Sugar Apple

Chewing toasted sprouted English muffin can be an activity itself. It is made of food designed to make you feel full with the added bonus of providing better nutrition than traditional bread. This was my breakfast which meant I wouldn't have a mid-morning snack. I wouldn't be making my Mango Sprinkles drink (1/4 c. mango puree + 1 1/4 c. filtered water + 3 teaspoons powdered psyllium husk) which gives me about 15 grams of fiber. That's one of my snack choices during work to hold me until lunch.

My nail salon was very busy this morning. I couldn't wait to get my nails done and trimmed to a more manageable length. Too bad I ruined the polish on my left thumb within 15 minutes of leaving. I was at my apartment parking space getting out of my car. My right index finger got scratched, too, five minutes later while lightly pinning Cabal on the wall outside my door. The new neighbor next door was in the middle of moving in. I didn't think it was a good idea for her helpers to get startled by his loud piercing bark. I cursed and repaired the nails as best as I could with the nail stuff I have on hand. Only a close inspection would give me away.

My long-time-no-see friend Myrna picked me up for a Mexican lunch. On the way I told her about my new neighbor who is a true red head -- I am talking there is no mistaking ginger. Her family mirrored her coloring. I noticed a guitar so she must be musical. Not sure if she attends the university around the corner or not. Time will only reveal.

Our Mexican lunch was good, but made me uncomfortably full even in my loose jeans. It wasn't tight at all - my tummy just wasn't happy. We soon made it to a supercenter and threw ourselves in the crowd shopping. My tummy was thankful for the walk around. It was a mental idea to shop with the others who were trying to get ready for back-to-school on Monday, but we got through insanity to buy things like soap, toilet paper, etc. Myrna expressed her desire to go to the oriental store downtown and that's where we went right after.

In Tagalog, they call it atis (ah-tis), but in English it is known as a sugar apple. Imagine my delight to find it in the produce aisle at Oceanic. I have only had one of these since I left the Philippines. That fruit gem was given to me by Ant several years ago. It is worth its weight and these modest three were almost $7.00! When they are ripe, I will take a picture and show you the creamy white flesh and the shiny black seeds.




I bought some cookies/biscuits and sesame candy for the Asian mafia next week. Since I tore into the banana ones, I guess I get to keep that package. The thing about Asian flavors in products such as cookies, is that the flavors are especially strong. You know what flavor you are supposed to have as you enjoy the flavor essence permeating the treat...Tapioca pearls for my boba drink...A bun with sweet red bean paste baked in it...A package of Kopiko (a Tagalog bastardization of coffee -- kopi and ko -- meaning mine) made it into my bag. Inside the bag has 22 packets of coffee/sugar/creamer mixture.




My piece de resistance was my collection of veggies from the Asian store. Feast your eyes on the eggplant (far left), snow peas (upper right hand), big hand of ginger (bottom front), and my bunch of water spinach (far right) mingling next to the more familiar fare.




The universe has a sense of humor. It urged me to look at the packaged and impressive European cucumber more closely. And do you know where it comes from? No? Are you sure? Ft. Lonesome, FL. I almost died laughing. I mean -- are you kidding me?!

I don't like putting groceries away. Now I am wondering if I should have bought some bottled water. Apparently a hurricane is on its way. Fay is on the Way. Let's hope she's a fickle wench and goes elsewhere.


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Sugar Apple

Four Asian Markets and Little Philippines

Coffee from my French press was like nectar of the gods this morning. I had to prepare for a big day with my Filipino friend Sharon. Your AGOL was playing tour guide around town to four Asian markets and a stop for lunch at auntie's house to start.

Sharon received the quickie tour of the Sprinkles Sanctuary first. She told me how girlie I am yet how comfy my place makes her feel. The thing that surprised her the most was how tiny my kitchen was in proportion to all the kitchen paraphernalia. I showed her my overstuffed kitchen drawers/cabinets and revealed to her the other places of storage for kitchen stuff. She said I can open my own catering business with all of it. Nah...but close.

I had warned Sharon that my aunt's house was like Little Philippines with the tropical fruit trees around the house and the decor inside. She agreed after seeing everything. My aunt fulfilled my request for a certain Filipino dish and augmented it with other stuff that Sharon and I quickly wolfed down. The grandkids were over, too, so the rest of the household was still full from a late breakfast. I doubt they would've eaten what we had. In fact, little Kristen commented how something was stinky and I brought a serving bowl up to her nose which she quickly wrinkled.

The Brandon Oriental Market had moved to a bigger spot as they had outgrown the other place. They had things I have never seen before at an oriental market. Spent $23 and took home three bagsful of stuff. Sweet. You get way more and way cooler stuff from the Asian store.

