Jasmineours

Jolo

2018-11-20T11:17:00.001+08:00

My memories of Jolo are crystal clear as the waters surrounding its coastline. It is where I had my growing up years. I remember long stretches of white sand, the sounds of sea waves lapping and the cool breezes that brought with it the smells of my childhood, the salted fish left to dry in rows and that peculiar smell of the king of fruits, the durian. Jolo was a coastal haven where the masjids and the churches co-existed and thrived beautifully.

The tricycle was the major mode of transport. It seated you comfortably as well as graced you with stories from its driver. I remember the squeals and laughter when we rode the tricycle that brought us to Sincere Trading where we were treated with M&Ms and comics at Joe’s Bookstore.

I remember how young and vibrant my parents were, how green the surroundings were and how lazy the afternoons were as people went on their siestas. My siblings and I were schooled in what was considered the best schools in town, the Notre Dame of Jolo Elementary School then the Notre Dame High School. Here, we were taught the basic tenets of loyalty and truthfulness, industry, patience and love of community.

Memories of classmates, teachers and the nuns and priests are forever etched in our memories. In the aftermath of the 1974 conflict, most of us have found abodes in other places. Our lives have changed, we’ve lost communications but thankfully reconnected with the leadership and the enthusiastic support of the ‘boys and girls’ of NDJHS CLASS of 1974. May we live long enough to savor the friendships and belongingness grown from a common bond, our love of our hometown, Jolo and our school, Notre Dame of Jolo.

Teachers

2018-11-17T03:46:00.003+08:00

Near the door of the room where I hold my classes there is a poster (not my making - it was a product of a reading project launched in school) which reads "If you can read this, then thank your teacher". It does not seek for approval or attention for the reading teachers nor an aggrandizement of some sort. It was just posted alongside other quotable quotes for the sake of the reading project. Nonetheless, it became a reminder for me, a teacher who was taught.

I am lucky to have had good teachers while in school. The ones that had influenced my thinking and my personality were the ones who made me laugh because of their great sense of humour, their booming voices and flair for drama.

I remember Mrs Lu, maths teacher in secondary school, who reduced us to tears and laughter with her surprise quizzes but brought us out from our phlegmatic number-hating selves. We knew we had one of her surprises when she came in and commanded us in her very loud voice - "SPREAD OUT", meaning space out your seats. Then, there would be the deafening dragging and pushing of chairs for a few seconds.

At the same school, in senior year, we had Mrs Paulate, the bespectaled schoolmarm who was soft spoken but very vocal and intent on perfecting everyone's writing skills. She was from the old school, disciplinarian and very autocratic. In post writing sessions, she would delve on the exact reason why we wrote a particular thought or idea, unmasking us all, and almost always there would be a funny confession or a struggle for language then a quick funny rejoinder from her.

So, when you find yourself wondering how you started reading or writing or multiplying those two digit numbers, enjoying learning, then you have got to thank your teachers - really - seriously. Thank you, Mrs Lu and Miss Paulate.

tidbits in my diary

2009-12-22T12:16:00.007+08:00

I did some cleaning up of My Documents and I got a glimpse of my life just a few months back.

16 June 2009
Repainted the wall under the sink then washed all the pots, pans, containers…I threw away redundant things…

Was a bit hyper today.
Cleaned my Furla bag.
Took out outdated things from my wallet.

$ 30… for fish, long beans, drinks (Utama)
$ 7 for rabbit food
$ 1.20 for bread (Fun Bread)

17 June 2009
Cleaned out Meeza’s closet.

18 June 2009
Threw out more clutter.
Tried to save some sentimental things.
Saved the tin containers (tiffin?) in case someone gets into the hospital.

Lunch was chicken curry; eggplants with chilli

$1 for newspaper

19 June 2009
Checked Meeza’s school uniforms.
Finally wore my one of two newest VS.

$25 fish, vegetables
$ 1 newspaper

Lunch – sweet sour kurapu fish
yam with coconut
chicken adobo

20 June 2009
Bought a mug for Dad’s day and a card for Meeza to sign.
Lunch at Delifrance; dinner at the Stadium Restaurant ... best ever creme brule (sp?).
High tea at Aneka Rasa

22 June 2009
The start of the 2nd half of the school holiday.
Did Unit 14 for Year 1.
Anxious to finish a lot of lesson plans this week.

subconsciously speaking

2009-12-06T10:53:00.006+08:00

MacGyver ::

TV show years ago

Garter ::

elastic

Wedge ::

shoe or a divide

Inches ::

ruler

Code ::

Da Vinci

Water ::

bath

Running ::

race

Curly ::

frizzy

Turkey ::

roasted

Stupor ::

drunk

For more of Unconscious Mutterings go to http://subliminal.lunanina.com.

a remembrance

2009-10-19T22:09:00.003+08:00

To us, he was just Bapa.

