adventures in neverland

when you are young and in love, you feel as though almost all of the love stories on film or book are especially written for you.  of course, noh! anyway, here are some of my favourite films that made me fall in love over and over again. i cried at some of them. others, i simply blushed (like the virgin that i was). chos! summer of 42 love story. ice castle last american virgin pretty in pink reality bites (more than just a love story, by the way). before sunrise before sunset before midnight endless love blue lagoon man on the moon mermaids breakfast at tiffany's the way we were two for the road notting hill an affair to remember in the mood for love chungking express turn right, turn left the english patient almásy : what do you hate most? katharine : a lie. and what do...

“tita knew through her own flesh how fire transforms the elements, how a lump of corn flour is changed into a tortilla, how a soul that hasn't been warmed by the fire of love is lifeless, like a useless ball of corn flour.”    ―  l aura esquivel ,   l ike water for chocolate . i was inspired to learn how to cook when i first read laura esquivel's tragic like water for chocolate,  the ill-fated love story between tita and pedro. for those who are not familiar with the sad tale of love, obsession and revenge, then i will tell it briefly. tita is the youngest daughter of a stern matriarch who raised her three daughters all by herself. since tita is the youngest, the mother decided that she could not marry because she will take care of her when she is old and ill. the problem is tita is in love with pedro. since there is no way that tita will break free from her mother's wishes, pedro decided to marry tita's older sister, rosaura so he can be close to her. her...

after learning how to cook a few of my favourite dishes such as the quintessential filipino comfort food adobo (and loving it) while searching for that elusive, challenging job, i also rekindled my love affair with home decoration. yes, virginia, this party girl also has the other side to her -- the homemaker, the domestic goddess, the kitchen fairy, the guardian of all things homely and warm. a few weeks ago, a friend asked me to fix her newly-bought flat somewhere in the makati financial district. before she could change her mind, i readily said yes. after all, isn't it fun spending someone else's money to shop for nice, pretty and not-exactly-expensive items to spice up the home such as a vase, a side table, a table lamp, a center table, a cover for throw pillows, among others. to avoid overspending, i worked on a budget. a major challenge, mind you, but i readily took it. after all, class does not always equate with inflated prices. there are beautiful things that are a...

"while my heart is still warm, let me say this....     with the honesty of a dying swan. i never loved you.......       but i always worshipped the air that you breathed, the ground where you walked, even the bed where you rested .." -- mahatma gandah. it was a sunny afternoon when the bus full of noisy and young journalists left the san miguel complex in ortigas to tagaytay. it was a friday, and i was one of the eager greenhorns that would spend the weekend out of town to get re-educated on the whys and hows of business news writing, of learning the basics about the economy, of the financial markets, of investments, of free trade. i was twenty three and had spent a just few weeks in my new beat, the central bank, where the most intimidating, the most seasoned business and economic journalists were assigned. i had thick black hair, smooth skin, especially on the face, agile, bit shy, bit introverted, dressed formally most of the time because in my for...

(as a perfect companion for this one, please read my earlier post on martial law  here .) "it was not merely the natural gift of a superior intellect that made him  numero uno  wherever he went. nor was lady luck the primary factor. in philippine politics, there are other politicos brighter and on the whole luckier than he. but ferdinand e. marcos has other attributes more effective and rewarding than just brains -- a will of steel, unflinching resolve and a passion for planning, planning, planning. it seems nothing ever happens to ferdinand e. marcos without his knowledge and consent." -- napoleon rama, staff member of the philippine free press, in an article published in january nineteen sixty- six, when the magazine named marcos its man of the year for nineteen sixy-five. )))))))))))))))))))))))) every major historical event in the philippines always has that jovial fiesta atmosphere -- the bloodless edsa revolution that led to the downfall of the twenty...