Talk About Healthy Ice Cream

My ice cream obssession already faded or so I thought. Hahaha! Am I a cheater to give in to this cold health craze? After all, it is still considered ice cream.

I'm a self-confessed ice creamoholic but I like to eat ice cream in its healthiest form because eating ice cream alone won't give me so much calcium. So, I switched to eating yogurt until I found frozen yogurt which has lead me to discover and search the froyo outlets in town. This is great news for all the lactose-intolerant peeps!

For a healthy dessert, try froyo (frozen yogurt). Its texture is just like our very own ice cream. The only difference is that this is the healthier alternative, not to mention that the froyo contains lactobacillus in it. Eat your froyo with or without toppings. You can even bring your own toppings to make your froyo experienced personalized.

I listed the stores according to my sequential visits. What are you waiting for? Give in and INDULGE. =)

As Red Mango's tagline boasts, treat yourself well. After all, we deserve this kind of treat after a hard day's work.

1 Red Mango - Eastwood Mall, Megamall, Trinoma
2 California Berry - Megamall, Silver City Mall
3 Yogurbud - Megamall, Podium
4 White Hat - Rustans Makati, Robinsons Place Manila, Shangri-la, SM North EDSA Annex
5 YoSwirls - Shangri-La
6 Yoh-gurt Froz - Bonifacio High Street, Greenbelt 5, Promenade, Robinsons Place Manila
7 FYI - Il Terrazzo, Tomas Morato
8 Lulubelle - Power Plant Mall
9 I Love Berries - SM Mall of Asia

Michael Jackson's Words

I know my blog about MJ is damn late... hahaha!

Yeah, this is such an early demise for a great artist! But, through it all, MJ served an inspiration to many people and with that, I wanna pay tribute to him in a fun way by thinking of words that can be made out of his name. =0)

As of the moment no one really knows the reason why he died but a source said that there was a malpractice wherein the wrong 'medicine' was intravenously injected in him. That same incident had happened to my 27 year old friend and he died one hour after the injection.
This is another fun way to destress. At least, I did something to pass out the time. I just finished my lunch. To add some challenge, try making three-letter words or more. ;o) Kindly post your additions. Thanks!

[A]ale, alien, alone,
[C]cam, cha, chai, chalk, check, chin, chick, choice, clean, coin
[E]elan, elk
[H]hale, halo, ham, heal, heck, hick
[I]ilk, ion, irk, Islam, isle, isohel
[J]jack, jackal, jail, jock,
[K]kai, kea, koan, kohl, koi, koine, kola
[L]lack, leak, lean, lens, leo, lion, loan
[M]mack, mackle, mail, main, mash, meal, meek, milk
[N]nail, neck, nose
[O]oak, oasis, ohm, oil, oka, olea, omen, once, one
[S]sack, sail, scam, seal, shale, sham, shame, skin, snack, son

My Uncanny Superhero Called Spiderwoman

From childhood to adulthood, we grow up watching old and new superheroes in the television. There is no year in the movie industry, rather show business, without starring superheroes – whether it is Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Fantastic Four, X-Men and many more. Even in kids’ magazines, comics and books have superheroes in it blasting in full color. What is life without a superhero we all adore? Maybe, for me, life would be dull if my Spiderwoman is not in it because in my classroom, which I call the ‘world’, my Spiderwoman is my superhero.

I call my mum my Spiderwoman not because she loves Spiderman but because she helps people in need and she never gets tired of doing so. Just like the spider continuing to weave its web, my mom continues to weave her own tapestry called life. And, if her tapestry gets destroyed, she weaves it again, each time showing resilience in her every weave. When I was a child, my mum would always read me stories with moral lessons and she would share real life experiences to me. At that time, I don’t have any idea why she told me stories of glory, adversity, perseverance and success among others. She would often stress that in life there is a balance – where there is joy, there is sadness; where there is glory, there is pain. In the eyes of the child, those are just stories to pass up the time. Little did I know that the time will come when I’d be able to relate to her stories.

