Sometimes it’s just what it is. I am unwell and I need time away from everything.
Sometimes all you need is time in bed.
Category: Yelly Writes
My life is extraordinarily ordinary and this is celebrating and writing about my beautifully ordinary moments.
Happy Easter!
Amidst all the feasting, all the fun and games, all the time off, not to mention all the chocolate, remember the real reason for the season:
Easter celebrates true, unconditional and everlasting love. God’s love for us. He gave up his one and only Son for our salvation.
Budget Day 2016
Today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announces his plans for Britain for the next 5 years.
This was a busy day for me because I work for an accounting firm and we always have a post-Budget Announcement presentation for all our clients, so our firm can let them know how the Budget Announcement can affect them. Our tax team were busy preparing the materials for the e-shot which came out 6 hours after the Budget announcement with an analysis of how things would turn out. There were figures to check, powerpoint slide presentations to proof read, and handouts to prep.
Needless to say it was a busy day and there was a lot to do. I missed the train I usually get on by a mile (not that I was there on time by any stretch of the imagination – by the time the train doors shut and the train pulled away from the station I was still proofing the notes on the slides!). I got home later than usual, nursing a pounding head and my cold has gotten worse (yes, I would like to have a little sympathy, thanks!).
After reading all the Budget analyses I could bear, and reading the statement from the Chancellor saying “This will be a Budget for the working people,” I think Gideon may have got it (very) wrong.
What’s in a name?
The next Blogging 101 assignment is to take control of your title and your tagline.
It always takes me ages to think of a blog title…mostly because I think my blog title should also be my blog address. I must admit that it can be a frustrating exercise because when you think of a title that is completely you and you find out that someone else has thought about it and the domain name is no longer available, it can be frustrating and very disappointing. I’ve always known that blog titles should be snappy, unique and memorable. I am thankful, however, that my father named me the way he did. My name makes for interesting blog title permutations! Toda rabah Abba! Oh and no, he didn’t name me Yelly or Welly! Ha!
A blog tagline is certainly as important as a snappy title. I’ve gone from not having a blog tagline to having an über long one, to have a sort of acceptable one, to the one I have now. I quite like the one I have now. It focuses on the things that I am enjoying at the moment – food and photography, hence “bites and snapshots”. My blog really is a place where I talk about the absolutely ordinary life that I lead and the things that make me smile (a great recipe, good food, a great read, a breathtaking photo – all of which don’t have to be mine!).
I’m happy that people are coming to visit the blog a wee bit more. I’d love to be able to chat to people on the comments section of the blog though. Please leave me a few words in the comments section! I’d love to hear from you!
Who am I and why am I here?
I’m late to the Blogging 101 Party but I thought I’d still work on the assignments. I need to redirect my blogging efforts and relight the blogging fire so to speak. So in this case, this start is better late than never!
Those two questions are probably the scariest questions a blogger can face…well, to me it’s very scary. Because sometimes, I forget to focus on the who and the why.
I remember starting a blog on another blog host site. It was mostly a journal for me. I place where I wrote about my rants, where I made fun of people who made grammatical mistakes, where I talked about me. I’m not exactly sure that’s where I found my voice…if I’ve ever found it at all. But I’m a lot more serious about this blog. Because I think I’m much more selective about what I write and share online. I find that as I grow older, I’m more sensitive to how what I put out in the universe affects other people – ripples in the water, and all that jazz.
So, why don’t I just write my thought down in a journal. I don’t know is the answer to that question. Sometimes it’s just knowing that you can send things out into cosmos and somewhere someone goes, “Oh I get that completely!” I think it’s a deep-seated human need to fit in, to belong or just feel like we’re not so different – am not entirely sure that that’s a good reflection on my individuality because it speaks volumes about my need to conform to the mores of society!
I write because I want to talk. I think I write because I want an audience. But at the same time, I sort of want the imagined anonymity. I mean I can hardly be anonymous if I use my photo as my Gravatar image, now can I? But it’s the ease of putting stuff out there. Of seeing if anyone finds what I have to say interesting.
