A Dip Into 35

Departure schedules are among the causes that I only can have daydreams of having a dip into the deep blue soon. I’m not talking of a quick throw of the bucket to cool a strained body, but a lazy bare foot walk in the sunset with a beer, and perhaps a helping hand to prevent me tripping. I could have used a second pair of lungs to blow out 34 candles. That wasn’t easy to do, and I already save my breath for the future 35. By the way: thanks for all the good wishes! Image by Photobucket/bekadrk89

Jane, Judy And Joy

What caught my eye was a striking connection between two different articles in one and the same newspaper (one reads anything that comes within grasp, while waiting for a bus or boat). The first about that basic emotions like joy, sadness and fear in western music was shared and recognized by people who had never heard western music before. (that fact alone is quite remarkable, I think). The second was about the fading ability of babies somewhere between the third and nineth month, to recognize the features of people other then their own race. (all the features like eyes, mouth and the face in general contribute largely to express that same joy, sadness and fear). Maybe that makes Tarzan’s choice for Jane instead of Judy even more exotic and eye-brow lifting? Image by Photobucket/kathihocutt

Closet Rooms And Containers

To have some kind of place, no matter if it’s a garage with oil stains, an attic with mice or a huge-kind-of-closet-room with moulds, it provides you space to accommodate your stuff. When your head’s spinning with matters that can’t wait, you know it will be there the moment you need it again. Think of a sudden move to another city. Some time ago I wasn’t that fortunate, and had to face a loss of many personal items. Wish I’d had a key of one of those moving containers for self storage in those days. It would have made life much easier. Image by Photobucket/naguilar_2006

Distant Drums

With the previous post being about the day-to-day problems of living on an island, this clip shows Microsoft’s idea of an almost tangible future and echoes the famous line that Neil Armstrong made world known: “it’s one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind”. But ‘almost tangible’ means it remains distant drums, a humming in the air. Let’s prepare the plumbing first.

Cocktails And Canaries

To be charmed by the idea of living on a tropical island is quite understandable. But I’m not sure that all people with waving palm trees and eye blinding white sandy beaches in mind, are aware there’s a number of things hard to get on those pretty isles. Things that they’re used to have around in their home 24/7. The Nitty Gritty can be very discouraging or asking for a tidal flow of bucks. Volcanic rocks are not very hospital for water works and power lines. The costs to get those done can be a knock-out, a hangover without having had the colorful cocktails the night before. To know where all the material has to come from, and where it all has to get into, makes we have an eye for things like a Delta faucet sale or any other opportunity with plenty of discount. Like this sipping canary, we appreciate every drop of water, because it helps. Image by Photobucket/miprat

Laurels And Legs

Today, being somewhere between harbor and parents’ home with hopes of a soon-to-be-departure, I had to think of the expectations, the rewards and the disappointments we all encounter. All these experiences I saw in the eyes of three of my nephews who got a graduation or passed an entrance examination with various levels of satisfaction. They all crossed the finish line of their own marathon, but without the glamorous laurels of the champion they hoped to get. I wish them all the best days still to come, it’s been a nice stretch of legs, well done boys! Image by Photobucket/DannyAHS

Tide Of Time

With a birthday coming up in a speed with no mercy, and nothing but deep ocean blue surrounding me (yes, I’m on my way again) I try to picture the seventies, the decade I was born. I found out already that it was the age the home video systems saw the light of day. That the film Jaws made people refrain from having a dip in the same ocean blue I just mentioned. A quartet of Swedish youngsters called Abba got in the spotlights. That a 19-year-old boy sold his first program basic, the start of a certain company called microsoft. We all know what happened to the home video systems and the young nerd. And what happened to Abba, in contrary with some of the members of that same quartet, so it seems now. Jaws was captured or choked in some tough piece of meat, I can’t remember. I’ve never seen Jaws, actually.

