turning vegetarian

i never thought i'd be one, a vegetarian. but for the past 3 weeks now, i haven't eaten meat. i, who like hotdog, fried chicken & burgers so much. i, with the big appetite, who used to not get full w/o meat & extra rice. ok, yday i took half a spoonful of sisig from sylvia's plate but that's all the meat i ate recently. i've been eating healthful food like fruits & veggies. i eat a lot of salad nowadays. i also eat fish (except cultured bangus & tilapia), egg (once in a while),at least 8 glasses of water daily; no msg, less salt, less rice, no sweets except for pistachio ice cream last week. the shakes i drink do not have sugar, except for the melon shake i ordered last week, which the waiter mistakenly gave to me with sweetener.

now here's a sample of what i eat nowadays. so simple & yummy, a must-try. i got it from a salad cookbook but i altered it a bit to my liking.

pasta salad

cook spag noodles in water with garlic & oil. drain then pour cold water & drain again. set aside.

saute garlic & onion in little water (i/o of oil) then add canned tuna flakes minus the oil & water. (you may substi any fish flakes. i tried tuyo flakes once, sarap ;p)

prepare the ff. in a bowl: olive oil (or the oil & water from the tuna), salt, pepper, grated cheese, basil (pref. fresh. buy potted plants. i bought mine for 3 for 100) & mix well.

slice tomatoes, carrots & bell pepper (last 2 are optional. you may blanch carrots & bell pepper with hot water used in cooking pasta if you like). mix everything together & toss well. you may top with grated cheese.

this is my lunch today, ang sarap. try it ;p

I Saw God in Prison

One of the best experiences I had in 2010

I was in prison that unforgettable Saturday, July 10, 2010. As I entered I thought to myself, my family & friends will be shocked to learn where I am right now. But I’m getting ahead of the story, let me start from the beginning.

A series of predestined events starting January 2010 led me to the Correctional Institution for Women. First, when I read about prison visits on Kerygma magazine, I thought, I've never been to prison ever. It’s not like I didn’t have anybody I know imprisoned. I had frat brods jailed some years back but it never occurred to me to visit them. I thought, what do I do there anyway? I don’t even know how to comfort them. I’ll just end up feeling sorry for them. I don’t think that will help them feel any better.

Next thing I know, I was standing next to a Yam Reyna, Light of Jesus' Prison Ministry Head in a religious affair and she just popped the question, "you want to join us in our prison visit?" as if reading my mind. I said to God, Lord I was only joking. Don’t take me seriously on the prison thing. But seeing her very enthusiastic face, as if she was offering me ice cream & not a trip to an unknown world (at least for me), I gave a lousy reply, I’ll think about it. We exchanged numbers. She informed me they visit every 2nd Saturday of the month. She said to bring friends. But unlike her, I didn’t manage to offer it like an ice cream to people I know. Everybody I invited managed to turn me down so easily.

I said I’d go by myself but then my wild imagination got ahead of me so I decided not to. What if, they’re nasty. What if they don’t like me & pull my hair like in the movies of Vilma Santos I’ve seen. Or worse, they’ll pull me away from Yam without her noticing & carry me to an abandoned room & change my shirt to their orange uniform. I don’t look good in orange! So, even if Yam starts looking for me, it will be hard for her to find me. The guards, if they see me will think I’m one of the inmates, hello orange tee. Then I’ll be shouting, I don’t belong here! Get me out of here! Like some scene in the movies. Then they’ll be snorting & cacking their horrible laughs. Then the guards will think I’m some psycho so they’ll bring me to next door, Mental Hospital. Yes, I’m an aspiring scriptwriter. Good thing, you haven’t seen any of my movie scripts.

I managed to make up excuses for a few months but in June, I see her again accidentally and this time, I promised to really go on the next scheduled visit. So there I was nervously writing down my name on the visitors logbook in July. Before I could start asking myself again what on earth I was doing there, the brave goody-two shoes girl in me insisted, there’s nothing to be afraid of,and that they’re God’s children too.

As I walked in the gate, I see the orange, grey & blue lady inmates singing praises at the chapel & lifting their hands to the heavens. I met a surprised Sis Yam and I was introduced to the rest of visitors present. I felt the curious stares of the lady inmates. Most were smiling welcoming me, I felt humbled.

After the praise and worship, we listened to the talk for the day. I take a look at the lady captives again. They looked joyful, their faces radiant. They seemed so happy and at peace, totally different from the angry faces I see in the movies.

The prisoner attendees of this prayer meeting were grouped into 10's and I was asked to facilitate one group to discuss the talk. Each got a chance to answer about 3 questions. Just as I was curious to hear them,they were curious to know me. As we go back to our original seats, I felt their warm hugs & kisses. They were teary-eyed. They were so thankful to me. What have I given them? Just a few hours of my time & an ear. Ang babaw lang ng kaligayahan nila. If I had known, I would’ve come sooner.

As they file out of the chapel, they kept saying "thank you." Even those who were not in my group. It felt good to make them feel happy even for a short while. It was worth my trip, I thought to myself. As one lady she passed me by, she said, God bless you. I will not forget that moment. I saw God in her. Her face transformed to that of Jesus' face. And God Himself was thanking me.

I had to turn away to hide my tears. I tell Him, God, I did nothing special to deserve Your gratitude. But that’s just how God is, mababaw lang din ang kaligayahan Nya.

And so I walked out of CIW that day with the biggest smile on my face ;p