Lavender & Coffee Stains

Dear Me,

Ever since I was in high school, I've always loved poetry. It is so amazing how the interplay of words can create such beauty and evoke emotions of great meaning and extent. Because of that, I dare say that I attribute my simple passion of composing light poems to this.

I admire a number of poets and one of them is Emily Dickinson.

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 and lived almost all of her life in her family's houses in Amherst, which has been preserved as the Emily Dickinson Museum. In 1840, Emily was educated at the nearby Amherst Academy, a former boys' school which had opened to female students just two years earlier. She studied English and classical literature, learning Latin and reading the Aeneid over several years and was taught in other subjects including religion, history, mathematics, geology and biology. An American poet, though virtually unknown in her lifetime, Dickinson has come to be regarded, along with Walt Whitman, as one of the two quintessential American poets of the 19th century.

Anyway, here are some beautiful lines (can be considered as quotations, too) from Emily Dickinson's countless poems.


graphic courtesy of Lisa

Thirteen Favorite Lines from Emily Dickinson

1. A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.
   
   
2. Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes.
   
   
3. Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.
   
   
4. Forever is composed of nows.
   
   
5. Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all.
   
   
6. How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!
   
   
7. I do not like the man who squanders life for fame; give me the man who living makes a name.
   
   
8. If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.
   
   
9. If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry.
   
   
10. Luck is not chance, it is toil. Fortune is expensive smile is earned.
    
    
11. Old age comes on suddenly, and not gradually as is thought.
    
    
12. Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed.
    
    
13. Truth is so rare that it is delightful to tell it.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Erin The Innocent
2. Emmyrose
3. Rae
4. The Rock Chick
5. damozel
6. Denise


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It's easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Dear Me,

Here's another monthly update on my own

My last update was May 2007. With more time in my hands, I surely get a lot of reading done. =)




June 2007
. Deep Six by Clive Cussler
. White Death by Clive Cussler

March-May 2007
. Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler
. Lost City by Clive Cussler
. Nights In Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
. Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler
. YoungBlood 2.0 (Philippine Publication by Inquirer.net
. YoungBlood (Philippine Publication by Inquirer.net
. The Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum

February 2007
. When We Were Gods: A Novel Of Cleopatra by Colin Falconer
. Precipice by Colin Forbes

January 2007
. The Not-So-Perfect Man by Valerie Frankel
. Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler

. Books In 2006



. Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella
. Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy
. The Godfather by Mario Puzo


Book Synopsis

Deep Six by Clive Cussler
A deadly tide of poison flows into ocean waters. A ghost ship drifts across the empty northern Pacific. A luxury Soviet liner blazes into a funeral pyre. The Presidential yacht cruises the Potomac night -- and the President disappears without a trace. Dirk Pitt takes on a sinister Asian shipping empire in an intercontinental duel of nerves. In his most dangerous, fast-paced adventure, he fights to save the U.S. government and to seize one desperate moment of revenge!

White Death by Clive Cussler
A confrontation between a radical environmentalist group and a Danish cruiser has forced Austin and colleague Joe Zavala to come to the rescue of a shipful of trapped men, but when the two of them investigate further, they discover that something far more sinister is at work. A shadowy multinational corporation is attempting to wrest control of the very seas themselves-no matter what havoc results, and is killing anyone who attempts to stop them. When Austin's boat blows up and he only barely survives, it seems certain he was supposed to be the next in line to die, but he cannot stop now.

Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler
Dirk Pitt's NUMA survey ship happens to be in the vicinity when the world's newest and biggest cruise ship founders and sinks, giving Pitt the chance to stage the daring rescue of nearly 2,000 passengers. Among those who perish is a famous scientist whose revolutionary engines powered the ship to her watery grave; while Pitt is unable to save Dr. Egan, he rescues his beautiful daughter Kelly from the sea, and later from a murder attempt aboard the rescue vessel. Pitt and his trusty pal Al Giordino track the sinking to the boardroom door of a multinational conglomerate called Cerberus, whose evil CEO has designs on the world's oil supply. He'll do anything to keep Egan's advanced engines and secret formula for frictionless oil off the market -- even sabotage another vessel, this time a luxury passenger submarine.

