TiKOY AND CHOCOLATE DAY

If someone tells me 'Happy Valentine's Day!', I tell them not to say bad words..


'I prefer "Happy Chinese New Year" my friend', I'd reply. Can't blame me, it's the time of the year when lonely hearts club members brood at the mere thought, and go on throughout the day contented (or pretending to be) by celebrating with friends, with family, or alone. As for me, I have work. I have the perfect alibi!

Coincidentally, February 14 of 2010 celebrates both V-Day and the coming of the Chinese Year of the Steel Dragon. Also coincidentally, both prefer the color red as the traditional motif, so the whole town's going to be painted with the color of blood and gore 2 times than usual.

V-Day is celebrated every 14th of February to commemorate the feast of Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr priest who was executed by then Roman emperor Claudius II. He secretly wed lovers in the Christian tradition, which was taboo at the then-Roman pagan society (or so the story goes).

Unlike the usual New Year celebrated on the first day of the Gregorian calendar (that's January 1), the Chinese folks believe that the New Year starts at the first new moon of the year, which is always somewhere around the month of February (but sometimes could be as early as the last week of January).

I was born on the Year of the Ox, and Chinese astrology predicts that I have good luck coming up within the Tiger's Year (uh, or so a friend of mine tells me). So I don't need to buy bad-luck-warding charms and other Chinese gewgaws that sprout like mushrooms at the malls. Maybe an ang pao (Chinese red envelope) will do. My mother, though we don't have Chinese blood in the family, believes in the Chinese tradition of new year. Each Chinese New Year, she gives us siblings ang paos with money inside with three number 8's, the Chinese lucky number, in the money's serial code (which supposedly gives us good luck, especially with financial matters, yay!). She even added to the list of Deadly Sins the spending of our ang pao money.

She also doesn't let us bathe during the day (maybe because it peels off good luck that sticks to your skin?). She buys us tikoy (traditional Chinese pudding), which she then fries with beaten egg and forces us to eat it for good luck's sake. And she never fails to buy the latest annual copy of a Chinese Feng Shui mag for new trends in interior arrangement (I actually think my mother can handle a decent Feng Shui expert as a sideline).


Well, now living away from home and celebrating Chinese New Year makes me homesick. Though away from my family, I never forget to buy tikoy and shove some cooked slices into my mouth. I visit my ang pao money in my safe (I don't bring it inside my wallet, it's tempting to.. you know..). I realized it is actually very hard to find bills with three number 8's in the serial number, and so what I have inside my ang pao is a rare find courtesy of my dear mother.

So what did I do this Valentine-Chinese New Year COMBO Day? I went to Southbound Computer Shop today to buy myself a new USB mouse (my old one broke down on me this morning). I bought my groceries in SM Supermarket, strolled to some Chinese New Year displays and V-day flower stalls. I found a very unusual sight -- tulips in pots! I had the urge to buy one pot for myself and grow some at home, but at the price of 800 bucks, I quickly changed my mind. I did not inherit my mother's green thumb, so buying the plant is a risk I wouldn't take (can't even grow a decent sprout of parsley, pfftt!).

I also saw Chinese dancing dragons. They performed traditional dragon dances to each store inside the mall to ward-off bad luck. In return, the stores give them a little sum for their effort of wiggling their asses and heads like crazy.

Deciding to treat myself for V-day, I bought a heart-shaped chocolate brownie cake from Brownies Unlimited for 168 bucks, and then went home.

I ate almost have of the cake by myself (which is not surprising, considering my voracious appetite), and then off to work. So basically, I spent my V-Day and Chinese New Year mostly working my ass off.

Kung Hei Fat Choi everyone! And Happy Heart's Day!


























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CEBU DANCiNG iNMATES' MJ TRiBUTE

There's no stopping this international phenomenon -- and that's the Dancing Inmates of Cebu to you! Now they are back again with their own version of Michael Jackson's THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT US, choreographed by MJ's very own choreographer, Travis Payne! Their moves are cool, I might copycat some just for the heck of it..



