December 2014 – Just another @owrange site

The Beauty of Handjob

We took apart our Poralex manual coffee grinder to clean it up not because it’s New Year in a few days, but we’re going to hide it as we got a new electronic coffee grinder.

Seeing its different pieces, i finally get to appreciate its beauty — the Japanese ingenuity? 🙂

It made our new electronic grinder looked less interesting. For me, coffee is about the process because it adds to the experience maybe. As Paolo mentioned in his coffee appreciation talk, his very manual coffee ritual reminds him that “great things take time.”

Anyhoo, I’d been looking for a small electronic coffee bean grinder in Cebu, philippines for sometime already but had no luck. Until i saw Mark D. of weekend barista club at happygaraje.com tweeted his mini electronic grinder so i thought it finally arrived in local stores.

So following are few places where i found (personal / home-use) coffee grinder in cebu:

We got ours at Rustan’s (the one above). always go for Rustan’s for kitchen appliances because their sales staff know more about their stuff. They also had a cuisineart brand for a personal size electronic coffee grinder. Mark went for krups though.

True Value also said they had a breville coffee grinder but ran out of it. Paolo got a manual at Gaisano Countrymall. SuperMetro also had krups.

Alessi(sp?) in ayala is probably the store specialized to coffee (and tea) in Cebu. But it seems they carry mostly of Japanese brAnd, and also Italian. (I so want to get their stovetop coffeemaker (forgot the name).

The most stylish coffee machine i ever encountered yet at Rustan’s.

Anyhoo, it seems that specialty coffee is going to be new “milk tea” soon in Cebu? Well, i’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, cebu will develop our very own local coffee signature. 🙂

Now i’m thinking if there’s really a difference in the taste between freshly ground coffee beans and the grocery packed ground beans? Honestly, i cannot tell, except that you can control the “fine-ness” of the coffee ground if you have a grinder. The grocery-packed ground coffee beans are usually on the coarse side so it tends to be not so strong (well, you can just put more ground coffee to your brew to make it stronger though).

And, Rustan’s also have these local beans. I think Human Nature stores also carry this brand. Except for Cordillera (which I like), i haven’t tried the other 3. I also like coffee beans from Bukidnon but rarely I could find them in grocery.

So no more handjob for me now. (It actually sounds sad.)

You can’t stop the waves…

But you can learn to crochet

Please like my nanay’s crochet page http://facebook. com/pages/Crafty-Nanay/802152876521349

Karla of Damgo, the dreamcatcher fairy https://www.facebook.com/pages/Damgo/264098157124160, has been talking about crafting. I’m not into it. What i envisioned of “craft” are moms who are endlessly planning of the look and feel of their kids’ birthday parties, and there’s no way i look that part.

Anyhoo, karla’s been carrying threads and needles/hooks with her. And i’m reminded me of my nanay/mother’s crocheting back when i was younger. I have tops, dresses, and whatnots crocheted by her, which i never really put much attention back then because it was not unusual. My nanay crochets, our neighbor crochets, my aunt crochets, everybody does it – there was nothing so “pinteresty” about it. It’s probably like the “facebook” back then.

My nanay had a stroke 10 years ago which had her right part of her body underwent paralysis. Though she can move around well but her right part is not how it was before.

So i was hesitant of asking her about crocheting again, but she’s game. We’re just waiting for the hook and some yarns from gantsilyoguru.com because there was just not much crochet supplies in consolacion, cebu. And, with holidays, i’m not yet in the mood to go to

Colon or bigger malls. 🙂

I’m excited because i already have pinned a lot of crochet items which i’ll be asking her to do. And, meg seems to be interested too – from crocheting loombands to yarns. Yay!

The Comeback

After shopping for crochet hooks for my mother’s crafting and yoga mats to make it to @PsstBuyNow box, i made dinner. Eeeewwww! That does not sound like me. Eeewww!

But as a proof that i can be obsessive once i set my mind on doing it, here’s my comeback to the culinary world:

I think that looked like a pesto overload on the dishes just because i got my hands on the food chopper. So it’s not food processor, but a food chopper.

(Youtubed it before i figured out how to use it again.)

So next will probably be a homemade ham for new year!

Picking up old pieces: food processor

I found this food processor (moulinex) dumped together with unused items in the cupboard. I think this was the last kitchen “gear” i bought before i got so busy and heavily involved in aktib.

Food processor is used for “blending” veggies or fruits but you don’t want to add water which the blender will require. Whatever. 🙂 Or in short, it’s the electronic version of mortar and pestle.

The most use i had of it was grinding onions for kebabs, stuff added to the yoghurt sauce (forgot the name), cutting tomato for pasta sauce, homemade butter, for mashing bananas for banana bread.

The past days/weeks had been quite hard/challenging – transitioning from one focus to another. The one thing embedded to me by aktib is becoming that “business-minded / entrepreneur” person whom it’s totally not me before. So it was hard because i wanted to pursue yet another “money-involving” activities, and i just have to stop it, scratch it off from my system. I was trying to shake the feeling off because “priorities,” and that i should stop bleeding the husband for money which i’m not sure i could get back — it’s already stupid to charge it as “learning cost.”

