After Lawrence Sanders, Caehl is now focusing on my Sue Grafton collection.

Sue (Taylor) Grafton is known for her alphabet series (or the Kinsey Millhone mysteries), starting with A is for Alibi, the latest of which is T is for Trespass and U is for Undertow. As you may know now, I am a sucker for contemporary detective novels. and I won’t be surprised if Caehl follows suit. He is now memorizing the titles.

Right now, I can’t decide which of them is my favorite.

Kinsey Millhone series
"A" Is for Alibi (1982)
"B" Is for Burglar (1985)
"C" Is for Corpse (1986)
"D" Is for Deadbeat (1987)
"E" Is for Evidence (198
"F" Is for Fugitive (1989)
"G" Is for Gumshoe (1990)
"H" Is for Homicide (1991)
"I" Is for Innocent (1992)
"J" Is for Judgment (1993)
"K" Is for Killer (1994)
"L" Is for Lawless (1995)
"M" Is for Malice (1996)
"N" Is for Noose (199
"O" Is for Outlaw (1999)
"P" Is for Peril (2001)
"Q" Is for Quarry (2002)
"R" Is for Ricochet (2004)
"S" Is for Silence (2005)
"T" Is for Trespass (2007)
"U" Is for Undertow (2009)

For more on Sue Grafton and her novels, visit http://www.suegrafton.com/

Lawrence Sanders has always been my favorite author. Back in my folks’ house, our books were regarded as “shared”, meaning the family owns them, even if the books were individually purchased. But when I moved to my own house, I think it was a given that the books were mine so I brought them along.

The collection, which consists of 35 (36? 37?) books, occupies a prominent place in our library. I have the complete Deadly Sin series, two Timothy Cone titles, and most of the Commandment and Archibald McNally series. Some were bought from local book stores while some were sent by my aunt and uncle (Hi Mama Bee and Uncle Stu!). If there’s one thing Sanders’ protagonists have in common, it’s their tummies. Capt. Edward X. Delaney is a sandwich junkie, Cone is clearly a take-out guy, while Archy saves the best for last - dinner. They love to drink, too.


Our daily “quiz” starts with “How about the one with the…”

1. Tapes? The Anderson Tapes
2. Butterfly with blood? Answer: McNally’s Risk
3. Car inside the egg? Answer: McNally’s Gamble
4. Mask? Answer: McNally’s Folly
5. Buddha? The Timothy Files
6. Girl with snake as hair with blood? Answer: The Seduction of Peter S.

And so on and so forth.

All in all, Sanders published 38 novels. He died while living in Florida in 1998 at the age of 78, and I quote, “…was one of the greats in mystery writing and will be sorely missed.”

Lawrence Sanders bibliography
The Anderson Tapes (Edgar Award) (1970)
The Pleasures of Helen (1971)
Love Songs (1972)
The First Deadly Sin (1973)
The Tomorrow File (1975)
The Tangent Objective (1976)
The Marlow Chronicles (1977)
The Second Deadly Sin (1977)
The Tangent Factor (197
The Sixth Commandment (1979)
Dark Summer (as 'Mark Upton') (1979)
Caper (as 'Lesley Andress') (1980)
The Tenth Commandment (1980)
The Third Deadly Sin (1981)
The Case of Lucy Bending (1982)
The Seduction of Peter S. (1983)
The Passion of Molly T. (1984)
The Fourth Deadly Sin (1985)
The Eighth Commandment (1986)
Tales of the Wolf (1986)
The Loves of Harry Dancer (1986)
Dream Lover (1987)
The Timothy Files (novellas) (1987)
Timothy's Game (novellas) (198
The Dream Lover (198
Stolen Blessings (1989)
Capital Crimes (1989)
Sullivan's Sting (1990)
The Seventh Commandment (1991)
McNally's Secret (1992)
McNally's Luck (1992)
McNally's Risk (1993)
McNally's Caper (1994)
Private Pleasures (1994)
McNally's Trial (1995)
McNally's Puzzle (1996)
McNally's Gamble (1997)

For more on Sanders, here are some good links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Sanders
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/sanders.html
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/lawrence-sanders/

This may not be the most graceful exit, but I know when the bottle's empty.
---Doug, Cocktail 1988

When I was in my early 30s, I used to down four to eight bottles of San Mig Light. But now, when I go out with friends, it would take me forever to knock back two bottles. And lately, I’ve been favoring cocktail drinks than beer.

I am no cocktail drinks expert but my favorite Alabang watering holes are Tia Maria’s, Gilligans, and Aplaya. I think I’ve been to most of the bars in Festival Mall’s Green and Grills area. Aplaya’s piña colada (rum, coconut cream, pineapple juice) tastes better than Gilligan’s, and it goes with a paper parasol. But I like Gilligans’ daiquiri (rum, lime juice with cherry as garnish), both the banana and mango variants. Tia Maria’s strawberry Margarita (tequila mixed with triple sec and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim) is too sweet. I have also tried Payao’s version (rating: good enough), while I find the one served at VoxBox (a videoke place at the 4th Level of the mall) too warm.

