pass the ketchup please

just like anything else in this world, ketchup has so many kinds and variations that you can have a certain type for whatever mood you're in and eating.

for burgers and fries heinz is the ketchup for me. or any kind of ketchup that's from the states, coz they basically taste the same.

here in the philippines we have banana catsup. when i first heard of it i thought that was weird! how can ketcup made of bananas taste good? i wouldn't touch the stuff but there was a time when my mom bought a bottle and since i love ketchup i tried it. and it tastes good!

but one thing that banana catsup (particularly Jufran) tastes unbelievable with is Max's fried chicken! i don't know what they do with the marinade but it's sooo good. but if you try homemade fried chicken with jufran it's ok but can't compare with Max's.

i don't know of anyone who can claim they can make chicken like Max's. and here in the philippines there aren't cook books or recipes that you can follow that teach you how to whip up food that will taste like it's from your favorite restos. so i guess Max's is lucky in that way coz you can only have chicken like theirs at their restaurants :-)

medical

i did my first medical story last week, it was on a 6 month old baby boy with hydrocephalus. in layman's terms - the fluid in his head isn't drained properly. and since he's a baby his skull grows to accommodate the fluid.

a simple operation that will place a plastic tube in his brain will allow the fluids to be drained. he already had one when he was a month old but the operation failed. so now he needs another one and that's why his grandmother approached Bantay Bata.

you know how much they need? P30,000.00 thirty thousand pesos thirty thousand pesos and they can't afford it. which i think is weird or ironic. coz if i were in the same position i could ask friends or relatives to help me out. but they can't do that. at the same time it's also sad. kids shouldn't have to go through that.

i hope that someone saw the segment and decided to donate money to help him out. and i'm glad this is what my work is about now. i get the chance to help others :-)

lifeline

ack! i left my celphone at home. i know exactly where it is. coz i woke up, picked up my celphone, went downstairs and placed it on a chair next to my bag. so that's where it is...

i wonder is it receiving calls or texts? or does it miss me?!

it's funny how it feels when a celphone is lost or left somewhere. it's as if something is wrong, doesn't feel right. we've actually become dependent on our celphones.

ever heard someone check their phone and if there isn't a missed call or text they say,"ay nobody's thinking of me." or even "nobody loves me."

and when it comes to work i think,"oh no is someone texting to give me a shoot" or "what if i can go and pick up the check?!"

oh well! all i can do is think of those what ifs and wonder...and try to get home as soon as i can!

4 times in a row

i spent holy week in boracay for the 4th consecutive time. i really didn't want to go coz i said i wanted to experience something different this year. but a friend convinced me and surprisingly this holy week was different, even if it was still in Bora.

first thing - i actually woke up in the morning early enough to eat the extremely delicious breakfast fare of Boracay and catch some sun before lunch. and this trip it was still with my group of friends but i was able to spend time with other groups of friends that were also on the island.

also this holiday marked the 2 years that i've known mike, charles, and gabby. and the thing is i met them at boracay during holy week 2004. this time i got to know charles and gabby better.

this year i actually slept on saturday night, when all the big parties were held. i couldn't help it! i brought charles to the room coz he wasn't feeling well and i was watching tv intending to rest a bit before going out again. and i woke up in the morning with a phone call asking where i was.

of course i got a fabulous tan and we used my digicam underwater and got great pictures! it's funny how i was thinking twice about going and then when i got there and we were walking at station 1 i was overcome with this great feeling of happiness. bora is just so beautiful and peaceful i wonder if i'll ever discover another beach like it ;-)

talking sense

a couple of weeks back i was with a friend and he asked me if i was single. "of course for two years now" then later in the conversation he goes "i have someone perfect for you! i just know it!" so he gets my number and i jsut think it's the usual thing that people say they do but forget.

but later that week i get a text from the guy...and the following night we talked on the phone. we talked for almost 2 hours about everything and anything. and it was nice, coz we share the same views on a lot of issues in life.

maybe it's because he's Fil-Aussie so he still has pinoy values but with a different perspective. it was fun talking to him. i remember a particular exchange about pretty people that are just nice to look at but please don't talk! that was funny...

i got a chance to meet him and it was ok. which was kind of a let down! i guess when you're talking over the phone things can be much more casual. but i'm glad there was a week when he was part of my life.

so now i'm thinking that it's probably better for me if i look at getting involved with foreingers or pinoys who grew up abroad. it's different talking to them. it kinda seems simpler in a way.

anyway i have time to prove this idea right or wrong...

slow and deep

breathe slow and deep. that's what you have to do when breathing underwater. well that's what i learned coz last week i learned how to scuba dive :-)

wow. i can't believe it actually happened coz 1) i'm kinda scared of the water (not knowing what's in it and what can happen in an instant) 2) first time that plans with anne to go out of town and do something different actually pushed through.

but it wasn't as easy as just learning how to use the equipment! you have to put the scuba gear together and then there are exercises to do. and most of all i had to study! actually read an open water diver manual...that was weird. coz i was kind of cramming and i was reminded about how it was being a student. except this time the cramming was hard because i didn't know anything about what i was reading, and i had to understand it.

why? because there are quizzes and an exam too! for the quizzes i could only get three wrong and for the exam 12 max. the first 2 days all we did were the exercises and test dives. we had the quizzes and the exam on the second night. Gosh that was stressful! because if i failed i'd have to do the course over and have to pay the course fee again...NO! NO! NO!

obviously i passed! but just barely - 10 mistakes. boy was i happy and relieved after :-)

and our fun dive was, well, FUN! we were at Anilao, Batangas and they take care of the reefs there and there are lots of fish! and the corals were beautiful. too bad the visibility wasn't so good it could've been even more beautiful.

considering that i have a slight fear when it comes to swimming in the ocean, there was one exercise that i had a hard time with - the flood mask. you stick your finger in the mask and let the water come in, then you have to flush out the water by pressing down on the top of the mask and blowing air out of your nose to flush the water out. i kept on freaking out coz i'd keep my eyes open and see and feel the water come in. and my immediate reaction would be to go to the surface for air. hhaaayy grabe.

so finally i thought about it and said that the next time i should close my eyes and on our last day and first dive we had to do exercises, flood mask included. but i was able to do it! yehey! coz i kept my eyes closed and just felt the water come in and took my time and took loooong breaths.

i'm proud of myself that i was able to pass the course! now i'm just waiting for my certification and ID from PADI.

though i can say i can do without my hands being darker than the rest of my body (coz of the wetsuit!) and the cuts and scrapes i got from the rocks and corals. after our fun dive everytime i'd wash my hands i'd feel another cut stinging!

scuba diving is fun. i feel a sense of accomplishment, another skill learned. i'm looking forward to future trips to the beach! coz now i'll enjoy it even more since i can go diving!