Of cats and men

Here's my advice to parents who has kids who owns animals: Pretend you're dead or that your allergies will be in the deadly category if you're near any animals. Because if you don't, trust me, you'll end up taking care of them, as if they're your grandkids. Anything in the house that moves and eats and doesn't clean up is not good news.(That is why I'm still single.) Christmas time always lands me a job I don't want....taking care of Chat's cat. She and her husband always spend Christmas with his parents in Colorado and I spend Christmas in Dallas. Alone with the cat.

This cat is male and very demonstrative; as soon as I come in to their house, he backs himself against the wall and gives you that look, like warning you not to come near him. And if you force yourself on him, he'll let you hold him and caress him, but just long enough for you to want more and drive you crazy. (Someone said that if a woman employ this trick on a man she can get a 5 carat diamond) Well, if I've learned anything this year, it is that next Christmas, by all means I will have a man, even if I have to rent him and clean him up, just so I don't appear lonely and make Chat feel compelled to leave me her cat. If I sound like I am complaining, it's probably because...I am.

The Great American Mall Death March...is over

Finally, the Great American Mall Death March (what Stephen King calls Christmas) is over, at least for this year. But there's another march to the mall (this one is necessary)and that is to return or exchange the gift you showed a lot of glee and excitement for in front of the giver, but under your breath you were saying , what kind of crap is this? Admit it, you were saying: Large? so you think I'm fat? who gave you the idea that my husband likes nylon? how dare you to think that the sound of a garbage bag rubbing against his body stimulates me. This summer sausage....you recycled this, right? Ok, so maybe you're not this hard-to-please person and you're really happy to receive gifts, even if you can't use them for yourself. I salute you, but what are you going to do with them?

I admit, I'm very hard to buy for, because sincerely, my needs are met daily and my list of wants is pretty slim. A close friend of mine has become very astute when she wants to give me something. She will call me from the bookstore and get the store clerk to talk to me so I can tell him the title of the book I want. Chat though, always knew what to give me. But for this Christmas, I could not take a chance, so I hinted on the specifics. "I want a trip." I said, "With 180 degree recline or flat bed." I was hinting on a first class ticket; you know, where you can sleep on seats reclined to almost the length of a coffin. She was quick to respond: "No problem. And what kind of music do you want? Will omit the flowers since you don't like them." Here I was, thinking of a trans-Atlantic or a trans-Pacific flight and she's thinking of eternity. No wonder I can always use a trip to the therapists' couch.

Merry Christmas!!!

It's a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, “Hey, mamacita, let's do Weeweechu.”

“Oh no, not now, let's look at the moon!” said Rosita.

“Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I do Weeweechu.

I love you and it's the perfect time,” Pedro begged.

“But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon,” replied Rosita.

“Please, corazoncito, just once, do Weeweechu with me.”
Rosita looked at Pedro and said, “OK, one time, we'll do Weeweechu.”

Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang ...

"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas,

Weeweechu a Merry Christmas,

Weeweechu a Merry Christmas,

and a Happy New Year."

MERRY CHRISTMAS Ya'll.

Almond Date pastry

I took some cold medicine and it's making me hyper, so I thought I'd put the energy to good use. I made Almond Date pastry... very easy to make. Recipe below if you want to make it.

Ingredients:
For the pastry: 1.5 cups all purpose flour, 1 egg, 6 tbsp butter.
For the filling: 1/2 c butter, 7 tbsp caster sugar (just ground your regular sugar instead of buying one) 1 egg beaten, 1 cup ground almonds, 2 tbsp plain flour, 2 tbsp orange flower water, 13 fresh dates halved and stoned, 4 tbsp apricot jam

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place a baking sheet in the oven. Work the flour and butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, add egg and tbsp of cold water and work to a smooth dough.
2. Roll out the pastry to cover an 8" tart pan. Prick the base with a fork then chill until needed.
3. To make the filling, cream the butter and sugar until light then beat in the egg. Stir in the ground almonds, flour and 1 tbsp orange water and mix well. ( I didn't have orange water so I used, water and corn syrup instead)
4. Spread the mixture evenly, arrange the dates, cut side down on the almond mixture and bake on the hot baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350, and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until light golden.
5. Cool and gently heat the apricot jam and run through the sieve and brush on the pastry. (I haven't brushed this one yet, am too lazy to do it now then take a picture)

Now you don't need the recipe for this one below, in fact, we don't need this at all. But life is too short to worry about pig grease.

