Page 101

In memoriam... FHM

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:30:00 +0000

Please click image for larger view.

Obituary published on the August 10 issue of Baguio Midland Courier.

Career change

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:52:00 +0000

Yup, after some time of thinking over it, I have finally took the step to change my career from being a project manager to becoming a full time homemaker :)

I left my job on the third week of March to take care of Jade. It was something I wished for since last year but I had to convince both myself and hubby that pursuing SAWM/SAHW-hood is for the benefit of the family. Of course, we had to study the pros and cons especially the financial side of it. It's not that easy to live on a single income basis thus financial management is one thing I got to learn better.

I'm currently working on my visa change (from economic to dependent type) and that entailed me needing to come home to process my papers here in Manila. I brought along Jade with me and hubby will be fetching us once I get my new visa. I'm lucky to have been given a free return ticket by my former employee while hubby got a free PAL return ticket (he got it by chance last year when he volunteered to take the afternoon flight since the planned trip got full packed - well, that's another story now)

I don't have regular access to internet, no connection at home and the summer heat is not conducive for me and Jade to go to town. I happened to pass by a shop here in Ayala MRT station on my way from the Taiwan Consular Office :) I'll be posting more stories about my new career soon.

My Precious

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:20:00 +0000

What: Waterford Crystal Lismore Carafe and Wine Set
Where: (it came from) Ireland (Waterford Crystal is originated from Waterford, Ireland)
When: (was it given) February 2004
Who: (gave it) ADLK colleagues (ADI Limerick TSM team - design, design evaluation and test development engineers)
Why: (was it given) Wedding gift (given few weeks earlier than the wedding date)
How: Handcarried by my (former) offshore boss

I've been assigned (years ago - while I was still working for ADI) for few months offshore "work" in ADI Ireland (which we also call ADLK) for three consecutive years but I never had the courage to buy even a small piece of artwork from Waterford Crystal because of it's "for your eyes only" price tags. Few of my Filipino colleagues who have earned their target savings from our per diem allowances have bought themselves a small piece or two while what most of us, who visited the main outlet in Waterford county, only did "window shopping" and of course, picture taking.

I must be very lucky to have worked with the entire TSM-LK team who were so generous to buy me (and my soon to be hubby at that time), not just a small piece from the crystal store, but a big item - not one piece - but a set of three.

On February 2004, few weeks before our wedding set on March 6 of the same year, my Irish boss went to visit the Philippines plant (ADGT) for business meetings with the management, and with our local team as well. On the day he went to Cavite, he went down to our workplace carrying a huge paper bag. Some of my colleagues started to look as he headed to my seat, said his hello, offered me a handshake, gave me a hug and a kiss, and finally handed me that huge paper bag.

At the glance of it, all I can do is smile (and I think my smile was from ear to ear). The package inside was triangular with the mark "Waterford Crystal". Actually, the huge paper bag itself was marked with the said brandname. He said it's from the whole of TSM-LK team. Inside the bag was also a huge greeting card which I opened right after he left my seat. I was so happy to see the familiar names from those I've worked with and those that I just knew by name and face.

When he left, one of my friends approached me and said "I bet that costs __K Php". On the other hand, my local boss uttered "Lucky you!" followed by "Maybe I should get married again so I can receive the same gift package as yours." One friend, who just heard from others about the present, came to me asking, "hey, can you open it now for everyone to see?" Other colleagues from different work area also came to curiously ask what's inside the huge paper bag.

Since the set was given before our wedding, my housemate and friend (who was also trying to quote the set) suggested (or actually insisted) that we should use it on our wedding day for the wine toasting part of the wedding (reception) ceremony.

We then brought the set, handled with all loving care, along with us when we went up to Baguio a week before our wedding date. I had to instruct the hotel wedding attendant several times to ensure that the set will be used during our reception and that it should be brought back to us after the reception. Oh well, I didn't have to tell them what to do after the wedding party as I made sure myself that the set is carried back to our room while the reception area was being cleaned up.

The triangular packaging is still intact up to now, that huge paper bag has been crumpled though. After our recent vacation, I surfed the net if the item is still available (partly checking on the price as well) and I found out that the current packaging is not as how we received it. The wine glasses also looked different but I found the same design sold separately.

By the way, it's not that I am after the materiality of the present that I consider this item a precious. (well, I could say it's part of it - call me hyprocrite if I don't admit that, right?) It's more of its representation of a country I hold dear in my heart - Ireland. A place I wish my family could visit someday.

The kIsS

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:45:00 +0000

The ToUcH

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:27:00 +0000

A Bit of Sunrise From One of Acop's hills

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:35:00 +0000

I have long wanted to take sunrise photos especially after the “Show me your Sunrise/Sunset” photo tag from Lovelyn. As I mentioned when I did “My Sundown”, one of the reasons I just can’t is the difficulty of waking up early to catch the break of dawn. Another reason is that I don’t know where to shoot.

