She Let Me Break the Rules

The Simpsons overdo it, though.

When I was growing up, my parents prohibited us from talking back when an adult, or anybody who's at least 10 years older reprimanded us each time they saw fit. Filipinos see it as an act of respect when a kid shuts his mouth in the face of intolerable criticism by an elder.

Five days ago, I can't believe my mother gave me permission to brazenly retort to a self-righteous, haughty, and pretentious family member who's 20 years my senior. Not that my mom has lost her cultural morals and decided to promote abdication of sense of respect. It was simply the right thing to do.

Sometimes, you can't just sit still in a corner with your lips zipped when your relatives are trampling on you and your dignity, especially when they're trying to haul your dead father into the picture. It's sad that it reached this point, since I thought family will always be family, but I guess there comes a time when you need to defend yourself and immediate kin to folks you learned to venerate most of your life.

Painful words had to be said out of necessity, because it would be downright wrong to opt for silence in a situation that requires you to fight back.

The details, I'll spare you. If you belong to a decent family that values confidentiality, I'm sure you'd comprehend.

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The Art of Losing Weight

Before

...and after

I've shed scads of pounds over the last few weeks, but if this is how Kate Cancio spends her time brooding in solitary, I honestly don't know how I did it.

When people ask me how I got the slightly flatter tummy, the answer they get is "No rice nor any form of carbs for lunch." Albeit the occassional pizza and pasta affair, frequent heavy snacks in the afternoon and the full meal at dinner come creeping into the back of my mind every time I give that advice, it's the best that I could do, since the "No Rice Policy" has worked impeccably for me. :-)

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To the Shores

To the Shores

In the scorching season,
the ardent sun beckoned
with a spell too fiery to resist.

The heat renders the city mad,
bland;
Stranded in the dessert of insanity and soiled democracy.
Bored,
floored;
One-time nomads itching to run their fingers through the sand.

We are called to succumb to the solace of the waves,
and live with sang-froid.

-- Kate Cancio

L' Caraz Beach Front & Kawayan Cove...
Three placid days and two unperturbed nights in Nasugbu, Batangas. All the stress we accrued over the past few months has been duly squelched. :-) (Will post the rest of the pics soon!)

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My Month of March

Yipee! I haven't blogged in more than a month, which means I'm not Blogspot-dependent and could live with the traditional pen and paper for my personal journal. Thing is, I really wanted to post some stuff on-line, but I felt the information I was about to divulge would be better off if it remained between me and my honey (as most were too kinky), or me and the Almighty God (too delicate).

For the sake of keeping tabs on my journey via the all-omnipotent net, here's a general rundown of what's been taking place in my color-specked life lately:

1.) I was devastated when Francis Magalona, the Philippine's pride and King of Rap, passed away on March 6th. He'll be sorely missed.

2.) I dyed my hair oriental red. Two weeks into my new look, the tint has faded into copper brown.

3.) I think by now it's obvious to everyone that the weather's starting to toast. I ought to stay smart and choose not to take sunscreen for granted.

4.) Zakeisha's now over three feet tall! And to celebrate her physical progress, we rode her very first horror train at World of Fun (an amusement park inside a local mall). She was thrilled when the keeper actually let her fall in line with other kids who were also over the moon.

5.) I've become more of a dreamer than I ever was before. My goals are nagging me 24/7.

6.) Work has been intermittently crazy. Just recently, Rona, our ingenious video editor, and I had to get a job done until 5:30 in the morning. Last Thursday tops the record, we finished three plugs in half a day.

7.) Manny Pacquiao has caused quite a raucous when he announced he signed a deal with ABS-CBN despite the fact that he has an existing contract with Solar Entertaiment. Yeah, it's a boon that he retracted. He should be burned in hell if he ever pulls a stunt like that again. How can you trust a wannabe politician if he has no word honor?

8.) I just realized taking the Metro Rail Transit from Buendia, Makati, to Araneta, Cubao, takes less time than the shuttle service and contributes to more time with Zakei and my hubby, though this requires me to tussle my way through a swarm of mean and absurdly aggressive female passengers (the first two cars of the train are always alloted for women, children, and old folks only) trying to set foot in the vehicle. You won't believe how the rush hour brings out the devil in some people in Manila.

9.) I'm enthralled every time my husband picks me up from the office. I could smooth-sail through the sea of road hubbub when he's with me.

10.) Nelson and I can't wait for the loooong weekend beginning in the second week of April. We've been scouting for a fresh vacation spot that's worth the moolah. We all need to retain our sanity and a nice, refreshing break out of town won't hurt.

In the advent of summer '09!

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