Tea, Dinner, Supper?

In NZ, if someone invites you for morning tea or afternoon tea, it means morning or afternoon snack or merienda. Walang kinalaman dito ang ang tsaa. Don’t reply “sorry but I don’t drink tea” na katulad ni kumpareng Ramir at baka mapagtawanan ka.

Kapag naman na-invite ka sa gabi for Tea, it means dinner or evening meal. I’m just guessing here, but I think the English called it Tea because it is their custom to drink tea or coffee after dinner.

Note that unlike in our country, over here dinner or hapunan is not the same as supper. Supper is usually a late evening snack. So kapag may nagimbita ng supper make sure kumain ka na ng hapunan. Huwag kang pupunta doon na gutom na gutom.

Finally, when someone invites you to a party and asks you to “bring a plate” it means you come to the party bringing with you a dish to share with other guests. Don’t come to the party literally bringing only plates. Dyahi yon. Nung una kami dito, muntik ko nang ginawa yon. Isip ko pa noon kulang siguro ang mga plates nila o baka tamad lang silang maghugas.

“When you meet a man, you judge him by his clothes; when you leave, you judge him by his heart”

Gusto ko kasing iparating sa inyong lahat na ang mga babaeng bumubuo ng tinatawag nating “red district” ay mga taong gawa rin sa dugo at laman. They live, they love, they cry, they laugh, they hurt. But mostly …they hurt. I came to know them and ended up admiring them.- Ella

It is not too often that I stumble upon a blog site that captures my overwhelming interest that I begin to read its every post. Post after post after post, I found myself wanting to read more. I was hooked to every word she wrote. And after finishing each post, I even dug into the comments. She had a way of putting down her experiences, (a lot of them with sexual references, so warning “For Mature Readers only”) in an entertaining, light-hearted way and using words that are neither offensive nor vulgar. Not surprisingly a publisher had offered to publish her blog in a book.

While reading, I sometimes can’t help myself think if she is indeed real and not just a figment of the imagination of a professional writer. It’s also hard to believe that she is only in her 20's.

The blog I’m referring to is “Confessions ni Ella, No.88 Blog ng Isang Masahista”. Ella’s occupation is one that is not held in high regard in our society. It is one that is looked down upon by most. However, while reading Ella’s blog, I have nothing but respect and admiration for her. For here is a person who is making the most out of the hard and sometimes dog-eat-dog surroundings she’s in. She, through her writings, projects herself as a genuine, often naive person, and a sincere, caring friend to her co-workers and her readers. Her writings exude intelligence, wit and wisdom way over her age.

Meet Ella, Pinay. To see a person based on biased notions and stereotypes would be the epitome of shallowness. Maybe if we can learn something from TG (Ella's bestfriend) when he said “Ikaw ang kaibigan ko, and you are not your job!”, then maybe the world will be a friendlier place.

Weird Tag

When COB tagged me to list down 5 weird habits of mine, matagal akong nag-isip. Mahirap pa lang isipin ang ating mga ka-weirduhan. Eventually, I was able to come up with 5. Kaya nga lang puro about food. Here, it's up to you if you want to digest them. hehe.

Weird habit number 1: Weird siguro ito kasi di naman talaga sanay mag chopstick ang mga Pinoy, pero ako mas enjoy akong kumain using a bowl and chopstick. Of course, may mga ulam na di pwede sa chopstick tulad ng fried chicken o baboy na inihaw. Kapag ganun ang ulam, masarap naman magkamay.

Weird habit number 2: When eating fish such as bangus, my favorite part is its head. I slowly eat all the soft parts of the head including the eyes, until finally only the skull is left. Then I finish it off by sucking the brains.

Weird habit number 3: When eating fried chicken, my favorite part is the ass. I don’t suck it, you silly!

Weird habit number 4: Sa pamilya namin hindi ito weird, but some people think it is so. Kapag kumakain kami ng paksiw na isda hindi kumpleto kung walang katernong scrambled eggs.

Weird habit number 5: Another weird family habit. We have a preferred way of eating lechon. Tatadtarin namin ang lechon with the laman and balat together into tiny pieces tapos ihahalo sa umuusok na kanin at mantika ng lechon at bubudburan ng asin o patis. At tapos hahaluin at lalamasin ng kamay hindi sandok o kutsara. Mas masarap daw kasi kapag kamay ang ginamit (hindi paa. hehe). Tapos ihahain ang hinalong kanin at ulam sa dahon ng saging. Hala! Lamunan na!

