gecko talk

My husband and I have been renting a house for quite some time now and a few months after we've moved in to that property, he heard a really loud croaking sound in the back garden one night. It was made by a gecko famous for its mating call which goes by the name "tuko" or Tokay Gecko. He was very curious as to what it looks like that he began looking for it, searching every nook and cranny of the wide open space. After 6 months and a few days of searching and almost giving up, a few days ago, my cousin asked him to pop around next door. We are actually next door neighbours to my parents. My cousin was trying to explain to him that the elusive tuko is actually sitting on the area where the water tank is. So they hurriedly went around my mom's to check it out. Fortunately it didn't move at all. When they went up to look for it, it was still there. My husband said it probably is about a foot long and got really big eyes that were staring at him. And it looks exactly like the ones on the internet. He actually wanted to take a picture of it but sadly my camera, which he also took there to get some hard evidence, failed as the battery was flat. But the good thing is, his long agonizing quest to actually see the gecko has been fulfilled. He told me a lot of things that he had found out on the Web about this creature. Although I very much doubt all, or at least one, of them are real, the internet is loaded with buying/selling posts of the gecko. So here are some information that dear wikipedia have provided regarding the 'tuko'.

* The Tokay Gecko is nocturnal. They can only be heard (and most likely seen) at night.
* Their mating call, a loud croak, is variously described as sounding like token, gekk-gekk or Poo-Kay where both the common and the scientific name (deriving from onomatopoeic names in Malay, Sundanese, Tagalog, Thai, or Javanese).
* When the Tokay bites, they often won't let go for a few minutes or even up to an hour or more, and it is very difficult to remove without causing harm to the gecko. (This I found frightening though I couldn't find any fangs or teeth being shown on the pictures)
*They are quickly becoming a threatened species in the Philippines because of indiscriminate hunting. Collecting, transporting and trading these animals without a license can be punishable by up to 12 years in jail and a fine of up to 1 Million pesos under Republic Act 9147 in addition to other applicable international laws. Chinese buyers and other foreign nationals are rumored to pay thousands of dollars for large specimens, reportedly because of their alleged medicinal value or as commodities in the illegal wildlife trade. The Philippine government has issued a warning against using geckos to treat AIDS and impotence, saying the folkloric practice in parts of Asia may put patients at risk.

We were googling for actual trades or sales that involved these geckos but there has never been any published black-and-white proof that they have been sold for a very hefty sum at all. It seems that nobody has evidently tried to use tukos to cure the incurable diseases such as cancer or AIDS. Not one scientist has ever done any type of research on these lizards whether they are the long-awaited answer for deadly diseases or just some old wives' tale. I find the buyer ads very ridiculous. Asking for a short video clip to prove that the gecko is real and not just a scammer asking for money. My husband read one blog entry in a forum that there was a guy who wanted to buy the gecko but in order for him to get to the province where it is being held captive, he is asking the seller to lend him some money to get there. I find these things odd and not to mention completely bonkers.

I guess the only thing to disperse all these rumors is to prove they are wrong, isn't it? I don't think there are any medical doctors nor scientists who will be prepared to do this task. But then again, having no hard evidence that what people say about the healing properties of the Tokay is also an obvious assurance that it is a false assumption to hold on to that promise that it is a cure for anything at all. And there will be no short cuts to getting well, not that I want to bash on any sick person's dream of coming back to their normal healthy state, by killing (and nearly exterminating) wildlife preserved animals such as the gecko. But to my fellow Filipinos, remember the era when old people say if you have asthma you can just boil a house lizard and it'll cure it? Remember that kind of stuff? (a long pause to go into a flashback) Yes, Exactly.

So where, what or who do you put your trust in when it comes to matters of health and well-being? There's only one thing that my hope is secure in, with regards to being cured and getting well - Jesus Christ, healer of all.

Jeremiah 30:17 ~ I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD.

