A random mix of a post. I just started watching HBO's True Blood. We used to have a subscription to the channel but had it cancelled since we end up buying the dvds anyway. Thanks to Omz, who introduced Dino to an online source for tv shows. We just finished episode 1, will devour the next 3 soon.

Yesterday was Bindlestiff's potluck picnic in SF's McLaren park. It was great fun because it's always cool to be with our theater folks. No need for grand reasons, like a show or birthday, to gather. Well, it was some sort of holding on to summer fun. Except that the wind was at its fiercest, driving the point that it's the end of the season and we should have thought of optional venues for the bbq (the warm south, hello?).

The Aristocrat chicken was an almost disaster! I came close to cooking everything at home but Dino stopped me. Not that I had pyschic thoughts of the winds and the difficulty it would pose. I just didn't want to bother working the whole time we're out there. Dino made a good point though, the actual grilling is part of a true picnic experience. So we compromised, I was to pre-cook the meat in the oven and he would be bbq-ing them to perfection at the event.
The charcoal heat was too much and it burned some of the chicken pieces quite quickly. The wind was of course the enemy, blowing ash everywhere and all over our cooking. Then we ran out of charcoal, and had to wait for folks who were bringing some to the park.

I didn't get to eat any of the bbq. Everyone liked it though and finished everything...so it was not a complete failure. What I focused on yesterday were the sweets! How I lost to the evil sugar.
-some carrot-y cupcakes topped with s'mores-like icing and sprinkled with choco shavings (Greg and Gemma)
-leche flan from Valerios (i don't know who's responsible)
-oven fresh chocolate chip cookies (Al Manalo)
-cantaloupe swimming in Hennesy (Kevin Correa)
-guinataan with tapioca and beans (Evelyn)

Man, it was freezing! Too bad for those like me, who didn't play basketball, soccer or dodge ball. Eating accounted for some physical movement in an attempt to generate more body warmth.

Julius D was there yesterday. We rarely see this guy and he surprised us (dino and me) with a late wedding present. He gave us the film negatives of the photos he took during our civil wedding 2 years ago, plus some contact sheets and scanned images on a dvd. He also gave us a giant print of one of his works- its a street scene of a child sleeping inside a tricycle. I cannot wait to have this properly framed and displayed in our home!

I love the pictures he took during the wedding. I told him over text message today that his photos took me back much more vividly to that special day. We already have a wedding album gifted to us by Mike Ricca and we're so thankful that Julius was able to capture another perspective of the event.






If I'm to interpret the body language, I was indeed a bundle of nerves. I held on to that bouquet for balance and security. Gosh, I was so fat then LOL! I loved that I was wearing my Lola's dress, although I had to wear a wide obi-like belt to play down the fact that it's oversized.


Under the SF City Hall dome. Julius was kinda spidey/ninja. I don't think anyone else had the idea to take the shot from this view.




I like how Diane Arbus this feels like.

staycating

We've made a big pocket hole with our gas consumption this week. It's enough to make us feel guilty and need a counterbalance of sorts.
I think I'm going to impose a personal driving "diet." Before our coming Hawaii trip, I do need to practice some major spending restraint.

Been having too much fun lately. Gosh, what is with me and guilt right now? I've been out everyday, I'm already tired just recalling everything that happened recently. It could be the heat just draining me of enthusiasm.

Dino and I woke up at 9am Saturday and decided that the gas guzzlin' guilt was not going to rob us of our weekend. We got showered and headed straight to SF.
By the time we got to the city, it was lunch time. We made a yummy choice with Pakwan on 16th and Guerrero.
Dino's main motivation for going to the city was Ritual Coffee. He's been raving about this cafe since he first tried it. So after lunch, we walked from 16th to 21st street.
Makes sense, right? Coffee on an extremely hot day. I asked for a cold drink and was given an iced double espresso. Double the dehydration, please. KTnxBye.

The heat was phenomenal. I developed heat rash on my upper back at the end of the day-- unbelievable as it may sound as I come from a tropical country, but the last time I had this skin reaction was before kindergarten when I had too much time playing out in the streets.
So that was weird. I didn't even have heat rash when we went to the desert for Burning Man. I was probably too caffeinated yesterday, my skin was all sorts of crazy.

The rest of our afternoon was spent in Golden Gate park for the Power to the Peaceful event. Met up with the Velascos and had a grand time chit-chatting, playing with Zoe and just taking in the peaceful crowd.

The piece de resistance: dinner at Kuya's in San Bruno.