Shabbat Shalom ya'll

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh...I AM WHO I AM says the Lord God. Out of Zion will come the Savior.

The Cost of Living

"When things are going smooth, could it be that you're going downhill?" I forgot where I read this from.

There was never a period in my life where I dreaded getting old; you know how others say, "I hated turning 30, 40 or 50." Not me, in fact, turning 50 was very liberating to me. I know I am getting old not only by the number getting higher but also by how how I feel,but my goodness, do I have to be reminded about it?

Remember when early this year Toyota was sending out notices about a recall on one of their car models? I didn't get one, instead, some law firm spammed my inbox (and still is) with notices about a "Hip replacement recall" and regardless that I keep flagging them as spam, they continue to come. And gone are the days when Toyota and Honda dealerships used to send me press releases about a new model coming up in the market. But fortunately, some dealers out there still believe that I can still drive because I now get brochures from the Scooter Store. And when it said that I could also avail of a 'power chair' and Medicare will pay half or all of it, I wasn't sure what the tears streaming down my cheeks meant. The brochure says that if I opted for one with a joystick, it will allow me to maneuver in tight spaces and I can now prepare snacks by myself. Since when do you need a motorized vehicle to prepare a snack? But this is not what really makes me feel old. If you look at the dating sites for young people, there's a tab that you can click and see "Who flirts with you", but in the senior sites the tab says : "See who poke you." Poke? Well, that's assuming that I could still see. (Or feel) Let me go so I can wail.

Santa Needs Helpers

When I got this card I laughed so hard my water broke, and I'm not even pregnant.

I'm thankful for....

Lately, I noticed that I'm leaning more to the left. And I don't mean my political views; I'm talking about my left leg getting shorter than my right leg. Don't you just hate it when your doctor prophesied about it and it happens? I started to wonder what I can do to make it even up with my right leg, I thought: bungee jumping? You know, where they tie your legs and flip your guts up your throat and hope your dentures doesn't fall off. Naaah, I can live with a short left leg. Actually, in the bigger scheme of things losing an inch or two is nothing compared to losing a toe or the whole leg or losing half of my brains function. So instead of listing down my wish list for Christmas, here's my list of things to be thankful for.

1. I'm thankful that Christmas "season" only lasts 31 days.
2. I'm thankful that merchants give us 1 day to rest from the "season" before they bombard us with more red stuff for Valentines.
3. I'm thankful that this 1 day can be used to return hideous gifts to the store and exchange it for cash.
4. I'm thankful that I don't have a "Valentine" because I don't want to use that cash to buy him something.
5. I'm thankful that I lost half of my memory, then I'm only half tacky.
Santa broke his hip...read what he says.

Why...

Why is it that women loves to talk and men kicks the cat instead of just telling her to shut up.

Empanada

It's a very nice day outside, the sun is bright, the wind is still and 55 degrees...it's beginning to feel like Christmas. But I'm staying in and making empanada from a recipe my cousin Pearl gave me over 10 years ago. The trick to a sweet dough is the 7-up added to it. Here's the ingredients to the dough: 6 c flour, 1 c sugar 8 egg yolks 1.5 stick butter 1 tbsp salt and 1 c 7-up. For the filling, you can use whatever you want. (By the way, I made too much filling so I'll make it into egg rolls)

You can seal it however way you like.Keep them in the freezer and take out only when ready to use it. You don't have to thaw it, you can fry straight from the freezer. It's done when it's golden brown because the filling is totally cooked.

Plastic will do

I've read that roughly 13 million Americans are still paying off their Christmas bills from last year. And this explains my theory about the bad attitudes people have during the month of December: No other month during the year, but only in the month of December that I have people giving me the finger or honk their horn at me because they're in a hurry. They're really not in a hurry, they're just angry. They're angry for having to buy gifts they can't afford to give to people they don't like, while others are angry because the season reminds them that they're alone and has no one during this so-called festive Christmas season.

