Salud!!!

(Taken at my pre-birthday party 2008)

Another friend I have been really close to is leaving Finland today! This is getting so tiresome. Building a good friendship is very difficult in a place where everyone speaks a foreign language. But once you have found that person who shares your values, it seems like hitting the jackpot. This one person that can sit right next to you, not say a word, and still feel close to. This one person who deeply cares and is always ready to help you no matter what. This one person you care so much about that her dreams are your dreams and her problems are yours to solve. This one person is not just a friend but a family!

As of this writing, shes probably drinking her last Finnish Coffee (for now), probably packing the last of her clothes, and just mentally preparing herself for that long road trip across 4 or more countries to get to Madrid.



(Taken at the Erotic Party Oct. 25th, 2008)

Its not going to be easy letting go. Am sure most of us have difficulties with that! But with it, comes maturity. And I could only be happy for Estela to be nearer to her real family, to be on familiar grounds, and to find herself with the help of her love ones. Salud to you my friend. And to Mikko too, for making that great move (didn't need much convincing there ö)

Till we meet again!

CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS, IN MANILA!!!!

(Picture taken at Ate Barlie's lovely home in Valkeakoski. End of summer 2008)



I don't wanna pre-empt it, but Toni is now looking for flight tickets for me and Ria to spend Christmas in the Philippines!!! Getting excited. yipee. Hei, to you who are in Manila, do not expect "pasalubong" from me. I just started working and I have no money to spend for gifts. I just want to come home, relax, eat my moms home cooked meals, and maybe visit my Boss/Friend Janet in the island of Palawan. And if I have extra money, then maybe visit Boracay with Pearl. NYAHAHAHA. Di pa man, nagkukuripot na. But of course, I would like to see you all. Maybe for a gimmik or something.

And I would want to attend my alumni reunion. I think its my sister's batch thats hosting this years reunion. Well, viva St. Anthony!!!

FINLAND IN MOURNING.... AGAIN!

Once again, Finland is in mourning after a 22 year old man shot several people in a vocational school (Kauhajoki), killed 10, left some wounded and shot himself on the head this morning of September 23, 2008.

You may find news stories in English on this site:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aOyGfDoE8xBU&refer=canada

..as most of the news reel are in Finnish.

This is the second incident in Finland within a year. The first was just in November of last year (Jokela school).

...In God, I pray....

Everything happens for a reason...

A lot of things had happened recently. And I believe in the saying that everything happens for a reason.
I’ve always been a mastermind when it comes to grouping. From spearheading a lunch group in the work place to my recent Monday Girls support group. I never knew I would actually need one. Support group I mean. I have been feeling a small lump under my left breast for over a year now. But I never really thought about it much because it doesn’t hurt nor does it grow. A month ago we had to bring Ria to the doctor, and I thought, ok, since we are already here, might as well have it checked too. And I got an appointment to check if it should be taken out or not. The doctor, anyway decide to take it. So 3 weeks later, I still don’t have any idea about the biopsy. Still waiting for the results. But within the three weeks, I have felt everything from relief to fear. When you don’t know what’s going to happen, your mind goes on racing mode. And that’s where Monday Girls comes in. By being with the girls doing different activities, I get to forget my worries a few hours for that day.

But on a lighter note, one of my favorites won the American Idol. I think, David Cook is a superstar in the making. It’s true that after 7 seasons and about 100 contestants, there’s only 3 Idols, that you can say really became superstars. Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, and Carrie Underwood. But the songs that Cook has performed on the show is proving to be the most downloaded on iTunes, that people couldn’t even wait for his own album to come out.

Cheers to David Cook!!!

Itchy???

Photo taken at Pappankappaka. March 29, 2008


”Seven year itch”, that’s what they call it, after you’ve been married for 7 years to the same person. It’s a supposed phenomenon when one’s eye begins to wander outside of marriage. Or when both partners may want to have alone time from each other.