Lost City by Clive Cussler
Kurt Austin, leader of the National Underwater and Marine Agency's Special Assignments Team, battles international evildoers again in the fifth installment of this excellent series. There are several parallel plots: a mysterious aviator has been found frozen in a massive glacier; a mutant seaweed is threatening to choke the world's oceans; a giant submarine is roaming the thermal vents of the deep sea area known as the Lost City; and the secretive, arms-dealing Fauchard family, run by ruthless black-widow Racine and her homicidal son, Emil, is up to no good. Also there's a mysterious 16th-century helmet, a search for the philosopher's stone and an island of filthy, mutant cannibals. Austin's love interest is lush, sensual Skye Labelle, an archeologist specializing in arms and armor. Austin and his band of merry men fight to stop the Fauchards from reaching the ultimate evildoer's goal: world domination.

Nights In Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
The story of two middle-aged people who meet by chance in the small North Carolina coastal town of Rodanthe. Once again, a housewife who has focused on everyone but herself indulges in a brief, intense, secret affair with a stranger who changes her life forever. As the story begins, Adrienne Willis is 60, the divorced mother of three grown children. To help her troubled daughter cope with the untimely recent death of her husband, Adrienne tells her the tale of her love affair, which took place 15 years before. At the time, Adrienne was an uptight matron whose ex-husband had just left her for a younger woman. This rejection colors her entire life, and Sparks realistically portrays a vulnerable and isolated woman who throws herself into raising her children to escape her despair. Paul Flanner, her paramour, is a surgeon and an obsessive workaholic with no genuine connection to his wife or son, whose world completely falls apart when one of his patients inexplicably dies.

Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler
When mysterious black obsidian skulls and other artifacts of an exceedingly ancient culture begin to turn up in odd places, Dirk Pitt jumps in with both feet. It soon becomes dangerously apparent that a powerful, amoral group of fanatics calling itself the Fourth Empire wants the strange discoveries to remain underground. Pitt teams up with a beautiful red-haired expert in ancient languages to decipher the meaning of the artifacts. They were made 10 millennia ago in a then-temperate Antarctica by a seafaring civilization advanced enough to predict its own destruction by a comet impact. Now the Fourth Empire (whose literal and figurative progenitor comes as no surprise) is predicting a similar disaster in only a matter of months, and preparing to take control of the earth.

The Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum
Paul Janson, a former covert operative turned private security executive who's stranded, abandoned, and marked for murder by his old colleagues when he manages to survive an unsurvivable mission. Rescuing renowned philanthropist and statesman-without-portfolio Peter Novak from the clutches of the terrorist who murdered his wife and unborn child, Paul Janson watches, unbelieving, as the plane carrying Novak back to freedom explodes before his eyes. Soon after the first post-mission attempt on his life, Janson begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

When We Were Gods: A Novel Of Cleopatra by Colin Falconer
Fifty-one years before the birth of Jesus Christ, in the fertile Nile valley, 18-year-old Cleopatra ascends to the throne of Egypt upon the death of her father, Ptolemy XII. Inheriting a palace that more closely resembles a snake pit than a home, crowded with family and advisers, Cleopatra must come to terms with the heavy burden of royalty and its inevitable loneliness. Her only trusted friend is Mardian, the giant eunuch who has been her tutor since childhood. From an Egypt desperately attempting to retain its hold on ancient religions and traditions in a rapidly changing world, to the hypocritical halls of the Roman Republic, the young queen weaves her web of seduction, ensnaring not only the cold, driven Julius Caesar but also a playful Marcus Antonius. Falconer's Cleopatra is vulnerable, intelligent and liberated, defined by her wit as much as by her beauty.

Precipice by Colin Forbes
Tweed, Paula Grey and Bob Newman stalk their most dangerous enemy yet. Leopold Brazil, dominant figure in the West, has a secret plan 'to change the balance of world power'. Philip Cardon and Eve Warner see the grim murders of General Sterndale and his son in Dorset. Eve is a strange personality, tearing at the emotions of Philip, still grief-stricken by his wife's death. Two more murders occur as Brazil visits his Dorset Mansion. And Tweed hears of a new deadly assassin, The Motorman.

The action sweeps to Geneva where Paula fights for her life. Tweed and his team fly to Zurich. There is war on the streets. Tweed struggles to uncover the secret of Brazil's global plan, to locate twenty key scientists - in communications and the information superhighway - who have disappeared. The Motorman strikes again.

