The Lenten Sacrifice

Today is the second Sunday of the Lenten Season. If only I were back in Manila, I would've proactively urged everyone to participate, even if our choral services are pushed back to the last Sunday of Lent (second Sunday of March), by, of course, hearing the mass. Gawd, I miss my choir. I miss singing too altogether!

Well, Lent actually started on Ash Wednesday, the 17th of February. I've been ranting on Twitter and Plurk as to how I could commemorate the event given the situation that I am in. See, I can only read the Gospel reading for that day and reflect on it, but there's nothing more I like than to hear the mass in the Aramco compound and participate with my brothers and sisters in Faith in the preparation for the Easter journey. Me and my family don't have anyone to sponsor our visit there so my dream of attending the Ash Wednesday mass is a bit far fetch. There's a definite communion with our Father and the rest of the Christian-dome as the priest puts a sign of the cross on your forehead using the ashes. It makes you fervently believe that you are one with the congregation on this Lenten season.

Alas, Fr. Jboy Gonzales, SJ, a Jesuit priest, told me over Twitter that God surely understands my situation and will forego my nonattendance to the Eucharistic celebration. It makes sense, actually, because God, for all I know, is a forgiving Father. But I couldn't rest my laurels on reading the scripture alone so I told myself that I'll do some sacrifices for Lent (and hopefully I'll do this every year):

• No coffee or tea or any caffeine-laced drink.
• No sodas, or keep it at a minimum of once a week (or if there's a viewing party at home).
• No snacks, no seconds, no sweets — except on days that begin w/ d letter S. (Adapted from M. Pollan's Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual)
• Lessen the use of atrocious words when speaking to or about someone whom I dislike.
• No red meat on Fridays or any other day if possible.
• Less channel surfing (TV/Internet) and more reading.

From the looks of it, my list is like a mix of diet policies and new year's resolutions. That'll do for now, and I bet I'll shed pounds over this season. *crosses fingers*

What are your sacrifices this Lent?

PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God

from its Vimeo page:

You may find the brave voices captured in this short film haunting, shocking and humorous. In some of their faces you'll see joy, anguish and grace as they trust you with their confession.

I know this has already made its rounds in the interwebs for last year, but PostSecret has always fascinated me. I think I gave a secret to them before though I can't remember which one it is.

If I were interviewed for this short, you'd definitely fall for my grace and charm on the screen. ;P

The Qee to Cure Creative Block

I've always wanted a Qee toy. It's this mouse-like blank toy that you can readily customize at your wish. I actually want it because I think I'm in a creative rut due to the technical writing I've been doing for the past few weeks. It's like my creative mojo has been sucked bone dry.

It's an expensive cure (costing around £34.00 here and it's already on sale) for my creative block, but there isn't a rule saying that you should scrimp on something you badly need.

Dust in the Wind by The Muppet's Beaker

Awww. I love his rendition of Kansas' song (even if he's only "meep-ing"). If only those nasty YouTube users didn't bully him with comments, he would've finished a masterpiece. [spotted]

Coustumer ~ Ikea

Ever wondered why the 2010 in-house catalogues at IKEA instantaneously had some wrappers/covers unlike last year?

Well, there's apparently a typo error on the sticker for the catalogues.

I think applying a new set of stickers with the correct spelling of the obvious would've cost them less than purchasing the covers.

Hopefully The Future of Magazines

I have always been a fan of Wired Magazine. More than half a decade back, I've been going to BookSale to buy their back issues. I love the articles and the adverts inside it, reading them in between bathroom breaks. It's also a great design resource when it comes to page layouts and graphics. My friends have been borrowing my issues from time to time to get inspired.

I still buy their magazines now in Jarir Bookstore, but not back issues of course (because they're not available here); so suffice it is to say that I always go broke every month for their magazine. It doesn't cost that much, but still the pricing here for printed matter is pretty high for a cheapskate like me.

Now that they've recently unveiled their Reader app for tablets, I'll be happy to buy the electronic version rather than the hard copy provided that it'll cost way lower than the printed one. I swear the integrated editorial design of the electronic and printed versions are amazing in addition to the interactivity on some parts of the magazine.

Will it be gross if I say I have a digital hard-on right now?

T-Shirt War

I needed a quick way to put a smile on my face and this amazing stop-motion video by the comedy duo (and life-long BFFs) Rhett&Link just did the trick.

