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 | Sometimes I go whole days
listening bored, half sleep
I won't say anything
that's worth a thing to me
One day, suddenly, time
took a turn that once felt so brief
I blinked to see polite ghosts fading quickly
What begins as an unguarded
train of thoughts slowly can become
an addiction to the slumber
of disconnection and the resonance
of memory that no longer has a shape
but keeps you numb through
the hours till gone is another day
Be aware, my darling
these things I say I mean
are just traces of something
I long to feel again
I see our time expand
in the air almost forcibly,
spreading thinner till it dissolves completely
--Half Asleep, by School of Seven Bells
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There she is...
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Jul 28, 2007 9:02 am
1809 Views
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In 2006, hubby, lucky dog that he was, got to attend and be one of the judges for the pre-pageant night of the Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines) contest, since our company was sponsoring one of the awards. The purpose of the pre-pageant night was to whittle down some 120 contestants to a more manageable 30, so off he went, quite happily, first dropping me off at a restaurant for my dinner date with my law partners.
I was barely starting my dessert when my cellphone rang. It was hubby.
"You have got to come over and help me," he said with a weary sigh. "I'm getting confused already. We've been looking at girls in bikinis for the past 2 hours and they're all beginning to look alike."
Hm, so it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Hubby was suffering from a serious case of boob daze. I gulped down my panna cotta and coffee and rushed over to where he was, before the poor man fainted from cleavage overexposure.
I was ushered into the judging hall and got there just in time to find hubby snickering into his score sheet, apparently over a contestant who was picked at random by one of the judges for an impromptu question and answer portion, just to determine how fast a contestant thought on her feet.
The question was quite simple enough--- "What would you like to be?"
The reply was quite unexpected--- "Well, I'm 18, and I want to be 19."
Dead silence. Paper shuffling. Judges trying not to look at each other. My hubby burying his head into his score sheet, in a valiant effort not to guffaw.
Finally all the contestants were made to stand in a circle around the stage, and the judges were encouraged to go near them to study them up close, to better narrow down the choices. I held the score sheet while hubby went off for some coffee. I noticed a disturbing pattern. Every time I went near any one of the contestants with my score sheet, she would thrust out her chest, strike a pose, and smile as brilliantly as possible. No wonder hubby got flummoxed.
But you know, I have to admire these women. It takes a lot of guts to be able to stand there for almost 45 minutes, in stiletto heels, wearing nothing but a bikini, with the airconditioning at full blast, while total strangers rated your every body part, and not lose your poise. To know that you were being judged (knees too dark---scratch her...not tall enough---scratch her...oh my gawd, look at those HIPS!--scratch her) and placed under such scrutiny that would put an auditing accountant to shame, yet still keep your calm, and keep smiling.
For all the calls to do away with beauty contests, I still can't help but marvel at the determination and confidence these young women showed. The one who finally won the crown that year worked for an international volunteer organization and spoke perfect French. Talk about beauty, brains, and social awareness.
And yes, she was on top of my list that pre-pageant night.
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7
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The Best Comeback Ever
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Jul 26, 2007 6:55 am
2199 Views
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I don't get people who feel the need to put other people down just to make themselves look good. Or who apparently don't believe in the old saying that, "if you can't say anything good about someone, better not say anything at all". But every once in a while these sorts get one heck of a comeuppance you almost feel sorry for them.
Almost.
My friend Bobbi (nope, Levi, her last name is NOT Soxxx) just came from her high school reunion and met up with an old classmate who's known to be very catty, and very loud, and who, apparently, hasn't changed even after 20 odd years--
Catty Classmate : Bobbi, my God, what happened to YOU??? You used to be so slim and sexy, but look at you now, you are SOOOOO fat!!! How could you let yourself go like this???
Bobbi : My dear, I always did say that it's better to be a has-been like me, than a never-been like you.
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23
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Quite A Sesame Street Fanatic
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Jul 23, 2007 8:06 pm
3246 Views
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I miss Sesame Street. It isn't showing here in Manila anymore, even re-runs, and I do miss the madcap, tongue in cheek, off kilter humor I hardly find in kiddie shows today. (If it's back on the air here, can someone tell me, please? Haven't been watching TV much)
Kiddie shows these days are SO earnest in teaching our young ones how to share, how to be good friends, how to sing The Map Song, not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but I do miss the---how do I put it---irreverence? Dora is NOT irreverent when she's trying to find something with the map. Blue is NOT irreverent when she's posting her clues. Neither are The Backyardigans and The Little Einsteins while they're doing their song-and-dance routine.