While vacationing in Acop, I had opportunities to get up early and watch the sunrise right at our room’s window but the bed’s gravity is strong enough to keep me in bed. Lol! But there’s this one morning that I had no choice but to wake up early because of the clothes waiting to be dried. I woke up ahead of my sister, who did the night washing with me, and while hanging the clothes, I thought I can grab my camera after my chore. So up to the room I went, took the camera and tried to find a good place to take pictures. Alas, only few turned out pretty acceptable for posting. I might just give it another try next time I get the chance.

Every sunrise is a present, a gift from God above,
Gift-wrapped with scarlet ribbons and tied with bows of love.

Each day's a new beginning, a time to start anew,
While all the stars are sleeping, and the rose is fresh with dew.

Every day's a new creation, too lovely to ignore,
And we may find a blessing, just outside our door.

We cannot keep the past, like fireflies in a jar
Nor journey to the future by wishing on a star.

Every sunrise is a blessing, a gift for just today.
Rejoice, my friend, embrace it before it fades away!

~ Author Unknown ~

The reason behind the shots...

One of nature's alarm clock...

tHe IcEdRoP sErIeS

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:00:00 +0000

I haven’t posted personal stories for a while but I have a number of them kept in my draft folder. Before I go offline again, it’s time to publish them else they’ll end up staying in the D folder forever. “D” is either for “draft” or “delete” – I’d better put them in “P” as in “published post” now. :p

I owe you stories about our CNY vacation back home but I don’t think you’ll have it as a whole. Bits and pieces they’ll come. Posting the pictures was an easier task, and Hannah re-emphasized that to me :) I sticked to “pictures speak louder than words” in that case, hahaha. I’ll still do that with this post. I think the facial expressions of my daughter in every picture speak for them, lol.

As an introduction though, let me tell you that she never got the chance to eat icecream here in Taiwan not until last Saturday. It was the cold weather that deprived us of that. During one of the warm days we were vacationing in Cavite, a familiar bell sounded from afar. I asked hubby to call the pedicab vendor and got ourselves chocolate icedrop and pinipig. Jade excitedly watched us open them as she willingly obeyed my word when I asked her to sit down on the kitchen door floor. And the rest of the story lies in the following pictures…

Do mothers really lie to their kids?

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 04:59:00 +0000

Before I had my daughter, I was already a cry-baby when it comes to talking about mothers – the more I became when I turned out a mom myself. I vividly remember how my aunt and I shed buckets of tears after watching the movie “Nasaan ka Inay?” eons ago in Maricel Theatre. I would cry too even if I’m just reading articles or stories about mothers that once again, I couldn’t help but cry, unmindful of the passersby, while I was reading an article forwarded to me via email.

Did my mom ever lie to us? If yes, how many lies did she tell us? Why did she lie? Did she really have to lie? Then I asked myself, did I ever lie to my daughter? Or would I ever lie to my daughter? I don’t have the answers now…

EIGHT LIES OF A MOTHER

This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor.

Often we hadn't enough to eat.Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me her portion of rice.While she was transferring her rice into my bowl, she would say .."Eat this rice, son! I'm not hungry."This was Mother's First Lie.

As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a little bit more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught just two fish,she would make fish soup. While I was eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat the what was still left on the bone of the fish I had eaten. My heart was touched when I saw it. Once I gave the other fish to her on my chopstick but she immediately refused it and said,"Eat this fish, son! I don't really like fish."This was Mother's Second Lie.

Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to a Match Factory to bring home some used matchboxes which she filled with fresh matchsticks.This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One wintry night Iawoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes by candlelight. So I said,"Mother, go to sleep; it's late: you can continue working tomorrow morning." Mother smiled and said"Go to sleep, son! I'm not tired"This was Mother's Third Lie.

When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother accompanied me. After dawn,Mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When the bellr ang, I ran to meet her. Mother embraced me and poured me a glass of teathat she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not as strong as my Mother's love, Seeing Mother covered with perspiration, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said .."Drink, son! I'm not thirsty!".This was Mother's Fourth Lie.

After Father's death, Mother had to play the role of a single parent. She held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs alone. Our family's life was more complicated. We suffered from starvation. Seeing our family's condition worsening, my kind Uncle who lived near my house cameto help us solve our problems big and small. Our other neighbors saw that we were poverty stricken so they often advised my mother to marry again. But Mother refused to remarry saying .."I don't need love!"This was Mother's Fifth Lie.

After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for my old Mother to retire but she carried on going to the market every morningjust to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her money but she was steadfast and even sent the money back to me. She said,"I have enough money!"That was Mother's Sixth Lie.

I continued my part-time studies for my Master's Degree. Funded by theAmerican Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my studies. With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy life in America but Mother didn't want to bother her son; she said to me .."I'm not used to high living!"That was Mother's Seventh Lie.

In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit Mother who was bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile but I was heartbroken because she was so thin and feeble but Mother said,"Don't cry, son! I'm not in pain!"That was Mother's Eighth Lie.

Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died ...YES, MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL! M - O - T - H - E - R "M" is for the Million things she gave me"O" means Only that she's growing old"T" is for the Tears she shed to save me"H" is for her Heart of gold"E" is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them"R" means Right, and right she'll always be, Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER" a word that means the world to me.

For those of you who are lucky to be still blessed with your Mom's presence on Earth, this story is beautiful. For those who aren't so blessed, this is even more beautiful.

