free

ice cream has on its label dairy-free, vegan, lactose-free, cholesterol-free, plant-based.

me to niece:  'such a healthy ice cream...  all "-free" except the price...'  😄

keep it simple

my mom tells me she saw this someone from my past in facebook.

me:  'oh...  we're facebook friends so fb suggested him to you.  fb suggests friends of your friends.'

you don't have to heed all suggestions.  i actually don't want anyone from my past to suddenly start being friends with my mom, even just in fb.  if they were already friends before then that's fine.  but if they're going to start a friendship just now, what for?

there are so many people in the world.  you don't have to be friends with everyone.  if there is no need to create potentially awkward connections then don't.

✌️

to the core

my first Father's Day without my dad.  the Father has called him home.

he must be truly happy now.  i am happy for him, too.

greetings to all fathers on this special day. ❤️

constant

me:  'wow...  so many of my [facebook] friends have birthdays today!'

when i checked, seven of the eight accounts belong to only one person.

wahaha...  i thought he's been friending and unfriending me.  turns out he has just been adding me to his other accounts.

all is well 😊

pass it on

remembering a late uncle on his special day today.

we got to talk lengthily 3 months before his  unexpected demise.  i was supposed to write his daughter about the things he told me, in fact i already told her i will, but did not get around to it.  and then he suddenly passed away.

i believe everything happens for a reason.  had he died without talking to me, he would have brought all those thoughts and feelings to the grave.  but no, we got to talk  ->  lengthily.

why?

for me to be the one to take them to the grave?  haha...  i don't think so.  i think it's so the clueless people concerned would know...  and hopefully change.

high and low

the other day, i had a craving for ArmyNavy libertea.  i would have gotten a P75 discount for a minimum purchase of P200.

i still had pineapple juice though so decided to finish it first.

last night, i got thirsty and went ahead with ordering the tea.  discount this time was 50%, with no minimum order value.

i was sooo happy 😊
had i ordered the previous day, i would have gotten a maximum discount of 37.5%.

then, ta-daaan!  today i see that the food delivery app is offering free delivery from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
and
the store is again giving a P75 discount for a minimum purchase of P200!

wahahahaha...  i could have saved on delivery had i purchased today!

i suddenly felt like ordering food is just like trading in the stock market.  one day you think you got a bargain. the next day you see that you overpaid. 🎢

just my luck

 at a pizza place...

me:  'what days do you have buy one-get one deals?'

staff:  'tuesdays and thursdays, ma'am...'

wahaha...  it's wednesday!

i'm both too early and too late! 🤯

🤣

chances

there's this line that i like to say whenever talking about risks:
"Low probability is not zero probability."

i've dropped it rather frequently this pandemic  ->  to those who are remiss in taking safety precautions. 😠

all this time, i've been using it as a somber warning.

i was watching nightbirde on youtube and the line suddenly took an optimistic turn.

nightbirde is jane marczweski.  she got the golden buzzer in America's Got Talent for her original song "It's Okay," a song she wrote about the last year of her life.

she has cancer in her lungs, liver and spine.

she said she has a 2% chance of survival "but 2% is not zero per cent.  it is something.  and i wish people knew how amazing it is."

yesssss!!!
and in math, even zero probability does not mean impossible.

this time i'm hoping the low probability materializes.

all the best ❤️

once in your life

i was eating chocs and suddenly broke out coughing...

me:  'number!'

mom:  '7!'

me:  'E, F, G...  G?  he still remembers me???'

hahaha...  feeling!

hmmm...  it's been so long, how come he's the one who came to mind?
last time i checked,
which was two years ago when he unexpectedly called,
he wasn't anymore in my heart.
maybe because facebook just recently reminded me of him?
if not for that, i probably would have zoomed in on a cousin.
i'm not really sure.
our crazy phase is something i may not always remember but definitely i'll never forget.

whatever...
i'm thankful for the memories 😘

value

my sister was asking me how i liked the sinigang i had at their house a few days ago.  she was not the one who cooked so i gave it to her straight:  i did not like it, wah!  it had some sort of weird aftertaste.

she said it was crispy pata turned sinigang.

waaaahhh!!!  i was looking for that crispy pata!

my mom had earlier asked me to order two.  i brought it to their house but ate only a tiny bit of its skin.  there was so much food and i was full from home so i focused on the cake and mojos.

