Walking in my Tsinilas

I am not a boxing fan and I always tell myself, never will be. But there I was, screaming as loud as I can, rooting for Manny Pacquiao against David Diaz of Mexico as the seventh round turned. Looking at Diaz’s face it was horrible, his eyes were bloody and his eyebrows that were supposed to be in place were puffed up from all the pounding. Manny Pacquiao or Pacman as he is commonly known doesn’t have a bloody face compared to Diaz who looks like a mess up there. Pacman was really strong and fast with his moves. This is another victory for the Philippines. Go Manny! Make Filipinos proud!

P.S.

Photo grabbed fromYahoo Sports page.

It was our first time to visit Canada so we wanted to do a lot of things as much as we could to make it memorable. Beforehand, we listed the places we want ed to go to. We googled some of the tourists spots and hopefully we could see them for ourselves and just enjoy. From the airport we decided to rent a car just to be able to maximize our time without the hassle of getting transportation later. The place that I fell in love with right when we got there was the famous Robson Street. It is situated in the downtown Vancouver. It was chilly when we got there. Falling leaves. No pollution. Maple trees, Shopping Stores, fashion styles, gelato, people walking, japanese girls, crepes, noodles, coffees, and many more to add to that. Since I’ve been wanting to go to Japan, being there made me feel as if I was in Japan. I like the laid back feeling where I could take time and relax. I know it will take time for us to come back. Being there was fun. I saw the Esprit store in where I spent time shopping. We were just overwhelmed with the city. There were a lot of places we went to that day but we ended up liking Robson Street mainly because of how it is. The Lovely people. The Food. The Shopping.

Yay! It looks like they will be celebrating more and more wedding anniversaries!

“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” It’s a golden rule. Every time I read or hear this line it strikes me not because I don’t try to do good it’s because most of the time I fail to do so. I was watching this t.v. show called, “Extreme Makeover Home Edition”. Their show offers goodwill through building a new home for a family that has been a victim of violence, calamities, or any tragic event in their lives. I like the show because they are making a difference in the primetime television. Maybe not all viewers embraced the concept but it seems the show is doing good as they were celebrating their 100th home makeover. For this particular show that I am watching, they invited families who were part of the show from their previous episodes. They were the families that were given a new home and mind you, it’s not just an ordinary home, they gave these families their dream home. It is the show’s idea to help these people build their lives once again and hopefully help others in return in any way. What I like about the show is that they bring back people together as a family and become a new person for themselves. There was one particular father that was interviewed. He has a family of his own yet he keeps on helping kids that were abandoned in his community. He helps by feeding, counseling, and just be available to them in any way along with his family. In the later part, I found out that he was the 33rd family that was given a new home. The interviewer asked him, “Why are you doing this?” and he tearfully answered, “…because you gave me a house to do it”.

God is good. It’s good to be alive.

Different countries are distinct by their culture, weather, laws, and many more. What is common to one country will be authentic to another country. Asians can’t live without rice while other ethnicity can.

“Do you dance ti-nik-ling?” An american friend once asked me. For me that was a surprise. If I say ” I do” my answer will not help her understand. I thought even giving her a simple nod wasn’t enough. I know her inquiry was plain out of curiosity but to me I feel like it was a good question that needs to have a good answer. I remember last year I took a vocational course in San Diego. Half of my classmates were hispanic. Most of them introduced me to tacos, asada, nachos, tortilla, relleno, jalapeno, and to cilantro. In a month’s time I fell in love with the food. In that 6 months being with them I gained a lot of ‘new’ friends and I gained some weight too. I had fun with them truly I cannot forget. One time I asked my mexican friend if she can show me some steps of their traditional dance hoping she can teach me. When she heard that she was a little embarassed as her face turned a little bit red then I heard her laugh. She explained to me that it doesn’t mean that she is mexican she should know their traditional dance. She was born in Tijuana, Mexico but migrated to the U.S. with her family at the age of 4. She said that most of her life was exposed to the culture here in the states than practicing their own culture. If you still remember that american friend of mine who once asked me, that was the answer I have for her.

Four words. I love the show! It’s always good news to know that you are pregnant and prepared but I think it’s overwhelming to know that you will have 6 babies on the way and unprepared. I can’t even imagine myself having twins and sextuplet after that, it’s too much. If you want to see how it is, watch the show. It caught my attention right away because of my curiosity, I want to know how their life is doing from day to day. God is amazing indeed. I like the fact that Jon and Kate (parents) resembles a typical relationship of every married couple. They fight, they laugh and they have the same problems as much as we do. They wake up every morning facing a variety of challenges. Potty training, feeding, budgeting and, disciplining. I think their family is no different to any other families. The only difference is that they have 8 kids. Whew!

