urban pleasures

not wanting to have my hair done by a stranger, i opted to forego going to the salon. back in manila, Arcy alone can cut my hair.

being in the rural province has its setbacks.

so i dared to do what no woman would dare do. standing in front of a mirror, i picked up a pair of scissors, muttered a little prayer, and snipped away. at least if it didn't turn out well, i've no one else to blame but myself.

as it turned out, i managed to create a soft layer with bangs and an uneven trim. haha.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

in college, my university stood in front of a row of eateries ranging from fast food to pastry shops to semi-fine dine restaurants.

one of my fondest memories was a particular shop called hmm, what was it again?

anyhow, it has the word "angel" on it and what makes it special actually, is one comfort food i discovered there-- lemon squares.

now, what do you do when you suddenly crave for it and you find yourself in a rural place without shops offering that specialty?

google it and bake your own. good thing there's a recently opened supermarket here that offered lemons. otherwise, i guess i'd have to improvise and recreate it into calamansi (green local Philippine lemon sized a quarter of a golf ball) squares.

here's the recipe...

LEMON SQUARES
A recipe for lemon squares, a popular bar cookie dessert made with a cookie crust and lemony topping.
INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups flour
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 sticks butter
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 tablespoon flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 4 eggs, well beaten
* 1 heaping tablespoon grated lemon rind
* 1/4 cup lemon juice

PREPARATION:
Sift flour and powdered sugar together. Cut in butter until well blended. Press mixture over bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan. Bake about 25 minutes at 300° until lightly browned. Combine remaining ingredients and spread on top of the baked crust. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Makes about 12 servings.

shaken, but not stirred

..MAY 8, 2007..

at 2.30am yesterday, the earth shook. it lasted an intimidating 15-seconds. but i was not scared, really. as i lay there by myself, three things came to mind.

1. i uttered a prayer for my parents who were just by the next door. i asked for God's protection to be upon them.
2. the construction!! of all the things, i could think about, my thoughts were racing: were the foundations built strong enough to stand any more earthquakes? was their work futile? after these shaking, would the posts still be secure? would the architect / foreman notice any changes? what if the ground shook again after a few years? will it be sturdy? or will it have the same fate as the hotel in Baguio which fell after a major quake?
3. uh-oh. what have we done again? forgive the sins of our nation, Lord. forgive us for every abominable sin we committed. have mercy on us.

so, no. it was not your near-death-experience-my-entire-life-is-flashing-before-me. it's a reminder that once again, we have no control of our lives. that Someone greater has our lives in His hands.


epilogue:
that same day, the earth shook again at around 10.30pm.

T.I.M.E.

islands of Ilocos

badoc island

Happy Birthday MOM!!!

For the third time this month, I went to the beach. And for the third time, we celebrated another April birthday on an island. We celebrated Mom's __th in Badoc Island, off the Badoc town in Ilocos Norte.



I had guests from hospitality club who tagged along. Franziska is a Swiss nurse while Jo is a Belgian who works with computers; they're both working in Singapore.

Jo and Franziska are seasoned travellers who've been to most countries in SouthEast Asia and Latin America. They're a lovely couple and such adventurous ones because they hopped on a plane not knowing what to expect from the Philippines. To them (and to most Europeans), the Philippines is a black hole. Nobody knows anything about us. And when they tell friends they're going to North Luzon, they almost always get questioning looks, "What are you going to do there? What's to see there?"

It gladdens my heart that there are a few who brave coming to my country, despite of the news, and despite of not knowing anything. I hope that in the short span of time they spent here, Jo and Franziska would tell other nationalities about us... that they'd tell about the people they met... the local cuisine they tasted... the unique mix of culture... most especially, that they'd tell the Philippines is a beautiful country waiting to be explored.