Crispy short ribs. Baked mussels in garlic and butter. Pork Sinigang. Bobo Chacha, or was it Coco Boogie, dessert.

Food coma, yes. Longer life, no.

labor day weekend

The long weekend is over. It seemed like we waited for Dino's birthday party for a long time and now it's already a memory. A very fun one, of course!
Saturday
So many different characters rolled into our tiny space in San Jose and made our home beyond cozy, lovely and warm last Saturday night. We did our best but for next time there's a few things we should be overly prepared for, like food!
Diet has no place in a party shopping list. I was at the grocery store and I stopped myself from getting an extra bag of potato chips. The party started at 6pm and by past 10, the dinner table was exhausted. I was too drunk to cook, or to actually look for what to make. Too bad, there is no Martha or Rachel Ray in me.
It was also the time when I wished we had hired help. Or a very helpful uncle/aunt who loves to manage the kitchen while the kids are at play.
An extra set of batteries would have been cool too. The red wine got me and I went upstairs for what I planned to be a few minutes of quiet in the bedroom. I'm guessing that an hour or two had passed and I woke up to an empty house. Everyone had left and I failed to see them off! Based on a text message I got from E and what he told me the day after, the last guests must have left close to 5am.
Worrying aside, the party was a success. Although some friends did not make it and mostly were out of town, a bunch of 'maybe's' in the Facebook invite managed to come--much appreciated! An army of little ones joined the festivities as well. How we've all grown! It's so cool to see our friends' cute babies and all the other lovely kids!
Sunday
Dino and I woke up at 8am. Even with matching hang over, we started cleaning the house and cooked a hearty brunch. Tri-tip/Steak, white rice and corn at 11am! We were really hungry.
Lounged for a few more hours, but was too manic to stay indoors. I drove north to pick up E and we hung out in Serramanila--david's term :)
E and I had some YUMMY fro-yo (frozen yogurt) at the food court. Then David aka Schmoopie joined us and we all went to Target.
It's so not right, but I cannot just browse and not get anything from Target. Picked up a cd: One Day as a Lion by Zack de la Rocha and drummer dude from Mars Volta. It was on sale for $5.99. Very good buy. I had to wait for the drive back to San Jose to listen to the audio full blast.
The boys and I had dinner at HardKnox. I had the smothered chicken. Soul food--3rd YUMMY of the day. Oh boy!
Then it was Green Apple Books PARADISE! 4th YUMMY. We could all live in this place. I got myself a new photo book (Nikki S. Lee's PARTS) and I am so psyched to do a photo project.
I need more inspiration and I'm thinking I should hit the museums again and other bookstores as well.
Monday
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Facebook. Steak and pasta for lunch. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Facebook. Steak and pasta for dinner. Chardonnay.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

bonfire

Blog, blog, blog!

There's so many cool things going on when one's unemployed. Manic months, I tell ya. Does my decision to be off medication have anything to do with this? Nah...I shouldn't concern myself with fears and negativity. If this euphoria is the result of refusing zoloftcelexaprozac into my bloodstream, then so be it.
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Hold on...
Why do I blog? Why do I open myself up like this? I had this question just a few days ago...

Well, I have a bad memory and so I try to write down the events of my life for whatever purpose/need I may have in the future. Sometimes I re-read entries from my old online journal and I still get surprised with some of the stuff that I wrote about as recent as a year ago.

Going though my boxes of stuff from the storage, I found a lot of my notebooks and dream journals. Before this age of blogging, I had transcribed my nightly dreams on paper...my depression and heartaches, sometimes with hand-drawings...
There's a bunch of details in my life that I had repressed or forgotten, but reading about them again gave me a little sense of fulfillment...like I somehow gained a better understanding of myself and identity at present.

and we're saving on paper thru blogging, right?

So there's no question about the cathartic purpose of all this. Why expose one's self in this way? I don't know...it's probably like putting a message in a bottle... Just write and toss it in the cyber water.
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SO, the bonfire last night...there was no moon nor stars...the high temperature during the day was not a precise foreboding of the night's...obviously, there's still sand in my head as I use such words as foreboding, bwahahhaa!
I am compensating with words, because of the comedy that was MIKE RICCA! Love you, Mike!

Here is our resident clown...in his underwear! and that priceless look of disgust on Judith's face. The question was WHY? Was it too hot or too magical of a night for Mike to undress? Sometimes I wonder what cracked out kingdom it is inside his head.


Good times! with very little planning, and just 7 people who made it to Ocean Beach last night.