1 Peter 2:24 ~ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

This I am very certain of because I have been healed by Him when I thought all is lost.

Easy Peasy Toast Topper

Every weekend is supposedly our (me and hubby's) time to chillax. We don't try to do too much let alone slave ourselves in the kitchen to cook our meals. So I try my best to find quick recipes that don't require a lot of ingredients nor take a lot of time to prepare and also cook. Today I was trying to think hard what to cook for lunch. This meal is the toughest one to sort out because my husband doesn't always eat lunch and if he does, he prefers nothing heavy like rice or potatoes. So I searched the kitchen cupboards and the fridge for something to put on the table. I thought of doing my bachelorette pizza because it's what we usually have for lunch during weekends and he said he has grown to like it. I will share the recipe when I get to take actual pics. Then I realized there were some left over pasta sauce from last night's dinner! So I asked the iron chef (as what my colleague who is a big fan of his scrumptous meals call him) if he fancies another round of spaghetti but he declined. He suggested I put the sauce on toasts and grated cheese on top. So I took his advice and prepped away. A short recipe can be found below:

Easy Peasy Toast Topper

What you need:

* a loaf of bread (a few slices will do depending on how many stomachs are to be fed)
* grated quick-melt cheese
* left over pasta sauce, chilled (we used our own version of Bolognaise sauce)
* ground black pepper (optional)

Instructions:

*  Lightly toast your slices of bread. Just brown the sides. This, I found, is helpful as you need to put them in the oven to melt the cheese and it doesn't take a lot of time to melt cheese. Toasting it makes the bread crunchy when you eat it, otherwise, if you didn't toast it, it'll be a bit soggy when you bite into it.

* Usually we keep our left overs in the fridge to keep it from going off. I also suggest you take the sauce out when you're ready to top your toasts. After putting your sauce on top of the toasts, you can either add chopped onions, sliced tomatoes or bell peppers. This is optional, otherwise just go with your sauce.

* Season with black pepper (again that is up to you) or chilli powder (to the brave ones who love their spices). Then top with grated cheese.

* Pre-heat oven at 180 C. Line your baking tray with the toasts topped with your yummy sauce. Slide your tray in the oven and let them stay there for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve hot.

Ours looks like this. We didn't have quick-melting cheese so this will do for now. They do taste really good. Hubby was surprised and said it tasted exactly like those tinned toast toppers from the UK, only better. :)

  

Have you tried something new today like a new recipe or created your own? I just did. I look forward to trying more fresh ideas in the coming days. 

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

 “For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
 For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
 For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
 For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
 For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
  People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
 As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.”
― Sam Levenson

As I was going in to the ladies' room one fine afternoon, I overheard a couple of the girls' conversation while they were putting on their make up in front of the lavatory. I know I shouldn't be eavesdropping on them but I can't help but hear what they were so animatedly talking about. They were discussing a some sort of beauty cream (I didn't catch the exact name) which makes blemishes fade away and whitens the skin. I smirked and shook my head at the thought of the promises of these so-called "beautifying" creams. Nowadays, people of all ages - men, women and even children, think of these as instant/magical tools, more powerful than the famous image editing software to erase any traces of impurity or specks on their bodies. I know it is important to look good and presentable in public but to hold on to something you're not even sure will be of any help is ridiculous. I, for instance, have tried this "age-defying" cream when they were giving away free samples by sharing your email on line. So I did claim a small tube of the product, tried it the same night after getting it and the following morning, my face was red. It was as if I was slapped repeatedly by a raging lunatic. It was sore and irritated, my dermatologist friend told me as soon as she had checked my skin. She then asked me what I have put on my face so I told her the name of the culprit which is the freebie face cream. I got told off for using the product which actually contains strong chemicals and doesn't go well with my sensitive skin. I was just advised to use a specific gentle cleansing facial wash for daily use and she said if I wanted to use a moisturiser, use a vitamin E type. After that experience, I stopped looking for THE perfect beauty treatment whether they be lotions or potions (as what my hubby calls them). To be quite truthful, I don't even wear make up on a daily basis, only on a few numerous occasions such as my 18th birthday (which I honestly think I looked like I'm attending a Halloween party), graduation balls/events, graduation ceremonies and my wedding day (wherein my hubby's friend just gave me a really light make up).