Cielo aka Minggay

2009-08-21T15:09:00.006+08:00

I named her 'Cielo' meaning sky, maybe heaven. She is a darling of a pet. She is Meeza's sweetheart. Finally, Meeza has a cat she can call her own. Then, out of the blue, somebody called her 'Minggay' and the name stuck. Out goes 'Cielo'. So ... Minggay it is. I just have to wince in pain at that name.

reptilian surprise

2009-05-09T17:20:00.004+08:00

We spent time watching this tiny reptile among the rounded shrubs in front of our porch in Mata-Mata. Whether it came out of its hideaway safely, we are not sure. It was nowhere to be seen again.

meet me halfway...bridges2

2009-04-05T11:49:00.010+08:00

There's something about bridge walking that thugs at my heart. It inspires thoughts of life and love as people walk together or alone.

One such walk happened yesterday when in a symbolic gesture of bridge walking, France rejoined NATO. We could walk on bridges more and have more of this kind of peacemaking gestures all over the world.

Flora Purim sang, "There are bridges made of love". It sounds cliched but we've been building steel bridges; why don't we build more of those love bridges to walk on.

photos by deviantArt

an affair to remember

2009-02-21T18:52:00.004+08:00

Does this ever happen in real life? I really love this scene. I've laughed at movie dramas partly because it was a way of disconnecting myself from the sadness. Also, I am biased towards comedies and wit and sarcasm. But this one is different...it is sacred cow...no one ever laughs at this.

water onslaught

2009-02-06T12:49:00.008+08:00

This was one of our favourites when we were growing up - Gladys Knight and the Pips singing "Neither one of us". It sort of exemplified our teenage angst, "cry me a river" kind of emotional pining.
The current weather is so gloomy that it has given us an excuse to mope. The rains are falling and the sun has not fully peeked through for two weeks(?)now. I could go on and on listening to "I always get caught in the rain" by Dionne Warwick, "Wind beneath my wings" by Bette, etc. Meanwhile I can hear the tortured "eewwws" dotting the background.

85 the new 55

2009-01-30T06:42:00.008+08:00

Ever heard of shifting retirement ages? It is likely to happen now that the global economic recession is officially declared. I and colleagues in the workplace are wondering whether our retirement will come close to 60 or will it stretch to the 90's. LOL...we are going to see us wobbling with our laptops and our walking sticks as well. The proverbial nest eggs are shrinking and the prospects of Riviera style holidays are fast fading. Well meaning people are asking us to plan resources to get us to age 100...and prepare to work until 98??

Photo by Flickr

breaking barriers

2009-01-11T06:38:00.002+08:00

yzma, catwoman, eartha

2008-12-28T09:26:00.005+08:00

Eartha Kitt had been always my favourite gal. She was one of those who defied conventions. Also, talent oozed from her. Remember the Batman on TV we used to watch? Catwoman was Eartha Kitt. Years later, she was Yzma (her voice), the villainess in The Emperor's New Groove. I laughed at this:

Yzma: Tell us where the talking llama is and we'll burn your house to the ground.
Kronk: Don't you mean "or"?
Yzma: [sighs] Tell us where the talking llama is *or* we'll burn your house to the ground.
Chaca: Well, which one is it? That seems like a pretty crucial conjunction.

I agreed with this review of her: "Yzma was Eartha Kitt and Eartha Kitt was Yzma".