Very envious of me indeed. Now I am beginning to wonder if I chose the right career! I'd look good in an orange shirt anyway.. =PSource URL: https://jameellamellannyes.blogspot.com/search/label/events
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BATOBALANi SA GUGMA: THE CEBUANO SONG OF FAITH

Every 3rd Sunday of January of each year, tourists flock the Queen City of the South, Cebu City, for the famous annual SINULOG festival, where the train of streetdancers and merrymaking groups on the streets of Cebu lasts from 5am until as late as 7pm in the evening. Little of these tourists know of another event happening the day before this said event - the Parade of the holy replica of Sr. Santo Nino, the Patron Saint of Cebu.

As a non-Cebuano, witnessing how the devotees express their faith through the song, BATOBALANI SA GUGMA (Lodestone of Love), always gives me the tingling goosebumps, admiring how Cebuanos have that sincere devotion. They sing the song over and over again while they march the scorching heat up until the sun goes down, bringing with them their small personal replicas of the Santo Nino, until they reach the Basilica del Santo Nino (another famous historical church in Cebu). And every chorus of the song, devotees wave their hands in unison towards the direction of the main replica of the Santo Nino. When I first saw this, I asked a Cebuano friend of mine as to why they do this act. He told me that waving their hands to the Santo Nino is a symbol for them to be noticed by their patron, so their prayers will come true.

It's too bad I wasn't able to go to Cebu this year for this event. That's why I am blogging this post so that I can be a part of the event in my own way. The video I found on YouTube, and the song lyrics I just googled.









BATOBALANI SA GUGMA
Batobalani sa gugma,
Sa daan tawo palangga.
Tubag:
KANAMO MALOOY KA UNTA
NGA KANIMO NANGILABA
Dinhi sa siudad sa Sugbo
ang matahum larawan.
sa unang mga misionero,
sa usang balay hipalgan.
Kanila ikaw nagpakita
gikan da sa imong gugma.
Tubag:
KANAMO MALOOY KA UNTA
NGA KANIMO NANGILABA
Giludhan ikaw gisingba
niadtong mga kaparian
sa tanan nga katawhan
sa mga ponoan nila:
kay sa pagtan-aw kanimo
Kristianos sila nahimo.
Tubag:
KANAMO MALOOY KA UNTA
NGA KANIMO NANGILABA
Ang singbahan gipatindog
niadtong mga tawhana,
aron ang larawan nimo
dunay usang puluyanan.
ug didto gihangyo nila
nga kaluyan nimo sila.
Tubag:
KANAMO MALOOY KA UNTA
NGA KANIMO NANGILABA
Nangayo kami kanimo
nga ang matahum mong larawan,
sa sulud sa kalag namo
makahimong puluyanan,
kay sa tanan kinahanglan
ikaw ang among dalangpan.
Tubag:
KANAMO MALOOY KA UNTA
NGA KANIMO NANGILABA

For non-Visayan readers, I tried my best translating the song in English, a not-so-easy task since the song is literally packed with deep Visayan words. Sa mga Bisdak, pugngi inyong mga kaugalingon sa panghinaway sa akong gihubad kay lisod sad baya ni hap, dili lalim! (To Visayans, please try to resist yourself from criticizing my translation because it's not that easy). Oh well, here it goes:


LODESTONE OF LOVE
Lodestone of love
Loved by old people
Reply (2X)
Have pity on us
Who beg you
Here in the city of Cebu
A glorious image
Was found in a house
By the 1st missionaries
You appeared before them
Because of your love
Reply (2x)
Have pity on us
Who beg you
They all knelt before you and praised you;
The priests
All the people
And their leaders
Because seeing you
Made them Christians
Reply (2x)
Have pity on us
Who beg you
A church was built
By those people
So that your image
Can have shelter
And in that shelter they ask you
To have mercy on them
Reply (2x)
Have pity on us
Who beg you
We ask you
That your glorious image
May find shelter
In our souls
Because it is You whom we seek
For all our needs
Reply (2x)
Have pity on us
Who beg you


PIT SENYOR EVERYONE!
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2010 RESOLUTiONS

Goodbye 2009. Hello 2010. Two more years before the apocalyptic 2012 (Seriously, the end of the world getting postponed every now and then is getting into my nerves).