The other night, in addition to that finger some man gave me last week, this driver behind me honked at me because I didn't feel comfortable running the yellow light. I wanted to stab his eyes with a fork. (This is what Chat says when she's mad at someone.) By the time I got to the parking lot of this restaurant to buy my son in-law a gift card, I was pretty startled and angry. (You see what I mean, and I even like my son in-law.) So in this years round of another hectic month, don't forget to remember: Don't get sucked in with the hype, and don't get trapped with bills you don't need. And keep this in mind, if during the year you have no relationship with the person you're buying the gift for, but you have to buy that person a gift because you have to, (for whatever insane reason that I can't relate to) the safest gift is a bank card --Visa or Mastercard. Trust me, he doesn't need anymore flashlight and she definitely would not wear that frilly top with the words, "Ho Ho Ho is me." Take my advise: plastic works at the grocery store or at the psychiatrist's office.

Still drinking coca cola? Watch this!

That's why we use it to marinate the Christmas ham.

Stages in Life

There are 4 stages in life:

1. You believe in Santa Claus
2. You don't believe in Santa Claus
3. You are Santa Claus
4. You look like Santa Claus.

When I read this, it makes me laugh, but then there's another phase in life that I find very sad. In my pre-teen years, my mother was vital to me: I needed her like I needed air. Then in my teen years, I wished mother would disappear and stop being an embarrassment to me. But a few years down the road, mother and father started to make sense to me, I thought, they know what they're talking about after all. Fast forward to my 20's, and 30's ...I was now occupied with the path I have chosen. Life took me to another city, then to another continent and my parents became just voices over the phone. In my 40's they started dying--mentally and physically. The conversations started to become one way, and before I could put 2 and 2 together, they're all gone. And now in my 50's, I need my mom like I need air. I wish I could pick up the phone and talk to my mother. Or simply listen to her voice. But because I can't, I will try and carve a new path for me...whatever that might be.

You read it here....

An ex-boyfriend of 4 years ago called from Madrid at 3:10 this morning, my time. Yes, 3:10. He needed someone to vent out his frustration because he lost his passport for the 3rd time this year. Yes, 3rd time. He lost it somewhere after getting his boarding pass and the lounge, he said, and he was just beside himself. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked. " What the hell is wrong with me answering your call at 3 in the morning, that's what I want to know." I answered. I could tell he didn't think I was being funny, he just wanted to lash out at someone and I was it.

I told him we can spend time grieving over what we lost, or we can focus on rejoicing for what we still have. But I understand his frustration and maybe fear....the loss of memory is a scary thing. I know, why do you think my book is not finished yet? Part of it is because I'm lazy, but really, it's because most days, I forget that I am writing a book. Oh well, I can't worry about it now.
Right now, I'm working on something else. A couple friends of mine are hard at work, trying to convince me to move with them to Palermo Italy. So I gave them my requirement: Find me an Italian boyfriend and I will move in a heartbeat. I've made up my mind, I'll marry the first one who will propose. Any takers?

The cost of living

My passport still has about 7 months left before it expires, but because I am vagabonding again at the start of the year, I went ahead and applied for a renewal. And guess how much it costs now....$110.00 and the 2 photos for 15 dollars! Oy veh! the cost of living.


While I was hanging around waiting for the photos to come out, I saw this sign:

Airport Body scanners

A lot of people are up in arms complaining about the body scanner at airports. I really don't know where I stand on this issue, yes, I'm concerned of the radiation it exposes my body to, but not enough for me to go bunkers. And the fondling? Well, as long as it's done by a Javier Bardem look-alike and he's paid more than the minimum wage, I can live with it.I can't understand why the US have not adopted the ingenuity of the Israelis. At their airports, they don't use a body scanner, instead, you go into this booth where there's no X-ray, but it will detonate any explosives you have on your body. I think this is cool, because it will eliminate the cost of a trial and years of feeding them in prison. This is also good for those passengers who are on a "standby" list. Don't you think?

