Java madness continues in honor of The 2011 National Coffee Day!

Here is another inspirational, coffee-themed piece that I found on ye olde hard drive. It was originally shared with yours truly around six or so years back and now seems the perfect time to actually post the same online.

Get yourself a hot (or cold) cuppa, and enjoy!

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old University of Notre Dame lecturer.

Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.”

“What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each others’ cups.”

“Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn’t change.”

“Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it.”

The 29th of September this year is National Coffee Day. One of the coolest, most pulse-racing and heart-palpitating events of the year, in my humble, Starbucks-induced opinion.

Apparently, according to NationalCoffeeDay.net: “There are 111 million of coffee drinkers around the world consuming more than 440 billion cups of joe every year. And the numbers keep rising.”

Definitely more than enough reason to celebrate! (Especially for StarBucks, Costa, Second Cup and other such establishments that have artfully reshaped the practice of drinking coffee into a complete lifestyle – and a thriving industry.)

The article below is from a collection of inspirational stories called The Passage, published in 2004. This particular write-up is credited to Regina Rosarii. I originally got a photocopy of this piece way back in 2005 from one of my former bosses in the Philippines.

The Mayonnaise Jar and the Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember – the mayonnaise jar and the coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things like your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions, things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else, like the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Happy birthday to me!

This is my third consecutive birthday that I am celebrating in Oman.

Two years ago to date, I spent an exorbitant amount of money to buy imported pork and cook and eat dishes of this all day long (more like all week long, to be honest).

As for last year’s birthday, Peter and I had dinner at Chilli’s in Muscat City Centre and went on to Markaz Al Bahja to catch the midnight screening of Inglorious Basterds.

This year, we did lots more of things together because we both had a day off work, thankfully, on the day before my birthday!

Taken during the eve of my birthday, 23 September 2010, on our way to Markaz Al Bahja for a late afternoon snack.

Again, we went to Markaz Al Bahja in Seeb to browse through the shops, spending quite some time in Muscat Sports having a look through their winter collection. Nothing of note, especially for ladies, since I was actually looking for some leggings and tops that could double up as casual and gym wear.

We then had a late afternoon snack, with sumptuous, affordable Chinese food from the Chinese Palace booth at the food court. I love, love, love Chinese Palace – it is my favorite restaurant in Oman, in fact. Not only are the prices wallet-friendly, the selection and dishes are fabulous as well. The Chinese people running the place are also very friendly and accommodating.

Corn soup from Chinese Palace, with carrot and chicken bits. Really smooth and hearty.

Chicken and vegetable combo from Chinese Palace, which has deep-fried chicken fillet strips, veggie balls in savory-hot sauce and oodles and oodles of stir-fried noodles!

After eating, we went downstairs to check out the movies running at Al Bahja Cinema. Sadly, all the tickets for Tekken and The Expendables were sold out for that evening. We decided to catch a show at City Cinema in Shatti Al Qurum on the following day.

We decided to make the trip across town to Rock Bottom Cafe, Ramee Guestline Hotel, Qurum. It was long drive, with the streets full of Thursday night weekend-revelry traffic.

At Rock Bottom, we didn’t pay any entrance fees, reward for arriving before midnight. The host led us to spacious booth at the dining area, which had huge LCD screens displaying UFC fights. We both ordered the steak-and-wine combo, just in time to have our dinner with the band’s first set.

After eating, we danced the night away until the end of the band’s third and final set, which was around 2:30 AM. We had a really great time, needless to say.

A very, very Happy New Year to everyone!

Let us all welcome 2010, the start of the new decade and the year of The Metal Tiger. Rawr!

I spent New Year’s Eve and the wee morning hours of 1st January 2010 at Jetz Grill in Qurum, where I won lots of prizes from various fun games. In fact, I still say that my partner and I are the undisputed champions of the Apple Dance Competition, hands down!

Before having the masarap buffet dinner of classic Filipino fiesta treats, I dropped by Ruwi for a bit of shopping. There were a lot of stores with year-end sales and I got excellent bargains, particularly with (fake) Lacoste sports shirts.

I found this colorful and cute Pokemon Pikachu watch in one of the timepiece shops near Al Fair Ruwi. I got a discounted price for this when I bought a pink Snoopy watch along with it. Of course, I now wear my Pika-watch everywhere. Be very envious!

Pika! Pika! Pika! My first ever Pokemon watch, can you believe it?

All together now: Pika! Pika!

The Holy Month of Ramadan officially began last Saturday, 22nd August. Albeit a little belatedly, allow me to greet all my Muslim friends and readers: Ramadan Kareem!

