Braising my Beef

how i get all too excited with long weekends!

i know im not the only one excited about long weekends, but this particular memorial day weekend went like a blur.

its a miracle that i stayed put in the state of new york, not even bothering to barbecue with the cousins in NJ (i didnt get an invite). its not that i dont like going to bergenfield, its just a major production number to get there. 2 hours on the subway and bus, when it could definitely be 20 minutes driving through the george washington bridge.

more miraculous is the fact that i did two weeks worth of laundry and fixed my closet — well, partly reorganized it. apart from doing the chores of returning everything that was still in its return policy and mattress shopping and go-karting, i must say, my long weekend was dampened by the bout of seasonal allergies.

no obligatory bbq for me this time. well, i love grilled food, its just that i dont enjoy prancing around picking food off the grill and not getting a decent meal. in any case, my great neighbor carlos loves his new gas grill that its no surprise that there is always a bbq in the backyard.

and i dont understand beer anymore. its weird that my body actually cant take more than a bottle of brewski… im thinking its the fact that i subconsciously stay away from the alcohol when its really not worth it to get drunk.

the highlight of my long weekend was getting pissed at the ghetto family picnic at the laundromat. man, i cannot believe these people would actually leave their friggin laundry inside the machine long after the damn thing has stopped washing! aaargh. if only i had the guts and the gall to fight with this thong wearing butt ugly mama who looks like a bouncer in a fuschia top with orange pants.

argh. my new roomie said "i know they come from the ghetto, BUT DO THEY HAVE TO ACT LIKE IT?"

i dont know.

oh, and i remember overhearing this young girl at macys as she was talking to her mother. she said; "im just showing you my style mom. im just showing you my style."

she is probably 9 years old.

well, let me make a long weekend out of the coming weekend. im off to dc (again!) with pauline.

ive finally made active plans about my upcoming fourth of july weekend.

im going to chicago!

i know i havent ranted enough lately, as i have been doing the following things:

1. meeting up with my cousins.

i havent seen jai in a long time and ive met ann for the first - this is due to the fact that we live on different islands. anyway, we did two things:

a. go to a concert

this concert, to me was the jologest gathering ive been to. hate me for being a snob, but rock concerts with the singer waaaaaaaaaaaaaah haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaa ing is not my cup of tea. i thought it was a local band, but lo and behold it was basti of razorback who was singing. thank god i didnt get in because jai and hans were underage for it, so we
went to see fever pitch instead. it was cute.

when we got back to get ann from that club, there was this idiot named Raf who thinks that he is god’s gift to women. yech. such a premature has been he is! oh jeez. i guess he played for another band and seeing the two cousins i had in tow, and the opportunity to be with either of them, he was trying to impress us. conversation is as follows:

raf: hey, my name is raf. (at this time, i was on the phone making plans)
*everyone introduces themselves, and he extends his hand with this trying to be cute and pitiful face so i would extend my hand to his and tell him my name. so i did.*
raf: im from dc, where are you from?
me: i live here.
raf: you should come over to dc sometime. we own dc.
me: ha? if you own dc, how come there’s no sign that says welcome to raf’s land?

of course he was trying to feign my smart alecky comments and started hitting on my cousins. we said we were leaving and at which point, he grabbed hans’ hand and held it to his chest and said "i love you, man.."

oh for crying out loud.

b. go clubbing

with two twenty year olds in the group (hans and jai) clubbing in new york is as hard as it gets. ann heard about this place called abyss which she claims was in jersey city. of course, hans and i couldnt complain enough us being residents of super upper manhattan (the bronx) when we can always go clubbing in lower manhattan…

anyway, since we were sure that we can get in this one without a hitch, hans picked me up and we drove. when i saw the mapquest directions, city and state read: SOUTH AMBOY, NJ.

yes. it wasnt clubbing, it was a roadtrip.

hans and i laughed it all off, and he was feeling kinda bad about the whole thing because the club closes at 2am, and he picked me up at 11. he was worried that the cover wasnt gonna be worth it. i told him that manhattanite partying only lasted until about the same time because then they would have time to have their shag before the sun comes up, and suggested that we go somewhere else after.

and we went and partied. it wasnt half as bad as i thought it would be and the music was okay, and i admit it was better than the one they played on all the floors at webster hall. of course, as expected the partygoers didnt have half a brain on them. and again, i confess. i am a snob.

i had great fun with my cousins and their friends, its just that the crowd could be a lot better, but i do understand. clubbing in suburbia is something that should be tolerated with a capital T.

we decided to leave the place earlier than everyone did and looked for a place to eat because we kept smelling food and we were hungry. we asked for directions to the nearest diner from the club but we got lost and got the people in the other car grumpy. my navigational skills are really bad in new jersey, so we decided to eat at the diner in bergenfield instead.

as soon as we got out to the highway. there was a sign.

