AMoores

Blogging will be a bit slow this week as I’m in Los Angeles to visit my Lola (grandma) who is not doing well in the hospital. Will try to update, but internet access may be intermittent.

I’ll try to twitter instead as much as I have an opportunity to. See the sidebar for updates.

Last night I cooked garlic fried chicken wings, fried tilapia, spaghetti and showpeas with yellow peppers for dinner. I cooked it pretty fast, too. Considering I got home at six, we were ready to eat by 7:30. Right when I called, “dinner’s ready” and everyone was milling around the kitchen getting their plates, the power goes out!

There was still a bit of light outside so we opened the window for light and went searching for flashlights and candles. Usually by the time we get find the flashlights the power switches back on. But not last night. So we got comfortable and settled down for a candle lit dinner. The Clone thought it was a swell idea. Even called it romantic.

Well, it was…. a swell idea.

We ate, fully expecting the lights to back on after dinner. But no, still no light after dinner. So we sat/laid around and just talked. No computers, no TV, no phone, no interruptions. Just us, talking the night away…. in the dark.

That was… romantic.

Saturday was a beautiful day to be out and about and that is just what we did. We got out of the house earlier than we normally do on weekends. We first stopped at my job because they were having a company yard sale and there was a desk chair I wanted to buy for $10.

Anyway, after that, we drove to Cary in search of bento boxes for a food blog challenge I’m supposed to submit an entry for. First we went to Toyo Shokuhin & Gifts. Since their name says ‘gifts’ I thought they would have a bigger selection of Japanese items, but they didn’t. It was just a small corner of the store that they had the usual kitsch items like tea sets, dishes and the like. They had one bento box, but it was way over priced as is much of the items in the store. Most of the items they had, you can get at other Asian markets at a lower price. Jade did buy a couple of packs of cookies at about $2.79 each and they were very good.

So we went to to look for the other Asian market that I haven’t been to yet, Grand Asia Market. Boy, was it grand! It was crowded! But then, it was Saturday morning and the weather was gorgeous so I guess it was to be expected. The aisles were packed and there were long queues at the seafood section, but it had a festive air to the whole place. It could also be that since it was our first time there and it was all new to us, that it seems festive in its novelty. Maybe it will eventually wear off. lol!
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One trend in Philippine society, because of its lagging economy, is for its people to seek employment abroad. The government boasts that its greatest resource is its people. The income generated by OFWs, Overseas Foreign Workers, is said to account for a sizable percentage of the national income. Not only do the worker’s families benefit from the income earned abroad, but the nation’s economy is boosted because of this.

So mothers and fathers leave their children behind in order to give them a better future. My parents were among the millions who have been doing this for generations. My father left to work overseas the very same day that my youngest sister was born. He barely caught a glimpse of her before running off to catch his flight. This is the only way he could have supported a family of three children. His civil servant position did not pay enough to support us. He knew that.

A few years later, his contract over, he returns home to find his youngest child afraid of him. It took her a while to warm up to the father she didn’t recognize, and it broke his heart.
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