marriage

We were snuggled in bed when Speedy took my face between his hands, looked at me and said, “You’re still beautiful, you know.”
“I know.”
He pushed me away and said, “What kind of response is that?”
“I’m confirming your statement; you want me to object instead?”
“Puñeta, you’re supposed to say thank you!”
“But that’s false modesty! I look [...]

Continue reading 'Pillow talk' →

(Today’s column)
Every three years, my husband’s eldest brother, his wife and two sons spend three weeks in the Philippines. He and his wife have been living in a suburb of Chicago for over 20 years and both of their sons were born and raised there. They arrived over a week ago and, last Sunday, we [...]

Continue reading 'What is pikot?' →

(Yesterday’s column)
“How to get sued” is a hilarious yet truthful look into the world of litigation. Its author, J. Craig Williams, is a practicing lawyer in California and is one of my earliest online acquaintances when I started blogging in 2003. I went on to write for the print media; Craig became a broadcast media [...]

Continue reading 'Love and lawsuits' →

We put up the window blinds today. Okay, that’s not accurate. Speedy installed the window blinds. In the living room, in the dining room, my office… He had the electric drill in his hand before 8.00 a.m. and that was before I had a chance to fix breakfast.
By 10.00 a.m., he had finished ONLY ONE [...]

Continue reading 'Marriage teaches you to read mind and interpret body language' →

(Today’s column)
We had our occasional red meat last Sunday. We really wanted steaks and mashed potatoes but S&R ran out of rib eye steaks so my husband bought pork loin instead. Then, he cooked tequila porkloin, a beloved dish from Tucker Shaw’s “Gentlemen, Start Your Ovens: Killer Recipes for Guys”.

Sunday in our house is Dad’s [...]

Continue reading 'Coffee, dear?' →

My current desk editor (she’s my third) in Manila Standard Today also writes an op-ed column. In her column published a month ago, she wrote her thoughts after seeing The Other Boleyn Girl. As to what led me to that particular column, well, I was digging through the archives looking for Emil Jurado’s column lambasting [...]

Continue reading 'The Cinderella mentality in a democracy' →

The following was forwarded by a lawyer-friend with whom I used to share an office in Makati. The anecdote, whether fictitious or based on facts, appears in dozens of blogs and web sites in various versions. This is the version that was sent to me. I love it. I love it even more every time [...]

Continue reading 'Who gets the house in a divorce settlement?' →

I am an optimistic person. I never seriously entertained the thought that something could have gone wrong. But there is still that chance, as infinitesimal as it may be, that something could have gone wrong and I could have died. If we were a clairvoyant race, it would be easy. We’d know what needs to be done now and what can be done later. But we’re not Miss Trelawneys, are we?

Continue reading 'Human, after all' →

The other night, we were arguing over whether to use a stand fan or a ceiling fan and we both lost our cool and went to bed without speaking with each other. I know, it was so silly. Ang babaw! But you never realize the silliness until afterwards when you’ve had a chance to cool down. So, yesterday, he came home with a box of chocolates and fig newtons.

It’s not that I demand that the apology be in the form of a gift, it’s just that he expresses himself better that way and it helps break the ice. Thing is, Sam and Alex have gotten used to this routine.

Continue reading 'Love means you should say you’re sorry' →