Escape

"Open the goddamn door!"

It was the most terrifying whisper she has ever heard.  The small window -- her freedom -- is too small.

"N-n-no! Please stop..." , as she curled herself into the far corner of the bathroom.

When the door latch turned slowly, all she can do is close her eyes and whimpered, "please..."

*************

This is a Friday Flash Fiction 55 hosted by Mr. Knowitall.

3WW -- gait, nudge, ripen

My godson Gyan at one of the bazaars in MY

a child's clumsy gait

can nudge a withered garden

to bloom and ripen.

 

gait (n) - manner of walking or running; bearing
nudge (tr. v) - To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal.
ripen (vb) - to make or become ripe

Microfiction Monday #50

Welcome to Microfiction Monday,

where a picture paints 140 characters, or even fewer.

May is thinking of her husband, now laid to rest and wondered, "How many shades of blue could there be?" as she sat pondering by the sea.     (137 char)

Every Monday, Susan at Stony River hosts Microfiction Monday. She posts a picture and you add a caption in 140 characters or less. Come and join in!

Custody -- a FFF 55

He was by the open veranda, looking out to the sea.

"Hey...", she said as she wrapped her arms around him from behind . "Are you OK?"

"Yea.."

"Do you miss them?", she asked.

"Who?"

"The kids."

"No."

 "Yeah, I guess I do. I don't know if I can go through the custody battle tomorrow."

This is a Friday Flash Fiction 55 hosted by Mr. Knowitall.
-

Cheesy days and gray hair

Today, I found ONE gray hair standing out on my temple --

--and it freaked the hell out of me!

Arrrgh!


I was fussing about it SECRETLY (as I don't want to broadcast it), Teddy reached for a kiss as he went out the door this morning.

I felt better then and rushed back to the mirror to inspect ME more closely.

Prominent wrinkles? None yet except when I smile, and it appears as fine lines in my eyes. Skin? Smooth to the touch, thank God for good genes. A little flab  love handle on the side, but what do you expect from a stressed chocolate lover? Besides, Teddy likes a little meat on me. So I think I'm still okay.

Well, anyways.

I'm thinking of a NOW post for my NaBloPoMo, and I can't think much is happening in my life right now, except THAT minor incident of the gray hair.

So I googled  what's happening around the world today.

And I found out that today is Cheese Day! Yay, I love cheeses, especially mozzarella on pizza and cheddar on my pasta and edam on Christmas!




Another question: Do you love fables, when you were little and now that you little ones?  'Cause today is AESOP's birthday! Find here the list of Aesop's fables.

~~~

NaBloPoMo Day #3

writing prompts for the day of June here.

NaBloPoMo #3 - Freedom is...

...the ability to be, without being afraid of being "not"

...the soft wind whipping at your face that smell of newly cut grass and sun

...the ability to laugh as you get up and dust yourself off after a fall

...the purr of the engine as your car gears slows down the bend and the exhilaration as it speeds up

...the ability to love without boundaries and prejudice, and live a life of meaning (at least meaningful to someone)

~~~

NaBloPoMo #3 post

find writing prompts everyday of June here

NaBloPoMo #2 - My favorite poem

Mutability

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

We are the clouds that veil the midnight moon;

How restlessly they speed, and gleam, and quiver,

Streaking the darkness radiantly!--yet soon

Night closes round, and they are lost forever:

Or like forgotten lyres, whose dissonant strings

Give various response to each varying blast,

To whose frail frame no second motion brings

One mood or modulation like the last. We rest.--

A dream has power to poison sleep;

We rise.--One wandering thought pollutes the day;

We feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep;

Embrace fond foe, or cast our cares away:

It is the same!--For, be it joy or sorrow,

The path of its departure still is free:

Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow;

Nought may endure but Mutability. 

This is what life about. Change.

NaBloPoMo #2 post
find writing prompts everyday of June here

My ABC Wednesday : T is for......Toilet!

The highest toilet bowl in the Philippines at Mt. Apo.

Come and join ABC Wednesday!

Check out Southern Dreamer's Outdoor Wednesday here for more fantastic places.

and

it's always Wordless Wednesday everyday!

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a detective, like a lady Dick Tracy.

"Foolish girl!', anyone who heard me would say.

Or a striptease.

