Coconuts are an essential food crop in many tropical regions more than ever in the Philippines where these trees are widely distributed. The meat of coconuts, either raw or prepared, is an important food in the Tropics. The terminal bud, known as palm cabbage, is considered a delicacy, and trees are often cut down for the sake of it; the central part of the young stem is also succulent and edible. The sap, or toddy, like that of some other palms, is a favorite beverage in tropical countries, either in the natural state or after fermentation, which takes place in a few hours. Palm wine, or arrack, also a spirituous liquor, is obtained by distillation of fermented sap. The tree root possesses narcotic properties and is sometimes chewed.

Sun’s up again suggesting a sizzling summer. This fruit belonging to the Palm family plays a crucial function in this period of great happiness. The commercial sites of beaches coupled with the strong action of waves and currents invite the frenzied like bums in board shorts printed with magnificent coconut leaves design to take a headlong plunge into the sea. But what I adore most about summer solstice is the thunderous voice of my barkada sounding “mamutong ta bai!” It is really, really, yes, really earsplitting for some, yet, incomparable for us. This is how glory for us is pulled off along with the scorching heat of the jealous father sun since attention is paid to the “butong” instead. Only idiots could forget the famous lines:

“Ako’y kat-kat”

”Palayo mo kay basi’g mahugan mo”

“Paghinay og naog”

”Kinsay mo-batak?”

”Isawd sa pitsel”

”Palit gatas, ice og Marie nga biskwit sa tindahan kay mag-lamaw ta”

…and perfected by the disgusting gulp and slurping sound of the starving faces while swallowing the “lamaw” as sweat trickles from the forehead down to the neck. After that chilly session, someone will certainly scream out loud “mag-inom ta’g tuba!” Who would ever be able to refuse that electrifying and enticing proposal! Drinking session follows without delay. This is the time when great minds and mishaps meet, not only that, everybody becomes real too that sometimes the expression “imung utok nasagulan na og tuba!” comes out when arguments start to float up. But hey, this is not just a remedy for a slack season; this is also a way of loosening up from shabbiness.

Why I included COPRAS in the title…

It was a gloomy April afternoon, but sweat started to trickle down my face as I hurried to the bus terminal with a bagful of grocery stuffs. On my way to the station, I overheard an old man inside a jeepney saying “asa ma’g drayber ani oy?! Mang-larga na ta kay init kaayo! Mura ta’g copras gibuwad!” I heard some giggles and I realized then that summertime was about to kick off! J

“Love is also like a coconut which is good while it is fresh, but you have to spit it out when the juice is gone, what’s left tastes bitter.”

-Bertolt Brecht (1898 - 1956)

i was really surprised pagkakita nako sa baby nga akong cord dressan…

this is baby jose tusay.  naa siyay multiple congenital anomalies. di jud ko kalimut ani niya bisag he passed away few minutes after na-admit sa NICU kay mao ni first time naka-suway ko og emergency nga baptism..=)

A menu in a seafood restaurant has these entries:

ISDA BEST, PUSIT TO THE LIMIT, AND HIPON COMING BACK.

A PLDT sign:

SLOW MEN AT WORK

Flower shop sign near UP Diliman:

PETAL ATTRACTION

Along Boni Avenue:

PANSIT NG TAGA-MALABONI

On jeepneys and buses:

-BEFORE PAY, TELL WHERE GET THE ON BEFORE GET THE OFF

-FULL STRING TO STOP DRIVER

-GOD KNOWS HUDAS NOT PAY

-FOR RECKLESS DRIVING, CALL…

-DON’T GET CLOSED TO ME, GET CLOSED TO GOD

On a window of a restaurant in baguio:

WANTED: BOY WAITRESS

On a carinderia:

-COOKING NG INA MO

-COOKING NG INA MO RIN (right across Cooking ng Ina Mo)

On a video rental shop:

MASTERVISION

In Chinatown:

Le Cheng TEA HOUSE

The Pinoy sense of humor never fails to amuse me especially when it comes to business names. Here is a list of off the wall business names only in the Pinas. Have a laugh! =)

Alabank (rural bank of Alabang)