Even before the so-called financial crisis struck the Philippines, our country is undoubtedly in such a big crisis. From the AC Nielsen and SWS research, many Filipinos have gotten poor and they are still counting. It also happened to us, to the point that our salaries are so meager that we have to find other ways to earn to continue eating at least three times a day. We were still lucky that we still have something to eat, all because of my mum’s relentless effort for us to live comfortably.

Even before my graduation, we were struggling financially. We don’t have much money to support our daily needs and we rely on our salaries alone. My mum is a teacher and there came a time when she was laid off because the company where she worked became bankrupt. Teachers in the Philippines are not paid well compared to its counterparts in other countries. In order to make ends meet, she applied as a proxy teacher in nearby schools. As a fresh graduate, I have no choice but to choose to do my only choice – to work. My sister wasn’t able to finish her studies and she chose to work so that we can still pay our bills and mountain of debts. Just imagining the pressure my mom’s into makes me admire her more.

Spiderwoman’s husband, who is my dad, left us for another family. He had done it many times but my mum kept on forgiving him until she cannot take it anymore. For 21 years, she became a martyr and proved how strong she was by holding on to a futile relationship. I wonder how she was able to endure these trying times because I know I wouldn’t be able to handle it for so long. Is it because she has a heart of steel? One thing’s for sure is that she did what she can in order to save our family even though she knows at the back of her mind our family will never be complete. But at least, she fought with all her might just like our mighty superheroes.
And just like Spiderman, my mum is a fighter. She exudes the aura of a Katipunera*, still fighting even if she is badly wounded. My mum thinks that she lost many battles but to us, she won every battle and every challenge thrown upon her. It was her constant reminder to me that I should never give up because she believes that when a person gives up especially without even trying, a person loses the battle by default. That advice she gave me stuck in my head which is the core reason why I never lose hope and I never give up, believing that for every problem we face there is always a solution. So why give up?

No matter how busy mum is, she always prepares our food and sees to it that we are okay. She constantly texts or calls us every time she gets the chance. What’s so fascinating about her is that she is no techie. She didn’t even know how to operate her cell phone, let alone charge its battery. It came to me as a big surprise when she was able to call me up and text me the time we met after office. I thought it was her friend who used her cell phone to call me up, but it was her. She tried to learn how to use the cell phone just to get in touch with us. She didn’t even bother to asks any of us to teach her because she knows how busy her daughters are. It was funny that a baby boomer like her tried to learn how to use the cell phone even without our assistance. How many mums like her are that techie and willing to learn? My mum just rocks!

One of the most valuable lessons my mum taught me is to become a blessing to other people. Mum would always stress the fact that I should share what I have no matter how meager it is. She continuously shares herself by always being available to help even to those who are in need and that made me join various advocacies of the NGOs I chose to join. It is also through her that I learned what a Bible is and that the words in this magnificent book are words of life and love that I should share to others. My benevolent side could not have been opened if not for her incessant prodding that I should share myself to others and to the world. She is indeed a role model to us and to her students and colleagues in school. She still continues to teach because it is her passion. But what drives her to do so is her motivation to instill good values to make these young ones become responsible citizens of the world.

Because of all the things she taught us, we became strong souls ready to conquer anything. Every time she sees me at my worst, she would remind me that no matter what happens, there is still a choice and that I should choose the right choice there is. What is best may not be right but what is right may become possibly the best choice. She practically knows the loopholes of a problem and she lets me see the solutions so that I will not fall to a trap that I do not want to get myself into. What I have and where I am right now will not be as good, if not for Spiderwoman’s guidance.

Whenever I ask her if I can achieve what I wanted in life and if I have what it takes to get to wherever I want, she would always say, “You can do it.” It’s that simple but her words are enough to fill up my tank of courage to let me do what I supposed to be doing. When all else has fallen, I am at my luckiest that she was able to catch me through her mighty-built cobwebs.
She may not have superpowers like the superheroes we adore, but I am bloody proud that she is my mum and superhero. I know many mums out there who are all superheroes in their own ways. And the right time will come when I’ll be one hell of a superhero just like her someday.

