Warm Milk with Turmeric

I love drinking coffee and I have been drinking coffee for as long as I can remember. I always have coffee at work because it keeps me sane. Coffee is a good source of antioxidants and everyone knows it.

It’s already rainy season here in the Philippines and coffee is really the best that I wanna have to cope with the gloomy weather.

But in the wee hours, I fancy drinking milk before going to bed. Milk also has a special space in heart and if only I can hoard batches of milk, I really would. I am also hopeful that I can grow an inch taller. Hahaha. So when coffee is not around, I spend time with milk. Such a lame sentence!Bear with me, the weather makes me lazy to think of more relevant words.

Anyway, to add more flavor to my milk, I added a spoonful of turmeric. This is also beneficial. If coffee is armed with antioxidants, then you won’t be disappointed with turmeric as it is also armed with most of antis that our body needs. You don’t have to buy meds. Just open your drawer or cupboard and see if your mom has kept a jar of powdered turmeric for her chicken curry.

Yum! ♥

It actually tastes good! 😀

Give it a try if you haven’t yet.

Shaw Boulevard

How my phone got stolen right under my nose by a shameless a**hole at Shaw Boulevard just across One San Miguel Avenue Bldg.

Before it was stolen, I used to think how lucky I am (although, I already experienced being mugged in 2010 while walking along Guadalupe Bridge-EDSA,but that was a different story) just because I am working here in Ortigas and that riding jeepneys could be safer here well, of course, compared to other cities in Manila. I have seen lots of videos posted on Facebook and one of them taken by someone stuck in a traffic jam capturing a phone snatcher in Recto. So, I thought to myself, “Oh, I’m here in Ortigas. Who would dare?”.But damn, I was dead wrong!

It had to be slapped on my face just to wake me up. I was so comfortable that I have neglected taking extra care. I have never been careless with my things regardless of the value.

I had to learn a lesson in a bitter way that time. It really broke my heart not just because the phone was damn expensive, but because it was given to me by Cy. It was so special that I really cherished it.

So, there I was, minding my own damn business and waiting to get a ride home. I was so eager to get home as it was Friday and oh, it was also April Fools’ Day. What a memorable day to have your phone stolen!.

There were many people at that time and I actually didn’t mind because it is usually crowded on Fridays. I was so anxious to get home that when I saw and almost empty jeepney, I ran just to get my butt seated inside. But lo! When I was about to go inside, a man blocked my way. I didn’t mind at first but I got annoyed because he was trying so hard to block my way. Just then, someone grabbed my bag from my right. I snatched it back. Damn, why did I even bother?! I didn’t even have something valuable inside the bag. I was distracted and that was when my phone got stolen. I was pretty sure, the other one from my left side took it from my front pocket. Grabe lang! Dang! I didn’t even noticed.

I couldn’t even describe how I regretted taking my phone that night, how many times I thought about it replaying what had just transpired. I really cried. I was ashamed because it was a gift and I wasn’t able to take care of it.

I cried because I couldn’t believe my phone was stolen right under my nose!

How could a Filipino do it to their fellows. How hard could it be to work for something that they want to have?? How lazy could they be that they would resort to stealing??

I couldn’t even fathom how anguish I was. There were times I wished that time machines were invented. I couldn’t believe how awful that was.

Though I couldn’t go back and change what happened, there are many things I should be thankful about. My family and Cy are always there for me and with that I am blessed enough. Another thing is nothing bad happened to me. Thank goodness.

“Things that are not meant for us have a way of slipping away from our fingers.”

But as J.K. Rowling’s quote goes… ‘Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.’

I really hope so…

 

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

How I wish I could be in London right now and watch this amazing play! Wish, wish, wish…Hahaha Anyway, I freakin’ love the story. Not that I haven’t loved the series, but this is just refreshing, funny(Ron’s funny) and entertaining.

It’s all about travelling through time into the past using a confiscated Time-Turner, saving Cedric and a daughter who is so eager to meet her father.

What I admire about the story, is how Draco’s character has mellowed a bit, how his affection for his late wife, Astoria, who had been his light when he was stumbling in the dark made him a better man and the length that he would go through just to keep his son, Scorpio, safe. Boy, I wish I’ll have a child like Scorpio’s attitude someday. Scorpio’s character wasn’t surprising because I didn’t really expect an uncompassionate and a nasty man would always have an offspring with the same attitude and perception. I like Scorpio, to be honest. He is reasonable, most of the time, while Albus seems to be having difficulties in making the right decisions. Scorpio has always seemed to be on the right path and was always cautious. I just don’t like it whenever he goes along and agrees with his best friend even though he knows otherwise.

Albus, on the other hand, was quite careless and rebellious. I don’t know if rebellious is the right word, but he really acted that way. He trusted the wrong person and had the tendency to act like a hero or try to change things (the way he tried to save Cedric and dragged Scorpio along).

Harry and Albus’ relationship is quite bumpy. Harry is having difficulties getting along with his son. He doesn’t have a problem dealing with Lily and James but it just goes awry with Albus. Oh juice ko, I can’t imagine having a grumpy and sulky child.

Then there’s Delphini, the woman who is so determined to meet her father, Lord Voldy. Errr, she knows her father did the most evil things and the worst man to be considered as a father but still wants to see him? Naks naman…

It’s time to ride along and join their journey through time. Discover and enjoy the mischief and mayhem. Laugh at how characters comically and tragically differ in the alternate timeline.

 

Sometimes, it really doesn’t matter if parents are perfect or not, wealthy or poor, selfless or selfish, had a fantastic or cringe-worthy past and have done something noble or something shameful. It doesn’t matter if parents make poor, irrevocable or great decisions. Yes, parents should raise their child and teach him/her to know what is good and bad, to be logical and to be the person who knows how to make not just better but wise decisions. But in the end, it’s still up to your kid if he or she will follow the right path, be a better person and learn the aspects of wisdom that you have fastidiously and religiously tried to teach to your child.

 

 

New Book To Read

Pittacus Lore’s United as One, the 7th book, was already released! I am so excited to know how the Garde defend the Earth and how they will unite to defeat the Mogadorians and their evil leader, Setrakus Ra.

Things I am so eager to know:

How will Four cope with his loss? Though, I’m not sure if Sarah’s character is a loss. This time, I really hope no fan of Sarah would chance upon this entry.

Will Five be forgiven for what he has done? Will he fight with the other Garde or choose the wrong side again? Will he commit the same mistake again?

I wonder how would Six, Seven and Adam, the good Mog, survive in New Mexico.

Hope Seven would finally move on and get over with Eight.

I wish Nine and Five would just stop beating each other to a pulp. 😛 😛 😛 But then if I were Nine, I would do the same, too. Five deserves it after his betrayal and shallowness. However, Nine really is an ass sometimes.

What will happen to Ten? I love Ella’s character here. Such a brave child with an amazing legacy.

How would Sam, Four’s best friend and one of the humans-turned-Garde,  handle his legacy?

Oh, I really must read this final book to get my curiousness answered!

 

 

 

Hello August!

My dear August, hope you will be as lovely as this tree.

Photo taken inside the Chinese Garden in Rizal Park.

Every time I plan on writing an entry, I ended up posting something else. I was supposed to post about my bucket list but I saw the date and changed my mind.

Time really flies so fast. Many things happened in a blur.  Ano daw?! Ang gulo lang. Hahaha

Pero pwera biro ha. Ang bilis talaga ng panahon. Parang kailan lang kakastart pa lang ng 2016. Ang daming nangyari.

Nalipat ako ng ibang account nung January. February was uneventful, though.  Nakauwi si Cyrus ng Pinas last March at nakauwi kaming pareho sa probinsya noong Mahal na Araw. Of all the things that happened this year, eto ang hindi ako makapaniwala. Nadukutan ako ng cellphone last April. It was Friday and April Fools’ Day pa talaga. Nasayangan ako but I’m still thankful that nothing happened to me. Nanalo ang bet namin na president ni Cyrus last May and that made us happy. I received my vouchers from Canon last June. I received a token last month, July. Here comes August…

I am looking forward to accomplishing something this month.

 

Tag Questions!

It’s finally weekend! Papa God, I can’t thank You enough. What a long week!  Few things happened this week. I want to blabber in a very impassioned way, but I won’t, because I cringe every time I stumble upon and read someone’s rant on social media. I don’t want other people feel the same way.

I’m not against it, really. People can obviously do and post whatever they want to because it’s their account and maybe it’s their way of venting out their frustrations. I want to complain or rant, too. Dang! How I wanted to. But I don’t want to complain so much and let many people know what I am complaining about.

It’s not that I haven’t done it before, but those were the days when Facebook was still new to me. I only complained, in a funny way, about the IT blocking some proxy websites. How embarrassing was that!  That was ages ago. I realized, even if it wasn’t a rant and even if I posted it in a funny way, that it was not very appealing at all. Nowadays, I rarely update my Facebook because I have lost interest doing it.

So today, I’ll just entertain myself with simple “Tag Questions.”

What is it? It’s a simple and short question tagged at the end of a positive or negative sentence.

Why? To clarify details, to mock or merely ask someone to agree with you.

Negative Statement, Positive Tag Question (Positive Statement, Negative Tag Question)

Third Person + Verb(Present Tense)

>>She doesn’t cooperate, does she? (She cooperates, doesn’t she?)

>>They don’t care about everything, do they? (They care about everything, don’t they?)

Second Person + Verb (Past Tense)

Regular Verb

>>You didn’t participate, did you? (You participated, didn’t you?)

Irregular Verb

>>You didn’t choose the right words to say, did you?  (You chose the right words to say, didn’t you?)

First Person + Be-verb (Present and Past)

>>I am not crazy, am I? Hahaha

>>We weren’t informed about this, were we? (We were informed about this, weren’t we?)

***Second Person

>>You are not a lunatic, are you? (You are a lunatic, aren’t you?)

***Third Person

>>He isn’t a selfish person, is he? (He is selfless, isn’t he?)

Present Perfect

>>April hasn’t forgotten the keys, has she?  (April has forgotten the keys, hasn’t she)

>>June and July haven’t done their homework, have they?

Modals

>> David can’t fly an aircraft, can he? (David can fly an aircraft, can’t he?)

>>Goliath shouldn’t mind about David, should he?

>>Delilah mustn’t eat rich desserts, must she?

 

You are planning to correct this, aren’t you?

You aren’t hoping to find a mistake, are you?

If you find some errors, you will inform me, won’t you? Hahaha!

Feel free to do so. Thanks in advance! 🙂 Have a lovely weekend!

 

 

 

 

Quote of the day…

“It is nice to love what you do but there’s nothing more satisfying than to do what you love.”

Do what you l♥ve.

Think of things that you have passion in doing. There’s no job that is not exhausting but I’d rather be exhausted physically than be exhausted mentally and emotionally.

Taking a step may it big or small is not easy and has to be analyzed. We can’t just rush things out and decide to just blindly step forward without thinking of the consequences after making a move.

Ah, what a senseless blabber. Sorry! 🙂

If what you do right now gives you stress and leaves you mentally and emotionally drained, then I guess it’s time for you to start doing what you really love.

To stay or to leave?

At Yudalsan (유달산), South Korea. Photo was taken by Cyrus.

Are you stuck where you are now like this lonely street light?

Until when can we stay if we choose to stay? Are you having second thoughts? Yes, we all do. If we choose to leave, then when and where should we go?

Cyrus took the picture at Yudalsan.

Choosing to leave is a big decision. It’s like moving on to the next page of your life. You don’t really know what’s on the next page. It can be terrifying or fantastically beautiful! You might be hooked or get disenchanted. You’ll be dizzy with the twists. But it’s your life on that page. It is up to you to make your own beautiful story of life and inspire others. You will be the one to put tweaks and tricks.

Make your own surprising twist and  dazzling journey.

Canon Rewards

Every point counts.

So I bought few items at Canon SM Megamall branch last December. The sales rep told me to sign up at Canon Rewards. Everyone who buys an item or items that cost at least P1000 are entitled to earn Canon points and are advised to register at the said website.

How to earn points.

All you need to do is provide the needed details and upload a clear image of the product serial number. You’ll see it on the side of the box that goes with the item that you purchased. Easy peasy!

When I got home, I immediately signed up and uploaded the images I needed to upload. It only took 5 days for them to process the information that I submitted. I got the points right away. When I got my  points, I excitedly browsed the items which I could redeem with the points I earned. I filled out the Customer Delivery Form. 

I was so excited to receive the vouchers. I had to wait for a maximum of 60 days for the vouchers to be delivered but but but….they never came. I received a message from an anonymous number asking for my email to complete whatever they needed to complete last January. I ignored the text because I received another message from a different number and I thought those were just random strangers playing pranks. I already signed up and I thought that was it. Lol! I was wrong.

February…. March….and April came but still no sign of my vouchers. The allotted 60 days was already over.  I was thinking of replying to the message I received but before I could do so, my damn phone was stolen. 😡

I decided to visit their website and left a message thru Customer Care. I updated my contact number and told them the reason why I wasn’t able to reply and all (I was procrastinating till my phone got stolen by an a******.).

They responded right away! Wow! I got an acknowledgement email and I got a call the next day. I was not able to answer because I was having a class. Two days later, I received another call and the agent explained why the process took so long. There were some changes and it had something to do with a new Canon partner. I gave my delivery address again and they reprocessed everything. Meaning, I have to wait for the vouchers to be delivered within 2 months again.

But… but… but…true to their word, I got the vouchers before the allotted 60 days is over. I was so happy because I didn’t expect to receive the vouchers within a month.

Yeeey!

 

Canon is really amazing! Their customer service is good. They respond right away. They never ignore members’ queries.

So don’t waste your points and make use of them. It may not be a lot but you can’t really find 1 thousand worth of GC just by walking around Metro Manila.

 

Turmeric, anyone?

I know most of you guys are already familiar with turmeric.

Turmeric is a tropical plant in India and is basically used as a spice. It is also common in other Asian countries.

I have been looking for something which has no parabens, rids large pores, removes blemishes, acne and whatever imperfections that made my skin uglier than it already is. Hahaha! Anyway, I searched and tried almost everything but most of them never worked.

I tried gentle facial cleanser after washing my face, putting some anti-acne cream, facial scrub 2-3 times a week, anti-acne soaps, lemon peel and facial masks. Mind you, I didn’t use all of them at once. I made some observations din naman. When I didn’t see any changes after two-three weeks, I moved on to another product. Nothing worked. Poor me. I’ve done almost everything. I’ve drunk lots of water. I’ve gotten rid of oily foods. Oh well, not totally. But why do other people out there who usually have unhealthy meals yet still get to enjoy flawless skin???

When I was in high school, I enjoyed having a clear skin. I didn’t use anything but Johnson’s baby powder. Pimples only started to make their presence known when I tried out facial wash and other brands of soaps when I was in college. So before I ventured in the city in 2009, I already had these small pimples on my cheeks. I just finished studying then and my skin was already exposed to a quite harsh environment. But they were barely noticeable.

When I arrived here, it has gotten worse. I guess they were too pleased to be exposed to the pollution in the city that they’d partied all night long and produced disgusting offspring! It was humiliating at first, especially when people stared at my face mesmerized by the amount of pimples they couldn’t even count on my cheeks, but kebs! Anong paki niyo sa pimples ko? Duh! I’d gotten used to it that I almost forgot how it feels to have a clear and clean skin.

Then my co-worker took pity of my face and advised me to buy this facial cleanser(it’s no longer on the shelves/phased-out), 1 capsule of Dalacin C (150mg), 2 gel capsules of Vitamin A (2500 iu) and 2 gel capsules of Vitamin E (400 iu) . Back then, you could buy Dalacin C over the counter without prescription but these days you should have a prescription with you. If you don’t have it, no Dalacin C for you. I mixed the mentioned ingredients by pricking the gel with a needle and added the Dalacin C powder. Wow, did I mention Dalacin C too much? Pasensiya! The concoction worked well. My pimples had slowly vanished and it even made my skin glow a bit. My pimples were completely gone by the 3rd quarter of 2010. But it struck back.

I started to suffer having pimples again in 2014. It came like an avalanche it freaked me out every time I check myself in the mirror. I didn’t know what I ate that made them come to a promising stage of acnedom and had mushroomed all over my face. The concoction that I used before didn’t make those incredibly annoying pimples budge! Ah nodules, they never ceased to amaze me.

I’ve searched and searched for acne remedies on the internet and tried each one that actually worked for some and might miraculously work for me.  Regrettably, they didn’t. However, it never deterred me to keep on looking. I was not aiming for a perfectly smooth skin. I just wanted to get rid of those annoying pricks.

I have seen a video on Youtube, I would have linked it here but I forgot the title. It was a looong video I thought I wasted more than 30 minutes of my life watching it but I guess not. It discussed about how to get rid of acne. It was frustrating because the maker of the video would take the viewers to wanderland first before finally getting to the point but I patiently waited until he finally mentioned what I have waited for. He stated, “The best treatment for acne is not using any anti-acne products at all.”  ‘Talaga?! Sige, i-try daw nato beh”. So I stopped using anti-acne products, particularly facial cream, which clogged pores. Then I concentrated on using this product which has been a common household soap in the Philippines. It even has this slogan “A Soap For The Entire Family”. It has been on the stock shelves of every store for generations because people still patronize it. I doubted that it would get rid of my pimples but it actually did the job. I’d been using this since elementary until high school days. When I studied in the university, I turned my back on it when I got tempted to use some beauty soaps. Not a good idea…tsk tsk!

So here it is…..

Image courtesy of : www.safeguard.ph

Note that this is not a sponsored blog and I am merely sharing what products I’ve been using… 😀 I’m not going to assure anyone who might stumble upon this journal, if there’s any or maybe extraterrestrials who happen to have their own advanced technology, that it will diminish your acne. I cannot guarantee that it will totally work for you as much as it did on my skin. Some products perform fine on my skin but might not on yours, and so on and so forth. Try at your own risk.

My pimples are almost gone but I still have some dark spots. So naghanap uli ako sa Youtube ng maaari kong i-try para mawala ang mga dark spots sa aking mukha!

I stumbled upon Promise Phan‘s Youtube video about turmeric (curcuma, dulaw, dilaw na luya). It has a lot of health benefits. Everyone has made a review about it already you won’t be having a hard time getting more info. If you want to find testimonials, might as well do more research. So anyway, watching the video tickled my fancy and made me want to run to the nearest supermarket and buy this incredible golden powdered spice that not only make food healthier to consume but also does wonders on skin.

I bugged my YY to buy turmeric so we can try it and we really did. We found this at SM Supermarket.

Cost: Php 19.00.

I can say it really walks the talk. So try it yourself. It might do wonders on your skin as well. You can watch Promise Phan’s video to see the ingredients.

So here’s what I mixed my turmeric with. If you have already watched the video, you might notice that the ingredients differ. Yes, I added few and altered the amount of ingredients to be used.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs of turmeric powder
• 2 tbs of yogurt
• 2 tbs of brown sugar, (I didn’t have honey so…)
• 1 tbs of flour (optional)
• I added 1 tsp of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. (optional)
• I also added a tbs of egg white (optional)

 

My skin still has few blemishes but I hope it’s on its way to recovery from what it suffered. Acne really is everyone’s nightmare! It makes some people cringe.

Although I don’t mind having pimples and it’s quite alright not to have a flawless skin, it’s still more desirable to have a presentable face.

 

 

 

 

Tracks

These are some of my favorite songs that I love exhausting the replay button with when I’m in the mood to listen to music.…

Enya’s  “Saily Away” 

Just hearing the song makes me want to travel and escape the stress of living in the city gives. It makes me want to teleport to my hometown and have a blast at the beach. 

Then there’s a beautiful sandbar close to my hometown that I want to visit and have my own sandbar escapade with the people I love. Indeed, Sail Away. 

The sandbar in Manjuyod is so fantastic. I have watched a vlog from Youtube and wow! Just wow!

Enya’s “Only Time”

Another song of Enya that reminds me how old I am! Hahaha The song is just so relaxing that it could even send a baby to dreamland in an instant. It’s a beautiful song.

“Who can say if your love grows
As your heart chose?”
Only time

Donna Lewis’ “I love You Always Forever”

Imagine taking few steps in slow motion towards the man you love. Relationships aren’t perfect. Fights can’t be avoided. Some relationships dull as time goes whether you always or never argue over petty points. But at the end of the day or two, when one of you possesses a pride higher than Mount Everest, you’d still end up in each others’ arms. Don’t you just love falling over and over again and say I Love You Always Forever? Okay, I’ll stop.That was pukeworthy. Sorry. 

Sixpence None The Richer’s “Kiss Me”

Sixpence None The Richer’s “There She Goes”

Ahem… There She Goes

Sixpence None The Richer and Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over”

SNTR’s version and CH’s version

The Weepies’ “Same Changes”

I so loooove the song. It makes me wanna write a mediocre story on Wattpad. Same Changes (I wrote right instead of write and took me weeks to notice. Yeah, but who cares? lol! )

Linkin Park’s “In The End”

Reminds me of my high school days. Lol  In The End

Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie”

Yes, your hips tell people what you eat…Hips Don’t Lie

 

Nickelback’s “Far Away”, “Savin’ me”

Aaaaaw…..Far Away   Savin’ me. I love the vocalist’s voice. Haha!

3 Doors Down’s “Here By Me”

Can you take being away so long from someone? 

Lifehouse’s “You and Me”

Just You and Me….

David Foster’s “Just for a Moment (Instrumental)”

Firehouse’s “When I look in to your eyes”

Now, this is a song! When I look into your eyes… I just love Firehouse.

Bryan Adam’s “Please Forgive me“

I don’t know if it’s just me but Bryan Adam’s voice is heart-meltingly incredible (haha! Does this hyphenated compound even exist?!? Nevermind…  Ever heard someone singing as if he is expressing his real emotion? Still watching and still listening in 2016!

Suede’s “Beautiful Ones“

 

Bryan Adam’s “Always be right there”

……………………….♥ Forever, we will be♥……………………………………….