Hermit Crabs Gone Wild

Last night, an officemate told me about hermit crabs in fancy-painted shells on exhibit at the Robinson's Galleria mall. He said, the moment he saw the poor creatures in the mall, he thought of me and how I would react to such. So, out of curiosity, I chose to do my grocery at the Galleria so I could also see for myself what he was talking about.


The lady in the booth told me that these crustaceans were brought here all the way from Zamboanga. In this wet terrarium, there are lots of shells of various colors. Artificial that is. They have been hand-painted with cartoon characters and even food icons like the friendly bee, Jollibee! Haha!


Each hermit crab is sold at 100 pesos each. 150 pesos for the bigger ones, though.


At some point I felt for these crabs (and against humans). They should be crawling freely on the sea shores and not on some small plastic cage!!! They should be in the wild, living their own lives, and not being sold for profit! Still, a part of me says that there's no harm in turning hermit crabs into pets. They're not in the extinct list anyway.

I do not have a black and white definition of my verdict on this issue. I'm still leaning on the gray area. To me, as long as they are not extinct and they are treated well, they can be pets. And they should be taken VERY good care of.

Kulam candles???

I must admit, it has been a a long, long time ago since I've been to a traditional church. By traditional, I mean, an old rustic church enlivened with vendors or hawkers of colorful balloons, toys made out of old cans, native kakanin, religious items, and ofcourse, candles.

The pictures above made me think twice about what they were trying to sell me -- candles shaped like a woman! For a moment it freaked me out! I'm sorry I might have confused you there, but it reminded me of kulam.

"Toys! Toys! Mommy, I want that toy!"
Antipolo's famous suman, sticky rice cooked inside coconut leaves. It has to be dipped on sugar, then eaten. Yumm!!

My Bikini Bottom Pals

 

Hanging out with one of my bestest college friend Chacha is one of my favorite things... what more to accidentally bump into my Bikini-Bottom friends!!! Imagine 2 grown up girls taking pictures with these... crazy noh! Then I hum... "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" 

Sleeping On The Job

Atleast once, everyone must have behaved like this feathered friend -- sleeping on the job. The sight of this sleepy head amidst a busy street in Montreal is cute! I got caught sleeping on the job too... not cute. Tee hee! 

Exactly one year ago...

Exactly one year ago, I braved Toronto's bus and train system to get to my destination. It was spring. I miss Toronto. 

One Day at a Time

Last night, I was idly browsing thru my small part of the huge family bookshelf when I grabbed this old book. It is a book my mom got as a gift about three years ago. I remember the many times it gave me inspiration to move on during the very pressing times of my previous job (It was a managerial job and I had to travel a lot). That job was just so difficult for me. I was only 23 but I was managing 14 programmers and a dozen demading clients! Sometimes I also do sales and tag along with our marketing arm to get new clients. This book got me through all that pain. This book is somewhat heavier than most books of the same size yet I bothered to take it with me even during client demos outside Metro Manila. I noticed the name of the author "Francis Kong" and it somewhat rang a bell in my head.

Just half a year ago, a friend invited me to join her attend the 2nd Grand EB of EntreplinkPhilippines. I was so impressed and inspired by the speakers who talked about their lifestyles as entrepreneurs. I remember a certain speaker F. Kong who left the best impression on me. Alas! It was Francis Kong! Darn! If I knew he was the same person who wrote the book I so much cherish, I should have brought the book and asked him to sign it for me. Oh well... all the more I aspire to be like them -- well-rounded entrepreneurs. Like Mr. Kong, I want to be an entrepreneur, speaker, writer, mentor, family-person and most especially, an inspiration for people like me who simply take "one day at a time". 

An Ode to My Digicam

Oops! There is no ode here. I've been wanting to write an ode but I don't think I can really make one.

How do you say goodbye to something that has been with you through the years? Anyhow, dear digicam, you are still the best thing I've bought abroad. I bought you with the first few hundred dollar bills that ever landed on my own hands... And you never failed to keep precious memories for me and my friends.

Thanks for being with me at Universal Studios, Griffith Park, Hollywood Boulevard, the Golden Gate and the long stretch of Las Vegas. Thanks for capturing my first glimpse of the amusing American airports. Thanks for being with me despite the scourching heat of the sun at Guam. I particularly loved how you recorded movies of my first visit to MarineLand. Thanks for withstanding the cold with me at Toronto. I tried skiing and fell many times on the snow and you managed to record all that fun stuff! It has been 5 years, my friend... 5 wonderful years of trigger happy moments.

Tonight, I shall be claiming my new digital camera straight from Japan but, to me, you are still my best digicam. I sold you in ebay thru a trusted friend. And I know you are in good hands now.