*Photo lifted from blog.tsa.gov

Is it gray or is it dark?

Always, the holiday season brings me down on my knees. It disables me emotionally and I don't hide it, at least not too well. Yesterday, when I asked the AT&T technician when my internet connection will be back, he said. "We're trying to do our best, but what I suggest, is that you forget about it for now and busy yourself with Christmas shopping because I can't tell you when your internet will be fixed." I told him, what makes you think I shop for Christmas, or that I have people I want to shop for?

Even though I have lots of friends, I am a good example of those people who have become more isolated because of social networking now made less social by the internet and the cell phones. I reach out and touch the mouse before I do to friends. When my internet is useless on any given day, I go into a murderous frenzy as if I'm demon possessed, and when it goes down during this time of the year, I don't have the energy for any frenzy; I simply want to down a handful of Xanax then hide in my cave and come back out in March. But hiding is no fun if no one's going to look for you. Well, I know what I'm hiding from.... what I don't know is, what I'm searching for.

Food...or is it?

Arturo Carvajal, a doctor from Miami Florida ended up in the hospital after eating a whole artichoke. It was found that some leaves lodged in his small intestine. So what did he do? He sued the restaurant for not instructing him the proper way to eat an artichoke. What in the world did he think this bulbous thing was? This is what the restaurant representative said: "It's just kind of a silly notion ... What's next? Are we going to have to post warnings on our menu they shouldn't eat the bones in our barbecue ribs?" I agree.

When I was in Strasbourg, France and I saw on the menu the word "roasted bone marrow", I ordered it because Anthony Bourdain said it's his favorite food. After one spoonful, I wanted to pass out because it was like slurping a spoonful of grease. Of course, I didn't need the waiter to tell me to down another glass of wine. I have several sets of friends and I know what to serve who when they come to my apartment. Last Saturday, I served crispy duck and salad for lunch. When my friend Billy came by that night to pick me up to go to the hockey game, I offered him the left over salad. He said, "why do you have salad? I thought you don't eat them." I don't, I feed them to Americans.

Chain Letters, Prosperity Preachers

I can't stand health and wealth preachers. When I hear them twist the gospel, not because of lack of knowledge but because of the ulterior motive to line their pockets, I just want to vomit, the same way I want to vomit when someone sends me a "chain message." You know, the kind where it induce or manipulate me in thinking that something "good" will happen to me if I send it to so many people. Or else....

I not only feel stupid when I receive this chain letters, I also get very pissed because I feel that the sender must believe that I am that gullible to fall for the trick, the hype or whatever you call it. I call it witchcraft. God is sovereign; our faith does not dictate the will of God. God covets our praise no matter what the situation and calls us to persevere in praying, but we can not manipulate His will with a mantra.

I don't care what people do, just so I don't have to pay for it. Imagine when I got 40 text messages on my cell phone this afternoon because the chain letter was so long, of course I was ready to call on the O'leans witch to apply vodoo on the sender of this message. I don't want to participate in witchcraft. I don't believe in luck. I don't do mantra. However, I do pray. But I only pray to Jesus. I don't call on His dead mother Mary and I don't call on His dead helpers, I only talk to the resurrected Christ. Period. (I better calm down and shut up now and watch my videos I just checked out from the library, maybe it will help me forget the cost of the 40 text messages)

Ponder on this

The other day I watched a documentary about Larry Page and Sergey Brin--the founders of Google. Both came from a family of academics; both were raised by parents whose passion was "to teach." Money was never their goal first, teaching was. And so when Larry and Sergey came up with the idea of creating a search engine, their question was not how can we make the most money, but how can we make it better for people to search for information. Needless to say, both are now billionaires.

And this morning I was listening to this radio program where a man was talking about his father. The father immigrated from Greece, he worked hard and reward came for his hard work. By the world's standard, he is successful...all 4 kids finished college, he paid off his residence and a vacation home and took lavish vacations with the family. The son telling the story is an accountant and he now runs the family business. And he runs it tightly, very tightly. Every penny has to be accounted for and he is obsessed with making money. Money became his focus and his family came way down the line. The father had to sit him down: "Son, when I came to this country, I had only the pants on my body, deduct the cost of the pants and everything we have is profit."