This show taught me two things. One is to appreciate what God has given us.  Although it’s normal to get scared at first, just look to God and trust him, there you will find his answer.

If you feel down and you think you have too much things going on well maybe watching this show will change that. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. *winks*

http://www.sixgosselins.com/JnK8.html

They are a male dance group from San Diego, California. The first time I saw them was from that show ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’ and instantly my first reaction was WOW! By the way, the show has started their second season but ‘Jabbawockeez’ is the reigning champion of that show (Season 1). As a filipino it’s a big deal to see fellow filipinos or asians making it big in America. I feel like they are living my dream too! Anyway so I want to share some of their clips from the show.

Official Website: http://www.jabbawockeez.com/index.html

Id like to talk about these food supplements that are sprouting nowadays like mushrooms. Well like that majority of us in this generation, I prefer organic. We don’t like junk food anymore, but live foods. When we go grocery we constantly check the nutrition facts of the box. We like to check if the sodium is low, or if the carbs are low. Sometimes we like it if it has low sugar. Right now, I am curious of this particular plant “Gotu Kola” … what is that? It’s like it just came out and every body just believed in its therapeutic values without there being research.

They are really small, green little plants about 1- 2 inches high from the ground. The are adorable little plants, but is there really a truth behind them? or just pure superstition. I first got to see this plant in my lola’s (grandmother’s) pot. I asked my lola about it and she said it’s food for the brain, and for those who wants to pass their exams. You would have to eat this plant raw with a meal or right after a meal in any given day. THEY say it will help you retain your memory. Out of curiosity I bought a bottle of a “GOTU KOLA” from a local store where it is conveniently prepackaged.

I remember my mom from last vacation. She would say, “Pagka- human nimo’g kaon ha, inom dayun ani nga tambal, maayo ni sa imong lawas” (once you are done with your meal, take this medicine (supplement), this is good for your body) My mom is like that every time she catches me eating my breakfast. Every time she hands me those pills to take I try to tell her that she should give me facts for support. Anyway, it’s bitter tasting pill. Whenever I get the chance to chew some of it, I keep thinking in the back of my mind that I’ll collapse from its bitterness or side effect. I can’t help it since there is no approved therapeutic claim. Maybe it is just a simple plant that doesn’t want to be bothered. Or perhaps it’s a plant that does what it claims and not all western medicine is right.

Here are some of my work. I hope somebody loves some of these and if someone really out there who cares about any of it, don’t hesitate, let me know. I can’t say anything more about it except that the “Click it or Ticket” slogan is from California’s strict regulation regarding seat belts to motorists. If one fails to do so, you will be given a ticket. I’m sure highway patrols would like to meet you. Anyway, there are still more pictures linked to my flickr account. Enjoy!

Hello Peeps!

Thank you for taking time opening my page. Now that you are about to read everything or shall I say the half of this paragraph perhaps, even so, I still appreciate the time. Quite frankly, I get scared making myself known and just the thought of it makes me wonder, why am I doing this anyway? Well to answer that for myself I can’t ignore the fact that we find most of our answers in the internet. My little voice will be heard in some ways. I can write about something or do business. We meet people around the world just one click away. Lastly, I love the internet just that. Now that I am starting this I know I am volunteering myself for any critique you might want to throw at me and for any praises that I may deserve please feel free to brighten up my day.

About me, I am a Filipina. Born in Davao City, Philippines. My first language is visayan then tagalog. Speaking the english language is a bonus mainly because it is part of our curriculum in school. Right now I am based here in California. Married. No children as of the moment. My dashboard “Walking in my Tsinilas” is my journey from everywhere and hopefully leads to something meaningful at the end of the day. I look forward to experiences each day so I can reach out to my audience and relay what I think. What they think too. And Yeah I know, who cares what I think? Lol. That’s okay. Tsinilas ( chi - ni - las ) is a visayan term for “flip-flops”. I should’ve just put it simply slippers or flip- flops but I wanted to still be connected with my roots. As a kid, I grew up wearing my own tsinilas even if it’s sometimes worn out and sometimes when I’m lucky my mom would gladly buy me another pair of tsinilas even it’s still a week old. Tsinilas (chi- ni- las), with your lips crumpled every time you say it. I like how it is pronounced. So refreshing. So nostalgic. Looking back those years I didn’t mind having a worn out pair of “tsinilas” as long as I am happy. Wherever I go, whatever I do, I take pride to wearing my tsinilas, so to speak.