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  1. Today, I am happy to be an everyday girl.

    August 8, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    For years, I have spent my life, time and effort trying to set myself apart. Adolescent years of “not wanting to become part of the mold” have made my favorite phrase “a walking contradiction”. I’ve ditched normal wants and needs, cultivating my “life on the outside looking on the inside just to realize that now, 25 years of age, I am part of the normal. I am an everyday girl.

    And I kinda like that.

    I am not the richest, the most beautiful, the “one with the body”. I am not the girl with an attitude, or fantastic drawing skills, or can sing the hell out of that Mariah Carey song with my 7 octave range.

    Truthfully, I am one of the crowd. Years of hanging out with gorgeous girls with legs that go on for days, or have a rack that is insane has taught me to blend in. I am not saying I’m ugly,  I’ve been told I clean up okay.

    I cannot spend like a king because I am a commoner. I work for the stuff that I accumulate, and as my parents told me, if I want something, I have to spend for it. I work for a living and it has taught me to value what I earn, because I worked for it.

    I cannot draw, play a musical instrument, and my hobbies are negligible. My passions range from food to friends, things that make me happy, but don’t really “make an impact”. No award winning skills have me on newspapers or television screens as part of news coverage on a “Filipino Making a Difference”.

    Yes, when I hear about some friends cruising by on their looks, or their parents money or something or the other to really make people gasp or applaud in awe, I do sometimes feel stabs of envy. But when I realize what comes with enormous wealth, or notoriety, or fame, I glance back at my life and realize how lucky I have it.

    So I may not be the girl that everyone gawps at because of my stunning looks, or marvels at my brain powers, or wishes their lifestyle could emulate for the spending capacity. I actually like the “normal” milestones now.

    Things like introducing a significant other to the family then having my aunts and uncles look for him when he couldn’t attend a family gathering makes me giddy. Being able to buy the shoes i want just because I want them gives me a rush sometimes when I realize how much I had to save before because I was limited to my allowance. Cooking that perfect batch of pasta that I can’t get quite right because I was too ADHD to keep my eye on things before they burnt, now come easy.

    Life is good. This everyday girl is finally happy with her lot.

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  2. A food to try today: Uni Sashimi

    August 6, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    Uni!

    I still remember the first time I tried uni sashimi. The sister and I were at Teriyaki Boy Gateway and we were curious about this new item on the menu only labeled Uni. When we asked what it was and ordered it from the restaurant manager, he stammered “Sigurado kayo Ma’am?” (“Are you sure?”). We told him we were and off we ordered.

    In the ocean, it appears as a black sphere covered in long spikes (As found here).It’s the thing boatmen tell you to avoid stepping on as each of these spikes contain poison, which commonly are treated by peeing on the affected area. Yes guys, it’s the dreaded sea urchin (if you’ve ever gone to Coron in Palawan, you’ll know what I mean. Those buggers were everywhere we went).

    Its appearance can even out of the shell can be intimidating, just lumps of beige things that looked like sand. We were given plenty of calamansi to dip it in before our kikkoman+wasabi combo. After my first gulp, I remember saying it tasted like you licked the bottom of a boat.

    Now it’s one of my favorite things to order in a Japanese place. The picture above is a bowl of Unidon from Omakase, a bowl of sushi rice laden with a generous offering of uni, with some pickled ginger on the side. Roughly around P350, it’s fairly inexpensive and sure to satiate your uni craving. I highly recommend you order uni with something else, as its rich flavor can overwhelm your taste buds after a while, as it does mine. I always share a bowl with the sister so I know I can finish it. For an even cheaper version that is no less delicious, go to the nearest Tok-yu, those cheap sushi bars you see at the weirdest places (I go to the one in Pioneer center) and order an uni sashimi, plus an order of sushi rice. It will set you back about 170, half of what it costs in Oma, but don’t expect surroundings as nice as Oma, as these places aren’t known for their ambience. :)

    What can I say to describe it now? I don’t know if I’ve stumbled on to cleaner, richer varieties of uni, but recently, it tastes more like a buttery, grainy taste of the ocean. I can now eat it without the dip in calamansi, or even Kikkoman and wasabi.

    While most people I’ve offered this to have said “No, thank you”, or yes only to regret it moments after, you my dear reader I urge to try this if you love the taste of sashimi. It can totally make your day, even your week.

