Photography101

Let's get serious now...I am not one to sit on my ass if there's nothing on my mind for the moment. Because in reality, there are too many things to do, so little time. And many have been encouraging me to write a book...Thank you, but yes! I am writing several books, all at the same time but with different subjects. (sobra ka ambitiosa!!!)

I never cease to learn more things, because life is about learning. And you can never learn too much. If you think you know, then it is that you don't really know.

One day, I took the challenge of enrolling in those literary courses that I saw in a magazine. It was about writing children's books. I remembered as a child, how almost all of our children's books had a foreign theme.

Who would ever thought of playing in the snow, when it never snows in the Philippines.
Or that Santa Claus was a bearded, obese man carrying a sack of toys. How can a child ever comprehend someone wearing a long sleeve furry velvet cloth suit on a tropical hot place like the Philippines. He'll probably melt like butter on a hot pan. And unless you live in Baguio, fireplaces in living rooms was unheard of, and that was suppose to be Santa's entry to your house. Now that will really give Santa a free sauna.

The children's literary course was convenient because the deadlines for submission of articles were manageable. And you could learn at your own pace.

One time, I wrote about “the Parade of Lechons”, a fiesta in Batangas commemorating the feast of John the Baptist. This was one article I submitted to my teacher for a possible print at a Children's magazine. However, my teacher gave it back. with the comment, “What does John the Baptist have to do with roasted pigs? He was Jewish, he probably never ate any kind of pig.” So instead of me discussing Filipino culture and religion, I submitted another non controversial topic. What does she know about pigs, just as I didn't care less about snow!

Then, in between submitting my assignment and getting it back for comments, the lull was defeaning and so I enrolled again at an Insitute for catering and cooking, so I could write a cookbook.

Between a children's book and a recipe book, I needed illustrations and pictures. So that started me into another course ---Photography. This was one course that is really a challenge.

Why am I taking it? First, I am a stingy, parsimonously, frugal, penny pinching tight wad, otherwise known as barat. Photographers don't come cheap, and if I need to have lots of pictures for my cookbook or children's books, then I should at least know what I am looking for. Second, I value my time. I don't have a schedule yet for finishing my cookbook, so it's unfair to have a photographer this early on. Besides, I'd rather deal with my own idiosyncracies and moods rather than a hired person's. Finally, who knows, this can be a money making hobby for me in the long run.

With today's modern technology on cameras, you'd think that it's as easy as clicking the button and have a great take. Not so. And I found that out as soon as I took my first written exam, which I got a “B” grade. Not very encouraging. I still get confused with all those f-stops, aperture, shutter speeds and depth of field.

I still have so much to learn which includes the likes of lighting, digital processing, computer editing, photo journalism, portraits, setting up your own studio... etc...etc...Did you know that there are even rules and regulations of taking photographs and using them? Who wouldn't want to be in a photo? But then in this country of Litigations, there is such a thing as invasions of privacy.

And speaking of that, didn't you often wonder why some celebrity stars cover their faces? That's because the paparazis can demand big money for full body pictures which can be used for magazine covers and stories.

Speaking about the paparazis, as part of our curriculum, I am given a Press Card I.D. as an official photographer for the school (all students are given), which means I can gain access to those cordoned areas of a program. Although it won't guarantee entry, (the school says it's still at the organizer's or police discreetion), I can shove my press I.d on their faces and say, “hey! You wanna to be famous?”

Who doesn't want to be known anyway? We all want to be recognized, accepted and acknowledged even for the measly small stuff we do. Facebook is even a venue for that. But who Filipino ,when in a resto, in a party gathering, or wherever he is wouldn't say “PEEK CHUR, PEEK CHUR....PEEK CHUR TA BEH!!!”

I rest my case.

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs"
Ansel Adams 1902-1984

Romantic Comedy

Yup! That's the description that mike and I are in. A few months back in facebook, Mike wrote under his status : Open relationship, which made a lot of cyberspace friends a buzz with "what's going on between you too?, "becoming promiscuous ehhhh?!"

