WHAT I’M CURRENTLY READING

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown.

I was just talking about the “so and so i forgot oh it was so long time ago” fibonacci series in my blog a month ago then I buy this novel soon afterwards and start to read. Lo and behold: one of the main clues in solving the murder in the story revolves around the fibonacci series.

Synchronicity.

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown.

I was just talking about the “so and so i forgot oh it was so long time ago” fibonacci series in my blog a month ago then I buy this novel soon afterwards and start to read. Lo and behold: one of the main clues in solving the murder in the story revolves around the fibonacci series.

Synchronicity.

RESIDUAL ANGHIT

nakapasok na ba kayo sa loob ng elevator then be arrested by an unbelievable stink? parati na lang dito sa office pag papasok ako sa elevator eh may residual anghit ng isang mabahong mystery person.

is it me they’re talking about? no way baby. tulad ng pinakamamahal kong mga pinoy, naliligo ako araw araw. naglalagay ng deodorant sa lekileki, nag sha-shampoo at conditioner ng buhok, may bote ng alcohol sa bag, may facial wash, nagbabaon ng safeguard galing pa sa pilipinas, kung may pekpek lang ako eh pati cleanser doon ay may baon siguro ako. AKO AY PILIPINO! kahit di man umaasenso ang bansa natin, at least masasabi ko na tayo ay MABANGO at… masarap amuy-amuyin. yeah, baby!

MGA BAGONG BINABASANG COMICS

1. “top ten” by alan moore

2. “watchmen” by alan moore.

3. “the last temptation” by neil gaiman

4. “the sandman, endless nights” by neil gaiman

5. “wolves in the walls” by neil gaiman

6. “animal man, book 1” by grant morrison

7. “the invisibles, say you want a revolution” by grant morrison.

SWIMMING IN A VERY COLD POOL IN CALIFORNIA WITH PAMANGKING KUTING, TROY AND LANCE AT PERSKASIN JOJO

SWIMMING IN COLD POOL WITH JOJO, KUTING, TROY AND LANCE

si perskasin jojo, ang aking artistang pinsan. napangasawa niya si renee who used to be a newscaster at channel 9. for a while she also was a newscaster for the filipino channel, ang peborit cable channel ng mga pinoy sa north america. anak nila etong dalawang katabi ko… si troy at si lance. the last time i saw lance, he was just a few days old, ngayon malaki na’t makulit. si troy naman eh etong cute na bata sa kaliwa ko. long hair at lakad ng lakad. hindi nahihiyang tumabi sa kanyang uncle from singapore. heehee. we just found out during the weekend that renee and jojo will be having a third child. so excited ang lahat sa darating na bagong bagets.

yung batang bilog ang mukha sa background ay si kuting. cute nga ng pangalan niya no? parang pusa. meeyao! anak siya ni sammy, ang aking perskasin din na kuya nina jojo at simon. di siya marunong magsalita ng tagalog pero nakakaintindi pag kinakausap mo siya. pilosopo tong batang ito at puro patagilid ang sagot sa mga tanong ko.

kinunan ito nung last day ko. nag lunch kami sa bahay nina jojo at nag swimming sa backyard nila. kaya ako nakatambay sa gilid ng pool eh kasi di ko kaya yung lamig ng tubig. para kasing galing sa ref eh.

PERSKASIN SIMON AND I

si imo at ako

ang aking pinakamamahal na pinsang si simon. imo for short. siya ang umasikaso sa akin ng husto nung nasa san francisco ako kamakailan. mahal ko tong pinsan kong ito. before my visit, the last time i saw him was 20 years ago in manila. this was before they left for the states. during the in between years, nag sign up siya sa US Navy, nakapag-asawa at nagkaroon ng dalawang anak. ako naman stayed in manila, studied engineering, married jet, worked for a long time in the philppines and moved to singapore. then like magic, i had the chance to visit them during a business trip…separate lives converging for a few memorable days in the states. laking tuwa ko nga nung nadalaw ko siya at nakausap uli.

the last time we saw each other, we were both in our late teens. the same age as his panganay paul, who will graduate from high school soon. ngayon, pareho na kaming “gaining face” (better to say than “losing hair”). there is a scienctific law called that states: “a man’s age is directly proportional to facial soap and inversely proportional to shampoo”. in short, habang tumatanda ka eh, mas tumatagal ang oras ng paghilamos ng mukha kaysa pag shampoo ng buhok. asan na ba ako? ah, my perskasin…

imo and jojo took a half day off when i arrived on a friday afternoon. sinundo namin si donna sa airport at along the way eh kwentuhan pa rin. from the airport, going home, inuman sa milpitas until 4 in the morning, kwentuhan pa rin. gising ng 9am papunta sa bahay nila sa modesto hanggang pag alis ko papunta sa airport, kwentuhan pa rin. sa sobrang tagal ng di pagkikita eh di matapos tapos ang kwento.

then, like the way i came, i swiftly left. like that, we’re back to our own separate lives. pero iba na ngayon, at least now i know that even if my perskasin’s out there somewhere in the bay area, he thinks of me the same way that i do now. i also know that someday, we’ll see each other again and catch up on each other’s lives.