I don't get it. Whatever happened to the inside jokes? Whatever happened to the smart alecky repartees? I do understand that these other programs are geared towards engaging the attention of children, and not mine, but still, I wish they weren't so bland. Consider my very favorite Sesame Street skit, the Rapunzel episode in Newsflash, with a quite (as usual) bewildered Kermit the Frog, once again, reporting live with another fast-breaking news story:
Kermit: We now see Prince Charming approaching the tower where Rapunzel is locked up.
Prince Charming (looking up at the tower) : Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!!
Kermit: Aha, aha! You see it now, folks! The Prince is now calling out to Rapunzel!
Prince Charming: Frog?
Kermit: Uh, yes?
Prince Charming: Do you mind?
Kermit: Oh, right, sorry.
Prince Charming (looking up at the tower again) : Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!!
Rapunzel (in a New Yawk accent that would do Fran Drescher proud): What??? Ya want me to let down my what???
Prince Charming (slightly exasperated, but trying again, this time louder): Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!!!!
Rapunzel: Ya want me to let down my what??? I can't hear ya, speak louda!!
Prince Charming (screaming): RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL, LET DOWN YOUR HAIR!!
Rapunzel: Ya want my what??
Prince Charming: YOUR HAIR!!!!
Rapunzel: Ya want my hair???
Prince Charming: YES, YOUR HAIR!!!!!
Rapunzel: Ya want me to let it down there???
Prince Charming: YES, RIGHT DOWN HERE!!
Rapunzel: Awright! (throws her entire blonde wig down at the feet of the shellshocked prince) There ya go, ya got my hair, now what???
Prince Charming: I don't know!! Ask the frog! Where's my horsie??? HOOOORSIIIIEEEEEEEE?????
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23
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A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Dragon Gate
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Jul 21, 2007 6:57 pm
2253 Views
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Or actually, while in it.
Saturdays, as is our wont for the past 11 years of marriage, barring domestic crises, power breakdowns, political upheavals (another coup? ho-hum), illnesses, typhoons, or the plague, hubby and I usually hie off to our regular dinner date, trying out new restaurants, or watching a movie, or just browsing in a bookstore. Just spending time together, without the kids, touching base, as it were.
So last night, off we went to Dragon Gate, a Chinese restaurant recommended to us by our friend Andrew, who told us we just had to try the seafood there. He said that we had to look for a girl named Hiney (wonder if she'd been the butt of some jokes? quipped hubby) and to tell her he referred us.
We went into this cavernous restaurant filled with bright lights and all the Chinese restaurant cliches you could find, filled with a lot of Mainland Chinese (which is always a good sign for us, finding a restaurant patronized by the very people whose native cuisine is being served there), past the huge water tanks filled with live fish swimming lazily around, and wriggling crustaceans darting to and fro, to the delight of the children gathered round them.
We name dropped Hiney, but unfortunately, she was off handling some group of VIPs and couldn't come to our table. We were seated beside a group of old gentlemen who were already happily tucking away into their meal, table napkins tucked under their chins (which I found oddly endearing). We had just placed our orders and were settling down to wait, when it happened.
Someone went, "Fire outside!!!"
General consternation amongst the diners. Hubby went out to investigate (we didn't want to lose our table---talk about priorities) while I waited and the people started filing out. Hubby came back to tell me we had to go out, because the huge neon sign atop the establishment door was on fire, and smoke was beginning to get dense. I grabbed my bag and rushed out, along with almost everyone else. Except the gentlemen eating at the table beside us.
Outside, they were already putting out the fire with extinguishers, and after about 10 minutes, the smoke began to clear. We decided to go back in and continue with dinner, much to the relief of our waitress, who already had our first course ready to serve.
As we sat down, we noticed that the gentlemen beside our table were still happily enjoying their meal, apparently aware but blithely unconcerned that their table could have gone up in flames (extra crispy fried duck, anyone?). We wondered then if the food was THAT good.
Apparently it was. The soup arrived, with conch shell meat, native chicken and bamboo fungus, bursting with rich complex flavors mingled together in smoky goodness with every sip. The steamed tiger shrimp, fiery orange and succulent, with soy and sesame oil dipping sauce, were sweet and juicy, firm to the bite---fresh, fresh, fresh. The crisp fried eel, coated with sesame seeds, were airy light crunchy morsels that seemed to melt in your mouth. The elephant shell clams, simply steamed in garlic, soy sauce, and at my request, some chilies, made my tastebuds sing.
It was definitely food to make you ignore a fire alarm.
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23
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Sniglet Challenge
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Jul 20, 2007 4:35 am
2483 Views
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I don't know if any of you remember the show I named my blog after, which aired sometime in the 80s. It featured a portion popularized by Rich Hall called "Sniglets", which are made up words to describe things or concepts that have no "official" terms. Some examples:
Beelzebug (this one's for you, Riny!) - Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at 3 in the morning and cannot be cast out.