I also couldn’t find any of importance that happened on the 29th of March. Except it’s the birthday of yours truly. Now, hold your horses: don’t spoil me with all your best wishes... then again: go ahead, make my day! Image by Photobucket/tangomango

A Tedious Turtle Tale

I-WAS-TOLD-TO-A-PO-LO-GI-ZE-TO-YOU-ALL, THAT-IT-WAS-ALL-MY-DO-ING-THAT-YOU-DO-NOT-GET-ANY-E-CARD-DROP-PING-LA-TE-LY, I-AM TRU-LY SOR-RY...HAVE-TO-RUN-NOW. Image by Photobucket/Raknarok_2006

Moth Magic

Another thing that struck my mind, being back from the cool mountains, is the nuisance that insects are on tropical islands at sea level. From out all impossible cracks and holes they might appear and frenzy many housewife. Not all of us have glassed windows or closed kitchen cabinets. Pantries or other areas where food is stored can be heaven to these bugs. Next to walk around with predator eyes, a more simple more effective solution such as moth traps can prevent many trips to the waste-basket with another piece of stained food. I rather eat that food myself, thank you! But, to be honest: they also can look pretty like a refined Japanese drawing, don’t you agree? Image by Photobucket/deziree24

A Painful Pink

Pink is one of my all time favorite colors, but really obsessed is my friend who can't live without pink in her closet. Every single item in there must have some accent of pink. Having my vacation in Baguio I couldn't resist to take a picture of a, at first glance, pink horse for her. And with the yell 'god, strike me pink' I found myself riding a horse for the first time, and honestly, I almost fell because of the height and speed, or maybe the horse simply didn't like me. Later I got punished because my back was giving me a painful reminder of my amazone adventure!

A Pink Prediction

Living in the tropics myself, it’s a bit cheating to mention I got a sense of spring these past few days. We only know the dry and wet season here, the change of wind direction. And yet, that’s how it feels like. Maybe the recent visit to the cool heights of Baguio are to blame for it? Maybe some local flora up there left a scent in the air and still tickles my nostrils? I certainly would like a stroll under these pink flowered cherry’s. Wish you all a sign of a new start this week. Image by Photobucket/loewus9

A Cat's Coax

As we explore the world around us and beyond, new unexpected niches might be found. Curiousity killed the cat, they say. But it also can be very rewarding. To quote Carl Sagan: ‘Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere’. Image by Photobucket/ryans_carebear87

A Toddler's Toy

To grow awareness of where he is, and therefor helps him to understand the things that surround him, isn’t that one of the major first steps a child has to take? There can’t be such a thing as getting too much knowledge of this, or getting it in a too early stage of life. How wonderful some toys must be for a kid, like to feel big chunks of colorful pieces he can fit together, and see the world he’s living in getting shape in front of his curious eyes? Image from Photobucket/HanlieB

A Cool Coconut Consolation

All of the sharp eyed among you will have spotted the fakeness in the picture, but the hospitality I got from people to visit their farm with plenty of palmtrees and have a cool refreshing drink yesterday, was warmhearted and real. I might be living on an island with its restrictions, but this remains simply adorable!

Stamps That Shoo

Despite the scattered clothes and other things not in the right place that make my room not the most convincing evidence of a tidy resident, I consider myself acceptable organized. But like anyone else I can drop half dead on the bed, totally naggered, after another day of hard labour. I’m told that one of the secrets to get things tidy, for once and for all, are rather small things, rather easy to achieve, even for me. To label boxes correctly, with a thrown-in mixture of books, maps, tapes and pictures, for instance. A custom rubber stamp is all it takes. And don’t think they’re all boring, some can be very cute. And the digging for that one particular lost item will be history. My back will ever be so grateful. Image by Photobucket/summermonkey89

Notes Of Nuts

Like I said: it takes rough rides to update my blog here. I might have to deal with ever growing holes in the road, cars and bikes with no lights, children playing in the dusk, chicken still looking around for food, not paying attention and buffalo’s sleeping on the still warm tarmac (for sure these guys are without carrying any lights). Last night I was up till after midnight, selling fishballs. I wonder what Fly’s, Lift’s and Up’s I can find at Diva’s: a tasteful, but a slice naughty informative place for souring muscles. Because my legs and back make me nuts! Image by Photobucket/THarsh_2006

A Rave About Routers

It’s been months now that I’m without a private internet connection (it feels it’s been years to me, in some other life, even). I’ve had plenty of pretty rough rides on bikes to some café for a chat or an update. If lucky, I find myself in front of a pretty fast machine. But usually all I get is a turtle-of-a-connection. That makes Bloghopping for instance a toe-curling enterprise. This all gives food for thought. I wonder the possibility of used cisco systems, including routers, fully tested and at least a thirty days warrantee, would be a solution? They claim to service customers from all over the world, and as far as I know this island is part of that… so, maybe it’s going to be thumbs up, or should I say: toe up? Image by Photobucket/chrishanna526

A Sweet Heart

Because my saleslady got awol, I found myself back in the shop last night. This morning I heard the good reason for her absence: her daughter fell ill again. The problem is, that I got invited for a dinner tonight and she won’t be able to come. Oh well, back to some junk food again, and hope the little girl will be back on her feet before I can say ‘Bless Sweet Girl’. Image by Photobucket/pinkcrushkids_1

Howdy Howie!

