the resolution

The New Year always gives us a chance to look back and say, "Ah, I must do it differently this year"; and so we try. I've never really drawn up resolutions for a new year. It always seems to cross my mind though, and I think, I should do such and such, and now would be a good time to start doing such and such, and on. But of course, I never ever really took it seriously because in the back of my mind and at the bottom of my heart, I knew that I just wouldn't ever follow or listen or keep said resolutions. And so, I never really made any.

Today, I like the word "resolution" better and better. I want to be resolute, which was my big word the day I started this blog. So, I have a feeling I may be able to keep a few resolutions going. The first, and possibly easiest, would be to blog. So far, so good. Next would be to read more to Dylan, as we seem to be quite inconsistent and have been very bad and naughty about reading good things for him. He is sometimes stuck with me reading excerpts from American Gods, or worse, the entire catalog/listing of tea, food, and fragrance websites. But I read somewhere that reading him anything is a good thing, so...Next up on the list would be to definitely spend less money on things that we most certainly could live without - this is where it gets tricky and the decision process gets painstaking - the choices, the horror. It will be difficult, and seemingly daunting task, but we would have to somehow come up with a workable list of what is required and what is superfluous in our life. I think I will start out with these 3 and see how will I do. Thereafter, I feel that more resolutions can be made up as we go along. Having a blog will certainly help to mark the progress and success of these courses of action.

The New Year is upon us!

5:54 PM | |

mariage frerès

The wonders of online ordering. Now I can order my Mariage Frerès teas directly from Paris, at a cheaper price without paying double just for the tin container which doesn't even shut tightly. They do sell them here in Las Vegas, at the overpriced Williams Sonoma place, and only in tins, which make them twice expensive (also, there is a very limited selection and they do not have the more interesting, exotic blends). Instead, MF Paris has the entire selection as well as the new seasonal concoctions, will send the tea freshly weighed and packed in foil-lined black bags, and arrives within a week (hurrah! fastest shipping I've ever gotten from France). These teas taste exquisite, are a bit expensive, but the taste! I opted for some Bouddah Bleu, a fruity flavored green tea with blue flowers; Chardenagor, a melange of spice including cardamom, cinamon, and other things I can't remember; Chocolat, which is...chocolate; and Cardamome, which is also... cardamom. The last two taste good mixed together. Also tried out their dark chocolate (yum!) and tea candies filled with jam (yum!). On the whole, I can say I was very satisfied with this Christmas present to myself, which is to say that in its entirety, it will all be used up, and not just by me (husband=chocolate fiend)!

8:28 AM | |

christmas

Ah, Christmas in the Americas - it is a vast difference from the typical Filipino Christmas. It comes, you eat, you open presents, it goes. There is a terrible lack of momentum, of preparation, of CELEBRATION. I don't mean department stores or malls - these selling machines on the other hand have it all planned out, from the day after Thanksgiving sale to the day after Christmas sale, they already know what the prices are going to look like. And this is how I feel about American Christmas - a huge shopping celebration and a plethora of gifts and a lot of talk about money and spending. How depressing. I don't care about the spending or the sales or the (sort of) gifts, I want the spirit, the festivities, the mood and atmosphere of Christmas. I want to see the streets lined with glittering stars and blinking lights, I want to hear the traditional songs (even if we NEVER experience a White Christmas, this doesn't stop Filipinos from playing the song), I want to eat the puto bungbung, the queso de bola, the morcon, the bibingka, and whatever assorted fare each home seems to be bursting at the seams with during the entire month of December. Let's take into consideration first of all, that preparation begins when the weather begins to cool down - or what is known as the "ber" months (September, October, etc. you get the picture). It begins with the decoration, then the shopping (oh yes, we aren't oblivioius to Capitalism), then the Simbang Gabi (the 5 a.m. mass for two weeks), then the best part of all - Christmas Eve evening and visiting all the different houses and sampling everything that is going to be served for the evening's Noche Beuna. Of course, the Grand Finale is opening the presents when the clock strikes midnight and calling everyone's friends and relatives to greet them a Merry Christmas. The festivities continue the next day at everyone's house yet again. But my ultimate favorite part is, getting the entire week off until New Year's Day; a rarity in America. Except if you work for Motorola in Phoenix, AZ, where my cousin DOES work, then you get the entire week off as the plant shuts down for Christmas. I am green with envy as I write this at work...