Toni and I celebrated our 7th year anniversary as a couple a few weeks ago. As known to many, we have yet to tie the knot. And yes we have talked about it, and yes I got my diamond engagement ring, and yes, we already bought the wedding bands… from Dubai!!!

So do you think we are affected by the “7 year itch”? I don’t have any idea. None at all. We still bicker the same way, we still argue the same intensity and we still want to be together as much as we can. I’d say we owe it to the fact that even though we share the same circle of friends (well his friends are all my friends first anyway J ), we have some things that we do, that doesn’t involve the other. We can have fun separately, and have much more fun together. Usually a quiet evening watching TV, or eating out, or a night in town, does the trick.

This year, Toni chose the movie to watch and the resto to eat. Funny though, he thought that the movie 10,000 BC will be a gladiator kind of movie. It turned out to be a chick flick! It was ok. I mean the movie wasn’t great, but it is definitely not bad. But not for him, it wasn’t what he expected. The resto we went to was called Hella ja Huone (Stove and Room). I had the fennel soup, veal and shared a chocolate cake with Toni. He had ox tongue for starters and duck for mains. I can’t complain about the quality of the food. It was good. But for the price, it was not at par. Come on, I have spent almost 1/3 of my life working in the restaurant business. I know what I am talking about! I think it’s too pretentious. Too expensive. The place and the food. But our server knows what he’s doing. Which is cool. He’s the one who ran the show. And in Finland, you don’t usually get that good of a service. And the wine was absolutely gorgeous.

But, I know for sure, I will never go back to that place again. Next time, I will choose the movie, and I will choose the resto.

As for the itch, the only thing itching right now is my hand itching to grab for a chocolate cake. Hmmm… J

A man, pregnant???!!!!

Yes folks. Those questions lingering in your heads are the same as whats in my slightly smaller brain.

HOW CAN A MAN BE PREGNANT??? etc, etc.

Actually this title is just to gain attention and media frenzy. I hate to break your hearts, but Thomas Beatie used to be and technically, is still a FEMALE. Though legally a MALE. So on this blog, I will refer to Thomas as "he"/"him".

He grew up in Hawaii as a female but had a surgery (breast reduction) done. He said in one article though, that his reproduction organs are still in tact. And has since taken tostesterones, gotten married and dreamt of having a baby. After finding out that his wife Nancy, could not bear children any longer (she's got two kids from prior marriage), Thomas opted to take on the responsibility of carrying the baby in his normal functioning reproductive system via artificial insemination.

This wasn't a walk in the park mind you. They were turned down by a couple of doctors before they found someone who would accomodate them. And the first pregnancy had to be aborted for it was ectopic, and could have taken his life.

One thing that's bothersome and is the question behind all these frenzy, is that he has been known to be a MAN most of his adult life, that people, friends and acquaintances of the couple doesn't even know about his past. So they think that this is just a hoax or somekind of a nasty joke, or a "miracle" (and I mean biblical miracle here).

If I put my two cents here, I wouldn't even know where to begin. Yeah sure, in some states, its acceptable for two females or two males to get married, not to mention acceptance of the alternatives. Lets get past that, Conservatives and Moralist! And once you have looked beyond the physical attributes of Thomas, the fact still remains that he is just a woman whose finally pregnant.

Thumbs-up goes to their neighbors in Oregon, who refused to comment out of respest for this couple and their kids. Although the couple already guested on Oprah and even welcomed the people into their home, they still deserve privacy, as they are afterall private people.

Transgender aside, I salute Thomas' stand on bringing a child into this world, natural way or not. Motherhood, well, in his case Mother/Fatherhood, is a gift from God.

We may have a moral obligation towards same sex marriage, but hey, who are we to condemn a woman just because of practicing her right to bear a child?




for extra read: http://advocate.com/issue_story.asp?id=52664&page=1

Malu-bye

Like most Filipinos, I am also engrossed in the reality TV shows. And recently I’ve been glued to my television set waiting religiously for American Idol. Well, not me, but my digibox recorder. AI unfortunately is telecast here in Finland delayed by 2 weeks. So basically I’ve already seen it on youtube.com before it hits the Finnish televisions.

