Sep
18
Posted under
Rants by atesienna
Bossing has a core group of friends from work who became my own good friends also. One of the couples in that group is Min and Myra. Like all of Bossing’s friends, I love these two. Min and Myra’s relationship is particularly special to Bossing because he was instrumental in them getting together, falling in love and finally, getting married. They’re now blessed with two boys, the eldest of them is Bossing’s godchild.
I am fond of Min right from the get-go. He’s very warm, animated and funny. He can belt out a Filipino song and make it seem effortless the way he would pronounce the Pinoy words. That’s a feat, considering that Min is Burmese. But he is well-adapted to the Pinoy culture and he has adopted a lot of Pinoy words as part of his everyday speech because, Myra, so happens, is Filipina.
About two years ago, Min went back to school. We’ve always egged him on about it and joined him in counting the days till he finishes. And just recently, he has finally graduated and now has an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) certificate tucked under his belt. Oh, and I need to mention, just because it made us extra proud of him, he graduated Cum Laude. That’s a huge accomplishment by itself but it was all the more sweeter with 2 toddlers in tow, a full-time job and his school about an hour’s drive one way from where we are. Cum Laude. A distant-cry from the Min of a few years back…
Min Aung, with his parents and brother, fled the military-controlled country of Burma (Union of Myanmar), to have a better and freer life here in America. Here, they pursued the American promise and, with a lot of good work and high hopes, now live the American dream.
America. Where everyone, I would like to believe, has a “decent shot at life, and the doors of opportunity remain open to all”. A “tolerant America” where a name like Min Aung will be “no barrier to success”. An America that declared “all men are created equal”, “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights” like “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The kind of America where “we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody’s son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will he counted or at least, most of the time.”
Yes, this is the place where Min and a whole lot of immigrants can pursue their dreams if living in their own countries could not provide for that. Not that we have no love left for our own countries because there is still nothing better than to live in the land you were born in. If we can grow and prosper in our own countries. If the circumstances there would allow us to be successful.
But what if the government that swore to protect you would be the same government that would infringe your basic rights or would think more of their own pockets than think of the welfare of their own people? So for most us, if and when the opportunity comes to live where aspirations can be fulfilled, we go and live there. And for most, THE country is the United States of America.
This morning, I just finished listening to the audio book “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” by Barack Obama. It’s a very inspiring book for an immigrant like me. I know that Senator Obama was born American, but his diverse cultural heritage pointing back to Ireland and Kenya and his young life in Indonesia make me think that he can relate well to immigrants like me. How his being different in color and racial background has made me realize more how adaptive this country really is. It made me feel more positive that people like Min, or the Laotian couple we met while fishing last Sunday, or the Indian guy who sits in the cubicle next to mine at work do have a chance to make life better for themselves in this country.
At the epilogue of the book is a speech made by the Senator as a Keynote Address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention and that’s where I got most of the quotes I have in this entry. And while looking around the internet, I found out that there’s a website chronicling all his speeches from way back 2002. If you want to know more about this great man, you might want to read his speeches to know what he wants to happen WHEN he becomes president. And I have to tell you, this book would convince you on how good a president he will be. How he has our soldiers, our environment, the health and welfare of our old and our young, these whole UNITED States of America in his plans. How he would take care of the grass roots and not forget about them. When you read the book, it would make you see that Barack knows the grass roots because he is one of them, he dealt with them, he ate with them, went to church with them, lived with them. He knows what the poor people are going through because he also struggled. He wasn’t born rich. He was born in an average family, with an average income. He knows the real American people. He knows how it is to live the American Dream from the ground up.
The same American dream our friend, Min, has.
– o 0 o –
(I know Min will get a good kick out of this because I had him and Senator Barack Obama together in one blog entry. So when the Google search engine crawls, there’s a big possibility that both their names will appear in Google at the same time. There goes his 5-minutes of small internet fame. Just a little gift for the new Cum Laude. 
