.. emergence ..

formspring.me: "What's your favorite type of flower?"

2010-02-14T21:30:00.001-07:00

What's your favorite type of flower?

Of all the flowers I love, I would say my favorite is the Johnny Jump-up flower ( http://bit.ly/jump-ups ). The reason for Johnny Jump-ups being my favorite is mainly because of the childhood memories evoked almost every time I look at one of those tiny flowers. It was the first flower I remember and imprinted in my mind as a little child. Whenever I would go to my grandparents' house in Glendale, Arizona, I would catch glimpses of those bright, tiny flowers peeking from small clumps in their front yard. My grandfather was especially proud of what he planted around his home, on the yard, and in the gardens. I recall my first experience tasting and eating a fresh fig picked from one of the trees my grandfather planted. He also planted peach and citrus trees. I remember going outside to play on the swing set with my siblings and cousins near the boysenberry patch and the wall of growing grapevines. We would sneak and pick some berries or grapes to snack on. Whenever there is a large crop of fruit harvested, my grandmother would welcome other family members to join in to help pit, peel and prepare the fruits for canning and making jam or jelly. Store-bought products doesn't even compare to my grandmother's goods! Through her example and my mother's guidance, I learned how to can my own set of jam. I remember how good it tasted and how proud I was! My grandmother always made sure her grandchildren understood the importance of learning new things, developing new and nurture old hobbies. When I got older, I remember my grandparents needing help pick the grapefruits off their trees. Boy, those were so delicious, juicy and huge, bigger than the average baby's head! I also remember my grandmother working hard on her quilts in her sewing room. That's where I was drawn to learn to quilt. When my mother started quilting more often, my brothers, sisters and I all made at least one quilt of our own. Almost throughout the year, there's always a few clumps of Johnny Jump-ups growing somewhere in my grandparents' yard or garden like constant reminders. I had great memories from watching my grandparents grow many things from their home. I learned it is important to know how to do gardening and make my own food so I will always have something to eat or share with my family or friends. So, whenever I see a Johnny Jump-up flower pop up, it seems to tell me,

"Hi! Did you remember to do what you learned from your grandparents?"

Ask me anything

Recipe to try: Chinese Pickled Garlic Recipe

2010-02-08T04:39:00.001-07:00

Well, during one of my cherished visits to John & Cesar, John first introduced me to his batch of homemade pickled garlic. I immediately fell in love with it! I couldn't stop popping them in like candy. SO delicious!! I knew I gotta try making my own, first, do a plain batch, and then experiment with different pickling flavorings in future batches of pickled garlic. Of course, I used Google to search for a raw recipe and found one on CookEatShare.com. During my searches for the pickled garlic recipe, I also found a recipe for Rosemary Vinegar. I think I am going to try making a batch of pickled rosemary garlic after I study the vinegar blend. I also stumbled on a list of flavored vinegar recipes here from CDKitchen.com.

Anyway, back to the basics, I am going to start with this Chinese pickled garlic recipe below and let you all know how it turns out!

Please feel free to add in the comments any suggestions or recipes of your version of flavored vinegars or pickled garlic. I am trying to aim for raw recipes than cooked! Yum!

Blah Blogger!!

2010-02-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

Sucks to learn Blogger & Google decided to pull the plug on FTP support! Now I don't want to bother with Blogger anymore. I'll leave my old posts here for archival purposes.

an interesting sign

2009-11-13T02:41:00.000-07:00

I clicked on someone's tweeted horoscope to check what's mine for today. And it reads:

Friday, November 13, 2009 Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22)
Don't worry about anyone who tells you that you should be more decisive about your feelings now. One of your greatest strengths is your ability to understand both sides of an issue, especially these days when so many people are stuck in their negative perceptions. In the long run, your friends will appreciate how you can quickly spot the potential that someone else might pass by without ever noticing. - Tarot.com

Well.. That's pretty spot on considering what's going on with me here in Phoenix! :)

"But it smells like GRASS!" Smoothie

2009-07-04T01:38:00.002-07:00

This recipe is really good and I drink it at least once a day. Most of my non-vegan/vegetarian friends fear this drink, though. That's where the smoothie recipe derives its name, "But it smells like GRASS!" If it is really GREEN, then you know it is GOOD for you!

