Long Delayed Birthday Gift

My son really does not ask for anything. Three months ago was his birthday and he was asked what gift he would like to get. He said it's okay, he does not need anything. How convinient is that?

"Hmmm.... are you sure? No special game? No special electronic gadget?" He said he's okay with what he has at the moment. Good enough! No need to insist and I did not raise the question ever again. He had the chance and that's it.

Last week, a PSP came out with a new design and he fell in love with it. He started with hints. Praising this new design and how cool it is and how he like it too much. One day he came home flapping his math test infront of me. He happily announced that he got a grade of 97 on this test! I said, "good work!! I'm so proud of you!". He stayed there all wide eyed, smiling! "Can I have something, huh? For my grade?". I somehow knew it was coming.

That is the story behind the PSP. I figured, since he still have to receive a birthday present and that he's been doing so good in school, he can have the PSP that he wants. Happy birthday and Good work son!

Hindi Ko Na Alam

Kay tagal na lumipas ang panahon
Ang nakaraan ay tila panaginip
Di ko na matandaan sa tinagaltagal
Mga rosas na alaala
Totoo ba o kathang isip lamang

Paano na ngaba ang magmahal?
Lalo na kung paano mahalin?
Mula ng masaktan at dayain
Sa laro ng puso sumumpang di bibigyang pansin.

Puso ay sadyang parang bato
Damdamin malamig na tila yelo
Hindi sa ako’y nagrereklamo
Nasanay na at ako ay kuntento.

Ngunit sa likod ng aking gunita
Bahagya at matulin na parang bula
May alab at pitik ng kaba
Damdaming kakaiba.

Mabilis at saglit
Darating at mawawalang ring bigla
Ano kaya yon at bakit ganoon?
Saan ito patungo at saan paroroon?

Hindi ko na alam
Hindi ko na alam
Kung paano ang mahalin
O di kaya’y magmahal.


---------------------------------------------------------

Ang tula ay kathang isip lamang po. :) Kung may natamaan...hindi po ako yun!!! LOL

Steamed Tilapia --- My Children’s Fav

Steamed tilapia is the easiest dish to prepare. It is healthy and a sure winner with kids. My two kids love it! It’s especially good with steamed rice. The ingredients are not fussy and cooking is a piece of cake. I can cook it during weekdays too.


Ingredients:

1 whole Tilapia cleaned
½ cup soy sauce (if you save a special soy sauce, feel free to use it)
2 stalks spring onions cut in whatever cut you like…experiment!
thumb size ginger julianed
1 tsp sesame oil (ordinary vegetable or canola oil would do too)


Cooking direction:

I. Steaming the Tilapia

Place enough water in a large wok and put in any spice you have in your pantry that will be good to cover the fishy smell. I used a sprig of rosemary and two slices of lemon. I used my large wok but if a steamer is available, it would definitely do.




Now, for the Tilapia fish. I made a couple of cuts on each side of the fish so it would cook faster. I also placed a slice of lemon inside the fish cavity. I placed the fish on aluminum foil that is slightly oiled with sesame oil (not necessarily sesame, any oil will do). This will prevent the fish’s skin to stick on the foil. I did not put any salt on the fish at this time because the sauce that I will be preparing will be enough to provide the needed flavor. Let the fish cook in steam for about 30 to 45 minutes. Make sure you have a tight cover for the wok. The steamer is already set up for a good steam temperature so it won’t be a problem.


II. Preparing the sauce

In a sauce pan, combine the soy sauce, half the onion spring, the julianed ginger and the sesame oil. You may add water if you needed to lessen the saltiness of the soy sauce. Boil the mixture just enough to combine all the flavors. Set aside and keep warm

III. Presentation

When the fish is cooked (if the fish flaked easily), transfer to a serving platter. Pour the prepared sauce over the fish and place the rest of the spring onion on top. Best serve hot.



Happy eating!

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Riptide a.k.a Cliffhanger

This is my two kid’s favorite ride. It was previously named Cliffhanger when the park was owned by Paramount. It is now called Riptide. The previous name would have more impact I think. I have not tried this ride and I have no intention of trying it ever. Just looking at it makes me woozy and nauseous. The kids enjoy it immensely though! Maybe I’m just too old for it.

See it in action:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho -- Magical!!

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it…..”

I finished this book in two weeks. It’s a nice change from the two Neil Gaimans books that preceded it. Paulo ( I should mention they have the same first name as my son ) Coelho is such a breath of fresh air. The Alchemist is the first Paulo Coehlo work that I have read and I’m very satisfied with it. Each page tells me a lesson about life and about faith. I still have one more of his books for reading and I’m already excited on what I can find and learn. I am partial to magical stories because they make my dreams more real and it makes me feel hopeful and happy.