Anita Bakery

Babalik Karinderia

Bote Nga Sa’Yo (used bottle shop)

Candies Be Love? (Candy store)

Christopher Plumbing (plumbing contractor)

Caintacky Fried Chicken (in Cainta Rizal)

Cinna Von (a laundromat)

Cleopata’s (bakahan and manukan)

Crispy per Minute (crispy pata eatery)

Curl up and Dye (beauty salon)

Doris Day and Night (24hour eatery)

Elizabeth Tailoring

Fagoofyt (a children’s hair salon @ J. Elizalde Ave. in BF Parañaque)

Felix the Cut (barber shop)

Fernando Pe’s Box Office Hits (video rental shop in Busuanga Palawan)

Goldirocks (sand and gravel shop)

Happy Birthday Toyo (a soy sauce brand in the 70’s)

Holland Hopia (owned by Mr. Ho)

Poland Hopia (next door,owned by Mr. Po in China Town)

Leon King Video Rental (Las Piñas)

Let’s Goat Together (kambingan cum beer garden)

Maid To Order (maids placement agency)

MacDonuts (donut shop)

Mang Donald’s (burger joint, Naga City Plaza)

Meating Place (meat shop)

Meatropolis (meat shop)

Memory Drug (a Mercury Drugstore clone)

Miki Mao (noodle eatery)

Saudia Hairlines (beauty salon)

Side Saki (side street eatery beside Mandarin Hotel)

Sophisticut (unisex hair salon)

Susan’s Roses (flower shop)

Sylvestre’s Salon

TapSi TurBi (tapa and sinigang, turon and bibingka)

The Fried of Marikina (fried chicken shop)

The Way We Wear (boutique)

Wrap and Roll (lumpia outlet, Quad Makati)

v     TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS

v     CHOOSE YOUR LOVE, THEN LOVE YOUR CHOICE

v     YOU CAN TELL A CHILD IS GROWING UP WHEN HE STOPS ASKING WHERE HE CAME FROM AND STARTS REFUSING TO TELL WHERE HE IS GOING.

v     THE ONLY TIME MY HUSBAND IS RIGHT IS ONLY WHEN HE ADMITS HE IS WRONG

v     OUR FIVE SENSES ARE INCOMPLETE WITHOUT A SIXTH… A SENSE OF HUMOR

v     TODAY IS THE TOMMORROW YOU WORRIED ABOUT YESTERDAY

v     RESULTS ARE WHAT YOU EXPECT AND CONSEQUENCES ARE WHAT YOU GET

v     NEVER INSULT THE ALLIGATOR “TILL AFTER YOU HAVE CROSSED THE RIVER

v     NEVER DO ANYTHING YOURSELF THAT OTHERS CAN DO FOR YOU

v     YOU CANNOT SHAKE HANDS WITH A CLENCHED FIST

v     HE WHO LAUGHS LAST DIDN’T GET IT

v     IF YOU EDUCATE A MAN, YOU EDUCATE A PERSON. IF YOU EDUCATE A WOMAN, YOU EDUCATE A FAMILY

v     DON’T BE SO HUMBLE, YOU’RE NOT THAT GREAT

v     IF IT WEREN’T FOR A WOMAN, MEN WOULD  STILL BE WEARING LAST WEEK’S SOCK

v     WHEN YOU GROW OLD, YOU LEARN MORE

v     GIVE MAN A FISH AND HE HAS FOOD FOR A DAY; TEACH HIM HOW TO FISH AND YOU CAN GET RID OF HIM FOR THE ENTIRE WEEKEND

GUGMANG GITAY-AN?

