Saturday, September 17, 2011

Getting high on music

I just bumped into the FB wall of my former student, Aleix. I hit the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4FfXHUEH94&feature=share then I just found myself checking more about it:


Yep as they told on their profile they are twins and God their voices are really soothing and comforting. Now that the weather is breezing cold and this lazy weekend night will really make me hook into nice kind of music.

So for a li'l background 'coz you might wonder they look Korean, yes they are, but they were born and raised in Australia.

They do have their own channel: http://youtube.com/jayesslee You may want to check and find out what I am talking here.


I love Tamia for the song Officially Missing You. Js' remake would make you hit more on their other uploaded videos. Some of my favorites were Price Tag by Jessie J, Just The Way You Are of Bruno Mars and Fireflies of Owl City.

Then when I posted the link on my facebook, there were comments posted that they love these twins! Oh well, I hope I can check out more of them.

But now I'll be looking more for some good old time music like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4FfXHUEH94&feature=share.

So enjoy everyone! Have a great Saturday night!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Thirty

Now I'm reading
Eat Pray Love
of Elizabeth Gilbert
and I'm thirty years old.
How it surprised me
that it's about her
in her thirties!
Now, I may conclude that
books are coming and
visiting me as if
they know when
I need them.












[photo and poem by me -->Nicole Vlamfort]

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Shot of Pepe

Pepe
if I will be
a hero someday
I will be
a writer too
Or maybe
my camera will
capture the
truth and reality

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

I'm back...and married..

It will be two months on Sunday.

I felt good but there's more I want to do. I need my old self back.

I like to laugh loud. I would like to watch my favorite television shows. I would like to watch my type of movies. I would like to dress up. I would like to read books again.

I want to scream!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Palagsing



I was hooked by Palagsing. Yes, palagsing! It is not singsing (ring) or hatsing (sniff). It is a native delicacy from Butuan City.

April 10 - We went to the Butuan's market to check on whatever we can see there. We were told by the local tourist guide that we should buy this delicacy from their place. So we went around.

Two young girls under a colorful big umbrella were selling different kakanin. They immediately smiled at us and we asked if they have "pagsing" and they corrected us "palagsing". We bought two packs (5 suman in a pack) for Php20 only. It is very cheap actually.

So as we arrived in our quarters, I excitedly opened the suman and gave the others their share. It tastes like sumang balinghoy, the texture is like sago, then it has coconut strips.

As I researched in Wikipedia, Palagsing is actually made in Banza (an old poblacion in Butuan). It is actually made from Lumbiya where Unaw, the lumbiya starch, which is reaped from Palm trees. The reason why the texture is like sago and tastes like balinghoy is because of the combination of "unaw" (young coconut) and brown sugar and it was actually boiled for 30 minutes to produce its soft consistency.

I loved its taste and the others too. This is a new food that's worth sharing.

----
picture taken by me


Monday, March 14, 2011

We are safe

Because I have more important things to do..i am posting this for your info...

Please don’t do foolish things …

By Jocelyn R. Uy, Kristine L. Alave, Christine O. AvendaƱo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:15:00 03/15/2011

Filed Under: Nuclear accident, Health, Safety of Citizens,Science (general)

MANILA, Philippines—Don’t panic and please don’t do foolish things.

Officials Monday issued the advice as they dismissed as hoax text messages warning that radioactive fallout from crippled nuclear plants in Japan would reach the Philippines.

They urged the public to refrain from spreading unconfirmed reports and pseudo-scientific advisories through text messages, saying this causes undue panic.

Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the Department of Health’s National Epidemiology Center, said he received reports that some people wanted to smear iodine solutions on their necks to protect themselves from radioactive particles blowing in from Japan.

“Actually, potassium iodide or salt is taken to prevent cancers involving the thyroid. It displaces the radioactive iodine if that is the radioactive particle,” Tayag said at a press conference.

But potassium iodide could be useless if a different radioactive element was involved, like plutonium, Tayag said. “If plutonium is the radioactive particle, that would entail a different treatment so please don’t do foolish things,” he said.