I also want to talk about my food journey. I love to cook and bake and I want to share what I’m learning. Food for me isn’t just about the physical nourishment. It also holds a lot of happy memories of family and friends gathered around a table. Food is an intrinsic part of my growing up, so being so far away from my family, a way for me to reconnect and cheer myself up.
I also love to talk about Filipino food, which I think is a long-ignored Southeast Asian cuisine. I thought if I wrote about Filipino food then people would see a new facet about the Philippines. I want to get people talking about Filipino food. I mean I know that Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern have both visited the Philippines and they rave about Filipino food. So we have been featured on TV. There are a lot of tutorial videos about how to cook Filipino food floating about on the internet but I want to add my voice to that. I want people to know how good Filipino food really is. We need to be as known as our other Southeast Asian neighbour’s cuisines: Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese.
I have no idea how the blog is going to help me turn my food passion into something that I do everyday. If that is even possible (yes, I know it’s been done, but in this saturated market, can I carve out a little niche for me?). But I’d like to find out what is out there, if there are opportunities.
I think the first goal is to connect to other people. See blogs that I have a lot in common with, actually read them, learn from them. Refine my writing style. Find my voice. Fall in love with blogging again (I used to blog everyday…sometimes even more than a blog post a day!). Find out if this is something I want to take further of this will evolve into something else. I want to hear from other people. I want people to come to the blog and say things, react to what I have to say. If it’s negative, please be gentle, but thoughts are welcome!
I’m excited again. That’s a brilliant start.
The responsibility of choosing
I posted this on my Facebook wall and it got interesting reactions and discussions. I was thinking about the Philippines and the upcoming elections. I am hoping that the Filipinos choose wisely when voting this time. We’re due to elect a president, a vice-president and 12 senators, am not sure if they’re electing other officials.
The fate of my country ultimately lies in the choices its voters make. It is my hope that Filipinos who are able to vote make informed choices this time. I hope they don’t vote for personalities.
Dear Fellow Filipinos,
I very rarely post anything political. Because I believe that you can’t complain if you don’t exercise your constitutional right to express your opinion, to make a choice. I haven’t voted in a very long time. So I can’t really complain about how things have turned out in the country.
I do have one request, though, when you vote, please remember that you vote for Filipinos who cannot vote. Please remember that you are making a choice that will affect everyone else in the country.
Please chose your politicians wisely. Make sure that you think about your choices. You are voting for people to lead the country and make its laws. Make sure you vote for people who will lift the country up, make sure you vote for people who care more about the greater Filipino good than what is good for them. The only agenda has got to be the Philippines, what’s best for the country and its population.
Please and thank you.
That’s it. That’s me off my soapbox.
Has Spring sprung yet?
So I saw crocuses today. They were starting to pop up. I wonder if it means we’re going to get warmer weather soon?
Happy hearts day!
Am so one for cheese. I love all the Valentines day clichés. I buy into all the romance. I love the whole card, flowers and chocolate things. I’m most probably the target consumer for all the commercial Valentines Day crap! And I buy it all in! I’m a sappy romantice and am proud of it.
I’ve always said, while it’s true that you don’t have to say you love someone because actions speak louder than words, sometimes that someone you love will appreciate the effort to verbalise how you feel. So if you love someone, say it loud and say it proud!
Happy Valentines Day all!
The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along. – Rumi
Learning
I’ve always said that a learning environment is the best environment for me. I’m able to test boundaries, find out what I’m capable of, find out how I can stretch myself and find out what my limits are.
When I was younger, I didn’t really appreciate the opportunities that were there for learning. I took them for granted. I’ve learned not to regret not learning when I could. There’s no sense in bringing back the past, because you can’t. While my brain is still functional, I think I’m going to take advantage in my interest in learning!
Of passports and celebrity sightings
I am now officially eligible to apply for British citizenship…but I am a proud carrier of a Philippine passport. I am planning on applying for UK citizenship though, if only for the ease that it presents when I do intend to travel to parts unknown because apparently you get visa-free access to 173 countries with a UK passport! Not that I’m a traveler but it would be good to take be able to take advantage of travel deals, to have the convenience of going on a mini-break to almost anywhere, if and when I can.