Pass ko naman ang tag na ito sa 5 blog friends na ito, para malaman ko kung ano ang mga ka-weirduhan nila. Analyse, Glo, Huseng, Kathy, and Kuya Rolly.

Rant for the Day - Antispam Codes

I like this anti-spam feature of blogger. The only problem I have is that I often make mistakes typing the code so I had to retry a second code. I find it a waste of time entering 7 or 8 letters, when only 2 or 3 would have served the purpose. Is it just me or what? I'm a bit annoyed with these codes, kakaduling eh. Especially the v's and w's, i's and j's, as well as g's and q's.

Ahh, the joy of bargain hunting!

The best site to go to when buying second hand goods in NZ is inarguably TradeMe. This is NZ’s equivalent of eBay. Last week I saw this fridge in TradeMe. The seller’s description says “In working order - kept beer cold but might need new seals. Graffiti is free (can be cleaned with jiff and a bit of elbow grease)”.

There was no reserve for the auction and the starting bid was 0.50 (50 cents). Another person placed a bid for $1. Just for fun I placed my bid at $1.50. Last Sunday at 6 PM, the auction ended. Sunday night, I opened my PC and went to my inbox. I got the following email.

I immediately contacted the seller and arranged to pick up the fridge the following day. And so yesterday I became the proud owner of a Kelvinator fridge/freezer with a capacity of 175 Liters,and is about 1.3 Meters high and half a meter wide and definitely had lots of graffitti. I plugged it to a power outlet and viola, it was working! It even has a small freezer, wala nga lang cover. I tried acetone to remove the graffitti, naaalis naman. Isang bote ng acetone at konting ajax, tiyak gwapo na naman ang fridge. O say nyo. Saan ka makakahanap ng fridge na mas mahal pa yata ang bote ng acetone at ajax?

Of Hoaxes and Urban Legends

I’m sure lahat tayo naka-receive na by email ng mga sinasabing hoax at mga urban legends. Ang pinakamarami yung mga tungkol sa mga computer viruses. Meron din yung tungkol naman sa Microsoft, Bill Gates at AOL tracking emails at namimigay daw ng $245 for every person you forward the email to. Then there was this one I received on how to recognize a stroke. Tatlong bagay daw ang dapat gawin. Ask the individual to smile, ask them to raise both arms, and ask them to speak a simple sentence. How about Art Bell’s hate letter about Filipinos? I’m sure most have read it. And most of us have been tempted to forward the email to friends. Langya, dehins pala totoo ang mga ito.

Minsan o kadalasan napapaniwala tayo ng mga kathang isip na ito at tuloy na-ifoforward natin ang email sa mga kakilala natin. Without knowing it we are unwittingly being used to spread something that is not true or just partly true.

How does one spot a hoax or urban legend? Eto ang sabi ni Hans Eisenman.

1. Does the email recommending sending it to everyone you know?
2. Does reading it make you feel outraged, angry or like you have to "do something" (hint: like forward the email)?
3. Do you find yourself saying "incredible!", but yet somehow believing it could happen?
4. Does the subject matter scare you? Does it make you think "what a scary world we live in today!" or something similar? In other words, is it preying on your fears?

If any of these is true, chances are it’s a hoax. When you receive an email that fits any of these, don’t forward the email. Try Googling it first to verify the veracity of the email.

Eto naman ngayon ang problema ko. How do you verify if someone is telling the truth when they say that a certain email is a hoax? What if the original email is in fact true, and that the people who declare it to be a hoax are in fact the ones spreading a hoax? Parang yung sabi nila na hoax lang daw yung paglanding ng Apollo sa buwan. Which one is the hoax? Is the Apollo landing a hoax or the assertion that it is a hoax is the actual hoax? Ang gulo ano? A basta, tigilan na lang ang pag-forward ng kahit anong email na may nakalagay na "please forward..." or "please email to everyone...".

Ang 4x4 ni Bitoy

Ito’y naikwento lang sa akin ng aking sampit na nag-aral sa Assumption sa Pampanga. Ayon sa kanya, true story daw ito.

Estudyante ng Assumption is Bitoy. Mayaman, anak ng heneral, medyo may kayabangan at mahilig idisplay ang kanilang mga magagarang sasakyan. Minsan pumasok si Bitoy dala yung brand new nilang Nissan Patrol.

Nung time na yon hindi pa uso ang mga SUV at mga four wheel drives. Kaya naman lahat ay napapalingon sa paghanga tuwing dadaan ang magarang sasakyan na sa likuran ay may eye-catching 4x4 decal sticker.