So i plan of picking on the last activity i got busy before focusing on aktib. I was planting herbs and alugbati, trying to do “healthy” food, researching on organic stuff like frequenting Healthy Options store, making pita breads — things i usually cringe on. 🙂 But it actually started from a big scary necessity, which was slicing my mother for a major operAtion or trying the “food is medicine” route. So anyway, i ended up in “food” because i thought it’s more affordable, but honestly it’s so tedious that a medical surgery can be more cheaper. But i’m really more thnakful that i pick “food.”

So now that i have nothing in my hands, i’m picking up food again. This is not an easy decision because i seriously hate / loathe cooking! But i did enjoy it a lot back then, i hope to find the grove the soonest back again.

And i promise not to be so preachy about it!

unGift giving

Mati: unsa ugma nga “pasti”? (Pasti means “pista” as fiesta.)

Me: Dili pista ugma. Pasko ugma.

Mati: So unsa na sya, naa ko toy or wala toy?

Me: Pasko is Jesus’ birthday. Kinsa man tagaan og gift kon mag birthday?

Mati: Hahay. Wa ko toy. Dugay pa pasti.

“Pista” is when usually the time he can see vendors lining the street selling toys. So that’s why he associates pista with him getting a toy. We have this rule that they can get toys surely from us on their birthday and “pasti.” Hopefully, less toys balances the carbon footprint from the gadgets in this home.

So actually it’s a Mark thing. Mark’s scrooge-ness seems to rub off on the whole family. Somehow, him not being big on gift-giving just became the norm in this house.

But on the other side, i like to believe that we give / contribute to others not on Christmas or special occasions, but on a more frequent basis as needed. I mean i’d like to believe that “giving” must be a part of our daily existence, not just on special occasions.

Owkei, so there i’m just giving justification to our “cold” treatment on gifts on Christmas.

Thank you very mushroom!

Meg: ngano picture-an man jud na ni mama ang pagkaon?

Mark: I agree.

Me: I just want to thank @marrihliesse for these yummy mushrooms straight from the foot of Mt. Fuji or some mountain in Japan! 🙂

(Mushrooms not much visible coz they’re all gobbled up.)

Therefore i conclude…

nothing comes easy.

I have been doing nothing since last wednesday after i canceled runnilla. And having a “productive paranoia,” it’s making it hard for me to enjoy the moment of doing nothing. So yes, doing nothing still seems hardwork.

Then to make it feel worse, a friend proposed that we should go on a trip together. She said she will save for it. And, it kind of hit me that wtf, i have no means to save. I am seriously on the unemployment rate of this country. If i ever was able to “travel,” it’s because mark needed an “alalay” with him. And if he does not need one, i am not traveling any where. I have no say / command on when and where i can travel. It’s not that i’m really big of a travel fan. But it still says how I’m so “erbof!”

Of course, you would say i’m better off compared to others. And i’m thankful for that.

So it gets me to the next point: what should i do next? Should i get employed or do part-time stuff employment? Or should i go on another “entrepreneurial” experiment. Either way, it’s not going to be easy.

So doing nothing is not easy. Startig a business is not easy. And getting employed is noy easy too. Therefore, nothing comes easy.

Well whining seems easy! 🙂

So why?!?

I canceled Runnilla 2015. I just had to make the hard call.

There were to-do items for the event that i scheduled to be done this week. And looking at it, there’s just no way i can finish them this week. Bringing them over to next year, i’m going to be in such a juggle hustle that i will be really spreading my self so thin (hopefully, “thin” will also apply literally.)

The previous night, i was rummaging thru my purse when i saw my mother’s doctor’s order. It was to get my mother’s medical record in PSH, which i have been missing to do for a month already. So it kind of remind me of all those personal things/ family matters that i missed to do because of a very “busy” year of promoting fun runs. And then there’s the kids’ exams, and then mati’s still lagging behind his reading skill, the Christmas week which we don’t really prepare for but nevertheless i feel the pinch of totally missing it, and all little details that have to take a back seat because of all the fun runs / racing events i’m helping with.

I guess i’m really bad at managing time, or delegating task which i dunno to whom should i delegate them to. I guess i’m just not really fit to organize races.

To which i’m reminded that i miss running, i miss writing without selling or promoting any thing but just the story.

I do really feel bad about it because it was not just the race that i gave up. I gave up also on the dream of being able to put Cebu as an outdoor/trail adventure destination, of promoting that “mainstream” kind of outdoor community. But at the end of the day, there’s probably another way of doing it.

So for now, i’ll stuff my “misery” with junkfood while Mark celebrates that i’m finally over with my frenzy.

Back to back farties

Christmas parties with carebears. I’m really old or maybe jaded because I no longer loon forward to parties. Bug funny because i ended up attending 2 parties after one another

Saturday

Among the 3 kids, only this boy tagged along with us to the party at Harm’s resort-like house. 🙂 he’s very excited! 🙂