The Annunaki and the Creation of Men

Last April, my cousin told me about this theory he stumbled upon. He read about the Annunaki and their role in the creation of men.

I was hooked and intrigued because of its high degree of possibility.  Then I told my brother and my brother responded by explaining to me the theory of relativity. My brother is a "Trekkie" (Star Trek Fanatic). If you are a trekkie, the concept of time travel, genetic modification and aliens are matters of fact and not fiction.

He later made me watch several episodes of COSMOS and I swear I felt a bit smarter right about the 5th episode. By the 9th episode I decided to get the first book of Zecharia Sitchen.

So theory goes like this:

Day 122: My Gua Ma's Legacy

Thank you mama for giving me survival genes!

You give a new meaning to  the phrase "May Pinagmanahan".

I come from a family of "well- endowed" women.  This is my gua ma's legacy, her fantabulous boobies.

And so, today, I went to do my nearly final fitting with my coutourier and he posted my dress and my cleavage on his FB wall.

I saw a comment that cracked me up. It says...

Day 121: Sniff sniff

Boohoo! S gave me the flu! F

Finally after 5 days, my immune system gave in and welcomed the virus into my system.

It also didn't help that I have been feeding the evils with my body with sugar, which is of course their favorite.

Usually I shed off a few lbs. when I have the flu but not this time. I've been craving (hence eating) chips the whole day.

Still on Pause,

L

Day 120: I Hate Chatarungas

If there is one thing I love about being "ON PAUSE", it's the opportunity to do yoga at 9 in the morning.  In the past, 9 am was the time my outlook greets me with sh*tloads of emails. Nowadays, I just greet the sun.

I love yoga but I have this feeling that it really hates me. The hardest part is going into chatarunga  repeatedly.

The correct charunga pose is elbow above wrist. Easy to say, easy to write but it's so hard to do. 

Last week, I felt really crappy because the yogi in one of the hip ashrams repeatedly told me "Elbows above wrist" in a rather frustrated tone.  It's not that I don't understand what it means but without a mirror, I really couldn't see what I was doing wrong.

But since I'm a firm believer that "Weapons are built through fire", I'm sure his strictness was necessary. What I did not achieve in mental zen, I did receive in psychical pain. Which is good because pain the validation that an exercise is effective. 

I'm pretty sure I looked like this most of the time...

Day 119: Am I really ON PAUSE?

When I started this blog, the intent is to put my life ON PAUSE while I prepare for my wedding and my marriage..

In the last 119 days, I have traveled, gone home, made all the necessary arrangements for the wedding, started yoga, fixed our new home, reconnected with old friends and made new friends and more importantly I readied myself for my new role.

We started going to church every Sunday. PRAISE GOD that He touched the heart of S to join me! We joined the BEFORE and AFTER I DO workshop and never missed a SATURDATE in CCF. I also started to read the blog of Joy Tanchi- Mendoza, www.teachwithjoy.com , so that I may learn how to live in and impart grace.

Truth be told, I don't feel my life is at pause at all. In fact, I feel these past few months were busy months for my MAKE OVER.  

And it's hard. It's hard to remove that armor that I have slowly clothed myself with.

I went through that moment of high from my freedom, depression, fear and now I have hit reality with both sadness and enthusiasm. 

Sadness and Enthusiasm= CRAZY.

I find myself that I am still that IRON LADY. S told me I really have a tone that sets him off.  S said, our home can't be my new office and he is not my new team mate. He emphasized that he is my new CEO.

And with that ladies,I can unabashedly say that my future husband has balls and he knows how to put me in my place.

This is really my coaching style. I push and challenge my people and wait for them to tell, "Boss, I have this under control. I'll take care of this."

That's the sweetest line I can ever hear. I believe weapons are built with fire.

Unfortunately in marriage, it's different. Without professionalism as my shield, I can't seem to always ignore my pride. It's hard to put all the things I have learned from church in practice because my pride levels are higher than my patience.  I also have balls and I badly need to be neutered. 

Awareness is a good start though.

I have girls telling me that their current relationships are perfect and they don't need to attend any marriage workshop. Good for them. I acknowledge with humility that I need to be fixed in this aspect.

And with just one month til my wedding, I ask myself...  "Do I now end this blog because I am not on pause anymore?" Infact, it seems that I never hit pause.

In hindsight, I realize that I baptized my blog with the wrong name. The name implies that work is my life and outside work,  I'm in limbo.

hmmm....

Am I Still on Pause?

L

Day 115: He Spends, I Save

If there's one thing I am thankful for is that I have a husband (to-be) who is willing to spend on me.

He is just like my dad. He is very generous in giving me clothes, bags, food and even medicine to the point that I sometimes feel like a charity case.  Minsan tuloy feeling ko para akong taong grasa na pinulot lang sa kalye!

I, on the other hand, am very KURIPOT. Sabi ng nanay ko baka daw effect yan na struggling ang business ni papa nung buntis sya sa akin.  His business wasn't doing too well when my mom was preggers with me.
















