stressed? take a bath! :D

             People define stress as our body’s reaction to certain events, particularly those where our focus, strength, stamina and heightened alertness are challenged.  We experience stress almost every day in our lives.  At work, we get stressed out meeting deadlines, dealing with obnoxious office mates and horrible working hours. At home, we get stressed out with annoying siblings, household chores, bills, curfews and endless responsibilities we have to deal with. But how do we deal with stress?

                We have different ways to cope up with stress. Some of us go shopping, some go on an eating binge and some go on a vacation. But for me, the best way to deal with stress (and this is tested and proven effective every time, I swear! :D ) is to take a long, hot bath. 

                After a long day of meeting deadlines on school projects, reports and thesis, I look forward to a long hot bath as soon as I get home. I don’t know, but I forget all my troubles every time I’m in the shower. Maybe it’s because I’m in a different world once I’m inside it. It feels like I’m in my own television commercial whenever washing my self with soap; as I let the suds slowly build up on my skin, I flirt to an imaginary camera and smile like a complete idiot. Sometimes I even say something like “Love the skin you’re in” or some overly used line on T.V. 

 

                The bathroom is a haven for people with frustrations in certain aspects of their lives—like singing for example. People who can sing become singers in one way or another and perform to a crowd, but for people like me who can’t sing, well we sing in the shower. And it’s not just ordinary singing people! It’s an eat-your-heart-out-rock star-wannabe-singing that possesses the “bathroom singer” every time he or she is in the shower. I should know because I do this quite often and it helps a lot in stress management. 

                So, how about you guys? How do you cope up with stress? Why not go to the shower and imagine you’re in an Olay body wash commercial while taking a long hot bath the next time you're stressed out? 

ideal and real... ♥

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

As a little girl, I answered this question with an air of confidence:

“When I grow up I’m going to be a Doctor” (insert silly grin here please)

I was so determined to make that childish declaration a reality and bragged about it to my mom and dad. I was going to be a doctor.  I was going to heal people and save lives. Nothing was going to change my mind. Period. 

           

But something happened when I was in high school. I discovered that I had this weird aversion to blood and it changed the way I viewed  how “Doctor-hood” should be. I mean, I thought Doctors just healed people and gave them medicine to make the sickness “go away”.  Unfortunately a doctor is not only confined to those simple tasks. I learned about this many years ago while watching a New Year’s special by the now defunct Magandang Gabi Bayan hosted by Noli de Castro. 

The New Year’s special was actually about the number of victims of fireworks-related injuries that year. It was a very bloody episode. I saw some people missing fingers in their hands; some had blood on their faces, on their arms, legs, eyes and almost every part of their body. I cringed at the sight of blood and most importantly at the thought of me tending to victims of such fate. It was at that moment I realized I didn’t want to be a doctor after all. 

It was this very incident that I came to realize this one simple truth: That as kids we really know what we want. We have this fixed idea of what we really want to be, what we want to have and achieve. We see ourselves achieving something, becoming somebody. BUT when we grow up, we begin to see the picture---that the ideal is not always what’s real. 

We think that we know that we really want something; we have this idea of what we want but then life tells you that “REALITY is different from what’s IDEAL honey”.  Just like in love. We have this idea of who we really want in life. Like I’ve always had this vision of what my future husband would be: tall, skinny (not very), mestiso, rich, gwapo, kind and most importantly someone who loves me unconditionally. But does someone like that exist in real life??? I think not (or if ever he does exist, he must not come from this planet).

We literally plan out our lives. We plan our lives the moment we figure out what we really want. We start our day out with a plan. We map out what we do for a certain hour of the day, where we go, who we meet. We have a mental time line of what we need to do. But the real world does not match our idealistic visions.  Mostly we are left to adjust to the less planned real world about 80% of the time. 

So what happens if our plans don’t work out? Should we throw a fit because it didn’t work out the way you wanted it to?  We should always remember that it's not so much the “ideal” that we crave, but rather the striving for it that gives life its purpose. Some days you have to just sit back, shake your head, laugh a little, and refocus on your blessings... :)

i want ♥

Picture this : a plate of hot, steamy rice topped with a spoonful of crab paste or “taba ng talangka”? 