Chipfault - the stress point on a potato chip where it breaks off and stays behind in the dip.
Detruncus - the embarrassing phenomenon of losing one's bathing shorts while diving into a swimming pool.
Doork - a person who pulls a door when the sign says "Push" and vice versa.
Furnident - the indentations left in carpet after moving heavy furniture.
Glibido - all talk and no action.
Ignoranus - a person who's both stupid and an a**hole.
Kawashock - pulling into the last remaining parking slot only to discover a motorcycle parked there.
Mopeeps - people compelled to look through the curtain opening of your motel room as they pass by.
Oreosis - the practice of eating the cream center of an Oreo before eating the cookie outsides.
Phonesia - the affliction of dialing a phone number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer.
Queery - a question to ascertain one's sexual orientation.
Sarchasm - the gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Sniglet - any word that doesn't appear in the dictionary, but should.
Snigletologists-people who have nothing better to do than sit around thinking up sniglets.
Sooooo, I pose a challenge to everyone here---think up a chat related sniglet that you think ought to be in the dictionary, but isn't.
For example --
Uniblogger - blogger who posts only one blog, never to be seen again.
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26
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Snippets of Conversation #2
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Jul 19, 2007 5:44 am
1936 Views
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A couple of years ago, when my youngest was barely 4, we lay on his bed reading his favorite bedtime story. After constantly tossing and turning, he said he had to go to the bathroom urgently. So we went there, and waited. And waited. And waited.
After about 15 minutes of standing there, with him sitting happily on his toilet seat, I realized I've been had. The kid was out of bed, as he wanted, and I had fallen for the old Mommy-I-Have-To-Poop schtick:
Me: I don't think you're really going to poop, are you?
Youngest (with a cheeky smile): Nope
Me: So you told me a lie, didn't you?
Youngest (with cheekier grin): Yep
Me: That was just so you could get out of bed?
Youngest (with wide grin now): Yes, Mommy!
Me: A-ha!!! You told a lie!!! Your nose is going to start growing like Pinocchio's!!! I can already see it getting bigger, ha!
Youngest (clutching nose and desperately pushing it in): Oh noooooooooooooooo!! It's going to get as big as YOURS!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
Now you know why I have a complex about my schnoz.
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9
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Snippets of Conversation #1
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Jul 18, 2007 8:34 am
1954 Views
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Flipping through some blogs I regularly read, I came across this entry by a guy who was pondering the profound implications of having mistakenly scrubbed his face with his wife's feminine wash. (Would he grow very curly facial stubble, I wonder?)
It reminded me of this conversation my husband and I had while at a supermarket:
Hubby: (Looking at a feminine wash ad where a famous acting couple was featured) I don't get it---why does that ad for a feminine wash need to feature the guy? Not like he uses it, or does he?
Me: Well, he DOES get to smell the final results. Now you know why he's got one heckuva grin on his face.
Hubby: (muffled chortles while slumped over the supermarket trolley)
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9
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Toss me some popcorn---
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Jul 17, 2007 10:20 am
1936 Views
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Ok, I'm going to be nitpicky--it's a failing of mine, but bear with me.
A personal pet peeve when it comes to movies is when the actor playing the part delivers his or her lines in an accent totally far afield from what the character is supposed to be. I mean, I'm paying good money here to suspend my disbelief---the least they could do is to make sure it stays suspended.
Consider The House of the Spirits--Winona Ryder's character is Chilean, but she can't even pronounce the name Pedro right. In a climactic scene, she screams out "Paid-roooooowwwww!!!!" with a horrendous twang that grated on my ears. Totally ruined it for me---don't they have accent coaches or something?
Another time this happened was when I watched Bram Stoker's Dracula. Now, I adore Gary Oldman, but Keanu Reeves as an Englishman?? I don't think he can even say "cheerio" properly. All throughout the movie I kept expecting him to go, "Dude! Like, you're a vampire??"
(Speaking of Keanu Reeves reminds me of The Matrix, which reminds me of Hugo Weaving, who was the Elven King in Lord of the Rings. I kept expecting him to go, "Mister Anderson" there. Not his fault at all, just my overactive imagination)
And don't get me started on Kevin Costner as Robin Hood. Didn't know they talked that way in Nottingham.
As Cary Elwes' Robin Hood in Robin Hood, Men in Tights said to Prince John, who asked him why he thinks the people would listen to him--
"Because, unlike some other Robin Hoods...I can speak with an English accent."
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