Happy Birthday, Mommy!

Mother. Motherhood. Mudra. Madir. Mommy. Ma. Yasmin. (*Peace* about the last one. hehe!)

Thank you for everything.

Words cannot measure up to what I, we, feel.

To say that “we are blessed to have you in our lives” is an understatement.

But we are so.

And it is just that you, and the rest of the world knows.

I LOVE YOU!

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- Friendster blog post, published September 17, 2008

http://pattycake.blog.friendster.com/2008/09/happy-birthday-mommy/

45 Random Facts About Jodi

1. My name is Johannah.

2. My nickname is Jodi, derived from the first syllables of my name JOhannah and my (former/maiden) surname, DIron. It still applies though, my family name now is DImaporo. How about that?!

3. I am thirty years old. — I think it’s hilarious at times when people think I’m in my teens. But I also find it utterly annoying at times when people think I’m in my teens. Haha. Repetitive, much? Baby faced? I think. Vertically challenged? Blame it on the genes. Bwahahaha.

4. I am Muslim. Technically, I am three-fourths Muslim, and a quarter Christian. My maternal grandmother, Esther hails from Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, and Lolo Lindy is full-blooded Maranao, so my mom’s a mestiza. Lola’s reverted to Islam though (her Muslim name is Mariam), and we’ve never thought of ourselves as anything but Muslim. So there.

5. I am a wife and a mother of one. Our neighbors here in Manila initially thought that Hamza was my older brother and Raja, our bunso. Harhar!

6. I should have been a mother of two, but things happen for a reason…

7. I love family gatherings. ‘Nuff said.

8. I wished I had continued playing the piano. Maybe if I did so I would’ve been really good with it by now. I can still widow, though.

9. I am trying to get over my obsession with Havaianas. Maybe I’ll stop when I get my last batch of orders from abroad. Have to stay away from Multiply more often! Hmm… Anyone wanna buy them?

10. I’d like to start collecting cameras now. Not digicams. They’re too generic.

11. I started writing when I was in the sixth grade. I had journals and wrote essays, articles in the school paper in high school and college. I’m still so into writing. Big thanks to Mrs. Berran (PWU-JASMS) and Ms. Abueva (DCFI), my English teachers, for inspiring me to write.

12. I used to be a text addict.

13. Texting in StIcKy CAps is not and never was my style.

14. I don’t text using short cut either.

15. I love sweets. I love pastries. It’s a tie for me between chocolate bars and cakes. But I’m not so much into ice cream.

16. I used to feel nauseated with the aroma of coffee. But I’m starting to like it now; I’ve even gone as far as to drinking it. My husband is ecstatic with that development. HAHAHA!

17. I don’t like it when bands change their sound to make their music more mainstream just so they could have more fans. That’s artistic suicide.

18. I get really irritated with people who copy other people’s stuff. Plagiarism is punishable by law.

19. I want to have a pet… maybe some fish or a pair of African love birds. I had a cat with “odd eyes” (one blue, one yellow), but he ran away (found a mate).

20. I can live without a cellphone. I’ve tried it… it’s quite liberating, actually.

21. I put my thoughts to words in ink better than in speech. Obvious much?

22. My hair is long and straight…and past my waist already.

23. I don’t scare easily, nor do I get irked by yucky stuff right away.

24. I have a habit of walking around the house at ungodly hours (told you I can’t sleep).

25. I also like it a lot when I have the house to myself.

26. I am unofficially obsessive-compulsive.

27. I procrastinate. I like playing things crunch. It gives me an adrenaline rush.

28. I graduated with a degree in Psychology.

29. I love giving out Psychological tests and analyzing their answers.

30. I miss taking REAL Psychology exams myself.

31. I want to learn Rorschach. Calling the attention of Ma’am Agda, I believe you owe us a couple of sessions?

32. Sleep is something that is a bit alien to me. Maybe I was a vampire in a past life. HAHAHAHA!

33. When I do get to sleep, I do not move–I sleep and wake up in the same position. Hamza and my family can attest to that. I can probably sleep in a four-inch wide bench and not fall.LOL

34. I like having the comforter cover me from my head down to my feet. Yes, including my face. Weird. I know, I know.LOL

35. I’m a movie freak.My family and I love watching movies on the big screen. I love movie channels also. Tune me in to any movie channel and throw away the remote, I won’t mind. I can name which movies the actors/actresses acted in in their past films.