If kids were blogging...

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:14:00 +0000

It won't be a surprise, if it's not happening already.

Pahina Isang Daan at Isa

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:13:00 +0000

I ran into somebody's blog and figured that blogger has added an option to view one's blog site in Filipino. I never explored into that until today when I cleaned my cache and had to change the default language setting (Chinese) in my computer. While looking for "English" in the list, I saw "Filipino" and I thought of choosing it to see how it works. I was thrilled at the thought of it yet upon seeing the seemingly unfitting translations, I asked myself if there's really a need to do that. Sorry, I don't mean to agitate, just my personal thought. Maybe you can see by yourself and share your thoughts about it. On the other side, having Filipino included in the language option means there are millions of Filipino bloggers out there!

Here, see how my post list looks like in Filipino...

And my blogsite in Filipino...

BTW, please note that my subtitle is really in Filipino and is not a direct translation :)

What will (or do) you work for?

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:44:00 +0000

The Magic Pig

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:59:00 +0000

Small circle, small circle, big circle,
Small circle, small circle, big circle,
Mama’s ear, papa’s ear and a big big smile,
Six times six, six times six, thirty six,
Six times six, six times six, like a magic pig!

This is one song I remember learning from my early childhood. The lyrics and the drawing activity that come with it stucked in my mind but from where I learned it slipped from my memory. I started to sing and teach it to Jade when I saw her holding a pen trying to write on a paper after Tita Rosie taught her how to hold a pen and draw lines. I also taught this to her cousin Ate Alex during our vacation. I was surprised to know that my younger sisters don’t know it. I thought they knew it, afterall we came from the same elementary school.

Last week, I heard her mumbling something like bicycle but no! It turned out that she’s starting to sing the song while drawing. The “cicle” word she was uttering is meant to be circle. Then few days after, I hear her singing more lines, now with “mama’s ears, papa’s ears” then “thirty six”. I look forward to hearing her sing the whole song and watching her able to come up with her own magic pig soon.

MEME: Linky Love/Viral Linking

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:38:00 +0000

I've got several memes to work on but let me start with the easiest one. Fortunately, tags from three of my online friends are basically the same though the list seemed different in one of the three. Anyhow, I'm posting them all here. The idea of this meme is to pass the links around which means that, if we keep the link train going, all of us will have more links. Thanks to Mari of Life Together Starts, Bill of From the Boondocks and Lovelyn of A Raconteur's Attempt for tagging me.

I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!)It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially!

The benefits of Viral Linking:

1.One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!
2.Increase your Google PageRank fast
3.Attract large volume of new traffic to your site
4.Build your community
5.Make new friends!

I'm tagging Andi's Mommy, Life is like a Box of Chocolates, Our Niche, and Skraekja

The rules from Bill's Linky Love Train Meme are as follows:
1. Write a short paragraph at the beginning of your post and link back to the blog that put you on the list in the paragraph. This isn’t a suggestion. You need to break up the duplicate content. Someone took the time to add you so the least you can do is give them an extra link back.
2. Copy the list of originals below COMPLETELY and add it to your blog. If you would like a different keyword for your blog then change it when you do your post and it should pass to most blogs with that keyword.
3. Take the adds from the blog that added you and place them in the “Originals” list.
4. Add at least 1 new blog that you KNOW is using the DO FOLLOW plugin to the list in the “My Adds” section.
5. Let the people you’ve added know, so that they can keep the list going!

And these are the people who already took part on this tag:*The Strategist Notebook *Link Addiction *Ardour of the Heart *When Life Becomes a Book *The Malaysian Life *Yogatta.com *What goes under the sun *Roshidan’s Cyber Station *Sasha says *Arts of Physics *Dagboek *Dutch converted Asian *Enjoy Your Meal *And the legend lives *My View, My Life! *Pusang Maganda *Spontaneity *Maruism *Wapita *Unforeseen Existence *Ako ay Tamad *The Balmy Zephyr *bhabypau *KiCHi *Mae-Mae *Gayle *Karen Dayle *http://phinkness.com/ * Karen -AP- * pinkyish *Kritz *Ninah * Laine * Youngmaze* Homeworked *A Raconteur's Attempt A Simple Life Juliana RW The Callalily Space Petra Summer in Blue Confessions of an Army Wife Bless’ Sanctuary Happy Life http://bless519.bravejournal.com/ La Place de Cherie, Chez Francine, Le bric a brac de Cherie, Little Peanut, Pea in a Pod, The Creative In Me, Me and Mine , Me and my Two Boys, My Life is Peachy , http://bless519.bravejournal.com/ Memories Frozen in Time My Joys My Charmed Life, The Working Mom, Online Raket, Practical Tips and More, Food Drink Atbp, A Housewife's Journal, Life Together Starts *Page 101

