Albine's Corner

Hey, Albine... It's been so Long, What Happened? Indeed, it's been so long since I last updated this journal of mine. For lots of reasons like graduate school requirements, inaccessible Internet, assorted feelings and ideas, adjustment to new schedule, and other things. In graduate graduate school, that thesis of mine and other little projects ate up my time for so many days. The very main reason for not blogging so long. I planned to post one especially on the day I'd like to commemorate my daughter's birthday. My regret I couldn't find time to write a single post or greetings for her, somehow. Then it was semestral break at work and sem break for Internet facility, too...(LOL) Sorry for myself because I couldn't get subscription at home. A couple of weeks had passed and I got unorganized or undecided on what topic to post next. Is it about the bonding moments with some friends? Or about my second date with Sean? The holiday I spent in Marinduque? Or another po

More Than You Do Cats, baboons, blue skies, and vegetables; Things that trigger, my name to recall; I'm glad that not only a single key Can make you remember an ordinary me. But let me tell you, dear: I remember you more than you do. Our homes were at each opposite sides Of this small world, a sphere; From the moment that we connect, I knew you've been far and also you've been near. Since then, you said, so sweet to hear: You missed me so many times, That you wished I was there. But let me tell you, dear: I miss you more than you do. You react when you hear me say: "I think of you more than you do"; Same thing, you object when I wrote: "I miss you more than you do". So, you asked: How do I gauge that? Well, I use no gauge, in fact. The things I believe, the feelings I feel, The only one who can tell is me; If others can do better, I shall do the best that I can; If you do more than I can do, I shall exceed to all your ways.

I am a Filipina. I have never seen any episodes of the American TV show, the "Desperate Housewives" but all I know it is a kind of situational comedy series lead by some Hollywood actresses and one of them is Teri Hatcher. It's "season premier" has a scene that has been talk of the town (or of the world) especially when some Filipinos, lead by Kevin Nadal signed a protest against ABC network in the US. What was it all about? ...Here it goes: it started from the show's dialogue between Susan (played by Teri Hatcher) and her doctor. The latter says he's suspecting that Susan's coming to menopausal syndrome and he's referring her to another doctor. Thus, Susan replied she wanna check those diplomas because she wanna make sure those doctors are not coming from some medical schools in the Philippines. Such dialogue flares up many Filipinos, including government officials back here in the Philippines. Then I sought on other country's web publicatio

Semi-Vegetarians - those who are almost vegetarians; they only occasionally consume meat/fish/fowl. Vegetarians - those who consume no meat, fish, nor fowl, but they may consume eggs or dairy. Vegans - those who are vegetarians, and they consume no dairy, eggs, nor honey. Raw Foodists - those who are vegetarians, and the foods I eat are never cooked. source: http://www.veggieconnection.com/ Well, I'm a semi-vegetarian at this time but considering to be a vegan in the future. This is my choice because I'm into a simple lifestyle. Before I came to this preference, I simply believed in "simplicity". That means not going to put my resources (e.g. time, effort, body, money) into destructive ways; or not owning something beyond my necessity. Thus, I believe that choosing a vegetarian diet is one step towards simplicity. Herbal medicine, I think was the main reason why I started to appreciate the vegetarian diet. Then I must also say that herbal medicine is another step

So, it was such untypical weekend for me... despite the busy schecule and the nagging deadlines, I chose to see my friend, shall refer to as "Sunshine". Actually, I was the one who set the date simply because I long for a different environment. I was so tired and bored then with all the usual work-home-study activities. Who is Sunshine? Sunshine has been a friend to me since our high school days in the eighties. When we parted ways to continue our pursuits separately, there were four of us girls who were really close to one another, ( silang 3 , m atatalino at magaganda pa!). I remember we had codenames then: twinkle (me), Danes, Lhyre, and of course, Sunshine. Among them, Sunshine and me have had lots of times together... given the opportunity to reminisce what we had, I think I need to open a new site for that... LOL! Admittedly, gone are the days when we were so young and free. Sunshine got married in the late 90's and I left single (for such a long period of time).

Today is September 18 th , thirty days from now is October 18 th , would be my child's 4 th birthday. If fate has been favorable to me, I would be so excited planning and preparing for my little girl's party. I could buy her new clothes and shoes, invite her playmates, or even treat her out to a fantastic theme park... but that's not the hands of time for me these days. She's been gone so early in her child's life by a silent-killer disease, bronchial asthma. It was not so long ago when I last heard her struggling voice shouting "Mamaaa!" as she coughs. It was just four months ago. There's no other pain in my life seeing my only girl dying. I knew she keeps on fighting for her acquired illness, up to the very last moments of her in this world. If only I could give her my own respiratory system just to make her survive. As a mother, I would do anything to make her comfortable. Yet, that moment of her was really beyond my control. On losing her, most of

I 'm looking forward to another weekend. Here's my "to do" list: Wash my clothes - Friday night Study my report in OS (Operating System) - Friday night Attend to OS class, I'm a reporter - Saturday morning Meet my group mates in BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) subject - Saturday afternoon Buy a topographic map - Saturday afternoon Internet: research on CO (carbon monoxide) measurement system - Saturday evening Internet: download related theses and concepts - Saturday evening Read, read, read on downloaded materials - Saturday evening Think, organize ideas - Saturday evening Start writing - Saturday late night Wake up early - Sunday morning Attend mass - Sunday morning Internet, read, write - Sunday morning 'till noon Short sleep - Sunday, after lunch Self-hair-spa - Sunday afternoon Housekeeping: sweep, clean, iron clothes Y a think I'm busy? Gosh this is another typical weekend for me!