What could be more sinfully satisfying than that? *drools*

Taba ng talangka (crab roe or fat from small shore crabs) can either be yummy yummy good or devilishly fat-laden bad depending on your point of view. This dish apparently comes from those really small crabs which seem to have no meat in them but it appears to have lots and lots of fat! Orange-colored fat too!

I first got a taste of this delicacy 5 years ago in the boarding house I was staying in Pampanga.. Some generous soul left a jar of it on the table and I tried it out of curiosity. My curiosity got the best of me. It tasted really really great…it was something new to me. I actually consumed 3 platefuls of rice because of that. 

Now 5 years later, I find myself craving for this rare delicacy. By rare I mean that this "dish/delicacy/food" is not available in this part of the world where I live. Just thinking about gorging on it is enough to make me drool. Taba ng talangka actually has surprisingly low calories per tablespoon but is made up of 66% FAT!!! Bad for people who are watching their weight but good for food lovers like me ^_^  Whatever! This stuff is wicked good and served on a plate of hot steamy rice is enough to make  health issues a thing of the past. 

And so..i'm appealing to everyone out there...can u please please buy me a jar of this rare commodity? :( hahaha...desperate much XD

I ♥ Leggings

I love leggings! (or stockings, whatever some of you may call it). I love them primarily because they make me feel sexy and womanly. Haha. I like leggings with cute designs especially those from Topshop. And so, I have been looking forever for leggings like these :

aren't they absolutely adorable? The sad thing is, leggings like these aren't available in this ^%$#*& place!! I mean wtf?? When will they start selling leggings like these here? When it's Armageddon? deymn!

Any kind soul out there willing to give me any of these stuff I've written about? I'd really appreciate it. >.<

The number four

Four. 4. apat (tagalog), upat (bisaya)

It is a number, a numeral and a glyph. It is the number following three and preceding 5.

IT IS ALSO THE NUMBER OF..

•  times I have fallen asleep today.

•  packs of FITA spreadz bacon cracker sandwiches I ate today.
•  hours I waited for my brother to finish using the PC.
•  miss-calls from some annoying person.
•  messages I received on my facebook account.

and....

• weeks I have been working on my thesis.

Four is a lovely number. It has been my favorite number for as long as I could remember. Maybe it is because I was born on the the fourth day of September or because I am the fourth grandchild of my grandparents from my mother's side or that my mother was already 4 months pregnant with me when she and dad got married.

Hmmmm...fascinating isn't it?

There are other things that I love about the number four and whether you believe it or not, the number four exists almost in any aspect of our lives everyday!

for example,in mathematics, there are the four rules which are: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

and also

THERE ARE:

• four elements in nature: earth, air, water and fire.
• four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall.
• four parts of the day: night, morning, afternoon and evening.
• four cardinal directions: north,south, east, and west.
• four Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
• The Fantastic four! (LOL): Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing
• The beatles! (yeah! also known as the "Fab Four"): John, Ringo, George and Paul 

Hmmm...so many lovely things about the number four ^_^ how about you? What is your favorite number and what is so unique about that particular number? :D

------------------------------------------------moving along....

I got so pissed off at my brother today. I was so looking forward to eating menudo tonight since I was literally very very hungry but instead of "delicious" menudo....he cooked bland and soup-y menudo which is for me, not even fit for human consumption. 

What the &^$$#@?? 

MENUDO is not SOUP!!! deymn!!!  I lost appetite and went on eating Fita spreadz crackers instead... nuff said... :|

P.S 

this is what MENUDO should look like ---> yum!

thoughts of you..

I think that the real pain which results from a separation comes from not being able to love them anymore as much as you want to. You still want to be there for them, to witness all the important moments in their lives. Somehow a part of you longs to still be the keeper of their secrets, dreams, heartaches and flaws. 

But it is no longer in your place to do so once a relationship ends.  And so you wonder “Have I loved enough?” And sadly, in life, we learn then that regret lies in the things you DIDN’T do and the things you DIDN’T say.

DID I LOVE? Yes. And my life was meaningful and beautiful for those years. I saw myself as a beautiful person, worthy of love, in the eyes of another.  It was in those years, where two human beings found each other, love each other and accepted each other completely--- wobbly, ugly bits and all. No questions asked.

I am sad that that part of my life is over. And I know that I will cry if I have to

But giving up on love is just not my thing. I will not and refuse to give up on it nor will I be bitter or cynical. Love is eternal.