Worst-case scenario

Assuming that a worst-case scenario would happen in the country, Tayag said it was advisable to “just remove your clothes and shoes and take a shower to decontaminate yourselves.”

If radioactive particles reached the country, its components would have “decayed depending on its half-life” because of the long distance it traveled, Tayag said. Manila is about 3,000 kilometers south of Tokyo.

Although exposure to radiation is a health concern with acute and long-term effects, such a condition is influenced by several factors: the type of radioactive particles involved, the amount and the duration of exposure and the distance from the source of the radioactive leak, Tayag explained.

Early symptoms of radiation exposure include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and fever. Symptoms for more serious conditions include headache and hair loss, among others. Chronic effects of extreme radiation exposure include cancers and genetic malformations.
“I understand where this fear is coming from ... because if you look at the map, the Philippines is just an inch away from Japan but there is really no need to panic or to worry,” Tayag said.

Dr. Soe Nyunt-U, country director of the World Health Organization, said there was no need for “undue alarm” as prevailing wind conditions showed that the Philippines was out of the path of the plume emanating from the site of the nuclear explosion.

“Even if this happens, radioactive materials won’t come to the Philippines. There are minimal public safety issues even in Japan and what is happening right now doesn’t have any implications to the rest of the members of the Western Pacific region,” Soe said.

Alumanda de la Rosa, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) chief, said “there is no nuclear cloud from Japan” even after the second explosion at a nuclear plant Monday morning.

Country not in danger

De la Rosa also noted that information from the nuclear plant showed that the Philippines was not in danger.

“From what we’ve been monitoring, no radiation will reach here. There will be no exposure to the public,” she said.

De la Rosa said the International Atomic Energy Agency placed the Fukishima explosion, which injured several workers, at Level 4, on a 7-level scale.

The 1986 meltdown in Chernobyl was placed at Level 7, which indicates a major release of radioactive materials and widespread and extended health and environmental effects.

A Level 4 incident means that there “is an accident but there is no significant effect offsite,” the PNRI official said.

Normal levels

In a statement on Monday, the PNRI said radiation levels in the country’s atmosphere was normal and showed “no increase” since the cooling reactors in the Dai-ichi plant broke after last Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Should there be a complete nuclear meltdown and a nuclear cloud forms, a remote possibility for now, scientists said the plume from the site of the incident would not pass Philippine territory as of March 14, PNRI said, citing an advisory from the World Meteorological Organization.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the winds from Japan would not travel to the country.

PAGASA chief forecaster Robert Sawi said the winds were moving west to east, or from Japan to the Pacific Ocean.

Sawi and De la Rosa appealed to the public not to spread text messages about apocalyptic scenarios. “It does not help us at all,” De la Rosa said.

She noted that the public should wait for the advisories from the Department of Science and Technology or call the concerned agencies to confirm reports.

MalacaƱang also chided people for spreading rumors. “Science Secretary (Mario) Montejo says there’s no immediate threat to the country from the nuclear accident,” Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang said.

President Benigno Aquino III met with Montejo and other officials for a briefing on the situation in Japan.

In Central Visayas, government agencies called a press conference to counter the text messages. With reports from Dona Pazzibugan in Manila and Candeze R. Mongaya, Cebu Daily News

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The 7-year itch is now the 3-year glitch

The 7-year itch is now the 3-year glitch

LONDON (Reuters) – The "three-year glitch" has replaced the "seven-year itch" as the tipping point where couples start to take each other for granted, according to a new survey.

Weight gain, stinginess, toe-nail clippings on the bathroom floor and snoring are a few of the passion-killers that have led to a swifter decline in relationships in the fast-paced 21st century, said the study commissioned by Warner Brothers to promote the release of comedy film "Hall Pass" in UK cinemas.

The survey of 2,000 British adults in steady relationships pinpointed the 36-month mark as the time when relationship stress levels peak and points to a new trend of "pink passes" and "solo" holidays away from partners and spouses that many Britons resort to in order to keep romance alive.