I t was September 11 th , 6:00 P.M. H ere's what I bought from the wet market as I dropped by before going home from work: Tofu Kalamansi Cabbage Spring Onions Celery Bean Sprouts Carrots Cucumber Pears Ampalaya Pechay Onions Tomatoes Cooking Oil W ell, I'm a vegetarian right now. This is my act towards my quest and advocate of wellness. I am not good in cooking, but I try to do it wholeheartedly. There's no one else to do it for me, anyway. Most of the time I saute or blanch vegetables. A little creativity on salad dressings and well familiarization on herbs made my food enjoyable. Care to dine with me? ;)

S eptember 8 th and 9 th : I just had a typical weekend once again. S aturday Not a Day Off. Saturday had been a very busy day for me just because this is my day as a student. If I don't pursue my graduate studies, it is an ordinary work day for me. It's unfair though that if I want to upgrade m profile, I have to formally file a leave of absence (without pay) or deliberately be absent from work. What a fair sacrifice, so it seems! M y Thesis Title Approved. So I chose to work half-day in order to earn a little. If I feel that it's alright not to attend my classes (as a student) in PUP, I can report to work (as a teacher) in EAC. Anyway, two of my teachers already did not require us to attend classes until our "presentation day". They gave us time to work on our projects. Thus, I only came to PUP to seek approval of my thesis title and to meet my group mates regarding BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) plans. I could say, the best thing that happened to me d

I t's one-hour past midnight of September 6 th . I just finished washing clothes. I enjoyed the whole evening in the solitude of my home. Sometimes it really feels good to be all alone. I can do unplanned things at any point in time. Best of all, I can wander around my thoughts while doing things or while enjoying the comfort of my seat. So I picked up my ball pen and started scribbling this diary. I t is very unusual to me to wash clothes in ordinary working days like this. Why do you think I did it today? Well, you know I just got a new washer. At last, after 13 years of living independently, I decided to acquire this machine. I feel that I need to have this now so that I can lessen my time doing housekeeping. Lots of other things are trying to grab my time, like doing my thesis, maintaining this blog, socializing, and catching up with unfinished tasks at work. I t is coincidental today that I left the house this morning without running water on my faucets (blame it to the wate

H ow about my graduate studies? Well, I've been worried about a certain subject, which is "Research Seminar 1". The thesis title I submitted before was not approved by my professor because that was mainly a descriptive type of research. What she was expecting from us is both a descriptive and an experimental research all in one. Then something about "Air Pollution" comes into my mind. H mmm, air pollution... and why that particular area of interest? Indeed, there's one big reason behind this thing: my child died of asthma. In other words, she died due to air pollution! Truly, my child became the biggest meaning of my existence on earth. I really strived hard just for her. She has been my inspiration. Now that she's in the house of the Lord, she's still the second reason in everything I do. This thesis would be a milestone both to my educational and professional lives and I acknowledge Beijah Rose, my pretty child on this. W ill It be easy for me to

I t's been Thursday, a few minutes before seven in the evening. My last period in school lasts 'till 7:00 PM but I chose to dismiss my students early amidst of the heavy rain. It's a wet rainy day in August. Just wondering how could it be possible for me to reach home without getting wet. Thank God, there's a spare of cheap, worn out umbrella I left in my locker room here in the Faculty Room, my so-called office. A s I sit and stare at the bare wall of the same room, I thought of Sean. He's scheduled to fly this afternoon at about 5:00 PM for South Africa. A couple of hours ago, I read his SMS for me saying he's in line waiting to get through the Immigration and yet worried because he might miss his flight because of incompetent Immigration System. He must have been worried and I feel sorry for him. An hour after I received this message, I dialed his mobile phone but to no avail and I assumed he flew already. A s I divert my thoughts away from Sean, "to do&

I have often times admire the achievements of some world leaders, the beauty of some celebrities, the endurance of some athletes, or even the success of some businessmen. These persons I only knew through print and mass media, but if asked to write about the person I greatly admire, I cannot think of someone else except the one I have lived with and experienced with through all my life. Of all the persons I ever knew and learned about, I greatly admire my Mother. Read through this essay and here's why. First and foremost, my mother was able to finish her studies despite of many hindrances in life. While in school, she did not get full financial support from my grandparents because of two main reasons: one, my grandparents have had limited income as farmers; and the other, she came from a large family of eight siblings. In other words, small family income could hardly sustain the needs for many children. She was even obliged to take care of smaller children because the works in the

Well, this is my first post here at Blogger.com . Actually, I begun blogging somewhere in another site but I didn't get through it so far... it was difficult, or I don't know. Hope this new-found site will be a success to all my weblogs. I love writing, so allow me to tick this keyboard and display my words on your screens. I wish people would see my little contributions.... I wish myself, who is nobody, be known to many and be recognized. I call on you: my dear loved ones, friends, acquaintances, someone, or anybody to join me here. Hope you always drop by (to know more about me) as I may do the same with your own blogs. I would appreciate your posting of comments so that I can go on, sharp and clever, with my passion for writing. Welcome to Albine's Corner !