Green is good!

Enjoy!

Philip

servings: 2 to 4 glasses

ingredients:
1 to 2 oz fresh ginger root, peeled and diced
2 bananas, peeled (duh! ;) )
1 gala apple, cored and unpeeled
1 pear, cored and unpeeled
1 navel orange, peeled
2 handfuls lacinato kale, stems removed
2 handfuls baby spinach (if no kale is found, use more spinach)
1 or 2 cups orange juice or raw kombucha tea (you can choose)
raw honey (optional, for taste)

preparation:
If possible, please find organic ingredients. Aside from raw honey, all the ingredients should be chilled. Wash and prepare the fruits, leaves and root.

In a blender, drop in diced ginger root, 2 bananas, apple, pear, and orange. Start the blender. Add 1 cup orange juice or kombucha tea. Make sure the mixture is "going" and not stuck. Stop the blender and put in spinach and kale leaves. Pulse until the mixture starts to flow and let the blender run for a minute or 2. The smoothie should be thick. If it is too thick, blend in more orange juice or kombucha tea. Do a taste test. If it needs to be sweetened, add and blend in raw honey to taste. Chill if needed.

Sometimes I am unable to find lacinato kale, so I use more baby spinach if needed. If the blender is not full enough, add more spinach/kale leaves and orange juice or kombucha tea.

my little amazon store

2009-07-02T10:03:00.001-07:00

I realized I enjoyed making a store, powered by Amazon.com, mainly for personal use. Almost every time I buy a book or an electronic device online, I would search and find the same or similar product on Amazon. Then, I would save the product link into my Amazon store. It is almost as if I was bookmarking things I have or wish to buy. By creating and setting up my Amazon store, I was able to share with others where I got my stuff. Really, I don't make money off of this store. It would be nice if it did. Not only Amazon offers a customized store for you, you could also add links of widgets to your blogs about relating topics or hobbies. I think it is great to take advantage of the store building feature on Amazon.com, and use it like a bookmarking service for your purchased products. If you want to try one out, you can give it a spin here!

wheezing.

2009-06-22T18:47:00.003-07:00

Trying to breathe life back into my blog!

*cough!* *cough!*

words to live by..

2009-04-30T11:16:00.001-07:00

"what r u really livin 4" Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Posted via Pixelpipe.

2009-04-29T22:13:00.002-07:00

Posted via Pixelpipe.

an online game: Deaf City - MyMiniCity

2008-02-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

This is just a totally pointless game, but nonetheless fun to watch! You can check the name of the city you live in on MyMiniCity. For an example, if you live in Phoenix, check the city of Phoenix.

With that being said, I decided to start my own city and named it, "Deaf City."

So, pass on the URLs, folks, and start increasing the populations!! It's almost as fun as watching someone grow Sea-Monkeys! :)

just in case you missed the behind-the-scenes of the Pepsi commercial..

2008-02-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

Just in case if anyone have missed the 2 minutes of behind-the-scenes of Super Bowl Sunday Pepsi Commercial at Bob's House, here is the video! Enjoy!

Did I just see Wayne Betts, Jr?? I know Brian Dowling and Bobbie Beth Scoggins shared their comments in this video. I am thrilled about this break-through with ASL and commercials!

vlog 0009: superbowl and a sponsor

2008-02-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Brian Dowling for being in the Pepsi Superbowl commercial and A Dreamer for signing Jordin Sparks' words to the National Anthem. Those guys are lookin' sharp! Also, I would like to thank a sponsor, Daniel from Denver, for the widescreen camcorder so I could easily make more vlogs!

01.18.08 - Cloverfield

2007-12-21T22:57:00.001-07:00

I cannot wait to see this Cloverfield movie, guys! I hope they do have an open captioned film featured soon as well! Rear view captioning TOTALLY sucks for this kind of movie because there are so much action and a lot of visual effects. Open captioned would be much better choice because I won't have to worry about missing the film. It is such a hassle to try to refocus on the dark glass to see the rear captions and then refocusing on the movie screen to see the film and refocusing on the glass to see the dialogue. You see?? Rear captioning is a pain in the ass! Open captions are the way to go!