following morning i went back and i had pancit and pizza which i had forgone the day before.

i was looking for the crispy pata.

my mom said it was in the freezer.

eh?

i don't want frozen crispy pata so pass.

following day i was at their house again, this time for the salad which i also had to forgo earlier.

the help told me they have sinigang.  i love sinigang!  uhm, it turns out not this one.

i was telling my sister, you pay P800 for crispy pata (P1,600 because two) only to turn it into sinigang?

the best version of a crispy pata is in being a crispy pata.  the best sinigang, at least for me, is when the meat is fresh, not fried.

they just spoiled two dishes, overspent on the meat and deprived me of crispy pata.  boo-hoo-hoo 😭

😉

my father's house

june 12 used to be just Philippine Independence Day to me.  now it is something more.

on this day last year, my brother and i brought my dad to the hospital.

he is a retired military officer.  he was assigned in mindanao.  he had a stint in vietnam.  with God's grace, he always managed to come home to us safe.

it was only the second time in my life that i saw him hospitalized.  the first was three years prior when he had an operation in connection with his prostate.

he was able to come home after the june 12 admission.

a month later, however, my brother and i again brought him to the hospital.  on his fifth day there, he breathed his last.  this time he finally went home, not to the residence he shared with my mom, but to the Father's house. 🙏

no more pain for him.
no more him for us.
bittersweet.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul
and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.
Amen.

❤️

order

on viber with a friend...

me:  'i have good news and bad news...  what do you want first?'

friend:  'bad, of course!'

of course???
ok...

i gave him the bad news;
he said some things;
and then he asked for the good.

i happily went <blah-blah-blah-blah-blah>.

he reacted joyfully, hahahahaha.

we ended on a high note! 😊

#SaveTheBestForLast

eat all you can

i ordered

-  brioche burger buns (my fave ❤️)
-  mozzarella honey garlic butter loaf
and
- ultimate cheesy pork floss.

upon delivery, i checked the expiration.  what the...  they ALL have "Display Until" tomorrow! 😲

waaahhh!  i want my bread fresher 😢

bread marathon??? 🍞🍞🍞

1, 2, 3... go! 🏃‍♀️

uhm, unlike before, this time the buns didn't have the enticing aroma of fresh bread 😞

switch

i ordered a fried chicken meal through a food delivery app...  the header says "Comes with rice."

you choose how many pieces, "1 Pc" or "2 Pcs."  i ticked the first.

then there's a "Choice of Upgrade" with "Fries" as the only option.  i ticked it.

when my order arrived, it was just chicken and french fries 🍗🍟.  no rice. 😮

wahahaha 🤣
i was thinking fries is an add-on!
so that's why their term was 'upgrade.'

ok.  i'll know better next time. 🍗🍚

🤭

foremost

a friend sent me a pic showing a cat and his hand...

me:  'what's this?  fat fingers?'

[his ring was squeezing his finger! ✌️]

he replied he was showing me his new rescue and he included his hand just for scale.

oh!

wahahaha 🤣

sorry 🤭

in a sea of things, my friends will definitely get my attention. 👀

at-home

on voice call with a friend...  after a while he goes:  'let's switch to videocall.  are you decent now?'

huh?!

ahahahahaha...

my clothes are ok when i go out...  at home, however, it's a different ball game altogether...  my house wear is often not for public consumption...  too sheer, too short, unmatched, incomplete, plunging, holey, torn 🤦‍♀️🤭🤣

comfy...  homey...  uhm, indecent 😳

always welcome

i texted my mom, my sister and my niece asking whether they'd like to try the choc i ordered.  it's a local bean-to-bar chocolate that has won international awards.

all three said no! 😲
my mom just had fruits.
my sister is full.
my niece is passing on sweets.

hmmm...  i could not imagine myself declining chocolates...  well, unless they have raisins...  i don't like raisins...

i would say
and, at some point, i did keep on saying
(though no one bothered to listen...
uhm, thank you?
hahaha)
something preemptive like
stop-giving-me-chocs-because-i'm-cutting-down-on-sweets
but if the bar is already there, as in, it has been purchased, then i'd just go for it.

no matter what i've eaten, even if i'm full, there's always room for chocs 🍫😋 ❤️