presents

Our little family has decided not to give each other presents. Well, at least it seems to have happened that way. We couldn't decide what to get Dylan as he really doesn't need anything right now, and well, any toy we get him would only be lavished about 5 minutes of attention before it will be at the bottom of the toy pile and forgotten forever. He's at the stage where attention span lasts all of 10 minutes or less, and all toys are alike (girls' toys, boys' toys = toys). I couldn't decide what I really needed first - new computer/spa day/better job? And Dino, well, I could give him a hundred different things because there are too many things he wants, so I opted not to get him anything because there were too many choices! We spent our Christmas in Gilbert, Arizona, at my cousin's new, barely furnished house. She has a 4-year old girl who is a very girly, mature young lady (into ballet, Barbie and ice skating), and a 3-year old boy (into ice hockey, trucks, Hot Wheels/Matchbox, and dinosaurs) who seemed to be at the "quite the bully" stage. The kids had a grand time though, running around and pushing and dropping toys and just creating a general mess all over the place. Dylan thought he was very much in the fray of things, and screamed with joy. But in reality, he was only "parallel" playing with the other two kids. We were just glad to see him have such fun.

6:09 PM | |

LOTR

Well. I am a bit lost for words. Although I can say I liked it over all, there were some parts I thought it could have done without (i.e. dramatic slow-mo of white horse galloping over the hill; almost could hear the angel chorus in the background going "ahhhhhhhhhh" and envisioning a blinding, white, almost heavenly light behind horse). The most brilliant part, and I believe many will agree was the preciousss Gollum. Schizophrenic we wasn't s'posed to be, but we likes master, even though he tricks us, tricksy master! I do admire master Peter Jackson for taking on a daunting (logistics alone!) task. A few changes, but always to be expected in a book-to-film jaunt. Heavenly Creatures was dark and quite a distance from LOTR, but nontheless, I can say that this is GRAND compared to Lucas' poor excuse of a Star Wars prequel. LOTR will be what Star Wars was in the late '70s to '80s.

Back to Gollum. There were times when Gollum baffled me - he looked so real-his mouth, hair, and facial lines, then his body would contort into weird shapes and his eyes like glass orbs - best creature I've seen yet that could put Jarjar Binks to shame! There was a lot of character development, and yes, I did at times feel sorry for his tortured soul, so indeed, I am a Gollum fan! More on LOTR later.

7:57 AM | |

a true story?

Betjeman & Barton Master Tea Blenders, Paris.

"Founded in Paris in 1919, the Betjeman & Barton tea establishment quickly attracted both British visitors and French tea-lovers, and the business flourished.

As fate would have it, one of their tea suppliers fell in love with a beautiful Russian girl. He courted her with blends of tea to remind her of her homeland. Many years later, the widowed Mrs. Betjeman wished that Didier Jumeau-Lafond, son of the imaginative tea blender and the beautiful Russian emigrée, carry on the business, and it has remained a famliy-run company to this day.

Reeks of marketing to me. One can never tell these days what is a true story or a fabrication by PR writers such as I have been in my not too distant past. Advertising is fun, but only if you really like the product yourself, otherwise, I simply can't stomach it. The tea however, sits very well in my stomach - Eden Rose - Chinese black tea with a blend of rose petals, and scented with lavender and vanilla. If you want a story of the fabricated, yet imaginative kind however, read Scent.

2:22 PM | |

and the moral of the story

So shoot me. Aside: we would like to thank the wonderful Ninang Christine for wonderful gifts - among them this book in English called Ferdinand the Bull. Though I doubt that we'll ever see this as a "dangerous" piece of literature, Dino and I were puzzled nontheless. Anti-climactic yes, laissez-faire attitude, not really. But we wondered, what IS the moral of the story? That smelling flowers is just as good an occupation as being the prize for the torreador? That being yourself, or insisting on doing your own thing is OK? That it is quite all right to be gay and come out into the open about it, garnering the support of the entire audience for your "bullheadedness" while critics stand by ready to gore you? It is in fact, multi-faceted, no? We are no experts on writing for children, and though it may have all those lessons within, we (the adults) wanted something more; a more exciting climax and a resolution perhaps. But maybe we forget that children are different beings from us adults and that is why childrens' books often leave us going "Huh?"

12:13 PM | |

patience is a virtue

Virtuous, I am not - in relation to having patience that is. Dylan is testing the waters even further these days. He likes to push to see how far he can get. He abhors being scolded, as if to say, "leave me alone, I know what I'm doing" with violent shaking of his arms, as if to ward you away from him. He deliberately repeats an action after being scolded or told "NO!" - such as splashing his hands in the dog bowl water, turning the TV on/off endlessly, or spitting his water out so that his entire shirt front is drenched. Of course he understands, why else would he be slyly similing at your contorted face while doing exactly what you told him not to do! It's enough to make a mother pull all her hair out. But as always, he is repentant after big scolding, so that, of course, makes everything all right again...