Being a conservative Islamic country, Oman observes Ramadan pretty strictly. That is, no eating and drinking in public during the daylight hours. All restaurants and coffee shops are closed as well, and will only open during Iftar (the break-fast meal during sundown) and operate until the early morning hours. Even Christians and people of other non-Islam faiths are expected to respect and follow this “fasting” practice, at least publicly.

Dress code is also a bit stricter during the Holy Month. For both genders, the upper arm and the knees must be covered by clothing while in public places. No tank tops, minis and shorts. Of course, no plunging necklines.

Ramadan lasts for around 30 Gregorian calendar days and culminates with a few days of rejoicing, called Eid-al-Fitr. These days are normally declared non-working holidays for both the public and private sectors in Islamic countries.

Have a blessed Holy Month, everyone.

Happy Independence Day to all Filipinos!

This occasion is known locally as Araw ng Kalayaan, which, of course, translates into “Day of Freedom/Independence”.

Today has been declared as a national non-working holiday in the Philippines, with various events taking place throughout the country and even abroad to honor the occasion.

Some of the Independence Day activities are parades, flag-raising ceremonies, and, in select historical sites, dramatization or re-enactment of significant moments in history that marked the first Philippine Independence Day.

June 12th was chosen as the date because it was on that same day way back in 1898 when the Philippine Declaration of Independence took place. This is the historical event in which the official Philippine flag was first unfurled and the Philippine national anthem (formerly called Marcha Filipina Magdalo but now known as Lupang Hinirang) was first played.

Below is a depiction of the first Philippine flag:

Even if it has undergone minor alterations, the Philippine flag continues to serve a fairly straightforward symbolic purpose in modern times.

Red stands for war while blue symbolizes peace. The flag is normally raised in such a way that the blue strip is above the red. Only when war is declared that this positioning is reversed. When a national figure joins the Creator, the flag is only raised halfway (or half-mast).

The three stars are the main island groups: Luzon, Visayas (where I am from) and Mindanao. The eight rays of the sun are the first eight provinces to revolt against Spanish rule.

Today, November the 18th, marks two very special celebrations.

First is my mother‘s birthday. She is in the Philippines right now.

Given my current situation here in Oman, I still could not afford to get her an obscenely expensive gift for the occasion. Hee hee. Even so:

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA!

Your posse here in Oman extends its love, hugs, kisses, good wishes, prayers and virtual gifts such as cards, roses, gourmet steak dinners and melt-in-your-mouth cheesecakes.

The second event is that it is Oman National Day, which is celebrated in congruence with the birthday of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Today, His Majesty the Sultan turns 67. It is the 37th National Day of the Sultanate, marking the same number of years of His Majesty’s benevolent rule, which brought renaissance and great development to Oman.

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty. May you be blessed with good health and a prosperous reign this year and all the years to come.

And, of course, Happy National Day to the people of Oman!

Wow. There is something to be said about people born on November the 18th – rulers all!

Happy, happy, happy wedding anniversary to my parents

I gave both my parents video CDs as gifts: an aerobic workout video for my mother and the classic war movie The Bridge Over River Kwai for my father.

To celebrate, my parents ditched the frou-frou that usually goes with this kind of occasion.

Instead, we had dinner at home consisting of to-die-for butter-fried chicken and simply sumptuous pancit canton guisado.

I took my paternal grandmother out for her birthday pizza dinner tonight.

Never mind that I did it two days in advance; I will be traveling on Thursday, which is the actual date, and I could not stay up late on Wednesday evening.

The dinner was set at Pizza Hut in SM City Mandurriao.

We had French fries as appetizers, and ordered a deep-dish pizza with the works and a cheese-stuffed crust. It was originally our intention to have dessert at some other restaurant in the mall.

While our waiter was serving us, I mentioned to him in passing that this was my birthday treat for my grandmother. Little did I know that he passed on the news to some members of the crew as well as the shift manager.

As we were finishing up the pizza and I was about to ask for our bill, four members of the restaurant staff, including our waiter and the shift manager herself, approached our table bearing tambourines and a delectable-looking plateful of cream-filled pastries garnished with white chocolate shavings and dark chocolate syrup.

After heartily greeting my grandmother, the restaurant staff burst into a very energetic rendition of the Happy Birthday to You song, complete with tambourine accompaniment.

This was the first time my grandmother ever had this kind of experience and she was both very touched and very delighted.

She even had me promise that on her birthday next year, we will return to the same restaurant and have dinner there again.

