LP 80: Masinop

sinop, masinop: Word: sinop
English Definition: (adj) /ma--/ economical; thrifty; frugal; careful



Isa akong G.I. o Genuine Ilocano pero hindi ako kuripot ngunit hindi rin ako gastadora.Isa akong "wise spender". Ewan ko lang kung masasabi akong masinop, dahil inililista ko lahat ng aking mga gastusin upang malaman ko kung sumusobra na ba ako sa aking pamimili. Paano ba naman kasi, pag nasa grocery na ako at may nakita akong mukhang masarap kainin eh napapabili ako :-) Tapos, dahil nagiging pampalipas oras ko ang pagluluto at pagbe-bake ay napapabili ako ng mga sangkap na karamihan naman ay mga imported kaya mahal. (I'm a G.I or Genuine Ilocano but I'm not stingy neither a big spender, instead I'm a wise spender. I'm not sure if I can be considered thrifty because I list down all my expenses to make sure that I'm not over spending. I do this because I tend to buy a lot more than what I need. I can't help it sometimes because whenever I'm in the grocery and I saw something that is looking delicious and something that is suddenly available here, I grab and buy it. And, I also tend to buy a lot of ingredients which are mostly imported so it's quite pricey because I cook or bake as my past time.)

Masinop din ako sa gamit o maalaga. Lahat dapat nasa ayos, para mabilis hanapin at para makita ko agad kung alin ang naiba, nawawala at kulang. Gaya na lamang sa mga pinamili ko sa grocery, dapat nakaayos. O di ba! (I'm careful with my things too. Everything should be tagged and in proper places, so that I can easily find what I need, see what is missing and what else is needed. Just like in my mini pantry, everything should be in place. See!)





(Some of the things in the pantry are the things I brought from Manila)

Not So Good

When I started this blog, I promise myself not to make it like the previous blog that I had. A blog that is full of negative feelings. I don’t want this one to be like that. But I guess, this is the time that I couldn’t hold on to that promise anymore.

I’m just human and I have my weaknesses too, and one of them perhaps is “not holding on to my emotions”. Even before coming here, I promise to myself that no matter what, I will be strong – emotionally & physically- because I don’t have anyone here. I will not get the emotional support that I will need, so I should take care of myself.

Somehow, I believe I’m doing great in taking care of myself, with the help of some friends and the cyberspace. But when the day ends and the night comes, when work is done and there’s nothing to do anymore, when cooking or baking isn’t good thing to do, when facebook is lifeless, when I have to put down the phone, that’s when the sadness creeps in. That’s when I feel so all alone. That’s when I miss home so much. During those times, which are so frequent now, I cry myself to sleep. Wishing for someone to be here, wishing for my best friend to be here. Wishing I have someone to talk with like the way I talk with my best friend or with another friend, where we can talk everything under the sun, even in the inner core of the earth, from the most serious things to the most senseless things. Those times when everything feels so light and makes you feel that no matter how hard life is, everything will just going to be fine.
I miss those days…


Evening Solace

The human heart has hidden treasures,
In secret kept, in silence sealed;­
The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures,
Whose charms were broken if revealed.
And days may pass in gay confusion,
And nights in rosy riot fly,
While, lost in Fame's or Wealth's illusion,
The memory of the Past may die.

But, there are hours of lonely musing,
Such as in evening silence come,
When, soft as birds their pinions closing,
The heart's best feelings gather home.
Then in our souls there seems to languish
A tender grief that is not woe;
And thoughts that once wrung groans of anguish,
Now cause but some mild tears to flow.

And feelings, once as strong as passions,
Float softly back­a faded dream;
Our own sharp griefs and wild sensations,
The tale of others' sufferings seem.
Oh ! when the heart is freshly bleeding,
How longs it for that time to be,
When, through the mist of years receding,
Its woes but live in reverie !

And it can dwell on moonlight glimmer,
On evening shade and loneliness;
And, while the sky grows dim and dimmer,
Feel no untold and strange distress­
Only a deeper impulse given
By lonely hour and darkened room,
To solemn thoughts that soar to heaven,
Seeking a life and world to come.