Today I came across an article shared by a friend on a social network site. It was about a homosexual who went to a fake doctor and got injected by a cement mixture to enhance his looks. view article here After reading through the blog entry, I remembered the times I've read on the news about the countless patients (whether they exposed the medical malpractice of a pseudo-physician or not) who are victims by these people who use cheap and tacky "stuff" to get money out of those unfortunate souls hoping to look (and feel) beautiful after going to their clinics. Another article I've read not long ago was about the overuse of photo-editing softwares to help create picture perfect billboards, ads and commercials of famous celebrities and models and how people are protesting about these things because they have a huge impact on children and teens alike as to how they see themselves. The young generation today seems to think that they can achieve that same look or same body by using the same product (I know I've said this word a lot now) of the said advertisement and the standard of beauty is what they portray. For my fellow Filipinas, beautiful is defined by being thin, chalk white and with long black shiny hair that's because our skin colour is usually fair to brown or tanned. For the Western women, I found out during my 2 year stay over the UK, it is being like a "Barbie doll". Barbie dolls are skinny with huge breasts, shapely hips and bronze skin. Though I'm not speaking in behalf of everyone, I know there are others who don't see things this way and prefer simplicity but majority of the people I've observed are like that. They have tanning booths or salons everywhere in the city where I stayed at. Their beauty products that line their cosmetics section comprise of bronze lotion, cream, moisturiser and I wouldn't be surprised if next time they will have a tanning body wash! A line from a song from the movie Princess Diaries popped inside my head when I was writing this long dramatic blog entry, it says, "What makes you different, makes you beautiful. What's there inside you, shines through to me..." I know it's cheesy but it's true! God never intended to make us all look like each other. And the standard of beauty will never be labelled to a specific look or colour of the skin. Being beautiful isn't about what is on the outside but what is inside. A very old saying but is still applicable today.

My colleague and I showed our new office mate the pictures of two of our Australian workmates some time ago just so she knows which is which as these guys both share the same name (and even nick names). She was amazed at the difference of the two and gave a thumbs up remark on the better looking one. But we explained to her that before we even saw their photos, which our boss asked them to send over to see the difference between themselves, we already knew who of them was worth being admired and who isn't. And he was the approachable of the two. He is going to help you as much as he can and he will be polite even when he is busy at work. The lady who holds his heart is a very blessed one. She should treasure him dearly. I told my colleagues if she breaks his heart I will swim across the ocean and hunt her down!

Now I don't ignore the fact that using beauty products like cleansing creams etc. are bad nor do I despise make ups as they are part of an actor or actress's day-to-day routine to help them look good in front of the camera and all that jazz but the thing is beauty is skin deep. Sometimes we all fail to see that. I used to think that all those pretty ladies and handsome men are good people when I was a little kid. So if you're handsome, to me you must be a good person - kind and loving and something like a price charming type. That goes for the ladies as well. All that faded away when I met and befriended a classmate a lot older than me in the fourth grade. She has a some form of illness (I forgot now what it was called) so she had to stop school (for medical treatment) and start again for four years over and over and it made her face distorted, in short, in the world's view she is ugly. But when I got to meet her (when she became my seat mate) and have known her well, my whole perspective of people being pretty or good looking equals good and saint-like was erased from my childish mindset. My friendship with her taught me to understand real beauty (have I not said that loads of times as well?) as oppose to physical or outward beauty. Just as what the bible teaches us about how God defines it:

1 Peter 3:3-4

English Standard Version (ESV)

³  Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

 I have met a lot of very beautiful people in my 30 years of existence on this world and not one of them is a celebrity or a model.