The Not-So-Perfect Man by Valerie Frankel
Frieda Schast lost her husband, Gregg, to cancer over a year ago and hasn't been interested in dating -- until a sexy actor named Sam Hill walks into her life. Suddenly, she's swept up in a passionate liaison and loving every minute of it. She faces the disapproval of her older sister, Irene, a writer for a business magazine who would like to set Frieda up with her colleague David. Irene is frustrated with her husband, Peter, who needs to lose a good 40 pounds. Frieda's younger sister, Betty, is grappling with her own romantic problems; she's always been overweight and defensive, but when a sexy guy at work breaks through her barriers, she finds herself unexpectedly falling in love. Frieda is so caught up in romantic bliss that she barely notices her sisters' problems until Sam leaves town for an acting job and Frieda begins to wonder if she's fooling herself about their relationship after all.

Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler
Eric the Red's A.D. 1000 discovery of a radioactive meteorite has present-day life-or-death ramifications. Aboard the Oregon, a state-of-the-art warship disguised as a rusty tramp steamer and manned by some of the world's finest ex-military and intelligence operatives, the men and women of the Oregon - "mercenaries with a conscience" - known collectively as the Corporation, offer their services to various countries and individuals with specialized security and military needs. The Corporation's chairman, Juan Cabrillo, has several pressing concerns: supply security for the emir of Qatar, who is attending a conference in Iceland; track down a nuclear bomb that has gone astray and pick up the aforementioned meteorite, which has just been found ensconced in a mysterious shrine. These jobs become dangerously complicated when industrialist Halifax Hickman, a man fueled by revenge and hatred, enters the picture. The meteorite, the atomic bomb and a vial of plague are to be used in attacks on holy sites - Israel's Dome of the Rock and Saudi Arabia's al-Haram mosque - and at an Elton John concert. It's a deadly game, but the brilliant Cabrillo is a master player, moving his pieces at lightning speed on several boards until he outmaneuvers his opposition in this action-packed page-turner.

Dear Me,

Finding Clive Cussler among the high shelves of a local bookstore a long time ago was pure accident. I was on the look-out for new books + authors to read since it was a very "welcoming" payday for me. I had been doing overtime at work and the effort showed in my paycheck. Books being one of my vices, surely gave me outright pleasure to splurge.

I got ahold of one of his books, Vixen 03. It tells about the tale and adventure of Dirk Pitt, special projects director of National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA), as he discovers the ruins of Vixen 03.

Vixen 03 is down. The plane, bound for the Pacific carrying thirty-six Doomsday bombs -- canisters armed with quick-death germs of unbelievable potency -- vanishes. Vixen has in fact crashed into an ice-covered lake in Colorado. 1988. Dirk Pitt, who heroically raised the Titanic, discovers the wreckage of Vixen 03. But two deadly canisters are missing. They're in the hands of a terrorist group. Their lethal mission: to sail a battleship seventy-five miles up the Potomac and blast Washington, DC. to kingdom come. Only Dirk can stop them.

Dirk Pitt is such an unusually interesting character of the author Clive Cussler. He is a marine engineer, government agent and adventurer who seems like to have been blessed by the gods - in looks, brains, style and ability. It is no wonder why women drool over him. (Hehehe. Chickboy but a true gentleman at heart!)

I think I will classify Clive Cussler's adventure books into three (3):

1. the Dirk Pitt adventure novels
   
2. the NUMA Files adventure novels
   
3. the Oregon Files

Actually, Cussler also has other books that are categorized as either fiction, non-fiction and even children's books. I am more excited reading the adventures so I guess I am into those three as mentioned above.

In each category of the adventure novels, Cussler created three (3) fictional action heroes. In the Dirk Pitt adventure, it's Dirk Pitt; in the NUMA Files, it's Kurt Austin; in the Oregon Files, it's Juan Cabrillo.

Ranking them according to my interest, Dirk Pitt is my #1 pick and followed by Oregon Files' Juan Cabrillo. NUMA Files' Kurt Austin is my least favorite of the 3 but I still read it. =) Reasons: Dirk Pitt & Oregon Files are fast-paced adventures from the preface till the end while NUMA Files starts with agonizingly slow rhythm and picks its pace after a few pages.