I was asked to give my opinion of a particular youtube clip. Assuming Howie Mandel is the real dad of Alex behind the glass, I thought the son must have inherited that hair from the mother? So, I checked, saw Howie’s first stand up appearance (lying down) with a lot of hair. They could be father and son. But I’m not sure bursting into the office of your son on his first day down there is a good thing. The son’s revenge at the end of the clip is therefor satisfying. Well done, that credit card will find you another good Sale, no doubt! My next purchase would be some hair grooming thing for daddy, or a wallet to keep his credit card safe and sound! Image from: Photobucket/robinleehudson

A Sultry Song

Magodlong Beach

With a natural instinct for a good deal I joined my father lately when he told me he was having some business to arrange in Magodlong. After that he was finished, we both made a splash in the tempting water. And I couldn’t resist to act like a Siren, sitting on top of a rock. I wasn’t able to allure some sailors with my sultry songs, maybe that’s because I’m not wearing a tail with flippers?

The Bukilat Cave

Before I will post my adventure of last week, I must post first the stroll I made last January and February and I will post it bit by bit.. when Ylan and I visited Camotes we made sure we could visit a few after we had been to My Little Island. We dashed of to Bukilat Cave that amazing virgin cave you can have a great time swimming in. However we could not as it was low tide..

Bukilat Cave, Camotes Island



@ the entrance



the virgin cave







a great time of swimming



dip in here...you'll absolutely like it!:)

The Sparrow Has Landed

The sparrow has landed from her sudden trip to the cool mountains of Baguio and steaming streets of Manila. The winds were in my favour, so I touched down on home soil sooner than expected. Or should I say: in the crown of the third palm tree on the left? On my way to hit the pillow a bit longer than a handful of hours, I dropped this message to say hi to you all, and wish you a fruitful working week with an amazing smiling boss and all evenings with peace in your mind and in the house!

A Current Of Convention

Out of the blue I'm taken away for a couple of days, like a leaf on the currents. But slow as it might sound, I'll be back by Sunday. I wish you all a great weekend!

Criminal Crispy Chocolate

After having raised glasses of wine that pleased the tongue and test-tubes that were eye candy, my brain craves for a similar thrill! And it brings me to a few funny know-abouts that I got left in my upper right topdrawer about everyone’s favorit: chocolate. Know-abouts, not the actual real McCoy, that has a short blind-alley life with me around! According to a BBC study, melting chocolate in one’s mouth produces an increase on brain activity and heart rate that’s more intense than that was associated with passionate kissing, and also lasts 4x longer after the activity has ended. I feel an instant need for a long weekend (asap) to explore these matters at first hand (tongue..brain...whatever).

Where was I... Like with all things in life, too much is not very healthy, although, John Updike must have said: ‘sex is like money, only too much is enough’, so there should be two things that are excepted... anyway, for us humans it’s harmless stuff to chew on, but for pets like cats and dogs it can cause epileptic seizures, heart attacks and internal bleedings. But you have to leave 100-200 grams of pure chocolate on the floor to get your dog down, and that’s more bars of chocolate then I can imagine. In horse racing it’s prohibited because it’s far too potent for horses. In other words: they’ll fly instead of gallop! Zounds! We’re back to animals again! Ok, to end, here’s something with a human smell, go up again, enjoy, and don’t forget to brush your teeth.

Gloves And Goggles

Every now and then we need a tap on the shoulder, from a friend or a total stranger, to remind us of the potential dangers that surround us, wherever we are. Even the very boring-everyday-things can be killers (and I’m not referring to my shoes, this time). Thanks to bloggers like Agung Prasetyo for instance, I always will be reminded of the dangers of working in confined spaces such as winery vessels, with every glass of wine I toast with, for the rest of my life. I had never made the connection of wine and chemistry ever before! Bottoms up, Agung! Or take Heidi’s tap that made me aware of, can I say, the chemistry of our bathroom and kitchen sinks? Yikes, indeed. We better update our safety equipment in and around the house, keep a sharp safety goggled eye and protective gloved hands on things. Maybe one thing to remind as well, to end with a smile: isn’t love and affection a process of chemistry as well?

