They said a friend is someone whom you can sit with without saying a word for hours and even if you leave without saying a word to each other, you know that everything is okay.  They also said that a friendship is strong when you meet up after a couple of years of not seeing one another you just pick up where you left off.  No awkward feeling as if you’re back to that day when you first met and became friends.  And a lot of other things like doing crazy things together, talk about anything under the sun and so on.  So I was thinking, if this is what a real friendship is, then do I have a real friend in my life?  Or does it mean to say that the friends I have right now are not real?  Or is it just that the relationship I have with them has not reached that level of friendship yet?  I was just thinking because there are days when I don’t get to talk or see my friends it makes me feel that we are drifting apart.  You know like things aren’t the same as it was when we last saw each other (even if it was just a couple of days).  Or is it just me? 

That’s why when I watch movies like my Bestfriend’s Wedding of Julia Roberts or 13 Going on 30 of Jennifer Gardner I ask myself if I have anybody in my life who remained a friend even if I haven’t seen or talked to for quite a while.  Over the years I was a bit sad when I come to think about what is being said about what a true friendship is for I couldn’t think of a name that will fit the description.  I don’t know if I am to blame on that for I am what other people call a ”reserved” person.  I tend to shut the door to people.  Well not until I saw my dear friend Henry again.  We used to work for an organization back home.  He was not from our place so he said he felt out of place first time he was there but felt at ease when time past by.  But he left a year before me to pursue a career as a microbiologist for one of the projects in Makati Med which was about four years ago.  I never saw him since although we got to talk once when I first tried applying for this company that I am working with and exchanged text messages every now and then over the years.  I realized when he walked me to the place where I was staying during my training in Makati early on this year (after four hours of talking in Starbucks, Greenbelt) that he remained my friend and confidante through those years when I was starting my life in Cebu.  He texted me to ask how I was doing even if two years had gone by that I haven’t seen him.  He replied to my chuk-chak chenes ( frustrations) text messages and consoled me when things got rough in the office and reminded me that if people from the work place, my friends or the people around me had let me down, there will always be a person who will be there to help (even if they’re not physically there).  He greets me on Christmas even if he doesn’t believe in it for his religion doesn’t believe in it.  So I am thankful for the friendship that we have.  It made me feel that I have a “George” in my life who is just a text away when I need somebody to talk to when things get rough again.  Although I haven’t really told him that yet but I planned to when the time comes (maybe when he buys me Starbucks coffe again).

I saw the latest comment of Neste a friend and a fellow blogger.  He read my article on my Pan Seared Pork steak published last September 1st of 2008 and he commented that I made him hungry and that he would like to maintain his diet.  So with a frown I replied and asked him which diet is he referring to?  He jokingly answered the no eating diet.  Hmmm… Well, that’s one way to lose the extra pounds alright but my dear readers do not take his reply seriously (a joker as I know he is) for a no eating diet, as you all know, is not a good way to lose weight.  It will just make you crave for more food.  I know you want to have a body like Jennifer Lopez (who seem to have the right curves on the right places) or a body like Usher.  But what’s good in living without food?  There are a lot of ways to lose weight.  You can be like my friend Ann who goes to the gym and work out (which is a traditional thing) or you can try to take diet pills if you don’t want to exert any extra effort.  I even heard that there is a diet pill made especially for men these days.  Or you can do both which I think will be more effective.  Just be careful though.  Talk to experts first before you decide on the routine that you will take.  This is for you to know which will work best for you.  Will it be the old way, the hi-way or you can try my way…  I eat, eat, eat! Hehehe…

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Neste, thank you for your latest comment.  It gave me an idea on what topic to write about today. hehehe…

I was browsing the web on for some car care tips ( not that I have a car of my own). I guess I was just curious on the proper way to take care of cars.  So I happened upon the website of one of Shell’s franchises in the Philippines and boy, their tips are very extensive.  I guess anybody who is a newbie could definitely use the information on the said site.  Although I was a bit amazed to not find covering your car with a car cover when you’re not using it as part of it’s car care tips.  I guess who ever wrote it  was more concerned about the enginge than the over all look of the car.  But come to think of it car covers can also help maintain the car right?  It can help protect the car from humidity, moisture and dust which could damage the paint of the car and the engine as well especially if you won’t be using it for a while.  Is this correct or is it just me?  But anyway, if you go visit their site, just add my tip to cover your car with a car cover to their list of car tips for additional protection and car care.  Hehehe…

I went how to Samar over the weekend to see my parents, siblings and realtives.  It was a bit of an effort going there for you will have to ride a ferry for 2 hours the ride a bus for 4 hours just to get to my hometown.  A lot has changed over the year that I was there.  I guess that was what becoming a city is about.  But going there was definitely worth it for I get to see how my love ones are doing and I also get some time off thinking about how and where will I get my meal for the day and how high the prices are these days for I just gave the money to my mom and let her buy whatever she wants to prepare for lunch and dinner.  Not seeing how much I spent on a pack of pasta or whatever sort of lowered my stress level.  You see when I am here in Cebu, I would usually go to shops with promotional products (meaning they sell products with discounts or products with freebies) when I go shoppping.  Why?  To save money of course.  Call me cheap but I guess that’s just how you would feel when you spend hard earned money.