But in an Asian culture such as ours, well, that is not to be talked or thought about. 

Oh Well.

Teachers are cool and so I thought  that I could be one, too. My teachers would smile proudly and elders would nod and say, "that's good".But when I still wanted to take up a teaching course in college, my parents would say, "that's all work and little pay..."

So I stacked it behind my all other priorities. I took up an industrial course instead.

April 16, 2010-- N...is for Never!

tossing it out  is daring everyone to do the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge! The rules are here in the  A-Z Challenge

I missed 2 days of fun. I was in the meeting all day and when I come home I was so dog-tired, I did not trouble myself on the keyboard. Yea, (nod), excuses,excuses!

Today's featured letter is :

N

 Here is the list that any new  writer (such as me) must follow. In a year or so, I'm planning to get out of the 9-5 workforce and focus on freelancing on the net! For the meantime, this blog will be my training ground! Do you think I can do it?

• Never overuse exclamation marks.
• Never shift my point of view when talking about something.
• Never forget proofreading.
• Never brag.
• Never be a snob.
• Never use fancy words.
• Never overuse cliches, quotations, hard-to-understand technical jargon.
• Never speak my mind in another's voice.
• Never shirk from positive criticisms and take everything in stride.
• Never stop reading for the latest news and events.
• Never take shortcuts on research.
• Never stop writing.

Sensational Haiku -- Dance

Click here for info and background on this weekly event!

The basics:

Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week’s theme is: Dance

to dance to the tune,

two hearts flowing together

structured, yet free...

Next week’s theme: Flames

April 13 (again) -- K...is for Kebab

Yay, it is A-Z Challenge once again!  And I really thought yesterday's the 13th! Arrrgh! Letter J's supposed to be 12th! Anyhow, that was still Monday (does it count?).

Today's featured letter is K.

K...is for Kebab

Delicious, mouth-watering kebab is my all time favorite! Every time my friends have a night out, we make it a point to check out  restaurants that serve them  (especially along Libis and Marikina area). Since I love this food so much, I have learned how to make it.

Basically, this is just marinated lean meat (beef, lamb, chicken, pork) or shrimp/ fish skewered together with your choice vegetables and grilled.

For meats, I normally choose beef or chicken. I marinate at least 8 hours (or leave overnight in the ref) with
kikoman soysauce, local "calamnsi", crushed garlic, oyster sauce and pepper to taste, basil ( if available), bay leaf, half cup of gin or vodka--optional, 1/4 cup tonic --optional mixed all together. Sometimes, when I feel extravagant, I put olive oil in the mixture).

You can use also squid, shrimp or fish,the best are "maya-maya" (snapper) and "lapu-lapu" (Phillipine grouper) and salmon. No need the marinade, just season with salt and pepper with basil/oregano. Just make sure the fish/ seafood is fresh.

As for the veggies, I use white onions (puting sibuyas) , bell peppers, brocolli heads. Dont forget the tomatoes!

Do not throw away the marinade just yet!

Skewer them using metal skewers or the local BBQ sticks. As you grill over medium heat ( as I hate too burned food, especially grilled), brush the meat with the marinade to keep it moist.


And voila! You can pair it with rice or bread. Or none at all! It's best shared over beer, among friends!

April 13 - J

I nearly forgot that the A-Z Challenge so here I am cramming, thinking about the letter J!

Well, I was thinking about one very special J in my life, who, unfortunately is in the world of online gaming right now, seated next to me. Arrrgh! No, I'm not irritated. Really.  Ok, just a little. It's just that sometimes he could be so... immersed. Yeah, maybe it's just a guy thing...

Anyway, I was googling and googling, and I stumbled on this site Love Letters where Da Juana Byrd says that people starting with J are ambitious and sometimes "too honest to a fault".Yes, and yes. He is like that,too.


Do you believe that your name influences you?




Other trivia:
J - internet slang for "joking"
J - a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
J -  the 10th letter of the Roman alphabet

The April A to Z Challenge

I found a great blog tossing it out who is daring everyone to do the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge!!! Being me, I can't help but rise to the challenge! Though I'm far way behind, I will try to keep up and do the rest of April. I am inviting everyone who visit this blog to come and check this out, I know most of my bloggy friends won't be able to resist! :) Today's Sunday so I won't be able to do about it (it's in the rules: Sundays excluded) so tomorrow, April 12 is a J day!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Friday 55 -- Little Jane

Why is Daddy screaming and mommy crying on the sink? What is it? What were they saying? The words are too garbled to hear.