Here is my hitlist:

Dirk Pitt adventure novels

• The Mediterranean Caper (1973)
  
• Iceberg (1975)
  
• Raise the Titanic! (1976)
  
• Vixen 03 (1978)
  
• Night Probe! (1981)
  
• Pacific Vortex! (1983)
  
• Deep Six (1984)
  
• Cyclops (1986)
  
• Treasure (1988)
  
• Dragon (1990)
  
• Sahara (1992)
  
• Inca Gold (1994)
  
• Shock Wave (1996)
  
• Flood Tide (1997)
  
• Atlantis Found (1999)
  
• Valhalla Rising (2001)
  
• Trojan Odyssey (2003)
  
• Black Wind (2004)
  
• Treasure of Khan (2006)

Oregon Files

• Golden Buddha (2003)
  
• Sacred Stone (2004)
  
• Dark Watch (2005)
  
• Skeleton Coast (2006)

NUMA Files adventure novels (co-authored with Paul Kemprecos)

• Serpent (1999)
  
• Blue Gold (2000)
  
• Fire Ice (2002)
  
• White Death (2003)
  
• Lost City (2004)
  
• Polar Shift (2005)
  
• The Navigator (2007)

I have already read the books that are struck off the in the list above. I still have more to go. =)

To papi, thanks for buying these two (2) for me. =)


For those who love reading adventure tales whether you are in your favorite nook in the house, under the breezy shade of a tree in a beach, in a quiet corner in a coffee shop, I dare suggest you check out these books by Cussler. I promise you won't regret it. *winks*

More on Clive Cussler here and here.

Dear Me,

Lately, I have been sleeping solo in my bed at night. Hubby had to take an overnight work in a "prestigious" client's company. Hmp.

Sometimes, I feel so bad about it but what can I do? He is the only one earning our keep at the moment and with our baby on the way, I have to think and feel otherwise. Being home alone 24 hours a day and pregnant at that, I sometimes feel neglected and jealous. Hahaha. But of course, I have to think with maturity. I have to be understanding.

Being pregnant gives me the excuse to be sensitive but it doesn't mean that I have the right to accuse my hubby of being with someone else. Hehehe. =) I know he is not doing that thing. It's just my jealous hormones working overtime. I know he loves me and always makes me feel that he does.


Anyway, these two (2) cute, soft, huggable stuff have been keeping me at peace at night. Hugging Fishy & Dexter gives me the solace to slumber alone in our bed with a happy smile in my face.

Dear Me,

I'm participating again here at Thursday 13. Since I am pregnant, allow me to share these pregnancy myths with other pregnant moms out there.

According to a certain Dr. Eddleman, "during pregnancy, the best strategy is to take advice from friends with a grain of salt, but when it comes to the advice from your doctor you should really listen up."


Thirteen Myths About Pregnancy

1. If you don't drink a lot of water, the baby will be dirty.
   
   
2. It's not good to eat pineapple when you're pregnant because the baby will have scabies once born.
   
   
3. If a pregnant woman raises her hands above her head, she'll choke her baby.
   
   
4. A baby born with light brown birthmarks (known as cafe au lait spots), the mother drank too much coffee or had unfulfilled cravings during her pregnancy.
   
   
5. Making mad, passionate love will induce labor.
   
   
6. Those who deny a pregnant woman the food she craves will get a sty in their eye.
   
   
7. If your baby's heart is low, you're carrying a boy. If it's high, it's a girl.
   
   
8. A woman who carries wide, is having a girl. A woman who carried forward, is having a boy.
   
   
9. If a pregnant woman has frequent heartburn, her baby will have a full head of hair.
   
   
10. If a pregnant woman sees something ugly or horrible, her baby will be ugly.
    
    
11. Taking baths is not good because germs could get into your vagina and be passed to the baby.
    
    
12. If a pregnant woman's face breaks out, she is carrying a girl who will steal all of her mother's beauty.
    
    
13. Eating the left-over food of a pregnant woman will make you sleepy

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. amy
2. sasha
3. Qtpies7
4. Linda
5. I Was Born2Cree8
6. Prudence

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It's easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Dear Me,

A meme from Joan. Feeling kinda lazy these days. Hmm.

1. Foods you hate: In general? Those with pickles and big, uncooked onions.
   
   
2. Fruits that you hate: Nothing in particular. In fact, I love eating them. =)
   
   
3. Veggies that you hate: Hate is such a strong word. Well, I dislike radish.
   
   
4. Celebrities or people that you hate: Lolit Solis (celebrity ba sya??), Ruffa Gutierrez (I'd rather have her big mouth shut), Paris Hilton (typical stereotype of an heiress)
   
   
5. Events/incidents/situations you hate: showbiz brouhaha especially couples washing their filthy and smelly linens in public - so cheap, nonsense bickerings from our dishonorable politicians
   
   
6. TV shows or movies that you hate: anything local showbiz...
   
   
7. Type of music that you hate: hard rock
   
   
8. Household chores that you hate: nothing in particular...
   
   
9. Things you hate about the world: justice not served, inequality
   
   
10. Things that you hate about yourself: I'm kinda extreme. I have bad traits/attitude that sometimes become an asset and vice versa. But one thing I can definitely point out is that I hate myself when I cannot take back the painful words I have uttered. There's nothing I can do to soften the blow. *sigh*

I'm not tagging anyone but feel free to tag yourself. Hehehe.