I didn’t realize how important life insurance is in the US until I saw an episode of Oprah on taking care of one’s finances.  On that episode her guest specialist scolded a couple for the wife has no job, the kids doesn’t have health insurance and the dad doesn’t have a life insurance.  You might say so what if they don’t have an insurance?  I guess the guest was a bit concerned about waht will happen to the kids if something happens for the couple has a very large debt.  Like what if the dad died.  Who will take care of his family when he’s gone?  I don’t know how a person qualifies for a life insurance there but in the Philippines, you will have to go through an extensive health examination before you get a policy.  If things are the same in the US then I wonder how Oprah’s guest will react on a no exam life insurance?  I guess she will be handing out pamphlets and forms to everyone she meets and make them get a policy from a company who offers it just to make sure everybody is insured.   Thinking about the discussion that I listened to in that episode, it made me think to get a policy now.  You know just to make sure that everything will be in place if ever something happens.

One of my favorite chefs in the world is Wolfgang Puck.  He is from Austria and learned how to cook from his mom (like me! hehehe).  I saw him once on the Lifestyle channel and I loved his recipes right then and there.  They are simple to do and they taste really good.  He is one of the celebrated chefs in Hollywood and owns a chain of restuarants.  He has a website which I love to visit for you can find a lot of recipes there that you can make at home.  One thing that I like about chefs like Wolfgang is their love to share information.  He loves to give out tips that will make cooking easier for those who are adept in cooking and those who are just starting out alike.  You can find some of these tips on his website as well. One of the recipes that you will find online is his pancake recipe which he also loves to serve to his kid.

Play is a great way to teach kids and develop their imagination.  I don’t know if you’ll agree with me but some kids get to learn what they want to be when they grow up by playing games.  When I was growing up, we didn’t have PSP or XBOX then so I would usually play with my cousins.  And since we didn’t have that much toys to play with, we would make our own toys.  The boys will make there own slingshots and toy guns using bamboo sticks and wet paper while the girls and the less violent boys would play “bahay-bahay”.  One of the favorite games that we love to play is building a small community were some kids would have a small business like a restaurant while the others will take on the consumer role.  Before the game starts, we would collect candy wrappers for our play money, collect small pieces of vegetables in the market which we use in the restaurant and gumamela flowers which we chop up and use to color and thicken the water that we use as palamig (a local term for juice in the Philippines). I remember being one of the kids who chops the vegetables into smaller pieces and cooks it on our make shift stove (we use a lamp as a stove and a tin can as our pan). And since we don’t have a lot of toy plates to play with, we would use softdrink caps and crowns as plates and crowns. Hmmm… I guess that’s the reason why I love to cook, dream of becoming a chef and own a restaurant.

One thing that I don’t like about being upset aside from being upset itself, is I have this urge to shop like most women do.  It will be good if I find myself in the supermarket for how much could you spend on groceries right?  But it will be very bad for my finances if I ended up in the shoe department in a mall because if I have a lot of money with I could end up buying three or more pairs of shoes.

A few days back, I had an argument with my mom over the phone, a very petty argument but I ended up so upset with myself because I know that I have lost the argument and I have hurt my mom (a lot) which I don’t really know how to fix just yet.  So I went out of the house and ended up in a mall and found myself having the urge to spend.  I was thinking of eating at the Sphagetti Factory (since eating is one of my ways to calm myself) however, I thought about my financial state these days so I decided to visit the supermarket.  Since I was craving for sphagetti and some grilled pork I bought 3 pieces of pork steak, 400 g. of sphagetti and 500 g. of lean pork meat (yes, am a carnivore).  I spent around three hundred pesos (ouch!) but comparing it to the amount that I could spend on eating in a restaurant, it’s a lot cheaper.   So here’s my Pan Seared Pork Steak with Rosemary and Oregano And Aglio Olio Sphagetti with Parsley which reminds me of a dish I had at Casa Verde last weekend. I think it was Tommy’s steak And Aglio Olio (which has beef steak instead of pork).  After preparing and savoring my creation, I felt a lot better (though it did not take away the fact that I still have an issue to fix with my mom).