Jun
12
Posted under
Photography,
Photohunts by atesienna
Malaya na ako…
Malaya na akong kumain ng gusto kong kainin, inumin ang anumang gusto kong inumin, anumang oras kong gustuhin.
Malaya na akong bumangon at mahiga ng walang nagsasabing gumising na ako o matulog na ako.
Malaya na akong magsuot ng kahit na anong gusto kong ibihis sa katawan ko (o wag magsuot ng kahit na anong saplot kung nais ko rin).
Malaya na akong panoorin ang pinaka-baduy mang palabas saTv at sinehan, makinig ng kundiman, rak o disco nung panahon ng 70s.
Malaya na ako…
… pero hinahanap-hanap pa rin kita.
Bilanggo pa rin ako ng mga ala-ala mo.
(Kuha ko ito ni C nung mga 2002. Si C ay isang mabuting kaibigan ng mahaba-haba na ring panahon. Nung nag-e-eksperimento pa lang ako ng potograpiya, sinubukan kong kunan sya at ang bata kong tyahin ng “nude”. Hindi pa digital ang camera ko nito. Pero tuwang-tuwa ako nung makita ko ang mga nakunan kong litrato. Yun nga lang, nasa Calgary ang mga negatibo ko. Kapag umuwi kami ng asawa ko sa Canada, hahanapin ko ang mga negatibo at palalakihan ko. )
I am free…
I am free to eat whatever I want to eat, drink whatever I want to drink, whatever time I want to.
I am free to rise and lay without anyone telling me it’s time to wake up or go to bed.
I am free to wear what I want to (or choose not to wear anything, for that matter.)
I am free to watch the cheesiest movie or TV show, play rock, classical or even disco songs of the 70s.
I am free…
…But I still long for you.
I am still a prisoner of your memories.
(This is my friend, C. We’ve been friends for quite sometime now. This was taken in 2002 when I was still trying my hand out in photography. I did some experimental nude shots of her and my very young aunt. This wasn’t even taken with a digital camera and so I was so delighted when the prints finally came out. I just have to get the negatives from Calgary once me and hubbie go there to visit my mom and dad. Might be nice to have them framed 
Photohunt for Litratong Pinoy series #11 Kalayaan (Freedom)
Jun
06
Posted under
Photography,
Photohunts by atesienna
Ang paru-paro at ang bulaklak, kapag nagsama nakakapagkalat ng mga punlang magiging mga bulaklak rin.
Yan ang sabi ng siyensya.
Pero maging matagumpay kaya sa pag-iisa ang bulaklak at paru-parong ito?
Kinunan nung Halloween sa Los Angeles.
The butterfly and the flower, when together could create the seeds of new flowers to come.
According to science.
But would a flower grow from the union of these flower and butterfly?
Taken at the Halloween parade in Los Angeles.
Photohunt for Litratong Pinoy series #10 Pag-iisang Dibdib(Union of the hearts)
May
31
Posted under
Photography,
Photohunts by atesienna
Magmula ng lumipat ako sa Maryland, pinakaaabangan ko lagi ang Preakness Celebration tuwing Mayo. Ang Preakness ay isang serye ng mga kaganapan sa palibot ng Baltimore na sineselebra ang Preakness Stakes, isa sa tatlong karera ng kabayo na kung tawagin ay Triple Crown (ang dalawa pang karera ay ang Kentucky Derby sa Louisville, Kentucky at ang Belmont Stakes sa Elmont, New York).
Ang isa sa pinakahihintay na bahagi ng selebrasyon at ang Hot Air Balloon Festival. Ang litratong ito ay kuha nung kauna-unahan kong taon sa Baltimore habang pinapalipad ang mga hot air balloons sa Oregon Ridge. Nakakamanghang pagmasdan ang mga nagliliparang lobo nun sa himpapawid.
