So I started this all girls book club with my friends last fall while listening to a jazz band at Washington monument mall. I have been concocting this idea of a monthly get together with my newly found friends and just talk anything under sun but most of all about books we read while sipping our favorite wine or coffee. Finally, we launched it last October by reading the book Left to Tell. Just tonight , we feel so productive after coming up with a complete reading list for the entire year. I guess we chose a good selection of books that would warm our hearts and hypothalamus for the next months!
One thing I am happy about tonight too is that two of the books I suggested was chosen. The Heart of Darfur is a story or a New Zealander nurse whose works in Africa is a witness of the dignity of suffering and pain. I am sure this can help me realize again that in our weaknesses we are strong. Another book is Called out of Darkness, an autobiography of Anne Rice, the famous writer of Interview with the Vampire. How daring is this woman to share her intimate spiritual experience!
Likewise, I am equally excited to read the books my friends put in the list and happy to be back on reading again. It has been my consoling hobby ever since I can remember. Who else could introduce me to this friend but my own mother? Gossh this might end up to a nostalgic walk down memory lane again. I just miss my Mamang. I grew up not finding anything that can connect me to her except love for books. During my high school years, my mother had post-menopausal struggles while I was discovering myself as a teenager. That was truly a disastrous mix for a daughter and mother team but what made us talked like civilized people were books and reader’s digest magazines. Books was this magical glue that bonded us and has been the fabric that created our tapestry of memories.
The book club I started is I guess my way of living her memory. Whew I just realized that while finishing this entry . Hmmm… better say Good night now before a flood of grief overflows!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
girl, woman , female :-)
“Man, you’re such a girl!”
It’s been ancient years since i heard that remark about me. Surrounded by so many male cousins who either have one or two sisters, my quirks were always very revolutionary to them. Under the summer heat , while in the midst of riding carabaos with them or playing hide and seek, they always gaped at how I can’t be as smelly as they get, or why I see more of the little bugs around and giggled at the sight of a humungous pretty butterfly. If I would volunteer to organize our playdates, fixing food so we can have something to eat, making interesting conversations and thinking of mischief things on a full moon night,for them I am being normal. But when i try to be less violent in our games and remind them to be kind to other kids, well, I am just being a girl.
After high school, I had more girlfriends than boyfriends. Over coffee, we would discuss anything under the sun and they were such a loyal companions if i need someone on a "pautwas" night. Make-ups, beer and snorkeling are related under our own lingo. Shopping became a therapeutic addiction even it means getting it in a flea market we called "Magarbo". We cried, prayed and celebrated each others ups and downs. Whew, to say i miss them is such an understatement.
Now, I just heard that comment again. "Man, you’re such a girl". And yes, I am really a girl, a woman , a female!
And that was uttered by my beloved husband who has a mother and a sister. I guess men can never ever understand how a female specie’s brain works even when he lives with them forever. And for a girl like me who is so comfortable being one, I can never understand why manly men are sometimes just want to sit around eating red meat and talking about macho topics I can never hope to comprehend like football, imported beers and x-box. I am always aghast everytime my husband buy things he needs in just a second without looking for other options in the shelves or why he can’t focus on what I am saying when he is driving or why he can’t see spider webs in our bathroom. Because they are like that, I always reserve my date for a syrupy romantic movies and my timeless quest for that most coveted shoes with my girlfriends so as not to torture my good husband.
These blatant differences in male and female are actually making our life less of a banal existence. I will never ever buy that ageless mantra of so called feminist movement that honks for equality of man and woman in all aspects of society. They are already equal in dignity but equality doesn’t mean they have to have same roles and functions. Men are born hunter and we women are born nurturer. One is not superior to the other and one can’t exist without the other.
Anyways, below are just few of idiosyncrasies of female species that never fully understood by men but which i think we need to explain the whys behind it. I got it from my favorite author Becca D. For all girlie girls out there, have fun reading!
“You always carry, like, the whole world around in your purse.”This is actually an incredibly shrewd precautionary tactic. For all you intrepid Eagle Scouts out there, it’s pretty much the same concept as “Be prepared”… only packaged in a really cute designer hand bag. It may weigh ten pounds, but I know I’m equipped for anything the night might throw at me: photo ops, cardiac arrests, international travel, or just a midnight snack. You tease me for it, but just try to count all the times you’ve asked me if you can borrow a pen.
“You always travel to the bathroom in flocks!” Walk into any ladies’ restroom on a weekend night and you’ll find a level of cutthroat analysis and strategic plotting roughly equivalent to a Soviet-era war council. This is where the real deals are cut, as the essentials of who’s in a crisis, who’s trying to push a certain agenda, and who needs back-up are hammered out in rapid-fire succession. When a group of girls suddenly returns to the table after having disappeared for 15 or 20 minutes, rest assured: your every word, gesture, and choice of entrée has been ruthlessly deconstructed, the remainder of the evening has been meticulously orchestrated…and we even had time to reapply our makeup.