Dylan's mode of communication is as yet, another language entirely, so if he wants something reeelly bad, he screams for it. We are now at the "we can't take you anywhere anymore" stage. He will last about 20 minutes in a restaurant, a bit longer in shopping carts and in a stroller in the mall, but he is best suited to playgrounds and sandpits. We think he just might enjoy the Meadows at Mount Charleston, so we plan a snow day sometime soon.

9:16 AM | |

better late than never? NOT.

No, it is not better to be late! And that's what I am - late to the party of Blog. Sign-ups for everything blog related seems to be "CLOSED". Too many people, too soon. Can't get a decent comments site, can't get a blogroller, I'm suprised I even got a free blog to begin with! Procastinator, that is mine name.

7:55 AM | |

take the bus, idiot!

Sometimes I hate driving in the morning. Sometimes I hate driving. Who knew Las vegas could be so full of idiots; not even idiot drivers from hell, but just plain, dumb, stoopid, idiots who managed to squeeze a passing grade out of their driver's exam, took a half-assed picture and had it slapped on a card that makes them "licensed" to drive in a city full of drunks, dumb asses, and geriatrics. As Dean would say, "GAH!" Gah indeed.

Now, tea (teasan, rather) for the morning is Numi Red Mellow Bush Rooibos. Clear the head and let the hatred fall away....

7:32 AM | |

white cap

The first real snowfall on the mountains in southern Nevada last night. Thanks to the storm that brewed over the Pacific Northwest, we were showered with some of the after effects and the Neveda Desert National Wildlife Range is powdered with sugary, white snow. The Sheep Range extends a great distance and it is quite a sight to see bright mountains in the arid midst of dusty sand and stone. Red Rock Canyon, Mount Charleston, and for the most part, the Spring Mountain range is likewise in the white. I'm sure it will be gone in a few days though as the sight of snow is usually short lived. Meanwhile my sister in Reno braved the storm, locked away in her appartment with 90 miles per hour winds and snow flurries brewing outside.

Damp earth and sheet metal is the smell of winter, although not very much in Nevada. This smell is more associated with winters in places like Boston. If hell would freeze over, it would be like at the peak of winter in Massachusettes. I can't imagine having to now shovel snow off driveways and scrape ice of windshields. Winters there were cruel and I do not miss them much.

8:22 AM | |

he eats!

Far too tired right now to write much - but yes - he eats! Dylan that is. It's a hard time feeding that boy. All he EVER wants to do is discover the world, and no wonder he started walking at 8 months. But tonight, or last night as it's now Wednesday AM, he had a jolly time with his food. He fed himself buttered toast and Hillshire Farms cheddar sausages and thought it grand! Good thing too, as it added to his food intake which is rare. We had to do the clap-clap (applause)after each piece of food went into his mouth and he just thought it was so hilarious, he had to repeat it endlessly - thus more food was eaten. Hurrah - we must learn all the variations to the theme in order for him to gain some weight!

12:40 AM | |

smells like fairview to quiapo

Numi's Temple of Heaven Gunpowder Green Tea on the other hand - very reminiscent of a hot greasy Manila jeepney in April; or clunky non-airconditioned bus for that matter. The taste reminds me of noxious diesel fumes addled with machine grease and general human odors audaciously floating about, then the heart of the "green" flavor slowly reveals itself through the smoke. I'm not sure I like this one, but a taste of the memory of Manila's public transportation system is certainly amusing!

Oh the fun I've had on the backs of buses where many a born again Christian gave me their speils and asked me to bag my camping trips so that I could attend their weekend service. Or, offered to lend me their book about why I was so dead wrong in my current choice of religion (never tell them you are an atheist - you will never hear the end of it!). But I must admit my admiration for their drive and focus. It takes a lot of guts to stop college students dead in their tracks and start a religious discussion in the middle of a busy street (and in Manila!). It also takes a lot to be truly dedicated in the recruiting process - imagine converting rowdy, alcholic, drug-using college types - but often enough, I've witnessed that these types are the easiest targets of all; weak in spirit and in need of human support. Perhaps it does them good.

11:16 AM | |

parched mouth

Numi's Dry Desert Lime Teasan is HORRENDOUS stuff! It certainly is DRY and I felt like I was drinking ascorbic acid, or ground up vit. C tablets straight up. "A Reviving Citrus Pleasure" -bleh! Sure as hell can wake you up spitting.

