Back to School

Dear Friends,

It's officially June 1, and for public schools, it's back to school while for the rest of the private ones, it's June 8, one more week to go before they busy their heads with assignments, memorizations, readings and researches.

I remember when I was still in school, it has always been an exciting day for me come opening day, you get to meet new teachers, new classmates, friends and for some, their crushes.

However, opening day of classes may come scary to others too, some feel resentment to schools and universities, hatred towards their professors, and fear of new people for some. Some may have dreaded school time because of so many reasons but let us accept the fact that schools have been part of the ones that made us what we are now, and have greatly contributed to what we have learned.

In the same way, let me introduce the new ME for the opening of classes. Thank goodness for the hubby and for some masters in blogging who have helped me one way or another in making this blog look its newest. You know who you are guys...

This blog has been up and running since 2005 but has in been full bloom just 2007 and 2008. Since then, I have made lot of friends in my blog, met them personally and some I have exchanged emails and even nice packages with. I have earned a lot of friends with this blog and traffic has been busier each day.

Although I have not been very concerned with the benefits of blogging, many friends have actually encouraged me to make use of my blog to earn financially too, but it took me a long time to ponder on their advice. And i guess it is high time. Thus, this new look. Expect nothing different though, just a lot more progress. Not that i am so concerned with what i will get, but i have enrolled myself in financial blogging so I could at least reach out to a lot more people too.

This is the first day of my classes, and i hope to meet old and new friends too, please enjoy what I have to offer, rest assured that my blog will only boast of the good things that come my way and will be shared to you.

Let this opening of this blog be a new experience for me as I learn from your blogs too, as I visit your classes for the rest of the school year.


I am welcoming this new blog look with a parade, so please be with me as I celebrate this new school year, as we learn many things in blogosphere.

Thank you and see you around in Blogosphere University!

Anything goes...


sHenG

Brida

I have been having a hard time managing my TIME for the past few weeks. I dunno which one I will have to get and start with, or which one to finish first. It seems like i have long been in a capsule, got dizzy and is starting anew with my surroundings. This is making me crazy...

In the office, it seems like my mind is wandering, and not knowing where to start first, I would eventually turn on the PC and click chat-fun Plurk or go farming in Facebook. So, bad move? Yeah, of course, and it's making my pending stuffs all the more piling up!

I got this new project about a certain dictionary we are making and it's driving me crazy, that even my Saturdays and Sundays are devoted into reading... plus the 17 manuscripts I am still into.

17 manuscripts? Not anymore! Minus 3 coz we're already done with them. Hallelujah!

Reading, reading, reading... and a lot more reading...aaaahhhh!!!

But wait, thanks to Bluerose for sending me: Brida by Paulo Coelho.

Manuscripts and dictionaries for the moment are way out of my reach, because I have been so indulged with Brida.

And the text in the pic is just for me, that I wanna share it with you.

Someone had told her once
that every city has a "magic place",
a place where we go
when we need to think seriously about life.

Just timely for my crazy life right now, with work that is!

Ok, now I need to get serious with work... so I could already relax and chill out in the soonest possible time.

Tabebs' Art

I am lucky to have kids who have the hands for art. And it makes me happy that while i don't have the talent for drawing, sketching, painting and whatsoever related to art, my two lovely kids have the talent and they are good at it.

Tabebs, my daughter, is just 3 years old and 4 months. And since she was 2, I have been fascinated by the way she handles the pencils and the coloring pens and crayons much to her delight.

Last night, I was so sleepy that my eyes were just about to shut when she called me and hugged me. And bringing with her her Tomy Sketchers board, i asked her to sketch me, dad and kuya.

Grinning, she took the pen and had her hands sketch US with gusto. I immediately took my camera and asked her to display the board for me to take a picture of what she did.

And so let me share to you her art.

ME
as you may notice, she sketched my earrings,
because she wanted one too

DAD
lanky fellow, and face so thin, that's just so him...hehe

KUYA
and kuya isn't done with eating dinner yet so he is beside this table (daw)

TABEBS
yes, she looks just like the picture with her bangs, and because even in the pic she wanted earrings, she placed two small dots on the ears to make her look good with the earrings on,
haha, and yes, she loves to wear skirts, that's why she has her legs covered with a skirt.

My husband's family is a family of engineers, one being a civil engineer, and hubby who is a computer engineer, so do you think I'm having an engineer in the making? I hope so...