“You spend way too much time getting ready.” This is merely a trivial side effect of one of our most priceless talents: attention to detail. For any minor inconveniences, it’s this innate instinct that makes us such good decorators, organizers, listeners, cooks, and gift-givers. Stop to consider: without it, we might make it to the movie theater 10 minutes earlier…but the trade-off would be nebulous Friday night plans, boring Christmas presents, and a lifetime of undercooked macaroni-and-cheese birthday dinners. We take longer on the things we care about, because we want to make sure they’re just right…for you. So don’t criticize us, thank us - when we finally appear, we’ll make it worth your wait.
“That’s such a girlie drink” From what I can ascertain, “girlie” in this case actually means “something that does not taste like a mixture of sour milk and gasoline.” While I am admittedly partial to drinks that are elegant-looking and not horrifically painful to consume, I consider this to be less scruple than common sense. Why would I drink something that smells awful and tastes three times worse when I can have a cocktail that I actually enjoy? In my opinion, the ability to drink something horrible without flinching doesn’t suggest lion-hearted bravery…just a lack of functioning taste buds. Want to prove to me you’re courageous? Sign up to be a volunteer firefighter or agree to show your face at a swing-dancing night. Then I’ll really be impressed… and I might even let you buy me a daiquiri.
“You have absolutely no sense of direction.” Completely and totally guilty as charged. I can’t tell the North Pole from the Equator, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Then again, this is one among many reasons that I’m so thankful God put men on the Earth. I may laugh at your quirks (such as that internal compass which prompts you to tell me “head due Northwest” in the middle of a major city), but I can’t help but appreciate the countless positive contributions you make to my life. Ensuring I actually make it from point A to point B is definitely one of them.
“You run (throw/scream/walk/dance) like a girl!” My personal favorite, just because of the obviousness of the statement. Yes, thank you for noticing - I am. But then again… aren’t you glad?
Oh Boy, I can never ever disagree! (a big LOL!)
It’s been ancient years since i heard that remark about me. Surrounded by so many male cousins who either have one or two sisters, my quirks were always very revolutionary to them. Under the summer heat , while in the midst of riding carabaos with them or playing hide and seek, they always gaped at how I can’t be as smelly as they get, or why I see more of the little bugs around and giggled at the sight of a humungous pretty butterfly. If I would volunteer to organize our playdates, fixing food so we can have something to eat, making interesting conversations and thinking of mischief things on a full moon night,for them I am being normal. But when i try to be less violent in our games and remind them to be kind to other kids, well, I am just being a girl.
After high school, I had more girlfriends than boyfriends. Over coffee, we would discuss anything under the sun and they were such a loyal companions if i need someone on a "pautwas" night. Make-ups, beer and snorkeling are related under our own lingo. Shopping became a therapeutic addiction even it means getting it in a flea market we called "Magarbo". We cried, prayed and celebrated each others ups and downs. Whew, to say i miss them is such an understatement.
Now, I just heard that comment again. "Man, you’re such a girl". And yes, I am really a girl, a woman , a female!
And that was uttered by my beloved husband who has a mother and a sister. I guess men can never ever understand how a female specie’s brain works even when he lives with them forever. And for a girl like me who is so comfortable being one, I can never understand why manly men are sometimes just want to sit around eating red meat and talking about macho topics I can never hope to comprehend like football, imported beers and x-box. I am always aghast everytime my husband buy things he needs in just a second without looking for other options in the shelves or why he can’t focus on what I am saying when he is driving or why he can’t see spider webs in our bathroom. Because they are like that, I always reserve my date for a syrupy romantic movies and my timeless quest for that most coveted shoes with my girlfriends so as not to torture my good husband.
These blatant differences in male and female are actually making our life less of a banal existence. I will never ever buy that ageless mantra of so called feminist movement that honks for equality of man and woman in all aspects of society. They are already equal in dignity but equality doesn’t mean they have to have same roles and functions. Men are born hunter and we women are born nurturer. One is not superior to the other and one can’t exist without the other.
Anyways, below are just few of idiosyncrasies of female species that never fully understood by men but which i think we need to explain the whys behind it. I got it from my favorite author Becca D. For all girlie girls out there, have fun reading!
“You always carry, like, the whole world around in your purse.”This is actually an incredibly shrewd precautionary tactic. For all you intrepid Eagle Scouts out there, it’s pretty much the same concept as “Be prepared”… only packaged in a really cute designer hand bag. It may weigh ten pounds, but I know I’m equipped for anything the night might throw at me: photo ops, cardiac arrests, international travel, or just a midnight snack. You tease me for it, but just try to count all the times you’ve asked me if you can borrow a pen.
