L.C. Clark's Blog, page 16

If You’re Tired Of…

   If you’re tired of your soda and tired of your orange juice put a little Sprite or Sunkist in your juice to give it a fizz or do it the other way around, squeeze lime or lemon or orange or calamansi juice in 7up, Sprite or Fresca.
From: www.hy-vee.com   If you’re tired of the plain potato fries, flavor it by shaking it in a container with onion powder, garlic powder or Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Seasoning.     
   If you’re tired of the usual chain store burger, make your own with ground beef, mixed with finely chopped onion and garlic.  Mash it in egg and flavor with Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Seasoning then fry and enjoy.1.2.

3.  


   If you’re tired of your usual snack try the above.  Make a spread for sandwich or cracker topping.  Drain a can of tuna or pink salmon, sprinkle with lemon or calamansi juice to remove the fishy taste while crushing it.  Add an equal amount of finely sliced romaine lettuce, 2 spoonful of dill relish, Ranch or Ceasars dressing, salt and pepper.  A little of the spread on top of party crackers gives your snack a party feeling.  You can also use it as an appetizer in your next party just top with grated mixed cheese and parsley flakes to decorate and add flavor.  


From: www.iherb.com   If you’re tired of the usual store pies, make our own with Graham Cracker Crust.  If you have apples about to spoil, peel and take off the bad parts.  Slice the apple then boil in a cup of water and 1/4th cup of brown sugar.  Mix a pack of gelatin with a can of apple sauce then add into the boiling apple.  When the apple is tender, pour all into the crust and refrigerate.  It would be ready for dessert in a few hours.
   Enjoy! 
See also:If You are Out of...  More Thrift Tips  A Nationalist Abroad

The Bright Side of Colonoscopy

   Recently I was required  to have a colonoscopy.  I was referred to two doctors both of whom I turned down.  The first one insisted that I do two days of prep which I can’t do because I go to dialysis every other day.  He said it’s because I'm diabetic, which I am not.  If that doctor thought all dialysis patients are diabetic what else could he get wrong at my expense?  The other doctor only do colonoscopy on my dialysis days.  I decided that even if it cost me the transplant disqualification, I was not doing it with those two.
   The third colonoscopy doctor I was referred to, Dr. Stefan Chin, was more accommodating.  He agreed to do it on a Monday morning, and during the holiday season at that.  The prep instructions he handed me were clear and easy, unlike the other two whose orders were tough and inflexible.
[image error]    The prep packet said the Moviprep could make me feel nauseated so I braced myself for 2 liters of bad tasting medicine.  It turned out to taste like mild lemon juice.  I expected the prep to give me stomach pains but there was absolutely no pain, just a lot of time in the toilet.  So I took my phone with me and played my games.
From:  news.softpedia.com   The instructions handed me said I could only have clear drinks like any colorless soda, no food except gelatin and broth.  So I made gelatin and my favorite ‘nilaga’ beef broth from scratch.  For a dialysis patient who has endured fluid restrictions for five years, unlimited broth and soda is actually a treat.  To get my mind off the prep I binge watched my favorite Amazon Prime TV show, Justified.
   On the day of the procedure, Dr. Stefan Chin and all his staff (all Filipinos) made me comfortable.  I woke up from it like nothing happened.  So where’s the colonoscopy everyone said was horrible?  Maybe it depends on which doctor you’ve got.
See also:Racial Bullying  More Thrift Tips  What It Means