Errrr... i dunno what to say

I guess this is one of those days when you just experience what we call writer's block. And i am just having this feeling that i cannot write something good out of the million words i have learned since childhood.

I am actually in a phase where i am stuck between work, my own business and writing, that i am stuck at not knowing what to do first.

I am thinking of the business that we are in and June 1 is already close at hand. We will surely be busy. As you would like to know, we are in this business that is in-demand during the opening and end of schoolyears...

I am also thinking of the 17 manuscripts we are dealing with in my work, it's mind-whacking and brain-draining.

And i am also thinking of some would-be-good-to-publish topics for my 6-issues three years old mag. Plus another mag for the kids...Ack...

I know, I need to keep breathing...

So, for the meantime, until i get back to my real state of normal mind, here's what i leave you with...

"Your mind will answer most questions
if you learn to relax and wait for the answers."



"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it."

Keep cool! Love,


sHenG

Hotel room...NOT!

If there's one place in this world that i hate going to, they're HOSPITALS.

I was told by my folks that hospitals are the dirtiest, most germ-infected, most illness-filled place in the planet. They said one who frequent places like hospitals easily gets infected or contaminated with diseases. Of course I believed them, and i never went to hospitals unless i was the one who's ill or a close friend or relative must be visited.

But not this one.

Recently, we visited St. Elizabeth Hospital and we were so amazed at what we saw.

presidential suite (right view)

(left view)

private suite

private room

Hotel rooms? Nah, They're hospital rooms, patterned after St. Luke's Hospital, i love the feel of the homely room, very clean and fragrant, and you will not be accustomed to the hospital-feel, but will indeed have a good time recuperating and resting well.

Explained by the hospital director, Mr. Tony Veneracion, the hospital floor (3rd floor) is an addition to the building's progress, and more facility-equipped hospital. What's more is that, the presidential suite, as compared with St. Luke's pricey rate at more or less Php18,000 per day, is admirably low and easy to the pocket at Php4,500. Now, that's a good rest for the pocket as well. The presidential suite, with a lcd wall-mounted monitor, a personal refrigerator and a buzzer for nurse calls, a personal room phone and a nice sala to cater the guests is such a breathing space for those who need ample time to recover from sickness.

But then again, kahit pa ganyan ang kuwarto ko, ayokong magkasakit.

Dahil sa panahon ngayon, bawal ang magkasakit.

Stay healthy everyone!

Soccsksargen bloggers visiting St. Elizabeth Hospital

The Story of The Priceless Curtain Rods

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.

On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candle-light, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of spring-water.

When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of the curtain rods.

She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days.

Then slowly, the house began to smell.

They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting. Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit.Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move. A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls.

Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.

The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back. Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork. A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home.........

And to spite the ex-wife, they even took the curtain rods!

*****

I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did.


sHenG

Best Tasting Pizza in Gensan

Pizza (pronounced pitsa or pidza, in Italian: ['pit.tsa]) is a world-popular dish of Italian origin, made with an oven-baked, flat, generally round bread that is often covered with tomatoes or a tomato-based sauce and mozzarella cheese. Other toppings are added according to region, culture, or personal preference.

Originating in a part of Italian cuisine, the dish has become popular in many different parts of the world. A shop or restaurant where pizzas are made and sold is called a "pizzeria". The phrases "pizza parlor", "pizza place" and "pizza shop" are used in the United States. The term pizza pie is dialectal, and pie is used for simplicity in some contexts, such as among pizzeria staff.


The bottom base of the pizza (called the "crust" in the United States and Canada) may vary widely according to style thin as in hand-tossed pizza or Roman pizza, thick as in pan pizza or Chicago-style pizza. It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with butter, garlic, or herbs, or stuffed with cheese.

In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven with stone bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven or, in the case of more expensive restaurants, a wood- or coal-fired brick oven. On deck ovens, the pizza can be slid into the oven on a long paddle called a peel and baked directly on the hot bricks or baked on a screen (a round metal grate, typically aluminum). When making pizza at home, it can be baked on a pizza stone in a regular oven to imitate the effect of a brick oven. Another option is grilled pizza, in which the crust is baked directly on a barbecue grill. Greek pizza, like Chicago-style pizza, is baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven.

Giacomino's Pizza

Located at East Asia Royal Hotel Arcade, this pizzeria has been one of the oldest pizza shop in the city. I remember the times when hubby and i were still in our lovey-dovey relationship, we used to frequent this place after a good day's encounter with clients. I remember their carbonara, they serve the best carbonara in town, and add to that their mouth-watering chocolate mousse.