It also doesn't help that I worked in marketing in an FMCG company for 10 years. That has made me skeptical about brands.  Do you know that companies selling liquid soaps can earn a minimum of 60% in profit per bottle! Imagine if you buy luxury brands. I read somewhere that LV bags can earn up to 800% in profit!

The problem is when S shows me love by spending on me, he expects that I will show him love in the same way. And so he feels bad when I only buy him generic medicines even if my cousin, who is a pharmacist, explained to him that there is  no difference in formulation and efficacy.

Except for my periods of insanity, I rarely buy expensive items on impulse. When I see something I like, I ask myself the following questions: (I think you should do this too!)

Day 114: How Kitchen 1B Handled Customer Feedback

I've been having brunch at Kitchen 1B almost every week. It's really a nice and cozy place.

Read about my first visit by clicking on this link!

It reminds me of the breakfast places I used to go to when I was still living in Singapore. Since I am a creature of habit, I always order the same thing: Bacon and Eggs + Coffee. 

Today, I noticed that within a month, the price increased by 30% A couple of weeks before that another item also had a price increase. And we are not talking about a few pesos here.

I was shocked! It seems that the prices in this restaurant vary nearly every week!


So, I talked to the waitress and told her that this is very unusual. The owner overheard and approached me.

Day 113: NEW PLATES, NEW LIFE

The dining set for the new couple is provided by the side of the bride. This represents the welcoming of new members into their new family.

I was worried that if I only get two sets, it may signify that I don't want children. And I can't get four because, in Chinese, 4 is bad luck. It sounds similar to death.

So we got 8 sets of bowls and chopsticks, which I'm sure we will only use during birthdays. 

Notice that each bowl and each pair of chopsticks has a sanghee sticker.,,

Ofcourse, since we are like most Filipinos, we actually eat on plates and we use spoons and forks.

My western dining set is only for 6 pax. Most sets are good for 4 people. Since I  didn't want to get 8 sets of the same design,  we just got a classic style for 2.

 S got the gorgeous WMF cutlery from Singapore during the Great Singapore Sale. Super Bargain!

And syempre, may sticker din! Pero S said wag na sticker bawat kutchara at tinidor. OA na raw.

I love my Tiffany blue plates! Pretty noh? Though, I'm still praying for real bone china dining set.

Like this Wedgwood Butterfly Bloom Collection...

Day 112: The Chinese Mother-in-Law

Ahhhh yes....the usual villian in most Chinese dramas, the formidable Chinese Mother-in-Law.

In most Chinese literature, she is usually the cause of the young bride's misery. She throws in nasty criticisms on just about everything from her cooking to her parenting style.

The mother-in-law, popo in mandarin, is usually tough and controlling. Due to traditional family relationships and due to the fact that she is the current matriarch of ther household, she holds higher authority over everyone and of course, over her daughter-in-law.

In most traditional chinese families, the bride moves in with the groom and his family. This is especially true if he is the eldest and/or the only son.

I have heard many horror stories of the  mother-in law (MIL) reprimanding her daughter-in-law(DIL) and meddling with the way she is raising her children. The most common though revolves around her criticism that her DIL, at least based on  her own opinion,  seems incompetent in taking good care of her beloved son. 

My mom is very much familiar with these horror stories. So she told me, "L, I know you are very outspoken, very opinionated and very brave...But please I beg you don't make a rebuttal when certain points of improvements are pointed out to you by your in-laws. Just nod and say, yes. Never disagree openly. Tell your husband so that he may relay it to his family."

I replied..."Ma, I don't understand half of the things they say. So, don't worry. In fact, I do say yes even when the question demands for a different answer. Yes na lang ako ng Yes."

Given the anticipated difficulty, the KE TSENG list includes a pair of shoes and stockings for the mother-in-law. This is very symbolic. This is a sign of respect. This represents a peace offering before war even starts.

This is the traditional style:




This is what I got my future mother-in-law:

Day 111: Surrendering My Isaac

Today, the pastor gave a sermon that moved me to tears.

It has been quite a difficult week for me as I battled with my emotions: excitement, fear, sadness and extreme nostalgia. I had this brilliant idea to do our own "growing up" video for the wedding because I had the story in my mind and the skill to execute it.

Well, it turned out to be a very bad idea.

In fact I nearly fell into depression as I was reminded of my once amazing and busy life.  I've travelled. I've had my own home. I've had freedom. I asked myself, "So, now what? What else do I have to look forward to?"

My friends told me to look forward to building a family with S but my demons told me to not get my hopes up because I may not have kids. Then I reminded myself that I have always just wanted to grow old with S but my demons won't shut up. They asked me, "What if you outlive S?"

Such evil thoughts...

Oh it was just horrible, I tell you!  I'm sure you must think I'm a psycho who can hear demons. Demons make themselves felt through our fears.

It is so hard to give up the FANTASTIC NOW in favor of the UNCERTAIN FUTURE.

(more to this story)