It's a MelloYello Life

Catfight01 Originally uploaded by Saila During the long walk home from the MRT, I am usually deep in thought about what happened during the day and am usually oblivious to my surroundings. But yesterday during my usual long stretch, I heard a soft meowing sound nearby. Just a little ways ahead, was the cutest stray kitten. I wanted to stroke it, carry it, ant take it home but the condo I live in is too small for pets. :( It was hard for me to just walk on by... And if you really knew me, you'd know that I have a really soft spot for cats. When I moved from a house to a condo, I had to relocate my dog and leave my cats behind. That made me feel really sad for a while. I rescued Noisy and Geisha from a pile of rubbish outside my gate a few years ago. I named him Noisy because he couldn't/wouldn't stop meowing whenever food was around. He was very demanding but very good at keeping the mice at bay. He was always on the lookout for a good ear-scratching session too. I named ...

Here in the Philippines, the MRT has a special car in the front just for females, pregnant women, women/men with kids, and the elderly. You'd think it was a really good idea (if you're a girl) until you try to wrestle your way onto the train in the middle of morning/evening rush hour. I've experienced all sorts of frustrations while waiting for my turn to get on the train during rush hour: 1. When guards stop the passengers from entering the platform area because here are too many people on it. 2. Guards take too long to inspect bags, packages, and what not. 3. Once on the platform, 10 trains pass by and you can't seem to get on because of the sheer volume of passengers. 4. Sweating like hell because once you get squished between alighting passengers there's no space in between your bodies for air to pass through. 5. Getting nasty looks from the other passengers because you accidentally blow air on their necks while cooling yourself with your own breath. 6. Once ins...

It's past midnight and I can't sleep without writing an entry about what I felt after watching Rain Man (after 22 years) tonight on HBO. I remember when I first saw the movie Rain Man 1988 (I was 15 then), I instantly declared it as one of my most favorite movies. Not only because Tom Cruise was such eye candy back then, but the movie struck a chord in me. It opened my heart to people with mental/behavioral disabilities ans saw that they have as much potential as anyone if guided by those who genuinely care for their welfare. My son Kyle is 12 and he has Asperger's Syndrome (AS). He's an Aspie, as doctors will say so. It's in the spectrum of Autism but it is one wherein the individual is high-functioning. Even with AS, he can live, grow up, study, graduate, fall in love, get married and have children. He may seem uninterested and bored when he addresses you but it's only because he can't stand eye contact, especially when meeting new people. Aspie's sp...

I am so disgusted with robbers, muggers, snatchers, and con artists. To me they are scum of the earth. When an FB friend posted this video on FB I could only imagine how the victim felt: one moment she was happily eating her fries, the next minute she was frantic and confused as to where her valuables went. I just had to put this entry in to remind me and you to take better care of our belongings when eating out. Tsk-tsk. Be careful everyone! Watch the woman on the left side of the screen.

I spent over 15 years singing in prestigious choirs and what I can say after that experience is " once a chorister, always a chorister". When I started singing in a choir in college, I never thought it would become my passion. Learning to sing using my diaphragm, making my voice stronger and becoming more conscious of my pitch, having to get used to singing with another male and female voice simultaneously, was just the beginning. But once I mastered controlling my voice, and started performing in front of audiences here and abroad, it opened up a whole new world for me. Little do people know highly (and feared in competitions) Filipino choirs are regarded all over the world. That's why when Glee first aired, I thought "well it's about time!" Although viewed as losers, the gleeks are the underdogs everyone cheers for because of their "inner beauty". If you haven't watched the show, it's about a group of highschool kids who by some weird t...

I know I said I'd try the Veet wax strips on other parts of my body, but now I totally regret it. I tried to wax my underarms last night and not only did it NOT work but it was painful. It left red marks on my underarms and it feels very raw. What's worse is that it only managed to remove 30% of the hair only. :( Shaving/plucking is still more effective for me. But that's just me.

They say Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton had Asperger's Syndrome. It was 3 years ago when my son Kyle was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome . His teachers told me years before that to have him checked by a neuro-developmental pediatrician because they saw something different about his behavior at school. He had outbursts in the middle of class, talked too much, got bullied a lot, laughed too hard, and though he was extremely smart, he couldn't seem to express his feelings as well as other kids his age. I was in denial for years and thought that Kyle's behavior was very typical of a growing boy who had a very wide imagination. BUT it was only when the teachers refused not to admit him into Grade 4 unless he had gotten checked by a child psychologist, so, I did. Many people with Asperger's are often regarded as being eccentric. They sometimes lack social skills, are obsessed with complex topics and can have problems communicating. -BBC News I brought Kyle to a couple o...

