relo relo sinta

        I just noticed (after many, many, many years) that we have many clocks at home in Baguio. 

       Too many, in fact! 

       Everywhere I turned, there was this clock facing me with its incessant tick-tock-tick-tock sound that gets in your brain...  which is the reason why I removed the batery from one of the clocks in my bedroom -- the tick-tock sound literally drives me crazy especially when I'm lying in bed at night waiting for sleep to come.

       A couple of clocks were bought by mom from the department store while the rest were won as raffle prizes or Christmas giveaways by dad (he's really lucky when it comes to winning raffle prizes).

       Here they are in no particular order... all clocks galore!

At the living room...

At the dining area...

In my bedroom, above the mirror...

Here's the culprit!  Notice the time?  This one's at the headboard of my bed...

Another culprit inside my bedroom (Yup, there are THREE clocks in there!)

Even inside the toilet there's a clock to remind the user not to go overtime...

And inside the bathroom...

At the dirty kitchen...

This clock guards the entrance to mom and dad's room...

Here's a unique one...  a clock inside the cupboard to remind the time when you get some dishes out.

        So there's my clock story.  I didn't bother to check how many clocks there are inside my parent's room.  If I have three in my room, there must be six in theirs...  three for each of them, hehehe =)

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"This time like all times is a very good one if we but know what to do with it."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Burgundy Red!

        Mom really loves to color her hair: dark brown, light brown, reddish brown, black brown, etc., partly for fashion and partly to cover up some graying hair on her head.  She can be adventurous at times with the colors but it always comes out perfectly complimenting her beauty.

        So last Sunday, I got curious as to how I would look like with colored hair.  Instead of going to a salon to have my hair profesionally colored, I went to Mercury Drugstore nearby to look at what hair color formulations they have.  On their shelf display were Bigen, Revlon, L'Oreal, and a few other brands I haven't even heard of.

       Feeling a bit embarassed being in that portion of the store, my "shopping instinct" took over:  I quickly scanned the nearest shelf, zoomed in on a color I wanted, grabbed that box and hastily dashed off to the checkout counter hoping no one I knew would see me there.  And in less than 2 minutes I walked out of the store carrying a pack of L'Oreal Feria Burgundy Red Haircolor.

        The box contained all the items needed to color-your-hair-yourself: a color toner that you mix with a "developer" to activate the hair dye, an applicator bottle for quick, drip free application, a pair of gloves to keep my hands clean, and a conditioner to finish off the process.

        The instruction sheet specified that I keep the dye on my hair for 15-20 minutes for best results.  The dye was deep red in color, like the color of blood.  I opted to keep the dye on my hair for one hour for a really effective hair color treatment.  After one hour I rinsed off the solution from my hair and finished it off with the hair conditioner.

       After toweling my hair and allowing it to air-dry, I faced the mirror to see what my "new look" would be.

        The result:  Black hair, Black hair, Black hair!  All Black hair and no red at all!

        Bakit ganun?  What happened to the hair color???  Hindi tumalab sa buhok ko?

        It looks like the color just washed off my hair.

        Hehe, oh well...  Anyway, looking closer I found out that the few white hairs I had on my head were now colored Burgundy Red! 

        Cute!

        The cost:
        One bottle of L'Oreal Feria Burgundy Red Hair Color: P495.00
        Gasoline expense going to Mercury Drug: P5.00
        Total Cost: P500.00

        Number of white hair strands colored: Five (5)

        Cost per hair strand:  500/5 = P100.00 per hair strand

        Sigh...  I should have bought a pentel pen at one-tenth the cost and I could have colored my white hair with it na lang...  It could have been cheaper for me ;-)

        So there it goes... my hair color adventure. 

        Expensive no?   Hehehe.

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Credits: Dexter would like to thank the free services of Charry for my hair color and make-up...  oops... for the smile on my face pala, hehehe.
Cost:     Priceless!  ;-)

 

 

Practice... Thoroughness... Discipline

Practice makes permanent.

Thoroughness leads to excellence.

Discipline leads to success.

-Ariel Driz

Say CHEESY!!!

For the boys only... Have you ever longed to talk to a girl but you're at a loss for words? 

Have no fear, Dexter's here!

Presenting...  Dexter's Compilation of Cheesy Pick-up Lines! 

Guaranteed to make you basted in 5 seconds!

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BOY:  Hey what happend to your back?
GIRL: (checks her back) Huh? Why?
BOY:  I thought all angels had wings...

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Here's a classic, ala Vic Sotto:

BOY:  May gusto ako itanong sa iyo, wag ka sanang magagalit...
GIRL: Ano yun?
BOY:  May NOBYO ka na ba? Pwede manligaw?

ehek ehek!

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Heto pa:

BOY:  Are you a terrorist ?
GIRL: No, why ?
BOY:  Coz ur the BOMB!

naks naman!

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Curious lang...

BOY:  Hey, may I look at the back of your shirt?
GIRL: Huh?!
BOY:  Please?
GIRL: Okay...
(Boy looks at the tag of the shirt)
BOY:  Sabi ka na nga ba eh...
GIRL: Ano?
BOY:  It says "MADE IN HEAVEN".

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BOY:  Miss, are you hurt???
GIRL: No, why?
BOY:  Aren't you an angel who fell down from heaven?

