long enough, I will still hold your hand, look into your eyes, and tell you that you are the best thing that ever happened to me. At this point, I want to shout to the world that you are mine and mine alone, and nothing could ever come between us. You are my soulmate, the angel of my life, and my eternal love.

Happy birthday, my love.


Yours forever,
Jane

->see the jpeg file

Celebrating the Feast Day of Nuestra Senora de la Naval

Today is the fiesta celebration of Nuestra Senora de la Naval, the patroness saint of the Phil. Navy.

I had fun street dancing along 1898 Avenue in Sangley Point.

It is known that the miraculous Lady of La Naval helps childless couple to be blessed with an offspring so, Mark and i danced our faith fervently.

After the Holy Mass was the "fiestahan" at the grounds of NBC Social Hall.

To know more about Nuestra Senora de la Naval, click here.

It's Datski's Birthday!

my joy, my friend, my confidant, my listener,

my angel, my sidekick, my nurse,

my clown, my idol,

and my beloved

sistah!