well heeled

I love shoes. However I have not been blessed with petite and streamlined feet. Mine are solid and well sized enough (read: big) to keep me well grounded and stable in this harsh Canadian winter. I wear sensible shoes since I am on my feet constantly at work. It just amazes me though that I see other staff wearing heels. Imagine 3 inch chunky heels and stilettos even! My hat's off to them. I may be even secretly envious...just a tad bit. It takes a lot of attitude and leg power to pull it off.

For my in-law's ruby anniversary, I wore 3 inch heels. Sling back, open toe and golden hue, it was an instant attraction. I don't know what I was thinking. Obviously I was not. On the big day, the heels were on by mid-day. I appraised my look in the mirror and I was happy to be wearing sassy shoes. My whole family (hubby and three kids) were in the entourage. What I did not count on was Nikki, who was 10 months old, would insist that I carry her everywhere. It was a buzz of activity during the reception that followed. By the end of the day at 1 o'clock in the morning, my legs were jelly and my poor feet! I delicately extricated them from the golden captors. Aaaahhhhh. I sinuously moved every muscle and tendon, soothingly rubbing away the ache. Even more aaaaahhhhhs. Jun called over that we were all heading out to the car. Dang. No way I am putting on heels again. Besides, my feet have now re-expanded to its natural form. Hehe. Fancy free, I hooked my fingers through the slings and flung them over my shoulder. Walking barefoot never felt better.

Tobi

It was difficult to get over jetlag. I had arrived in the evening of January 30 and was back to work bright and early on February 1st. My body was in the throes of temporal confusion. My eyelids would be drooping at lunch time. I stifled yawn after yawn after yawn. Still can't figure how I managed to be lucid in the better part of the day. Once I got home, I would be flat out in less than 5 minutes. The dang part of it was I would wake up again at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. No matter how I tried to go back to sleep, I couldn't. I sat mindlessly in front of the television, flipping through channels. I realized that in that ungodly hour, majority of the programs were infomercials. And for one with nothing better to do and to choose from, it was easy enough to get mesmerized with the new "breakthroughs" flaunted. Over and over, it was like hypnosis. I was getting lured. More than once, I told myself to snap out of it. One item though that caught my eye was the Tobi steamer. I hate ironing. As I don't have anybody else to do it for me, I iron on a "as needed" basis. The Tobi is touted to be the ultimate wrinkle remover without the back breaking and time consuming work. A quick but real fix. To me it symbolizes my freedom from the necessary chore that I have no love lost for. I think I just may cave in and get one. But what if it turned out to be a dud? Check the Tobi out (www.thane.ca). Could this really be the genuine easy way out? Help!

Toronto winter work out

I got off work early today. It is Ash wednesday and I meant to get to the 530pm service at St. Mike's. As I made my way towards the hospital's doors, I realized that it was snowing. Heavily this time though. The outside was a white haze. With each step I took outside, I felt my booted feet sink in to the freshly fallen snow. Deep. Deeper. What a work out. Despite the cold, I felt myself getting warm underneath my layers. The howling wind sounded sinister and its strong gusts nearly toppled me over one time too many. As I focused on taking each step, I felt ice pelting my face and it built up on my lenses making visibility close to nil. I was plodding on in zigzags like an aimless wanderer. I heard the church bells ring out. I am near.

A man who had gone in the church before me held the door open. Aaaahhh. Sanctuary. Sanctuary for my aching muscles and bones. Sanctuary for my soul. Thank you Lord!

candy bars and milkshakes

As I was up early, I decided to attend the 8am mass at St. Michael's Cathedral. I tried to rouse my room mate from her slumber for company but no such luck. According to the weather report it was -1C outside. Not too bad. After the customary layering and lacing up of snowboots, I am off. I never really liked snow. And when I did get outside, there was snowfall. It was pretty, I must admit. It was fresh still. None of the slush and mush but just the pristine white cover of the ground that would make the perfect christmas card picture. With the mild wind, I felt the snowflakes on my face. I turned my chin up towards the sky and singing quietly to myself.

"If all the snowflakes were candy bars and milkshakes, O what a snow that'll be.

Standing outside with my mouth opened wide. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah , ah, ah, ah."

Arghhh..minor brain freeze! Wonder if Barney ever thought of that.

I am back

It is 4 in the morning and I have been up for about an hour now. My body clock has yet to adapt. I got up in the semi-darkness. Living right in the heart of the city, the illumination of the bright lights of the buildings around us never makes for pitch black where I am. At the foot of my bed, I can clearly see the outline of my two pieces of luggage. I have not unpacked. I told myself that I would do it on Saturday and along with doing that, re-arrange and re-sort my stuff. But Saturday has come and gone, my bags are still asking for relief of their contents. Secretly, I am deluding myself into thinking that my bags are there ready for me to go back home again....for good this time. Wishful thinking.

I unlocked and unzipped my trusty green samsonite. With a smile, I am amazed at just how little amount of clothes I actually did pack compared to the foodstuffs that were given to me as "pabaon". I collect the 6 boxes of pastillas that my parents sent me as "pahabol" along with "polvoron". Also out came the 10 cans of Ligo sardines in chili sauce which I always crave for. Hey, to get it at PhP 15.00 per can compared to almost $2.00 CAD each, this is indeed a treasure. Hmmm..it seems somebody has stuck in a box of tikoy as well. Wow. Kung hei fat choi. From my red hardside Heys maleta, I collected 5 rolls of cacao tablea. I have always been a big "tsokolate" fan. I only will now have to get "malagkit" to enjoy a nice bowl of "champorado". And yey, my packs and packs of Lucky Me Beef Mami and Pancit Canton. These noodles are such lifesavers. But most prized of all are the different seasonings I brought back. Nilaga, sinigang sa sampalok at sa gabi, paksiw, ginisa, kare kare, afritada, menudo, tocino and tapa marinade. Mental note: I guess this means I have to pay a visit to Chinatown then.

Alright. Almost everything is out now. I am here in Toronto. Sitting on the floor in my bedroom. Surrounded by all the "padala" and "pabaon."

Reality bites. Ouch.