National Haircut Week

Serendipity.  That's what it was.

I had been mulling over cutting my hair for a while.   It had grown quite long in the past two years.  However, I told myself that I was not going to cut my hair unless I would be able to donate it.

The last time I cut my hair short, a former officemate was connected with an organization that worked with cancer patients and I was able to donate my hair straight away.   

When MyGirl considered shortening her hair last year, I checked the internet for possible places that would accept hair here in Australia but I wasn't able to find any.

Then on the 18th of November, Sunday, in between my google search for oreo cheesecake and Chicken Joy recipes, I thought about "hair cancer donate" which brought me to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths site.  

I saw a link on the upper right corner of the site which said 

National Haircut Week :  12 November - 18 November 2012

Make a Pledge.    Donate your hair.

Then there was a countdown which indicated "0 days to go."

I returned to my recipe searches but could not concentrate.  My  mind was wandering.  I went back to the Beautiful Lengths site.

No issues with the requirements.  However, I didn't want to just cut my hair because it was the last day of National Haircut Week.  If I was going to cut my hair, I wanted it to at least look decent.  I needed a professional to do it.  This was not going to be a do-it-at-home kind of thing.  I still had to go to work on Monday.

So I checked out the FAQ.   It said that I had until March 2013 for the actual haircut.  (I can't seem to find the FAQ in the site anymore.  I am wondering if I was imagining things.)

I was about to go back to the oreo cheesecake but I said to myself, "Do it.  It's the right thing to do."    

If Z were around, she have said, "Chop it off! Chop it all off!"  Then as if to make me feel better (in case the haircut doesn't look nice),  she would add, "Don't worry.  It's just hair.  It'll grow back."

So I did it.  I hit the MAKE A PLEDGE button and signed up to donate my hair for a good cause on the last day of National Haircut week. 

I told MacGyver about it and GI made an appointment for us since he was also due for a hair cut.  And that is where we went last Monday.

(Had I found the site a week or so earlier, I could have had my hair cut at Sydney [I don't remember now if it was for free] and spared me the trouble of mailing the hair. But it's all right.  Watching GI have his haircut was fun.  This is the first time since we arrived here that I can actually TELL that he's had a haircut ... after his hair cut.  And seeing him so happy after his faux hawk was so worth it.)

I arrived in Australia without a single hair clip since I didn't think I would grow my hair long.   Over the past year, I had bought some hair bands, nice hair clips and accessories, this time not thinking that I would cut it short.  

Alas, since I knew the hair was going soon, I tried to get some last few shots with my long hair and the various ways I tied it up.  

So this is BEFORE ...

... and AFTER.

Puto Time

Oreo Cheesecake

OREO and CHEESECAKE.  Two seemingly harmless words.  

Those two words put together managed to  transform MyGirl from a mild mannered sweetie pie to an excited young lady  that would not take 'no' for an answer.  

"Let's go, Mom.  Can we do it?  NOW?"

Below is the recipe MyGirl and I tried today. Instead of using the recommended 8-inch springform pan, we used five small ones which were about 4 1/2 inches in diameter.  

I had intended to serve the mini-cheesecakes one at a time, dividing each into five so that the dessert portions would not be so large but I was severely out-voted.  RD and MyGirl just claimed one springform pan each and declared those ones as theirs.  

I have to admit that using mini-springform pans has back-fired on me.  I THINK I could have convinced the kids to just take a sliver or a small slice had I used the 8-inch pan.  As it turns out, if they finish off their whole mini-cheesecake, they end up taking 1/5 of the cheesecake (in essentially one go).  Luckily, I still see saucers in the refrigerator with the familiar toothpicks with a masking tape flags literally staking their claim on the unconsumed portions of their respective cheesecakes.

Although I am not a huge cheesecake fan myself, I must say this is one good cheesecake recipe. 