By:Charlotte Bronte

Litratong Pinoy: Tamad (Lazy)

Sa trabaho ko, kailangan masipag ka at alisto, lalo na kung set-up ng bagong showroom. Madalas 2 hanggang 4 na araw bago matapos ang pag-aayos ng isang bagong showroom. Kaya naman kung minsan tatamarin ka na sa dami ng kailangan pang gawin at tapusin. (In my line of work, it is necessary that you are hardworking and alert, especially during set-ups of new showroom. Usually, set-up lasts from 2 to 4 days. That's why sometimes you get lazy already from the workload that is needed to be done and finish.)

Kung minsan nakakainis din kung may mga kasama kang hindi puspusan ang pagtratrabaho, mas madalas ang pagtetext ang inaasikaso, gaya nito: (Sometimes, it is annoying that some of your colleagues are not focus in their work. Most of the time they are texting or talking on the phone, like this one:)


Pero syempre, sa layo naman ng mga showroom, nakakapagod din ang magmaneho kaya kung minsan ang aking kawawang tsuper ay nagpa-power nap habang ako ay nag-aayos ng showroom: (But of course, since the showrooms are far, it is so tiring to drive going there back & forth so my poor driver had to take a power nap while I do my job:)


Mas masaya kung lahat ay masipag at hindi tamad. Alisto at hindi mabagal. Pero madalas, sa umpisa lang ang sipag, paglaon pagod na ang lahat kaya nakakatamad. (IT is much better if every one is exerting effort and not lazy. Alert and not slow. But most of the time, it is only in the beginning that everyone are alert and working hard, in the long run everyone gets tired and lazy.)


Kaya, pagpagod na ang lahat at tinatamad ng magtrabaho, ang pampalipas oras at pagod ay PICTURE TAKING! (So, when everyone is tired and too lazy to work, the past time is PICTURE TAKING!)

One Long Holiday

Ever wonder how a supposedly long holiday seemed so short after? We just have a week long holiday because of Eid- Ul-Fitr. Technically, the government holiday was three days but our company made up for the two days so that we can have a weeklong holiday plus the weekends a total of 9days. Before the holiday, I find it so long. Long enough to be able to do the things I want to do, like finish my creative swap, do some scrapping, read a book, update my blog, study bangla, rest and sleep. But alas, this is the last day of holiday, tomorrow is back to work again, but I haven’t done half of the things I want to do. I wasn’t able to get enough sleep as much as I want to because well, I spend the night finishing games after games at our newly bought PS2. We purposely bought the PS2 so that we have something to do during this long holiday. The only thing that I was able to do was baked my first attempt of cheesecake and make a no-bake cake. Both received a “thumbs-up” from H except for auntie who isn’t a fan of milk and cream and butter but funny that she loves icecream and other cakes that are not white. Will try to bake something that she can eat freely.

The recipe is here. Cheesecake in the making:
the ingredients for the cheesecake

the crushed graham crackers for the crust, that i brought from my recent break in manila, just for this project. And just recently, I saw a Bluskies Graham Crackers for the first time here in Dhaka at Nandan Grocery, Dhanmondi Branch. Will check the DCC market if they have it too

the blocks of cream cheese

that i have to manually whisk because I forgot to borrow an electric mixer, it's so strenuous. A good exercise to the arms hehehe

Add sugar and milk and continue mixing it.

At last, I'm seeing hope here...continue mixing...

add the eggs, continue mixing

now, pour it in the crust, 1st of two pan



i made a small sizes too. This are the silicon cups that I bought from saizen, 3 pcs for 88 pesos. It works.


my busted microwave oven because its not rotating


the finish product. It's yummy. The burnt top doesn't taste burn at all, and maybe that happened because the microwave was not rotating.

And this is the no-bake cake:

yummylicious!

Litratong Pinoy

Paumanhin po kung hindi ako "updated" ngayon dito sa aking blog. Medyo busy kasi tayo sa trabaho simula ng bumalik ako mula sa aking isang linggong bakasyon sa Pilipinas. At kahit may isang linggo kaming holiday ngayon dahil sa eid-il-fitr ay hindi pa rin ako nakahanap ng panahong magblog dahil sa bagal ng internet dito sa dhaka. (I apologized for not updating my blog. I was tied up with work since I came back from the Philippines for my weeklong break. And even if we had a weeklong holiday due to eid-il-fitr, I still didn't get a chance to blog because the internet here is sooooooooo slow.)