Ever since I moved to Maryland, I had always looked forward to the Preakness Celebration held every May. It’s a series of events in Baltimore celebrating the famed Triple Crown thoroughbred race, the Preakness Stakes (the other two races of the Crown being the Kentucky Derby in Louiseville, Kentucky and the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York) .
One of the more awaited events during this time is the Hot Air Balloon Festival. This shot was taken during the launch of the balloons at the Oregon Ridge on my first year here in Baltimore. It was truly awesome to see all of them in the air.
Photohunt for Litratong Pinoy series #9 Ihip ng Hangin (Breeze)
May
10
Posted under
Two-Column,
Website Designs,
White by atesienna
I’m going back to what this website was originally supposed to offer - website designs.
I had been missing from the website design scene for a long time now and it was quite a struggle to come back and do Blogger templates. I scratched about a couple of designs since they all didn’t feel right. Since I’ve moved to Wordpress, I haven’t really been aware of the many changes Blogger has done with they way they do templates and so I had to relearn those tricks. But like riding a bicycle, you don’t really forget everything alltogether.
So I’ve initially made 2 of them.
Jamaica and Spain is a two-column, white backgrounded template with a fluid format. The post area adjusts to the size of the browser. It’s Firefox and IE-friendly.
13 Months of Sunshine is also a fluid 2-column, white background template. It’s also Firefox and IE-friendly.
May
08
Posted under
Rants by atesienna
Amy did it again!
After an overnight stay in jail last month because she assaulted two men, was arrested again this time for alleged possession of drugs.
Someone who’s worth an estimated 10M pounds ($20M US) has issues ;)
I love her songs and I don’t have any problems with the way she looks, really. But it worries me that I’m not sure she knows how lucky she is that she’s got all these fame and fortune and she’s wasting them all away because of drugs and alcohol. Gosh, 20M USD!!!!! What I’d do to have that much moolah. You’d think, I’d be setting myself straight already less I lose all of it because I was being stupid, right?
But I know, part of the reason why she’s (in)famous and her music sells is because of the way she’s “packaged” herself. In other words, if she looked like Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes-I’m-An-Angel-Take-Me-Home-To-Your-Mom, I doubt anyone would listen to her singing “Rehab” - never mind if the song really is good. She appealed because she has the angst. She’s got the “bad girl, slutty” image that appeals to people who couldn’t do the things she blatantly does, and so they live projecting their wild dreams on her.
It’d be such a waste to lose someone like her with the talent that you know could go a long way. I do hope she still cleans up her act - even just a tiny bit. She doesn’t really need to follow the footsteps of talented people who died because of drug overdose like Curt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimmy Hendrix. Not unless that’s exactly what she wants to happen.
May
06
Posted under
Rants by atesienna
Myra, a very good friend of both mine and my husband’s is carpooling with us this week since she and my husband are attending a review class at the hospital they’re working at. She’s Filipina and married to Mhin, who’s Burmese and also works with them. (So it’s really a no-brainer why my husband has a constant ration of good Burmese food whenever they get to eat together during their breaks.)
So Myra was telling us this morning that her mother-in-law, who lives with them, has been calling relatives in Burma (now known as Myanmar) since Sunday but has not heard from any of them. For those a little out of touch, a tropical cyclone (Nargis) has hit Myanmar last Friday and thousands upon thousands have died and are missing. The latest count has it at 22,000 people dead with 41,000 still missing. This makes the storm the deadliest natural disaster in Southeast Asia since the 2004 tsunami. Rangoon, the country’s capital, was badly struck but the southern parts were hit the hardest.
It’s really heartbreaking that Grandma, and even Grandpa, couldn’t get to their relatives. I don’t know what I would do if something like that happened to the Philippines and I have no way to know how my family back home are doing. I can just imagine the thoughts racing through their minds, imagining the worst of scenarios but praying that it won’t happen. Planning out 10,001 things just in case something bad does occur.