No Bake Oreo Cheesecake

For the base:50 g (or up to 1/4 c) melted butter 1 x 150 g pack Oreo classic cookies, crushed For the filling:1 x 250 g pack Philadelphia Cream Cheese1/2 c sugar2 t  unflavoured gelatine  (or 10g sachet), dissolved in 1/4 c boiling water2 T lemon juice1 c thickened cream, lightly whipped1 x 150 g pack Oreo classic cookies, divided

Combine the melted butter and crushed (blitzed) cookies.Press into lined or lightly oiled 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan.Chill. 

Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.Fold in gelatine mixture, lemon juice and the whipped cream.Pour in half of the mixture onto the prepared crust.Roughly chop about 8 Oreo cookies from the 2nd pack and distribute evenly on filling.Pour in the rest of the filling.(Alternatively, add the chopped cookies all in one go after folding in the whipped cream, then simply pour in all the filling.)Refrigerate about 30 minutes.Crush the remaining cookies and sprinkle over cheesecake.Refrigerate for another 2 hours or until set.

Hot Wheels

MyGirl and I saw this car on the road today.

I was still in the process of unlocking my cellphone to take a photo

while MyGirl had already taken these two shots with the iPod.

Peace Man

Yesterday, as RD and I were going through shops at the mall, I asked that we pass by the bags section to see if they had any nice schoolbags for MyGirl.  I had ended up sewing her old schoolbag a couple of weeks ago since we could not find a suitable schoolbag for her when she complained that her things were falling through the holes on the bottom of her bag.  Since it is almost the end of the schoolyear, the stores do not have these types of things in their shelves at this time.  (We ended up going to farther mall to find school shoes for her last month since the nearby K-Mart and Target didn't have a single pair school shoes for sale.)

Anyway, I spotted this nice bag on display.  I thought it was the type of bag MyGirl would like.  

"This is a nice bag,"  I said as I pull out my phone to take a picture.

"Yeah, if you're a hippie,"  RD teased me.

I refused to be dissuaded and took the picture anyway.

True to form, MyGirl loved it ... (even if she's not a hippie).  We walked to K-Mart today to get it before it disappeared from the racks.

Go Fluoro

GI has decided that he is going to go running.  Naturally the most basic equipment needed would be running shoes, which he did not have.  So yesterday, MacGyver brought GI for some shoe shopping.

When I got home, GI happily reported that he had found running shoes.

MacGyver's sideline feedback to me was that GI's complaint was that the shoes in the store were so flashy (too neon).  So I wondered what colour of shoes GI finally decided to buy.  I checked the Nike box and found a pair of black shoes with white sides on the soles.  Definitely not flashy nor neon.

"Ohhh," I said, "but there are so many nice coloured Nikes in the market."

"One day, I'll surprise you and get some bright coloured shoes," I added.

I got a round of objections over the thought of getting neon coloured shoes.  In my defense, I said that it was possible that if I were running, bright coloured shoes would prevent me from getting hit.  

RD quickly replied that he didn't think my shoe colour would save me from getting hit.  (Party pooper!)

Anyway, I am happy that GI finally got himself a pair of running shoes.  The big question is whether he will be able to sleep earlier so that he can wake up early  and go for a morning run.

Click here to see -->   GI's running plan ...  

Well, since it is almost summer, there are really TONS  of various coloured shoes out there.  I took a couple of shots while RD and I were out at the mall.

I found these ones at Target sooo charming!

These ones are nice and bright.

These ones I would NEVER consider buying/wearing

but they certainly are colourful.

Kiwi Visitor

We had our first Kiwi visitor for dinner.

Well, she's not actually Kiwi but she is from New Zealand.

She is the wife of my first cousin.

She sometimes comes to Sydney for work but we've never gotten together.

Last month, her first day here was the last day of my two-week leave.

So we were able to pick her up and invite her for dinner at home.

She was surprised to see how much the children had grown.

(It was a Monday so GI was at Uni.)

I know the first three pictures are practically the same.

But if you hardly see any pictures of us, 

then you won't mind seeing these 'spot the difference' shots.

I think I should have tickled RD to get him to smile.