Well, just to let you know, I approved of what he wrote, because I did not know any better. I thought that open relationship meant the liberty of discussing anything from his feelings, moods and anything under, over and around the sun. You know how secretive Filipino men are , who thinks that being 'macho' is having women on the sideline and that there are demarcation duties between both sexes. The kind that insinuates that it's a woman's duty to stay at home and keep house, while the men look for bread and bacon. Baloney!

I've never had problems about Mike having women.( if there were any?) How do I know that? Because early on in our married life, he always looked for me every minute of the day . (well am exaggerating, but close). My mom used to say how obsessed my husband was of me because he often wanted to know my whereabouts, even if I was just at home. And when I went abroad, my sister would say, that he would often talk only about me...and only me...

One time, I even joked to my husband to have an affair...Well, sort of a joke but really! if he ever did it, I would have a reason to leave him and say, "Because you were unfaithful to me..You jerk! How could you!!!!" And then the world will condemn him and elevate my status to saint and he a sinner. But, it never happened. Not that I know of , am sure.

One time, Mike sent me a bunch of flowers and instead of thanking him, I said, "but why did you do that? We could have used the money for something else...The flowers will just wilt, but maybe a new pair of le crueset pans would be better." Of course the ungrateful moi would be so just that.....ungrateful.

Then when I would be working at my desk, he would slide a box of my favorite chocolates . I would turn my head with dagger look eyes and say, "What's this?!!! You want to make me fat?!" And he'd say, "That's to show my love for you." And then I'd say, "yes, because you want me to have more of those love handles a.k.a. bilbils for you to hold." Then he'd retrieve the box with an apologetic, hurt look , to which I will grab the chocolates. But then of course, we'd both end up eating them anyway.

Mike is a hopeless romantic and looks at every opportunity to court me even at this stage in our lives. And of course, the crazy me always makes every instance look funny. Just the other day, I was chatting with my daughter and I don't remember if I was griping, whining or complaining, but out of the blues, she told me to have sex with Mike so that his moods will be better. Am not suppose to be shocked by that statement since I am a Woodstock liberated baby, but then YES! coming from my conservative daughter I was shocked.

But as fast as I lost bearing in my track for a moment , I gained it back. I told her that if it comes to sex, her papa and I just do ORAL SEX...she then got shocked (my revenge--hehehe). To which I said, nowadays, we just TALK ABOUT it, that's all...Then I told her that give it another 5 years or so, we will have ANAL SEX, which means we will be older, and that we will just ANALYZE what sex is all about. Di ba.?

It is said that the best gift a father can give his children is to love their mother. And Mike has indeed given that to his children. It is the reason why I look young, among other things.

In a woman's life, there are three roles that she can choose to play. She can be a drama queen complete with the ups and downs of conflicts, tragedies and successes. Or she can play The supporting actress, where life unfolds itself through revelations and she just moves with the flow. Or she can be a comedian and live a life full of wit and humour . After all, in the story of life, we end up dead anyway. I chose the latter.

Who is my idol chef?

Julie and Julia is one movie to watch especially for anyone who enjoys anything about food. Every minute was truly entertaining since I definitely could relate to Julie Powell as the food blogger who emulates her idol - Julia Child. As I write this piece, I am wondering who of those celebrity chefs would I wish to emulate...And so here is my take on all those food network stars.

Bobby Flay – he was the first food network star that I saw on television, many years ago. He'd been grilling since, and he's still grilling now. He is a New York street smart honcho chef with a baby face to boot and when he started getting famous, the air around him was as hot as the baloon he was blowing in his head. And as bloated as he was with his ego, the farther I stayed away. But then lately, with his show “Throwdown”, he has landed back on the ground, realizing he's not so hot after all. I liked him back especially after he placed his arms on my shoulder when I asked for his autograph at a book signing---but not enough to emulate him.

Tyler Florence – Top of his culinary class, and makes a lot of sense when showing his recipes. Was able to exchange a few lines with him. He says he was suppose to go to the Philippines a few years back but then he was too busy or something just came up. Very talented but still.....

Mario Batali- now he's one guy I can think of because he's not afraid to try and cook pig's snout, animal entrails, and all those weird stuff that the other chefs don't show on t.v. ..But he's just not my type, besides he's just a few inches taller than me.