More than nine years later and more pizza joints for Gensan, Giacomino's still stands and still fascinates pizza lovers with their Ottima and Veggie Good Pizzas. Chili chicken wings are still tops on their menus and of course, my fave ever Carbonara.

Ottima Pizza

Veggie Good Pizza

The manager there was too generous to let us taste their mouth-watering halu-halo, not so sweet, has leche flan and lotsa beans and moist chocolate... oooh temptation....

What else is lacking? Tasters? Oh yeah. We were the tasters, along with the Davao bloggers/plurkers who came to Gensan for the Bikini Open.

And the bonding time with them proved to us that indeed, distance no longer matters because of this highway we are in...

Prices? Oh yeah, very affordable, one double sized pizza like the one that was served us cost only more than P200. Am just not sure of the exact price but indeed never cost more than P300. The iced tea they served us was well mixed, a twist of lemon in it.

And what better way to prove pizza-love: Smiles in our faces!

Brendel, Daxi, Chattee, Gilbert, RainCindy, me, Kyaw

farther from the cam or not in pic: Sir Avel, Rammyboi, SamaraFae, Tanchi, Angel, Doc Jim, Sir Blogie, Lyle, Hannah, Leonard, Lito, Bro. Vince

Thanks to The Man for having lots of friends who care to let us spend time tasting their good food and their stories with us. More plurkfiestas next time around.

I'd say, after how many years and several pizza joints, Giacomino's still rocks, and still offers the best-tasting pizza in town!

So, pizza anyone?

To all Children...

A mother understands what a child does not say.To all of my mother blogger friends,
and those who come by in this place,
if you are a mother, this is for you!

Thanks for sharing your motherhood.



Love,

-sHenG-

Sing it Proud but Sing it Right

A Grade 1 Lesson

16 September, 2007- in one boxing match Christian Bautista sang our National Anthem "Lupang Hinirang". Many were just singing it from the heart when incidentally, he skipped a few lines of the song. Bautista admittedly said he was ashamed of what happened, and he was even saddened this happened, but he also apologized and said that it was never his intention to make fun of the National Anthem. He said he was carried away by fear and tension, because of the multitudes watching him and the fight. Because of this, he was harshly judged by some, but after saying sorry, he was forgiven.

Last Sunday, Martin Nievera had the same mistake of singing the National Anthem, although it was not the lyrics, it was the tempo, and the way he sang it. Lupang Hinirang

Let's get back to the basics...

At dahil Pilipino ako, ito ay isusulat ko sa wikang Filipino.

Lupang Hinirang – Ito ang pambansang awit ng Pilipinas. Ang musika nito ay binuo noong 1898 ni Julian Felipe sa wikang Kastila kung saan ang titik nito ay mula sa tulang Filipinas, na isinulat ng isang manunulat-kawal na si Jose Palma noong 1899.

Ang orihinal nito ay tinugtog at sabayang inawit para sa proklamasyon ng Kalayaan ng Pilipinas noong Hunyo 12, 1898. Sa panahon ng pananakop ng Amerika, pinagbawalan itong awitin o tugtugin kasama ang pagkapasa ng Flag Law. Ang batas na iyon ay binago noong 1919 at ang awitin ay isinalin sa wikang Ingles at naaayon sa batas na tinawag itong “Philippine Hymn”. Ito ay isinalin sa Filipino simula noong 1940. Ang paggamit nito bilang ating Pambansang Awit ay napapaloob sa Republic Act No. 8491 o ang Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines ng 1998. Ang pambansang awit na ito ay mas kilala natin sa ngalang Bayang Magiliw o "Beloved Country", ngunit ito ay pinamagatang Lupang Hinirang.

Lupang Hinirang - "Chosen Land" (Pls. click to listen to correct singing of "Lupang Hinirang" as recommended by the NHI, sung by no less than Lea Salonga.

Sa kahulihan, noong panunungkulan ni Pangulong Ramon Magsaysay, pinagtulungang isalin sa Filipino nina Julian Cruz Balmaceda, Ildefonso Santos, at Francisco Caballo. Sa Mayo 26, 1956, unang inawit ang pambansang awit, ang Lupang Hinirang. May mga kaunti pang pagbabago sa liriko na ginawa noong 1962 at ito ay ang bersyong ginagamit sa kasalukuyan.


