The gang went to this backyard carenderia after our swimming session last night. We ordered calamares, baked scallops, adobong pusit, tuna belly and crispy pata. After our first round of rice, we agreed to order another crispy pata.. we just couldn’t get enough of the crunchy skin and succulent red meat. Cebu has a lot of cheap places to eat that serve unusually delicious Filipino fare and Kusina ni Kuya J is one of those places. No, it tops the list. It’s my new favorite and I love the fact that I can eat with my hands. Hahaha! Little miss piglet, me.

After we filled our hungry tummies to content, we split the tab and call it a night. But we didn’t go home straight away. Vet took Jude and me to Tableya where to Vet’s slight annoyance, the place was crowded with college folks and an amateur band was playing.. but it didn’t turn us away. We picked a table farthest from the noisemakers and proceeded to raise our voice above the din. I didn’t get to request for a song though… I planned to but my bashfulness got the better of me.

Oh, the swimming skill… I am now able to get over the initial fear of deep waters. I have not brought the kickboard con floater to the pool for the last 3 sessions. Jude got me a goggle and a nose clip so am now able to glide across half of the pool width without water taking over my nasal cavity. In a nutshell, am progressing nicely even without an instructor.

Back to Tableya: we had chocolate ice cream mixed with chocolate milk, a shot of vodka and topped with shavings of local cocoa tablet or tableya — what could be a better nightcap than that?

I will long for you and the many schemes I hatched while I sat in your loving (sunny, windy, blustery - depending on the general weather condition of the day) metal and glass beams.

10 years from now and I will still think of the day I thought how easy the world lay open for me to conquer — like a meek doe in the water hole. One’s perception is greatly affected by one’s coordinates.

I will miss the harbor and the great longing that I feel whenever I see the moored ships, the leaving vessels and the shooting jet planes.

I will miss the stirring breeze that forced itself on my cheeks and hair.

I will miss the sun and…

will you miss me too?

the little girl whose tears you dried, whose obtrusive laughter you muffled from the ears of the world.

Una cut her hand while playing with a pair of scissors five minutes ago. You might ask what are you thinking letting her play with scissors. I was busy being lazy – reading emails and finding more information about this country and that. Yeah, in my absolute lameness, I put on a Barney disc – the Muslim edition (Tem taught me this), that has 8 episodes in a disc. That means more than 5 hours of constant amusement. Oh, I do love that green and purple dinosaur.

She didn’t cry one bit. She was surprised to see the red oozing blood and asked: what’s this? You cut yourself. Go wash your hands. I think she felt it sting a little.

I asked her if it was painful and she said no. So I just advised her to keep from touching it and getting her fingers soiled.

I advise Barney and scissors to all mothers out there. Am getting the plastic ones today, though… and some colored papers.

Inside Outside – Herman Wouke
The French Lieutenant’s Woman – John Fowles
Gulag Archipelago –
Women in Love – DH Lawrence
Madame Bovary – Flaubert
Inferno – Dante
A room with a view —
The animal farm – Orwell
King Rat – Clavel
Notes from Underground – Dostoevsky
20 love poems and a song of despair – Pablo Neruda
Vanity Fair
Capitalism: Unknown Ideal – Ayn Rand
Orange Girl – Gaarder
Sophie’s World – Gaarder
Vita Brevis – Gaarder
Marjorie Morningstar – Wouke
The world according to Garp – Irving
Sons and Lovers – Lawrence
Harry Potter 1 to 6 - JK Rowling

Asian Cookbook
Chocolates — desserts and drinks
American Cookbook

The current book I carry in my giant bag right now, DECAMERON by Boccacio.

To bide my time, as I wait to land on a decent job (some job that will allow me to pay for the mortgage, milk and diapers and the nanny), I write articles about places I have never been to: Hanoi, Istanbul, Prague, Cuba, Maine and other backpackers’ target destination. And since am as ignorant as a country mouse thrust into the big city, I rely on the web for my information.

Here are the top 10 destinations that I hope to visit someday:
1. Istanbul — to reconnect with Alexander the Great
2. Maine — I’ve read a lot about this place from blogs and Diane Ackerman
3. HongKong — for the obvious reason: shopping!
4. Venizia — remind me to bring a Romanticist along
5. Prague — my boss talked a lot of this city
6. Tibet — and pay homage to the monks
7. Dapitan — to swing on hammocks under giant balite trees with a lover
8. London — so I can bloody test my English listening comprehension skill
9. Amsterdam — and pick tulips
10. Dubai — and stay in that man-made Palm Island

I am enjoying this a lot… so much to the point that I have written only very little lines and have spent most of my time reading and imagining.

Got to get back to that Photoshop and Word.