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. :-)

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. :-)

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 Philippines' 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!

In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Well, it was a Saturday. He had work and it was, as usual, my day off from the hubbub of a quasi-complex profession.

Nelson often leaves the office at 4 p.m. on weekends, and it was already 6:30 in the evening, so I was like, 'He should be home by now! It's Valentine's Day for Pete's sake!' Lounging on a sofa bed and on the verge of my shallow tears, I tried to think of reasons why he was an hour late. He mentioned having dinner out the day before, and I'd been expecting him to be home at around 5 o'clock. After all, he didn't text me and there was no confirmation of the date whatsoever.

I finally couldn't help it. I put away my laptop, picked up my mobile phone, and dialed his digits. He answered and I could hear the cacophony of traffic in the background. "Where are you, honey?" I tried to sound as calm as possible. "Not too far away, hon. I'm already in Marikina," was his reply. Hmmm... that means at least 10 more minutes, right? Wrong.

Thirty seconds after I ended the call, I heard him scuffling at the front door. I opened it to let him in -- much to his astonishment! "Akala ko na kayna mama ka! [Why are you here? I thought you were at mama's!]" he gasped. My mom lives next door, and I hang out at her place with Zakei on typical Saturdays. But not this time. I had the sniffles and felt like staying home.

I glanced at the bag of take-out food in his arms. Along with the chow, he was holding a red rose, an equally red heart-shaped balloon, a box of marjolaine cake from Red Ribbon, and a poster he made with our picture on it, all especially for the overrated lovers' day. My honey tried to set up a surprise romantic Valentine's dinner, and I screwed it up! (LOL)

Anyway, it was very much appreciated, honey! I love you with all that I am and all that I'll ever be.

A precious V-day rose from my precious

Happy Valentine's Day!!! :-)

I Blew My Fuse

Anger is a gift, a potent fuel that could either make you reek of revenge and self-deteriorate or channel your strengths and creative juices into a force a notch higher than anger itself -- change. What I've noticed among most successful folks is their dynamic affinity with the emotional boiling point at a certain stage in their lives. They were dissed by the others, mocked, put down, betrayed, and their remarkable response to what the world has brought upon them eventually led to the birth of new perspectives. In a roaring attempt to prove the "bad guys" wrong, they commit themselves to a lifetime of achievement.

A great catalyst, indeed, anger shouldn't be depicted as a mammoth conduit for rampant annihilation. If there's one thing that can turn your anger into a futile whiff, it's none other than hate. Hate leads you to a lot of sinning and leaves little or no room for positive occurrences.

Despite the personal progress I've made which stemmed out of pain, I have yet to master the art of molding anger into a compelling ally in all my pursuits. Yes, the world is apodictically replete with bitches and bastards of various sorts, and when I feel like retaliating in a snap, I constantly remind myself of the power of winning slowly but surely.

This Year Will Be a Blast, I Can Feel It!

I surmise I don't have to explain my lingering two-week absence from the blogosphere. An ecstatically married career woman with a mischievous three-year-old daughter has got to do what she's got to do.

Anyway, I kicked off the new year with a stress-quashing overnight stay at the City of Springs Resort in Los Baños, Laguna. We took my mom along to give her a break from thinking too much about family business and worrying over my semi-erratic siblings. :-)

Lucky number 7

The mini-pool inside our room

Mama prepares dinner before everybody else goes night swimming.

Chow!

My honey poses for one of his art projects while we bask in the soothing indoor hot spring pool.

"This is the life...," she says.

We hit the sack at 1 a.m.

The main pool at City of Springs gets all filled up early in the morning.

In the kiddie pool. Zakei was mad about the slides.

Nelson in another one of his emotionally-stricken camera moments

Yes, we has fun in the first week of '09.

What we got out of the first part of the trip was spa-ish (I just made that word up). We savored the hot springs for a day and a half then went to have lunch in Sta. Cruz at a small Chinese restaurant that surprisingly proffers slightly overpriced meals (Almost 300 bucks for the smallest plate of sizzling seafood -- serves 1 1/2).

In the afternoon, we checked out Aglipay Church. My husband grew up in Laguna and he's been raving about the miracles of the Nazarene whom Sta. Cruz residents call the 'Nuestro Señor De Santo Sepulcro.' Apparently, every faithful Catholic who's been there attests to the unfailing aid of this holy image in terms of answering prayers.

The austere facade of Aglipay Church in Sta. Cruz, Laguna

There were only a few church-goers on a solemn weekday.

The famous Nuestro Señor de Santo Sepulcro

A shot by the wishing well near the entrance

2009 has started to unfold. Paying the Nazarene a visit was a very spiritual experience. I believe that if you begin your year with a staunch faith in Christ, then you can brazenly face 365 days knowing you're not breezing through all the challenges alone. You can count the days with your head up!

Bonne Année!!!

The Oceanic Craze

Guess which local tourist spot we checked out last week? The Philippines sole state-of-the-art oceanarium -- Manila Ocean Park!

Like the thousands of thrill-seekers whose curiosity was piqued, nelson and I decided to finally see the incipiently famous marine-themed park standing behind the ancient Luneta Grandstand.

Feast your eyes on such aquatic beauty!

With love from the ocean-arium...