Our next stop was downtown where Oceanic, the mother of all Asian markets in Tampa, was located. Sharon had a good time looking at everything. We both shopped conservatively. This was only Asian market no. 2 out of 4 after all. From downtown we stopped at MD Oriental Market which Sharon loved. We took home one large cooked tilapia fish each. The one store she loved the most was our last stop: Philippine Oriental Market where we ate halo-halo for a late afternoon snack.

Just a few of my groceries...


Both of these cost $1.99: Round wooden chopsticks for Sprinkles and red plastic attached cheater sticks for Bridget.


Who doesn't have fish sauce mingling with their Colman's?


Sharon brought in some of her cold items in my refrigerator so she could hang out with me a little bit. Tired and suffering from sensory overload, Sharon couldn't wait to regale her husband and her mother with our adventures around town. She's not much of a cook, but she loves to eat and vows to run more tomorrow to offset all the goodies she bought. I loved watching her childlike delight in purchasing items she hasn't seen in 2o years and I enjoyed reliving the Philippines with her. It's all in a day's work for this AGOL. Mabuhay!*

*Mabuhay (mah-BOO-hai) meaning long-live and more recently something said to welcome foreigners like when the Hawaiians say aloha.


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Four Asian Markets and Little Philippines

Chopstick Chow Down

I thought it was French cuisine that was intimidating, not Asian! A few people who volunteered for the our Asian potluck chickened out and didn't show up even when the rest of assured them there would be plenty of food. Goddess knows I always cook for an army as did those who cooked for lunch today.

We had Chinese pork dumplings which Bridget made (yum!!) , Korean Beef (bulgogi), Nam Sod (Thai pork appetizer with tons of ginger and lime juice with a hint of fish sauce and slices of fresh red onion) with Rice and Black Sesame Puffed Crackers, Pancit (Filipino noodle dish - rice vermicelli noodles with veggies and chicken), and the all important jasmine rice my friend Sharon made. I told Bridget that with all the Asians breathing down Sharon's neck on how to properly to cook the rice, she was to count herself lucky not have volunteered for lot. We were hoping for more variety in dishes, but believe me there were plenty to eat. The ladies laughed at my table arrangement and how I fussed over the placement and presentation of things. For dessert, we had my cake and some French chocolate someone brought. Needless to say, our chopsticks were surrendered for the rest of the day.

I came home late and was weak against the call of sleep. It had been a rough week for my lack of it. Maybe that was the cause of my grumpiness and general bitchiness? I just have to regroup again. It is amazing how easy it is to lose focus...most especially when you're mind is easily distracted with crazy things that do not hold deep meaning.
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Chopstick Chow Down

Rescuing York

Waking up was very difficult today, but my doggie was persistent or was that his bladder? Poor thing. Made a decision to drive and get a large cup of my favorite brand of coffee. My coffee stash had finally run out. Couldn't function without it today.

The morning also found me writing a couple of e-mails. One of them I was very glad to be finally writing to a new friend. Circumstances had cut my opportunity to write her last year, but fate stepped in two months ago. Smiles all around.

My Filipino maid has been getting lazy. She had floors to wash, laundry to do and a bathroom to clean. It's hard to get good help these days. I'd say she was bothered about ruining her nails, but I know where she goes and almost nothing can mess those up. Yes, it's true -- even Asian goddesses have to be Filipino maids some time...

I made another foray into my neighborhood and this time it was to satisfy a craving for Chinese food. I shed Shallowville today. No make-up, my hair was down, wearing sweats and almost no jewelry. You would not have recognized your AGOL. Little did I know I would be dressing up as some sort of angel. No, I was not wearing white. Me in white? Maybe ecru...or cream...or red. ANYHOO...It was the role of an angel.

I had just sat in my car and was about to close my door when I saw this older man hurrying towards me with paper. Startled and scared, I said No, thank you loudly and began to shut my door. The little geezer was not to be deterred. He said he needed directions in a frantic English accent. Oh. Hee.

His itinerary revealed a hotel nearby but I forgot where it was. He kept mentioning how it was behind Busch Gardens which was just a couple of miles up the road. I drew him a coarse map so he could get around if he got lost and I used my cell to call the hotel for more specific directions. While filling in the map, I asked him where in England he was from and replied York (way north). I told him I was in Brighton and London last year. He looked at me as if I had grown two heads. Whatever. I sent him on his merry way after we went over the directions again. He was thankful. His missus in the car looked relieved. I wonder how long they had been lost before he broke down and asked me for directions. You know guys and directions. Soon me and my tummy were enjoying Beef and Broccoli.

Confucius Say: Do not judge AGOL by lack of finery for she may be filling role of Filipino maid. Asian Goddesses not paid good with American inflation and recession. Must make do with self...darn it.
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Rescuing York

It's Bunday!

I was falling asleep in my morning conference call that was also a webcast. Standing helped me stay up until I was silently begging for our vendor to end the call that had gone about 20 minutes too long. My boss, on the other hand, was starting to do the pee-pee dance in his chair and ran down the hall when our call was over. Hee.