A part of our conversation about Myanmar was that despite the tragedy, Myanmar refuses to accept any aid from the US. We’re thinking, could it be a form of pride since the US has imposed a trade and investment ban on them because of the numerous human rights violations in record that they’ve committed? Or is the Burmese government afraid of whatever “strings” are attached if they accept US’ aid? (As of 3 hours ago, Myanmar will now welcome aid supplies and UN volunteer workers to assist them. The news wasn’t clear if the aid includes those coming from the US.)
I remember Myra and Mhin telling us stories about Mhin’s family back in Burma. Like, families in Burma do not have similar last names. They do this because if one gets caught by the military junta for any reasion, the soldiers will have a hard time tracing the other members of the captive’s family. So Mhin, his mom, dad, brother all have different last names. It will only be in the US, where they’ve seek refuge, that they would be able now to have a recorded lineage. And even here, they’re still very careful.
When Mhin’s parents want to visit their relatives back home, they don’t go straight to Burma. Instead they go to Thailand and meet up with their relatives there. It has been said that the military are charging Burmese ex-patriots “cash payments” of about $200US per month of absence when they return to Burma with a threat of house arrest if they couldn’t pay. The government also controls their media, not to mention practices very strict censorship. Even their internet access is controlled.
In the aftermath of the cyclone tragedy, NASA satellite images are showing that the entire coastal plain of Burma is now under water. I guess if the roads are non-existent and the phone lines are down, there really is no way for Grandma and Grandpa to contact their relatives back home. And if Burma is like the Philippines, it might take days before electricity and the phones would be back in service. Prices of commodities have also gone up and even clean water is barely existent.
I really hope that Grandma and Grandpa would be able to contact their relatives soon enough, at least, for their sake and their peace of mind. And I’m also praying that their relatives are safe and that not much harm has been done to them.
(Photo from the BBC News)
May
04
Posted under
Rants by atesienna
I woke up this morning to Joyce Behar of “The View” being interviewed by my favorite Larry King. I was planning on going back to sleep cause it was just 5:30 in the morning when Larry asked Joyce about “this Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana” incident. That piqued my curiosity. I sat up and faced my laptop (which guards me while I sleep when dear husband is at work) and looked for the photos they were talking about. And of course, like always, Google never let me down.
So Miley was photographed by the famous Annie Leibowitz for the magazine, Vanity Fair, with her back naked and her front draped with a satin blanket, damped hair and all. The photograph is artsy. I love the composition. At first glance, it could be about a child “something”. “Something” being a word starting with a “P” and ending with an “E”. (And it’s not “parachute”.) It just so happens that it was Cyrus who posed as such.
It made me remember Brooke Shields when she was younger and she did “Blue Lagoon” and “Pretty Baby”. She had an “almost-bare” top in the former movie and a nude scene in the latter. She was only 14 and 12 in those, respectively. Well, there also was so much controversy about those during that time in the late 70s and early 80s. In fact, my mom didn’t allow us to watch Blue Lagoon cause she said it was not for kids. I think the movie scared her because I was the same age as Brooke then. And knowing that I had a boyfriend made her conjure ideas that I might just do what Brooke did - maroon myself on a desserted island with my boyfriend and have a baby. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Going back. Looking at the behind the scenes of that Vanity Fair shoot of Miley, I just wished that she and her parents stood by what they did and not blame Annie for the shoot. Or do a press release that Billy Ray, her father, was out of town when this happened and he would not have allowed the pose to come to be. That’s just bull! The behind the scene shots showed that Miley was even laughing and enjoying the whole thing and that her dad was there, posing also for some photos. This whole press release of her being embarassed about it is just so FAKE.
But their knee-jerk reaction is very “showbiz”-y. The “I do something and then deny that I had free reign in doing what I did when the public negatively reacts to it” thing. Just like they’re making Annie Leibowitz like a witch who noone can say “No” to or else be struck with her demonic wrath. And Annie was devious cause she had to wait till her parents stepped out and spent all that long time preparing for the shot. It was Annie’s fault that she was photographed that way. Such bull crap!