Life is good, I’ve lived it well, and I love the person I have become from the lessons I’ve learned in this life.

degrees of comparison

Bad: I miss you.

Worse: I can't tell you.

Worst: I can't tell myself. 


:(

just because... :)

"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; So I love you because I know no other way."
~Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda

One needs no reason for loving.

So I love you.

Just. Because.

heartbreaking

  I  don't normally watch television nowadays because I find most T.V shows boring or crappy like those sappy dramas where the more "exaggerated" acting gets high praise and following from the masses. Instead, I prefer browsing the net for current issues and events as well as read blogs on topics that interest me. But today is different. Today the world witnessed a great tragedy that befell one of the worlds leading nations---Japan.

In case you didn't know what happened read this.

I was busily writing a journal for my English class when my friend IM-ed me on yahoo. 

"Hey did you hear about the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan?" he asked.

(obviously not I thought, a bit irate as I was in a hurry to finish my journal)

"uhm No, why?"

"You should look it up on the net"

"Oh ok, I will.." I said, wanting to end the conversation. I mean really? Earthquakes happen everyday, catastrophes happen in almost any part of the world and he just wants to waste time talking about some calamity in Japan?

  And so I searched for it online,  to prove to my friend that I did look it up on the net. And I was devastated with what I just read. It was like an "Oh my !!!!...." moment for me.

  The earthquake which struck Japan was not an ordinary one. At an 8.9 magnitude, it can be considered "mild" compared to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. BUT STILL. Lives were lost, properties damaged and who knows what else. In any tragedy there is no "mild", "worse" or "severe" cases. There is only pain and suffering of the people who experienced it firsthand. I felt so horrified watching the scenes of the earthquake play on t.v. I can only imagine the fear, the pain and the suffering those poor people went through. Maybe if it was only an earthquake, moving on would've been easy. But an earthquake and tsunami? Especially one as powerful as that? I don't know.

According to : yahoo news

"Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai, the city in Miyagi prefecture, or state, closest to the epicenter. Another 137 were confirmed killed, with 531 people missing. Police also said 627 people were injured."

  Watching the scenes of the tragedy on TV broke my heart. Especially when you know that in the midst of all these are human lives. I saw  a scene from a building where a girl was hiding while the tsunami waves were raging. I got to thinking, "I wonder how she must feel right now", "Where is her mother? father? family?", and I cried because I know, If i was ever in that kind of situation I would feel very helpless. 

watch this video of the earthquake/tsunami tragedy in Japan.

  Many countries offered aid to Japan in the aftermath of the tragedy. Presidents from Asia and all over Europe extended their sympathies to the people of Japan--even Barack Obama himself. 

"More than 45 countries were awaiting a request from Tokyo after offering to help Japan deal with a huge earthquake and tsunami, the United Nations said on Friday.

Some 68 search and rescue teams from 45 countries were on standby, but the United Nations was awaiting a green light from authorities in Japan to deploy, said Elisabeth Byrs of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to offer to help "in any way possible", the Japanese Jiji agency reported.

In a statement, Obama said: "The United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial ... The friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakable, and only strengthens our resolve to stand with the people of Japan as they overcome this tragedy.""

 source

The world may have been witness to a great tragedy today. But if there is one thing good that came out of this is that at the end of the day, we are not Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, or Europeans but we are humans... and that alone makes us accountable for each other no matter what race we may be. We have a responsibility to care for each other and it is in these crucial times where we  are most vulnerable that we become united.

a taste test..

Bonjour! 

If you are reading this blog then I suppose you must have stumbled upon it by accident. haha. I honestly don't know what prompted me to start a blog. I have not written anything relevant for a long time other than some case studies and my undergraduate thesis (which is not really the kind of writing that suits my taste). 

My college professor in creative writing once told us: "Write about something you are most familiar with". He said that for one to be credible writer, he must be knowledgeable about what he or she writes. This makes perfect sense to me because If I wrote about astronomy or chemistry I would only end up with nothing. It is for this very reason which is why I named this blog "Blueberry Cheesecake".

My blog is named as such because I plan to write about stuff that are personal  and as familiar to me as blueberry cheesecake (which in my opinion is just about the most delicious cheesecake in the world!).  Just as people should do what they love to do in order for them to really be happy, I want to write about the things that I like in order for this blog to have some sense of "honesty" in it. 

~* looks delicious noh? bon appetit! :D