There was also a time that I thought Long Island Iced Tea (gin, tequila, vodka, rum on the rocks) was simply an iced tea variant. I didn’t know that it was just named such due to its resemblance to the good old iced tea. May amats pala.

But yes, I would still enjoy a bottle or two of SML with Alex at Antakya (4 bottles for Php100 during happy hour) while listening to a band or watching the stand-up comic acts, and at our Pacita hang-out, Big Cha (where they usually play 80s music) with our usual pulutan of french fries, pork sisig and calamares. When we spent a night once in Mauban, we went to a local pub in front of the hotel and drank beer with garlicky peanuts (for him) and inihaw na isaw/tenga ng baboy with super spicy vinegar dip (for me). Simple pleasures for simple folks like us.

Cheers.

Yup, Alex and I just turned 17. I always pass on this joke to my friends that only half of that were ours, referring to the years when we truly loved each other. The other half, well, were spent (or wasted) on other things. 

Seventeen is a great number. It’s one of my favorite numbers actually since I was born on the 17th of September. It’s a number that is often cited in songs, “She was just seventeen. You know what I mean.” “'You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only 17”. Did you know that “At Seventeen” by Janis Ian was originally written as "I learned the truth at eighteen”? But the singer found that the word "seventeen" worked better than "eighteen" when she tried to put melody to the lyrics.

I often write about me and Alex, our anniversaries, our relationship in general – what we have and have not done; what we have done right and what we have done wrong; how we come clattering down once in a while and how we get up each time we fall; how I thought I knew it all, that I knew everything.

But not quite, I know that now.

Reality check: sadly, some of the ideals I used to believe in, stand for and hold dear do not hold true anymore, and I have accepted (and am still trying to accept) that. There are actions that I cannot undo, events that I won’t be able to foresee, and people that we certainly can do without. For things that I just can no longer change, wala na kong magagawa kundi tanggapin, try to control what's left (and what can be controlled) and go on with life as happily as we could.

At seventeen, I know better.

Disclaimer: You don’t have to agree with me, you don’t have to believe me. You’re entitled to your own opinion. More so, these do not really sum up my life. Random thoughts lang.

Life and love are more than these, of course.

1. First love dies. I can’t even remember who it was.
2. Kay tamis ng una mong halik is not true. Again, I can’t even remember who it was.
3. It takes two to make a thing go right. In saving a marriage, hindi pwedeng isa lang ang may gusto or nag-e-effort. Dapat pareho kayo. And do it because you want to, not because you have to.
4. In a relationship, there are three versions: the girl’s, the guy’s, and the truth.
5. The most wonderful of all things in life is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase.
6. God made many puzzle pieces, but only those two 'cut out' for each other can fit together to create a perfect and beautiful picture. Kung hindi ikaw ang missing piece niya, wag ipagpiltan ang sarili. Kung mali, mali.
7. The life and love we create is the life and love we live. There are people who intentionally, deliberately mess up other people’s lives. Once in our lives, or maybe not just once, we encounter such careless people.
8. Huwag matigas ang ulo. Iyan ang ikapapahamak mo. We live only once. Live it well, live it right.
9. I used to tell my mom, life is short. And she would ask back, why make it shorter. Sabi na nga ba, makinig sa magulang. Parents know best. Since I have become a parent myself, sold na sold ako sa idea na ito. Wala pa ring tatalo sa Alaska.
10. From Alex: love is something that must be worked on on a daily basis.
11. Sabi nila, sometimes love is not enough. Well siguro nga, but perhaps love could make everything easier. Sabi nila, love makes the world go around. Well siguro nga, but perhaps love just makes the ride worthwhile.
12. Metaphorical, but I like this: Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots.
13. From Alex again I learned) to subjugate the "self" in favor of the family.
14. Walk the talk. Kung ano yung sinasabi mo, yun din ang gagawin mo. Hindi yung puro salita, tapos iba naman ang ginagawa sa totoong buhay.
15. Sabi nila, for a relationship to work, there must be trust and communication. Sa akin naman, the person to whom you’re according that trust should be trustworthy, too. And you must find out what method of communication suits you best. Different strokes for different folks.
16. There are questions that seem to have no answers. I once read that the key is to be patient and not to search for the answers which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. Maybe someday, you will gradually live your way into the answer. In His time.
17. Move on.

*Copyright © Janis Ian/her co-writer(s) if any/their publisher(s). All rights reserved.

I always like to think that my daughter and I are good friends.

