Two of my favorite place in a house are the Bedroom and Kitchen. These two places are where human senses and appetites are either indulged and or ensconced. Of the two, I find the Kitchen a most interesting place.
I am not an expert cook, I only know to cook a few recipes which were handed to me by my mom and dad. But when you get a good kitchen with complete appliances, I would like to imagine myself as Ming Tsai or some expert chef when cooking. A nice and complete kitchen enduces me to cook, or should I say inspires me to experiment on some new recipes.
When I was studying in Amsterdam, I was really fascinated by the kitchen and mess hall we have in our school. Adjacent to the kitchen is one big chamber for the storage of cooking supplies and other stock, and inside one can find wall freezers for frozen products. The kitchen got big ranges and ovens and also big dishwashers that can wash and clean up dishes and utensils used by a big party. The main mess hall has three rows of long tables a bit similar to that of the Hogwarts school’s mess hall. Our dormitory’s kitchen and mess hall was made to accommodate a hundred or more users.
With our school’s excellent kitchen, cooking became one of my favorite diversion while studying. I cooked dinner for my classmates of different nationalities, with Filipino cuisine like adobo, paksiw, etc., which they all liked. My European classmates just wouldn’t like to have the fish heads included in the dish. The only problem with volunteering to cook once, is that it eventually becomes your perpetual task.
Many years ago when we do field work in the Human Rights NGO that I worked with, we bring with us bulky SLR cameras and rolls and rolls of films. Field work documentation was a most taxing job then. We were so encumbered, because aside from our personal luggages, we are obliged to bring extra bags just for the cameras and films. Also, we could not preview and edit our shots while on field. The nearest dark room is miles away from where we were. In effect, we have to wait for a week or two before we can even take a peek at our shots. Digital cameras were still non-existent during that time.
Now, one can just bring a laptop and the best compact digital camera anywhere and to any field work. Although I still believe in the reliability of the old SLRs, but compact digital cameras can do the job with the same effeciency and effect and with the minimal time spent. Digital cameras make life easier and the results faster. Although I use only an ordinary Kodak digital camera, but it still serves its worth and purpose. It is my ever faithful companion and my best travel digital camera so far.
Before, photography is a cumbersome hobby, not to mention it being an expensive one. You need to have a dark room of your own, rolls and rolls and film and a lot of patience for waiting. That is why, other than those who do it for a living, only few decided to become shutterbugs as a matter of hobby. Now with the introduction of the digital era, almost everybody suddenly becomes photography enthusiasts. Some even consider themselves already photography experts overnight. So, before you jump into the Lomo fad, grab your best digital camera and practice shooting from the hip. Learn how to shoot first without thinking or composing anything - just shoot it.
My late Dad kept a collection of memorabilia, from old photos, his World War II campaign medals to his ID Cards. He had a cabinet full of potpourris of this kind. When he died, his collections were distributed to those interested among us his sons. Being the first Mason among my siblings, it had become my obligation to keep all of my Dad’s Masonic stuff. Among other things, I also inherited from my Dad his penchant of collecting sundries for keepsakes.
As a kid, I started collecting a wide array of stuff, from photos, coins to toys, my school ID cards and even some of my notebooks. In high school, I had kept a considerable collection of soccer-football posters, posters of my favorite folk-rock group, and etc…Some of it I still have, but a lot had been misplaced or left somewhere else.
Recently, I started to collect covers of movies in DVD.In addition to my Dad’s collection, I am now starting to gather my own collection of various Masonic stuff .I plan to reconstruct my old collections again and hope that I can complete or find replacements of those which were already lost. Its time to take a trip down the thrift and antique shops or just click on the mouse to stroll the internet for other sources. Shopwiki for one, offers a lot of store for Collectibles and Memorabilia.
In the movie Love Actually, the Prime Minister (played by Hugh Grant), in a press conference, said in part:
“…Britain. We may be a small country but we’re a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham’s right foot. David Beckham’s left foot, come to that.”
He must have a good basis for his claim about Becks:
Matapos ang isang buwang pagpupuyat, natapos din ang World Cup. Nagwagi ang Italya sa kanilang ika-apat na titulo bilang World Cup Champion.
I rooted for the Italians in their final match against France, but altogether I was not impressed how the matches were played during this World Cup. Except for some teams like Ghana and other underrated teams who really played with their hearts, most teams played a very defensive type of football. It seemed like most of the powerhouse teams have prepared themselves in playing defensive tactics than in scoring goals. So everybody ends up waiting and praying for the final whistle to blow in order for their team to settle scores in a penalty shoot-out. And a lot of matches during this World Cup were concluded in penalty shoot-outs including the final match, the second time where the World Cup title is decided by a penalty shoot-out. A penalty shoot-out is like a lottery, the team who wins it simply has more luck than the other.
The excitement and thrill of attacking football where scores are settled in full regulation time is what I missed in this World Cup. The only attacks I saw were attacks that gained nothing but flashing red and yellow cards. The great Zidane ended his brilliant football career this way, he retired with a flying color - red. World Cup 2006 will go down in history as having the most issued red and yellow cards.
I hope to see more exciting football four years hence in South Africa. By that time, I hope and pray that African and Asian teams will finally make it to the finals.
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