"Longer working hours combined with money worries are clearly taking their toll on modern relationships and we are seeing an increasing trend for solo holidays and weekends away from marriages and relationships in order to revive the romantic spark," said pollster Judi James who oversaw the survey.

The poll compared feedback from those in short-term relationships (defined as less than three years) and people who were married or in longer-term partnerships.

The findings showed that 67 percent of all of those surveyed said that small irritations which are seemingly harmless and often endearing during the first flushes of love often expand into major irritations around 36 months.

More than half of the Brits surveyed (52 percent) who were in younger relationships said they enjoyed sexual relations at least three times a week, compared to just 16 percent of those in relationships older than three years.

This suggests that as we get older together, romance gives way to day to day practicalities, supported by the fact that 55 percent of busy people in longer-term relationships admit that they now have to "schedule" their romantic time.

The report also said that those in the first flush of love can look forward to an average of three compliments a week from their partners - a figure which falls to an average of a single weekly compliment at the three-year high tide mark.

The prognosis gets worse the longer we stay in relationships, three in 10 of those surveyed that have been in a relationship for five years or more said that they never receive any compliments from their partners.

The findings also showed that more than three quarters (76 percent) of all people surveyed responded that "individual space was important" within a relationship and pointed to a rise of individual activities.

A third (34%) of those who have been seeing their partners for longer than three years have at least two evenings a month defined as a "pass" or a "ticket" where it is accepted that they can pursue their own interests and 58 percent of the same sample group enjoy regular holidays without their partners.

The top 10 everyday niggles and passion-killers: 1. Weight gain/lack of exercise, 13 percent; 2. Money & Spend thriftiness, 11 percent; 3. Anti-social working hours, 10 percent; 4. Hygiene issues (personal cleanliness), 9 percent; 5. In-Laws/extended family - too much/too little, 9 percent; 6. Lack of romance (sex, treats etc.), 8 percent; 7. Alcohol - drinking too much, 7 percent; 8. Snoring & anti social bedtime habits, 6 percent; 9. Lapsed fashion-Same old underwear/clothes, 4 percent; 10. Bathroom habits - Stray nail cuttings etc., 4 percent.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I wish you were here...

Vanilla Twilight lyrics
Songwriters: Young, Adam;

The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere

'Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly
But I'll miss your arms around me
I'd send a postcard to you, dear
'Cause I wish you were here

I'll watch the night turn light-blue
But it's not the same without you
Because it takes two to whisper quietly

The silence isn't so bad
'Til I look at my hands and feel sad
'Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly

I'll find repose in new ways
Though I haven't slept in two days
'Cause cold nostalgia
Chills me to the bone

But drenched in vanilla twilight
I'll sit on the front porch all night
Waist-deep in thought because
When I think of you I don't feel so alone

I don't feel so alone, I don't feel so alone

As many times as I blink
I'll think of you tonight
I'll think of you tonight

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again

And I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you
Oh, if my voice could reach
Back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear
Oh darling, I wish you were here


------

just click on the title of the song to see the music video..

i'm stuck with the song...moved to be super in love again with my fiance..:)

-----

valentine's hangover!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

New Blog Design

Sorry I can't help but stare my new blog design..super cool, cute and colorful..Just what I needed in life. I hate being dull now..I hate being pessimistic and I hate being lazy..I hate being down..

Rainbow, oh please rainbow come into my life..

Valentine is near..:|

Monday, February 7, 2011

Cosplay Hangover

February 4 and 5.

Jubilant.

Encarta tells it's triumphantly joyful; a feeling or expressing great delight over a success, achievement or victory.

The feeling was just overwhelming. I never expected the outcome was just so awesome that people were actually intense. The audience was screaming their lungs out. Camera flashing onto our young models were endless. They were superstars! Wow, I think the Cosplay Craze Year 2 was a success.