But until then, I shall have to renew my Philippine passport every 5 years.
I went to London today to renew my Philippine passport because my passport expires in June this year. I came armed with my tablet so that I could read my ebooks or work on work emails while I waited. Because there would be a wait. One thing that hasn’t changed much is the waiting in line in Philippine government institutions. The Philippine embassy in London isn’t any different. But as soon as I stepped through the double doors of the Philippine embassy in London on Suffolk Street it felt like being back home. You could hear conversations in Filipino and for some reason there was an aroma of steamed rice wafting all over the embassy!
I like to come prepared and I like to make sure that I prepare for every possibility (or at least, I like to think so!). Before I left for the embassy, I made sure I read and reread the instructions for passport renewal. Also, if you are applying to renew your passport, if you can, I suggest you print a copy of the application forms because, whilst there are forms that you can fill out at the embassy, it makes things move along quicker if you have all your forms filled out, your money ready, and your passport and other supporting documents available and in order according to the numbering on the forms.
You get to the embassy and take a name from the number thingmebob and wait for your number to be called. It was a bit of a wait because not everyone came with the right documents, or they didn’t have photos or they didn’t fill out the forms right, or they didn’t have the right forms. I guess, after filling out forms for my UK residency (there were pages and pages) I learned to prepare and pay attention to detail. Am not trying to say anything bad about my countrymen at all. I’m sure anyone who worked in an environment where I worked would make sure all the boxes that needed ticking would be ticked and all the i’s were dotted and the t’s crossed.
It took all of 5 minutes to submit my documents, get them inspected and me to make the payment. Then I was sent upstairs to wait to get my photo taken. They call you when your passport is ready for pick up so I had the rest of the day to spend in London.
I was horribly hungry so I went to my new favourite place to eat: Tokyo Diner in Chinatown. It’s a brilliant little space on the corner of Newport Street. The food is tasty and authentic and you get a small serving of Japanese rice crackers and bottomless genmaicha (brown rice tea) on the house. They don’t accept tips, by the way and prefer that you pay in cash. (They also give you extra rice if you ask for it…as much rice as you can manage!).
I ordered a tamago don from the lunch specials menu and waited for my food to arrive. And when it did, it was mmmm-mmmm good!
I did my usual people watching and noticed this beautiful and familiar blonde sitting in the corner of the restaurant. I thought she looked like Myanna Buring from Ripper Street and Downton Abbey. At one point, she moved to the table next to me. I noticed her looking at my food and when she ordered, she placed an order for the tamago don lunch special as well! I was certain she was Edna Braithwaite from Downton Abbey. I even did the creepy thing of taking a sneaky snapshot!
I sent her a message on Twitter to ask. And she confirmed that she was indeed Myanna Buring and that I should’ve said hi. Ah well! I didn’t want to interrupt what seemed to be me-time. One never knows whether you can interrupt celebrities these days.
And the celebrity sightings didn’t stop there. After having my late lunch, I headed back to Liverpool Street. I was early but all I had to do was hang around Liverpool Street Station for the direct to Harwich Town train that left 16:44.
I went to WH Smith to get myself a free drink (thank you O2 Priority!) and as I was walking back to the main central area of the station I heard a girl giggle heartily and the sound made me smile so I turned to look at where the sound was coming from. It was from a very pretty Filipina-looking girl in a black turtle neck paired with black palazzo trousers and chatting to someone animatedly on her phone. My jaw dropped. Two celebrity sightings in one day? I had to say hello to a fellow Filipino and one of the prettiest faces in country. So I turned on my heel and went to say hello to Dominique Cojuangco (Gretchen Barretto’s only child). Then I started to doubt myself. I may have just imagined that the girl was who she was. Also, I didn’t really want to act all stalkerish. Everyone deserves their alone time and I thought most celebrities enjoy time where they can be themselves and have time to their thoughts.
I did the usual and sent her a tweet and she did say that it her and I should’ve said hi.
Ah well! Next time, maybe?