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When going to a costume party:

BOY:  I like your costume
GIRL: Huh? I'm not wearing one...
BOY:  You're dressed as a cake!
GIRL: Ano kamo? Paano yun?
BOY:  Because everyone wants to have a piece of you

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Heto pa... basted in 30 seconds:

BOY:  Bet you 5 bucks I can kiss you and you won't feel it
GIRL: oh talaga? SIGE PUSTAHAN TAYO!

* Boy kisses her and pays her P5.

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Another 30-seconder:

BOY:  Do you trust me?
GIRL: Yes
BOY:  close your eyes...

* Boy kisses girl
* Girl _______ boy (fill in the blank)

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More! More! More one-liners...

• Hey, did we meet before?  You look similar to me...


• You're like SuperFerry...  Talagang trip kita!


• You're like a yosi vendor...  Coz you give me Hope and More


• You're like Megamall...  You've got it all


• You're like my kuto...  I cant get you out of my head


• You're like my asthma... you take my breathe away


• You're like my pustiso.. 'coz I can't smile without you!


• I wish you were trash... so I could take you out.


• Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?


• Hi, my name is {insert your name here}, how do you like me so far?


• HI, I'm new in town, could I have directions to your house.


• May kasama ka ba?  Samahan na kita...


• I bet your name is Mickey, 'coz you're so fine!


• Do you have a name?  Or can I call you MINE?


• Be unique, be different!  Say YES!

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Pizza and Pansit!

        When in Lucban, Quezon, try to hunt for some street hawkers or go to the sidewalk eateries there for some authentic Pansit "Habhab".

        Made from rice flour, these local noodles acquired its name and developed its unique attraction by the way it is eaten. Otherwise known as Pancit Lucban, these noodles are hawked in the streets and served on a piece of banana leaf, sans fork or any other utensils. Thus, it is eaten straight from the leaf, licking permitted, "habhab" style.

         It is eaten with lots of raw onions and a sprinkling of chili-laced vinegar... truly a mouth watering treat!

         For some cuisine adventure, drop by Buddy's Pizza and Pansit House for some Pizza and Pansit (yup, it's pizza and pansit, not pizza and spaghetti).  At least in this place you get to use some cutlery while enjoying your pansit lucban.

                                    Haba Haba Pansit Habhab!

Pizzaaaaaaaaaa!   Yummy yum yum!

        Buddy's Pizza and Pansit House is located just beside the town plaza.

        Here are some other random trips taken during the trip:

BIG Ford Van for sale... P800k only.  This was parked outside the hotel in Lucena (forgot the name) where we had breakfast.

Hop on in the Captain's seat... fasten your seatbelts.

At the hotel's entrance you'll find two turtle doves pruning themselves in the water.  Now I know why they call them "turtle doves", hehe.

In Sariaya, Quezon: I was taking a picture of the mountain in the background... That's Mount Banahaw, the "power" mountain, and it's still an active volcano.

In Sariaya, Quezon again: this is the Pamilihang Bayan project of the government where farmers can "bagsak" their goodies.  The group I'm involved with will be helping farmers use organic farming practices to protect the environment's health while increasing harvest and yield.

        Oh, by the way, it's PAHIYAS Festival in Lucban this coming May 11-15, 2006.  Expect lots of people and tourists trooping over to that place.  Expect lots of food also. 

        I wanna go back to Lucban again for some Pansit Habhab! 

   Yummy pansit habhab!  It's OK to lick your lips while eating.

         Anybody wanna tag along?

        Oh well, if I can't go back, there's always the Buddy's Pizza outlet in Kalayaan Avenue in Makati City if ever I can't control my taste buds and I need to savor pansit habhab once again.  ;-)

~florent flora

On Eagle's Wings

        The eagle perches majestically on the evergreen branches, its sharp eyes surveying the landscape.  The wind starts to blow.  Without warning, the evergreen branch shakes.  The eagle spreads its wings, launches into the air and glides silently towards the mountain in the distance.  Just when it seems the eagle would crash into the mountain cliff wall, it moves its wings ever so slightly and begins to spiral upward, catching the updraft from the wind until it has gone up beyond the ridge.

        Beyond the mountain and into the plains, the eagle glides towards the dark clouds.  Under those clouds is a thermal - a column of air that rises upwards as it gets heated by the ground.  With outstretched wings, the eagle floats on the updraft and spirals upward to higher and higher heights until it is but a speck in the sky. Finally satisfied with its altitude, the eagle heads northward, its white head and tail feathers catching the sunlight as it sails out of view.

        The eagle flew with such grace and elegance with hardly any effort at all. (Eagles can fly up to 10,000 feet with barely a flap of their wings.)

        Soaring -- Eagles soar, most birds do not. 

        I can be an eagle! 

        Instead of profusely flapping my wings like a sparrow valiantly using up my energy so as not to fall back to earth, I can simply learn to stretch out my wings, relax, let go, and rest upon His strength to take me higher to where He wants me to go.

        This eagle will never become exhausted or weak from soaring.  I can be God's little eagle, waiting on Him, spreading my wings and soaring on His wind current to take me higher and higher to new spiritual heights.

        Thousands of years ago when ornithology wasn't even in the human vocabulary and when scientists still have to discover the mechanics of wind thermals and updrafts, Isaiah already knew the answer: "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles." (Isaiah 40:31)

        Amazing, isn't it?  :-)

~florent flora