Decided to postpone my meeting with my temp till the afternoon. I didn't want to feel extra tired before lunch so I sent the invite for later. Meanwhile, I ended up calling my bank trying to find out what happened yesterday. Funds are readily available again and all is good with the bank who apologized for the error.

Meeting with the temp was quicker than I thought, but will meet with her again tomorrow morning. Spent the afternoon catching up on stuff. Truth be told, I was bored. Sigh.

You have to see this Cute Bunny that gives us the blog post title of Bun-day. Angie sent this to me in the afternoon and the pictures almost made my teeth shatter. We're all about cute at AGOL-land.

I needed to do some food shopping but didn't feel like going to a normal grocery store so I found myself with a mini-cart at the Oriental Market. Picked up some Yaki-Soba noodles that I will stir fry later with veggies and the seasoning that came with the noodles. Splurged on a very lean cut of flank steak that I sliced later for a stir-fry with broccoli and sweet spicy sauce. Bought several other things including a couple of new Filipino items to take to my aunt's tomorrow.

The only thing I had trouble with was buying a small bag of jasmine rice. They had broken jasmine rice, but not regular long grain jasmine rice in a small bag. The only alternative was to buy a body bag size of rice. That is more than enough rice for one Asian family for a few months. I declined. The lady checking my groceries felt bad because she looked on the shelves, too. When my goodies were bagged, all of a sudden she said, Here - a gift for you. She handed me a parting gift at the end which was a new package of blueberry cookies. I thanked her and drove home.

After taking care of Cabal, my house soon smelled nicely of Asian food and I still had rice previously leftover to have with my stir-fry. Watched some really good programming like Heroes and I was set for the evening.

It's Bunday!

Happy Asian Comforts

Giddily anticipated doing The Saturday Four this morning. The weather was cooler and not the steam bath it has been during these walks. Kim met me for a quick version. She slept on her back wrong and I had my hair appointment. More cars were driving around than there were available spaces by the time we made it back. Felt the pressure to vacate; it was a popular destination this morning.

Went home, had a small breakfast and played with Cabal before getting ready for my hair appointment. When I arrived, I told her I wanted my hair darker and she said that she didn't have time today but I could pick out what I wanted. I settled on a Dark Blond Mahogany Brown which my current highlights will still show through but with some red and brown tint. Basically the chestnut lift I am looking for. Even if she had the time, she didn't have enough product. She had one bottle and my hair would take three! I have thick hair and lots of it. Next Saturday I have another appointment with her.

My Korean hairdresser Michelle. Sometime I will tell you the story of her life. If you know of a more mature intellectual gentleman who is single, she's game. She's recently divorced, stands 5'4" on a good day without her high heels, old enough to be my mother, owns her own business, outrageous and amazingly sweet.


Bought some tropical smoothie with mango and boba (large tapioca pearls) right after my hair appointment and called Tawny to see if she and her hubby wanted to go to lunch. She declined since their plans were already set in motion. Set off for getting my nails done instead.

My tour through Asia today led me to my Vietnamese nail technician who, in the middle of doing my hands, cajoled me into getting a spa pedicure. I only agreed since she would be the one doing it. There's something to be said about looking down and seeing your toes cute again with bright deep reddish fuchsia color. While I sat on the spa chair having my feet done, her brother came over and continued working on my hands. I did feel like a goddess. It's been a long time since I've felt that way. We givers tend to forget ourselves since we're too busy making sure everyone is taken care of and having a good time.

The afternoon was beginning to wear and I was famished -- on to the Chinese-owned Asian Store. They had some cooked offerings and I was grateful to not have to cook or settle for a sucky lunch. Bought a whole tilapia fish and cooked blue crab to go with my rice at home. Picked up a few more things before breaking down and driving over to the Philippine Store for some ready made veggies. Felt guilty for not supporting my own Asian people. (I stopped short of going to a German restaurant to complete my cultural heritage.)

My Asian treasures from my adventures today. So deeeelicious! Will be feasting on these the next few days.


Tawny told me that Kathy hadn't been feeling well. Called her to make sure she was okay and she was indeed feeling better. I regaled her with my Asian tour. I think she enjoyed hearing me joyful and giggly. It's been a while and I am determined to sustain it tomorrow.

Being around Asian immigrants made me happy today. It's this invisible camaraderie because you know how life is in your mother country and knowing that no matter how hard life gets here, it is still worth the agony and hard work. Our sense of humor takes over because crying is a waste of time when some things are out of your control. You cope by turning the sad parts into outrageous caricatures which makes you laugh the sadness away and everyone shares in that laughter. From my experience, Asians have the most outrageous sense of humor, usually bordering on the bawdy. It's all good.

Happy Asian Comforts