the first cherries of the season

Sometimes I like to indulge myself in a “fancy” way, like having a blissful one-and-a-half hour aromatherapy body massage at a good spa, or spending half a day shopping for shoes at my favorite Bass outlet store (where I find wonderful shoes at prices even the most astute Greenhills Manila shopper would approve of).

There are times though, and these outnumber those “fancy” moments, when I indulge myself in something quite simple yet just as enjoyable.

One of these moments was yesterday morning, when I opened the first bag of cherries I found in the grocery store this season. After washing the cherries, I carried the bowl of fruit and a plate of salt for dipping (a very Filipino thing to do, I’m made to understand) to the coffee table in our dining room. I poured myself a tall glass of ice-cold water, then snuggled into the depths of our comfy recliner with a copy of Isabel Allende’s Stories of Eva Luna.

Reaching out to my treasure-bowl I picked a deep-red cherry, dipped it in the salt, and popped it in my mouth. That first juicy, luscious, sweet taste laced with a hint of salt made my entire day.

Posted under Navel-Gazing , Photography

worth a million dollars

Back in December, I wrote a somewhat tongue-in-cheek entry about the then-upcoming show The Contender, not knowing that I would be one of its stalwart followers. Not because I like seeing these men beating each other to a pulp, no. Not even because having both Sly and Sugar Ray in the same TV show has a certain ironic charm to it.

I’ve been watching this show because unlike other “reality” TV shows where the cast of characters are often either clueless fools or spoiled brats (or worse, both) who reveal their scheming, lying, evil sides in the course of the show, The Contender has done just the opposite: it has, by intent or sheer luck, picked out hardened fighters who threw punches inside the ring, but out of it also took care of their families, earned a living for their children, encouraged and even helped their fellow contenders and competition, dreamt big dreams.

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Posted under Navel-Gazing