The alchemist tells about the adventure of a shepherd boy named Santiago. He had decided to be a shepherd so he could travel and learn about places and people. He loves his sheep, his book and his own time under the sun. His life was simple and in predictable pattern until he had a dream. A dream that happened twice and made him wondering. From then he met a King disguised as a pauper who told him to follow his Personal Legend. He realized that his personal legend is to find his treasure in Egypt’s pyramids. In following his Personal Legend he was able to go to Africa, to the dessert and to Egypt. Through this travel he learned a lot from the people and from nature. He learned the language of the world. Through his travels he met good and bad people. He met his love in a oasis in the dessert and was challenged more than ever to go and further pursue his dream. He met the alchemist and learned from him. He was able to communicate with nature. Until at the end he came finally to the pyramids of Egypt. There was a twist at the end though. The pyramid was only able to give him the location of his treasure.

The dilemma of the story is about following Personal Legends. For some dreams maybe too big or just too hard to achieve that we just give up and turn our back to it. But by turning our back we begin a life of misery and a constant nagging of “what-ifs” in the back of our minds. The boy in the story went for his dream even though the dream is bigger that him. He believed that if he wanted something very bad, the universe will conspire to help him achieve his dream. It sounded so easy, one might say. But I had my share of the same story. One of my biggest dreams before was to be able to go and live in Canada. I have seen through my relatives’ stories how good it is to live there. But I have a good job, a family and we live fine. It’s just too hard and expensive to go there. Until the biggest challenge of my life happened. My dream of going away has returned and it’s all I wanted. I prayed and I cried thinking of how and when. Maybe I have wanted it enough that the universe did conspired to help me achieve it. My aunts in Canada called and promised to help me. My colleagues at work asked me if I wanted to go to this agency for immigration. But it wasn’t that easy…it is also true that as you near your dream, the harder it takes to reach it. It has caused me nights of sleeplessness, constant crying and praying. I was already in the land of my dreams and I still have to establish my right to live here. It was hard starting from nothing. Hoping for the kindness of other people to trust me and give me a chance to prove myself worthy of being a part of this new world.

Here in the land of my dreams…. I am happy and content. I can continue dreaming… and maybe… if I wanted it bad enough……magic will happen.

WS #006 - Wonderlands Biggest Stuffed Toy Prize

These gorilla stuffed toys were cute but ... they are as huge as my kids. They will surely occupy a single bed. Taken from our weekend trip to Wonderland. This is part of a series of posts about this famous north american theme park.

Wonderland Canada --- Bring a friend for $10 Day

Wonderland is Canada's version of Disneyland. It's a 330 acre theme park located in Vaughan, Ontario Canada. That would be 41 km from where we live and would take about 45 minutes to get there by car. My kids absolutely adores it. Every year since we migrated (that would be 6 years ago), we would buy season passes so we can fully enjoy the fun and thrills it offers. Going there once is never enough. Season pass allows us to visit as many as we like for the whole operating season. The season starts May and ends October. Last Friday, they have a special promo. Season pass holders were allowed to bring a friend for only $10. That is really a good deal considering the regular cost of a one day pass is 3x that. And the more the merrier. My son was able to bring his best friend and my daughter met with her classmates.

The park showcases 200 attractions that suits all ages. In the six years that my kids spent there...they always look forward to the next one because they will be able to try bigger rides. The above picture was taken from the parking lot. It's still early, hence some areas are still empty. By mid day, this park will be swarming with people.

The mountain and falls marks the center of Wonderland. It also house one ride that they call Thunder run. It is a roller coaster going into the mountain and around it. Not too high and no loops. The map at the right shows all the rides and attractions. Click it to enlarge.

I am only a ground spectator and not really a thrill rider. I cannot handle the physical abuse to my body brought about by centrifuge and gravity. I only participate on the water slides in Splash Works which we did not visit since it's still cold. We went to the medieval Fair first and encountered the first thrill ride named Riptide. I will post this separately. I will probably make several posts just to cover all the attractions this park has to offer. I cannot say which one's my favorite for they are surely not. But I can say which ones were my kids favorite. I enjoy walking around, looking at the faces of people before, during and after each thrill ride. The whole place is screaming .... literally and mtaphorically of fun and adventure.

Below is a video taken near the entry of the park showing the International Street.