Spectacular Speculoos Spread

Well, that seems to be the sentiment of our 11-year old daughter when she first had a taste of it. I just heard this spread from my sister in the U.S. a few months ago. She said that she bought one and she is spreading it to bread, cookies and even bananas. She promised to send me a bottle the next time she sends a package to Manila, which arrived late last month. The long wait was finally over.

I am not allowed to eat this kind of sweet things but I made the ultimate sacrifice just to be able to share what it tastes like. Well, it spreads like peanut butter but the texture is kinda grainy due to the crushed biscuits mixed in it. It sweeter than peanut butter but not as sweet as nutella.

St. Jude Thaddeus, the Patron Saint of the Hopeless

The National Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus is just beside the office where I work right now but I only get to visit the place on Thursday not to pray the novena but to buy food which are sold beside it especially on novena days. I would often see a lot of students and other devotees who are probably going to take their board examination and go there on Thursdays to ask the intercession of St. Jude for help.

St. Jude Thaddeus was one of the 12 apostles and was named as such to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus. "Thaddeus" is a Greek name, which means "great hearted one." Today, St. Jude is considered as the Patron Saint of the Hopeless or Impossible.

I never thought that one day, I will need his intercession after I was diagnosed with a kidney disease earlier this year. I now pray the novena in the office because I am too weak to bear the heat and mix with the throng of devotees who go there on Thursdays. My daughter, Angel, comes with me on Thursdays this summer vacation and meets her aunt and cousin and together they go for the novena.

I've researched a novena prayer to St. Jude Thaddeus on the internet and want to share it to Catholic believers. 

A Graduation Celebration at the Legend Seafood Restaurant

We were invited to a dinner last Friday to celebrated my niece's graduation from college with a degree in Information Technology. I was told that the venue was the Legend. 

All along, I thought that we will be having dinner at Legend Villas in Mandaluyong. I was a bit apprehensive to come since it is a Friday night as well a we'll have to pass along EDSA during rush hour. It was all cleared that it would be held in Legend Seafood Restaurant, which is just across World Trade Center and besides Wensha Spa along Gil Puyat Ave. Ext. in Pasay

My wife and I were picked up by my sister and other nieces and nephews at the Marriott Hotel where my wife worked and I parked my car. They arrived at a little past 7 and due to the traffic, we reached the restaurant at past 8. We thought that we were already late but apparently, my niece's graduation was delayed to late in the afternoon as the heat was unbearable that the school decided to move the time.

When we got to the restaurant, we asked for the tables reserved by my brother. We were led to a private room with 2 round tables, each good for 12 persons.

Kirin: a time for celebration

The night before our mother was laid to rest, a mass was held and the priest's homily that a death is not a time to be sad but to celebrate because the dead had already joined her Creator and that in our mother's case, all her pain had finally ceased. He may be right but still, it is sometimes hard losing a loved one.

Today, we finally brought her to her final resting place right beside our father who died a few years earlier. After the burial, we went to the Bonifacio High Street to have our lunch, where my sister-in-law had reserved a private room for us. 

Together with the immediate family, we had some close relatives and household help who had in one way or another helped our mother ease the pain she suffered.

Unfortunately, as I am have a kidney problem and undergoing dialysis, I had to refrain from eating all the food that was served. Just seeing my family in one room is enough for me although I must admit that I had cheated by tasting each dish a spoonful each.

A small private room had been reserved where there were three tables each good for 10.

Batangala no more?

2013 doesn't seem to be my year. I had been hospitalized twice since the start of the new year.

The first time was due to acute pancreatitis where I was confined for more than a week starting January 2. Even with a health insurance, we still had to shell out quite a substantial amount as the Philhealth gave only a measly P11T and the health insurance covered less than half of the total bill.

My diet had been limited to boiled, steamed or grilled fish and vegetables. No oil nor dairy products for me. I was devastated since one of my few vices is food.

On February 15, I had to go back to the emergency room as I was not really feeling well, bloated and shortness of breath. I was diagnosed with a kidney problem as my creatinine level was very high and i was unable to urinate. A dialysis catheter was inserted in my neck a few days after my confinement as it was recommended that I undergo hemodialysis (HD). Of my nine days in confinement, I had to undergo HD five times.