here's a lenten post!
yesterday
it was ash wednesday, which, for those of you who deny ever taking Religion class (there are a lot of you out there hrmfff) is the start of the Lenten Season. on this day, people who can are asked to fast, those who are too young to do so are asked to abstain.
the idea of abstinence is a little confusing, because in school you are taught that you are to abstain from consuming meat. which translates to three interpretations:
a) literally, meat. for Filipinos, that means no pork or beef on this day. I guess this would be in keeping with the Old Testament's precautions against eating meat (particularly pork) as this animal is considered unclean.
b) meat = any delectable meal. this interpretation is a recognition of the fact that in a lot of seminaries and churches in the country, when they say "abstain from meat", they instead consume huge-ass prawns, exotic fishes, and other expensive seafood. therefore, that "meat" in local context is seen as celebratory staples in Filipino meals must translate to a doing without of food that you like very much. this means that given a choice between your three-day old heat-reheat adobo and shrimp fra diavolo, you are to pick the adobo.
c) meat = carnal pleasures. meat, which is carne can also mean the pleasures of the flesh, and while i'm sure a lot of other people have told me the same before, my mother was the one to so intuitively point it out to me the other day, as some sort of weird-as-hell trivia. like, "why are you abstaining? you know they meant carnal pleasures and not beef and pork literally."
-_________________-;
however, ash wednesday for me is not a day of abstinence but of fasting. beginning 12MN of tuesday, i no longer consumed any food, and my fasting ended 12MN of wednesday.
i went 24 hours without food, and ran on a glass of milk for breakfast, a can of soda for lunch, and milktea for dinner. it was interesting because whenever i felt hungry over the entire sem, i always justify a binge by reasoning in my head, "i will die if i do not eat this very moment"; apparently, the implication of the justification was a tad too extreme. 24 hours without food wasn't so bad until i hit the 22nd and 23rd hour. :p
by the time Meeting-de-Avance was called to order, i had gone 12 hours without food. after consuming a can of coke-light before my turn to speak i realized what a bore i was for consuming something that has *gasp* NO SUGAR. geeeez.
interestingly enough, by the time i hit work i was convinced i was going to die from extreme heat and humidity. the fact that every kid in stpaul also decided to eat in front of me, or walk past me with delectable pasta or fries or sandwiches or dumplings made me cringe and say The Lord's Prayer in my head.
some of my kids also sat in class munching before we met up with sharine's kids. hala talaga.
by the time i hit my 24th hour without food, i started preparing my dinner by starting up the kitchen and raiding the fridge.
all-in-all, i have this general feeling of pride over what i accomplished. :) no, i wasn't dieting, for crying out loud (remember: the best diet is a healthy diet!).
today
hot and super humid day. dropped my econ106 instead of my econ131 because i do have better chances of making it out alive in econ131. ohgodohgodohgod i super want to become an econ major i will cry myself to death if i don't. :(
and i know it's not just the theory; but i believe strongly that it isn't about the numbers, either (as is pushed by the extreme empiricists in the college). Amartya Sen in Dev't as Freedom mentioned that the data does not show a complete picture of what is being analyzed; at the end of the day, evaluative and capability enhancement judgment were necessary to contextualize data into their real implications (he used this in his analysis of income deprivation in relation to relative deprivation).
dropping took the whole day (dropping per se took an hour or so), but i had to wait in for Ma'am LB of the undergraduate office of CBA to get my form signed. i THINK I saw miss sumaquiao (from grade school!) at the OUR.
after that alvin, mels, inna, and i headed off to Oz Cafe (because Chockiss was closed for it's 10th anniversary shebang) and consumed yummy chicken quesadilla, fishy treviso, and mundane french bread pizza.
