not just food

it's not a poor man's paella. i don't even like paella. i'd rather have valenciana (pictured). it's my crisp apple streudel. we have strong flavours in the orient. while here in the west, they serve merely sandwiches during get-togethers ( or only crisps). it's probably too bare and simple for our palate. food divides cultures. mashed potato in one corner, rice on the other end. at nando's, it's either mashed, rice or bread with the chicken. it's whatever one's fancy. just never expect people to be the same.

to counter

 this article got me digging further into the gray matter. reading it carefully, the title is just a mask for the main purpose of the texts. women don't earn that much in sports because it's mostly men who follow and in my universe spent their hard-earned cash in dragging their butts to the ends of the earth just to watch grown men kick a football and the camaraderie derived hobnobbing with other enthusiasts.

but to go back to the write-up, just because the athletes the writer mostly write about are not in the top ten earners doesn't mean that those who made it to the list are not noteworthy. mayweather is maybe in jail but he promotes his own fights and fans pay extra on top of the cable tv bills to watch him pounce a winnable opponent. pacquiao was once dirt poor, i don't think there's something sinful with him helping his less fortunate constituents. tiger woods may not be luke donald but he is still the biggest name in golf. basketball as a sport may be called handball in England and their practitioners are referred to as freaks of nature but lebron james is a beautiful athlete to watch but then i spent my youth scrutinising the science of the dribble and the slam dunk. i've never have been ( and never will be) a federer fan, but tennis is one of those sports considerably covered by the wire services and the Swiss is popular worldwide.

corporate America pay good money to hire these athletes to endorse their brand. football or soccer, cricket, rugby et al do not have huge american audiences. Olympic sports such as swimming and track and field are only on the radar every four years hence usain bolt's low ranking. who cares about the colour of a person's skin or his nationality? why is that a big deal?

an athlete cannot be on top forever as well, gymnast shawn johnson is now retired at 20, after one Olympic games and a win in dancing with the stars. with the money, after every associate ( agents, PR guy, stylist, posse) gets their cut, the athlete is only left with an allowance ( but it's still bigger than most mortals). we've read and heard a lot of cautionary tales. hopefully manny pacquiao would do well after his stint on pay-per-view tv. i wonder if the likes of bing and others would still befriend him after he hang his gloves for good.

rain, shine, overcast

it has been mostly a rainy June. the summer solstice has come and gone. it has been ideal weather for a lot of people the past few days. i still couldn't function. i'm sleepy and tired most of the time. i sleep through the heat and reruns of frasier and everybody loves raymond. and i can only read and over think so much daily news, a few blogs, a few columns.

on the wifely duties, i need to iron the sweet hubby's uniforms and PJ Harvey isn't too bad at this point.

eddshrinker cup 3

24th June 2012
Paddington Recreation Ground

team Dicko -- 9
scorers :
jed -- 1
trev -- 1
chris -- 2
dicko -- 2
dan -- 2
jamie -- 1


team Dazza -- 5
jim --1
dazza -- 1 (penalty)
wayne -- 1
stubbsy -- 1
ben -- 1

eddshrinker cup 2 - penalty shoot out
eddshrinker cup 2
eddshrinker cup 1

cakes

from wonderful pattiserie (black forest)

ube cake baked by pie
shower cake

turning 38 was a charm.  got two cakes and presents.

cabin fever 2

i tire very easily these days. trustingly, i wouldn't be exhausted tomorrow, turning 38 and such. on the downside, i have to write the minutes of a meeting which occurred a hundred years ago. pushing pens is extra work for manual labourers like me. it'll be something to do during the weekend.

i know it's lesser stressors than usual. but i find it more useful to dress up and go somewhere. but the past week has been more about waiting for post deliveries. the souvenirs are still in the depot. i ordered them on time of course. stuff just get messy. but no sweat, have to focus on the days ahead. no more cabin fever. i could only read so much about the eurozone, syria or political upheavals everywhere.

cabin fever

we need conversations in our lives. not just any other run of the mill conversations but there's always the insatiable pursuit of profundity. i know i have highly-talented friends. they could conjure the best meals and pastries ever while i don't have the patience for cooking lessons. they're also shoulders to lean on when their schedules permits. although i wait forever for texts replies.

there shouldn't be comparisons amongst friends, colleagues, neighbours or you'll never be happy. some are richer, replete with all the bling-bling. others are more successful in business and career. most are more fertile. we need empathy in our lives. by now, i know which one tends to compete. i just simmer or i scream really loud.

post a label

not including today, i had an early morning snooze the past two days. it has become even more challenging to get out of bed, to stand up from a chair or even to take a 100 meters walk. the sun is shining at this juncture, maybe until the afternoon or whenever, not really that concerned. the stump of tiny feet from upstairs, is gone for a month to chill with the folks in good old former iron curtain or so i heard. it's quieter during the day. but they have friends move in temporarily, who also love to display their washing in public. as the hours are not exactly inundated with drizzles, let us see.

i want to do some heavy cleaning but it's next to impossible. i'll be trying out some recipes later. my birthday snack menu is still in the process of reckoning. some of my invitations are still with me, maybe by tomorrow i could distribute to the remaining invitees.

the summer solstice is already next week. the days would become shorter, the status quo of longer nights would fall back into place. our area is still on hosepipe ban. i'm hoping for abundance of rain during winter, to fill the water reservoir, stop the water companies from moaning too much. it's gloomy during winter but i'm hoping this year, the array of clothes would be sensational and lift up the spirits. from here until august though, in the topic of fashion, i guess Kate Moss is right (about summer-wear, not wife-wear).

