transposable element

gee, it has been a week since this blog was last updated. what can i say? in between schlepping jan from one play-date to another and the last surge of tasks from my teaching duties, i’ve got just enough time to update my other blogs and answer the more important emails. hubby turned 32 without much hoopla. like the family tradition dictates, i played suzy homemaker and baked him a birthday cake which we all nibbled on for breakfast on his big day, while he opened his presents. since it was a working day for both of us, the mini-celebration took all of about 23 minutes, haha! oh well, i guess we’ll reserve all the pomp for the big flat four-oh.

additionally, we’ve been turning the flat inside out, moving things about, throwing stuff out, figuring out the best way to accommodate additional furniture we’ll “inherit” next weekend. all that, plus a commissioned dance performance last friday, and it seemed that the week marched faster than usual.

in the next couple of weeks, i’ve got more than a dozen term papers to correct, in addition to the regular tasks that keep little me busy. amazingly, my email inbox continuously spews out tasks! i have the feeling that some people think i am their paid personal assistant. hah! well, take a number, i’m busy!

I found myself at Discovery Channel while surfing, and found something interesting: Elephants Respect Old, Big Females.

In a female elephant gang, few animals bother the oldest and biggest of the group because they know she will not put up with any nonsense, according to a new study that found age and size determine wild female elephant hierarchies.

Humans, take heed. Not that I’m old. Or big. No, really.

This issue of PinoyExpats is BIG!

Ever heard of Flickr? Did you know that its developer is half-Filipino? Well, read about it at PinoyExpats! We’ve also put together some of the most awesome stories of Pinoys overseas and their use of technology to connect, to communicate, to reach out… Dont miss it!

Technorati Tags: filipino, pinoyexpats, expats, expatriates, webzine, ezine

one would think that at the age of thirty-er-something, i would have already been financially independent from my parents. or, as is usual in the philippine culture, i would aready be at that point when i would be "giving back".

but here i am, still taking, instead of giving. my dad is paying for my flight ticket so i can visit the philippines. actually, i have a suspicion that it is just jan that they’re wanting to see, but hey, we’re a package deal until he can fly unaccompanied… which i declare to be 18. hah!

oh well, so to make it short, and embarassing though it may be, i’ve taken the offer. i’m homesick and broke enough to ignore the indignity of letting my father foot the bill, hehe… and besides, that’ll make winter about one month shorter. tickets are booked, and in a few weeks, just as soon as my teaching duties are over for the term, we’re flying over. i can’t wait!

Tags: philippines, asia, airfares, flights, travel

yep, right on the middle of my chin. it hurts and looks absolutely horrid. i’ve considered pinching it, but it hurts! and then i remembered i still have a tube of tretinoin somewhere in the bag of rubbles i call my cosmetic case. ah, there. expiration: june 2003.

hm, should i still? and then i remembered reading about accutane side effects just a few days ago. hm, better not then. it looks so unpretty, but it’s not like it makes a whole lot of difference, haha!

what do YOU do with acne, anyway?

Tags: acne, cosmetics, dermatology

From Seattle Simplicity:

“There are three things we must figure out in order to live our best lives.

One: Where we want to live.
Two: What we want to do for a living.
Three: Who we want to be with.

When you’ve figured out those three things, you’ll be happy.”

when i first read it, it indeed sounded so simple. but, is it, really?

where do you want to live? what place would you pick out over all other possibilities in the world? i find it difficult to answer that myself because there are so many places that i can imagine living in. there are so many options. the world is so full of possibilities. possibilities that i do not even realize exist. i am clear on the places where i do not want to live, though.

same with what do you want to do for a living. there are endless possibilities. while it is sometimes easier to figure out what you don’t want to do, i find it more difficult to pinpoint and narrow all the possible choices to one single path. i have varied interests and capabilities, which i believe makes my life rich, and it’s not so easy for me to single out just one thing i want to do.

who i want to be with, i’ve figured out more or less. i have a partner i plan to be with for the rest of this lifetime, but i take “to be with” to also include friends, neighbors and communities. now tell me, how do you rid yourself of people you don’t want to be with?

and then there is the difference between having figured these things out, and actually putting them into action, especially when you put all three together. maybe i’d love living in seychelles, but what am i gonna do there for a living (hm, with the proximity to south africa, maybe should start paying more attention to gold price quotes and invest in metal trading, haha!)? would i love the people and would the people i’d bring with me love it there, too?

seattle simplicity ended her post with this:

It really IS that beautifully simple. Three little things. Amazing. I loved having it all boiled down to three little things.

i think there’s even a simpler approach. just a two-step, this time:

1. take stock of what you have, and learn to love it, live it, make the best out of it.
2. if you can’t, then go seek change. you may find yourself going-and-seeking your whole life in search of that state called “happiness”, but then, isn’t that what life is all about?

Seattle Simplicity found thru Simply Thrifty.

hence the new template. i’ve always been partial to clean three columns, so maybe i’ll stick with this one. or maybe not. we’ll see…

*****

oh well, apparently, not. changed skins again. now, if i can just figure out how to change that avatar that shows on the tab, this should do.

there’s something with the passing of christmas and new year that lulls you into an illusion that winter is also over. or that at least the peak of winter is. but fact is, it just started. the temperature outside hovers around freezing point, and i’m shivering just thinking about it, even if i’m indoors and the heaters are all jacked up. but hey, they say that when you’re in a dump, you’ve got to think of things in perspective. which sounds like an oblique way of saying, “think of things or people who are in worse position than you”. pretty mean, but let’s see:

down in the alps, just a few hundred kilometers away, they have -35°C today: that’s twice as cold as most household freezers! brrrr!

*****
update: well, the temps just sank further the last few days, down to -7. as i came back from kindergarten, my ears were about to fall off, the tears were frozen on my eyelids and i don’t feel how many fingers i have left. but hold the funeral flowers, the heaters are all maxed and i’ll be back among the living in a sec!

nation referring to philippines, of course. i hate to imagine the possible circumstances that would put me on a german national zeitung. but i digress.

here it is: my 5 minutes of fame.

just in time for the re-launch of my asia travel blog. go on a virtual travel to asia here!

scouring the web for good deals on venice hotels, i’ve learned that if you are on a budget:

1. do not go during the peak seasons, i.e., during carnival in february, and from the months of may til august. while hotel rates may be as low as €35 during winter months, the same room may jack up to more than three times during peak season.
2. book early. venice is one of the, if not THE, ultimate tourist trap in europe, and while there are a few “cheap” sleeps, these are quickly snatched. indeed, i have been to websites of some which are already fully booked for the may and june. that’s about half a year in advance!
3. if you’re staying long, consider getting a flat. their rates (minimum of 3 nights) can be cheaper. you take care of your own breakfast, though. verify whether the end-of-stay cleaning is included in the rates.
4. do not assume that hotel rooms have private bathrooms. especially in lesser-starred hotels, shared bathrooms are common. i have seen one funny ad for a “double room with canal view, without bathroom”, as if one compensates for the other, eh?
5. verify the location of the hotel in a map. if you want to be on walking distance or a short vaporetto ride to the sights and scenes, get a hotel within these sestiere, or quarters, of the city: san marco, dorsoduro, san polo/santa croce, cannaregio and castello. i was originally limited my hotel search in san marco, but i realized that as long as it is within these quarters, it cannot be more than half an hour away from piazza san marco.

the long and short is, i’ve booked a hotel. it had mixed reviews, and offers just a continental breakfast (which is probably just coffee and toast). but heck, if venice is as enchanting as they say, i don’t intend to spend my time indoors anyway!