UPDATE: Thanks to Bill, here is the link for the open captioned preview of Cloverfield!

a little about me.

2007-12-06T03:36:00.000-07:00

I got this in my email today. For the Hell of it, I went ahead and filled it all out and sent it back to my friends. I decided to make a copy and post it on my blog. Enjoy knowing a little more about me! ;)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? both of my grandfathers' middle names put together.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? November 21, 2007. I know a very few people who knows WHY! :(
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? yes.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? pastrami.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? no. I wish I did.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? yes, I'd even sleep with myself!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT? *DUH, REALLY?!*
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? the last time someone kissed me and checked for me, yes I still have them.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I wish I did! And would like to someday.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cinnamon Life.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? nope!
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? yes and no.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? spumoni.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their smiles and personalities.
15. RED OR PINK? why not a swirl?!
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I just seem to be able to start things but never been able to finish them!!! Aurgh.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Pepper.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? yes, bitch. I don't do this very often, so you owe me one!
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? barefoot and in dark grey undies. hey, I am already in bed!
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? double cheese burger and chicken sandwich.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? well, the last song I heard was "Short Skirts" by Felix Da Housecat. check the iTunes store.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? silver.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? the creosote bush after a day's rain or on a cool Arizonan night. and skunk spray, it always make me think of the great camping trips growing up.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Liz from Alabama.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? yeah, only if he keeps his hands to himself! :P
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I don't follow sports much, but, for eyecandy, I like to watch volleyball, baseball and rugby. I love to watch extreme snow sports and skateboarding.
28. EYE COLOR? it changes once in a while, blue or hazel.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no, I used to. someone should shoot the guy who invented the hard lenses! sandpaper on the eyes, BITCH!!
30. FAVORITE FOOD? seared white tuna sushi.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? scary movies from japan. american ones really need to learn something from international horror flicks!
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? "Planet Terror". Robert Rodriguez rocks my world!
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? a pirate ship printed aeropostale blue shirt.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall and Winter. gotta love the changing colors and white snow.
35. HUGS OR KISSES? kisses. then hugs. then kisses. then a little of both. then a lot!
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ancho Chili Fudge Pie from Z'Tejas.
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? only to those who I didn't send this email to!
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? me. in fact, I am surprised I am doing this questionnaire!
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise L. Hay.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't have a mousepad, I am using Macbook's touch pad.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? I don't think I watched tv at all last night, but I do remember the last TV show I watched this week was "CSI: Miami".
42. FAVORITE SOUND? the explosion of a 2-liter bottle stuffed with dry ice and lukewarm water.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? can't have one without the other!
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? New York City, for just only 15 minutes.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I have a tendency to make people miss me so bad even if I am such a pain in the ass!
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? in the valley of the sun.
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? who knows? I don't have very high expectations of people filling out questionnaires, but it'd be cool to know more about others.

kitty humor.

2007-11-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

a friend's dog is in critical condition, please help!

2007-10-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Recently over the weekend, I received a videophone call from Katherine from Philadelphia. I could see some tears and learned that her 2 dogs may have been poisoned by something they ate, drank or a blockage inside. One of her dogs, Marley, had the worst reaction and is now in the hospital in serious condition. I know how it feels to see a close pet going through pain and the risk of losing that pet. Katherine sent out an email for help and support:

Marley, My Deaf Dog, Is In Critical Condition

As you all know, this is a frightening time where I feel helpless about Marley's critical condition. I feel powerless about trying to save her. She may die and the people at ER are going to do everything to try save her and surgery might be possible. It is a horrible time for me and pray god will spare Marley her life for all the animals I have helped save.

Raychelle has made a post on the blog on Marley's behalf. The post went to deafread extra instead, so please go to www.deafread.com/extra, click on that and vote Marley's post to move it to the front. If you can contribute some $$, be is 5, 10, 20, 100 or whatever, it'll be greatly appreciated and share with others who you feel can help. Here is info about Marley's fundraising:

http://deafanimalrow.blogspot.com/2007/10/fundraising-for-marley.html

Katherine

I ask you to please help Katherine by donating a few dollars or more so she could be able to pay for the hospital bills. Many thanks!!

