Ready for Christmas.

Even in a small town like Wells, I give kudos to the good ol' country folk in this town for an amazing job decorating their houses for the holidays. These people couldn't care less about what the neighbors think. Obviously, they couldn't also care less that their power bill for this month and the next is more than their car payment.

I love watching the well lit houses that Ken even promised to bring me to the big city where houses are completely covered in colored lights.

But to my horror I discovered that there is no Christmas tree to decorate at Ken's house(perhaps he didn't find it necessary as he has been living alone for the past seven years). No christmas wreath or lights to put out in the porch. So I spent days browbeating him to buy an artificial tree because decorating for Christmas is perhaps the greatest time of the year for me. I like putting up christmas decor and with all the snow around here, this is going to be a real white christmas for me.

So finally last Saturday, or the day after Black Friday he relented to shop for the Christmas tree at Target. As expected those pre-lit trees at a bargain are out of stock so we settle for a 7ft. unlit tree and bought 2000 lights and ornaments.

As soon as we got home, I started unpacking and went to work. I am so excited that I can't wait another day to put it up. While I was fluffing out the branches of the un-lit tree, Ken settled down in the couch to watch me finish assembling it. It didn't take me long and when I’m done putting all the ornaments in place on the tree, Ken turn on the tree lights and turn off the living room lights.

We sit on the couch to admire his beautiful little Christmas tree ...

We are ready for Christmas and whatever it brings.

Thanksgiving and Black friday.

After the summer, fall and winter comes another first. Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Thanksgiving:
If the roasted pig takes center stage on the dinner table in the Philippines during holidays, here in the US it is the roasted turkey that get the spotlight. Oh well it doesn't taste as good as the squealer, but I like the way it is presented on the table. And like Tracey's mom, my mother love cooking too, and yesterday she buried herself in the kitchen whipping different pies and other dessert aside from cooking three more supporting dishes to go with the holiday star.

Yeah, yeah. I over ate as I just throw caution in the wind and stopped counting the quantities. But at least this put a smile in my mom's face!

But the true meaning of this holiday they say is to be able to give thanks for all the blessings that came our way. I could not count mine for there were so many.

And that alone is a lot to be thankful for. Amen.


Black Friday:
This day like it's predecessor gets plenty of news coverage. For days television and print media is bombarded with ads about these big deals that stores are offering. Door busters? What's that?

Okay I get it. I have to be standing in line in the cold to be among the first to get in the store to avail of those knockout deals.

Knock out and busted. Yeah right!

I don't see the logic why stores have to open their doors at such goofy hours as 3am! Getting up the day after Thanksgiving at some ungodly hour can be very brutal especially if the temperature outside is 12 degrees F. So me, Linda and Frank decided not to sleep at all by playing Chinese madjong till three in the morning. I don't know if it was a right decision, because I wasn't feeling uppity going around the stores with eyes half closed.

I am not a super shopper by any stretch of the imagination but I do like to save money. And besides I just wanted to see first hand what's the fuss about and why is there so much frenzy about this day. Also Ken was generous enough to give me shopping money(yay!), but put his foot down about going with me. Good decision.

I did not buy any of the "door busters" items as you can see from the photos above. What I got are just ordinary things which I need in the house but are sold by a few dollars less than their original price. So is going shopping at dawn in freezing temperature worth it? NO!

Now I can say that Black Friday is a modern day treasure hunt. It is the one day where ordinary shopping become a competition. So, never again.

Imagine if there is no computer...

So here I am sitting in front of my PC at past 10 pm. Again.

I guess I could say that I lived here. Seriously.

Hmmm...let me see. I moved here about 7 years ago. I liked it, that for a while I decided to settle down here permanently. It started with chat rooms. I was completely fascinated with the idea of sharing ideas with people from all over the world. Unfortunately, that simply isn't what you'll find in most chat rooms. For the most part its lonely singles, looking for love in all the wrong places. So I would jump from one chat room to the next, looking for anybody with something interesting to talk about. It was almost magical to actually find someone who could hold a conversation that wasn't about my bra size or what kind of undergarments I prefer.

My fascination with chat rooms lasted for 2 years but by then I have enough friends in my yahoo messenger list whom I talked to in a regular basis. I could spend hours and hours typing away on my keyboard. Even spending most of my waking hours on the computer up until I cannot hold my eyes open any longer.

Then Ray introduced me to IMVU where I can create my own virtual world. I get addicted trying to get the coolest item and sprucing my beach house, my space ship, my pad or my apartment in NYC. It's here where I met Sid.

But pretty soon I got bored with that also because by then I had started reading blogs and I got hooked on it that I decided to write a blog too. Now, I am not just sharing my life, my thoughts, my fears and dreams to a single person but to anyone who cares to read.

And then I have Facebook. All the other social sites pale in comparison as FB gave me a lot more, thus demanding more of my time. I have a farm to tend and upgrading my farm and crops seems to be my real life goal for a while. Then my kids taught me how to be a tough mafia that I even beat them in scores and level. I had given up farming now as I find the organized crime world more interesting, haha!

Alas, they don't call the Internet the information super highway for the heck of it. If I want to learn something new, all I have to do is type in a keyword and do search. The other week I got four Pashmina from my auntie which I don't know how to wear. So I Google it and found a video teaching me the different ways to wear it. Easy!

I search songs and download them in my mp3, I read the news, watch video and even movies in my computer. The PC makes it possible for me to be entertained and not ever leave the house.

Am I addicted to computer?

What about you?

See what I got!

Flowers aren't something most men go out and buy every day.

I know, because for the life of me, I don't remember getting a single stemmed rose much less a bouquet from J while we were together!