While these are from the Linky Love Train...Originals:This is a Miracle Mariuca Revellian d bImBo Secret of Mind A Great Pleasure Little world of thoughts Renisphere mott's island Kev's Walkabout iBubbs woof Down Memory Lanes Woof & Arf Lovely Mummy Bubba Stuff Mommibee Moments in My Life Rambling Moo All about Zara & Zaria Hip n cool momma Random Thoughts of a Blur Mommy Mylittleanelqianyi Bits & Pieces De’moments chinneeq Giddy Tiger Huei Rabbit Rinnah Simple America Niceheart Ethel Sanna The Queer Chef Shoshana Leah gina> Haze Ghee Neng aka Sirena Angelo Ju aka The Border aka Juana of Femjo Tina Keep the Faith jsonvlog Suncoast Scribe Blogging Kenneth My 2 Centavos Worth Manila Mom 3 Dogs, 3 Pigs and A Family Cafe Romanza Earn Global Credit Ability Macuha Flee the Cube Smart Wealthy Rich MomReviews.net Fellow Eskimo Pajama Mommy Amanita.net WebStyle Meredith’s Weight Loss Blog Pink Blog Tricia’s Musings Ugh!!’s Greymatter Honeypot Famewatch Midlife Musings Utterly Geek Whatever I Feel Like My Dandelion Patch Surviving NJ GeekySpeaky Simple Kind Of Life 3DayMom BuyMeBlog The Hockey Dad Twist & Skewer The Hip Mommy's Place Mommyness Is Happiness Listening..Learning..Living First Time Dad In Our House Life is what we make it Igorot Blogger*Page 101

Dalikan/Anidoan...

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:35:00 +0000

During cold days when most, if not all, family members leave the house for work and/or an early day appointment, heating water in the gas range or bathing with a pail of icy cold water come as options. When the former is opted, one can't be spared from the morning nags of a mother who worries about the increasing price of LPG while when the latter is chosen, one may come home with flu at the end of the day. To be spared from either consequences, the younger ones resort to heating as much water that the whole family can use, with some refills in between.

Even with an oven gas range in the kitchen, the "dalikan" outside the family house is still used especially when cooking "pinikpikan" (native delicacy) and "inangir" (boiled for a long time). And while cooking, one can also warm up from the heat that emits from the "dalikan" thus we also call it our "anidoan" (fireplace). In the early morning, it somehow becomes our father's "tambayan" or comfort zone with him sipping a hot cup of coffee. At times when he cooks there during the day,he would bring his "apos" (grandchildren) and teach them how to make "anido" their hands and even their feet. Our Jade of course, had her own initation during our stay, lol.

I believe that even if in the future, the family house is decided to be renovated, we will still opt to keep that kind of dirty kitchen as it does not only serve as a backup when we run out of LPG, but also because the dishes cooked from wooden fire tastes better than that cooked from the gas range.

Firewoods being dried in the backyard...

She's now one of them...

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:47:00 +0000

After few months of waiting, my youngest sister finally shouted out that she's now an RN. The results came out yesterday and it somehow came as my sister's birthday presence to our father who told her he'll look for an elephant for the celebration, lol!

She left me a message in YM yesterday but I was not able to catch her. I called her today but I guess she's all to excited sharing the news of joy to her friends in town that she wasn't able to pick up her phone. I then had to pass my message through my other sister who sounded so happy too with the news.

We'll let her enjoy her moment for now and then ask her later what's the next step. We definitely wouldn't want her added in the list of unemployed :)

Congratulations Bok! We're all proud of you!

Here comes the rat

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:36:00 +0000

Everyone here is looking forward to the Chinese new year holidays starting middle of next week. As for us, we're taking our holidays earlier as in we're heading back home few hours from now. Baggages are ready and Jade's now sleeping with her travelling clothes on such that we'll just put on her thick jacket and carry her to the cab where she can continue to sleep. I'll be offline for few weeks so I thought of posting yet another holiday greeting in celebration of the lunar new year. According to Chinese astrology, 2008 is the year of the rat. But saying happy year of the rat seems so unlikely so to all, Happy Lunar New Year!

We had our year end company party last week and look what I got...

A TS1GPF710 Transcend T.photo 710 Digital Photo Frame. I gave it a first hand try on my desk when I got it on Wednesday. It's cute! It's still boxed until now and we'll explore it when we get back from vacation. Product features and specifications are as follows:

Features
-Bright 7 high-resolution widescreen color TFT LCD panel- Built-in stereo speakers and headphone jack- Supports USB flash drives and SD/SDHC/MMC/MS/CF memory cards- Fully compliant with Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and backwards compatible with USB 1.1- Direct USB connection to your PC for easy file transfer- Built-in 1GB memory works even without a memory card- Auto power on/off- Slideshow, thumbnail, still picture, and zoom-in viewing options- View photos with background music- Attractive Frame Themes to accent your pictures with- Important date/event reminder - Clock, alarm and calendar functions- Warranty period is two years, one-year screen warranty(Transcend will replace or repair screens with four or more dehective pixels).

Specifications:
-Size : 219mm x 156mm x 28mm (Stand excluded)-Op. Voltage : 5V DC 2A : -Op. Temperature : 0C(32F) to 70C(158F)-Music Formats : MP3, WMA, WAV (PCM,ADPCM)-Video Format : Motion-JPEG ( .avi / .mov ) ; Resolution : 15fps @ 320*240-Photo Formats : BMP (Max. 800x600), JPEG-baseline-Weight : 430g-Storage : 1GB NAND

Hubby and I are happy about it. But we're happier to know we can escape from the colder weather come holidays.