I have always made this a running principle in my life: I never make money the motivating factor for me to do things or not do things. And I try to remember what Zig Ziglar says: "You can have everything you want in life, if you will just help enough other people get what they want." Ponder on this philosophy, then start applying it in your life and I dare you to prove me wrong.

Merci Beaucoup Mr. Harper!

I love a civilized man, but what I love more is a civilized French Canadian whose heart beats with mine....that is to stand with Israel whatever the cost. Don't kid yourself...any entity who is a threat to Israel, is ultimately a threat to us all. Merci Beaucoup Mr. Harper for standing with Israel and Mazel Tov to the Canadians who has you as their leader. Merci!


Go on with your bad self, Harper.

Run

I just got back from running. When my anxiety comes on during the day, I run to try and outrun it, but when I get it in the middle of the night...I eat. Both works, but not all the time.
I want to share this video of Edison Pena, one of the rescued Chilean miners. While trapped underground for 69 days, he tried to take control of his anxiety by running 3-8 miles a day. Some days he would strap around his waist a cable pulling a wooden pallet....anything to control his anxiety.

???Women

Gloria Steinem said that women have become the man they've always wanted to marry. This is a good observation. But I like Charles Boyer's observation better: "A Frenchwoman when doublecrossed, will kill her rival; the Italian woman would rather kill her deceitful lover; the Englishwoman simply breaks off relations----but they all will console themselves with another man."

Susan B. Anthony is not content with these observations though, she has to have answers: "The only question left to be settled now is, are women persons?" I would like to know too, but even old Sigmund Freud didn't have the answer: "Despite my 30 years of research into the feminine soul, I have not yet been able to answer the great question that has never been answered, What does a woman want?"

Good question, which I don't have the answer for myself either.

Fermenting and Stewing

I've had my camera forever now but I've never learned to use the auto timer. I don't read manuals, ok? Well, this week I've learned to capture my boredom. Hmmmm.
When I'm depressed, I eat and cook. When I'm bored, I eat and cook. Or maybe not cook, but ferment. Yup. Kimchi, my favorite condiment. I make them myself because I find the ones at the store too sweet for me.

The trick to a good kimchi is in the brining, when the cells are broken down to where it can absorb all the flavor of the seasoning.
Grind the seasoning paste. Garlic,ginger, chili powder, fermented shrimp fry, bonito flakes, sugar, salt.
Stuff the cabbage then let it ferment in the refrigerator or in this vat for 3-7 days then cut it up, put in a jar and it's ready to eat. Unless it's pickled or fermented, I can't be bothered with veggies.I bought this vat, a long time ago, because I was being anal. (trying to be authentic, looking that is)
The other day, I watched a video titled Lemons- it's about a Palestinian widow left to take care of a lemon grove all by herself. Her house was filled with pickled lemons. I've seen them sold at the Mediterranean market, so I thought I'd do them myself.This will last months and comes handy when you need it for some chicken or fish stews.

Love....is not enough

The honeymoon is over when he phones that he'll be late for supper and she's already left the note saying it's in the refrigerator. Bill Lawrence

I have a friend who struggles in her marriage, and I tell her --stay, it's the right thing to do, besides, who has a perfect marriage anyway? She says she doesn't love her husband anymore, and I tell her, we don't stay for love, we stay for commitment.
Everyone loves love, but very few knows how to give it or accept it. People get into marriages thinking it's a good deal, but when they find out that it's not, they start looking for the ideal which only leads to another ordeal. I have become a cynic, I admit. When I see people huffing and puffing, giddy and edgy, spending time and money for a wedding, I get weary, because sooner than later, they'd be huffing and puffing trying to get out, except this time, it will cost them more. Financially and emotionally.

So what is love? The world does not have the answer, Dr. Phil or Oprah does not have the answer. But here's what love is not: It does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.
(1 Cor 13:4) This is God's prescription for a great institution called marriage. Notice the word "all" in there? and do you know what "all" means? It means ALL. (No wonder I'm not ready for an institution yet.)

