Wala lang, gimingaw lang

I’m missing some people and places these days. I recently chatted with my cutie sis online and can’t help but shed few tears… she’s been away from us since last year, and even if we chat online almost everyday, I still miss her. Sigh. Then there’s my Mom who keeps going places, recently she was in Manila for two weeks, now she is in Camiguin.

And then my two siblings in Thailand… I also miss them. We had our Christmas and New Year vacation for three weeks there and it seemed like the days just passed us by like a blur. Three weeks weren’t enough to be with them especially playing with my nephews and niece. Arghhh… I miss Thailand too! That place is like a second home to me. I miss their tasty and spicy food, the malls, shopping in the streets, riding the skytrain, talking to Thais (even if I could say few words only). I miss the friendly and polite people there.

Then last month we visited the family of my big bro in Cebu, we stayed there for about two weeks…we also had fun touring around. Sigh. I miss them, and I miss Cebu too! I miss talking in bisaya and talking to bisdaks.

This feeling of yearning got me thinking about the sick patients in nursing homes in Manila or the elderly people taking up residences with assisted living in New York City. They’re far away from their families and loved ones and I’m sure they miss them a lot too. How about you, are you missing anybody or anything these days?

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Translation: Gimingaw – missing something or somebody
e.g. Gimingaw kaayo ko nimo. I miss you so much.
      Gimingaw ko’g kaon ug buwad. I miss eating dried salted fish.

Hair talk

Warning: nonsense post!

Funny how a mere haircut can make you feel so free! Yuppp, had my long hair trimmed today! Well, it’s just few inches but my head feels lighter, like a lot of weight has been lifted from it, few kilos maybe, hehehe… It feels so liberating, for somebody who’s had her hair flowing ‘til her waist line. Yeah, it sure takes time to wash and shampoo and care for such long tresses. Thank God I don’t need New Jersey hair transplants.

Anyway, I think I have to take more care of my hair, like have it treated with hot oil and the works… after all, it’s nice to be pampered sometimes, right ladies?

TV and obesity

You may not know it, but there is a relationship with watching too much TV and being obese. In an article from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Too much TV linked to obesity” by Nestor U. Torre, parents are urged to look into their kids’ behaviour when watching TV. They could be munching down on too much junk food while enjoying their favorite shows. My nephew is no exception, he can’t seem to have his meals without situating himself in front of the TV watching his chosen DVDs while helping himself with food. There is a tendency to eat more than needed since attention is drawn to the show and not minding how many spoonfuls of rice or viand are consumed.

While it is customary for families to watch TV while having meals, obesity experts advised families to stop this habit — not to associate TV with eating, refrain from making the TV as babysitters, minimize TV time for the kids, and instead take them out for recreation and physical activities.

Awakening video

Tony Hale (Stranger than Fiction, Arrested Development), Adam Campbell (Epic Movie), and Jayma Mays (Heroes) are the cast in the new video of Switchfoot’s new single “Awakening” from their latest album Oh! Gravity. The video’s amusing storyline is totally unrelated to the song’s deep and thoughtful lyrics. As bassist Tim Foreman explained, the concept of the video “tells a different story than the song is already telling us.” He added that the “animated” television part of the video was “the most challenging and time-consuming” which dealt with a lot of frames and took them 8 days to finish. 

Here it is…

Food for home get-togethers

Whenever we hold parties and simple food gatherings in our house, my sis and I would be busy planning ahead the dishes to be served. We always make it a point to include unique dishes to add some variety to the usual dishes served like the ubiquitous noodles, spaghetti or fried chicken. These dishes are what always greet you when you attend parties, right? So, when you’ll be hosting your own food gathering, how about including something different like a pasta dish, rellenong bangus (stuffed milkfish), or Arroz a la Valenciana  to the menu? If you know how to cook foreign dishes, you can also showcase it during special occasions. I sometimes cook the Thai ‘Tom Yum’ seafood-style as an additional soup dish. Sometimes, the guests would also like to take their taste buds for some adventure during parties.