A Liberal Puritan

just saw my best ever birthday greeting. wow. i never had anything like this before. you've taken my breath once again, TL.

got this quiz thingie from my beloved TL's blog. =)

SEPTEMBER,
Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and
organized. Likes to point out people's
mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet
but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and
sympathetic. Concerned and detailed.Loyal. Does
work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Thinking
generous. Good memory. Clever and
knowledgeable. Loves to look for information.
Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to
motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be
around. Secretive. leisureand traveling. Hardly
shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings.
Very choosy, especially in relationships.
Systematic.


What does your birth month reveal about you? (read memo)
brought to you by Quizilla

i love the little rascals. coming home to them after a day's work is truly a reward incomparable. when i am away, i miss being with jameel and pia most. they remind me that there are so many things to look forward to, that happiness is fairly simple. they put me at peace even when my little heart is breaking.

i moved my baby picture photobucket album into my multiply page. it amazes me how they just manage to grow up so fast and so smart. and i love seeing how much they've grown through their pictures, little snapshots of memories and moments which cannot ever be replicated. each memory unique, priceless.

they're growing up so fast. i hope i don't miss too many of their priceless moments when i'm away. if there was anyway to freeze time at all...

odd birthday this year. among my oddest so far. i figure my words will never suffice. and when your own words are not enough, tis wise to borrow someone else's.

here's me borrowing some from jeanette winterson's written on the body:

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stayed in bed til lunch, then jumped off to go try a hong kong-ese beach. i've been eyeing lamma island for a while because i've heard it has fairly good beaches, and fairly good seafood.

it looked like a sleepy fishing village, until you hit the trail to the beach. the pathways were narrow but cemented. there was a constant flow of people going to and fro. the beach goers were varied, with some carrying occasional bags of klein and other signature brand paper bags--a stark reminder that even if we had left the main hong kong island, we were still in hong kong territory.

the beach was okay. dark sand, small, lots of people. some unbelievably gorgeous modelish looking europeans on the side, looking chic in their tans. the water was not clear as well, but it didn't seem to be dirty, so we closed out eyes and dove into the cold murkiness. just as we were about to have fun, the storm clouds moved in and people moved out. while i would have loved to stay in the water as it rained, there was no one to take care of my bag and camera...so we opted to sit down at a nearby cafe and drink san miguel. i've become a beer junkie because of france. =) not soon after this experience, i will be able to try asahi beer.

to end the day, we settled ourselves in a seafood resto to indulge. while the food was okay, i was a bit disappointed. but i suppose you gotta settle for what's accessible for the moment...

if i had the choice, i would have gone for any filipino beach anytime. nothing compares to pinoy.

i miss home and rice and grilled fresh tilapia and tuyo and jameel and pia...

my first weekend in hong kong for this particular audit trip. france and i decided to head out to lantau island (after beer and a daquiri from the night before). woke up with a headache, and was mildly worried of collapsing when we get to lantau island.

the trip was pleasant. there were lots of amorous couples who were our occasional distraction and amusement during the MTR ride. it must be a hong kong thing to make out in the subway and elevator. they just smooch in every corner they can find. france says i'm just envious. sigh.

we took a 30-minute train ride from wan chai to tung chung, where we hopped onto a bus for another 40-minute ride to ngong ping where the base of the giant buddha is. starved, we gobbled a 15 HKD beef stew which just wonderfully tasted out of this world.

from below, the buddha didn't impress me. it was another one of those gigantic buddhas you saw in thai wats. the climb up was reminiscent of the batu cave climb in kuala lumpur. but as i reached the top, when i was right underneath the buddha, it was quite another experience.



the weather seemed to move through you, as you see the clouds shifting and morphing, moving shadows and sunshine in the countryside. the buddha dominated the sky as you looked up, looking benevolent as it sat with its usual pose atop a lotus flower. the view of the mountain peaks was breathtaking against the smaller statues offering their tribute to the enlightened one...almost made me wish i was buddhist myself.

but i suppose such things move you, regardless of your faith.
it was a communion with nature, anchored by worship.

as we reached the base of the lantau peak trail, we met with a funny and dictatorial monk whose name sounded a lot like "shorter." he accompanied us in our climb, and served as a drill sargeant and mandarin language instructor all at once. i felt guilty whenever i would forget a word he just taught us. i also kept on worrying about him as we took on the steeper and more strenuous parts of the climb. in the end, he fared much better than france and myself.



it was a surreal experience, as we stopped in the middle of the hike to ponder the view of the mountains, the giant buddha made smaller by the distance, and the heart sutra pillars from the where we started. the stone path added to the feeling of journeying away from everything. it was so peaceful, and i felt like i was the lead of a shaolin movie, where i was in a pilgrimage to become wiser. learning the secret of enlightenment. no wonder they called it the wisdom path.

it didn't quite work to make me wiser, but at least i felt that momentary spark--something i have not experienced for a while. i will definitely come back to lantau for more...

moved out of my condo, so i can spend what little time i'll be spending in manila with family. packing up and fixing up my old room will be very stressful. thankfully, i have a reprieve in pandan island before i start-- in p&g and in getting my room habitable again.

it was good catching up with mom. jameel is growing up smart and impish. kuya is planning on a business. so far, things are looking up. happiness is being able to catch up with family (especially if you've been disconnected with them for months). i could sense mom was relieved to have me back home. i did miss her terribly.

i sat on my favorite papa bear sofa in the living room, recovering from all the heavy lifting and the lack of sleep, when i noticed that the light in my room was on. instinctively, i stood up to switch the light off in a standard "i-live-alone" sense of responsibility. then i noticed my yaya coming out of the kitchen, and remembered how much she fussed over me lifting stuff into my room. she even worried when i started doing something as basic as fixing up my own clothes in the closet. so, i sat back down on my royal papa bear couch, excited and comfortable at the same time.

I asked her to switch the lights off instead. oh, the little joys of home.

recovering from the white party right now. had lunch at 4:30 pm, which is not good considering i am trying to recover from my recent fainting spell...

yes, i fainted in front of coffee bean and tea leaf while i was walking to new world from the p&g office. doctors still can't figure out what's wrong with me aside from the fact that i don't get nearly enough sleep, and that i am chronically stressed. they gave me anti-stress meds and tranquilizers. i feel like a horse.



i mixed antibiotics and alchol again in the white ball party. but i couldn't help but chug the alcohol down with the number of hot men i met. (yes, some of them we're straight. lol). i think we all looked fabolous!

yowzah!