currently reading...

shoes

i want to step into your shoes. i want to know how it feels to be you. i want to know your dreams, your fears. i want to know what you're feeling when you stand 8 hours @ the mall tending to customers who want to buy lacoste for a shirt. i want to know how your delicate hands move in tandem with your keyboard as you type a report due by 12 noon. it's 11:30 am already. yet, you can't write. you seemed paralyzed. you seemed immobile. your mind is elsewhere. i want to know how it feels when you sweep the streets of davao everyday of your life and yet commuters mindlessly throw their litter out the window of a red jeepney. i want to know how you suffer when you only have a five peso coin left in your pocket and you worry about the eight hungry children you have to feed. i want to know what you feel riding in a limousine while wang-wang vehicles keep the four-lane road solely for you and you alone.

what are you feeling?

e-m-o-t-i-o-n-s.

and yet, you are not your emotions because you can stand apart from it, look at it, and see through it.

milk

watchful. keen on every sound, every noise she hears from the outside. it's ten. it's night. dave matthews belts out "sweet like candy to my soul, sweet you rock and sweet you roll..." while she waits for that one sound, one movement, her mind drifts into space as she tries so hard to temper her amygdala - her hyperwired emocentric nature. she hops from one thought to another and yet another. until finally she landed...she replays the day's events, the image of him, the reality that he is. "i am bound to him. i am connected to him," her mind speaks so loudly. then, a clicking sound she hears. the white door with a gold knob turned and slowly opened. she lifts her head, meets his gaze and greets him with a smile... "sweet like candy to my soul, sweet you rock and sweet you roll... and i come into you..."

joy

is joy like that of the wind?
is joy like that of yesterday?
is joy like that of the river?
is joy like that of the sun and moon?

joy is.
joy is being.

elevator man

up and down. up and down you go. bon an, mal an. mediocre. mundane. let your index finger do the working. third floor. seventh floor. elevator man, do you have dreams? do you aspire to be more of who you are and what you are now? enclosed in space with 20 raging minds. do you know what you are thinking? elevator man, there's more to what you see in front of you. there's more to this routine, to this space that restricts. you are more than what you do. go beyond your functions.

likha

tik tik tik tik...bawat segundo may halaga, may bisa, may katuturan.

kagyat kang napalingon sa orasan mong hi-tech, ang alarm clock tone mo nga ay sa saliw pa ng "bad boyz 2 soundtrack" minsan pinapalitan mo ito at ginagawa mong "play that funky music" upang ng sa gayon ay magising ang iyong mga kalamnan, habang ang araw naman ay nag-iinat pa sa kalangitan...

nagmamadali ka, pati ang "grooming" mo sa umaga...ginawa mo ng multi-tasking...nagsisipilyo ka, tapos nagsusuklay, sabay humini ang iyong cellphone "read one message", tapos ang isipan mo ay nasa abril na e enero pa lang...mukhang kinesthetic ka ata..huminga ka naman...

lagi kang nagmamadali, para kang bus drayber sa edsa... kaskasero sa bawat kilos at galaw...hingang malalim. mahaba pa ang oras...

umupo ka muna o di kaya'y lumikha, gumawa, ng mga bagay na sa tingin mo ay di naayun sa iyong "comfort zone" at baka muli kang may ma-diskubreng bagong talento o bagong mundo.

tara lets!

*domestic goddess in training

cooking, working around the kitchen has given me so much pleasure. the recent holiday season permitted me to bask as i measure a cup of flour, prepare a cheesecake mixture, stir the béchamel sauce over low fire and assemble layers and layers of pasta.

the time spent in the kitchen was made more enjoyable and fun with the able help of our little chefs in the making, z and ayn. the by products are truly sumptuous and delectable to the bite that i even ate my own cooking…

single-serve tiramisu
8 servings

4 pieces regular mamon

for the soaking syrup:
8 teaspoons coffee liqueur
8 tablespoons water

for the cheesecake mixture:
1 bar (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
½ cup sifted powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose cream
1 envelope knox unflavored gelatin (dissolve in hot water)
2 teaspoons coffee liqueur

for the topping:
grated tablea (native chocolate)

split the mammon in half horizontally. trim the mammon to fit ramekin, stemmed glass or footed dessert bowl.

to make soaking syrup: in a small bowl combine coffee liqueur and water. spoon enough syrup over mammon to soak it.

for the cheesecake mixture: with an electric mixture beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. pour in remaining ingredients and continue to beat until blended.

spread an adequate amount of the cheesecake mixture over each mammon. top generously with grated chocolate. chill or freeze until firm. keep chilled.

lasagna

2 packages of lasagna

tomato meat sauce
¼ c. olive oil
½ c. buter
2 clove garlic, crushed
2/3 c. onion, chopped
½ k. beef round, ground
200 gms. ground pork
4-6 tbsps. white wine
2 bay leaf
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1-2 c. beef broth or hot water
1 c. tomato sauce

heat olive oil and butter. brown the garlic, add the onions, cook gently until soft. put in the ground beef, ground pork, wine and spices. allow to cook for a while then pour in the beef broth and tomato sauce. Simmer gently for 1 hour or until thick. set aside. a little flour may be added to thicken the sauce. prepare the béchamel sauce.

béchamel sauce
1 c. butter
2/3 c. flour
3 c. hot water
3 c. evaporated milk
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 c. grated cheese


melt butter in a pan. blend in flour. gradually stir in hot water and the evaporated milk. cook until bubbly. season with salt and pepper.

grease a pyrex dish with butter. pour ½ of the béchamel sauce. arrange a layer of pasta. spoon in tomato meat sauce, and sprinkle generously with cheese. repeat. bake at 350F until top is golden brown. let stand about 5-10 minutes to set layers. serve.

*not originally coined