36. I have high tolerance for physical and emotional pain.

37. I definitely detest rodents! YUCK!

38. Lifestyle Network is one of my favorite channels.

39. I wish Ina Garten could adopt me. I just love her and her show.

40. I am absolutely looking forward to the dates November 17, 21 and 30.

41. I have regretted the times when I stopped school. I could have been a doctor by now. Blech.

42. I splurge a lot buying stuff online. Another habit I have to break.

43. Currently thinking if I should go home to the province or to Las Piñas for Qutba.

44. I’d really like to go back to school. But there are also other things I want to do… I’m still weighing my options.

45. I fear death and the afterlife. What we have here right now is very temporary. If you are getting everything that you want now… do you think you’ll still be in the same predicament in the akhira? I think not.

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- Friendster blog post, published September 16, 2008

http://pattycake.blog.friendster.com/2008/09/45-random-facts-about-jodi/

PUNny Indeed!

I know with all the hype that has been building around the Twilight Saga and the movie, there was bound to be a spoof made about the movie’s trailer. Sure enough, last month, while I was browsing through YouTube’s search engine, I came up with this video from Evil Iguana Productions, a company founded by bored high schoolers that has grown through the years along with its fans (I myself included… squeeze me, but I’ve been subscribing to their vids since last year, so puhlease, spare me the bull that you learned about it first before I did. :p).

It’s really funny and even Stephenie Meyer has this on her MS site. It’s all in good fun, please dear TS fanatics, don’t get hurt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BELLA!

Enjoy.

Twilight Teaser Trailer

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Friendster blog post, published September 13, 2008

http://pattycake.blog.friendster.com/2008/09/punny-indeed/

Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)

The last of the Twilight Saga, I finished Breaking Dawn in about two and a half days. Huh. I had to slow my self down because I was devouring the book again (meaning I’m reading too fast again.hehe).

BD is divided into three books, book One and Three are Bella’s and Book Two is Jacob’s. It’s my second favorite, with Twilight as first. I’m not going to divulge on the details anymore, it’s too good a read for me to make a review.

Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer)

I was supposed to post this and the last installment of the saga earlier, but I got too engrossed with my other blogs that I forgot to put these on Blogger.

The third of the Twilight Saga, I rank Eclipse as third favorite of the four books in the series. In the story, Seattle was plagued with mysterious murders which t urned out to be vampire killings initiated by Victoria who was actually building an army to avenge the death of her mate, James. Once again, faces danger as she is hunted by newborn vampires. But a greater conflict arises when her best friend Jacob reveals his true feeling for her, and she, too, finds herself in love with him.

The love triangle for me was a bit unneccesary, but it makes for a good fictional plot–a human torn in love between a beautiful vampire and a werewolf (who’s actually a shape-shifter),and it is a love story after all. I found Bella a bit greedy in this book–she loves Edward, but she wouldn’t let go of Jacob; Jacob, a bit pushy; Edward, beautiful as ever (sorry for being biased!). But she’s human after all, so I guess there’s the excuse for such. Oh, just get the darned copy, ok? I swear, it’s worth every penny.

Random Thoughts *I'm Missing Mode*

It's been almost a week since I got home from my eventful trip in Marawi and Cagayan de Oro. I'm now back in the boring conundrum I call "life". Haha. No, I'm not being sarcastic. I'm more homesick than anything else right now.

Hmm.. what do I miss about the city with a lake? It's not like I go out there to meet up with my friends, to make 'tambay' at CommCen (although I'm not sure if that's still the 'in' thing to do, and I never had that much of a chance hanging out there even then). I think it's more of the feeling that I'm with family--being with the people I know, and those whom I know as well. It's catching up with your aunts who've seen you during your awkward years when the chilly climate of Marawi turned me into some sort of burnt-looking marshmallow (yeah, nakakaitim talaga ang climate ng Marawi, at least for me), and they knew everything that went on with everyone who lived in the city. I miss the food! Pyaren. Randang. Pisasaten. Bakas.HAHA! All the yellow spicy food, where everything is yellow, even the rice..it's kyuning, right? I miss seeing relatives come over the house to hang out and exchange stories and opinions on various topics. I miss their loud voices, the laughter, the banter. The never-ending coffee refills. The broa that goes along with the coffee (or brua? Not bruha, ha!). And the one and a half hour long good-byes. Haha.