Loving the Job

   When I was in my 30’s I applied for a teller job at a bank in the Philippines.  I was required a large amount of deposit to qualify.  I could have asked my parents for the money required however, my pride did not allow me.  
   Fast forward, I was 55 years old when I arrived in America with nothing but a resume.  I was surprised that I got hired without any difficulty.  My first job was Admin Assistant in Louisville, Kentucky.  My boss, Judy was a 59 years old American who owned and managed the small realty company.  The minimum wage was $8 hourly but she offered me $12, I didn’t even ask for.  It felt so good to have gotten above minimum wage ‘fresh of the boat’.  With that salary, I bought a car in installments.  It took me an hour and 10 minutes to drive the 60 miles daily from Loretto County where I lived to Louisville, Kentucky.  I enjoyed every minute driving along Bardstown Rd.  I felt comfortable in the all American, all women office.  
From: visitbardstown.org
   In 2007, the US was at the threshold of the mortgage crisis.  The first to get hit were the realty companies.  We were managing condominium home owners’ associations.  When foreclosures hit our clients’ members everything went south.  Our company closed.  I was devastated. 
   I started the job search the very next day.  The one thing that gave me confidence was the fact that this time I have an update in my resume that says I have been hired in the US.  
   I found a wanted ad in the newspaper, Executive Assistant in a bank.  It said to apply on line.  This I felt I could brave.  I won’t have a real person in front of me.  It would not be too humiliating if I got rejected.  I did the on line application.  It led to an on line test which I must have passed because I got a call from the bank’s Human Resources.  I didn’t think much of it.  I didn’t know that call was already the interview.  The next call told me to come in for an interview with the Executive I would be assisting.  I gave my best answers.  HR called two of the bosses in my resume, one of them in Manila.  I still could not believe I would get a bank job in the US when I couldn’t get one in Manila so I accepted a lower paying, smaller company offer.  After I’ve been working two days, I got a call from the bank’s HR that I got the Executive Assistant job.  I didn’t know what to do till someone told me I can quit the 2-day job since jobs here are ‘at will’, which means they can fire me any minute and I can quit any time too, no advance notice required. 
4th St. Louisville, KY
From: www.city-data.com   Hence the journey of the next four years began, on the seventh floor of a corporate center in 4th St., Louisville, Kentucky.

See also:A Filipina's View of Rural Kentucky  Cord-Cutting 
Employee Mentality

More Thrift Tips

   Unless your last name is Trump I bet you could use a little discount on the following items that we spend on every month, i.e. hair color, dry cleaning, soda and once in a rare while, plumbing which could cost a lot.  
   To save on hair streaks or highlight, it would be better to do it yourself by using Revlon Frost & Glow.  Although the box instructions would say mix the entire content, there's no sense in using an entire box for a few strands.  Mix just enough for what you need in any plastic container.  Keep the unmixed left over in the box for future use.  A box allows me five applications on shoulder length hair style.  This brings the cost of one application to a fifth of the box price.  This also goes for root touch up of your regular hair color.  A box of hair color gives me 2 root touch ups to cover gray.  This brings the cost down to half.
   Use Febreze to dry clean coats, hats, seats, etc.  Spray generously (soaking wet) on the inside of leather coat then use furniture polish wipes on the leather.  For fabric or faux fur coats, spray until totally wet inside and out, then hung to dry.  The coat should be good as new when it dries. This should save you the expense of taking the item to the cleaner.  This also works for fabric upholstery.  For delicate fabrics test on a small hidden spot before doing the whole thing.
   If you are one of us who can’t live without soda, then it’s already part of your monthly expenses.  If fluid intake is limited by a medical condition like patients on Dialysis or just to save left over soda without it losing the fizz, invest on a soda can cover from Amazon. That way you can split one can in two drinks or more depending on your preference.  
   Laundry bleach has been known to put holes in fabric but is harmless to plumbing pipes.  If your shower or sink drains are slowing down as if it's getting clogged don't call a plumber just yet.  Try laundry bleach.  As the label says it removes soap scum and grease.  Allow two hours after the drain has been used before pouring down the laundry bleach and give it another two hours before using the drain again.  This might save you costly plumbing work.    
   Keep saving, we can’t all be rich.
See also:If You are Out of...  Thrift Tips Part 2  Household Thrift Tips