A new year is always the start of something new. It has been instilled into the depths of the pathetic human subconsciousness that every new year, there should be a change about oneself for one's own good -- may it be changing an attitude, or adapting a new lifestyle, or making new friends, or losing those extra blubber, yada yada. And the ancestral forerunners of that idea gave birth to -- tadaaaa -- New Year's Resolutions.

A change or anything new is always the fad when the calendar flips another year, and like fads, these resolutions frequently die even before the year makes it halfway.

New Year's Resolutions are always any of these two categories:

1. Habits to keep. Some promise to stay away from major vices like smoking, drinking, gambling, and all other vices known to man. Others prefer lighter version of these resolutions, like moderating alcohol intake, or lessen the smoking habit from a ream to 10 packs a day, or keep battering one's husband from a hundred times to 10 times a day (minimum), or spend less on shoes or gadgets. Some resolve in practicing better habits, like being on time, or going home early, or go to church more often, or removing one's inborn grouchy aura. Most of the time, resolutions like these are the hardest to keep.

2. A new you. Stripping off those extra pounds, or gaining that necessary weight, or becoming fairer, as long as vanity is concerned, people want to feel reborn by formulating a resolution that will change how they look and feel, may it be changing one's appearance, clothing, even group of friends, goals and careers, or house motif. Most of the time, resolutions like these are the most expensive, although easier to do.

Well let's join this crazy fad then, here are my New Year's Resolutions. Cheers!

1 Major room renovation. Clean my room, and keep it that way for as long as i can (that's a hard thing to do you know). Before leaving for the holidays, honestly I left my room like it was the core of Philippine calamity. Time to organize every clutter, remove anything unnecessary, and prevent anything unnecessary from coming back. Maybe even put up posters or boards or the likes to brighten up my dull wall.

2 It's back to the gym for me. With the appetite that I have, I wouldn't take too soon for me to transform into a walking lard of fat. It's about time we let those abs reveal themselves!

3 SAVE dammit SAVE! With the unfortunate closing of my personal savings account (don't mention why), now is the time to open a new one, making sure it doesn't end up like it's predecessor.

4 Be more productive over the internet. That means less gaming (huhuhu!), more blogging (I can handle that), and maybe find a good online sideline for extra bucks (kachingg!). It's time to make a schedule of things to be done, since after turning on the computer, I suddenly have a brainstorming of the so many dozens things I plan to do over the internet. Result? I get to do them, but never get to finish any of them.. sigh..

5 Be more productive at work. Okay okay, so it's taking me time to fulfill my necessary training. I'll try my best to produce substantial progress before midyear.

Good luck with our New Year's Resolutions!

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iNDEPENDENCE DAY?

It's June 12..

Here in the Philippines, it signifies the day Aguinaldo fooled all the old folks that the country was free.. tsk tsk.. That fateful day in the year 1898, he declared independence before he even went to battle the Spaniards. Well that's too assuming, don't you think? If you want to know where the hell I got these facts, read old history books - and I do not mean those government-issued ones! They're full of typos and some facts of their own version of Philippine history. Read the real deal if you can take it without dozing off after two paragraphs.. [I forgot the author's name though]

After the Spaniards, there came the Americans, then the Japanese.. Was June 12 a curse to the Philippines then? And what made the people decide to use June 12 as our independence day?

All I know is that after the American and Japanese occupation, Philippine Independence was celebrated every July 4 - coincidentally the same day as the American Independence Day [and coincidentally my birthday, too, ahehe]. Then for some twist of fate, the government changed it to June 12, and that, I have no idea why. Hmm.. maybe they favored Aguinaldo's declaration more than the one induced by the American regime.

Well who cares. The important thing is we have a day we can be proud that we, as one nation, became free [It's a nationalistic-like thingy].

There's nothing we can do about it. June 12 is June 12 then. As for me, it's a day I need to celebrate with my mother.