Once in your life you’ll find someone whom you will never forget for the rest of your life. And though he may not be yours forever or a second or might not be,the memories will always relive the past. The shortest events become the best, and the best becomes the greatest. Your love for him will always be pure and will always be kept inside you and no matter how hard you deny it, you will never escape those tearful and sleepless nights. It’s hard… like waiting for those dreams to come true… like what you have wished for… to capture his love… to win his heart. You have given it all. You have detached the mask that covers you throughout. You have put yourself into shame. You have gathered all the dust, dust that made you love him more and blinded you to the highest intensity of your insanity (love). But what are you fighting for? The love which he can’t give you back? Do you know who your enemies are? All you know is that it is him you are fighting for. And between you and him, you are the only one who knows it. You have already asked yourself what’s the biggest mistake you have done for not being the best for him. And though you can’t find the right reasons for all the sacrifices you have made, still, you need to accept it no matter how painful it is. And by the time you thought you have accepted it already and still can’t escape from his shadows, then, that’s the greatest lesson you need to learn… not to give it all for the one you love so that you won’t need to answer those difficult questions that might hurt you… love wisely…everything has a purpose, and that is to LEARN. Events will repeat and repeat until you learn what you need to learn…So do not wonder and be disheartened if you always experience a failed relationship… JUST LEARN FROM IT… ***

ANG AKONG PAGPAKIGHINABI SA USA KA ATLETA (JAPOY LIZARDO) HUMAN SA FIGHT NI MARY ANTOINETTE RIVERO  SA SEMI FINALS SA 2004 OLYMPICS:

(hapit na gyud ko mo-buto sa kalagot!)

 9:51:24 pm

…og sa dihang gi-dial na nako ang iyang number…

…nag-ring iyang celfone og iya kining gitubag…

ME: Hello? Hello Japoy…

JAPS: Hello…

ME: Hello? Nanonood kba ng Olympics? Nakakainis tlga!

JAPS: Ha? (natatawa)

ME: Nanonood ka ba ng Olympics?

JAPS: Oo Napanood ko kanina…

ME: Ung fight ni Toni ngayon?

JAPS: Hindi pa…

ME: Hindi pa? Tapos na…!

JAPS: Ha?

ME: Tapos na! Nakakainis talaga! Tapos na ung fight…

JAPS: Pauwi pa lang kc ako e… Sino ung nakalaban nya? Greece dba?

           Anong nangyari?

ME: Oo, Nakakainis tlga! Nakakainis ung referee!

JAPS: Ano ung score? Ano ung score?…

ME: 4,2 ung score pero dapat sana may 2 points c Toni dun kya lang di na-register!

JAPS: Oo, Oo..

ME: Pero ung fyt nya and ung kay Donald kanina napanood mo?

JAPS: Ah, Oo, napanood ko ung dalawang fights nya kanina, ung sa Argentina…

ME: Oo, ung sa Argentina tsaka ung sa ano sa…

JAPS: Netherlands

ME: Ha?

JAPS&Me (nagkasabay): Netherlands

JAPS: Oo,… Ung kay Donald din sa… Turkey…

ME: Gus2 ko sakalin at kalbuhin ung referee! Kya lang, la lang… hehe… baka

         mapasugod ako sa Greece!

JAPS: Hahaha!

ME: Baka mapasugod ako! Pro ndi pwede… hehe… Nakakainis talaga!

JAPS: O nga e…

ME: Pero dba may laban pa cla mamaya?

JAPS: Oo, may isa pa. May one fight pa si Donald tsaka c Toni para sa bronze.

ME: Kanina sa fight ni Toni, muntik na masira ni Sir Monsour ung table nila dun sa

        ano.. dahil sa inis…

JAPS: Hahaha…!

ME: Sinusuntok na nya ung table…

JAPS: Hehe…

DEAD AIR FOR 2 SECONDS… LA AKONG MAISIP NA SASABIHIN SA KANYA…

ME: Ahm, asan ka ba ngayon?

JAPS: Pauwi na ako…

ME: Ah… Galing ka sa training?

JAPS: A hindi, may pinuntahan lang sandali…

ME: Ah… Ay! By the way, si Noreen nga pala 2…

JAPS: A Oo,Oo…!

ME: hehe..nakalimutan ko tuloy… nadala lng kc ako… Nakakainis kasi..!

JAPS: hehehe…

ME: A basta nakakainis tlga! Hehe…Cge, yun lang, share ko lang sayo… Cgeee…

JAPS: Cge bye…

ME: Bye… (**KILIGGG…**)

…d end…wala ra ka-buto…hehehe