We were all apprehensive at first. There were no registrants for the 1st Inter-high school Cosplay competition and somehow frustrating. But, it was a blessing disguise. I have more attention with the practice of the our students and at the same time I have more focus on the preparation of the documentation of the entire event (UNITE 2011:WIMAX - 4th Provncial Information Technology Congress).

Our students keep on asking when will be the next cosplay event. They even asked me if I can go with them on March 5 event in Manila but I said the school and I (as their teacher) will not be liable to whatever possible thing to happen. They were insisting that I really come.

I'll think about it. Though my cuzn Redd and Shark will be coming so there's a big possibility that I will come.

Well, I say the cosplay event made our students boost their morale, level up their self-confidence and build friendships with other cosplayers (even they are coming from the Elementary and High School department).

I was even caught in surprise when representatives from OU Lucena came to support the event. Thank you to them..:)

Yes, I am still in cloud 9 about the turn out of events. :)

And sadly, this is my last year of organizing this event. :|

Just look at our pictures..












Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Cold Monster

Just like the cold wind outside, it hit hard inside me. Why people are so mean? Why people tend to boss around? Come hell, she don't even have the right. I am the lead person. I have the right to set things I would want. Can she do her own thing? She didn't even know what she's talking about.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

To the man I love

My dearest,

I wish you can make up your mind with the plan we'll be threading for the next months. It was really hard for me to plan things in my mind and dream about everything and then you will be telling me that the plan will be changed?(Knowing you are the kind of person who do not have any plan -- I never thought that you will be that kind.)

I really felt bad. Truly, I am. But what shall I do? I can't be mad at you. If I don't love you that much, I have been so angry.

If it will be a civil wedding then go ahead..if it will be a church wedding, so let it be..But decide what will be. I was thinking we had finalized that it will be a church wedding so that we can save money for our new home. But now you have changed your mind knowing that your mom can help you with the finance at this time because of the non-availability of funds.

So whatever you have decided, please let me know and please be it final. I have waited for a year for the wedding and even you have given the dates before. You were then the most excited. Now, that things were sinked in my mind, I was hoping for things to came to reality.

Whatever it is, please please be sure before you tell me. I hate waiting. I hate crying. I hate fighting. I love you so much that I can't even imagine the worst to come within us.


Hoping for reality to sink in,

your dearest




Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Taking the Grammar Out of the Kiss

"A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or
an explanation point. That's basic spelling
that every woman ought to know."
-Mistinguett in Theatre Arts

Your kiss was like a question mark,
she said, & my lips were giving you
the answer. That was why I got mad
when you pulled away. I needed
to kiss you again to get a reprise.


=Poem by Hal Sirowitz, from his book Before, During & After

Fable of the Mermaid and the Drunks

All those men were there inside,

when she came in totally naked.
They had been drinking: they began to spit.
Newly come from the river, she knew nothing.
She was a mermaid who had lost her way.
The insults flowed down her gleaming flesh.
Obscenities drowned her golden breasts.
Not knowing tears, she did not weep tears.
Not knowing clothes, she did not have clothes.
They blackened her with burnt corks and cigarette stubs,
and rolled around laughing on the tavern floor.
She did not speak because she had no speech.
Her eyes were the colour of distant love,
her twin arms were made of white topaz.
Her lips moved, silent, in a coral light,
and suddenly she went out by that door.
Entering the river she was cleaned,
shining like a white stone in the rain,
and without looking back she swam again
swam towards emptiness, swam towards death.


Pablo Neruda

Clenched Soul

We have lost even this twilight.
No one saw us this evening hand in hand
while the blue night dropped on the world.

I have seen from my window
the fiesta of sunset in the distant mountain tops.

Sometimes a piece of sun
burned like a coin in my hand.

I remembered you with my soul clenched
in that sadness of mine that you know.

Where were you then?
Who else was there?
Saying what?
Why will the whole of love come on me suddenly
when I am sad and feel you are far away?

The book fell that always closed at twilight
and my blue sweater rolled like a hurt dog at my feet.

Always, always you recede through the evenings
toward the twilight erasing statues.


Pablo Neruda