SINGAFOOD

For the past 3 days, since coming back from China, ang lunch ko ay ang mga sumusunod:

1. Monday: Nasi Bryani with Fried Chicken
2. Tuesday: Chicken Curry with white rice
3. Wednesday: Nasi Bryani with Chicken Curry.

Nakita nyo bang pattern? Hehehe. Nakita nyo ba ang tendencies? Napansin nyo ba na mahilig ako sa Nasi Bryani with Chicken Curry? One of the best can be found near Bedok, 10 minutes or so away from our office in Changi… great thick rich and flavorful curry sauce, soft and tender chicken, yellow bryani rice with anis seeds. Sarap nito man.

Nasi Bryani Chicken together with Chicken Rice, Curry Fish Head, Pepper Crabs, Katong Laksa at Katong Yang Tau Foo. Yan ang mga mami-miss kong pagkain kung sakaling umalis na kami rito sa Singapore.

Buti na lang masarap ang adobo ni Jet. At least, kahit saan man kami mapunta ay mayrong “to die for” na pagkaing pinoy na parating available sa bahay.

The Fourth Hand

just finished reading “The Fourth Hand” by John Irving. galing man, this is a great read. even more memorable dahil sinimulan kong basahin ito sa singapore, tinuloy sa america, tinuloy-tuloy sa china at tinapos dito sa flat ngayong gabi. all throughout the reading of this novel, while going around the world, maraming nangyari both professionally and personally in my life. and now, all those places and faces are forever associated with the story of this book.

idol ko itong si irving ever since nabasa ko accidentally ang aking all time favorite na “The World According to Garp”. naalala ko pa kung kailan ko ito nabili. nasa crossing ako nung 1989 at nagpapalipas ng oras. bago pa lang akong nagtatrabaho at walang kapera-pera para sa mga bagong libro. pumasok ako sa isang used book store at nag browse. naron sa isang sulok yung “garp”. binili ko siya and my world was never the same after that. hehehe.

Kunming Blues

nandito na ako sa singapore after spending a week in kunming. bukas, balik na naman sa trabaho. maganda talaga sa kunming. simple lang siya na lugar. wala yung complexity ng shanghai, or yung immensity ng beijing. little town feel nga ang dating niya… parang baguio in a way.

ang dami kong nabiling DVD. mga 30 piraso ata. mura lang kasi. ang isang high quality na DVD9 doon ay nasa 12 RMB (around 72 pesos). mga sample ng mga nabili ko: pixar’s “finding nemo”, my favorite cartoon dahil sa superb performance ni ellen degeneres, stanley kubrick’s “spartacus” criterion collection, “malena” (italian film starring monica belucci), “city of god” (ang brazilian masterpiece ni Fernando Meirelles), “raise the red lantern” starring gong li at “not one less”. both these last two films are from chinese director zhang yimou.

nakabili rin ako ng tea at dalawang chinese tea mugs na halos binigay ng libre ng tindera sa amin sa sobrang kakatawad. kilalang-kilala na tsaa sa kunming at masarap ang nabili ko – mayron siyang matamis na aftertaste na masarap sa bibig. yung tea mugs naman ay special din (daw), sabi ng kasama ko. ang isang test pala sa quality ng chinese ceramic tea paraphernalia ay yuong tunog niya kapag kinalembang mo siya. masasabi raw na high quality ang ceramic kung high pitched ang tunog. yung nabili ko parang kalembang ng kampana kaya high na high quality daw iyon. muntik nga akong mapaluhod nang kinatok ng tindera yung mga mug ng tinidor.

maraming ethnic groups sa yunnan province (where kunming is located). there are 26 groups all in all in that area alone. “economic groups” ang tawag sa kanila ng aming english guide. hehehe. tulad ko, mga singkit ang mga mata nila pero kayumanggi ang mga kulay ng balat. sa may airport, makabili ako ng ethnic chinese doll para sa collection ng brick-brack ni jet. lahat kasi ng mga trip ko accross asia-pacific, bumibili ako ng mga souvenier para sa kanya. malapit na ngang mapuno ang top shelf ng computer table namin eh.

cheap shopping aside, kunming will still be that great little place in china. i love the weather and i love the pulse of the city. perhaps one day, i can take jet there so we can spend a few days in the cool weather. then, we’d go to one of the pubs by the lake for tea and cake.