National Super Hero...
Z brought to my attention the other day that Batman doesn't fly. Curious, I asked her why that mattered... she smiled and pointed out that he's actually a hassle for the Super Friends since he always has to either hitch with Wonder Woman or be carried by Superman during "Super Emergencies"! ;P

On the subject of Super Heroes... she also shared that she now knows who the Philippine or "National Super Hero" is... "Ok...Who?" I asked, expecting her to say Darna or Captain Barbel or...

"Jose Rizal!" Z answered.

I didn't expect that answer...I couldn't resist a smile.

"Um, honey, I don't think Jose Rizal is a 'Super' Hero..."

"Ma...he saved the country!!!"

"Yeeeesss, but not in a 'Super Hero', kind of way..."

"Right, ok... so how did he save the country then?"

"Through writing..."

"WHAT!!!" Z looked horrified, "You can't save a country by just writing, what kind of Super Hero is that?!"

Z storms off...

I was tempted to quip "TSS..YAH!!" ala Wayne's World, but I think I'll let her teachers deal with this one, she'll be taking up history soon, right?

Rubbing Elbows With... II
...Henry Ford!!!

i attended, and presented at, the 2004 Ford Motor Company Environment and Conservation Grants Awarding last Friday ((complete with jello knees, chattering teeth and sweaty palms, mind you! goodness knows how i get assigned to do these things!)

At the event i bumped into Henry Ford... and he was Chinese/Filipino! ;p

i glanced at my nametag and... well, the nametag stated your name and the company you are from... hence, his had "Henry" and underneath it "Ford"...

Well, he was the president of Ford Motor Company here, so he might as well be Henry Ford...

Rubbing Elbows With...
...the Charge d'Affaires, a.i of the United States of America.

yeah, well, yes obviously "what the hell am i doing here?!!" kept running through my mind... but the hor d'ourves were really yummy so i tried to push it, er, out of my mind! tee hee

this is the same embassy that feared i may enter their country and bomb it or spread sars...

AND YET, i was invited, yes, INVITED to break bread with them... bwahahaha!

(ok, so, in case you missed the joke, i am a citizen of a country believed to breed terrorrists)

anyway, i stayed my friendly, er, civil self (i even dressed up, for pete's sake!...well just to make sure my dad doesn't roll over in his grave (um, dad, where ever you are...hope you didn't miss that scene!) i never acted civil at his formal functions, so i should have made him proud this time!)

i did regret one thing though... i didn't gather enough courage to get seconds from the buffet table!

Erlack!
The new year has rolled in... and so has the Chinese new year! (Kung Hey Fat Choi, btw!)

Where oh where have the days gone...

Anyway, this year feels like any other new year! We had the usual fire works and all that jazz to greet the new year,(well the neighbors did anyway, we just butted in a few peeks, since the kids are scared senseless by all the noise these displays make! My cousins made an attempt to be normal for once and bought some fountains which turned out to be lemons, well most were anyway! ["Normal" meaning, you know, celebrate new year's eve like everyone else!])

Anyway, ho hum! Everything still seems in tact, nothing new, everything old is still here... and I can look forward to becoming a year older in a couple of months. (not that anyone looks forward to that!)

However, here's my deepest darkest secret... even if the same things seem to happen over and over again, year after year, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that there's an iota of hope somewhere in me that looks forward to every new year, looking forward to change! Even if it doesn't really happen, I just enjoy everything embodied in the concept of "new year", everyone seems to think that it's a perfect time for change... who knows maybe one day everyone and everything will "synchronize thoughts and attitudes" and change for the better... even me! (Bwahahaha)

So, even if I don't jump around and do the happy dance or welcome it with a bang...

This new year thing is nice to have around!

...
Strange... it's been ages since I wrote an entry, but I have no idea where the days went! I know I've been busy, but have no idea what with...

It's been so long infact that I couldn't for the life of me remember the password to this blog... felt a moment of panic, gave up for a day and without typing in a password I was able to make it in today...

I have this Twilight Zone theme playing in my head right now...

My new year's resolution is to keep posting... bwahahaha!

Correction, please!
Ok, time for some more ego-boosting...(indulge me please!)

For some reason, somewhere in the midst of all the excitement I misheard the lady from Ayala Corp. when over the phone she told me "Congratulations Ma'am, your daughter won seventh place!" (Yes, yes this is all about Z's entry in the art contest... [and Supah D's right... it didn't get her any money! darn! tee hee!])

Ok, going back to the story...

You see "SECOND" over a static-filled phone line, and G screaming in the background, sounds so much like "SEVENTH"!

That's it... that's all I wanted to share! I will go back to my own little world now and gloat all over again!

Substantial vs. Non-substantial People
A friend of mine entered the foreign service and apparently after earning the much coveted title of "diplomat", she discovers that one does not become "just" a diplomat... one is either a substantial and non-substantial diplomat! Depending of course on one's brainpower and performance (I'm just assuming this last part...I mean, it seems logical, don't you think?)

Anyway, substantial diplomats get to avail of great junkets, great positions at embassies all over the world, and get to make important international decisions for the represented country. On the other hand, the non-substantial ones don't get to make any decisions, but get a chance to travel just the same and enjoy diplomatic immunity in maybe a really cool foreign country... but not much can be said of their role there... (mostly they become "gophers" ["gopher" this, "gopher" that...] for "substantial" diplomats) nevertheless, diplomat still!

Of course, depending on the country one represents, not much can be said about salary either (unless corruption sets in...)

Anyway, what am I getting at? Nothing really...

Moving on, my friend now goes around the Department of Foreign Affairs and, like a tour guide, points out her substantial and non-substantial colleagues... (it's ok for her to do this because, apparently, she falls into the non-substantial category...[personally, I really can't tell the difference... but I'm not one to argue!])

Well, that's a peek at "stories from parallel worlds"...

Anyway, somehow I managed to bring this peculiar behavior from her world to mine...

Why? How?

Abangan ang susunod na kabanata...

*This is applicable only in my country of origin...and are based on observations by future big (and not so big) names in the diplomatic corps. Can't say much about systems in other countries (wouldn't want to, really!)

Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul
It's a book by Douglas Adams... one of my all time favorite authors.

After reading Durga's blog on smokesisters... I suddenly realized how I can barely recognize myself... wow! was that really me?

I can't say I've changed... not really. I'm doing different things... far from all the fun stuff I did in college, but I can't call who I've become "change"!

Hence, the title of my blog... so many parts of me have gone to sleep... has taken a break, it's my long dark tea time break... I'll just let it steep for a while. Then I'll wake each dormant part of my soul as each responsibility sheds...

Sigh!