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall - a nice place to visit in Taipei

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:55:00 +0000

Don’t be surprised to know that our visit to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei two weekends ago is our first step on the place after almost three years of living in Taiwan. Sadly, our 1st year of stay here was devoted to work that sleeping late on weekends was of higher priority than going to places back then. Good thing, we were able to visit the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall two times before it has been renamed to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.

The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

Sky was vividly blue at that time

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is located at the middle of Taipei City and is accessible to tourist commuters, local or not, via MRT. From our place in Tamsui, we had to take the red line until the main MRT station in Taipei, transfer to the blue line and get out at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall station. We had around five minutes walk to get to the place. At first, we thought it was just the hall that was there, and then came a small garden on the side where Jade headed right away and took the grass path, instead of the side walk. To our surprise, the view of the Taipei 101 building was very vivid from the place and infront of the memorial hall was a wide playground and a huge water fountain. To us, the place provided a child-friendly environment that adults are tempted to be child-like seeing the kids running around here and there. More so, hubby figured that there were a number of people kite-flying to which he followed suit after we had a quick snack-picnic for Jade to have her late lunch meal.

Taipei 101 is clearly seen from the hall's ground

Which among the two is hubby's kite?

Dennis had to buy a ball for her because she appeared very envious of the kids around playing balls and bubbles. While her dad went kite-flying, Jade and I played on the grounds with her chasing her ball and me chasing her. She seemed so tireless and unmindful of the people around her not even caring if mom is following her or not. She would stare at people when she couldn’t run any further and look around for mommy. On the other side, hubby was enjoying his kite even if it fell down three times because of sudden change of wind strength and direction. He said he didn’t feel bad because all of the kites fell at the same time anyway.

Man-made lake park within the memorial hall's compound

This is where Jade saw the turtles and duck...

We exchanged roles of playing with Jade when the wind suppressed with the little girl enjoying every moment spent in the grounds. Later, we left the grounds and went around the place where she got the chance to see real turtles and a duck in the man-made like on one part of the hall’s park. With the sun about to set, we decided to leave the place exchanging ideas that we should go there more often on spring and summer.

Here are some of the hundred pictures we took. More of which can be found in this album.

Sun Yat-sen's statue

A statue that depicts a father telling stories to his children

That should be tea they're drinking...

Another statue depicting an elderly narrating to two children

The girl looks so interested in the man's story

A Chinese philosopher's statue around SYMH

Sorry, I can't figure out who he is...

The bridge that changes color at night...

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:09:00 +0000

It's actually the light on the bridge, not the bridge , that changes color starting at twilight.

I thought F4 fever is gone but I think I’m wrong. I thought of calling it "Meteor Garden mania residual". Three weeks ago, hubby told me two of his highschool classmates, a couple, informed him they were coming to Taipei only to watch an F4 concert. Surprisingly, the concert’s venue is right here in Tamsui. What luck it is that this group will reunite hubby with his highshool classmates! By the way, we never heard about it as it seems the group’s no longer in the limelight here. Hearing the news from hubby, I checked the web for information about this concert and google led me to one website that’s managed by F4 fans. I figured that the group is no longer called F4, they’re JVKV now. The Taipei concert is scheduled on Saturday early evening in the Fisherman’s Wharf while a fan/autograph signing day follows on Sunday somewhere in Taipei City. We thought we can bring the two, KC and Alexis, out first before the concert or maybe the day after but it appeared that they have been booked already. Thus we met them at the MRT station and decided to bring them to the concert place which is less than 10minutes bus ride away from the station.

On the way, we chit-chat and I was like, “did you really just come here for the concert?” And the answer I got is of course, yes, indeed! I asked how much the tickets cost and found out there was none because the concert was actually a free one! Free? Then does that really mean they’re no longer in? Hmmnnn… that did not come from me that was from one of them. We arrived at the place just after sunset and we saw the crowd already gathered and waiting for the group. We saw a group waving small Filipino flags. KC mentioned that one of them may be another Pinay she knew who came to the concert venue a lot earlier than us. She told us that the said Pinay fan and her friends went to the place in the morning. I am not sure if they also flew from Manila just to watch the concert. With time still available for quick exchange of stories, I figured out that Alexis came to like the F4 group through KC. They also went to Hongkong last year to watch the group’s performance and mind you, they watched the same concert, on the same venue, for three consecutive nights. Awww, these two are really fanatics.

The concert stage

F4 fans waiting

(I was not able to take a close shot of the fans waving small Philippine flags)

Jade curiously trying the "concert light" I bought for her

The concert was scheduled to start at 6PM so we left them earlier so they could find a good place. We strolled for a while then headed to the coffee shop nearby. Realizing we haven’t gone to the Wharf for a number of months, and no night shots yet, I left hubby and Jade in the shop while I went out to take some pictures. I found out that the bridge light alternately changes color. We were able to see it lit in blue and green. We peeked on the venue hoping to catch a glimpse of the F4 guys since we were already there but with no luck. We left the place before 7PM without seeing any of the F4 members. I guess the concert started late.