But this isn’t a tragedy (no matter how much Miley and her whole doo-wop project it to be). She’s a superstar. She’s earning millions of dollars.
Now, the rising food crisis, THAT’S a tragedy!
May
03
Posted under
Cooking Wonders,
Diabetes by atesienna
Like what I mentioned during my previous entry, I was soooo excited to try out the recipes on my new cookbook by Betty Crocker. So last Saturday, with the book in front of me, I planned out the dishes that I was going to prepare based on the Carb Choice scheme. I planned on cooking some pork, some chicken, and a dessert. I also bought ingredients for some other recipes that were in the book for next weekends’ cooking.
Since I wouldn’t have time to do some serious cooking during the week due to my work schedule, I have to prepare about 2 - 3 meals all at once for the whole week. So that’s what I did last Saturday. I went to the grocery to get the ingredients I would need plus I also bought some tuna in cans, a fat-free mayo, some pickle relish to make some tuna salad and some chicken salad from our leftover chicken we bought from Sam’s Club yesterday. I promised my mother-in-law that I was going to make her some tuna salad and chicken salad for my husband’s nephew who just started working. (She prepares his lunch. Such a sweetie my MIL is
So there I was, back from the supermarket. I immediately started on the tuna and chicken salads first. Nothing special with those altho I added some slices of sun-dried tomatoes on the chicken salad that I made just to give it some extra zing.
Then I went on and cooked the “Asian Pork and Noodle Soup” and the “Cheesy Chicken Pasta Stew” from the Betty Crocker Cookbook. While I was preparing all the ingredients, slicing all the meat, chopping up the onions and the carrots and what-have-you’s, I was a little bit doubtful if they would turn out good since my impression was, diabetes cooking was going to be bland, to say the least. So, since this is my new lifestyle now, I braced myself for the “disappointment” I might experience.
But was I so surprised! They really, really, really tasted soooooooooooo GOOD! You wouldn’t even think that they were made for diabetic people because they were so flavorful. The Asian Pork and Noodle Soup tasted a bit like the Filipinos’ Tinola (due to the scent and taste of ginger) and the Cheesy Chicken Pasta Stew was to die for!
Unfortunately, due to copyright constraints, I cannot write down the recipe here. But I can probably give you the nutritional information for each of them and I can show you pictures of how they came out.
For the
Asian Pork and Noodle Soup (which I had 2 servings of. Why? See how minimal the carb choice is below.)
- 1 serving: 235 calories
- Fiber: 2g
- Sodium: 160mg
- Cholesterol: 70mg
- Protein: 26g
- Carbohydrate: 15g (which translates to 1 Carb Choice!)
For the
Cheesy Chicken Pasta Stew (This didn’t last as long as I planned because my husband loved it and had two servings for the two meals we had it.)
- 1 serving: 325 calories
- Fiber: 2g
- Sodium: 440mg
- Fat: 15g (Saturated 8g)
- Protein: 27g
- Cholesterol: 80mg
- Carbohydrate: 21g (1 1/2 Carb Choice)
Apr
30
Posted under
Diabetes by atesienna
Today ends week 2 of my now type-2 diabetic life since I was diagnosed last April 16. I have to log this in here because I don’t want to forget when to celebrate my diabetes anniversaries (ha ha ha).
Much has changed in the past two weeks. For one, I’ve totally stopped eating rice. That’s a feat considering that I’m Filipino and rice is part of my meals almost 3 times a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a year in my 43 years of life in this earth. (That’s 31,304 meals, at least.) I’ve also said goodbye to fruit juices, sodas and chocolates. I’ve been drinking more water instead.
