Blogging Frequency Et Al

I noticed I blog an average of 1.86 times a month. Well, again I'm really not a frequent blogger.
So I'll just give you a bulleted rundown on events that happened today:
- woke up after 5 hours of sleeping, and I never felt so well-rested. I wanted to sleep some more but I already felt energized. :-)
- rained really hard
- brought my badminton gear
- one of my agents told me about her marital problems.. told her that she really should just be patient with her husband and don't strike while the iron is hot (I'm turning to be a good marriage counselor!)
- had 2 meetings
- free food from my boss (thanks, boss!)
- one of my agents got heartbroken (broke up with his gf of 6 years) , we made him laugh though, laughter is the best medicine
- gloomy part... had to tell 3 of my agents (including the one above) that they had to be fired because of non-regularization.
- everyone hugged and cried after.
- however...happy part... we had our last team breakfast at Salcedo Market, al fresco, with fresh seafood, pork barbeque, mango shake, leche flan, lamb stew, hotdogs, grilled tuna... =)
- i had to leave them, had a medical check-up for fit to play for the sportsfest
- played 2 hours of badminton @ The Zone, Zuellig Loop, Makati
- warm shower
- went home
- blogged.

Too many things happened, but I think it's for the better. Every event has it's purpose...and then some events will push other people to be better than before.

I think that's what happened to me.

Fight or Flight

I guess nature must be right...fight or flight is indeed a sub-conscious reaction to everyday stressful situations.
But there's one more thing that your cerebral cortex would tell you to do... do nothing.
If fight or flight is an immediate reaction without thinking, then doing nothing can be a rational conscious decision.
Doing nothing... is letting things happen to you... probably to the passive person....

Being calm in a fire or earthquake when everyone is pumped up with adrenaline running away from the fire or fighting it like those fireman.

So what could you do? If you can't control the forces around you, then it's better to just control yourself.

Adobo Surprise!

I really never learned how to cook food, I wasn't taught how...well, aside from the occasional fried meals and instant MSG-laden canned and packed goods.
I researched on how to cook adobo online and I wanted to cook for my team so I tried to experiment. I told my team I'll name it "Adobo Surprise" because even me will be surprised how it would taste after. Hehehe.
It actually turned out to be a hit! I was really quite surprised! :-D

Here's the recipe I tried, and I really didn't measure anything, I tried to be resourceful:

1 kg pre-cut pork, washed (marinated overnight with 1.5 cups vinegar and 5 tbsps soy sauce, add 5 freshly squeezed calamansi, 5 laurel leaves and 6 squashed garlic cloves)
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 garlic cloves (wanted lotsa garlic)
1 cup cane vinegar (since I ran out of the normal one)
1/2 cup soy sauce ( I think I added more along the way)
1/2 cup water
2 laurel leaves (don't overdo)
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1/4 cup oyster sauce (my secret ingredient to all the food I cook) ;-D

All I did was fry the pork a little bit in cooking oil, I think I used just 2/3 kg of the pork (my sister used some for pork chop). Oh, you should fry the garlic cloves first, just to bring out the smell! Then after adding the pork, just add the vinegar, soy sauce, water, oyster sauce, basically everything that's left on the ingredients I listed above. Just bring it to a boil for 3 mins, then, put your electric stove to medium heat to allow to simmer for 30 mins (I think!).

Anyways, that's how I did it...although I think I added the oyster sauce last.. and if it smells too vinegary, just add soy sauce and oyster sauce.

I didn't taste it after cooking (hehehe).. however, I think it's true what they say about adobo, "the longer you keep it, the better it would taste."

That's it for today..I don't want this blog to become a cooking show blog. =D

White Flag

I like Dido's "White Flag", the lyrics say exactly what I'm feeling now...plus of course, I like singing it in videoke parties because it's easy to sing..hehehe..next to my "Hopelessly Devoted to You" rendition. Tried singing when I was drunk...I actually sounded better...hmmm...heheheh

Taking It Easy

It's my rest day today...I have done so much work lately...today I'm taking it easy...will try some meditation exercises...will do some household work...will watch Hancock onine...will eat dark chocolate... will have a DVD marathon...will exercise at home (since I cancelled my gym membership already)... not necessarily in that order... yes, I'm going to take it easy...

A Turning Point

It was one great tragedy that happened in my hometown, Iloilo. It was a flash flood that went from ground to neck-high in 5 minutes. It happened one Saturday night...
I was still at was at work in Manila, when my best friend called and told me that Iloilo is experiencing the worst flood ever. I immediately called my dad, I expected the worst, yet it never occurred to me...My dad said that they are already staying on the ceiling of our house, just below the roof...they said they had no electricity, all our things drowned by the water, and that I had to get off the phone, since they might still need the phone.

It was like a movie, it played on my mind, it was raining hard, they are soaking wet in darkness, on the ceiling of our house, wondering if the rain would stop or the water would subside. My dad, mom, sister, uncle and our helper were all trapped there...I don't think they slept during that night.
So, I didn't text them or call them, because they might need the phones. Although, I really wanted to. I sent them loads for their phones, hoping they really won't need to use it.
I wasn't able to concentrate on my work that night, I called and texted my other cousins in Iloilo, asking for updates, asking if the rain already stopped.
The following Sunday morning, my mom texted that the flood has subsided, however nothing was spared from the flood, all our things gone, my dad's business, cars and appliances.

I was just so glad that everyone was ok. My mom said that in the nearby area where my lola was, my uncles and aunts had difficulty in saving my bedridden lola from the water. Fortunately, they had a 2-storey house.

My mom and dad said it was really a traumatic experience, and I told them not to worry, since I prayed hard to God that they will all be safe.

I never really knew how it was when Hurricane Katrina hit Florida, now I know that it wasn't easy what they had to go through.

My bosses at work heard about the news, I was so touched that they were concerned about me. I even cried when I was telling my boss about it. I was trying to sound nonchalant, but couldn't help it.

They highly encouraged me to take a Vacation Leave, although I know I would have tons of work when I get back. So, I did. I had a ticket booked to Iloilo 2 weeks before the typhoon for my dad's birthday, but I canceled it, since my mom and dad insisted that we don't need to go home yet.

The flood drained everything from us and left the house and our things with mud.

But, I guess this is the turning point of our lives. It's something that would challenge me and my family. Something, that would shake us and remind us what really matters.

Psych

I was watching this TV series in a DVD marathon, and I was quite amused with the story. It's about Shawn, the head "psychic" of the police department. He's not really a psychic though, just very observant and intuitive, although he wants to make people believe he's for real. It's kinda Nancy Drew-y but with the comic effect.

I'm now addicted to a lot of TV series, I still have a lot of DVDs lined up and I just want to take a looong vacation leave just to finish watching them.

*Sigh* Now, I just wish I have a 42" Sony Bravia HDTv to watch all my DVDs... =D (that would fit perfectly inside my room!).