[spotted]

Manila Broke.

The New Year is supposed to be happy, but I'm not.

Whenever I come in the office, the barista immediately gives me my morning water in this tall mug.

But today, my old mug appeared before me.

I asked the barista, "Where is Manila?" I gave him a stern, nerve-wracking look that makes you want to piss in front of me, whimper, and call your mommy dearest.

He sheepishly told me that one of my officemates broke it.

Knowing I took Grace Under Pressure pill this morning from my mom's medicine cabinet, I calmed my forehead and smiled. Of course, I had to ask who. The barista told me who it was and how it happened, making out his Engrish as he told me every detail this morning.

I asked him to give me back my newly broken mug and these are the damages.

I can't quite pinpoint why, but this quote from Lord Bertrand Russell seems fitting at the moment: Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.

Foggy Morning

Usually the sky is gloomy in the city only when sandstorms occur. This morning is a big surprise for me. Fog is everywhere!

The city has an eerie feeling today like an alien race is going to conquer over Earth. While everyone is hoping UFOs to descend from the fog, I am secretly hoping it rains mini chocolate bars later.

The Day Jollibee Disappointed Me

Sometime last week, after debating much on a slight financial crisis, The Family went out to dinner. Since my parents knew I was so much into Jollibee since I was a kid, we decided to go to the Ramaniyah mall for some Langhap Sarap fix.

All the entrances of the mall was decored with this standee.

It was genuinely nice to see the red, happy bee here. It made me reminisce my childhood days eating the only Jollibee outlet in Novaliches Bayan then, the one near the Our Lady of Mercy Parish Church. We always go there when I throw tantrums after hearing mass. It's the only way to quiet me down.

The kid in me was excited that I hauled my mom immediately to the escalator, forgetting to say goodbye to my dad who was going to get a haircut first before joining us for dinner.

Disaster struck us as we entered the doors of Jollibee.

The lines! The lines were crazy long! We stood for like an hour just to have our orders taken. My dad already came back from the barber shop waiting for us and my mom and I are still talking to the cashier who initially refused us because we weren't "lining up" on the same line. All I can say is that it drove my mom crazy mad upon hearing that. It's safe to say that everyone else backed us up to the dismay of the bitchy food attendant.

We ordered the Chickenjoy bucket meal good for three people with chocolate sundaes and all. I also ordered a Jolly Spaghetti. To go. We can't possibly eat at the place since it was fully packed.

I didn't have the chance to take pictures of what we ordered. I was hungry already and my cognitive functions were already paralyzed.

Every thing tasted the same. It really did. What I didn't like though is that the crispylicious skins of the Chickenjoy in the bucket are missing. No, I didn't eat it along the way home. It was seriously nonexistent. When people got their in-house Chickenjoy orders at the mall, the skins in their Chickenjoys were intact. Ours really don't even have skins at all. That was the most gratifying part of eating Chickenjoy pa naman. Adding to insult, the gravy servings were a little small. It can be equated to two packets of ketchup per serving. They also charge you for an extra one. No way were we going to pay for the gravy.

The Jolly Spaghetti serving is big, unlike back home. I mean, the pasta noodles were overwhelmingly big but the sauce was so scarce that it didn't even covered most of the noodles. The sauce tasted the same except there was no ham and the hotdog used is probably beef.

Furthermore, the choco sundaes, though it still tasted awesome with every spoonful, the chocolate fudge fills half of the cup. I wanted mine with more vanilla ice cream than the fudge. How I wish I held back the fudge on the sundae. Jollibee's vanilla ice cream is the bestest there is from all the fast food restos in Manila. Wait, they started out as an ice cream parlor, right?

I had my fill of what Jollibee is here in Saudi and I'm really disappointed with how they handled everything. I'd probably visit the franchise next year after they figure out how to be efficient and effective. And fire that bitchy food attendant of yours, will you?

Jollibee is also available for bulk orders. They were giving out brochures and their paper-thin business cards to entertain us while waiting impatiently at the lines.

The Yellow Smiley Face

Made by Constantin Popescu of Romania in 2008, this heartwarming comedy is about the trials of parents using a computer for the very first time in order for them to communicate with their son who's in America.

My parents were like this before. Thanks to me and my siblings, they are now techies too.

[spotted]