The last movie I watched was Avatar. I waited for all the fuss about it to die down and saw it when it was running on its 5th week. Truthfully, I was disappointed because there were no cinemas showing it in 2D (except in Megamall, as I was told by a friend a bit too late), and so, reluctantly, I had to see it in 3D. I wish they gave the viewers a chance to choose the format they want to watch the movie in. Anyway, How to Train Your Dragon is a different story. It's set in the time of Vikings where dragons were pests to be killed because they stole the livestock and destroyed the village as a result. It's the story of Hiccup and how he was eager to prove himself worthy of being the great chief's son by killing his very first dragon. But as the title suggests, things don't turn out the way he planned and he ends up actually being endeared to the enormous beasts. I know it's supposed to be a kids film but it saw me gripping onto the armrests of my seat, covering my ...

After having brunch at Xtremely Xpresso Cafe, we headed off to CamayanBeach Resort. The first time I went there, I didn't get to swim because we spent most of the day at Zoobic Safari and felt that it wasn't worth staying if the sun was setting soon. But now, the beach was first on the itinerary, so by hook or by crook, I was going to get some swimming done. The entrance fee for day trippers was P300 for adults and P250 for kids. When we got there, there was only one cabana left and it was way over at the other end of the beach where it was rocky and far from the restrooms. So, we opted to just rent 8 monoblock chairs at P25 each just so we had a place to put our stuff. It was a great idea because that way we could move around the beach to our liking. Not to mention, MUCH cheaper than a cabana. :) We spent the day sunning ourselves, lazing around, dozing off, playing nintendo games, swimming, walking around the beach, wading in the shallow part of the beach, and taking funny ...

It's funny how when you are in the company of friends, somewhere beyond any wifi signal nor cable TV, nor mp3 player to keep you amused, you can find the silliest things extremely funny and entertaining. While in Subic, waiting for the other half of our group to arrive at the rendezvous point, we played the song game to while the time. You can play it in different ways. But it all boils down to how well you know song lyrics. Here are some categories: 1. ABC - the game goes clockwise. First player sings a song beginning with the letter A. Second player sings a song beginning with the letter B, and so on. 2. Connect the last word of the songs - Usually the song first player sings the first song that comes to mind and ends with the last word of a stanza OR can choose to surprise the next player by choosing the middle of a stanza/chorus to stop singing. 3. Thematic- All songs must contain lyrics that fall under a theme or category such as: Names: "Think of Laura, laugh don'...

As I've mentioned in my previous entry about Subic, I was soooo excited about this trip because I felt that it was much deserved break for me from the pressures of work and house chores. Of course I made sure that the house was neat and tidy before we left, or else my mind wouldn't have been at peace during my vacation. :) Packed in our trusty Suzuki Alto, with three good friends, we set out for Subic at 8:00 am. Well we could have left earlier but that's another story altogether. Throughout the ride, we passed through quite a number of toll gates. First of which was the one to pass through Balintawak which cost us P36.00, after a few minutes, we paid the P138.00 toll to cruise the NLEX, after an hour we reached the great SCTEX highway and travelled at top speed (to the enjoyment of our driver) and paid P112.00 toll fee at the end. The last toll we had to pay for was the Tipo Highway which cost the smallest fee of all: P18.00. So all in all, for future reference, you need ...

I've always wanted to try waxing my legs or my underarms but never had the chance (yes, it never crossed my mind to buy a pack of wax srips at Watson's) to do it. Good thing, one morning as I went up to my desk, lo and behold, there was a gift pack from Veet! It contained a pack of wax strips, and 2 variants of the Veet creams for hair removal as well. So, that very night Alice and I decided to try the wax strips out on her not-so-hairy legs before our Subic getaway with friends the next day. Here goes: 1. Rub the wax strip between your hands: 2. Slowly peel the strips apart: 3. Place a strip onto the skin and rub repeatedly in the direction our hair grows: 4. Immediately, pull the strip back on itself very quickly against the direction your hair grows. Hold skin taut to avoid discomfort. Let me just warn you, there's a bit of discomfort there, but nothing we can't handle. :) After ripping way all the wax strips, you can wipe your legs down with an oily sheet provide...