Scenes from Jupiter Street (Part 2)

The so-called Red Light District of Makati and how it looks like in my time when I happen to pass by it. I don't go there everyday. Who knows how it will look like ten years from now?

Scenes from Jupiter Street (Part 1)

Me and Mox (my auntie's godson) was walking home from Coco Cabana and passed by Jupiter Street. Unexpectedly, as I was taking some random pics I come across the new Magdalenes of the night.

They unhesitatedly posed for my cam, with Mox in the middle and when I was done, they came to me too excited to see the picture I took of them. Then they walked away and disappeared at the end of the street.

Coco Cabana

Last night was Thanksgiving and was a holiday in the U.S. -- no work for us (I am talking Philippine time). It was perk night organized by our office. It was fun night where we get to witness some of the account's talent sing, dance and play in a band. This restaurant and bar is located in Kalayaan Ave, near Jupiter Street, Makati City.

Back to Basics

It's as if I have never applied for a job before but as I was updating my resume, I realized that I put in details I don't think is relevant to the job I wanted to get in. So, I did a quick internet search and found a useful site that exactly described that the way I want my resume to be: simple and concise.

I used to remember how my cousin complained how a pain in the neck it was to edit his father's 20 page long resume, with data that dates back to the 1970's. When he has successfully cut the pages down to seven, my uncle had to intervene and say enough -- maybe my uncle needs this site or anyone out there who may want to rethink how their resumes should be done.

Hope this is helpful:

http://www.forbes.com/business/2005/06/29/cx_sr_0630bizbasicslide.html?thisSpeed=6000

Sniffing Rugby

This boy posed for my camera without hesitation, water bottle in hand, sniffing the rugby inside.

Seeing it truly breaks my heart...

Rugby Boys

Someone asked why would I take a photo of such a ghastly sight? I said I took this photo because it is an image of a society I lived in. I try to preserve it in my memory so I wouldn't take for granted the fact that every night of my childhood I lie snug in bed, story book in hand, feeling safe and loved.

It may look like any other street urchin but see the water bottle in his arm? Inside is rugby, just an ordinary household adhesive used to glue together a shoe or the torn side of a leather sofa. In a T.V. documentary made by a Karen Davila, rugby was shown as one cheap inhalant popular among teenagers, alarmingly a rampant choice for substance abuse.

Long After it is Gone

I sort of let this cartoon hang here a bit until I am able to collate my thoughts on it. I read somewhere that men love when there is hope and women love long after it is gone...Men simply leave when they are unhappy and being in a circle of guy friends caught up between gal friends, I couldn't help but be sandwiched between the perennial misunderstanding between the sexes in the aspect of relationship, love and commitment.

I am no expert in this subject and so for quite a time after one big failure, I find myself involved in several meaningful platonic relationships. I have observed and confirmed from my guy friends, that men after quite some time in relationships eventually get bored. Often, they make subtle moves to give the girls the excuse to leave them and most the time, this befuddles the girl, clueless of the reason why there are tell-tale signs that the relationship is near its end. As how a favorite guyfriend puts it, "Only a scumbag will initiate a break-up. It's an unpleasant situation but we always give the girl a graceful exit."

That's why love is a commitment. You stay even though you feel like you will "cut and run." There was a study in psychology that men after 25 years of age, are more likely to commit because the frontal cortex of the brain has completed its development. Staying away from men until they are 25 is probably a good choice -- but then each person's mind, maturity and perpective in life has a pace and design of its own.

Grandfather's Apprentice (Part 2)

My grandfather also runs a pizza shop that has three branches. I recall that he modified the recipe of the crust, built the oven and the tin plates to bake it in. Every morning of my early childhood I spent watching him mix the flour and knead the dough. But the exciting part for me and my cousin Andre is in the afternoon, when he gets to inspect for rejected crusts, with us looming in the background, waiting like hungry vultures. Then, he would spread margarine and sugar on top of the "rejected crust," bake it and give it to us for merienda (Spanish for an "afternoon snack").

The old house has several French windows which my grandfather built and I love sleeping in them in the afternoon. This is where you put the pillows in the morning so the sun can shine on them and in the afternoon, when the cool breezes blows, a wonderful time to get a siesta (Spanish for "an afternoon nap").

I have not thought of how he had made much influence in my life not until this Sunday afternoon when I was fixing the broken switch of my study lamp and thought how can I have such a knack for fixing things. Well, not only I have a manual for it at home in Iloilo but I remembered that as a young girl, I would hang like a cloud following my grandfather as he fixes things in the house.

In this more modern times, where families are more nuclear than extended, I feel privileged to have lived at a time when I lived with grandparents, uncles and aunts.

Grandfather's Apprentice (Part 1)

If my grandfather from the maternal side had lived to this day, he would have reached 100 years. I remembered that when he was 97, he used to talk about how he would like us to throw him a huge party to celebrate a century of being alive, that is only if his body had held out for him for three more years.

Of my fondest memories of growing up in the old house, he has left everywhere a tell-tale signs of his resourcefulness and ingenuity. He created doors that lock automatically from the outside and when you pull a string, it opens. He fashioned that kind door to prevent the horde of chickens that run freely in the yard, from entering the house and creating a havoc.

I also remembered that come dusk, when he turns the T.V. on for the evening news, he would sleep within the hour, so from an old baking timer, he created a jack where he could plug the T.V. on, turn the dial to an hour, and it would automatically switch the T.V. off after an hour has passed.

The two huge trees of chicos (a brown fruit with a sweet, somewhat sandy flesh) in the terrace was planted when my mother was only seven years old. He planted them, having gotten the seedlings from the Department of Agriculture where he worked as the head. What is amazing about the trees is that it bears chicos, bigger than your fists and this was a rare variety I have never seen again, unlike the regular breed which bears the round smaller one, as big as golf balls.

P.S. to be continued in part two since longer articles cannot be posted with spaces for paragraphs...

Recommended Watch: Spirited Away

When I am tucked away, quiet, I am busy soaking up the world. I have long wanted to watch this anime but I never had the chance until today. Not until, dear cousin introduced me to the site.

Want to know more about it? Read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away

Want to see it? Visit:

http://anime6.org/?p=261

Gladiolas for Grandma

Of the grandparents I had, the first who passed away was my grandmother from the maternal side. I always remember that every November 1 we visit her grave, where we lay on her tomb pink gladiolas.

It's the time of the year where besides Christmas, the family from my mother's side get together in the cementary and have an informal gathering, where we get to eat/share arroz valenciana (sticky yellow-colored rice with bits of pork, liver, chicken, raisins, egg and bell pepper), baye-baye (rolled sweet rice cake with shredded coconut meat), ibus (steamed sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves eaten with sweet mangoes) and pinipig (sticky rice pounded flat usually eaten as it is or used as a topping on an ice cream and other cold desserts).

There is a tradition, if I have recalled the stories of my elders correctly, that having something "sticky" on Fiesta Minatay (The feast for the dead), will make long life "stick" to you as well.

photo taken from:
http://karenswhimsy.com/public-domain-images/flower-pictures/images/flower-pictures-4.jpg