WHITE CASTLE!!!!! in true harold and kumar fashion, we ate there and had pictures taken.

2. gameboy game girl

i know that its really pathetic sounding, but my co worker’s 9year old son lent me his old game boy advanced, and now i have been playing castle vania (4.99 on clearance at target) and spongebob squarepants.

castle vania is the re release of the original NES game. yeah. ive been on stage 10 and ive been trying to get past that bloody frankenstein and igor monster. my hand and eye coordination has not improved with age, but i realize that part of the skill involved in playing video games is the use of your memory. now that i have memorized approximately when the enemies come out, i get to whip them in time. nyahahahahaha!

the sad part about this is, im still playing 8-bit games even if better and faster games have been developed.

spongebob squarepants, on the other hand just proves my worthless hand and eye coordinartion skills to a further level. its a real kiddie game and i cant even get past level two.

hahaha. and i WAS OBSESSING about a pink gameboy advanced SP which isnt sold retail here in the united states — because i know my hello kitty dvd player needed a companion. another pink electronic gadget wont hurt, right? wrong.

ive come over my brattyness and have calmed myself with the fact that a silver gameboy advance sp will serve the same purpose. i’ll just put a white mac logo on it so it will look like a super mini powerbook! hahahahaha.

3. cooking it up with my calphalons!

i did get a set of fantastic cooking pots and pants from jerome for my birthday, and since i got started using it, ive been cooking!

its mad fun! the pot heats up evenly and i just have a ball. even if there’s no one else to eat the stuff i make, its cool! i loooove looove loooove the pots!

i madly loove loove loove it.

i know there’s more to blog about but ive forgotten most of it. maybe i’ll just post more pictures.

.

i have a huge difficulty dealing with figures of authority. teachers, bosses, aunts and uncles, i have managed to steer clear of what they tell me to do. and my mother is no exception.

i write this as a post mother’s day tribute to my mother. (read on, its not as bad as it looks.)

growing up with the absence of my mom’s constant presence is something i am very familiar with. my mom never had a nine to fiver for a job and much to her dismay, i grew up treating adults as equals. this disappointed her badly because in spite of the fact that i did well in school, it was my tactlessness and so-called insensitivity that makes her feel like a failure.

mostly, everyone complained of the fact that i never listened to anyone else but myself. everyone concluded that i was a shameful, boisterous and disrespectful kid.

i always answered back, said the hurtful truth and tried to get my own way whatever the cost. even if it means getting slapped in the face by my own father.

stubborn is my real middle name, and i never learned.

of course, i did listen to her sometimes. i followed her advice to never get into medical school, choose UP over DLSU, and that she disapproved of my first love based on looks.

looking back, i still blame her a little bit about that lost one. still, she disapproves of him. but that’s all done. i guess she feels some guilt towards it now that he’s established. but that’s gone.

anyway, if there’s one thing i love about her mothering is the fact that she always let us decide on our own. she didnt care if i switched courses in the middle of the semester, nor did she say anything when i came home one day and told her that i was going to sri lanka on a short notice.

she did pass judgement on a lot of the things that i do (all mothers do!) but in a way i thank her for not lifting a finger to put a stop at my unwavering curiosity. she hated my longest relationship, but she didnt heave a sigh of relief when she found out that it was all gone.

she is now excited at the idea of getting me married even with the absence of a boyfriend. she has even delegated herself as my official matchmaker.

i dont see her becoming a monster in law, primarily because of two things. my grandmother from my dad’s side loved her more than she loved her son and neither of my brothers are mama’s boys. it breaks her heart whenever we answer back but it puts her into perspective.

she never counted what was given to her, nor she complained about helping everyone who needed it.

mostly, i learned from her example. not from what she tells me to do, because she rarely tells me to do anything.

i wonder, if my mother was a control freak, would i grow to be as independent as i am now? would i be able to make decisions and stand up for what i believe in?

would i be, in spite of my age and experience will be seeking my mother’s approval?

most probably not.

this much i know. as long as im happy, whether i listen to her or not, whether she dislikes it or not, as long as everything else is taken cared of, she approves. to her, my happiness is the greatest success.

and i know, being my mother that she is, she hopes and prays that her grandchildren wont be ugly.