Echo

(Imported from my Multiply site again…)

I measured
my height yesterday because I found a tape measure in the course of my
hunting for a pair of scissors and thought I might as well measure my
height.

Ladies and gentlemen. I am now 5′ 4/5". Let the fanfare begin! I grew 4/5 of an inch since…well, grade school.

Aw, shut up, you party poopers!

***

Which reminds me of an anecdote that I must share…

Back in college, Slimmer’s World had a promo. If we presented 3 packs of a certain "healthy" multi-grain chichiria,
we’d gain 3 free sessions (or something like that.) So my ever
enterprising best friend decided that we all try it out since (1) we
wanted to start some kind of activity we could all do together and, (2)
it was free.

When we got there, we presented our empty packs of chichiria
and sure enough, we were given free access! Before starting any free
exercise class though, we had to have our profiles taken. So off we
went to a room that had some attendant with a form.

My best
friend and I answered all the prerequisite questions: name, occupation,
etc. The girl then made us stand on a scale thing to weigh us and it
had that thing that unfolded on the top to measure our heights.

She gave her readings to us: I was 4′11 1/2". I knew I wasn’t 4′11 1/2" - I mean, I knew I was small, but for sure I reached 5′ man lang! So I kind of asked her to clarify that bit.

I never should’ve done that.

Here is the ensuing conversation:

Girl: Bale, ma’am, por ileben en wan hap po kayo. Pero ok lang ho yon. May discrefansi (discrepancy) naman po yung scale namin ng wan hap, so malamang 4′12" kayo.

Me: E di  5′.

Girl: Hindi, ma’am, 4′12".

Me: Uh, kaya nga. 5′.

Girl: Hindi, ma’am, 4′12". Kasi ito ho, tignan nyo…

(She takes out a sheet of scratch paper and a pencil…)

Girl: …(Writing it down as she dictates it to me - in a really haughty way, I might add) Por ileben en wan hap plas wan hap….(muttering under her breath)…kansel-kansel…wan hap plas wan hap…ikwals…12! (Triumphantly) Por ileben en wan hap plas wan hap, bikows op da discrefansi, ikwals 4′12"!!!

Me and My Best Friend: (Looking at each in defeat.) Oo nga naman.

***
And now I’ve grown. So now I’m 4′12 4/5"! En yur peys, man! 

(From www.katinkateeny.multiply.com. This is slightly edited because this will be seen by some people who are not privvy to certain personal matters in my life. I decided to put this here though because I thought it was a cute story. Teehee.)

My mom makes fantastic leche flan. I mean, it’s creamy and sweet and
rich and makes you believe in your fervent wish that eggs do not
contain bad cholesterol. She uses my Nana’s recipe, and it’s more or
less a no-brainer in terms of putting it all together. (Hyuh-rayyt.
Tss.)

Most
of my close friends already know this, but the first time I made leche
flan, I had my Mom taste it. She thought it was the best puto she had ever tasted. My brother made a similar attempt with (eerily enough) similar results.

A
few hours ago, Mama cooked a few pans for a costume dinner party she
was invited to (yes, costume dinner party…Since it’s Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day here, they’re all supposed to be dressed up as
human rights activists. Yep. They do stuff like that around here…Tell
me about it…Tss…) Providentially, my brother was here at that time.

Big. Deep. Breath. My brother and I decided to tackle that
wretched leche-flan-making hurdle once again, but this time, we were
going to do it together.

So I did the batter thing…making sure that it didn’t get bubbly but remained creamy (hence the puto-effect daw before.)
Paolo took care of caramelizing the brown sugar (we both got a little
jumpy when the sugar went bubbly and popped, hehe…note for the
future: it really does that, so don’t scream like a girl…)

We
were doing ok, the batter had about 2 bubbles in it and the caramel
burned only in a teeny spot…we wrapped it (double wrapped it in
fact!) so that the steam wouldn’t get into the pan but merely surround
it to cook it perfectly (another reason for the puto effect…)

Meanwhile, Mama left dressed as a Muslim activist in honor of our Muslim heritage (we’re from Iligan.)

(This is totally non-sequitur but I just had to say, she looked really funny in a malong in the middle of a snow storm.)

We
waited the pre-requisite 1 hour. We took it out of the steamer. (It
looked really professional, too…we have those huge steamer
thingamajiggies that the chinese use…) We removed both foil wrappings.

It was too liquid-y.

Denial always comes first, doesn’t it?

We
said it wasn’t undercooked…we just had to let it set. So we let it
set. Then we both thought maybe it would be better if it set in the
fridge, so that’s what we did.

45 minutes later, we had the best tasting squishy pudding we had ever tasted.

As I see it, the foiled leche flan attempt (pun intended, you’ll see how there’s a pun in a bit…)

1.
The double foil wrapper might have blanketed the pan too much (see? The
pun…) As a result, it might have needed to be inside the steamer a
bit longer.

2. The pan was too big (it was a bit big…) It might’ve needed more cooking time.

3. Mama left, bringing with her the good leche flan joojoo.

4.
The 3 Bears Theory (patent pending…): First 2 attempts must always be
too (insert adjective) - Papa Bear - and too (insert opposite of previous adjective) - Mama Bear.
Third attempt will always be just right.

But this trumps all of that…

This afternoon was golden because I made syrupy, sipon-like, palpak leche flan with my brother. We
laughed and screamed and laughed at ourselves. It was fantastic.

Lots of fun. Can’t wait for the 3rd time, the Baby Bear attempt.
 