Therefore it surprises me no end that Ken fully understands the importance of using flowers as a tool for effective communication. I mean he doesn't need to verbalize in words certain moments when simple words are just not enough.

Funny, but I could not believe that receiving flowers for no apparent reason can be a thrill. Reeeeally! Maybe because it made me realize that someone is thinking of me. And believe me, flowers do brighten up the day. Also because I know that he had taken an extra step to make it so.

Oh well, no matter what the reason is, I will always appreciate the gesture that brought me a lovely bouquet of different colored roses. I don't even need to know what these color stands for (I read somewhere that the color of roses have meanings). As long as it made me feel good to receive nature's beauty.

Loved and appreciated, who could ask for more?

My first snow.

The weather news declare that we will have snow fall in the evening.

I didn't know winter will arrive so soon here in Minnesota. But I guess as soon as the leaves changes its color and the air gets crispier by the day, then snow isn't far behind.

Am I excited? Of course! I am eager to see what the surroundings will look like the next day but I am not crazy excited. So fast forward.

It was past 8 am when I woke up and opened my bedroom window and saw blanket of snow in the yard... and as far as my eyes can see! Snow glorious snow. The beauty of the surrounding is absolutely breathtaking. The way the snow glistens or the sparkle of frost first thing in the morning. There is nothing like a good snowfall that make the dreary brown landscape come to life.

I went outside, and I felt the crunch. The sound that snow makes when it's fluffy and fresh and sparkly, and I am the first one to walk on it! I also felt the sharpness of the air, so clean and so crisp that I can see it when I breathe, going in like mint and out like smoke.

But maybe I am the only one excited of seeing it because I heard my mom mumbling under her breath about shoveling another 4 feet of snow away from the garage and then make a path towards the deck.

At 9:30 Ken picked me up and gave me a tour of the town. I find a great deal of delight in the quick accumulation of the soft white blanket covering the sidewalks and yards. From the car window I watched the snow plow thundering down the street pushing the accumulated snow off to the side of the road.

I guess only in winter can one truly appreciate the value of having a home to live in. Why not? A nice warm home is fabulous after a long winter walk. You see while Ken watches a show on tv, I went out and walk around the block. My ears hurt and my feet were cold, but it's all worth it when I enter the house and began to thaw out.

However, this same snow did not allow my mom to watch the Pacquiao - Margarito boxing match at eight that evening because the gravel road that lead to town is deep with it that driving on it can be very tricky.

But that is another story.

The girl who kept me awake.

Finally!

I am done reading all three of Stieg Larsson's books. The story is truly captivating that I stayed up late for several nights till early mornings as I just can't seem to put the book down.

Yeah, I know that a movie version of this book is in the works but I still believe that it won't be nearly as superior as the paperback version. While movies can certainly stimulate my imagination, reading this book do so much more and do so more effectively.

Through reading the book, I am forced to create my own image from the author's words. Larsson's description of the way Lisbeth and Mikael and the rest of the character look, the expanse of the landscape, or the sound of their voices is already created in my mind which may be different from what the movie will create.

Of course, these images and ideas I created is largely based, as is anything, on my own understanding and interests as a reader. I know that in the movie, my imagination is not needed, and the visual image that accompanies the story is provided for me and the visual impact of the story is not based in any way on my own understanding of the scene.

But the experience of creating my own visual image and using my imagination, makes reading exciting!

It's the ability to personalized and to have a dialogue with the book that made the difference. It allows my own logic and creativity to be used, and for me to grow as I read. It is an experience that cannot be achieved by simply watching someone else's vision.

But am I still excited to see the film?

You bet! As I wanted to see if the actors will live up to my interpretation even if the movie version will never live up to the original strength of the written book.

Crazy over football?

It's like Manila all over again.

Much llike when Manny Pacquiao has a boxing fight, every Filipino is glued on their tv screen watching the fight. It is the same here in Minnesota when the Viking is playing. Football is like a blockbuster movie here where the purple team plays the hero while all the other football team is the villain.

You can just feel the excitement and pride of Minnesotans when their team won the other day because when Ken and I went out to have dinner after the game, sixty percent of the people in the restaurant are donning their Viking shirt. It's like a symbol of greatness for the city it represent. But of course when the team were losing, I bet, they are just as fast to bury their shirt in their closet!

And long after the game is over, people are still talking about it like its a national debate - should Brett Favre retire this year? Should the team owner fire the head coach even when they won their last game? What did Randy Moss do or did not do to be axed from the team?

I really don't understand the game. For me, it's kind of barbaric the way the players hit each other. This game lack politeness as both team fiercely defend their territory and violently tackle those who would encroach. Back and forth they struggle towards a goal. The scoring team pushes forward while the other team keep ground. Maybe it's just me, but I don't get a thrill watching big bruisers with over flowing testosterone repeatedly bashing into each other, all in the deceivingly simple pursuit of moving the oblong brown ball from one side of the field to the other.

Yet, in the end, I enjoy watching football for the simple reason that I enjoy it! Maybe it's just an opportunity to take an interest in something lighthearted, inconsequential, and just plain fun.

Summer or winter?

Oh my god! I know I won't be walking in winter wonderland as I just found proof that hell had actually frozen over here in Minnesota!!!

Oh no, I don't have any vision of gliding over crystalline powder of snow. I've been miserably cold and it's not even winter yet!!!

The cold I am experiencing now is a little daunting, but add a cruel wind chill to that and it become a survival challenge for me. And for the past three days, it's been windy that the Fall felt much colder than the dead of winter.

I know I have said in my previous post how I hate summer. But darn, I'm missing it already!!