“You always travel to the bathroom in flocks!” Walk into any ladies’ restroom on a weekend night and you’ll find a level of cutthroat analysis and strategic plotting roughly equivalent to a Soviet-era war council. This is where the real deals are cut, as the essentials of who’s in a crisis, who’s trying to push a certain agenda, and who needs back-up are hammered out in rapid-fire succession. When a group of girls suddenly returns to the table after having disappeared for 15 or 20 minutes, rest assured: your every word, gesture, and choice of entrée has been ruthlessly deconstructed, the remainder of the evening has been meticulously orchestrated…and we even had time to reapply our makeup.
“You spend way too much time getting ready.” This is merely a trivial side effect of one of our most priceless talents: attention to detail. For any minor inconveniences, it’s this innate instinct that makes us such good decorators, organizers, listeners, cooks, and gift-givers. Stop to consider: without it, we might make it to the movie theater 10 minutes earlier…but the trade-off would be nebulous Friday night plans, boring Christmas presents, and a lifetime of undercooked macaroni-and-cheese birthday dinners. We take longer on the things we care about, because we want to make sure they’re just right…for you. So don’t criticize us, thank us - when we finally appear, we’ll make it worth your wait.
“That’s such a girlie drink” From what I can ascertain, “girlie” in this case actually means “something that does not taste like a mixture of sour milk and gasoline.” While I am admittedly partial to drinks that are elegant-looking and not horrifically painful to consume, I consider this to be less scruple than common sense. Why would I drink something that smells awful and tastes three times worse when I can have a cocktail that I actually enjoy? In my opinion, the ability to drink something horrible without flinching doesn’t suggest lion-hearted bravery…just a lack of functioning taste buds. Want to prove to me you’re courageous? Sign up to be a volunteer firefighter or agree to show your face at a swing-dancing night. Then I’ll really be impressed… and I might even let you buy me a daiquiri.
“You have absolutely no sense of direction.” Completely and totally guilty as charged. I can’t tell the North Pole from the Equator, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Then again, this is one among many reasons that I’m so thankful God put men on the Earth. I may laugh at your quirks (such as that internal compass which prompts you to tell me “head due Northwest” in the middle of a major city), but I can’t help but appreciate the countless positive contributions you make to my life. Ensuring I actually make it from point A to point B is definitely one of them.
“You run (throw/scream/walk/dance) like a girl!” My personal favorite, just because of the obviousness of the statement. Yes, thank you for noticing - I am. But then again… aren’t you glad?
Oh Boy, I can never ever disagree! (a big LOL!)
Ink Overflowed
I have a nostalgic visit of Guimaras Island tonight. Well, if one can realize how sweet Guimaras mangoes are compared to Mexico’s mangoes I just had, then it is a walk down memory lane. Thanks to Ate Christine who gave me a box of mangoes from Mexico, I was able to once again make a yummy mango float. Grrr, now i start missing Iloilo and Guimaras again and of course the company of friends that made those places truly a magical one…
Which bring me to the thought of that movie I watched recently- Mr. Magorium’s Emporium. The Emporium , owned by a 243 year old eccentric man , is a magical store. It is not a toy store but a magical store. I do believe it is a magical store, because i just believe it is a magical store. If you believe it is a toy store, then it becomes a mere toy store. I guess what I am trying to say is that , we are what we believe we are.
Now can you realize there is an unrelated pattern in my thoughts? Youre right, because like Mahoney in the movie, i lost that light within me and seems can’t turn the next page in the book of life. Spring is coming soon and how i long that it will touch my soul too. I feel like I’ve been in this winter for so long. I miss the old me. But the "old me" is not anymore the "new me", right? I can’t fit anymore in this chapter. I need to turn to the next page , where the "new me" is the one in-charge. I am not a kid anymore , that’s why my parents have to leave the ship already.
The chapters continue, regardless whoever flips it. A prayer to the Writer— May i be part of HIS happy ending too….
Which bring me to the thought of that movie I watched recently- Mr. Magorium’s Emporium. The Emporium , owned by a 243 year old eccentric man , is a magical store. It is not a toy store but a magical store. I do believe it is a magical store, because i just believe it is a magical store. If you believe it is a toy store, then it becomes a mere toy store. I guess what I am trying to say is that , we are what we believe we are.