Alton Brown – hmmm...funny as ever when we shook hands. Thats one thing I like about him. No airs, lots of p.r., his knowledge is more on the scientific side rather than the artistic side. More of a culinary historian and/or scientist. Wouldn't be surprised if his second job is being a comedian in Times Square---you know, those comedy show centrals they offer around those areas. Now this guy I could start thinking of...we'll see.

Anthony Bourdain – now here's one guy that I would really like to meet (and yes! I do have a ticket in October for a chance to meet him at the Food and Wine Festival. Sold out as of last look). I've read several of his books—and mind you it's no recipe book-- his travels and memoirs are fun to read. He is street savvy, and am more on the demure side..(kuno)

So lets go to the flip side....

Rachel Ray – the beer material, chunky image, chatterbox of the food network stars. She has never stopped talking from day one. But if you've seen her lately, she's no longer the once ordinary looking, home comfort lady that she once was. She evolved and allowed the food network to mold her. She tattles too much, thats probably why she has her own talk show now. RR will make a better fashion model for 'chunky' young women rather than those cooking tools she's promoting. Everything included, my take on her is that she's loud all over.

Guida de Laurentis – flawless. Her skin is smooth, she's short, and her ear to ear smile that shows good, healthy teeth—not to mention those 'tits' often oozing out of her. I wonder who's her wardrobe artist? If RR is the beer, she's the wine. Although her recipes are Italian inspired, she still does have some surprises up her sleeve. I asked several men who watch her shows, and they said that the first thing they notice is her boobs...Now that's something I don't have.

Ina Garten – the contessa, the epitome of respectable, relaxed but classy gustatory concoctions is an icon. She is one grand lady to emulate. Her speech is sweet rap to the point of being boring, but her recipes and ideas are quite surprising. Her epicurism is too refine to emulate against my kind of comfort, bawdy demeanor. Although I should ,if I want to make myself a food elitist, but who cares?!!!!

Masaharu Morimoto, Jacques Pepin, have fused their cultural dishes with others just like Ming Tsai and many others. I could go on and on and on...So..who among all those are the best chances of being emulated by moi: here is my criteria:

1)should know how to make Filipino food – such as utilizing everything of an animal.
2)must learn how to use asian ingredients
3)must be creative and knows how to share recipes regardless....
4)shouldn't be as loud as Rachel Ray, as boobsy as Guida or as boring as Ina.
5)Should possess the humor of Alton Brown, the street smart mentality of Bobby Flay
and the charisma of Anthony Bourdain.
6)Doesn't have to be a culinary graduate/ or have many years of cooking experience but close..

Okay, so I guess thats all...If anyone knows of such a person/cook/chef please let me know.....OH WAIT! But I DO have all those traits...SO....THENNNN.......the best person to emulate is ME …..I JUST HAVE TO BE MYSELF........Now how simple is that!!!!!

And here's a piece of news that I got from one of those foodie magazines:
” Many celebrity chefs don't cook. They used to. They still know how, but after years of 15-hour days in the kitchen, the last thing they want is to work the line night after night. It may be disappointing for the Food Network fanatic not to see her favorite chef at his own restaurants, but rest assured it's not usually the star chef who makes the food great. It's the chef de cuisine and sous-chefs- the nameless folks who toil away hoping one day they become stars themselves.”

My Techno Rehab Experience

Panic mode!. That was what I was experiencing a couple of weeks ago. My laptop of 5 years was acting up and it finally conked out, just when I was about to go on vacation.

So I told myself -- OMG! no more facebook, no emails, no stupid games like 'farmtown', 'typing maniac' or 'how well do you know kurdapya' to name a few. No more posting of funny pictures to let people know how creatively crazy I can be sometimes . So! what am I going to do?

Then I thought about those times, when the computer was not yet in existence. As I sat and pondered, I realized that there will be things my children and the generation to follow, will never ever experience such as we had "during my time".

I am then reminded of my telephone days, when I had to dial the numbers by putting my finger through a hole and sliding it till the stopper, then releasing my finger from the hole, sending the dial back to its original position. And repeating the whole process until we got the right phone numbers.