Para sa tema nitong nakaraang huwebes: Palengke (For this last thursday's theme: market)






Kuha ang mga larawang ito sa bandang Old Dhaka, mga alas-syete ng umaga. Ito ay isang "wholesaler market" o bagsakan na nasa pinaka "main entry/exit" ng Old Dhaka patungo sa pinakahighway papunta sa ibang probinsya o villages. Maihahalintulad ito sa may Munoz market sa Manila. (All the pictures are taken somewhere in Old Dhaka, around 7am. This is a wholesale market situated in the main entry/exit of dhaka towards the highway going to other provinces or villages. This can be compare to the Munoz Market in Manila.)

LP 72: Hapunan

Ang tema ngayon ay hapunan. Sa totoo lang, bihira akong kumain ng hapunan. Madalas, isang baso lang ng gatas o kaya ay isang pirasong tinapay lang pagkadating galing trabaho ang pinakahapunan ko. (The theme for this round is dinner or supper. Honestly, I don't usually eat dinner. Most of the time, I just drink a glass of milk or eat a piece of bread whenever I reach home, and that is my dinner.)

Dahil ngayon ay buwan ng ramadan, ako din ay nag-aayuno dahil naiilang akong magdala ng baunan at kumain sa opisina samantalang karamihan sa mga katrabaho ko ay nag-aayuno. Kaya pagsapit ng alas-singko ng hapon, bago umuwi ay dumadaan muna ako sa tindahan para bumili ng iftar box. Ito na ang hapunan ko :-)(But because ramadan has started, I'm also fasting because I feel awkward bringing my lunch box while the rest of my officemates are fasting. So, at 5 o'clock pm, before going home, I always drop by to any restaurant or cafes to buy an iftar box. And that is my dinner.)


First iftar of the first roja: haleem, home-made paratha; on the plate: chicken shashlik, two types of aloo chop, jilapi, chana and roast chicken, dates & cucumber.

LP 71: Merienda (Snack)

Sa tuwing dumadalaw ako sa mga iba't-ibang branch namin, lagi silang naghahanda ng merienda. Karaniwan ay mga prutas o ang mga pagkaing-kalye O streetfood gaya ng pakora, piaju, beguni, aluchop at kung anu-ano pa. (Everytime i visit our branches, they always prepare a snacks. Most of the time, the snacks are fruits or their usual streetfoods like pakora, piaju, beguni, aluchop, and among others.)

Top left to right: pakora, alu chop, piaju, beguni

fruit custard



Pag nasa opis naman ako ay karaniwang doi fuchka ang aking merienda. Karaniwan din na may "tea time" sila dito, kaya madalas ay tsaa lang sa hapon ay solve na! (But if I'm in the office, doi fuchka is my fave snack. They usually have "tea time" also in the afternoon, so just a cup of tea with milk is enough for a snack.) doi fuchka


Ngunit, kung ako ay nasa Vigan, ito naman ang hilig kong merienda. Ang pipian! (But, if I'm in Vigan, this are my favorite snacks. The Pipian!) pipian

LP 70: Tanghalian

Simula ng ako ay nagtrabaho dito sa ibang bansa na kung saan ang karaniwang ulam o Bengali cuisine ay hindi ko tipong kainin dahil ito ay sobrang maanghang sa aking panlasa o dahil sa hindi ko lang talaga tipo ang macurry na ulam, ako ay natutong magluto :-) At madalas na may baon akong tanghalian sa opisina.(Eversince I started working here in this country wherein the usual food or Bengali cuisine is not my type because its too spicy for me or because I just really don't like too much spices and curries,I learned how to cook. I always bring my lunch box with me in the office.)Ito ang baon ko noong linggo, chicken, ginisang munggo at balichaw o shutki.


Ito naman ang karaniwang tanghalian ng mga Bangladeshi.(This is the regular Bengali cuisine.)
(Mula sa kaliwa, itaas) patatas na may curry, manok na may chili, hipon na may curry, shag (spinach), kanin, at dal. ( From upper left, potato curry, chicken with chilis, shrimp curry, shag, rice and dal.)

