siva, jianli & lance

click the image to download a hi-resolution copy ideal for printing.

Dec 2007 IBM Potluck

Season's Greetings...

Merry Christmas everyone in the Philippines and around the world... our hearts long to be in Iloilo this christmas. We miss you all!

true ilonggo

You know you're a true blue Ilonggo if ...

• Your one peso is pisos
• You take a bath using a tabo which you call Caltex
• Your bathroom has at least one lugod (some has one for every family member)
• Your nanay used to make you drink Mirinda or Royal Tru Orange when you have a fever, which is supposed to make you feel better
• Sinamak is a staple in your dining table (the best Ilonggo invention if you ask me, was even banned on airplanes long before 911)
• Your toyo is patis and your patis is toyo
• You use atsuete for your adobo and pinamalhan (pinaksiw)
• Your daily meal will likely include laswa, kbl (kadyos, baboy, langka), ginat-an nga tambo with tugabang and okra, ginat-an nga munggo, linutik,apan- apan, etc.
• November 1 means eating ibus, suman, suman latik, kalamay-hati, bayi-bayi, valenciana or other native delicacies with glutinous rice and coconut milk
• You call those you love palangga, pangga, langga or ga
• You call your siblings or cousins inday, nonoy or toto...the househelp may call you the same
• You call those who are older than you manang or manong
• You catch the attention of sales attendants by calling them "day" or "to"
• Your childhood games include tumba patis, taksi, panagu-ay, balay-balay, ins, tin-tin baka, etc.
• You used to be (or still are) scared to go out at night lest you meet the aswang, tik-tik, tayhu, kapre, kama-kama, morto, etc.
• You used to listen (or still listens) to Sin-o Ang May Sala, Lain Siya Sa Iban, and Toyang Ermitanya
• Your grandparents read Yuhum magazine
• You call a person, thing, place and event kwan when you forget it (si kwan, ang kwan, sa kwan)
• You used to sleep in an aboy-aboy made of patadyong when you were a baby (probably applies only to us below the poverty line)
• You understand that "Particulars Keep Out" sign means outsiders keep out (believe me, this sign may look and sound English but only us Ilonggos use it)
• You use words such as "ahay" (expression of pity, grief, empathy), "yuga" (expression of disbelief, surprise), "ambot ah" (to say you don't know, expression of impatience)
• You often start your sentence with ti
• You say goodbye by saying "halong"
• Your favorite cusswords are linte (if you're slightly pissed off) and hijo de puta (if you're pissed off big time)...

many me....

my first attempt of what i call the "many me"... hope you'll like it... please drop a comment. thanks!

La Paz Church

Photo by: Wins Jav

Snowfall warning for: City of Toronto

Issued at 11:57 AM EST WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2007
..10 TO 20 CENTIMETRES OF SNOW LIKELY BY THURSDAY NIGHT..
AN APPROACHING WINTER STORM FROM MISSOURI WILL BRING THE FIRST WINTER STORM OF THE SEASON TONIGHT AND THURSDAY. MANY REGIONS EXTENDING FROM LAKE HURON EAST TO THE DUNDALK HIGHLANDS IS CURRENTLY SEEING RAIN BUT AS THE TEMPERATURE FALLS TO NEAR FREEZING THE RAIN WILL QUICKLY CHANGE OVER TO WET SNOW AND ICE PELLETS THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN SNOW TONIGHT. NEAR 10 CENTIMETRES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED TO FALL TONIGHT WITH AN ADDITIONAL 10 CENTIMETRES TO FOLLOW ON THURSDAY. HIGHER SNOW AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO FALL OVER HIGHER TERRAIN. REGIONS ACROSS EASTERN ONTARIO INCLUDING OTTAWA HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED SNOW FROM A PREVIOUS DISTURBANCE AND WILL CONTINUE TO SEE SNOW FALL TONIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY. TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS NEAR 15 CENTIMETRES BY THURSDAY NIGHT ARE POSSIBLE AS THE WINTER STORM SLOWLY MOVES EAST ACROSS THE LOWER LAKES TONIGHT INTO NEW ENGLAND BY THURSDAY NIGHT. THE GREATER TORONTO AREA WILL BE VERY CLOSE TO THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THE HEAVY SNOW BUT IS STILL EXPECTED TO RECEIVE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW MIXED WITH ICE PELLETS. DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH ICE PELLETS FORM AT THE EXPENSE OF THE SNOW CURRENT SNOWFALL ESTIMATES OVER THE GREATER TORONTO AREA IS 5 TO 10 CENTIMETRES TONIGHT WITH AN ADDITIONAL 5 TO 10 CENTIMETRES THURSDAY. REGIONS CLOSE TO THE LAKE MAY SEE LESSER AMOUNTS DUE TO WARMER TEMPERATURES ALONG THE LAKESHORE. FOR FURTHER DETAIL OVER THE REST OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO PLEASE READ THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT RELEASED BY ENVIRONMENT CANADA.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST PUBLIC FORECASTS FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

Jet plays with my sony F828

 

Sir Arnold

Sir Arnold's birthday has always been a tummy-filled gathering.. last year I remember the celebration started 2 days before the date and another day after the actual birthday, the fun usually starts at the kitchen when everyone cooked their specialties... This time it's still the same kitchen talents that graced the occasion, but also it is sort-of a reunion of the 119 Finch buddies (btw, 119 Finch is the first boarding house we stayed at)... Few expected guests did not make it and lots of new faces... special mention to fantastic food, ox-tail kare-kare my favorite, I brought honey-garlic chili wings also the best (cooked by gez), non-stop drinking up to 3am, videoke and dancing... slept over, drank beer, can't drive (or should i say, wont drive)... I had a grand time meeting new friends and hoping to see everyone again soon. Happy Birthday Sir Arnold Caldo...