I miss the company of my friends, basically my batchmates, whom I hadn't had the chance to see for such a long, long time. I thought that coming home would equate to some sort of informal reunion, but amidst the buzz of activity, unfortunately there was no time to get to it. Well, I did Khuna, in all her pregnant-but-still-beautiful glory, who came to my place in spite of her condition and the chaotic atmosphere, to show support and make chismis as well. I don't think I was able to thank you properly my dear sister... I hope I can return the favor to you in the future, Inshaallah.

I also miss the chilly foggy mornings, and the way you see air come out when you talk..feeling abroad-ish.*snickers* I miss the view of MSU from the terrace of our home, the lush green meadow (meadow daw..ok, basak!) spread before your eyes, and the trees, that line up the road going to Marantao on one side, and to Tuca on the other. Especially that humongous one where the elders say is home to some 'people' we can't see.

I miss Ramadhan in Marawi. That's when I learned to drive.LOL! I was fifteen then, and my classmate would come to our place and help me with the mechanics of driving. But we didn't practice there. I practiced outside the house, picking up our classmates from their homes as I learned how to drive. But it wasn't just about that. It was bonding with them. I miss how we're welcomed by our classmate's family to his/her home to share with us their spread. I miss the colorfully lit houses, seeing people coming out from the mosque after Tarawih, with the women garbed in their colorful muqnas, and the men in their kimon or malongs.

Oh, I did get the chance to see my alma mater, Dansalan College, now called Dansalan College Foundation, Inc. (I don't know exactly when "FI" was formally added to the name). It has changed a lot since. Well, I fathom it would, the last time I was there was during my high school graduation.*smiles at the thought* Seeing the school brought me into a nostalgic mood. I remembered the funny and sad things that went on between me and my batchmates and other schoolmates, our teachers who were our strict mentors inside the classrooms but warm friends outside. I remembered standing on the soccer field during practices for the city-wide silent drill competition (which we won, by the way), the never-ending band practices and school activities and our "wholesome" after-school (weekend) adventures, which sometimes meant unscheduled trips outside Marawi (translation: takas sa magulang, going to Iligan or Timoga or Tinago or anywhere else to de-stress from the pressures of school). It was all for fun. Seeing the school and looking back at all those memories made me feel just one thing. OLD.

CDO is a different story. I only spent two years there unlike Marawi where I spent four. It wasn't as exciting of a life, but it was exciting nevertheless. We were what Maranao people would describe as masamok. But we were actually harmless folk; we're just plain masamok. I miss those times I was with my friends in XU. To the administration there, we were like an itch that wouldn't go away, because we made our presence felt and they didn't like it, considering the fact that we didn't even reach seventy; they very much preferred we were just on the side..the very far side. But now, they can't ignore the number of Muslim students in that place. And I'm happy with the way things had come about. You kids have it easy now, be glad you weren't around during our time! But more so I miss being with my family who is based there. My mom, my four other brothers, Ina, and everyone else who lives in that spacious bungalow I call home. I'm going to miss the banter by the porch where we laugh louder than the tambays by the store across the street.LOL Halim, no one's gonna make macaroni for you now.Bleh! Hamsa, make up your mind, ok? Weigh your options, but your option A is a No-No. And mom, better learn how to tinker with the pc and the net so you won't have to bother us again when the arrow on the screen's not moving 'coz the mouse is stuck by the wrist pad.LOL Kisses to Halil who's looking more gwapo as he gets older and Ina who's always startled with Raja's constant slamming of the door. As to Hamid. I'll miss you "Jimmy" ways, but not just yet coz you're here in the Metro.Hehe!

Hmm...it would be good to go back there now... I miss how life in the south is so laid back. It's not that I mind being in the metro.. I love it here! Most of my life was spent here. But it's just stressful. With the traffic. And the noise pollution (although I'd choose to live here in the Scout area than go back to the subdivision where it's too damn quiet..sorry lolo & lola.hehe!). And the never-ending expenses. And you're so far away from family. Hmm... It would really be good to go home. But I'm not ready yet. I'mma miss the malls here. And Raja's gonna look for his Gardenia bread.Hehe!

Hmm... Home. Where're those ruby red shoes?