Some thoughts on Motherhood

Her mom is right, but only if you take any male, and your only requirement is that he has a pulse.
Chat used to be ok with the idea that I might remarry, but lately she has been against it...strongly against it. She sent me this with a note, "why raise another man, if you can grow them?"
For all the heartaches that your kids put you through, you can still punish them in their adult life by either vegetating in the nursing home for several years or live healthy and do this.

Happiness.....again

My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning and yet, I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right? - Charles M. Schulz

My life is exactly that -no direction and no goal. And yet, I'm not sure if I am unhappy or happy.
What I'm sure of though, is that I hate people who's always happy. I have a friend who's always in the best of moods and laughs at everything --even at the funeral. Of her husband. (And I hate her more because she won't share whatever it is she's smoking.) I am seldom happy but there are a few things that tickles me once in a while. Like:

1. When I open my eyes in the morning and realize that I haven't died.

2. When I can get out of bed. (without having to coax my legs to move)

3. When I can go to the bathroom, and I mean, go without laxative.

4. When my gray roots are not visible, even if you have your glasses on.

5. When I am sure of the answer to the question: Do I need a man?

And lastly, I am most happy when I can say the word "menopause" and not associate it with wrinkled, dry prune.

Poets and Poetry

I'm sitting here with a glass of stale shiraz, it's 10 at night and I'm trying to read (and understand) Lowell's, The Pious Editor's Creed. So who's to say that Dan Quayle (or is it Kwell) or our kids nowadays can't spell? Maybe they read too much Chaucer or Lowell.

I du believe in Freedom's cause,
Ez fur away ez Payris is;
I love to see her stick her claws,
In them infarnal Phayrisees;
It's wal enough agin a king
To dror resolves an' triggers, --
But libbaty's a kind o' thing
Thet don't agree with niggers.

If you want to read the rest you can go here. Or you can buy my classic collection so I 'll have money to go on a trip, instead of sitting here reading dead peoples' poetry.

Happy to Tell Me?

Yesterday, I received a lease renewal letter for my apartment and I'm trying to understand what they mean by: "We are happy to tell you, that we can adjust the term to fit your needs."
Happy to tell me? That they will raise my rent to $10dollars a month, if I decide to continue giving them my business and sign a contract for another year, but if I opted the month to month basis only, they will raise it by $262.oo a month. Shouldn't they be saying, "Regardless that the unemployment rate is inching at 10%, we have to make you poorer by increasing your rent, and we know you won't be happy with this, so we're not sure if we should tell you that we're happy." I think I'm going to move in with Mark Boyle.

Just ranting...

H.L. Mencken said that there's no more depressing thing in life than watching your neighbor get rich. Well, I don't know of any neighbor getting rich, I don't even have friends who's rich --unless getting approved for welfare counts as getting rich.

Now I can tell you what depresses me: Watching everything go up--like, my rent. Followed by my blood pressure. Yesterday, I went to lunch with one of my friends and after we ate,we went walking around the Asian market. We browsed and gushed over the rising costs of food. "Oh my God, the price of canned squid and the dried sardines have increased a lot." We said it almost at the same time. Then she continued in her high pitch voice, "We need a new president." (My friends' high pitch voice is annoying but what's more annoying is when she says something like this.) I wanted to tell her that she can't complain because she didn't vote, but all I said was, "Before long, we're going to have to eat manna." My friend doesn't read the bible so she has no idea what "manna" is. I don't either. All I know is that it's what God fed the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai, way back when, after God found out squid is not good for you,--even if it's fresh and not canned.

Another thing that depresses me is when I can't remember the other things that depresses me. And I know there's a lot because I never get out of depression. Oh, now I remember, my rent.

Just Wondering...

I've read Genesis so many times but while reading Genesis 3 again this morning, the part where God cursed the snake (for telling Eve to eat the apple) and told the snake "on your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat" I suddenly had to wonder: How did the snake move around before,if not on its belly since it doesn't have any feet? And what was Eve smoking, that she listened and got enticed by something that look like that? I dont know. But now my mind has more questions.