Our local celebration of the Chinese New Year took place today. The festivities included a soft inauguration of our Chinese neighborhood as the city’s official Chinatown.

The Chinatown area, which consists of three city streets that form a triangle, was entirely closed off since 12 noon today.

The organizers of the celebration set up a stage at the intersection of two of the bigger streets, adorned with traditional Chinese decorations, dragons in various sizes for luck and a huge Fire Dog that looked positively Freudian with its tongue sticking out and a very sanctimonous look on its face.

There was a food festival as well as a souvenir sale that ran the entire length of the longest Chinatown street. Everyone enterprising in the area had set up their stall to cash in on the event, methinks.

People could barely move through the place because the tables and the kiosks have all been pushed so tightly against each other.

My friend Maro picked me up a little before 7 PM and we took public transport to the closest spot it could get to Chinatown.

Of course, we had color-coordinated and he had dressed in red, too. He confessed that this was only the second time in four years that he had worn that particular shirt of his. If not for me, he would NOT have had the guts to wear such a “loud” color. How sweet!

We walked a block to the restaurant where we had made dinner reservations, with the promise that we will be getting the famous and allegedly very delicious Peking Duck. We ordered the duck, plus Bird’s Nest Soup, Lumpia Shanghai Pancit Canton, Pao and Shanghai rice.

Although we went for the smallest order size the place had, we were very, very surprised to discover that the “small” servings were actually pretty humongous.

Dinner lasted for nearly two hours because we had a lot to talk about. Besides, we needed time to eat the delicious feast that we had ordered.

On the whole, it was fun and I was glad that we had made reservations and went to the place early. As soon as 8 PM rolled about, the restaurant was packed, with a queue forming outside for those who were waiting for tables to get freed up.

At 9 PM, we went out to the festival area and watched parts of the fireworks display. There was already a live band performing on the makeshift stage, although their music is the stuff of local pop radio stations.

They should have brought in Faye Wong or Leon Lai – or Vaness Wu at the very least.

The highlight of my evening was our walk right through Chinatown. It was very crowded but I knew a lot of people who were there, Chinatown residents and otherwise.

We intended to get a few souvenirs, but nothing of note was available so we just decided not to make the stalls more crowded than they already were.

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Happy Lunar New Year and welcome to the Year of the Dog!

May this year be filled with blessings, fortitude, luck, prosperity and, above all, peace of mind and heart for everyone.

And may we, as always, continue to live in interesting times.

I also wish to share a picture of my beloved Japanese Spitz dog. She has been with me since April 2003.

This is your year, my dear. Give it to ‘em good.

Happy New Year!

have just arrived from our neighborhood’s New Year festivities and am pretty full of pancit, roasted native chicken and chocolate cake.

I also fairly stink of gunpowder from the sheer quantities of this substance in numerous “show” explosives and fireworks used to welcome 2006.

Thus, methinks I shall be taking a shower or this very tiny room of mine will end up smelling like an underground explosives manufacturing plant or something.

Belated Happy Halloween, minna-san!

I hope everyone had fun trick-or-treating, in one way or the other.

As for me, I got my manicurist to paint my fingernails and toenails the very gothy color of pitch black. My euphoria was only slightly dampened by her disclosure that a good number of girls also had their nails done the same way.

Well, never mind that. I have always believed that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

This long weekend, I spent most of my time watching Hellsing (repeatedly, especially Order 6 with the Walter fight scene) and war movies, as well as tweaking the WordPress blog and other PHP scripts installed at my domain.

You can only guess the sheer quantity of coffee yours truly has consumed, of course.

Before I release you all from my uber-geekiness, allow me to share a silly note: Calamansi, according to certain acquaintances of the tourist trade persuasion, is also called the Philippine lime.

Hmmm. Lime.

Happy, happy, happy birthday, Daddy!

My paternal grandfather turns 77 today. I am praying he will have many more fruitful, joyful years ahead.

My dinner tonight was street fish ball. It costs two pesos per stick, with four balls in each stick.

I got a dozen sticks, all dipped in starchy, sweet sauce. Be very, very envious, peons!

Happy, happy, happy 89th birthday, Lolo!

My maternal grandfather is now pushing a decade shy of a century, and yet he is as hale as ever.

May you have many fruitful years ahead, Lolo. You are always in my heart and in my prayers.

Later today I am planning to go to the mall and pick up a book or two. I also intend to check if Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith will be showing in the next few days.

There is no substitute for catching a local movie premier, as I have done with Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, The Matrix Trilogy and the Harry Potter films, among others.