MyGirl took this one upon my request.

Reduced Calorie Longganisa

We have discovered the secret to diet longganisa!

The secret is in the meat!  

It's true.

No, you don't have to replace the pork with chicken or turkey (or even TVP),  you can still use pork. 

But the secret is ... use ground pork!

Ground pork, you say?  What difference could that make?  One normally uses ground pork to make longganisa.  How would that ever lead to a reduced calorie version of longganisa?

Well, we discovered that if you have to grind the pork yourself using a manual meat grinder, it  uses quite a bit of muscle power and elbow grease.  Getting half a kilo of ground pork is no joking matter.  If your meat grinder doesn't have sufficient suction on the bottom, the grinding process becomes a two-man job, so two people get their workout. 

(But wait, there's more!) 

If the other person keeps on making wise cracks about the activity, you end up laughing and your abs get additional workout.

This is what we discovered over the weekend when we finally brought out the grinder I had purchased ages ago when I had the bright (read 'cockamamie') idea of making pasta from scratch.  I swear, I had never worked so hard to prepare longganisa before.  Thank goodness MacGyver had the good sense of cutting up the other half of the pork to make to tocino before we started, so we were only working on grinding  half a kilo of pork instead of a whole one.

As I saw how slowly our pile of ground pork was coming along, I could not help but think how much easier it was to go to the butcher and point to the container of minced pork and say, "One kilo, please."  

We have been using this skinless longganisa recipe for some time.

Skinless Longganisa

1 k ground pork

1/2 c brown sugar

2 T rock salt

2 T worcestershire sauce

1/4 c crushed garlic

1 T crushed black pepper

1/4 c native vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl

Form into little balls

Lay balls in plastic squares or wax paper

Roll into finger-like shapes

Refrigerate until ready to use or freeze in tightly covered plastic containers

Pan fry over medium heat.

but have recently shifted to this one.

1 k pork

1 c brown sugar

2 T cornstarch

1 T seasoning  

1 T hot sauce

1 T worcestershire sauce

2 T chopped garlic

2 t gr pepper

1 t salt

 (was hoping to reduce the sugar to 3/4 c but somehow people can tell)

Back to storage for the grinder and there is the proof of the reduced calorie longganisa on the side.

How to Tie a Scarf

Paisley, Paisley

When I was young, I got a paisley scarf from Tie Rack as a gift from someone who had come from London.  Several years later, I got another one and this time it came with a small booklet on how to tie scarves.

In case you didn't know, paisley was not a common design in the home country and neither are scarves.  So the paisley scarves were pretty special but they didn't really get much use.

Whenever I see anything paisley, I think of scarves.   

When I think of paisley scarves, I think of Tie Rack.  

When I think of Tie Rack, I think of London.

I honestly thought only Tie Rack could only be found in London.  So I was surprised to find Tie Rack here in Australia.  There certainly weren't any branches of Tie Rack back in the Philippines.  And with the weather there, people hardly wore scarves.  

Yesterday, when I went to the semi-annual Wesley (a uniting church) garage sale, I chanced upon a basket of scarves.  I picked up a violet one thinking that maybe MyGirl would like it.  (I',m not particularly partial to violet, you see.)  However, when I got home and showed it to MyGirl, I got a lukewarm reception.  

MacGyver quickly gave his two cents worth.

He  said, "Do you know who I think would appreciate that?  GI."

What a brilliant idea!  It WAS something that GI would like.

True enough, when I showed it to GI when he woke up, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.   

This scarf now belongs to him.

Here is GI wearing a genuine Tie Rack scarf.

 I got this for him last year (when the scarves went on sale.)

This is his current FB wall photo.

Rocking Horse

Yesterday, I saw two rocking horses.  I liked one more than the other though.

This is a big rocking horse I saw in the bookstore inside the mall.

This is the small rocking horse I saw in the garage sale.

Am sure you can guess which one I like better.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Saw this in the mall today as I was walking around ...

