Alright, I changed my mind over the weekend about reading 52.
I realized I needed to read first Infinite Crisis before hitting 52 and since I don't have a complete copy of IC yet, I have to defer reading 52 then. Makes sense, otherwise I won't understand what was going on when the storyline first emerged in the DC Universe some years back.
Instead, I found an old copy of Roald Dahl's Charlie and The Chocolate Factory sitting in my bookshelf last Friday evening and decided to read it. It's a short read, bound to be done in a few hours (if I get those few hours tonight).
The book has already spawned a couple of theatrical releases. Initially in 1971 which was entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which the author disowned as the story focused more on Wonka (played by Gene Wilder) rather than on Charlie Bucket, the protagonist of the tale. In 2005, Johnny Depp took on the Wonka character in the more-properly adapted film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which also starred Freddie Highmore as Charlie. I have yet to see the Gene Wilder-starrer but I've partially seen the Johnny Depp and I've liked what I seen. I will have to secure myself a DVD copy of the Tim Burton-directed film version.
Going back to the book, this is probably the youngest book I've ever read (discounting of course the books of my daughters, Ikai and Issa) and in my opinion, is a tad even younger than The Mysterious Benedict Society series.
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I'll be off on a business road trip this mid-week and while I'm hoping to get some fiction writing done, it'll be somewhat impossible given that I won't be bringing any laptop with me. It'll be back to basics pad and pen style if I do any writing. It's going to be likely more plotting and outlining rather than writing but that still going to be progress especially with a month-end deadline forthcoming.
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I'll be bringing along for the trip, A Game of Thrones. It's about time I work on this book to see what the fuss was all about and whether the next volumes of the series merit the pesos I'll be shelling out.
Depending on how long I'll be gone, I usually pack one to two books plus I carry a laptop that contains more reading materials, just in case. This time around though, I've got no rig on hand so if the PSP doesn't consume all my free time then GRRM's A Game of Thrones will be my main entertainment.
Of course, there's always cable TV.
But then again, depending on what province you travel or the type of hotel you stay in, there's no 100% guarantee the cable TV will be quite good. Better to have a good book on hand, just in case.
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Came in late for work today as Ikai had to be brought to the hospital as she's had high fever since yesterday afternoon.
Elvie and I woke up several times during the evening to monitor her temperature which hovered in the 38's. This morning, even though Ikai was singing and dancing around, her temp still hovered in the high 37's so we decided to bring her to the hospital for a check-up.
Of course, dengue is the unspoken fear we hope against the most however, the ER docs said it's quite too early to test her for that. They instead ordered a urinalysis to check whether she has UTI or a viral infection. After finally getting urine sample from Ikai after a couple of hours at the hospital, the doc told us we could take her home and observe her there. If the fever continues until tomorrow, we're bringing her back for a CBC.
Hopefully, she'll get well soon as she has practices to attend for her Twinkler Scout investiture on Friday (alas, I am away and cannot witness the occasion).
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I was in the hospital last night as well.
My father had flu-like symptoms since last Friday and after much egging, he finally permitted himself to be checked up. Good thing I was in Laguna yesterday evening and I accompanied my folks to a nearby hospital for the check-up.
CBC and urinalysis came out clear so the doc suspected viral infection in the throat area (aka trangkaso) since Papa also had a cold and slight coughing spells.
After an hour or so at the ER, my father was discharged.
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Moron (pronounced moo-ron not mow-ron) is a native delicacy of several provinces in the Philippines, namely in Leyte and Samar and most recently, I learned from Butuan as well.
It's a suman (rice-cake) made from milled rice, blended with coconut gata (coconut milk), flavored with chocolate, and wrapped in banana leaves and resembles a tamale or corndog in shape. Over the long weekend last week, I was the proponent for the making of moron at Laguna. I helped out of course, helping in stirring the quickly-massing milled rice and coconut (continuous stirring is needed to keep the mixture from sticking to the pan as it becomes a sticky dough-like substance) and in shaping the two dough flavors into small flat cakes for blending later on.
Last time my parents came home from their hometown in Samar, they brought with them commercialized moron which were sold at P75 a dozen -- freakin' robbery considering that the morons were roughly just about four inches long and an inch in diameter. In contrast, the moron we usually make at home are about half-a-ruler in length and somewhere near one and a half inches thick.
Last night, I went home with lots of moron in a bag :P
Last week when we cooked moron at Laguna, there were still a lot of banana leaves left over. Last Friday, rather than allowing the banana leaves to go to waste, my parents decided to cook another batch of morons so that the banana leaves would become useful. How's that for reasoning? :P
Talkin' 'bout stuff over steaming cups of coffee. Grab a seat and be part of the chit-chat.