The so-called lover's bridge in blue
Twilight shot

This time light's changed to green

Boats at the wharf

(Noeds commented it looked like it's inVenice)

The wooden bridge at twilight

More photos can be found here.

On Tuesday, hubby received a message from the couple informing him they got back to Manila safely on Monday and was happy to have watched the concert. I’ll not be surprised to hear that the two will fly back again to Taipei for yet another F4 concert.

Chicken liver pate

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:23:00 +0000

We spent the weekend at home because of the impending rain on Saturday and the temperature drop on Sunday. That ended me up experimenting on two dishes, chicken liver pate and cucumber sushi. I did have plans to cook but these two are not on my list. I was supposed to try gambas ajillo or putanesca but obviously none of them was served in my kitchen. Coming up with the two dishes were both unplanned. On Saturday, I went to the market with Ate Rosie (my first Saturday at the market in my 3 years stay in Taipei) to buy a week’s supply of meat, fish and vegetables. Thinking of something new to grace my daughter’s palate, I thought chicken liver would be nice and healthy as well. I bought an “i-jin” (600gms) of it and planned to have it divided for several cookings. I realized though that the hubby does not eat liver but on the contrary, he loves liver spread and he eats igado (Filipino dish with pork liver). So, few pieces went into the pot, mixed with seasonings and resulted to liver adobo good for three servings but not necessarily in a single day. The uncooked ones were meant to be stored in the freezer. After lunch, I thought of searching the internet for any other liver recipes and found the chicken liver pate (with video shown in videojug) interesting. I told the hubby about it and with delight, he agreed that I try it. We checked the ingredients and it turned out that we’d need bacon rashers and sherry besides the seasonings we already have in the kitchen cabinet. No sherry was found in the grocery and the net showed that to come up with it, two different kinds of beverages need to be mixed. That being said, we opted to use red wine instead. And you know what, the liver turned out to be the cheapest ingredient of the liver pate. This made me realize why pates are costly back home; I’d rather buy the canned liver spread next time, lol. Anyway, the cooking process turned out to be not as simple as I thought; putting the cooked dish in our tiny blender resulted to some mess. The good thing is that we ended up with three servings of homemade chicken liver pate. Please see the complete “cooking story” that follows and give it a try if you’re interested. Of course I’d say you will love it!

The homemade chicken liver pate

Ingredients that I used (sorry, no exact measurements provided):
Chicken liver, cleaned and halved

Rashers bacon
Basil leaves (it should have been parsley but I didn’t have it)

Red wine (it should have been sherry)
Italian spices (I thought it would be nice to add these up)
Chopped garlic
Chopped onions
Butter, two portions (one for cooking and one for topping later)

Bay leaves (for toppings later)
Salt and pepper

My way of cooking it:
1. I melted the butter to have the portion for topping available right away. I used what’s left in the pan to fry the bacon with the onions and garlic added later.

2. I added the liver tossing it ocassionally. I gave it at 5~7minutes before putting the seasonings.

3. I added the Italian spices, sprinkled a dash of salt and pepper and stirred. I gave it 2~3minutes so the seasonings can “get through” the liver and bacon.
4. I added the red wine and left it to simmer for 10minutes. Occassional stirring still needed here. Of course, I tasted (and asked hubby to sample it as well) the sauce to make sure the seasonings are enough.
5. I added the basil leaves and give it another 2 minutes.

That’s it, it’s cooked! The next step is to blend dish. I’d say this is the part that takes most of my time preparing the pate. The dish had little sauce so I had to add a little amount of water otherwise the blender will not work. I know this is not supposed to be done, don’t do it then. Find other means, maybe you can add sherry or melted butter instead.

Finally, after having it blended, I set three small containers (this is advisable so you can open and consume one in a day or two), spread the blended dish and had it follow the mould of the containers. I put few bay leaves on top (for decoration purposes huh?) and topped it with the melted butter. That completed the chicken liver pate. The containers had to be placed in the fridge until the butter solidified.

The story ends with the family enjoying toasted loaves of bread topped with homemade chicken liver pate. Sunday’s experimental dish will follow in a separate post.

Credits: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-chicken-liver-pate - this was my main recipe reference. I altered it to suit availability of ingredients.
Note: Photos in this post are all taken by the blog author.

Fairytales don't always have happy endings...even if the books say so.

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:11:00 +0000

We all think that the "happy ever after" endings of the stories involving the fairytale beauties but I think something happened during the course of their marriages.

I just love this cartoon I grabbed from one of the forwarded email messages I received this week and thought of posting it here. And you think only us humans got marital problems? They do too! :)

TGIF it is! Let's all have a great weekend!