Siguro dahil mayabang maraming galit o inggit kay Bitoy. Kaya naman isang hapon pagbalik ni Bitoy sa car park para kunin ang sasakyan, may sulat ng pentel pen ang 4x4 niya, eto ang nakita niya.

Siyempre nagalit siya. Pero dahil wala naman siyang mapagbintangan, umuwi na lang siya at pinatanggal sa boy nila ang sulat ng pentel pen. Kinabukasan, naulit na naman. May nagsulat na naman ng “=16” sa kanyang 4x4. Pinatanggal na naman niya. Subalit naulit na naman ng ilan pang beses at hindi pa rin niya mahuli ang may sala. Finally, nakaisip siya ng solusyon para wala nang magsulat sa kanyang SUV. Binago niya ang sign. Eto ang bagong sticker.

Nung hapong yon nakangisi, na parang nanunuya, na siyang tumungo sa carpark para kunin ang kanyang SUV. Subalit pagkita niya sa kanyang 4x4, biglang nabura ang ngisi sa kanyang mukha. Eto ang tumambad sa kanyang paningin. Click here.

Moral ng istorya... ewan ko, meron nga ba? Ang mga may 4x4 na sasakyan, ingit na lang. Insan, salamat sa kwento.

Of Names and Nicknames

Mauro ang firstname ko, kapareho ng aking ama. At dahil Junior ako, “Jun” naman ang nickname na nakalakihan ko. Nung magkolehiyo ako, dahil sa dami ng mga Jun, “Jiggs” ang naging nickname ko sa barkada.

Bakit nga ba ganoon? Sa Pilipinas mahilig tayong gumamit ng mga nicknames. Yung firstname natin, ginagamit lang ng ating mga magulang kapag pinapagalitan tayo. Dito sa NZ, hindi uso ang paggamit ng nicknames. Lahat dito first name basis ang tawagan. Kaya nga dito kung dalawa ang pangalan mo at ang una ay “Maria”, asahan mo “Maria” lang ang itatawag sa yo. You might as well forget about your second name. Sa office, “Mauro” ang tawag sa akin. Kapag nagpapakilala ako sa iba, “Mauro” din ang pangalang ibinibigay ko. Si Jun at si Jiggs naiwan na sa Pinas.

Wala naman akong complain sa pangalan ko and I also don’t mind when some people make fun of it. When someone says “give it to Mauro”, it sounds like “give it tomorrow”. I sometimes butt in and tell them “excuse me, but I need it today”. Most of the time, kahit corny natatawa naman sila.

Ang isa pang bagay na napansin ko, iba ang pronunciation nila dito ng mga pangalan compared sa atin. Sometimes ibang-iba talaga sa nakagisnan natin sa Pinas. Si Pareng Ruben, ang bigkas sa pangalan niya “roooo-been”. Mahaba yung “roooo” parang manok na rooster at maigsi naman yung “been”. Si Mark naman, ang maririnig mo lang “Mahhk”, walang “rrrrr”. Parang yung isang sikat na sports personality dito na si “Dean Baka”. Ang dinig ko sa TV “Baka”. Sabi ko pangit naman ng surname niya, parang hayop. E nung mabasa ko sa diaryo, “Dean Barker” pala.

Pero wala na yatang tatalo sa pangalan ng opismeyt ko. Kahit mag-hearing aid siguro ako di ko mahuhulaan ang spelling ng name niya. Sa pandinig ko ang first name niya “Nohl”, minsan pronounced na parang “Null”, as in null value or zero. Then nag-email siya sa akin at dun ko lang nalaman ang tamang spelling ng name niya. Langya, “N-O-E-L” lang pala. Napailing na lang ako. Hay naku! Mga taga-Inglatera talaga. Kung ayaw nilang bigkasin ang “R” at “E”, ba’t kaya di na lang nila ito alisin? Nililito pa tayo.

wat da?

While looking for a piece of paper in my daughter's room, I saw a printout of a transcript of one of her chats with a friend of hers. Here's part of that transcript.

ur still on
yup
umz... can u tell m n K y u like L
cos he loves me and makes me happy and is really good to me and i don't want anotha person
y do you like L?
I DONT FAHH OWT FOH THA LAST TYM...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :@
i have sumfin tu tell u but i cant...
ok then y were you all upset
dats b tween me n L n M not u
oky doky
hey just wondering how you know L wont tell me?
me n him have been mates foh most ov our lives... even tho now we dont seem tight duznt meen he wont keep mah secretz
no mattah if ur his gf he dnt have tu tell u evree fing
ok dw he doesn't
c exactlee mah point
yup ur right ur always right
dont b lyk dat.. im juz provin a point n no i aynt alwaez ryt
i no ur not, just trying to make u happy
yurr dont woree boud me bein happee b urself dont juzz say fingz dat u no will make me feel bettah if u got sumfin tuu sae den sae it straid up dont b scared of me coz u no i will nevah hurt u ...