Loving the Boss

   Beth got her first job in 1971.  She was given a two hour product knowledge lecture and sample sales pitches.  She was required to dress nicely, wear makeup and do cold canvasing.  She was to sell membership to a discount card.  It looked like a credit card except that it granted no credit.  The card holder got 10% discount on every purchase from associate merchants.  The minimum wage at that time was a whopping Php60. a month, she received Php30. every two weeks, which was perfectly feasible since the jeepney minimum fare was 10 centavos.
   She was 19 but looked 16 because of her petite frame and small face.  She was not even asked for her marital status.  Her boss, Vicky assumed she was single.  She was actually a college dropout, still reeling from a fast track marriage and a quickie divorce Philippine style (no papers to sign, just a simple verbal agreement between the two parties).  The job may seem insignificant and the pay paltry but companies were not hiring teens with no employment record before food chains like McDonald's arrived.  
   Beth looked so young and innocent so that boss Vicky and her office mates warned each other that a kid is present when making jokes and conversation with sexual content.  Until one day Beth blurted out how it can be done sitting on the toilet sink.  The ladies all looked at each other and burst out laughing.  From there on Vicky and Beth hit it off.  It turned out Vicky was also separated.  She showed Beth her condo where she lived alone.  They talked about men mostly.  After a year Beth found a new ‘husband’ and quit her job.  They never saw each other again.  Beth never forgot Vicky.
   Beth's second job was as saleslady at a photo finishing service and camera sales store.   That was before the cameras went digital.  She had a bad crush on her boss but she wasn’t his type.  He was dating another saleslady, the one who danced the Hula during the office party.  The Philippines did not have sexual harassment law.  Beth left the company after 18 months.
   Her third job was with a trade magazine as Media Sales Representative.  It was a small operation.  The office was on the ground floor of her boss’ home.  The copies were given away free.  They printed just enough copies to be visible then claimed an exaggerated amount of circulation to advertising clients to justify the advertising cost.  It was a rip-off but her boss was a nice guy.  However shady, this job got Beth her foot on the door of the advertising industry.
See also:Best Place to Work in Manila 1950’s Kitchen  Remembering Cousin Rey

Grandma (Lola) Eugenia

   My mother didn’t go out of the house much but she took me to visit my great grandmother Eugenia every so often.  We used to bring her Chinese food from a popular panciteria.  And my mom always said it was amazing how Lola Genia, as we called her, (Lola means grandmother) could eat heartily at her age.  At 89 years old, Lola Genia lived alone in her big house in Imus, Cavite.  Her husband died before I was born.  She refused to live with anyone of her four children.  She owned a sizable rice field and received income from it.  Now, that’s an independent woman.
Battle of Imus Monument
From: wikimedia.org/wikipedia   Lola Genia was born in 1873.  She first witnessed the ravages of war in Cavite when she was 19 years old. The Philippine Revolution against Spain was launched in 1892.    “The Battle of Imus, or the Siege of Imus, was the first big battle of the Philippine revolution against the Spanish colonial government in the province of Cavite…The resulting decisive victory for the Filipino revolutionaries in Imus very much alarmed the Spanish government in the country. Following the conflict, they attempted to subdue the revolutionaries in Cavite province with the twin battles in Binakayan and Dalahican weeks after the battle in Imus.”
   She was 68 years old when World War II commenced in Europe in 1939.  By this time, her children have all married.  She built an underground air raid shelter  beneath the floor which was elevated four feet from the ground.  “Japan launched a surprise attack on the Philippines on December 8, 1941, just ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Initial aerial bombardment was followed by landings of ground troops both north and south of Manila.” (U.S. Library of Congress)  By the time the war reached the Philippines, Lola Genia had the air raid shelter ready to protect her children, who all came back for safety and stayed till the end of the war.  Now, that is called foresight.  Sample of Air Raid Shelter
From: www.battlefieldhistorian.com
   My parent’s, mine and the succeeding generations owed our lives to our matriarch, Lola Genia.  Her rice field was handed down and liquidated to benefit all three generations of heirs, mine included.  
See also:1950’s Kitchen  The Politics of Marriage  The Iron Lady