Strange-sounding, mouth-wathering recipe: ADOBASIT

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:12:00 +0000

Combination of pork and squid invading one of my teflon pots

You’re not a Pinoy if you don’t know and eat adobo! That’s my personal line and I don’t intend to insist. :) Adobo has always been a favorite in our home. The adobo can be anything like baboy (pork), manok (chicken), combination of baboy and manok (the first three can be with or without potatoes), pusit (squid), and sitaw (string beans). The adobong manok can also be varied from a combination of all body parts (except the internals), wings, drumsticks, breasts, and “adidas” (chicken feet). Back home, different provinces have their own ways of coming out with adobos, others prefer dry while others with sauce to mix with the rice later. For me, if I cook adobo, I always include all, if not most, of the following basic ingredients: onions, garlic, ground or whole pepper, bay leaves, soy sauce, vinegar (or calamansi extract), salt and sugar. At times, I add ginger to adobong manok and oyster sauce to adobong pusit. In one of my favorite restaurants (part of Iggy’s Inn or Iggy’s Place) in Baguio, the special adobo served is a combination of lechon baboy and chicken. That didn’t sound strange at all to me.

Recently, I was exchanging comments with my multiply friends when I posted our Christmas celebration with seafoods mainly served. Noeds, also a high school friend back in SJHS, asked Sharon and I if we ever tried cooking adobong baboy and pusit, not separately but combined. Both our answers are “no” followed by same reaction and question of “Really, is there such thing, sounds strange to us! Can you share your recipe?” Noeds in turn told us she just cooks it like the regular adobong baboy and add the pusit. The tastes match, she said. She also mentioned about using something like the pork cubes. I told her I’d like to try. I mentioned it to hubby and he was interested. I told him I couldn’t imagine the taste and he said it should be fine.

Last Sunday, I had no other plans for dinner except for that much awaited adobong baboy and pusit which I simple call ADOBASIT. Sounds like a combination yet contradiction of the Ilocano terms “adu” (many or plenty) and “bassit” (small or not much). As I mentioned in my earlier posts about recipes, I really don’t have an exact recipe. As long as you know how to cook adobo, you’d know how to come up with this. What I did was to cook the adobong baboy first then when the pork meat was already tender, I added up the squid noting that when the later gets overcooked, the meat will harden. I gave the combination less than ten minutes to simmer and tada, dish was readied for dinner. The combination came in just fine. I’d say, the taste of the pusit dominated that of the baboy but was still ok. This is one dish that will get through my kitchen not just once or twice but often.

Don't you think they make a good pair?

You may have to think twice and give it a try!

Thanks to Noeds for sharing this authentic dish!

The siopao that will change your lifestyle...

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:57:00 +0000

We used to simply pass by a store where we noticed many people queued on the ordering counter while others waited for their numbers to be called. To us, it’s just like the long line in Mister Donuts and Dunkin Donuts which we find quite strange and we didn’t want to wait that long to get donuts as we find nothing really special on them. On other occassions, we notice that the line is short but unsure of what the store sells, how to order and what to order, we just head to the nearby coffeeshop. On one Wednesday night however, after bringing Jade to the clinic for one of her vaccine shots, we had to find a place to eat our dinner. Seeing food stalls on the other side of the road, we crossed and noticed that there’s no line in the store. We got the chance to look at the goods they sell and figured out they sell siopaos, colorful and variety of them. Looking at the store’s name, it showed “Mr. Baoz”. There are product portfolios at the counter and we eagerly grabbed them to check the list. To our delight, the prices were also listed and it turned out that one siopao costs around 25~30NTD, price for one donut. There are packages for a single piece, 3pieces, 6pieces and 12pieces. Excited yet quite wary of the taste, we opted to get a package of six.

It's actually the box which says "This food will change your lifestyle."

I bet it will. BTW, bao (or pao) means steamed bun.

While waiting for our order in the noodle house where we settled for dinner, I grabbed one which turned out to be topped with some sweet creamy paste and stuffed with black beans (or was it actually sesame seeds). Upon seeing me bring out the siopao from the box, Jade kept on exclaiming “Eat! Eat! Eat!” I took the first bite which right away made me learn why people queued for it. I gave Jade her share followed by succeeding bits and pieces of the “dough”, stuffing and topping. Dennis was the last to have a bite and was almost tempted to get another one. He was able to control himself and waited for the noodles instead. When we reached home, we left 3pcs for our friends while we brought two for our packed breakfast. The next day, Dennis and I exchanged phone calls at work to describe how our shares tasted. Mine was better I think; I chose the chicken while he had the curry flavor. More to that, our friend said they really liked it. They had the strawberry, squid roll (w/ wasabe) and steak flavors. We thought that we should have bought a dozen instead of just six.

This package of six is called Jewelry Box

Single piece: Dear Me

12pcs: Choose from Forest Box, Royal Sharing Box and Champion Box

For our New Year celebration, we planned to buy a box of 12 so our other friends can have a taste of it but didn’t get any chance to go to the nearest store in Shipai, around 5minutes walk away from the MRT. It remained a plan thus making us crave for several weeks until hubby got the chance to go to Taipei. I asked him to drop by the store on his way home and get us a box of 12. Later in the afternoon, he called me to say that he only had 200NTD in his wallet and there was no ATM machine he can withdraw from. That meant he can only buy 3pcs as he still needs some amount for his fare but at least we can satisfy our craving. When he arrived, I was surprised to see him carrying a box of 6pcs, just like what we bought for the 1st time. I asked how come. He said his MRT/bus card is still loaded. Without worrying of not having extra amount and thinking of the “trouble” he had to go through to get to the store, he better had a full box of six than only three. Good decision he made! We ate three pieces that night, not for dinner but for our evening snack. We brought two again for breakfast the next day while he consumed the last piece for dinner.