Pheew! No wonder parents are finding it hard to understand kids nowadays. They speak a different language. I think, it's Scottish, kasi hawig dun sa Auld Lang Syne (see my previous post). Ano ba ito? Maloloka aki!

The Wonder Years - There where moments that made us cry with laughter, and there were moments, like that one, of sorrow and wonder

Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next you're gone, but the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a house like a lot of houses, a yard like a lot of yards, on a street like a lot of other streets. I remember how hard it was growing up among people and places I loved. Most of all, I remember how hard it was to leave. And the thing is, after all these years I still look back in wonder. - quote from The Wonder Years

Nung fourth year high school ako sa province namin sa Pampanga may kababata ako na nagka-crush sa akin. Tawagin na lang natin siya sa bansag na BB (as in Beauty and Brains). Two years junior si BB sa akin. Fourth year ako, second year siya. Although napag-alaman kong crush niya ako, hindi ako nag take advantage. Bagamat maganda siya, matangkad, matalino, at malambing, she wasn’t really my crush at that time. Wala akong naramdaman na "puppy love" towards her. Isa pa di ako marunong manligaw noon. Tyope ako, natatameme kapag kaharap ay chicks. Kulang kasi sa exposure sa mga Eva. Exclusive boys kasi ang high school na pinapasukan ko noon.

Subalit dahil sa pagsusulsol ng mga kabarkada nakuha kong makipagkaibigan kay BB. Summer vacation noon. Araw-araw kada hapon magba-bike ako para pasyalan sa bahay niya si BB at makipag-kwentuhan. No topic in particular. But no sweet nothings either. Hindi nga ako marunong manligaw eh. Come to think of it now, siguro I bored her all those times. Siguro hinintay niya akong gumawa ng move na manligaw, but that never happened. Yet somehow, I felt that there was something between us. Something slightly more than just being barkada. Hindi nga lang malinaw. I enjoyed her company and always looked forward to seeing her every afternoon.To this day I still look back to that summer as one of my most memorable childhood days.

Natapos ang summer and I had to go to Manila to attend college. Naiwanan si BB sa Pampanga. Paminsan-minsan uuwi ako at bibisitahin pa rin si BB. Hanggang dumalang nang dumalang ang pag-uwi ko. Until one day, nalaman ko na lang na may boyfriend na pala si BB. Still, whenever I went back home, I tried to see her. Kaibigan naman kasi ang turing ko sa kanya. Kaibigan na parang barkada. Nothing really romantic.

But long distance friendships don’t prosper. Unti-unting nawalan kami ng contact sa isa’t isa. Una months lang. Tapos naging years na hindi na kami nagkita. I graduated college and she did too. It was a few years after college and I was already working in Manila when a common friend gave me BB’s phone number. I found out that she was working in one of the companies in Ortigas. I can’t remember the circumstances of our meeting. I think I called her and asked if I can meet her at her workplace. Pinuntahan ko siya sa Ortigas. Expect ko maging masaya ang kwentuhan namin at ang pagbalik-tanaw sa nakaraan. Kaya lang pagkita ko sa kanya may kasama siyang lalaki. Pinakilala niya ako sa kasama niya. Boyfriend niya at engaged na raw silang ikasal in a few months. Yun ang huling kita ko sa kanya. It lasted 5 minutes. Maybe 10 at the most. From then on, wala na akong naging balita tungkol kay BB.

All of our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone that makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope. All the while wondering if somewhere, somehow, there's someone perfect who might be searching for us. - quote from The Wonder Years

Siguro kaya tawag nila “wonder years” because you wonder what might have been had you done something differently during those years. Hanggang ngayon iniisip ko, ano kaya kung niligawan ko siya noon at kami ang nagkatuluyan? Not that I want to change the past or the present. Only, sometimes I can’t help but wonder. Has anyone felt the same way? Ever wondered what if she/he was the one instead?

Dedicated to my childhood friend from St. Scholastica's Academy, Pampanga Batch '79