Teasan is Numi's derived term from the French word tisane, meaning a brewed herbal beverage not strictly made from tea leaves, but most likely of the herbs' leaves. In other words, if you steeped some dried cannabis leaves in some hot water, you'd most likely have a magical cup of "teasan".

8:39 AM | |

delights of the Turkish kind


Every time I think of Turkish Delight, I think of the animated The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which I watched when I as around 10 or 11. Edmund, of black heart, is lured by the evil Queen, and sits in her sleigh gorging on Turkish and emptying steaming cups of hot choco. Now, I know it was a cartoon, but oh my, those Turkish Delights just made my mouth water (still does in fact when I think back on that scene in the film)! So, it was my quest and continues to be, to search high and low for this imaginary, utterly delicious Delight which I believe to exist. There is some mechanical function in my brain that goes off each time I see a box of Turkish D. It's some sort of alarm that goes off, and I am COMPELLED to buy a box. I MUST try it, I must find that elusive heavenly Turkish Delight...I can always almost taste it, the sort of taste that makes you close your eyes and savor every last piece as you nibble tiny bits very slowly in your mouth. And always, it ends in disaster!

To prove my point, yesterday afternoon, I came across two different boxes of the stuff. One was a slightly bigger box than the other and both were "Rose and Lime" flavored. Of course, I had to have both - what if they tasted different? Then, I discovered they are both made by "Ling". Same maker, different packaging, both 300 grams each. Duh-o! Anyway, I was determined that they would taste heavenly. I open the first box, and there they sit, covered in their sugary veil. I pick one up and sink my teeth in. I felt like I was eating bulgarian otto rose essence! I know, it was "Rose" flavored, but really - an attar of roses? I wonder what the dilution is?! Of course, I was less than thrilled, then there were nasty amber miniscule bits of hard jelly in the lemon part (the cube is half rose-pink, half lemon-clear) which were impossible to chew and I ended up spitting them out.

Really, memories do a diservice sometimes. The first time I ever had Rahat Loukoum was when I was 5 or 6. My family and I were living in Iran and we had been invited to a native dinner. The lamb was less than appetizing, the tea in glasses with silver bottoms and sugar cubes was very interesting, but the Loukoum was heavenly! I suppose that memory along with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the romantic name Rahat Loukoum fuels my never-ending quest for Delight. I've never learned, and I suppose, I will continue to waste money on trying to re-capture an elusive memory of something that perhaps, doesn't even exist.

8:18 AM | |

Tuesday

Yes, indeed, second day of the week, and second day of the blog! It's amazing - it's still exciting, so I can't wait to see how long before I lapse into forgetfullness again.

On a mad tea binge lately - an e-friend (how else shall we call people we meet online?) recently sent me a tea sampler of sorts. It included a very interesting kind called Pu-Erh. It's Chinese black tea, comes in a rolled cone-type thingie; imagine a Hershey Kiss twice the size, then wrapped in gauzy paper. You peel the gauze off, drop it in a boiling pot of water, steep. When you look in the pot before pouring, you'll find a full branch of tea leaves in there - no lie! It tastes very interesting, like a smokey, dead-leafy taste - but very good mind you! This is Pu-Erh. Also had a pot of Jasmine Dragon Pearl, or Gunpowder. Now, these are little balls, the size of peas. Same action - put them in water and they expand revealing jasmine blossoms inside, releasing the flavor/aroma.

12:24 AM | |

The frailty of time and the difficulty of holding on to it. We grasp at images reflected on glass; real, yet moving shadows we cannot hold. This seems how time is to me these days - ephmeral and just out of reach. If only I had addtional hours in the day, I promised a friend that I would write more. But since this is impossible, I just have to MAKE time; out of thin air, like pulling a non-existent rabbit out of a hat - I'd like to see Copperfield try THAT!

8:07 PM | |

Before the new year is upon us...let me be resolute - I WILL WRITE, if possible every single day, if time permits, more than once a day. The point is, the goal is to at least write a few words and thus gradually work up enough words that will hopefully make sense and improve my skill. How hard is that? Or rather, how willing am I to get out of my lazy fog enough to JUST DO IT?

Every single day, I see things, read things, hear things that affect the way I think. It always gives me bright ideas, enough to even start a paragraph, but of course thinking and doing are rarely connected. The brain waves stop short before they reach the hand nerve endings which has to actually touch the keyboard...

Overheard the other day (last week actually) on the radio news: Boston's Archdiocese is one of the richest in the world. Approximately worth 1.3 billion (IIRC), and they are filing for bankruptcy, just to cover their bare asses from people who claimed they were sexually harassed. Oh the joys of Chatholicism! What next, religion?

1:39 PM | |