Now can you realize there is an unrelated pattern in my thoughts? Youre right, because like Mahoney in the movie, i lost that light within me and seems can’t turn the next page in the book of life. Spring is coming soon and how i long that it will touch my soul too. I feel like I’ve been in this winter for so long. I miss the old me. But the "old me" is not anymore the "new me", right? I can’t fit anymore in this chapter. I need to turn to the next page , where the "new me" is the one in-charge. I am not a kid anymore , that’s why my parents have to leave the ship already.
The chapters continue, regardless whoever flips it. A prayer to the Writer— May i be part of HIS happy ending too….
ranting for a cause !
With so much hype about global warming , here comes a new dvd (http://www.demographicwinter.com/index.html) that will surely land in the rotten tomato’s highest honor among politically correct individual. It is a documentary film on the extinction of the human family and how it affects the economy, environment and quality of life. Truly, not a “good feel “ reading for everyone especially the Malthusians, but I hope it will open our minds to the potentiality of human life and the possible catastrophe that would result in the decrease of human population. It is a reverse forewarning of global warming and other ecological admonitions and for sure is well ostracized in the mainstream society that applauds individuality, mother earth, bohemian living and new age thoughts.
So much really have been done to curb global warming in the past years. I thank those people who initiated the wake up call that I need to be responsible daughter of Mother Earth but I hate the guts of those who wants to save whales while at the same time consider trimester abortion as mere garbage disposal. Thanks to those same humanoids, Humanity has such a murky meaning. I like animals, in fact I had one dog named Voltron years ago , and which death I mourned with my innocent heart. I love to be with nature and I rather choose to tire myself from threading in the sea than to wade and destroy the corals. But to share my rights with animals is another crap of a story.
Perhaps I sounded so judgmental and strong in my feelings but yeah, this is what I feel and I am really angry and just want to rant here. The recent inauguration of the first African black president was celebrated with so much splurges that will cost us, the taxpayers a sweet 150M, amidst this ominous economic depression. But what pains my heart is that , the celebration was highlighted with the slaughters of the innocents when Pres. Obama reverse all the anti-abortion policies of the past president the very next day. Then, to add toppings to their crime desserts, Nancy Pelosi suggested that abortion and contraception should form part of the economic stimulus plan. Wow! What a way of giving blessing to a killing but to do it in the name of progress and economic survival. Grrrrrr!!!
As a survivor of abortion and as a child of a mother who gave importance to life than to a choice, what can I do? Would this ranting enough to melt the heart of those who can truly make a big ripple of change. I feel so helpless! But I realize now, I shared this sentiment with millions of people who have fought for slavery to end and for the holocaust to stop. Those days, black people and the Jews were not considered human , thus their limited rights and the persecutions they were born with. But with the unending clamor of people of good will and a ray of grace from above, they have seen now the light of their dreams. One day, you too, child of God will be acknowledged as a human being , with innate rights, from your conception to death…
Human Life is beautiful even many do not recognize this fact… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2CaBR3z85c&eurl=http://www.catholicvote.com/static/flash/cv_yt_player.swf
So much really have been done to curb global warming in the past years. I thank those people who initiated the wake up call that I need to be responsible daughter of Mother Earth but I hate the guts of those who wants to save whales while at the same time consider trimester abortion as mere garbage disposal. Thanks to those same humanoids, Humanity has such a murky meaning. I like animals, in fact I had one dog named Voltron years ago , and which death I mourned with my innocent heart. I love to be with nature and I rather choose to tire myself from threading in the sea than to wade and destroy the corals. But to share my rights with animals is another crap of a story.
Perhaps I sounded so judgmental and strong in my feelings but yeah, this is what I feel and I am really angry and just want to rant here. The recent inauguration of the first African black president was celebrated with so much splurges that will cost us, the taxpayers a sweet 150M, amidst this ominous economic depression. But what pains my heart is that , the celebration was highlighted with the slaughters of the innocents when Pres. Obama reverse all the anti-abortion policies of the past president the very next day. Then, to add toppings to their crime desserts, Nancy Pelosi suggested that abortion and contraception should form part of the economic stimulus plan. Wow! What a way of giving blessing to a killing but to do it in the name of progress and economic survival. Grrrrrr!!!
As a survivor of abortion and as a child of a mother who gave importance to life than to a choice, what can I do? Would this ranting enough to melt the heart of those who can truly make a big ripple of change. I feel so helpless! But I realize now, I shared this sentiment with millions of people who have fought for slavery to end and for the holocaust to stop. Those days, black people and the Jews were not considered human , thus their limited rights and the persecutions they were born with. But with the unending clamor of people of good will and a ray of grace from above, they have seen now the light of their dreams. One day, you too, child of God will be acknowledged as a human being , with innate rights, from your conception to death…
Human Life is beautiful even many do not recognize this fact… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2CaBR3z85c&eurl=http://www.catholicvote.com/static/flash/cv_yt_player.swf
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