The Big Bag Theory

In one of my early Saturday morning chats with Mother, we talked about bags.  I don't recall how we ended up talking about that.  She told me that when she runs seminars (on Food Safety and the like), she prefers to sling her bag across her body (if the strap is on the left shoulder, the bag will be on her right side) because she is afraid she might walk out of the place without her bag and lose all her stuff.  She added that her participants once asked her what she was doing and she said she was lightening her bag, but then added jokingly that there was no way she could lighten her bags because she was already carrying two ... two eye bags.

I told her that on weekends, as long as my cellphone and wallet can fit into my jeans back pockets, I don't bring around my bag.  I too have a tendency to forget I have a bag.  I told her I tend to bring my envirosax bag around instead because I can fold it up and it fits into my pocket.  

The next day, I put my grocery list in my envirosax bag and slung the bag over my shoulder, rather than folding it up and placing it into my pocket, since it was not empty (there was a sheet of paper in it, remember?).  I went off by foot towards the mall.  I think that was the day I asked the lady about the bottle brush plant.  When we parted ways and she crossed the street heading southeast, at the next green pedestrian light on my side, I went straight heading northeast towards the mall.  In my excitement over the discovery of the name of the plant, I didn't realise that my envirosax was no longer over my shoulder. 

When I discovered my loss, I had already crossed the street!

Oh, no!  This is what Mother was talking about, I thought to myself.  It's true!  You MUST listen to your mother.

So of course, I retraced my steps and crossed back from where I had been.  

Fortunately, my practically empty bag was still on the sidewalk.  I picked it up and hung on to it consciously all the way to the mall.

I have learned my lessons now ... fold the grocery list and put it in one pocket, fold the envirosax bag and put in it in the other pocket, only sling the envirosax over the shoulder when there is something substantial inside.  Better yet, bring the foldable bag which Eldest Sis gave.  That one comes with a hook so the empty bag can be attached to the belt loops of your jeans.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

I was walking briskly towards the office this morning and the sound I heard was something I had not heard in Sydney before.  It was strangely familiar.  It was something that was not uncommon in the home country, especially in the vicinity of where I used to work, Ayala Avenue corner Paseo de Roxas.

There were people gathered around holding a protest rally in front of the Galeries Victoria mall at the ground floor of our office building block.

As Mother would say, "Makibaka!"  (which implies, "fight" or "battle.")

More on Regret

I picked up another equation :  REGRET  =  DISAPPOINTMENT + RESPONSIBILITY  

I have got to admit that there is a lot of truth there.  I sincerely believe that many people, no matter how happy they may seem, will still have SOME regrets.  In fact, I think a bit of regret can do a person good. Regret will nudge a person to the right direction.  When one feels regret, this means that he has reflected on his situation and his actions,  has taken responsibility for these, and has considered where things have gone wrong and/or what things could have been done better.

If you recall the top five regrets as stated by Jane McGonigal (see Choose Happiness), you will see that we have a deep sense of regret when we feel responsible for the outcome of things.  This often relates to choices we make (or don't make) and the things we do (or don't do).  Oftentimes these relate to one's self, one's family, one's work.  And since no man is an island, the choices we make usually affect others.

If a person claims he has lived a life with no regret, it is said there are three likely explanations:  

• Either he is living an unexamined life and just says he has no regrets because it makes him feel and look confident.  

• Or he has a low baseline of expectations or an ability to reframe reality such that he never has disappointments.  

• Or, as the equation suggests, he doesn't take responsibility for anything.

It is especially hard on the people around someone who claims to have no regrets.   This person's low expectation leading to minimal disappointment is not the same level of expectation and disappointment felt by those around him.  And the responsibility that is not taken usually falls on someone else's shoulders. 

Too much regret.  No regrets.  Both extremes are not what we desire.  Neither will bring us happiness.  Even when it comes to regret, the old saying is true -- EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.

Well, today being All Saints Day, one can only aspire to be like the saints.  They were human too, so presumably they also had some regrets, yet they are now all in heaven.  So there is hope.  There is hope.