we walked back to vinzon's and first-- saw the open-air jazz concert near UP theater; and second, saw Sir AA Arugay playing tennis
i realized only today that UP is the vibrant university i've always romanticized once in a while; it's just a matter of where you choose to look. :D
it was ash wednesday, which, for those of you who deny ever taking Religion class (there are a lot of you out there hrmfff) is the start of the Lenten Season. on this day, people who can are asked to fast, those who are too young to do so are asked to abstain.
the idea of abstinence is a little confusing, because in school you are taught that you are to abstain from consuming meat. which translates to three interpretations:
a) literally, meat. for Filipinos, that means no pork or beef on this day. I guess this would be in keeping with the Old Testament's precautions against eating meat (particularly pork) as this animal is considered unclean.
b) meat = any delectable meal. this interpretation is a recognition of the fact that in a lot of seminaries and churches in the country, when they say "abstain from meat", they instead consume huge-ass prawns, exotic fishes, and other expensive seafood. therefore, that "meat" in local context is seen as celebratory staples in Filipino meals must translate to a doing without of food that you like very much. this means that given a choice between your three-day old heat-reheat adobo and shrimp fra diavolo, you are to pick the adobo.
c) meat = carnal pleasures. meat, which is carne can also mean the pleasures of the flesh, and while i'm sure a lot of other people have told me the same before, my mother was the one to so intuitively point it out to me the other day, as some sort of weird-as-hell trivia. like, "why are you abstaining? you know they meant carnal pleasures and not beef and pork literally."
-_________________-;
however, ash wednesday for me is not a day of abstinence but of fasting. beginning 12MN of tuesday, i no longer consumed any food, and my fasting ended 12MN of wednesday.
i went 24 hours without food, and ran on a glass of milk for breakfast, a can of soda for lunch, and milktea for dinner. it was interesting because whenever i felt hungry over the entire sem, i always justify a binge by reasoning in my head, "i will die if i do not eat this very moment"; apparently, the implication of the justification was a tad too extreme. 24 hours without food wasn't so bad until i hit the 22nd and 23rd hour. :p
by the time Meeting-de-Avance was called to order, i had gone 12 hours without food. after consuming a can of coke-light before my turn to speak i realized what a bore i was for consuming something that has *gasp* NO SUGAR. geeeez.
interestingly enough, by the time i hit work i was convinced i was going to die from extreme heat and humidity. the fact that every kid in stpaul also decided to eat in front of me, or walk past me with delectable pasta or fries or sandwiches or dumplings made me cringe and say The Lord's Prayer in my head.
some of my kids also sat in class munching before we met up with sharine's kids. hala talaga.
by the time i hit my 24th hour without food, i started preparing my dinner by starting up the kitchen and raiding the fridge.
all-in-all, i have this general feeling of pride over what i accomplished. :) no, i wasn't dieting, for crying out loud (remember: the best diet is a healthy diet!).
today
hot and super humid day. dropped my econ106 instead of my econ131 because i do have better chances of making it out alive in econ131. ohgodohgodohgod i super want to become an econ major i will cry myself to death if i don't. :(
and i know it's not just the theory; but i believe strongly that it isn't about the numbers, either (as is pushed by the extreme empiricists in the college). Amartya Sen in Dev't as Freedom mentioned that the data does not show a complete picture of what is being analyzed; at the end of the day, evaluative and capability enhancement judgment were necessary to contextualize data into their real implications (he used this in his analysis of income deprivation in relation to relative deprivation).
dropping took the whole day (dropping per se took an hour or so), but i had to wait in for Ma'am LB of the undergraduate office of CBA to get my form signed. i THINK I saw miss sumaquiao (from grade school!) at the OUR.
after that alvin, mels, inna, and i headed off to Oz Cafe (because Chockiss was closed for it's 10th anniversary shebang) and consumed yummy chicken quesadilla, fishy treviso, and mundane french bread pizza.
we walked back to vinzon's and first-- saw the open-air jazz concert near UP theater; and second, saw Sir AA Arugay playing tennis
i realized only today that UP is the vibrant university i've always romanticized once in a while; it's just a matter of where you choose to look. :D