When you’re done reading my post, some of you will be incensed and are likely to say the Title is harsh.

I only knew of another protest going round the Net via Kotseng Kuba’s post. Apparently some Middle East based kababayan are encouraging all overseas Filipinos not to remit any money on 1-2 November, that’s this coming Thursday and Friday. This is because of what they perceive as a false perception of a stronger Peso buoyed by the OFW remittances. Generally the feeling is that it is unfair that our converted pay is now lower than before and our families in Pinas are left shortchanged because of the ever rising inflation. One would expect that with the upward trend for a better Peso - Dollar rate that our economy should also show signs of reviving. Unfortunately, that is not the case. (more…

I’ve got several posts in Drafts mode since August. I always keep telling myself I’ll get around to it, but what got around is the peak period at work… So as usual I haven’t done my tags, I haven’t properly acknowledged the awards & recognitions passed on to KWK (thank you), I haven’t done what I wanted for this new domain. The list is endless.

That’s grovelling done.

Now you’re all familiar with garage sales, esp in the US. You get people to come to your house and sell them junk stuff. In England, they have car boot sales. People fill the boots (i.e. trunk) of their cars (some bring vans & lorries aka trucks) and take their goods to a big open space where they can sale their wares. Most car boot sales are on Sundays (dunno why) and some are really not worth a visit. Some are medium size and you can look-buy in 1 hour. Some are held in fields and can take you half-a-day to skim.

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My sili plants bore me several chillis and after some weeks I managed to harvest the most important part of all — the leaves!

I was saw a young papaya for sale by accident and ting! - a light bulb switched on. It’s proper tinola time.

Please excuse the pictures as I nearly forgot to capture the evidence. pogiBoy loves soup-based dishes and hubby was salivating at the thought of tasting what he says is “authentic” Chicken Tinola, actually so was I! Finally I was able to eat my labour of love. (more…

I would like to think I’m not an axe-wielding feminist but a liberal and enlightened modern woman. I do not expect men to stand up and offer me their seat. I do not expect to be passed over for a promotion because the competition is a man. I expect equal rights. But I know we don’t live in a just World.

Because I work in IT, most of my officemates are men. That’s okay, most of the time I’m more at ease with men anyway. Most of my friends are male. And I am enjoying my current workplace. We’re busy up to our necks with deadlines but that’s life.

What bothers me is the number of doors we have to go thru to go from place to place within our office. The first is the main building door, then the secure door on our floor. Then there’s a door that separates the Technology and the meeting rooms from the rest of the floor, then there’s the actual Technology team’s door. Then there are the meeting room doors. And if you need the admin & marketing people or some stationeries, you go out the Tech room, thru the separating door thru another door. (more…

I recently called a high school friend in Pinas. As often the case with oldies like us, we got to talking about our past escapades. At one point she mentioned common friends who got married early (due to pregnancy). Some she said were demure in high school. “Tsk, tsk“, she said “you can never tell” but what followed nearly had me fall off my chair.

She said “Di ba ikaw nga ang panay tsikinini nung high school?“

OMG! Did I really? I might have accidentally blocked that out of my memory. It’s been so long since I last heard the word tsikinini (kissmark) that there was a synaptic delay before I reacted. When I did I couldn’t contain my mirth and my embarrassment. I was probably a little red on the face.

I can honestly say though I was not alone in sporting those red spots of “love”. Yes, my then bf would have some, too (more…

I saw this picture on the Metro yesterday morning. It so happens pogiBoy is currently into the Gingerbread Man at the moment. So during the busy day at work, I made a reminder on my phone to show this video to my kid,

Come on, you have to agree it’s brilliant. I don’t really understand why some quarters would say it was culturally insensitive. Or am I being dense?

… and my heart is set on this!

It’s been difficult to keep the secret. I’ve been wanting to post about the big leap for days but I managed to still my fingers. Hubby has been encouraging me to buy my domain name. He shared my excitement. In fact, eversince I registered KWK.com he checked its progress constantly.

Well now, it’s up and running and all my blogspot posts & comments are here. There’s work to be done to clean up and re-shuffle a few things. I need to add my widgets, create my blogroll, etc. etc.

If not for my beautiful and gracious hostess’ help, this move would have been such a headache. Beng was kind enough to accommodate my requests and even made me my tailor-made banner! Thanks madam!

Some of you might have noticed already but I took a leaf off BatJay’s KT and thus the title “Kwentong Walang Kwenta“. I’m not as funny, as witty nor as pogi, but I do hope to stay a while.

Tuloy po kayo, wag nang mahihiya.

Toe was reminiscing about her childhood reads before and how she’d wish for blonde hair and blue eyes (like that UP student who won in the UK). My past was a bit different because the only reading materials I had access to growing up were comics. You know, Pinoy Klassiks, Aliwan, Liwayway, at marami pang iba na nakalimutan ko na pangalan.

My Lola in Manila used to rent comics in her sari-sari store and she’d archive the old issues in rice sacks and bring them to Nueva Ecija - for me! Nanay hated it because I won’t stop until I have read each and every issue. I’d ditch my morning baths, ignore my Saturday cartoons, zip thru my assignments & just slump on the floor next to my sacks (there’ll be 2-3 sack-full!).

Before our black-and-white television, weeknight entertainment was reserved for our transistor radio. You know the type that takes 4-6 big batteries and the back cover is made of cardboard? (more…

Have you seen the film “One Fine Day” with Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney? It’s a feel-good romcom. Not great, but not bad either. I was already a mum when I saw that film & the biggest thing that struck me was Michelle’s bag.

It was huge. At one point in the film, she produced a zip-lock plastic with her son’s toy cars. The toy cars sealed a contract for the firm she works for as the cars provided some focal point in her building (?) model.

When I was single, my bag was an accessory. True, I was a girlscout & you can find most things you’d need in my bag. But the bags were stylish & petite. Since becoming a mum, my bags went from medium size to combat-ready-size.

I carry less stuff now that pogiBoy is nappy-free but I still need an extra shirt, some wipes, food, juice, and other munitions to keep him amused whenever we go out. So rather than go thru the trouble of re-organising my bag-containers, I just keep that huge bag & use it all week (or month at work). Imagine what I look like when I’m also lugging a laptop & struggling to stay upright in the Tube.

Anyway, you know what they say when some people are given storage, we find ways to fill it to the brim? It’s 100% true for me.

So my daily bag is filled with my packed lunch’s container, scarf, gloves, makeup bag (that I rarely use), papers, clips, band-aids, mints, moleskin, pen, map, train schedule, etc etc.

The laptop bag? I manage to fill that with my water bottle, papers from work, mouse, arm brace, and every now & again, stuff for pogiBoy. See below.

okay that’s my lunch “box”

See now that’s how you balance your work and family commitments. Use everything at your disposal, no matter how heavy. Afterall, when you’re in love the weight drops off the scale.