* Katipunera is a Filipino woman fighter who fought the Spaniards who invaded the Philippines.

Tracy-ing the Times Together

1st of January. 14th day of February. These are just some of the days we celebrate around the world. But for me and my best friend, Tracy, that wonderful day is 8th of March. We planned this BF date (best friend date) one month ahead. We are so giddy with excitement as we do the countdown until it reaches the 8th day of March. We are like the kids who are excited to shop for their new toys and the teens who are excited to get their hands on the latest fashion magazines in town. I think our excitement is more than that because it’s been a really long time since we last saw each other. Okay, we watched the ‘Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’ concert and we both wear our friendship shirts in purple shade. And so, the flashback starts.

I have been friends with Tracy since 3rd year high school. I am a new student then and she was my other seatmate on my 1st day of school. At first, I thought she would be just like any other classmate I knew, someone who would be your friend only when there are assignments, quizzes, seatworks and the like. I never thought that she could be my best friend because at that time, all I wanted was to cope up with the new environment that I am in. Well, being a new student is not new to me since I’m used to hop from one school to another but this one is different. I just know that this ‘transfer’ is different from the previous transfers I have made.

We went to different schools in college but our friendship blossomed into something deeper even if we are apart. Don’t get me wrong, we do not have a lesbian relationship. We have our own share of boyfriend stories too. We have a deeper relationship than just living on what we call ‘best friend status’. We officially call ourselves ‘sisters’. In one of her letters to me, she mentioned that she relates to me even more as her sister than her best friend. I made a poem out of the letters in her name and she made me a poem in return. At the bottom of the card, she told me that I am her best-est friend in the whole world. It is one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever got! Up to the present, she would always call me up for a slumber party at her place.

Trace (as I fondly call her) and I try to meet at least once or twice a month. I think old friends should meet up once in awhile to reconnect and hang out. Being busy is not an excuse unless of course, it is a matter of life and death then you can postpone meeting up with your friends. We may not know the value of these moments now but we will surely appreciate all these in the future especially when we are old. Who are you going to run to if you don’t have friends beside you? It would be better to create wonderful moments with your friends now than to create it later when they are all gone. Do dead people get to appreciate and smell the flowers? Even if they do, we wouldn’t be able to see the smiles on their faces now. Of course, we don’t want regrets. Now that we still have time, let’s spend it with them and let them know that they are treasured no matter how seldom we say it. I may sound crazy but I’ve had my fair share of my friends’ early demise which is why I always value the time I have with my friends. These times are priceless and can never be regained once lost.

Being with her is one of the best friendship moments I’ve had. Yes, simply being with her and just literally chilling out. There are times where we rarely talk about our lives. We would just go eat and watch a movie in complete silence yet we both understand each other. It’s like finding a soulmate-friend in one another. I totally dig her as my own sister. Tracy is not like any other girl pal I’ve met because she’s damn different. What I like about her is that she tries to understands me even if I am really hard to fathom. We’ve got our friendship going on for 12 rock solid years but it still feels like the friendship days we’ve had in high school.

Nothing has changed except for the fact that we’ve got some pimples and wrinkles on our faces. Guess what, we are not even afraid of having more creases on our foreheads and crow’s feet on our eyes! She even told me that she will worry if time comes that we lose in touch. I told her that if that happens, I will find her. And if I can’t find her, maybe she can go find me, too. Then, halfway around the world or somewhere, we both know that our paths would cross again.

What is your sweetest dream?

This is the entry I sent to Cosmopolitan regarding my sweetest dream. My dream may not be that sweet but for now that's what I remember the sweetest dream I've had. (=

It was when I got to travel around the globe and I was inside a huge raindrop. I visited lotza places and shop. The magical thing was I am riding inside the raindrop and I was seeing all these wonderful places for free. That was the sweetest dream I had and I want it to happen someday, for real. =)

Well, they say that what we see in our dreams our some of the dreams we want to happen in real life. In my case, that is so so soooo true. =p