Second, I’ve started exercising and counting my steps. I’ve enrolled in the 10,000 Steps program sponsored by my office and Kaiser Permanente and I’m on my second day on the pedometer they sent as part of the program. I’ve put in 11,000+ steps last Monday but went down to 5,400 steps yesterday. Yes, flog me, I’m human. I get lazy, too… sometimes.
I’m now 130lbs from the monstrous (hehehe) 137 lbs I used to be before that ominous meeting with my doctor. That’s good, right? Not the meeting but the weight loss. That’s like 3.5 lbs in a week! So I have about 20 to 25 more lbs to go. When I lose all that (in about 5 weeks maybe???), I should be at my ideal weight and I can then share clothes with my two skinny sisters.
Also, being the geek that I am and because I wanted to know more about diabetes and how to live with it, I ordered 2 books from Amazon.com. The first one is called “The First Year Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed” by Gretchen Becker. The book introduces Type 2 diabetes to one who was just newly-diagnosed with it and walks you through your first year of having the disease. I have to admit that it was overwhelming for me – with all the things I need to keep in mind. Until I realized that I should read the book piecemeal by piecemeal. The book is divided into what you need to know on Day 1, Day 2, The first week, 2nd week, 3rd month, etc. So if you’re on week 3 of being diabetic, then that would be the only time to read that part of the book. (Hmmmm… that’s what I get for not reading the preface.) It’s a good book, tho, once I got passed being overwhelmed. I have it on my bedside table and this time around, I read it the way its supposed to be read.
The other book, I’m more enthusiastic about. It’s called “Betty Crocker’s Diabetes Cookbook: Everyday Meals, Easy as 1-2-3” and this one, totally liberated me from my gloom. I was having the notion that since I have to go on a strict low-carb diet that there was nothing else that I could eat except romaine lettuce day in and day out short of turning into a rabbit as the days passed on. This book gave me other options.
The Betty Crocker cookbook talks about Carb Choices in maintaining your meal carb intake. As long as you stay within your allowed number of carb choice per meal, you can practically eat anything. It makes you think also about what you eat and how much of it you’re willing to have. Like, if you want another piece of oatmeal brownie (which counts as 2 Carb Choices) for dessert, then you have to forego something else with also 2 carb choices for that meal.
How do you compute for Carb Choices? Basically, every 15 grams of carbohydrate that’s specified on the nutrition information is considered 1 Carb Choice. And the three main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), you’re allowed 3-4 Carb Choices and each snack meal, 1-2 Carb Choices. So the cookbook tells you how much Carb Choices there are per serving for the recipes they featured and from thereon, you’d be able to plan out your meals. (More on Carb Choices next entry.)
So, aside from the obvious fact that I want to continue to live until I’ve seen the last of my nephews and nieces have their own kids, my more immediate goal is that when I go and have my blood work done in 3 months, my wonderful doctor would tell me that I’m in the pre-diabetic level and my numbers have improved dramatically.
Then that would be a very good day for me.
Hmmmm… I wonder if after I’ve gotten to my ideal weight, would that hotdog toaster I saw from my friend’s website be a good idea then? Just because it looks reallyyyyyy fun to have
I am fond of Min right from the get-go. He’s very warm, animated and funny. He can belt out a Filipino song and make it seem effortless the way he would pronounce the Pinoy words. That’s a feat, considering that Min is Burmese. But he is well-adapted to the Pinoy culture and he has adopted a lot of Pinoy words as part of his everyday speech because, Myra, so happens, is Filipina.
This morning, I just finished listening to the audio book “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” by Barack Obama. It’s a very inspiring book for an immigrant like me. I know that Senator Obama was born American, but his diverse cultural heritage pointing back to Ireland and Kenya and his young life in Indonesia make me think that he can relate well to immigrants like me. How his being different in color and racial background has made me realize more how adaptive this country really is. It made me feel more positive that people like Min, or the Laotian couple we met while fishing last Sunday, or the Indian guy who sits in the cubicle next to mine at work do have a chance to make life better for themselves in this country. 