(from www.katinkateeny.multiply.com)

I was watching Sesame Street
yesterday. I was flipping through the channels and I saw that animated
bit where there’s this bellhop who goes around the hotel he works in,
getting into precarious situations, just to feature the number or
letter of the day (yesterday it was the number 2.) You know, the really
thin bellhop with the really round face - the animation’s very 50’s art
deco-ish.

Anyhoo…

There’s
a new part - well, it’s not really new, since I read somewhere that
it’s been there for a while. It just wasn’t there during my time.
Apparently, since Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues were so successful because of their attempt to involve the child ("Can you tell me where she’s hiding kids?! Yes, that’s right!"), Sesame Street decided to follow suit. One part that specifically involves the child is the portion Elmo’s World.

Yesterday, in Elmo’s World,
it was Family Day. So Elmo showed the drawing he made of his Mom and
Dad…his pet fish had her relatives over as well (yeah, I know…) And
he showed the kids an MTV (in the way that only Sesame Street can, reminiscent of "Everybody Sleeps") featuring different kinds of families.

Family 1: Caucasian Mom, Dad, and two daughters.
Family 2: Asian Mom, Dad, three children, Grandmother, and Grandfather.
Family 3:Caucasian Mom and Asian Daughter.
Family 4: African American Dad, Caucasian Mom, Multi-racial daughter.
Family 5: African American Gay Couple and Asian son.

Yes. African American Gay Couple and Asian son. As Borat would say, "Wowoweewow!" They most certainly did not have that during my time!

I’ve
never really thought about Gay Marriage that much because it was just
too controversial a subject for me to get into, especially since it
doesn’t necessarily have to be my personal problem. But now that it has
invaded the wonderfully fluffy world of Sesame Street,
I am forced to actually confront the issue (along with a million other
0-12 year olds…) Also because, now that I’m in the throes of planning
for my own wedding and subsequent marriage, I can’t help but think
about gay men and women would like to have this kind of joyful
anticipation (and morbid stress, if I might add .)

Gay
people have every right to fall in love and be with the ones they love
just like everyone else. But to be joined in marriage…I dunno. I
think the very term "marriage" is the cause of my uncomfortability,
precisely because it such a sacred and religious term in my mind.
Marriage is a sacrament, a bond, an sacred commitment involving God’s
knowledge, affirmation, acceptance, and blessing. I believe that
marriage should be between Man and Woman as the Lord intended it.

However…

Gay
men and women should have the opportunity to declare and show their
commitment to the world. What a lot of other people don’t understand is
the inherent need to have their relationship recognized. And I’m all
for that. In my opinion, a legal union should be made available to
them. Spousal rights for each of them. I know of some gay couples who
have a more nurturing and lasting relationship than the kind some of my
heterosexual friends have. In a way, I think we could learn a lot from
these gay couples. The fact that they stay together despite so many
other obstacles apart from just what happens between the two of them is
nothing short of amazing.

My only actual problem would be the term "marriage."

Of
course, despite all my experiences with gay friends, I still don’t know
the actual length and breadth of this entire issue, so I am admitting
that my own opinion is not based on anything else but my own personal
beliefs and biases - borne out of my very limited experience and actual
knowledge.

How can anyone be but biased when comes to an issue such as this?

I’d
like to think of myself as mostly Democrat - but I am a Christian
first. The belief that marriage should just be between Man and Woman is
too unshakable for me. I know there are a lot more arguments to
consider, and I’m sure they’re very sound. In fact, I’d be interested
to hear about them. Maybe then all this will make more sense to me.

Can you believe it? A furry, little, red puppet made me think about Gay Marriage. I got that from Sesame Street - I can’t even begin to imagine what The E! True Hollywood Story would make me think about.

(Transported from www.katinkateeny.multiply.com)

Geez, Louise.

I’m sorry, I’ve been traipsing along the cyber way, reading various blogs of acquaintances and strangers.

Seriously, people.

Let it be known that if you choose to write a blog using a certain language, make sure you use it properly!!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing in Filipino, Chinese, Czech, or whatever. But if you’re going to write using English, PLEASE, use the language properly!!!

SERIOUSLY! I don’t know if I should laugh or stomp my feet.

1. Use "and" and not "to" when using "between." For example: "The parcel will be arriving between 4 AND 6 this afternoon." Use "to" when using "from." For example: "The dance will be from 6 TO 11 pm."

2. Direct quote: "…to which I contributed to." UGH!!!! It should be: "…to which I contributed." (Oh, and the stress is on the second syllable, not the third…say it with me…contri’buted. Same thing for distributed. Distri’buted.) Same goes for "for." For example "…for which I am accountable."

3. Ellipses should always only be 3 dots/periods. For example: "To be continued…" Never more than that. Not "To be continued…….."

There were lots more than irked me, but I won’t dwell on them anymore. These are just the top 3…(notice, just 3 dots/periods, folks) oh, and don’t get me started with Subject-Verb Agreement.

Don’t mean to be hoity-toity (and yes, that is a real word), but seriously, if you plan to use something, use it correctly - that holds true for anything, right? Some of you are trying so hard to be witty and all that (that is an attempt-failure ratio of a different topic altogether, but I tend to be more compassionate when it comes to lack of timing and rapier wit.) Save yourself the trouble. One thing at a time. Master the language first.

Let me put it in a way that you would understand: Kung mag-fi-feeling-feelingan ka lang, wag ka na mag-English. Wiz benta, kapatid.

Let this be your mantra: "Preview and Spell Check…Preview and Spell Check…Preview and Spell Check…"

Ah, that’s what you get for having rap stars and stupid heiresses as role models.

Get me back into a classroom! I miss teaching…that’s probably the reason behind this whole rant.

Must. Instruct. Must. Teach. Kill. Bad. Grammar.