And today, I was heartbroken to have found out that our Fil-Am bet was eliminated. Yes friends, I admit, I shed some tears upon learning this. A few seasons ago, there was also a Fil-Am competitor Jasmine Trias, who eventhough didn’t win the title, went on to making albums of her own. But the impact with Ramielle Malubay’s elimination was great on me, maybe because she looks more Filipina than Jasmine, and because this time, I have access to AI 24/7, time zone aside.

If there was something I could do to make her win, I will definitely have done that. And I have sent a couple of emails to my US based friends campaigning for this girl. It was just not enough. I am certain that she was not the worst singer in the competition. May not be the best either. But she was definitely good.

Oh well, she will be on AI tour anyway. Who knows, she might make her own albums too. I’m just glad my other favorites are still in. Cook and Brooke.

Larry can't cook...

Today, I mourn...

LJC, died February 4th, 2008 - short battle with Cancer

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
Psalm 107:6


Larry J. Cruz is first and foremost a Journalist. Before owning more than a dozen restaurants, he first introduced how the magazines of today looked like - glossy. And once you enter his restaurants, you would be greeted by the knowledge that this man is an art lover, but not "just", he has class, and he has taste.

I had the opportunity to know this beloved man and work with him in 2002 before my departure to Finland. I managed one of his budding restaurants in Malate called "Mil Novecientos" (named after the exact post address of the building - 1900) - catering Spanish food.

Truth be told, as per the title of this blog, during my working stint with the LJC restaurant group, I never saw him cook or even go into the kitchen and meddle with whatever Chef Ninoy was cooking, as would most restaurant owners. But don't get me wrong, LJC - as he is fondly called, knows his food. He is after all, a bonafide Kapampangan just like me.

I read somewhere that he would like this caption to be the title of his biography. I would definitely get a hold of that. It is an honor to have been a part of LJC restaurant group. (Cafe Adriatico, Bistro Remedios, Cafe Havana and Abe, to name a few)

To Sir Larry, you will be missed...

On Friendship

With bestfriend Kryz in Boracay Island 2002

As the title of this entry, WHAT DOES FRIENDSHIP MEANS? I was asked this question not so long ago. And I was quite surprised that I couldn't really come up with an answer. Up until now, I am still trying to figure out how to start my sentence in describing the true meaning of friendship. I even googled it, and got crappy, sloppy and hallmark kinda answers from the internet. I meant to write about it on this blog but I just did not have the facts and yeah, I'll admit, the guts to write about it.

Don't think I did not have very good friends. I did and I still do, and I actually got loads of em. I am not boasting or anything. 95% of the almost 500 people on my friendster list are at one time or another been a part (if not really close to them) of my growing, studying or working life. But what is it really that makes my friendship to these people last this long, considering I don't get to see them very often. Or maybe, because I don't get to see them very often? Huh, thats a question.

I am still bothered though that all these years, I have been called many names, some nasty and some good, but I have never been called a "bad friend", except by this one lil bird. Ok, the lil bird didn't really say I have been a bad friend, but its the gist I got from the conversation.


With my bestfriend Kasia.


But here it is from a friendship day web page: Friendship is a unique blend of affection, loyalty, love, respect, trust and loads of fun.
Yeah, so I got all these with all of my bestfriends. So I guess it counts.

A true friend is someone who sticks by you when you are down and celebrates with you when you are up. It's someone you trust. It is someone who understands you, knows the real you and appreciates the person you are.
Ok, clearer now... Still not everyone can know you. I don't even know me, sometimes...

One thing I think is important or lets say I value the most is loyalty. I know I am loyal. But after the incident with this lil bird, I've come to realize that there should be different approaches to different people, without actually having to compromise your true self. Worked for me... I dunno about that lil bird though......