When I get a busy signal, the loudness of its TOOOOT....TOOOT...TOOOT....TOOOOT reverberated in my ear, but listening closely, voices would come out in between those toots like so: "Hellooo?'TOOOOT what's your number." TOOOT "call me up, TOOOT, my number isTOOOT nineTOOOT three fourTOOOT fiveTOOOT eight - -" and the message is repeated a zillion times over until someone says "okay!" Then you'd know someone has communicated a message. And I was one of those phone loonies with no better thing to do.

Normally, I would do the calling because my parents were strict and didn't want their scrutiny of anonymous whakos ringing the house. Besides, it would spoil the fun of adventure. The quality of my phone pal's voice and his diction would depend on how much information I would give. Aliases or giving my neighbor's profile was often what I communicated. Only after the 'eyeball' experience would the revelation of my identity be known. And mind you, I would always bring my neighbor for that 'meet'. If my phone pal was cute and worthy of my friendship, then I would identify myself as the perpetrator, otherwise, there would be two innocent people who have no idea what hit them .

Party lines will be a thing of the past. Ever had those screaming moments when you wanted to use the phone but the other end of the line wouldn't budge? I've had many of those 'hanging up the phone" incidents and those screaming curse bouts with such party lines. What a pain in the neck!

And then there were those term paper assignments that you typed on an Olympus which felt like playing drums with your fingers . I'd spend many reams of paper and rolls of ink ribbon just so I could finish one measly thesis to graduate College. We erased with strips of white paper and later on white liquid eraser. We'd spend hours and hours in the library just for a few morsels of information.

Technology has indeed revolutionized all these by its introduction of the computer. Internet, Word Processors, Skypes, emails and whatever it can to make life more convenient and entertaining for all.

My computer is like my best friend. Never complaining, keeping me company in times of boredom and loneliness. It has reconnected me to the outside world and has made my life easier and less costly. I'm never at a loss of something to do when I have my computer.

Then there was facebook. At first I thought of it like one of those click and forget sites. Like the ones which are really for bored surfers. I already had my own blogspot and was posting pictures in Multiply that I didn't need any of them. I thought that was enough global socializing and networking plus the tons of emails I get, but facebook was all these combined. And hooking up with friends is just but the meat in the bone.

Every morning when I wake up, I'd turn on my computer and check on facebook. With a cup of coffee by the side, I would scroll down to check on a friend's sharings. Sometimes I would look up friends from my friends site and add them to my list. During the day, I would make several trips to my computer and check on facebook. And just before I hit the sack, facebook was like my good night prayer. I was having so much fun that I was hooked to the site. Before long, I realized I was a facebook addict. Playing the games, chatting with friends, posting notes and pictures. Everything was just plain entertaining.

For awhile I hated myself and even tried to psychologize what facebook does. First, I realized I had too much time to waste so I go to facebook. Second, I am a sucker for information back home and miss getting in touch with friends. Third, I am a passive receptacle for whatever news, articles and gossip that goes around. And of course, I also want to share my silliness and be recognized for it AND I don't mind the redundancy even if it bores me to death.

So, when I was going for that yearly vacation to the Hamptons without a computer , I panicked like a drug crazed maniac going into rehabilitation. I had no time and money to buy a new computer, so I resigned myself to being BORED! But, miracles of miracles, I went for 2 weeks without real prolonged global communication. Relying only on a friend's computer, I would borrow it for no more than 15 minutes a day just to check emails and reply if necessary. Other than that I would go about my ways of enjoying my holiday of reading, swimming and simply unwinding.

Slowly, I became more relaxed as the only screen I was exposed to during those days was sunscreen ..The hours I spend in facebook, multiply or other sources of computer entertainment no longer obsessed me. I am back to where I once was before facebook.

Last weekend, after my rendezvous with my high school friends at a Manhattan restaurant, I proceeded to an apple store and bought myself a MacBook Pro . I am still honeymooning with Mac, getting to know its features . I have disciplined myself only as needed lest I am mesmerized again. While I use my computer for catching up on overdue assignments, revived numerous projects and surfed my researches, I have not totally abandoned the importance of networking with friends, and I do chat on occasions. But then I have learned to limit the use of my computer and use it as my slave rather than it mastering me.

I have been rehabilitated....I have been restored...

I am now at peace...OR AM I?



The apple employee who helped me get my computer. They also give free tutorials on the mac, and they're just as good looking like this guy...so mas inspired gyud...