Dear Me,

I really find it amazing how Filipino gays can be so creative, especially in making their own lingua. You'll never know how they make this up. And you'll also find how funny they sound. =)

CHORVAH has its etymology from the Greek word cheorvamus, meaning "for lack of the right word to say," or "in place of anything you want to express but cannot verbalize." Ibig sabihin pala, siya ay parang "aloha" sa wikang Hawaiiano, which can mean many, many things.

"Chorvah" can be used as:

Noun: "ano" / "kwan" / "or something"

"Ate Glow, kelan yung birthday chorvah ni Big Mike?"
"Hoy, Vicky to, whatcha gonna wear ba? The sporty or the chinese chorvah mo?"

Adjective: used if you want to be polite.

"Ang chorvah naman niyan!"
(So, ano ba? Pangit ba o maganda? Baduy ba or ang arte?)
They will never know what you really mean. How polite!

Verb: can replace any verb

"Chorvah lang ng chorvah!"

Chorvah is such an amazing word, it lets you choose your own adventure. At least you will never be accused of putting words in somebody else's mouth. If you don't have anything to say, or you can't find the right word to say, or you want to say something but you don't know how to say it, just say CHORVAH!

Variations: Chuvah, Chenes, Chenelyn

Hehehe! *winks*

Dear Me,

I am having such an enormous craving for sweets at my current state. I always get this warning from my hubby and mother and even the doctor that too much sweet will affect my delivery.

My 2nd OB said that I am small and it seems like the baby is getting bigger in my womb.

My 1st OB prescribed Anmum Materna for my daily milk intake. I chose the milk flavor because during the first few months of my pregnancy, I had this unexplainable dislike for chocolates (to think that I love them when I was single). The chocolates made me vomit.

Later on, papi suggested why not try the Anmum choco flavor? If I don't like it, then it's ok. Well, I did. Sure thing, I love the taste. It is sweet and I don't have to throw up or anything.

My 2nd OB changed my milk prescription late last month. She said that it wasn't good that I was enjoying my choco-milk too much. I still have a few months to go before my due and the baby is growing fast inside me. She kept on emphasizing that I am a small woman with a baby like that. Hmp.

She said I had to shift to a low-fat or non-fat milk. Right now, I am gulping a glass of Anchor every morning. It doesn't taste as good and yummy as Anmum. *sigh*

Anyway, I can't help it. The sweets are totally irresistible. Ice cream, Chips Delight, chocolates. Hehehe. I try to treat myself with it in moderation. Sometimes, I reach the goal but sometimes, I fail. Temptation. =)

For substitution, I am looking forward to making this one this coming weekend. I still have to go to the supermarket to purchase the ingredients. Why don't you try making this one for your family and friends? Tell me how does it taste and I'll tell you mine as well. =)

Mocha Magnifico

Ingredients:
2 250 ml Nestle All-Purpose cream
1/2 cup Carnation condensed milk
1 tbsp Nescafe Classic dissolved in
1 tbsp hot water
14 pcs graham crackers
10 pcs choco wafer sticks, crushed

Directions:
1. Mix together the cream, condensed milk and the dissolved Nescafe Classic.

2. Layer graham crackers on a square glass or aluminum container.

3. Spread about 1/2 cup of the coffee-cream mixture on top of the graham crackers and sprinkle with crushed choco wafer sticks.

4. Sandwich the filling with another layer of graham crackers and finish with the remaining cream mixture.

5. Chill before serving.

It will only take 15 minutes to prepare. Recommended chilling time is 4 hours. Makes 8-20 servings.

The procedure is just like making the Mango Float in my last entry. It sounds so yummy and sweet but I guess there will be a problem for me. The coffee part. Sheesh. I am not allowed to have a taste of it since it is bad for the baby. Hmm. Maybe I can sneak just a couple of bites? Hehehe. Temptation.