Makisalo tayo sa iba pang pananghalian.

LP 69: Almusal (Breakfast)

Sabi nila, ang almusal ang pinakaimportanteng pagkain sa loob ng isang araw. Kailangan nga naman ng enerhiya ang ating katawan para handa sa buong araw na trabaho at kung anu-ano pang gawain.
(They say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Our body needs anyway the energy for a long day ahead.)

Ito ang paborito kong almusal dito sa Bangladesh. Ang paratha at dim (itlog)at hotdog o kaya ay karnenorte na may kasamang mainit na duhd(milk) tzaa(tea), ang tipikal/tradisyunal na almusal ng mga Bangladeshi. Isa ito sa mga naibigan kong pagkain dito sa bangladesh, at mas nasasarapan ako at natutuwa sa pagkain nito kung kasabay ko si H sa hapagkainan.
(This is my favorite breakfast here in Bangladesh. The Paratha and dim (egg) plus hotdog or cornbeef and freshly made hot duhd tza (milk tea), a typical/traditional Bangladeshi breakfast. This is just one of the few things that I learn to love here and I enjoy eating it more whenever I share it with H.)

Silipin natin ang ibang almusal. (Let's take a look of other breakfast.)

LP 68: Proteksyon

Ito ang proteksyon sa paa tuwing tag-lamig. (This are the feet protection during winter.)


Narito ang ibang lahok.

LP 67: Nakakakilabot

Nakakakilabot o nakakatakot o nakakapanindig balahibo o nakakasindak. (Nakakakilabot means something scary, something that gives goosebumps, causing great fear)

Madalas magbrownout dito sa Bangladesh. Tatlong beses na tig-iisang oras ang pinakamababang bilang ng brownout sa loob ng isang araw. Load shedding o load sharing ang tawag nila dito. Kaya naman, nang minsang magbrownout at wala akong magawang matino, ito ang napagdiskitahan kong gawin. (Blackout is so frequent here in Bangladesh. Three times a day, for an hour is the minimum number of blackout in a day. It is called load shedding or load sharing. So, one night when the current was off and I had nothing good to do, this is what I did to keep me from getting bored.)


Kakakilabot ba? (Scary?)






Regalo sa akin ni H ang sungay, munting demonyita daw kasi ako ng buhay niya :-) (The horn was a gift from H, because according to him I'm the Lil Devil of his life.)

Narito ang ibang nakakakilabot.

One Fine Day

the group that we are tailing

Yesterday, i joined the Scott Kelby's 2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk here in Dhaka. Thanks to my friend who forwarded me the link to this event. It was a whole new experience for me because I was able to walked and roamed around Nowadpur at Old Dhaka. Something that I will not dare to do with just my staff of girls with me. It's a good thing that one of the group leader is accommodating. We are just literally tailing him for the whole duration of the photowalk because we found out that girls are less accommodating to fellow girls :-) There were at least 80 participants in the said photowalk. Here are some of my favorite shots.
an uncle mixing an aloe vera sort of a medicinal drink

a rickshaw van beside a postalbox/mailbox/letterbox

streetkids in awe with the LCD screen of the digicam

at long last, i was able to take a picture of paratha in the making, my fave bangladeshi breakfast with sunnyside up egg with sausage or cornedbeef



a stretch of money changer; exchange your old takas to new takas here on the sidestreets of Nowadpur




my girls, resting after the one and a half hour walk

After the walk, Zakia and I decided to go to Lalbagh Fort (at long last). They charge 100taka for foreigner and 10taka to a local, and the ticket are color coded which they collect at the entrance so there is no way for me to avoid the high price of being a foreigner :-) It's good that the area is well-maintained but in every nook and corner, you will see young couples dating. These are the deprived ones so they have to settle in this area as their dating place. Holding hands between guy & a girl is considered indecent here, so you can just imagine my companions shock in their faces to see this people hugging each other in public place. Tomb of Bibi Pari inside Lalbagh Fort



a scene from a bangla movie? nope, just lovers too in love to be bothered by the scorching heat of the sun

a not-so-secret dating place