Bao pictures collected from the store's website

The first five are part of the Jewelry Box and we tasted all of them.

The sixth one, is something I look forward to eat

We will definitely try other flavors if we get the chance to go to Shipai. I want to try the ones stuffed with icing or ice cream and topped with chocolate flakes.

Pictures speak louder than words...

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:03:00 +0000

My first post for year 2008! It's not that I forgot publishing in Page 101 but I've been busy and overwhelmed uploading hundreds of photos in my multiply album, most of which are set to be viewable only by people in my network. I may need to set a time to filter the pictures suitable for posting here and will have to find the words to draw the emotions that came along with those pictures.

Anyway, after Christmas, we had a busy weekend - a year ender family getaway in an indoor hotspring (more of a bath house) in one of the oldest hotels (1950 built) in Yangmingshan followed by a fun-filled cold Sunday in the grounds of Taipei Municipal Children's Recreation Center. We had a happy New Year celebration, hubby and I waited for the countdown on the TV while Jade went to sleep and didn't want to be awaken. We celebrated New Year's daywith friends and colleagues at home, we served lunch this time. First weekends of January were spend outdoors - mainly meant for Jade to enjoy. Full stories to follow soon. Just to let you know that I'm still around :) Here are some of the pictures, insignificant number compared to the collection :)

The family enjoying the warm soak on a cold Saturday night,

last Saturday of year 2007

Dynamic Jade enjoying the grasses on a cold Sunday afternoon,

last Sunday of year 2007

Cheers to Year 2008

The family celebrating with friends on New Year's Day

(Jade had her first taste of red wine, just a single drop)

Another family outing on a cold Saturday,

1st Saturday of 2008

(Mini-San Francisco Bridge on the background ???)

Jade displaying her independence by taking the slide by herself,

1st Sunday of 2008

Let's all welcome a new start!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 04:34:00 +0000

HaPpY nEw YeAr to all!

May this new year give us all a new start.
May we have more blessings to receive and more blessings to share.
May we have good health always.
Cheers to 2008!

The Christmas that was...

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 02:49:00 +0000

Ours was just a simple one. With the 25th treated as a typical day here in Taiwan, we opted to have early Christmas celebration during the weekend. Since Sunday was planned to be celebrated with Ate Rosie and friends, we invited our colleagues and friends to our humble home on Saturday and the theme was seafoods for dinner. Earlier on Saturday, I went out with 'te Rosie and hubby to the seafood market in Taoyuan leaving hubby and Jade home so the little girl can take her nap.I set dinner to start at 7pm so when we reached home by 3pm, I started to work on the kitchen few minutes after we arrived from the market.Dishes prepared includes adobong pusit, buttered shrimps,clams, crab feet (cracked before cooking), seaweed salad and stir-fried pork.While I was cooking, Dennis and Jade went to KFC to buy 2 buckets of chicken.

As the guests started to arrive, fish and squid balls with spiced vinegar for dipping were served with the help of a friend.Our friends enjoyed the meal except for the crab feet which entailed one to eat barehanded to savour it. The guys were teasing one of them when he started to "agkammet" (used barehand to eat) because his index finger was "nakapilantik" (lifted and directed upwards) but he didn't mind and continued to savor his plate with matching slurping sounds. The meal was followed by some rice cake sweets from the night market and more of the fish and squid balls. The dinner ended with the group watching the "Pirates of the Carribean" (don't know if it was part 1 or 2) where most of them sat on the floor because of the limited space.

The next day, we went to Juvel's place for late lunch while the rest of the day was spent at Ate Rosie's place where we had our dinner. They prepared the usual macaroni salad and spaghetti that's why I didn't cook these two anymore. I brought down the leftovers plus my simple "pinakbet" from Saturday which our "manangs" consumed with delight. Watching ate prepare one of the dishes taught me another new delicacy for me to try in the future.

On the 24th, we fetched Jade after work to attend the early Christmas eve mass which started at 7pm. After the mass, we headed home right away and dropped by ate's place to get some food servings for our noche buena, if we can call it that. After our meal, we unwrapped the rest of Jade's gifts as some were already unwrapped earlier during the Christmas party we attended a week earlier. She was all smiles when she saw Barbie though she was actually the one who chose it when mom and dad were doing the shopping. We watched DVD (Biohazard 1, Resident Evil) after that and to our delight, Jade didn't make any attempt of pulling us back to the bedroom so we were able to finish the movie.

On the 25th, we were at work as usual but after office, we went to KFC and had Jade enjoy the playpen slide her own.

We called our families already during the weekend as we expected that it would be difficult to get into the line on the 24th and 25th. It would have been a different Christmas if we were home celebrating with the bigger family yet we had to make do with what we have and where we are. Eventually, Christmas celebration 2007 was fine.