1. Why is it that men salivate over boobs and legs while women only gets turned on by cash and shoes?

2. Why is it that when a woman is having hormonal crisis, all she wants to do is kill anything that breathes and eat anything that doesn't move. The man simply withdraws and devour porn.

3. When a man goes out and gets something slow and young or red and fast (or both) people say he's having middle age crisis, but when a woman does it, she's lost her mind.

Lastly, and I wonder about this all the time. Whenever I pass by a building construction or roads being built or repaired I'd see a lone white man, the boss--the rest are wetbacks, Chicanos and Mexicans. Where's the other color?

To Be or Not to Be

Life is a series of choices, even choosing not to choose is a choice. The options are clear according to God. He has set before us life or death, blessing or cursing, "therefore choose life" He said. On one side there is the voice of safety, on the other side there's the whisper of adventure. Some people are adventurous, while others always choose the safe route. As Max Lucado says: Stay warm and dry for what you don't try and you can't fall if you don't take a stand.

The safe side is not exciting, so quit that job, adopt the child, change careers, move to another city or another country. But whatever you do, make sure God is coming with you. There are 3 choices in life: Run, look, or commit. In my 53 years of life, it seems that I've spent it on running and looking and I'm bored with it. Commitment is big, commitment is scary, but it's never dull. We can choose to participate in the roller coaster where it can be nauseating or we can opt out and choose to watch the wheels turn from the safety of what's familiar. Take a chance--Columbus did.

Shock and Awe

It's Sunday morning and I just woke up to find out that my close friend has early stages of colon cancer. We have been wondering about her weight loss lately and now the blood tests has come back to confirm what we don't want confirmed. But God is still on the throne and still in control.
It's been a jagged edge week for me even without this news. When I am stressed, I bake and bake and eat and eat. And more so this week because I am afraid to leave the house because there's no telling when and where my car will dump me. After spending 827 dollars on it, the problem still exist! Ok, Lord it's your call.
I was supposed to take this to a friend yesterday but I ate it instead.Tried to make pintos - a childhood food, but can't quiet duplicate it. Reason why there's no picture of the finished product.Making rendang paste the hard way because I'm told that doing it with mortar and pestle taste way better than one from the blender.

Waking Up Is Hard To Do

These are real nurse anesthetists and because of Obamacare, they now have to audition with America's Got Talent. Here check them out.

Dear Anne Landers

This is a reprint. One of those letters to Anne Landers.


I would like to share my story because I know that a lot of people think of their lives the way I thought of mine. Sometimes you feel lonely and unloved in a marriage, even after 23 years. You feel as if there has got to be more to life, so you set out to find someone who can make you happy. You believe that you have found someone and decide he is exactly what you want . So you pack up and say goodbye to that 23-year marriage and all the friends you made when you were part of a couple. You give your children the option of coming with you or staying with their father. You live the glorious life for a few years and then a light bulb goes on in your head. You realize that you have exactly the life that you had before - the only difference is that you've lost your friends, your children's respect and best friend you loved and shared everything with for 23 years. And you miss him. You realize that love does not just happen; it must be nurtured through the years. You can not undo what has been done, so you settle for a lonely and loveless life with emptiness in your heart.

Ann, please print my letter so others will not give up something that is truly precious and let them know that they won't know how precious it is until they have thrown it away.

Heavy-Hearted in Philly

Happiness?

Now what about happiness? This is such an overused word and we don't even know what it is, because if we know what it is, we'd recognize it when it comes and be happy. Kant said something along this line: "Give a man everything he wants, and everything then will not be everything."

I understand we all have "days off" "down days" or whatever term you come up with to describe your inner ramblings. The other day, I was listening to this economist guy talk about happiness and he was coming from a secular viewpoint, not from a biblical perspective. Yet, he hammered a very good point. He said that people are "happiest" when they are virtuous. When we are more giving, when we're nicer to others and when we do the right thing and we don't have to look over our shoulder -afraid of being caught, we're happiest. Therefore, happiness should not be our goal, but doing the moral thing is.

