Making a case for the Ipad

Blogging can be quite tricky sometimes, especially if you're trying to be consistent.  My previous posts have mostly been on my personal impressions on the books I am reading as part of my goal for 2012.  The hard thing for me is that there are times that I am able to think of what I want to write about a particular book or thing but I am not able to do so because I am in the mall or whatever and then when I do get the chance to sit down and write, I find myself staring blankly and trying to squeeze out every word.

I guess that makes a good case for getting myself an Ipad.  Bwahaha. I was skeptical about this when it was first introduced (and the fact that the name tends to remind people of something else does not help) but thinking about it, it would certainly be more economical than getting a Kindle. 

The Ipad would have been especially useful last weekend.  Last Thursday, we suddenly decided to go to the province because of the declared holiday on Friday.  I have already finished The Age of Innocence and Their Eyes were Watching God and was supposed to blog about it over the weekend but our change of plans made it impossible to do so.  The lack of internet connection could account for that.  Flashes and glimpses of what I want to write about those two books haunted me during the long weekend.  Oh well, I guess that is the sacrifice one has to pay.  That and about a thousand bucks. hehehe  It was well worth it because I finally got the chance to get some rest and relaxation away from the distractions of the city.  Sometimes I get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Internet age that I just want to "disconnect" myself from everything.  No facebook, no twitter, no YM, no cable tv, no nothing.

I was also able to finish Sense and Sensibility during the trips to and from and the down times (somehow, there are a lot more of these when you are in the province..hehehe).  All that seafood (and well food in general) also goes a long way to make up for whatever inconvenience.  The only real downside is that the fact that I spent the whole three days doing practically nothing made the monday blues yesterday even more acute.  But as they say, all good things must come to an end.

Miserable Me

I dived into the weekend determined to get as much rest and relaxation as I possibly can, after all, that is what weekends are all about, right?  But there are times that it doesn't matter how much you want something if your body is just as determined not to cooperate.

Last Sunday was one of the most miserable days I had in recent memory. My tummy woke me up at 3 am after only 3 hours of sleep and refused to give me a moment's rest (I will spare you the gory details).  I was only able to get some sleep when the sun was already up and the roosters have long stopped crowing.  To make up for the miserable start of my day, I decided to make a well-known comfort food here in the Philippines, Arroz Caldo.  After some searching in the net (get the recipe here), I came across a fairly easy recipe to follow and with some improvising (we did not have sticky rice and chicken thighs or drumsticks), I made my first Arroz Caldo ever.  Although I originally planned it to last until Monday breakfast since I also cooked Adobo for lunch and dinner but it didn't even last until Sunday dinner. (hehehe)

Back to my uncooperating tummy, even though I can't really blame anyone (no one made me eat all those popcorn Friday night), I was still so miserable about being sick and I actually had tears at one time.  It is not really the pain but the feeling of helplessness that gets me.  Another thing is that it made me think about my mom.  Although my fiance does a pretty job of taking care of me even when I'm not sick, it's still different.

On a positive note, no Monday blues for today because of the president's declaration that September 10 is a holiday.  I plan to catch up on my reading then since I was not able to get any reading done last weekend,  I just hope my body will cooperate with me this time.

Bad case of the Monday blues

So it is Monday yet again and I am once more a part of the general populace that is continually grinding and toiling amidst the hustle and bustle of the city...sorry for the touch of melodrama back there...Mondays and I have a hate-love relationship (with more emphasis on the hate part).

It doesn't help that this particular Monday was previously announced as a National Holiday (by previously, I mean, January this year).  But what can we do?  There was a new president elected this year and he sure is hell-bent on distancing himself from all the policies of the previous government...even the ones that work.  I am all for holding the past administration accountable for whatever they did but when you try to change everything just to prove a point then it becomes counter-productive and even petty.  Stick with what what works great, improve on everything else.  Instead of dwelling on discussions on which holidays should be abolished, there are actually more important issues to be tackled, as the president himself raised on his first SONA. We get it MR. President...you are not anything like the ex-president...When you already have your mind set as early as 8 months ago that you will NOT be working on this particular day, it is a little hard not to go all political on the one person that got you stuck behind your desk.

I could have been lying on the beach sipping an ice-cold pinacolada, Mr. President...well, not really that but you get my point.