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  3. Love is the beach

    August 5, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    Boracay

    The Boracay island shore. I may never get tired of its cool, crystal clear water, its fine white sand. With the onset of all kinds of cuisine and an accommodation for every budget, every type of vacation, I hope the beach maintains its beauty.

    I love the beach, and this beach in particular coz it’s easy. It’s right there, you don’t have to get into a van to travel to see it. Everything you want is right there. If you want quiet, go to one of the upscale resorts and get all the privacy you need.

    Although, this isn’t the only beach I love.

    I don’t know, for me, travel without the possibility of taking a dip in the ocean just seems incomplete. But that’s just me.

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  4. Happy at Happy Lemon

    June 30, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    Happy Lemons!

    I know that every other person has blogged about the place since it came to the Philippines, but I can’t help but rave about it. What an innovative way to look at tea drinks, and for once, this place is always filled with more people than the requisite Starbucks next to it.

    If you are one of the last few people in Manila who has not tried the drinks here, I urge you to try it with an open mind, and order the Cocoa RSC (Rock salt and cheese) and find a new twist on a favorite drink. I love the green tea RSC, but hey, i love the flowery taste of jasmine tea that’s the base of the drink, so it’s a little weirder on the taste buds.

    And hey, it’s a liiiiiitle healthier than my favorite milkshakes and/or coke.

    Next time you drop by Greenhills, go to Promenade and take a sip out of Happy Lemon, it really is one for the happy books.

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  5. Love is all around

    June 14, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    Bar none, one of the happiest, cutest weddings I’ve been to. Lovely chapel, beautiful theme colors, well done entourage gowns and flowers. And can I tell you about this couple, Jie and Janelle. We’re not really that close, but they’re one of my favorite couples. They laugh a lot, they look at each other like they just got together, and they play a lot with humor. This wedding filled me with oh so happy bunny feelings, like “This is how it’s supposed to be”. Personal, real, fun.

    This is what love looks like.

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  6. Curled up with a nook

    May 31, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    my favorite book on my favorite "gadget"

    Yes. I gave in and got a Nook, an electronic reader. I am admittedly one person who loves the analog. I love the idea of Polaroids and film cameras. I jot down notes on an actual notebook. I love the smell of old books. But books are expensive now, and from what i purchase 12 books with, I got this, where I can store all my favorite books, and can read all I want. It’s perfect for the times I have to wait, it’s removed the cranky face from waiting for an hour for the inevitable late meetups, the hours in traffic, the idle times in line at a government offices.

    I love my nook.

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  7. An unremarkable photo with a remarkable story

    May 13, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    jules!

    A photo that took six years to come into fruition.

    This picture would seem for most people, unremarkable. Albeit, it is a very pretty girl, with impeccable makeup. Yet, the lighting isn’t very flattering. The setting isn’t anywhere special, in fact you could even see that it was taken on a moving escalator on a random mall. Which for us on these 7,107 islands, is a picture taken by low resolution camera phones by high school students every day. But this picture is a very special one for me.

    Because of the person in it. My best friend of almost two decades came to the Philippines for a short visit last February, which she has not done since 2005. I’ve missed her, and from the turnout at one of our get togethers, I wasn’t the only one. This vivacious, bubbly, exciting girl has been my friend since I entered kindergarten. In high school, we went our separate ways. She had to go to the US to join her migrating family.

    We’ve grown up together, apart. While we don’t talk everyday, and as much as we would like since we both have our lives to attend to, when we do talk, it feels like we just saw each other the day before. We don’t have the exact same likes, but we’re interested in each other’s lives, and learn from each other (makeup i know nothing about, but her stuff was so cute!) about the different things the other knows more about.

    It was almost a month of neverending laughs, giggling reminiscing, and sometimes dreamy conversations about the future. We caught up on things we didn’t have the time to talk about, and after a while, it felt like she would be here everyday.But after those fun three weeks, she had to go, back to her life, and me back to mine.

    It was a bittersweet idea, of saying goodbye. Because we knew we couldn’t stay in vacation mode for the rest of our lives, and had to go back to being friends across thousands of miles. At the same time, we knew it wasn’t the last time we would see each other, and thanks to modern technology, had an easier way to communicate.