now, let's check the BP and savour my newly- arrived Olympic tickets and travel cards.

on the 10th

so manny pacquiao lost in a split decision, his first defeat in seven years. since it was shown (or streamed) in such ungodly hour, UK time, it was a relief  i was asleep. i wonder if Bing was there in the ring (rhymes) during the introductions. enough of politicians and some Filipino slebs out there in Vegas, all smiles for the cameras at the after party, ready to display their clout, the i've been to Vegas i must be rich and important brigade ( i should really stop glancing at the society pages).

being a boxer is of course only one of pacman's many roles. he's a tv star and he serves his people as a congressman of saranggani. undertakings which are by-products of his being a boxer. he's got an entourage. i always wonder about men and their entourage or boys and their barkadas. as if their lives would be incomplete without their alalays. manny's rep is probably still intact, i saw some unofficial media score cards where he was ahead in almost all 12 rounds. there could be a rematch or he could just retire and conduct his daily prayer meetings in earnest.

 one-on-one sports (including chess and darts) are 50-50 propositions. an upset is part of the grand plan. but the pacquiao saga is also part of twitter race relations. i read (was it in March or April?) from Tyrone's (a mayweather fan) tweet that pacman has no defense and he's a so-so boxer. i don't want to bring stereotypes or how fast a person walks into the argument. but it's obviously there and we compete through our flags, national anthems, continents and shapes of our eyes.

laze

just reading and planning next to nothing kills the mood certainly in this rainy month of june, though i should avoid salty snacks (pictured). for the first time in a lifetime, i don't mind the downpour. the jubilee celebrations are almost over, the sight of camilla waving to the crowd at Buckingham Palace has never been a hallmark moment, even during the wedding of 28th April '11. anyway, stayed away from all the hoopla at the Thames or the television coverage. spent most of my time sleeping as i do every single day, channelling a lot of karl pilkington of the ricky gervais show, taking a breather from stressors. promised myself to find a project minus the huffing and puffing, that means no heavy lifting or hoovering.

i was glued to the BBC news channel for the eurozone updates. i could see how Spain succumbed to bad loans, we had an ultra-cozy train ride from Seville to Madrid in 2011 -- nice stations, excellent transport links, why not for the fourth largest economy in Europe. while in Greece, all the bars provide a little bit extra; cushy sofas, complimentary tasteful nibbles; cheaper public transport than most European countries.

there's also the sensitive issue of Syria. kofi annan's speech at the UN this afternoon contributed greatly to my snoozing. that was mainly because of tiredness, nothing to do with mr. annan's soft voice as he was uttering his speech.

hop, skip, hop

dropped by Westfield in Stratford for the cute guy's birthday. i like malls and shopping centres, as long as they're not crowded or deluged with strolling teens. the branch in Shepherd Bush is actually bigger and gives way to breathing. although, if we didn't go to Stratford, we wouldn't be able to peek at the Olympic Stadium and the Athletes Village. there would be loads of people during the Olympics. the tubes would be rammed, as in more jam-packed than during the rush hours or usual weekends.

 i'm just moaning because i don't live any closer to the Olympic grounds.

as if

it's such a shame that her detractors are signing for petition for her not to be considered as judge in the international court of justice. the term Brenda is back again. this usually happens when she doesn't go with the flow, when she chooses the unconventional route, when she's too eloquent, too knowledgeable. but at least, she's never been boring, not even during her stint in the commission of immigration. to answer joy's query in those heydays of whether to open the envelope in late 2000, are you still in awe? not really, but after a bevy of presidential campaigns in the 90's and winning and losing senate seats, and pissing off the quiet, non-cerebral throng, it has been a good career.

this is a refreshing take on the lady in this article.
what's your beauty regimen? "you gotta be kidding (laughs)?"
what is your preference when it comes to fashion? "i don't spend any time thinking about fashion."

this blog is also very positive.

discussing the state of matter

a good conversation fuels the mind. reading a book, watching a good movie or a tv series that makes one think beyond the recesses of our leanings, filling in the boxes in the crossword puzzle, traveling, learning about other cultures and habits, these are various forces that make us widen our circles and broaden our horizon. a favourite, is picking someone else's mind, actually learning something new and substantial by merely a phone tete-a-tete, a text, an e-mail, a letter (snail mail), a subject in internet forums, a blog, a tweet.

in a gathering of colleagues, not necessarily like-minded people, in a cafe or pub, i cross my fingers that the talk would not turn into the common denominator of work. nor politics or religion. they're quite fiery subjects. it's to each his/her own when it comes to preferences, in sports, especially sports, club before country, roller hockey or gymnastics. one end keep their opinions to themselves, the other end cannot stop sharing their thoughts. but it's not only in discourses that we learn and substantiate our knowledge. the power of observation is vital in our capacity to grow as individuals. maybe it was a former boss, who equated how fast a person's walk to productivity and efficiency. nonetheless, i've been using that as a gauge as well, not only in proficiency but in fervour and enthusiasm in performing one's tasks.

it's important not to limit ourselves within a sphere. but we shouldn't be too competitive, especially with our friends. we should help and rely on each other, accept our unique abilities. we may not be able to subscribe to the letter of max ehrmann's desiderata, but we endeavour, to grasp, to be kind and joyful.