Oh, I think Mommy saw me peeping by the bedroom door! Shhh…

I’m going to sleep so please, don’t make them look my way! They might see me and hurt me…

If you have something to tell in 55 words, or just want to check if others can do it, too -- go and tell the G-man that I sent you!

The 100-Word Challenge -- Unspoken

Loucel will be helping VelvetVerbosity for the 100-Word Challenge. Go and check out, otherwise VV will let you eat banana sandwiches with ketchup for 30 days!

Silent Goodbye

Shel saw him sitting against their tree, looking toward the setting sun on the Masaraga Mountains.

“Hey!”, she called . Jay smiled and waved as he saw her walking towards him.

“Why so serious?”, as she grabbed and puffed on his cigarette.

“I think I need to go away again.”

Her hands shook a bit and felt her eyes wavering for a moment “How soon?”

“In a day or two,” He murmured.

She leaned on his shoulder as she felt his hands holding hers, both silent.

Finally he pulled her up and said, “We have till tomorrow, don’t we?” 

“Yes.”

F is...for Friends at The Fort!

I can't find any recent "F" photos but my archive's always a great help! ::wink::

We sure had fun! It's as if no years has separated us.

That's what's left Crispy Pata (Deep Fried Pork Hind or Front Leg) and Mixed Seafood

These are my school friends at Meralco Foundation Institute (now MFI Foundation Institute) when we had our Crystal Alumni Homecoming after 15 years!  After the event, we went to Pier One Bar and Grill at The Fort Strip at Bonifacio Global City for more "remember when" bonding moments.

Code Red: Help forHaiti

The devastation caused by the intensity 7 earthquake in Haiti has reverberated its plea for help across the world.

In my own puny little way, I want to share to you how to extend help to them. Click on the badge on how to participate. If I can propagate Haiti's call through "word of blog", then I will.

A...is for "ADVICE"

I hope I can join every single ABC Wednesday this Round 6!

I can't find any happy topic for A, as the recent events in my life are not so happy happy, if you get my drift. Though I can't say that everything's sad, or dark, or hopeless. No one can make you unhappy, except yourself,that's for sure.

And so...for today's ABC, I'm going to list a couple of advices I hope mean to give serious consideration. But I hope that you, my dear reader, will get something to think about, too!

For starters, you can check this one out, but here's a couple of my favorite lines:

• Take a deep breath. It calms the mind..
• No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
• Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
• Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
• No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

I love Bob Ong, too. No one knows who is Bob Ong, really, as he uses that name as pseudonym. I love his take on life. Know more about Bob Ong on wiki and here.

• "...madaming teacher sa labas ng eskwelahan. desisyon mo kung kanino ka magpapaturo." ~ "There are a lot of teachers outside school. It's your decision who to learn from"
• "Titingnan mo ba ang basong kalahating bawas o kalahating puno?" ~How would you see a cup, half-empty or half-full?
• "Nalaman kong habang lumalaki ka, maraming beses kang madadapa. Bumangon ka man ulit o hindi, magpapatuloy ang buhay, iikot ang mundo, at mauubos ang oras."~I realized that as you grow up, you will stumble many times. Whether you get up or not, life will continue, the world will turn, and time will pass by...

And I love Doraemon, too!He's a robot stray cat, from a Japanese manga and was first aired in the Philippines (if my memory serves me right) way back in 1992.

• "Hindi porke kaya mong gawin ang isang bagay ay dapat mo nang gawin." It doesn't mean that you have to do it, even if you can.
• "Huwag mong ipakitang malungkot ka sa ibang tao kung wala kang balak mag-share ng problema. Para kang nag-alok ng hopia pero hindi mo naman ibibigay." Don't show your sadness to others if you won't share your problems. It's like offering someone candies you don't mean to give.

More ABC Players here!

 

55 FFF ~Patchwork Heart

‘Twas their last day together.
 But he never came.

Quite unprepared with this one final goodbye, she turned her back even as her world crumbled and blurred. She put her earphones and sunglasses on to keep the silence away and the light from blinding her.

Heart's under repair.

Tomorrow's another day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~