MOVING ON

We held a garage sale last weekend and will be holding one again this Saturday - both at friend's houses as we had no garage to speak of. We sold quite a bit of our worldly goods - there was a little bit of sentimentality for me as this was the first furniture I bought for myself. We priced a lot of the stuff for a fraction of what they were originally, otherwise, they wouldn't have sold. I've been having a hard time when it comes to packing. Never knew how much junk one could collect in two years! As can be expected, about half of my boxes contain books.

I will be missing the quotidien: volunteering at the McAllen Memorial library which is just a block away from the apartment, my colleagues in PSJA Memorial High School, the other Filipinos we've met in this area. But it's time to move on, and there are other places to conquer. Time for a change.

FAMILY TIES

My little brother called me up today for five minutes - I am so thrilled! Like anyone who lives in a different continent from their loved ones, I miss actually being able to see them if I wanted to. I seldom get to talk to my family, but I just found out that he and my older sister will be working together. It's so cool! They can take care of each other. My sister who's with me here and I have been in the same situation - we both worked at the same school and I just hitched rides in her car (Hubby needs our car to get round). However, in a couple of weeks, we're moving to DC, and sis will be in Maryland. I'm so excited yet so sad. I'll miss McAllen, it's so like the Philippines in terms of the weather (except for the winter temps) and the people (nearly all brunettes).

I dream of having all my family here with me, and hopefully, I can save enough to be able to do that. Hubby's very wonderfully supportive, he knew that he would also be committing to this when we got married. Right now, I'm nearly done paying off loans incurred when I transferred to the US, and may the next year bring more prosperity.

I miss my family! Boo-hoo-hoo!

ON ACTING & ACTORS

Acting is such a fascinating job. You're paid to be other than yourself yet you bring yourself to your roles. A very small percentage of the people who act are paid extremely well, and for every one who makes it, there are thousands who don't. It's the kind of job that screams for attention, even as the most effective actors are the ones who are able to bring little attention to themselves, as private individuals who choose to be part of the public domain.

The actresses I've seen that are larger than life, yet submerge themselves so totally in their roles you almost can't identify them, are very few. The inestimable Meryl Streep, of course, is at the forefront. There's also Frances MacDormand and Cate Blanchett among the select few. I wanted to include Natalie Portman, but somehow, she's not up to that caliber yet, although she has played a breadth (I can't say depth yet) of roles. Gwyneth Paltrow is luminous, granted, but I think Cate Blanchett was robbed.

Among the actors who have not been stereotyped because they've played Mr. Everyman, Kevin Kline has my vote. His turn as a gay man in In and Out was so hilarious. Plus, he's been married to Phoebe Cates since 1989. Trivia: according to askmen.com, "Phoebe Belle Katz was born on July 16th, 1963, in New York City, into a family with Filipino and Russian Jewish roots." (What a combination!)

Martin Short is another guy who seems to have had a very varied career. Ditto Dennis Quaid, Hugh Jackman, and Ewan McGregor. Hey, have I got a fetish for straight actors who've played gay roles? Martin has certainly done that in Father of the Bride, Dennis in Far from Heaven, Hugh in The Boy from Oz on Broadway, and Ewan in Velvet Goldmine. I guess it's more of that they can convincingly play gay but they're not.

I cooked my favourite dish this time, SPAGHETTI ALLA VONGOLE (spaghetti with clams and fresh tomato sauce). Only, as usual, I looked at a couple of recipes and haphazarded my way through them. Also, I used linguine noodles. The amounts I used were different from the recipes', but it turned out well.

First thing I did was to chop one whole onion finely (using the gizmo again). Then I opened a can of Italian style diced tomatoes (with basil, garlic and oregano) and 3 cans of whole baby clams. The I commenced to boil water for the linguine.

In a wok, I poured 1/4 c olive oil, 2 tsp of minced garlic and 2 tbsp of chopped parsley (both spices out of the bottle). I added a couple of small packets of crushed red pepper that I got from Pizza Hut millenia ago (thank goodness I kept those; I couldn't locate my bottle of the spice), sauteing them for a few minutes, before adding the onions. The tomatoes were added shortly, and mixed well into the sauce. I also dumped the clams in, including the juice. For those who might like their spaghetti less saucy, just strain the clam juice before adding the clams. I also added a couple of dashes of salt, as well as 1/4 c of white wine. I used pinot grigio only because I had this small bottle of wine forever in the fridge, which had just the right amount of grape left.

After cooking the pasta, I strained it and poured into the wok with the sauce, tossing it well to coat the pasta with sauce.

At first I thought that the dish wasn't very good because it was slightly soupy, but Hubby raved about it. From a man who's used to being fed by a gourmet cook, this was no faint praise. I thought that I should've left the sauce over the heat a little more to thicken it, but the following day, the extra "soup" magically disappeared. And like the pot roast, it just got better with age. Bon appetit!

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