Kasaysayan ng Lupang Hinirang

Isang bersyon ng Lupang Hinirang ay ginamit ni Felipe Padilla de Leon bilang inspirasyon niya sa Awit sa Paglikha ng Bagong Pilipinas, na pinagawa ng gobyerno noong panahon ng Hapon sa kasagsagan ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig.

Ang Lupang Hinirang ay hindi ang unang pambansang awit na ginawa. Isang kompositor, si Julio Nakpil, ay bumuo ng awit na pinamagatan niyang Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan (Honorable Hymn of Katagalugan), na siyang naging pambansang awit ng Katipunan, isang organisasyon laban sa mga Kastila. Ito ang kanilang naging pambansang awit dahil si Andres Bonifacio, ang naglunsad ng Katipunan, ang bumuo ng organisasyon bilang makarebolusyong grupo at tinawag nila itong Republika ng Katagalugan (Tagalog Republic). Ang Katipunan o Republika ng Katagalugan ay sinundan ng Republica Filipina ni Aguinaldo. Sa kalaunan, naging Himno Nacional ang pangalan nito ngunit hindi tinanggap ni Aguinaldo sa dahilang hindi na naipaliwanag ng mga dalubhasa.

Paggamit at Regulasyon

Ayon sa Article XVI, Section 2 ng kasalukuyang Saligang Batas:

"The Congress may, by law, adopt a new name for the country, a national anthem, or a national seal, which shall be truly reflective and symbolic of the ideals, history, and traditions of the people. Such law shall take effect only upon its ratification by the people in a national referendum."

Sa kasalukuyan, ang 1998 Republic Act 8491 o the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines ang siyang nagpapatupad ng mga alituntunin sa paggamit ng Lupang Hinirang. Ang R.A. 8491 ay nagsasabing: Lupang Hinirang "shall be in accordance with the musical arrangement and composition of Julian Felipe."

Dagdag din ng R.A. 8491 na ang Lupang Hinirang ay dapat awitin sa ating pambansang wika, mapasa-ibang bansa man ito o dito sa Pilipinas.

Ang Pambansang Awit ay tinutugtog at inaawit tuwing may mga pampublikong pagtitipon ng mga Pilipino sa loob at labas ng bansa. Ayon sa R.A. 8491, naaayon sa alituntunin ng National Historical Institute ang paggamit ng awiting ito. Pinagbabawal ng R.A. 8491 ang pag-awit nito bilang isang “recreation, amusement, o entertainment” maliban sa sumusunod:

1. Sa mga International competitions kung saan ang Pilipinas ang host o representative;
2. Mga lokal na kumpetisyon;
3. Tuwing "signing off" at "signing on" ng mga radio broadcasting at television stations; at
4. Bago ang pag-umpisa ng mga pelikula sa sinehan at iba pang mga theater performances.

Ang isang Pilipino, na magkakamaling suwayin ang batas ayon sa R.A. 8491 ay maaaring patawan ng parusang administratibo, maliban sa parusang pinapataw ng Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas. Ang babalang ito ay para sa lahat ng mga Pilipino, pribado at pampublikong mga paaralan, at mga unibersidad.

Ngayong alam mo na ang pinagmulan ng ating Pambansang Awit, subukan mong awitin ito at damhin nang may puso ang iyong inaawit. Alalahanin mong marami ang naging karanasan ng Pilipinas upang makamtan ang kalayaan nito, at parte ng kalayaang ito ang pag-awit ng ating Pambansang Awit. Tumayo tayo ng matuwid bilang paggalang sa awiting ito, ilagay ang kanang kamay sa dibdib at isapuso ang titik ng pinaka-mahalagang awitin sa buong Pilipinas, ang Lupang Hinirang.

Hindi man tama ang pagkanta ni Martin Nievera ng awiting ito, naiintindihan ko siya na mula sa puso ang pag-awit niyang iyon, pero wala siyang karapatang baguhin ang anuman ang nakasaad sa batas kung saan naaayon doon ang tuntunin paano awitin ang ating pambansang awit. Tama nga, nga kung ang simpleng batas lamang na ito ay hindi na natin masunod, ano pa kaya ang mga mas mahahalagang batas ng bansa.

Ang ayaw ko lang kay Martin Nievera, he made it very clear in his statement: "I don't want to say sorry for something I was not sorry for."