She died last Christmas Day and I am going to miss that "voice", sultry, wicked and witchy.

bag lady and stilletos

2008-12-15T18:49:00.005+08:00

Writing about stilletos surely would bring out a google ad on Sex and the City...and the Sarah Jessica Parker bag lady comment. She, as Carrie Bradshaw said "I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!"

photo by: flickr

one stilleto at a time

2008-12-14T09:40:00.004+08:00

This is reality stuff - women earn less than men over their lifetimes and live longer. They are more likely to spend their golden years in poverty. Take a glance around and you know what I mean. Of course, we don't see bag ladies (homeless women who carry their belongings in shopping bags) in Brunei but we see some reduction in quality of life when a woman is widowed or divorced. It is a lesson to learn.

Women need to learn as early as possible that real life has no prince valiants to save them from poverty. Women should know the basics: spend less than you earn; pay yourself first. Know the virtues of an emergency fund; don't be debt-ridden; use your credit cards responsibly; have a moratorium on clothes-buying now and then and of course, as they say, "one stilleto at a time". Then, perhaps we will never worry about being bag ladies.

photo by: flickr

have i told you

2008-12-12T07:54:00.002+08:00

Sing this at your own risk :-)

2008-12-10T08:10:00.003+08:00

This is the scene at Bukit Bintang...drums and cymbals play in tune with the shoppers' gaits.

crossroads 2

2008-12-04T17:10:00.004+08:00

In response to queries about why I painted my blog red - It is all so conscious, because red just reminds me of Christmas just as green signifies Hari Raya. It is not a subconscious signalling for a present (a red lipstick? no..no), a need for passion, nor does it mean anger or a flag for a sort of warning. Maybe, it was a desire for some colour in my otherwise wifey/mummy/grandmummy existence...

Then, today, I had a haircut - the sort that is drastic and naughty and nice. Sort of Conia-ish. And Meeza says, "you look great". Maybe, I don't need to see red anymore - and uhm...be at peace with the world again.

say cheese

2008-11-28T15:24:00.008+08:00

Christmas like Hari Raya has symbols that announce its coming. One of them is the Queso De Bola.

photo by flickr

chocomania

2008-11-22T19:38:00.010+08:00

My predilection for chocolates dated back when I was a pre-schooler who understood the sins that go with it. One instance, upon waking up, I could feel the gooey lumps of unrecognizable Kisses that have tangled with my hair. Invariably, I ate chocolates even in my sleep.

Years later, friends in the States generously sent us Mary Sees chocolates together with Guccis and L'air Du Temps and silver trays from Macy's. Then, in Mecca and Medina we held our breaths when the scrumptious Patchis were weighed at the scales. At Harrod's we lingered on and on at the Chocolate Room and promised to hoard the bought goodies at home.

It's no wonder that my no-longer-secret of a wishlist include one of the most expensive chocolates in the world. These are the "G" chocolates from Godiva and cost 120 Pounds per lb. Like the other items in my wishlist, this is virtually a wish that remains a wish..lol.

speechless

2008-11-20T17:20:00.002+08:00

SMS sent back and forth today -

Hubby: I got hole in 1 at hole no 2
Me : Wow
Hubby: Tq n love u 2
Me : Wow
Hubby: Tq again n love u more

khawuleza mama

2008-11-19T17:04:00.009+08:00

Sure, we know Hakuna Matata and can even sing it. Hakuna Matata is something African and lovely and inspiring.

Recently, we heard about the death of Miriam Makeba. She was an African woman who sang out the ugliness of apartheid. Why was it that we did not know her? As people basked in the Obama story and after reading "Dreams From My Father", anything African is an eye-opener for me. It is never too late to discover Miriam Makeba and see right through her soul.

we love America again!

2008-11-06T19:47:00.004+08:00

American politics took a grip on us again. We are a lot happier now, though. In 2000 we asked Why? when Gore lost. It was so agonizing, that we totally ignored the TV in 2004.

remembering

2008-11-01T18:51:00.005+08:00

Those days before the onset of lactose intolerance and when ice-cream was not a once-in-a-while treat but childhood staple were the most memorable. The sorbetero was a welcome sight. Our mothers called it the dirty ice-cream. Thanks to flickr, one can easily indulge in nostalgia.

photo by flickr

dreaming

2008-10-28T19:10:00.004+08:00

These are pictures of my dream house, a multi-storey Asian-inspired adobe. The article which featured this house says that it is within a cul-de-sac park. I don't know what it means, but, it sure sounds lovely being in a cul-de-sac of a park. If by luck, I had a chance to have a second home, I'd love to live on this one. It's a charmer!