Happy Independence Day everyone.. and Happy Birthday to my mama.. =) [she won't be able to read this by the way, she doesn't even know what Facebook is, ahehe.. oh well who cares..]
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iT'S THE "ONCE-iN-4-YEARS" DAY!

I never realized that it's actually February 29! Seems like any other day to me - ordinary. I don't know if I have to feel something - this day happens only once in four years for a fact. Should I be jubilant then because it's February's rarest number?
I don't think so. Nothing unusual happened today. Nothing out of the ordinary.
If February 29 was my birthday, maybe that would change the story.. People born during February 29 think they should celebrate their birthday every 4 years, and they can only add one year of their life everytime. Foolish. Legally, these leapers or leaplings (as what these people are called) have their legal birthdays on March 1 every common year in some countries. Other countrys' laws actually make their legal birthday every February 28.
I bet almost all know why every 4 years, an additional day is given to the calendar, hence the story of the leap year and the infamous leap day. But why February?
I tried Wikipedia, and with all the "vernal equinox" shenanigans and "day of the Moon" crap, I found out that the early Gregorian calendar was designed to keep Easter Sunday (which has been consistently celebrated during the months of March) as accurate as possible from a certain phenomena. Thus every 4 years, they need to add another day before the month of March - and voila! February 29 was born.
In some countries, it has been a tradition that women can propose marriage during leap day, and guys are fined if they refuse! Talking about mass pikot (marriage against man's will)! Greeks, on the other hand, refer to leap year as a bad year for marriage.
So we learned something today. Still it is no reason to rejoice, but why do I get the feeling that I have to?
It's leap year. It's February 29. Leap year means Olympic Games. Leap year means current year is divisible by four. Leap year means 366 days rather than 365. What else..
Well then, I'll just sit around and see if something interesting happens before March arrives. A fair lady's proposal perhaps.. =P
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A BLOG iS BORN

Let there be light...
and there was "my blog"..

Actually I never thought of my blog as a way to enlighten myself or any one else. The light there actually signifies, well, nothing. I just thought the phrase was a good catch). And so why, after all these years, did I finally decide to make a blog? Good question. I have no idea!

Let's just say, given the circumstances that I am into right now, a blog of my own would be a way to put those crowding ideas into trashable entity, may it be in a virtual sense. In other words, it's a way to keep me sane (which I think I still am) by creating a so-called mental balance. You get my point. You don't want trash piling up in your skull, do you? So, might as well start a garage sale - displaying one's trash so that others may try to appreciate the whole crap..

And so my blog is BORN! And it's crap.

And to what circumstances am I into right now that psuhed me to create this crap, you might ask? Well, I am in one important turning point in my entire lifetime - and no I'm not getting married yet! Having already earned my college degree and even my professional license last year, I am now experiencing one of life's goint-into-adulthood-thing ritual where I felt like I was freed of the bonds of the academic world. Oh these bonds, which have been chained on me ever since my dear mother abandoned me in kinder school with a freaky teacher, armed with a ruler ready to flatten anyone's little hands for disobedience, telling stories about the children-eating big bad wolf to keep me from going out of the room to chase dear mother, and giving away cheap candy to shut my mouth (and well supposedly close my tearducts for good). Minus all these bonds, this is the point where I can say that I am now a certified professional adult - and to be able to complete these ritual I now have to fulfill one more task - get a JOB. Seconded by my mother.

And what's the connection between getting a job and creating a blog? You make the connection. Blogs are made to display to the world how everyone is so unique in ways of creating virtual confidence or just trying to screw themselves up. One can write anything in a blog - may it be writing about one's firsts, advertising oneself for instant relationships, or just simple nothings - like perhaps the miserable adventures of getting a job. In a blog, one can write all the trash his fingers can type. In a blog, one can choose to be a poet, a rebel, a democrat, a lunatic, and all those other suppressed alter egos, revealing all the trash hidden all along.

One thing's for sure. People love to sink their teeth in others trash (it's a human thing), that's why blogs are a major hit in the 21st cntury. And that's also the reason why my blog is named that way it is- it will BITE sooner or later. It could be someone's trash, or even my own.

Let the biting begin..
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