Entries from June 2011 ↓

Three Blessings for Saturday, June 18, 2011 1. It is a rainy Saturday morning, my tummy is aching something fierce, and my lunch date cancelled. I sink further into the warm cocoon of my bed and sleep the pain away. 2. I stock up my pantry and refrigerator with a month's worth of supplies. Just in time, as Frozti pops in before midnight and proceeds to cook up a feast. 3. I watch Julie and Julia on HBO, and it inspires me about cooking, writing, and marriage. It also gives me an apt salutation for my Ian:

"You are the butter to my bread, the breath to my life. "

Paul Child to Julia Child

Three Blessings for Friday, June 17, 2011. 1. We get our paycheck ahead of schedule, thanks to the long weekend. Hurrah! 2. Dinner is the long promised pork liempo with atsara. Greasy goodness wrapped in banana leaves and gone in a twinkling. My Ian is starving, and I have long since stopped trying to match his eating prowess. 3. My Ian brings along a DVD of the Big Bang Theory Season 2, and my stomach hurts from laughing at Sheldon and Penny's "conversations." 4. presence strengthens, absence sharpens love. - up sc toilet graffiti

Three Blessings for Thursday, June 16, 2011 1. I look up at the bus television set, and am pleasantly surprised to see Teacher Jenny in the latest dishwashing liquid commercial. 2. Time of the month, and I manage to survive with the help of caffeine, ibuprofen, and a hot water bottle. And lots of sympathy from my Ian. 3. Despite my desire to go home and crawl into bed, I swallow a pill and march off to the last full show of Green Lantern with Cams, Mec and Pat. Ryan Reynolds. So worth it.

Three Blessings for Wednesday, June 15, 2011. 1. The sun is back with a vengeance after a week of stormy weather. Upon entering the office, I make a beeline for the pantry's blast of frigid air. Must put on sunblock from now on. 2. An officemate walks with me to the bus stop since we got off work quite late. I keep a wary eye on the buses. It is my first time to cross EDSA at street level on that corner instead of using the pedestrian overpass. 3. My Ian waits for me to come home, and we spend over an hour on the phone catching up til midnight.

Three Blessings for Tuesday, June 14, 2011. 1. It seems as if I can do no wrong today, as my work comes back requiring no revisions and everything just flows. More days like this, please. 2. Only Christ's perspective can change my resentment to rejoicing. - Chuck Swindoll's summary for 1Peter 1:1-12. 3. After bidding Anne and Elaine goodbye, Grace and I walk together to EDSA and in search of the loo. Thankfully, we manage to find a toilet still open after mall hours.

Three Blessings for Monday, June 13, 2011. 1. At last, I am enrolled! Toasted by noontime queue and worn out by climbing stairs in pursuit of signatures, I celebrate with a dose of street food: ice cream, banana cue and shrimp okoy. 2. I can actually understand what AJ is talking about now, hurrah for telegraphic speech! And hurrah for a little niece / nephew coming early next year, as my parents let drop when they dropped in. 3. I stretch out like a cat on my newly changed bed sheets, hug my sun fresh pillows, and fall asleep almost instantly.

Three Blessings for Sunday June 12, 2011 1. It is Independence Day, and my Ian preaches at church about the parable of the unmerciful servant. My take home from his message is a reminder of why we are set free in the first place. 2. Midway through the service, I utter a short prayer for our Tuesday meetings in Ortigas, specifically for additional members. Lo and behold, one of my Ian's churchmates comes up to me after the service to ask about the BS. Instant answered prayer. 3. After walking half the academic oval, we take a breather on the steps facing the amphitheater. My Ian holds my hand while he watches the people on the grass, while I lean on him as I read by the slowly fading light of sunset. The comfortable silence is interrupted  by an occasional comment about the people or the book, and the echoing notes from the carillion bells across the green. I also notice parents playing with their kids in the open spaces, and I dream. 4. His fb status that Sunday: Talking and reclining on the grass, a walk down the car-less academic oval of UP Diliman, absent-mindedly watching people play in the green grass of the amphitheater while my beloved leans on me, reading, and a light meal of gyoza and a maki-like food. Best. Lunary date. Thus far. I love you, Rita Mariano, and I'll stay with you.

Three Blessings for Saturday June 11, 2011: 1.  I am miraculously awake before noon to go up the mountain with my Ian and friends. We spend a relaxed afternoon eating, talking, swimming/wading, and talking some more. Shirley's pesto pasta is happiness, and it is a delight to discuss ideas in such depth. I also agree with my Ian that some things aren't commanded explicitly because they just come naturally. And yes, I'm being cryptic. =) 2. "You hit a woman!" Robert exclaims in mock horror when my Ian slaps my arm in pursuit of a mosquito. "Two females, to be exact," I quip as I flick the bloody remains off my skin. 3. I am adopted by Timmy's parents and Dinky's owners for the night, and take an antihistamine tablet in advance to prevent the dozens of cats and dogs from setting off a sneezing spree. I happily sleep in a room where one wall is covered with books, and go comatose before midnight after finishing one of them.

Three Blessings for Friday, June 10, 2011 [caption id="attachment_2232" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="College of Education, Benitez Hall, UP Diliman. January 2010"][/caption]

1. This semester's registration volunteers have the best visual aids for the enrollment process I've seen so far. They outlined the registration steps quite clearly, with the rooms in use marked and mapped out.  Too bad Benitez Hall experiences a power failure and the College of Education is plunged into darkness and the Dark Ages once more. After lunch, I decide  to go to work and just come back on Monday. 2. An officemate shakes the tin package to empty the last of the Amadeo brewed coffee into the machine. While waiting for the brew, three, four, five, no, six of us attack a single chocolate donut. In the middle of this, the big boss walks by. He comments how much space there is after moving the divider out of the pantry. 3. I fry a late dinner of smoked fish and bagoong rice. We eat with our hands, and the meal disappears in a matter of minutes. Frozti wants more rice, while I shake my head at how clean our plates are in the aftermath.

Three Blessings for Thursday, June 9 2011 1. I resuscitate my freedom fund, earmarked for rainy days, emergencies, and happier future life events. Paying myself second is easy when I consider my savings as a bill, and not just what's left over at the end of the month. 2. Late at night, Frozti makes a surprise appearance with great news. She just got hired, and we celebrate with chocolate ice cream cones. 3.  My Ian highly recommends an induction cooker as a replacement for my old electric stove. He enthusiastically claims that it is safer and more energy efficient. At first, I hesitate because of the price and my fear of high tech gadgets (they confuse me). What convinces me is the demo by the sales rep, especially when I see water boiling after less than a minute. I also get a free pot and a discount for paying in cash. But the best part is seeing how excited my Ian is to try out my new purchase. Yes, a toy always elicits such glee from him. Meet M, my new pet: