I'm blogging again! Did you miss me? I guess not. You've seen our Bohol pix? What? You haven't? Come on...

Anyway, I am going to talk about promises -- how they are kept or otherwise, how they are meant to be broken. So why do we promise in the first place? For the benefit of calming someone down? I mean in general, not just in a romantic relationship. Have you ever been in a situation where you are compelled to promise something just to alleviate the whole mess? Perhaps like in a do-or-die scenario. "I really do. I swear to God, in scout’s honor, cross my heart, hope to die, see you soon, goodbye." Tee hee. Maybe at some points in our lives we made false promises, but I can certainly say that there were also times that I made promises and vowed to keep them.

Not long ago, I made a deal not with the devil and I am proud to say that I have kept mum to the point that it actually feels gratifying. Remember what peace there may be in silence? Yes! Silence must be heard! Being quiet doesn't seem to be quite as bad as I expected, knowing myself. And it's really funny thinking how ironic it is that some things are better left unsaid, when I always thought that speaking your mind was yet another key to living life to the fullest.

Manoy taught me a valuable lesson recently. I learned how to shut up! HAHAHAHA! Hilarious?! Yes! But seriously, it feels rewarding enough. What the mind can conceive, the heart can believe, and the body can achieve... What a mindset! But in the end, it's all about having a decent conversation (even at 3AM), being civil and all, then dealing with the facts instead of theories and stupid hypotheses. So it isn't really safe to assume things even if you know the person so well... might as well be blunt about things.

So what am I really saying? I don't know. I'm blogging, aren't I? I've been told that I seem to write only when I am feeling the extremes -- either I am in love or I am heartbroken. So what now? Am I discombobulated? Gawd, I haven't heard/used that word since rehab. LOL! No, I wasn't IN rehab, FYI. But I sorta worked for one, in a way or another, for a while. Anyways, I do feel a bit edgy still, although I just had my period. I'm still trying to figure out how to shake this feeling though. I might blog then when I do... but for now, I think silence is the most powerful scream. ^_^

Even though right now silence is more musical to me than any other song, I keep deliberating that if silence will save me from being wrong, then it will also deprive me of the possibility of being right. Qué horror!




⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

I was gonna do a blog about the whole Lenten season and post pictures from the bisita iglesia, but then I reckon so many people have posted the same things... of different variations... so instead, here's a little diversion.






My Good Friday dinner. =^_^= WHATEVER HAPPENED TO FASTING???  I know my "SushiMai" is nowhere near perfect but it's absolutely the same freaking delicious thing you pay for a hundred bucks or more in a Japanese resto. Kore wa ii sushi desu! Itadakimasu! Nam nam nam...

Hope you guys have a blessed Holy Week!


⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

Got this in my mail today!



Originals are known for one thing: their instinct for creativity, inherent individuality and unique flair. For Havaianas, this instinct led the invention of a new ideal, that of simple joy and unrestrained elegance.

Created nearly half a century ago, in the year 1962, Havaianas was made to fit the beach-loving, easy-going and confident mindset of a tropical culture. The brainchild of two distinct elements: the breezy aesthetic of Hawaii and the minimalist sensibilities of Japan, Sao Paulo Alpargatas reinvented the Zori (the Japanese straw slipper) using a secret 100% rubber formula.

The Havaianas we now know has been transformed from Brazilian footwear staple of the 60s to the international symbol of bohemian chic and fashion diversity. It walks over international runways; its name is uttered by the vanguards of the fashion industry; it graces the pages of the world’s biggest fashion magazines. And though Havaianas is available in over eighty countries, every pair is still produced in a single factory in northern Brazil using the same closely-guarded secret rubber formula. To this day, over 3 billion pairs have been sold, which, if lined up would go around the Earth 40 times.

It has essentially grown to become the style icon to symbolize the ease and comfort of fashion; its authenticity, anchored on its heritage of comfort and durability, is a fact that can only be experienced by the wearer and can never be replicated by any other brand. And whether it’s dressed up or dressed down, classic and basic or bright and bold, it has struck a chord among the fashionable set that cannot erased.

A truly original brand, Havaianas will always have the creative flair, technical expertise and deep understanding of its users to bank on. And though it continues to arrest the sensibilities of the innovative fashion spirit, one cannot expect anything less from the authentic purveyors of effortless style.

Buy original Havaianas only from authorized retail outlets. Not only will you be assured of the quality of the brand, you will also become part of the original story.

Pledge your support for all things original: original thought, original works, and original creations at www.havaianasphilippines.com/original

Whatchuwaitinfor??? Go sign up and pledge only if you're original. Tee hee.



There's us! Weee!!! ^_^

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

This has got to be the most boring Sunday of my life... in 2009… so far. Although my day started early as it was our family’s feast day in honor of Sto. Niño and we went to celebrate it at the ancestral home in Benolho with mass and luncheon, my afternoon became the most boring thing since the movie, Saint Ange. (That movie still is #1 on my list of The Worst Movie I Wasted A Movie Ticket Over *EVER*!) So yeah, back to my afternoon. I had no one to waste a perfectly warm, if not scorching, day with. Manoy was already in Tagaytay for his culinary thing so that leaves me with no one to bug. With too much freaking time on my hands, I posted really, really “Old School” pix at Facebook. [ATTENTION: Paulinians ’99!!!]

So then I decided to drag two of my buddies to swim with me in my sea of ennui. Not having a lot of choices of a place to crash here in our beloved little town, Pajan, Archie, and I then decided to grab some merienda at La Vigia. Our casual chitchat led me to a realization that until now I still can’t shake. Thus, the blog.

We were discussing life in general when we reached the topic of finances. Being Math-challenged and all, I had managed to come up with a 6-digit figure of how much I had spent in the past year or so. I was startled, no, I was stunned! I didn’t realize I was THAT extravagant and impractical. I could have bought a really nice car or opened a bar of my own or even send myself to culinary school!!! I wanted to run towards the bay and drown myself in regret. With all things said and done, I can’t do much now but charge it to experience, or better yet, charge it to EXPENSES!

So I conferred with the boys and gave them permission to go ahead and change my passwords online (and not tell me what they will be whatever it takes) so I might stop browsing and get tempted to splurge with  the convenience of online shopping. That was actually the brilliant idea of my cousin who suggested a few days back that it was probably the best thing to do to avoid all the cyber temptations. So there. Come February 1st, I shall stop spending and start saving! Good news, huh? Well, let’s just cross our fingers I don’t easily break this promise like I did with my New Year’s resolution.

Expect no more gadget reviews in the coming months. Gosh, this blog is going to be even more boring than ever! I’m sure nobody would bother checking my site anymore. Boohoo! Oh well, maybe I’ll just channel all the power of my wits to other areas in life. Since I’m half-way through my quarter-life crisis, I might as well get in touch with the more serious side of myself. *yawn* Booooooooorrrrrrriiiiinnnggg!!! *rolls eyes*

But then again, Hakuna Matata!!! Life is too full of rich possibilities. You’ll never know. I might win the Lotto… though I’m just one of the millions of who dream of it. Hee hee. Oh well, if we were to dream, we ought to dream BIG! The lottery isn’t an exemption! LOL! So right now, I am just gonna go ahead and grab myself a beer (perhaps a whole case?) and get me some good night’s sleep (and maybe a hangover after?) as I move on with my life, with frugality and practicality this time.

Wish me luck, you guys! ^_^



P.S. I miss Manoy. ='(

恭喜發財,利是逗來,伍毫嫌少,壹蚊唔愛 !!! ^_^
Kung Hei Fat Choy!!!

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ ia\m/^_^\m/ai 陳美西

Lately, I've been craving for crêpes but didn't want to spend so much on this special treat. Around here, the cheapest one you could find is like 70 bucks, I think. So then it leaves us no choice but to improvise!

Sans confectioner's sugar, eggs, Nutella®, and whipped cream...

...I present to you our crêpe ala pobre!







All you need is a ripe mango (which isn't really hard to find), some leftover ice cream, butter, milk, and flour! For more or less 70 bucks, you can make about 3 servings already. Wa-is si Lumen! Tee hee!

This is my ABSTRACT version. LOL!



Okay, that looks like crap but oh soooo gooood!!! YUM! YUM! YUM!



DELECTABLE? You can say that again!!!



Thank you, lover, for pleasing my palate! :) Mwah!!!

⋆✌㋡ღ⋆ 陳美西