That's why it saddens me when we fight. Or when we misunderstand each other. Or when she locks her bedroom and shuts me out.

The way it saddens me when she and her dad fight. Or when they misunderstand each other. And she locks her bedroom and shuts him out.

Cae is turning 15 this month. And as a mom, it is my desire to create as many bonds and experiences with her. That's why I always make it a point to be into everything she does and to get into everything she likes or wants. But sometimes, the generation gap comes in (even though our age gap is as short as Ogie Alcasid's stay in show business). Sometimes, what she wants is not always good. Or proper. Perhaps in her eyes (and in the eyes of teens like her), this or that is cool. Or this or that is perfectly all right. But you're not called a parent for nothing. Para ke pa na naging parent ka if you can't put your foot down, if you will always give in to what they want, even though you know in your heart na hindi naman nila ikabubuti, so to speak.

During conflicts like this, it pains me that no matter how I try to explain things to her, no matter how I try to be patient and calm, there are just some things which she can't or refuse to understand. Ayaw mag-sink in. And she cries and won't eat and stays in her room forever.

I always tell her, "I'm your mom and I know you too well." I could tell if she plucked her eyebrows or cut her bangs. I make it a point that she has her private time, and I don’t lurk. There are times that I understand her better than her dad does. Although I scold her and stick to my mom role often, as much as possible I would like to treat her as an adult. I like being with her and I treasure the moments I am with her, especially because I know there will be times that I or her dad may find it difficult to reach out to her.

More than once, I blogged about how my sisters and I have never been open to our mom about crushes and boyfriends. Mama has always been prim and proper, certainly not the type who will scream or gush over the opposite sex or one who understands today’s love and relationships. I could be a strict mom if the situation calls for it and I will not hesitate to give her the "homily" she deserves if she has done something wrong, but I can always be the open and fun-loving mom she prefers me to be and is proud of. “Para lang kayong mag-ate,” people would tell us.

And like sisters, I guess, we’ll have some “fight scenes” once in a while. But unlike her perhaps, I won't close my door on her and shut her out. Because I'm her mom.

On our trip home from Mauban, Alex suddenly felt hungry.

“Parang mapapa-Max’s tayo ah,“ he quipped. It was just past 4pm, and estimating our arrival in Tayabas, it would only be 5pm-ish.

“Early dinner?” I asked.

But by the time we reached Tayabas, Alex’s hunger was somehow dissipated by the adobong mani we bought the previous night. Maaga pa, we decided.

I suddenly remembered the Kusina ni Salud sign I’ve already seen thrice along the road. The name was familiar as I’ve seen it in food blogs and magazines. I told Alex it’s a popular Southern stopover, so why don’t we try it for a change. Actually, I don’t mind eating in fast food restos and carinderias during our trips but we were already curious and excited that we simply had to check it out.

From the highway, it was a 1.3km – drive. Malayo ba yun,  I asked Alex. Next thing we knew, there was a sign pointing to a gate on our left, so we drove in.

“Inay, mommy, ang sosyal yata.”
“Sosyal ba?”
“Naka-shorts lang tayo.”
“Di naman yata kailangang naka-gown. Hayaan mo na, may pera naman tayo.”

And so we finally went in and were captivated by the old-fashioned fixtures and furnishings. I love the mismatched chairs and the comfy dining tables that if you came in as a group, matatagalan ang kuwentuhan. Medyo madilim but it added to the over-all charm. You can even hear birds and crickets. I think it would be lovelier during daytime when you can see the plants.

I am quite adventurous when it comes to food but at that time, I was in no mood to try their carabao meat, even though I wanted salpicao sana. Alex insisted I should try out the seafood dishes but I wanted something which I could share with him.

We finally chose the SIZZLING! SISIG (their description: our version of the classic Pinoy barchow, inspired by the railroad side sisig of Pampanga, served on a hot! iron plate, topped with a fresh egg, chopped onions, green chilies and toasted garlic); and  LECHON KAWALI AT PINAKBET (their description: deep-fried, oven-dried, crispy pork belly set on a bed of garlic-sauteed northern Luzon vegetable stew of fresh okra, bitter gourd, eggplant, string beans and squash, flavor-infused with bagoong-isda). We also ordered the Chinese fried rice (good for 2 persons). I asked for the iced pandan tea but it was not available so I settled for watermelon shake, and Alex, iced tea as usual.

The portions were all right for the price. Perhaps if there were four of us, we could have finished everything. We took pictures before we left. Unfortunately, we forgot to have our kodakan outside, just below the Welcome sign. But we’ll probably be back anyway. The Sunday buffet lunch seems promising.

Visit http://www.kusinasalud.com and http://kusinasalud.multiply.com
KUSINA SALUD
Cell: 0921-7726985
Laguna: 049-5736155
kusinasalud@gmail.com