Breakfast Battles

I knew that when I created this blog, my second post would either be about food or odd encounters not with the third kind but with weird people on my way home from work. I decided to choose the former.

Breakfast, as the elderly would say, is the most important meal of the day (or was it 'the most important part' of the day?). Skipping breakfast before going to school or work, will leave you with insufficient energy to last throughout the day and in turn, you'll find yourself eating a  lot by lunch time.

For me, breakfast is an eat-and-run thing. Most people know I don't have time to cook and eat at home, because I try to catch an early morning ride to work. So, what I usually do is I just scout the high streets of Eastwood and look for the cheap and quick meal – the kind that I can grab before I head to the office. I have tried most of the breakfast meals in every fast food chain - Jollibee, McDonald's, KFC, Chowking and even the 24 hour convenience stores that sell ready-to-eat packed meals like 711 and Mini Stop. But while all of them are really cheap, (usually 60 pesos or under), not all of them are filling. Service wise, I'd like to say that Chowking is at the bottom of my list. You'll have to sit there to wait for around 15-20 minutes before your food is served, and sometimes it's not even served hot! The only thing I eat there for breakfast is their congee.  It never fails to give me that warm feeling after.

Most of these fast food chains have burger or bun-type of combo meals for those that want to just grab a quick bite and go. KFC has chicken burger with scrambled egg and topped with mayo. McDonald's on the other hand has lots of varieties, the low-priced one (which I usually buy) is the hamdesal with cheese while Jollibee has their sausage and egg pandesal. Between the three, my palate has fallen in love with Jollibee's. I guess it's very close to what you'll have at home - a well-done omelette and fresh from the frying pan flat sausage wrapped up in a real pandesal. I don't mind waiting as the taste itself makes it worth the wait. I savor every moment when I'm eating this heavenly meal along with my cup of coffee or hot chocolate and I let out a burp of happiness as I head to my office building with a smile on my face. I prefer this over  those tacky burgers and soggy omelette in a chicken burger that instead of giving me that energized feeling, just makes me sick to my stomach after. But I'm not bragging about Jollibee's nor am I saying all their breakfast meals are great but the fastest and cheapest meal I can buy is theirs and it's just as perfect as a cup of coffee from Starbucks. So next time you fancy something to eat, do try what I am strongly recommending and tell me what you think.

the what. the why. the who.

*Sprinkles confetti over me, my desk and the blog*

 This blog has been planned, but seemed to be long overdue. I have pondered about this for quite sometime now. So, first thing's first.

What this blog contains: 

Mainly, this space is about my thoughts regarding  different things that  tickled my fancy or provoked  my curiosity. Usually, they would revolve around everyday scenarios that involved me or perhaps, something that I have experienced, which I would like to share my two cents worth. 

Behind the name trinketboxofthoughts?

After much deliberation with my alter ego (which I don't have a name yet), a cute word popped up in my creative mind – trinket.

The website http://trinketbox.org/what-is-a-trinket-box/ defines it as:

A trinket box is also known by other terms such as jewel case or casket and has been used from the medieval times on the dressers. These are small boxes that are embellished on the top in a variety of designs and have a hollow space or concealment when opened. These small boxes are perfect to keep jewels and other trinkets.

I don't really have a lot of things to blog about; so I consider just the bits and pieces of what I will be sharing with you; small things to be put in my virtual trinket box. They may be tiny but hopefully, they'll give you some insight on what is happening around us or give you a little bit of information which you can also consider as a jewel or a treasure for keeps.

WHO is the person behind the blog?

A lady who is fond of observing her surroundings, I rarely speak a word to strangers but I can be an all-out chatter when I am with my peers. I am a frustrated writer who have always dreamt of being a movie director or a famous novelist but ended up being a physiotherapist. My current line of duty is a virtual assistant for a construction company based in the land down under.