Deaf258 & Gnarlydorkette: What a Day!

2007-10-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Deaf258 and Gnarlydorkette review a day at the Gallaudet's Homecoming, meeting fellow bloggers and vloggers. It was a great, yet exhausting day. We had a great time meeting old, new and familiar faces!

vlog 0008: thank God for cochlear implants!

2007-10-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

I am sharing my disgust with religious fanatics who claim that it was God who made cochlear implants possible. By staking their claim, they are at conflict with their own religions according to their beliefs and scriptures.

UPDATE: I just found Deaf Flower's vlog I was referring to earlier. Check out her vlog!

my vlog signature.

2007-10-19T01:18:00.000-07:00

I was somewhat displeased, yet flattered, to learn that various vloggers have ripped off my vlog signature, a sip from my drink right before I start talking about the topic. Anyone who has seen me on the videophone/webcam knows I tend to drink at the beginning or during the conversation. So, it is naturally my vlog signature. Edit: I am the one with tea.

Please keep it mind, that one is mine!

UPDATE #1: Gnarlydorkette has made a vlog about this issue.

UPDATE #2: Apparently, drmzz (Mike) claimed his right to that coffee cup sipping (or not sipping) signature.

There, you have it. Now, we got a coffee sipper and a tea sipper. Who is the soda sipper?

unique photographer.

2007-10-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most AMAZING photographers I have ever seen! Please check out his website! Here is a sample of his work:

past feelings.

2007-10-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

I was reviewing my old blog posts and this one caught my eye. I wrote it on February 6, 2004. In the light of the current issues with coclear implants and speech therapy, it was important to express how I felt then, and I still feel the same today. Enjoy!

Feb. 6, 2004: So, are you saying that if my parents had given me CIs when I was little, the first thing I would 'hear' my parents say would be, "I love you more because you can hear better!"?!

Think again, it's screwed up. What's wrong with parents loving the children regardless of their handicaps, disabilities and/or deafness? I prefer my parents to love me no matter what, than to focus on what is wrong with me! Growing up, I have had some experiences with my parents where it was clear that they were trying to "fix" me. It came to the point that they have been trying too hard with doctor appointments, audiologists and hearing aids. I never had a lot of fun with my parents because they really put too much energy on making me speak perfectly and not allowing me to have a normal childhood. It put a bad strain on our relationship between myself and my family! It won't be any different with cochlear implants. If my parents did put cochlear implants, I would be beyond pissed! Too many parents have this misconception that buying hearing aids or cochlear implants automatically makes their Deaf child(ren) obligated to do what the parents want them to do, having to live their lives through the parents' dreams, realities and high expectations. It has come to the point where life as a Deaf child with hearing aids/cochlear implants reeks of verbal, emotional abuse and near-slavery!

My final point: It is MORE important for me to be understood and loved than to be able to hear and feel "broken"!

blogging food for Deaf thought.

2007-09-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

"If it is true that Ridor is like Howard Stern, then it is true that KokonutPundits is like Don Imus!"

- Deaf258

where should I move to? and why?

2007-09-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

Please keep in mind that I am taking the following into consideration:

accessibility with the area's Deaf community
standard of living (cost of rent and food)
quality of the area's mass transit (I got no car)
number of job opportunities
quality of college/university and their services

After you make your vote, please comment why you made the vote. I would love to have as much coverage as I can get! Thanks, guys! ;)

frustrated.

2007-09-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

right now, I am just frustrated with everything I kept bottled up inside. Pretty smashed now that I had more than 5 shots of that apple pucker with 99% proof.

I am just angry things are not going the way I want them to happen. Good things always happen to other people... I wish so bad that I have good things happen, someone to love me eve n though I can be a pain in the ass. Someone to inspire me rto do bwtter and the best I could be. But why does it have to be so hard???

oh, my goodness.

2007-09-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for Craftzine.com or I would not have found the good-ness blog! :) Now, I got my eyes on her Japanese fabrics.