There was a point in my life when I was so unhappy, almost unbearable even, but I got up every morning and accepted that it was my lot in life. I struggled through and God knew when I had enough, so He picked me up and carried me the rest of the way. And just as the unhappiness ended, so did the happy ones.

When daily life gets harder to discern or sort through, always remember what Solomon said:

"This is the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether good or evil."

News you can use

I try not to complain anymore, because I'm just too tired to spend the energy on the negative, but Yeah, there are days when I just don't want to be Christ-like.
Even on days when I am not having a bad hormone day, this sight would get me cranked up to buy a gun. When I see kids wearing this, or rings on their noses, I want to hunt down their parents and discipline them....yes the parents. I definitely would vote for this guy to head the PTA.

Shine's Deli

When my friend Karen is in town we always go to this place called Shine's. It is a mini grocery store specializing in Mediterranean delicacies with a few tables and chairs if you want to eat in. Karen and I love the lamb kebob and we order this every time regardless that there's other items in the menu. The owners Naji and Nejat makes you feel like you're family, they always give us free tea and all the flat bread we can eat and all the lessons you can handle about anything there that you're not familiar with. I've discovered that I love Turkish tea more than Chinese tea, so I bought a bag and also a bag of beet sugar.

Dreaming dreamy dreams

The fall season is here and so is my respiratory allergies. And to top it all, it's during this time of the year when I feel more melancholic. I'm melancholic, restless and dreaming dreamy dreams-- I want to go somewhere in style; fly first class and stay at the minimum 4-star hotel or go like this.
But right now all I can afford is this. Well, that's why I said 'dreamy dreams'.

The East, The West, The Sex

In this book The East, The West, The Sex, the author Richard Bernstein mentioned that there are two kinds of men: One who does one thing to a hundred different women, and the kind who does a hundred different things to one woman. Yeah.

Don't get any ideas--I have no need to read a manual about sex or that this book is a sex manual, but rather a study and observation by Bernstein of the powerful erotic pull the East has always had for the West. Though Bernstein defines the East widely, covering North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific islands, I am more interested in the part about Asia-specifically the Philippines. I know men from all over the world comes to the Philippines to vacation or to meet their pen-pal and eventually marry them, but I didn't know that there are actually sex tours arranged by local travel agencies. This is one book I have enjoyed reading for my research because the author vividly draws out the human interest in each anecdote he told.

One particular story of Bernstein was that of an American man -heavy set, gout afflicted, well beyond middle age and accompanied by a young slender Filipina who was at least forty years younger than this man. She held this man's arm to support him while he hobble into the restaurant and Bernstein observing from his seat felt a "powerful repulsion for the man for his being unwilling to grow old with more dignity,for his being an old lecher who clearly had bought the companionship of his Filipino girlfriend." No, the author was not jealous but he was voicing out what you and I would be thinking watching that scene. And after we have come down from our high horse, we probably have our own questions too, like what Bernstein asked: Is the Filipino woman taking care of that gout-ridden American more pitiable than others forced by circumstance to perform unappealing labor --like living beside garbage heaps salvaging things from the refuse to sell? And the answer might just be another question: Which foreign assistance is better? Foreign assistance through sex or foreign assistance through the government which doesn't get to the people anyway?

Cantonese Mooncake?

This is the Cantonese skin mooncake. But mine cracked and I'm not happy. And what's worse is, you have to wait 3 days to cut this to let the skin absorb the oil from the filling. So it will be 3 days before I'll know how this really taste. Oh well. I would have preferred lotus seed paste but can't find it.

It looks pretty after you unmold it but after it's baked,the design flattens. But I know there's a trick to make the design stay because I've seen them sold at the store, at $4.95 dollars each! Whoa!

Moon Cake

I have been wanting to use my mooncake mold that I bought over 10 years ago. Today, I could not be persuaded to do anything else but try it.

The flakiness of the skin depends on the rolling. I've just learned that today. Tomorrow I'll do better and will do the flattened version. I will also try the Cantonese mooncake before the week is over.
Click pictures to enlarge

Here's where you can get the recipe and more instructions.