Pride and Prejudice

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Spoken by Mrs. Bennet to Mr. Bennet upon hearing of a young and wealthy gentleman coming near the estates of Netherfield Park.

The Bennets have five unmarried daughters, no son. Their estate is ;omited, only restricted in inheritance, to Mr. Collins, a family cousin. Upon Mr. Bennet's death, Mr. Collins will inherit the family lands, which will leave the Bennet daughters without a home or money. It becomes important, therefore, that at least one of the daughters should marry in order to support their sisters and the whole family should other siblings not be able to marry.

Mr. Bingley alone came, and shortly brought his two sisters, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst; his brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst; and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who also happens to be wealthy and unmarried. Mrs. Bennet insists Mr. Bennet to call on Mr. Bingley so that she can introduce her daughters to him. Mr. Bennet refuses to play any part in match-making any one of his daughters with Bingley. He told his wife that if she so insists, Mr. Bingley must be the one to come brining the visitor. Manners follow though that a woman should never call a stranger to her house, and so Mrs. Bennet is saddened thinking that her daughters will never be able to meet with the eligible bachelor. But then, Mr. Bennet called on Bingley, surprising Mrs. Bennet about what he had done as he loves to do so.

The Bennet girls met the Mr. Bingley and he seems to be personable and polite to them. Mr. Darcy, while handsome and noble looking, appears with haught and indifferent to joining other guests in the party.

Jane, the eldest of the Bennets, is drawn to Bingley, and he seems equally attracted to her. Jane is portrayed as gentle, unselfish, and very mannerly. Elizabeth is also well mannered, but possess a very sharp wit and refuses to be intimidated by anyone. Inclined to be protective of Jane and her family, she nonetheless recognizes the faults of her parents and other sisters. At a party, Elizabeth is left sitting. She overhears Bingley encouraging Darcy to dance, suggesting that he ask Elizabeth. Darcy curtly replies that "she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men." Elizabeth, though insulted, refuses to give Darcy's comment any weight, instead telling the story to all her friends and ridiculing his pretentious behavior.

Jane and Bingley becomes close after Jane has been sick after her visit to Netherfield Park, she asked Elizabeth to come to her and help care for her. It is where she discovers that the Bingleys only pretend to be close to Jane and the Bingleys detest the Bennets.

Soon, Mr. Bingley returns, bringing his sisters with him and declaring they would never come back and announces that Mr. Bingley will have to marry Miss Darcy, Mr. Darcy's sister.

Elizabethe met Mr. Wickham whom he is immediately drawn to, who told her untruthful stories of his connection with Mr. Darcy, telling her he was fooled by the Darcys. Soon, Wickham married another and leaves Elizabeth.

Jane is invited to visit Mr. Bennet's relatives in London, but the Bingleys never even told Mr. Bingley that Jane is around. Jane soon slowly accepted rejection.

Soon, Elizabeth goes to London and ironically meets with Mr. Darcy again, there he offered marriage of which Elizabeth strongly refused citing Jane's situation and the stories told by Wickham.

For the third time after twice she came to London, Elizabeth met Darcy, and even his sisters who declared Darcy's renewed personality.

Elizabeth was just called for home when it is revealed that Lydia ran off with Mr. Wickham, she returned home while Mr. Bennet and his cousin searches for Lydia in London. Ironically, it was Darcy who found the two and it was Darcy who paid Wickham the dowry in order to marry Lydia.

Bingley returns to Netherfield to continue coyrting Jane, and Mr. Darcy took Jane's jands in marriage after a lot has been said and done, many exchanges of insults and strong words have been inflicted between families.

***********

Of course, this is Jane Austen's best book for me, and her writing style reminds us of love that has to fight worlds.

I remember my own course of first love, drastic, and same as with this story, intimacy has been neglected because of the fire and ice exchanges of families. Oh, of young and first love.

But Elizabeth was right, her stand of waiting and trying to know Mr. Darcy better lead them to love each other inside and out. They have known each other's strengths and weaknesses because their hearts knew what to love and why it should be loved.

This book of Jane Austen is the one that captured me thoroughly, and had me glued to it, even if it meant reading it through pdf, and trying to glue my eyes on my desktop monitor. The English are well presented in that, I can easily understand it, not like those classics that make me easily find some Zzzzzz.

Pride and Prejudice is the best title for this book too. Elizabeth being a little both of funny and witty has portrayed her character in this book like it has been her life all along.

An excellent romance, with a lot of swooning...