A Message to The Gunman

   The old Salawikain (proverb) “Pagkahaba-haba man ng prosisyon sa simbahan din ang tuloy,” is listed to mean “Sa tinagal-tagal man ng samahan ng magkasintahan, sa bandang huli ay humahantong din ito sa kasalan.”  
   In English, the proverb says “no matter how long the procession it always ends in church.”  The listed meaning in English says “no matter how long the engagement, it ends in a wedding.”  Most 'cultural' proverbs (not found in the Bible) are debatable.  Other cultures would contest one as erroneous or adapt, assigning to it an entirely different meaning.  Besides engagements don’t always end at the altar.
   My mother often quoted the above proverb.  However, she had her own interpretation which is unlisted in Google and probably unheard by other generation of Filipinos.  My mother was born in 1928, half a century prior to the Philippine marriage annulment law enacted in 1987.   She was raised to be a one man woman.  In her world, the above proverb meant, and I quote her, “no matter how many mistresses a man should have (since only men were allowed by culture to have an affair outside of marriage) at the near end of his life, he will return to his first wife.”  She usually gave real life examples to make her point, like a man left his first wife as a young man to be with other women, then came back home when he got old and broke, so wife no.1 cared for him until he died.
   When I mentioned my mother’s version to my daughter who was born in 1980, she said it’s wrong.  She quoted to me the Google interpretation.  Brainwashing from birth tends to stick for life.  I still can’t shake what my mother taught me.  Here’s my own real life example to corroborate my mother’s proverb.
   Becky and the Gunman married at 17/18 years old and separated when they were 20/21.  They are now both in their mid 60’s, the ripe age for my mother’s proverb.  In the spirit of Aldub Dubsmash here’s a song that the Gunman could have sang had it been composed in 1971.     At this point in her life Becky has asked me to put out there a hidden message enclosed in the song below that only the Gunman himself would catch.  Proving once more my mother’s version of the Salawikain that spouses remember No.1 in the end.
See also:The Gypsy Earrings The Gunman’s Son  The Gunman as a Father

Ethnically Ambiguous

   Filipinos in multiracial marriages produced gorgeous ethnically ambiguous  children called mestizos or for short tisoys (male) and tisays (female).  These children are taller and have a complexion that range from light brown to many shades of white.  Some are born with aquiline nose called 'tukang loro' (parot’s beak) or the Caucasian nose called leptorrhine, the long and narrow which has become the model for Rhinoplasty, in common terms: a nose job.
Vanessa Minnillo from
 http://img2-3.timeinc.net/   The foreign genes whether it be Chinese, European or American diluted with Filipino blood gets handed down from generation to generation producing unique physical traits as it goes along.  Most famous of these are Lou Diamond Phillips, Rob Schneider, Bruno Mars, Enrique Iglesias, Phoebe Cates, Vanessa Minnillo, Nicole (Valiente) Scherzinger, etc.
From: http://philnews.ph/   This brings us to Richard Reyes Faulkerson, Jr., a.k.a. Alden Richards, our current Twitter trending, tisoy heartthrob.  In 2014, Richards became an ambassador for Habitat for Humanity Philippines, building homes alongside other volunteers and families involved with the non-profit organization.  In 2015, Richards became a part of the Philippines' longest running noontime variety show, Eat Bulaga!  His popularity skyrocketed due to an accidental love team between him and his Eat Bulaga! co-host Maine "Yaya Dub" Mendoza.  The love team is called Aldub and can be found all over YouTube.
   As for biracial mental assets, geniuses like Diosdado P. Banatao, a Filipino American “invented in the late 1980s the world's first ever single-chip graphics accelerator”.  His inventions revolutionized the personal computer we all can’t live without today.  “His first contribution to the computer industry was the Ethernet controller chip… Before that, computer networks operated on big, cumbersome systems that required a lot of space.”
   A Filipino inventor, Roberto Del Rosario patented the Sing Along System in 1975 which has evolved into the now known as Videoke.  Robert Del Rosario is the head of Trebel Music Corporation.  
   Abelardo Aguilar, a Filipino physician, co-created the drug Erythromycin (Ilosone®) in 1949. He sent his employer, Eli Lilly Co., samples of an antibiotic isolated from a soil that Aguilar collected in his home province of Iloilo, in central Philippines.  The antibiotic was named “Ilosone” in honor of Iloilo province where the soil was originally collected.  It gave an alternative medicine to patients with allergic reactions to penicillin.  Erythromycin treats bacterial infections, respiratory tract infections like pneumonia, urinary tract infection, ear and skin infections, gonorrhea, syphilis, rheumatic fever, whooping cough and diptheria.  Erythromycin has earned Eli Lilly billions of dollars, but Aguilar or the Philippine government received no royalty.  Aguilar was allegedly forced to resign by the company’s district manager or he'd get fired for various reasons.  In 1993, Aguilar died, after 40 years of struggling in vain for recognition. 
See also: The Women of Asia  A Filipina Called Yaya Dub  Colonial Mentality