Defraying The Drag

Wandering around the city with long arms because of the heavy weight that I'm dragging with me, I was looking for a word or two to express this ordeal. The rain, the waiting for the ferry to leave, the back ache and the shoes that are killers. Living on an island can be such a drag sometimes. Then I found this picture (sorry, this picture has been removed due to some technical problem I still have to solve) and somehow it tells it all, despite it's pretty, light and airy, quite the opposite. And yet, it works for me.

A Golden Gadget?

Will its future be golden or share the graveyard of stillborn gadgets? I’m not sure, to tell the truth. I can see the opportunities for such a wireless cellphone sized device in conjunction with, let’s say, a black berry, smartphone or tablet pc offering you a full operating qwerty keyboard to txt or email. As long as a smooth flat surface is around, even total darkness won’t stop you. Maybe there’s the rub? Where on earth you’ll find those dark enough places? Ok, I admit, there are a few, but those are the best places for other activities.

My Lusty List

As usual the overdue tag from Sister Calrotz. Since it is just 24 days to go for my birthday I'm sharing you my birthday wishes.

Rules Of The Tag:
1. Make a list of what you want on your birthday
2. The list should be 10 numbers
3. Post the image of this award in your posting
4. Give it to 10 friends of yours.

Okay here’s my birthday wish list:

1. Funds for the Business.
2. Laptop, Ipod, Digital Cam, Cellphone.
3. Find someone.
4. Visit Baguio, Palawan, Macau and Hongkong again.
5. Meet my friends in Europe and US.
6. To have my own house so that I would no longer have to rent.
7. Car.
8. To have the bound books of Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Secret, Ebook.
9. Read more on business techniques.
10. A pair of shoes, clothes, and a regular spa visit.

A Pixie Of Pigs

Let’s be focused on animals for a bit longer; Margie and Edna wondered what brand the cell phone might have been. That could help you a lot for your next choice of phone, right, ladies? I haven’t been able to trace that. All I found it all took place in Worthing UK, that it was a codfish, and the fisherman wasn’t really surprised because he had seen strange things like batteries and dental plates in fish often. Imagine a codfish with dental plates… must be terrifying, although it provides a good grip on cell phones!

On beaches strange things happen: another tasty bite is what pigs on the Tonga Island apparently are looking for. They seem to undermine the general idea that pigs are… well…pigs! These pigs are looking for more variety in their daily menu of mainly coconuts. Some of them are even prepared to have a swim to catch some fish or shrimps. I hope they won’t encounter a codfish with dental plates, or else the islanders will have pig’s trotters plenty of times. They prefer the meat of these adventurous pigs anyway, it seems to be more tasty.

I’ve always known that sea salt provides a better taste! But there’s one more burning question: are we witnessing the birth of another species of pigs here? One that will go back into the oceans, starts getting flippers? Mr. Darwin?!.. Mr. Darwin?… what do you think? Pigs might fly, you say?… mmm. Why do I get restless now? Maybe it’s because I can stand, or my umbrella does, cats and dogs, but if it’s starting to rain pigs…

A Bunch Of Buttons

This drawing might look a bit weird to you, but it suits the even more weird but true story I came across with and like to share with you. It happens that a man had lost his cell phone walking along the shore. Back home again, looking for a new one in a shop, his girlfriend called him, to tell that ‘his cell-phone’ was ‘calling her’... apparantly a fish had swallowed the phone, got caught by a fisherman who discovered that his catch contained a surprise! More a surprise was that the cell phone was still working, that’s how it was possible to trace the owner’s girlfriend! The man hasn’t bought a new cell phone, by the way. He preferred his old, but smelly, one. But I wonder what kind of meatball of a fish gets attracted to a bunch of buttons framed in plastic...

A Smell Of Skunk

Till recently I used to have a small apartment often unoccupied because I travel for days in a row sometimes. The unfortunate day came that it wasn’t any longer practical for me to pay for all that emptiness. I decided to share it with four girls I met. Despite I knew I had to give in a lot. But I'd never realized that decision would get me in even more trouble. It was the very first time ever in my life to share my living space with people, next to my family. I took the risk. I had to. I let them be. I trusted them to some point to use my stuff. I never could have known that my trust in them would be violated. Too many times they (ab)used some of my personal belongings. And it became worse when they decided to transfer unexpectedly, simply took some of my stuff while I was out of town at that particular time, being on the hunt for a more affordable apartment for myself! I always thought my privacy would be secured and respected. To make the blow even harder, it happened that my landlord had given away some of my clothes, or even burnt them. Now, I’m forced to hunt them down, in order to get back, some, of all I once owned. Life can be such a skunk, can’t it?