Sandalwood & Chamomile

Christmas 2007 has come and gone. Still, it shouldn't be too late to say, "Merry Christmas, darling..."

P.S.
Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Written by Gail T. at 3:13 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Filed under kolog, pictured

My aunt has an interesting theory/prediction/prophecy:

Those who have the tambis tree growing in their property, will be blessed with an overseas-bound child.

I paused before I laughed out loud. In our town, it sure is proving true. We had a tambis (Scientific name: Syzygium aqueum, credit to Montoso Gardens Botanical Collection) tree in our backyard. We loved eating ours fresh, and with rock salt (yum!) and the occasional stray black ant (yuck). My mother even told me that the tiny pink birthmark on my side was because naglihi siya sa tambis (she had an unreasonable craving for tambis when she was carrying me). And we are now based in the US.

My aunt says there are other families too. I pointed out the tambis tree on their front yard. She shrugs. Lots of people in town come to see her husband (my dad's older brother), who is the only one in town selling grafted tambis. I guess they all want their share of the prophecy too. :D

We talk about my cousin Daniel, who we feel will fulfill the prophecy for my aunt. He has expressed the desire to join my family here (he grew up with us and misses my brother's company). I grinned and told her, "I'd truly believe that when I see him move abroad." Hopefully, he comes over here and works for the-big-company-that-makes-software or that-big-company-that-is-synonymous-with-searching.

As I was googling tambis, I came across a MarketManila.com article on the makopa with the picture on the right. Apparently, the makopa is called tambis by Visayans. From the pictures, the fruits look like tambis to me. But one of the commenters on the post, says

makopa and tambis are two different fruits. Makopa is the one which is dark red and starchy when ripe. Tambis is the one which is pink when ripe, white when unripe and is rather crunchy when bitten. However, these fruits belong to one genus, Syzygium, and different species (which I am not sure of…)

Papa (my agriculturally-inclined father who grafted lots of plants, including the tambis), says the commenter is right. But the first two pictures in the article (and the one above) are of the tambis. The third one, he says, is of a makopa.


Edit: My mother laughs off the tambis oracle, seeing that all of her siblings are all here. She says no one has a tambis tree anywhere. Said she, "We don't have a tambis but we believe in God." Bwahaha.

Written by Gail T. at 6:02 PM | 17 comments Links to this post    
Filed under being Pinoy, family, pictured, recollections

My new addiction is freerice.com, a website where you can test and increase your English vocabulary. With each word you get right, the site donates 20 grains of rice. It's not much to begin with but as you settle in, 1000 grains is not unreachable.

The site also automatically adjusts your vocab level as you play, so you can get harder words when you play well.

I love it. And it's a very good cause.

Edit: I'm on 3000+ grains now. I've been seeing lots of Latinate words. Let's just say, I'm really glad to have read a few classics (English lit canon) by now.

P.S. I've read around. The site will be 2 months old (!) on the 7th, and it's already accumulated 6 billion grains of rice! Yay

Written by Gail T. at 9:19 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Filed under on the web, rave

My phone rang almost everyday while I was on my trip. Everyday I heard this song: Marie Digby's Stupid for You.


Song dedicated to someone, you better know who you are. Have you heard this song before? I hope it helps. Listen carefully to the words:

It's not everday
that i find a person quite like you
perfect every way
i finally found the nerve to confess that it's you - that i want
i don't care if i act a fool
i would damn near beg for you !
put aside, all my pride
so don't keep me hanging here
cause this girl is falling stupid for you..
stupid for you..

the proper thing to do
is for me to act like a lady and wait
for you to make the first move
but i don't think you're getting the point
that it's you - that i want
i don't care if i act a fool
i would damn near beg for you
put aside, all my pride
so don't keep me waiting here
cause this girl is falling stupid for you!
oh, oh stupid for you

why's it always feel like i am
chasing love when nothing's there
and here i go just making the same mistake...

i've fallen stupid for you..

P.S. Papa called me everyday.

Written by Gail T. at 5:34 AM | 2 comments Links to this post    
Filed under music, on the web