    I love my Jules, and I will never stop being her friend, and she has been the same for me.

    So look at this seemingly unremarkable photo. Now you know how incredible it really is.

    What pictures do you have, have a special story between the seemingly normal image?

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  8. Sweltering, sticky, hot weather

    May 10, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    sticky

    This photo doesn’t quite capture how incredibly sticky, hot and sandy I was at the time, after a day at the beach. It did capture how slacker happy I was, sipping a cool mango shake after a long, hot day of beer, saltwater and sunblock in my eyes. Hello La Union. I miss you already.

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  9. Summer means sunflowers

    April 29, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    sunflowers
    If you go to UP Diliman in April to May of each year, chances are, you’ll see one of my favorite sights in the world, a row of sunflowers that are stunningly beautiful, really tall sunflowers on each side of the main entrance to the campus. Their beauty is fleeting although, as at most these blooms survive the summer heat is two weeks. This is the sight we caught last Monday, so troop to the campus before they die out. I swear they’re much more amazing in person. :)

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  10. 25 Things About a Girl Turning 25

    April 2, 2011 by Jody Alarva

    I’m turning 25 in two weeks (April 13) and needless to say, this girl is iffy about turning a quarter century old. Breaking that age barrier into my late twenties, well, may not seem so scary for many people, but it sure is scaring me. Here comes the inevitable questions of growing up, that in my Peter Pan brain, is stubbornly shaking in its boots to answer. So instead, here comes twenty five things about this girl, turning twenty five:

    1. I am currently obsessed with mochi, a sticky rice paste thing covering ice cream that is originally from Japan, which ironically, I get cheap (P35) at the nearest Korean Mart.

    2. I will not eat rabbit or dog. However adventurous I consider myself to be, I will not eat these fluffy creatures. Plus, I have one of each at home.

    3. I am a serious lurker of beauty blogs. I may not wear makeup often, or take that much thought or effort into what I wear, but I love reading about it. I check several every day.

    4. I play Left 4 Dead 2. I consider it one of the best stress relievers out there.

    5. I love swimwear. I am on the constant lookout for the perfect suit, but alas, have grown too many bulges to find the perfect one for me.

    6. When I do wear makeup, I use cheek tint, concealer, and powder foundation. For days when I’m feeling up to it, eyeliner.

    7. I don’t watch horror movies. I don’t like being scared out of my wits.

    8. I was called “Walking Dictionary” by my classmates from elementary school. I have fond memories of looking up random words in our huge, Merriam Webster dictionary and checking their meanings and spelling. I was such a dork.

    9. I am still a dork.

    10. I hate the taste of beer.

    11. I am a middle child, and have all the complexes associated with it.

    12. I tried to smother my brother with a pillow at almost three years old. I don’t know why I did it, i just remember going in the room with the pillow.

    13. My birthday has hit two fridays, and they have both sucked, so I believe in Friday the 13th.

    14.  I have digipermed hair. Reading beauty blogs, I found a salon that earned a great reputation as the place to have it done, and in December, I spent five hours in the salon, to come out with fun curls.

    15. At my seventh birthday, I wore a Princess Jasmine inspired outfit that prompted by late grandfather to exclaim “Bakit pinasuot ni Josie[my mom] sa anak niya yan?”. It was a purple skirt, pastel green leggings, and a leotard to match. My aunt (mom’s youngest sister) still laughs about that outfit to this day.

    16. I love the rain.

    17. I’m left handed. I used to be right handed, then there was a firework incident involving that hand, and I was told I didn’t want to use it to write. I blame this for my development.

    18. The band I always wear has been with me since 1999.

    19. Three things you will always find with me: lip balm, alcohol and keys to our gate.

    20. I carry a knife with me always, one given to me by one of my dad’s friends. He said “Bigay mo kay Jody yan, matapang yun e.”

    21. The 80s child in me will never fade. I love bright colors, prints and loud embellishments on stuff, even though I hardly wear them, they just look so pretty to me.

    22. I’m very particular about smell.

    23. I have a very husky sleepy voice. It freaks people out.

    24. My favorite classic Disney princesses are Jasmine from Aladdin and Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

    25. I love to read.

     

    I’m checking back on this list after a quarter century and checking if anything still holds.

    p.s. I’m terrified about turning 25.

     

     

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