The Diva

   It was amazing to realize that there are still places in America where the residents are not familiar with Asians.  These are rural areas where only white people live and city areas with all black population.  In Louisville, Kentucky, Asians are rare and far from each other.  Gloria met four Filipino families in her residency of eight years.
   The image of Filipinos seen on television news of a calamity gave the impression that all Filipinos are destitute.  Many Americans she met were not ready for a Filipina in a suit and were resentful that she landed a job on the seventh floor of a corporate center.  A man said to her face “You’re taking a job from an American.”
 2000 Ford Focus SE    Her first car was a 2000 Ford Focus SE which did not have ABS brakes in a state where it snows six inches in winter.  After slip and sliding several times, she traded in the Focus for a car with ABS brakes, a 2005 Saturn red coupe, something too sporty for a middle aged immigrant.
   While most of the ladies she knew wore rubber shoes to work and changed into formal shoes when they arrive at the office, she wore her stiletto heels from home.  An American asked her “Do you drive with that on?”  She did not reply but thought, why would she need another pair of shoes to drive with?  
   She never left the house for anything without eye make-up, never let her gray hair show, styled her hair with curling irons and never went out looking shabby even to the nearest Walmart for groceries.  In a conversation with Tiarra, an American friend, she advised the younger woman “You have to look good all the time.  You have a responsibility to your fans.”  
   When she went to an informal gathering wearing a black Nike, a gift from her American husband, Tiarra commented, “I’ve never seen you wear rubber shoes before.  I didn’t think you owned one.”  
   She was surprised when Tiarra started calling her “Diva”.  She thought the label meant a singer.  She could not carry a tune.  The Urban Dictionary defines diva as “to describe a person who exudes great style and personality with confidence and expresses their own style and not letting others influence who they are or want to be.  A person whose character makes them stands out from the rest...A person who tries to achieve what they want and who do not let people get in their way, and doing so with style and class.”  
   Now seeing how Asian women are marginalized in the Midwest, she liked being called a diva.  She has left for California.  Tiarra is in her Facebook friends list.  







See also:Postscript: Best Place to Work in Manila A Filipina's View of Rural Kentucky  
Kindness of Strangers

Being a Girl

   I am an only girl among my siblings.  I was tomboyish as a child, awkward in my early teens, then kind of wild and radical in my late teens.  From there I jumped into being a working mom who did all the chores at home and some.  
From: www.stockdonator.com   I know how to mix cement with a shovel and actually have put up a wall of hollow blocks with steel reinforcement using a steel saw (just saw around the edge then bend to break).  I laid out red bricks on the dining room wall and the facade of our home using old kitchen tools like an old butter knife to spread cement on the brick before laying on the wall.  I have installed wallpaper, replaced spark plugs on a car and changed a flat tire.  I have maintained car battery with distilled water and radiator with coolant.  (The Philippine car batteries are usually not ‘maintenance free’ because that kind is cheaper and lasts longer if maintained right.  Radiators need constant monitoring and coolant addition because of the climate in the Philippines.)  I have used a wrench to change faucets.  I have painted concrete walls and metal garden furniture.  I am what is called a handywoman.  
   Although I am proud of being able to do a ‘man’s job’ I equally enjoy ‘girl talks’, ‘girl things’ and dressing up.  I like romantic comedies, Miss Piggy, ruffles and lace.
   While working at GA Manila, a survey was circulated.  The question was “What would you want to be called, a lady or a woman?”  My answer follows:
   “Girl!  A lady has sophistication, a woman has substance but a girl has fun!”
From: www.clipartbest.com   I have ‘emergency make-up’ in my car and a travel toothbrush set in my purse.  I have hats for different seasons (hat helps to warm in winter and protects from sunburn in the summer).  I don’t accumulate shoes like the rich and famous but I insists on wearing stiletto heels at 63 even if it means walking slow like ailing.  I love wearing a coat in America and a swimsuit in the Philippines.  I don’t selfie but I censor my photos.  Only the good ones should be out there.  
   In a medical office, the doctor said I look 10 years younger than my age.  Then he asked how I manage to maintain my shape.  That was enough for me.  I asked my daughter on the way home, “Is it just me or did that 40 something white doctor seemed to like me?” 
   “It’s just you mom,” she replied with a grin.
   Hey, I still believe I can be a girl past 60.
See also:In Fitness and in Health DNA, Wine and Injustice