Archive for the ‘Celebrations’ Category

Eat Pancit

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Note: I just had pancit for my nth birthday today. So I decided to write about it.

It has been a family tradition to have Pancit in every celebration – from birthdays to Halloween parties. Mind you, there are varieties of Pancit out there to choose from – bihon, canton, sotanghon, malabon, and recently the cup variety. Pancit in Hokkien is “pian i sit” which means “something conveniently cooked fast”. In the past, it would take us at least an hour to prepare the dish. But the advent of instant noodles changed the way we look at it. The dish lived up to its reputation as something easy to prepare. In fact, it’s just one cup of hot water away.

Every Filipino family honor this culinary practice since the time the noodles reached our shores from China in the 19th century. Yes, this particular dish is Chinese in origin introduced to us by these enterprising people, among other things like tikoy, firecrackers, abacus and probably an mmf drawer. To give it a marketing edge, they added a special meaning to it – long noodles symbolize long life. Who would refuse that? Cut the noodles short then you change its meaning. Have none, you run against fate. But these days, it took a different meaning. Eat more of it then you gain weight, plus interest. We have become a carbo-conscious generation.

But no matter how you look like it, this is not your ordinary Pancit. It’s versatile. Eat it with bread and rice. Fry it or boil it. Take them raw too. Put chicken, meat or seafood. Or just plain water. It’s filling and appetizing, not to mention cheaper at P5. If rice is a staple in this country, this one probably lands second.

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2010 Philippine Holidays

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

In tradition of GMA’s holiday economics, which I believed was her sole contribution that made everyone happy, I’m posting here the list of Philippine holidays for 2010. I’ve actually decided to have it here so I can look back to it from time to time. By the way, this is my first post after I got my laptop back yesterday. The screen has been replaced. I wish there was a way to connect this unit to my Samsung monitor.

Regular Holidays

  • New Year’s Day
  • January 1
  • Maundy Thursday
  • April 1
  • Good Friday
  • April 2
  • Araw ng Kagitingan
  • April 9 (Friday)
  • Labor Day
  • May 1
  • Independence Day
  • June 14 (Monday nearest June 12)
  • National Heroes Day
  • August 30 (Last Monday of August)
  • Bonifacio Day
  • November 29 (Monday nearest November 30)
  • Christmas Day
  • December 25 (Saturday)
  • Rizal Day
  • December 27 (Monday nearest December 30)
  • Special (Non-Working) Days

  • Ninoy Aquino Day
  • August 23 (Monday nearest August 21)
  • All Saints Day
  • November 1 (Monday)
  • Additional Special (Non-Working) Day

  • December 24 (Friday)
  • Last Day of the Year
  • December 31 (Friday)
  • Special Holiday (for all schools)

  • EDSA Revolution Anniversary, February 22 (Monday nearest February 25)
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    Last day of 2009

    Thursday, December 31st, 2009

    I’m ending the year with this:

    Northern Lights (or Aurora Borealis) on my screen. This is one of the most wonderful artistic creations God has made. If there would be a wish to make, it would be a trip up north Scandinavia, Alaska or the Arctic during winter.

    I’m on my Day 7 of my holiday break. It’s been a wonderful week of full sleep, food, movies, internet-lurking, and short trips to the mall and Tagaytay. It wasn’t that cold the past few days; the noonday sun was acting like a Ladybug steam. We’ll be somewhere in Eastwood tonight for the New Year’s Eve countdown. Year 2009 was full of ups and downs.

    Oops. Phoenix Suns vs Boston Celtics on TV now. Go Nash them!!!

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