In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Half and Half.”
Ramadan has just ended and day one of Eid holiday has just begun, another two days more before my work starts.. half of my friends were out of the country ( I know 🙂 I am jealous too! ) the weather is so hot to have road trip, so here I am at home , having a blast of “Me” time.
Two or three canvas?
I decided to use two at the beginning but I got carried away ..so much free time 🙂
Term 7 is finally done! Waiting for September to seal the degree of Bachelor of Culinary Arts and off to Santa Catalina Island Company , USA as Culinary Arts Management Trainee.
Wow! My emotion is soaring high, I won’t tell you how many times I edited and deleted my words because I know my Chef Kevin doesn’t like drama and flares, he rather take in, all the positivity and let the negativity inspires him to move on. But I would like to share with you that it wasn’t an easy ride for both of us.
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them. and you will have them. ” Mark 11:24
My budget was only for two years and I told him, if in any case I can’t send you anymore to finish your Bachelors degree, please find a job and continue to pursue your dream. There’s no point of stopping! We tightened our belt, closed our eyes to the things that we don’t need and can afford to do without. I borrowed money from here to there. While others are building their mansions and buying properties,acquiring signature bags and jewelries..I am working hard, saving every amount I can. Every salaries ,it only took seconds in my hand, it goes to pay bills and debt. Kevin was able to adjust to the standard of living and not to the luxuries of other students who has both parents to pay the bills. It was not only financial problem but also adjusting to the new environment, to the new system ,meeting and dealing with different people with a different culture. Being alone in a foreign land without a family to run to every time a mishap happens was a difficult if not the saddest part of being by yourself. I won’t bore you to go on details the low and high moments of what happened in three years but I can share a few :-)..I know..i can hear MOM!!! hahaha
Look at this shoes..this is love..this is hard work..this is the future..
200K tuition fees for 3 years, living expenses, ticket fares etc– going to College at a tender age of 17, knowing the budget is only for two years, the uncertainty..the pressure of finishing on time doubled or even more..
– finishing the full 7 terms in three years, leading to Bachelors Degree is an incredible journey and an awesome accomplishment. My eldest son quotes that stayed on my mind when he was giving his advise to my youngest son.
“Make your own mistake and learn from it , DON”T COPY OURs “
– getting sick all alone by yourself especially the car accident, losing money to bad people, travelling alone with only less than 20 Swiss franc or sometimes only 20 Saudi riyal 🙂 unfortunately at times, we blamed credit cards that doesn’t work!
– working hard on the job training, sometimes you don’t share because you know the weight on my shoulder are already too heavy to carry by one person only.
– and on top of all the difficulties, there was also Dad’s infidelity rumours, those sharp tongue came like sword lashing every strength I have (gossips of mindless people). With your pale lips, trying to smile and gave me comfort, I saw a brave man mightier than I thought; you gave me an extra boots to let it go. There were also people who were so envious of sending you to Switzerland and made an obnoxious remarks of where will I get money? Are you serious? duh! am I committing a sin? Switzerland? If a normal office clerk man can send his son in UK what about a Cosmetic Dentist mom? Does this make sense?
With all the adversity….you took it with profound sanity..pound by pound,moment by moment..
My son, Kevin, I am proud of the young man you’ve become, finishing College at age 20! You showed courage ,confidence and dignity that every parent would like to see in their young adult son or daughter. I am honoured to be a part of your journey and I know in every chapter of your life there is always a new beginning. And this is it! another country, another culture, another experience and I wish you all the happiness and good luck to a new adventure; my nomadic Chef! Explore the world, gather all the spices, make a fusion of each continents’ dishes and make your own signature dish, your own secret spice and conquer the world’s cuisine! Whoa! dream BIG! its free 🙂
This is how you begun your journey at a age 17. One day will come that you will be standing in front of your own restaurant or bistro 🙂Ladies, did your eyebrow dropped and your mouth opened with an “O”?, don’t worry I won’t take it against you, because I took it as a challenge and not an obstacle and I can assure you, slowly and surely we will hit the goal!
” I rather spent my money in my son’s education and see a good future ahead of them..than spent It in a beautiful house with an empty mind.”
To my real friends and my special friend..Thank you for all your support,drying my tears and joining my craziness 🙂 to my 2 brothers here in Jeddah, my boss and staff, thank you for always standing by and to my princess patient who always give a good tip 😉 for my Chef Kevin.
To my eldest son, Edgie thank you so much, I couldn’t do it easier and better without you on my side, thank you for being a confidante and an arbiter between us 🙂
and to all the people around the world who in one way or another my Nomadic Chef Kevin have had share moments, thank you for the experience !
Thank you Cesar Ritz College ( Culinary Arts Academy of Switzerland)
I lost two kilo in ten days and when my best friend came for a short holiday, I regained it in two days hahaha. That’s how we bond! We find happiness in food! Who cares we’re the beauties beyond fifties 🙂
My lucky lady at no 7 is a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) graduate of University of San Agustin, Iloilo City, born September 18, 1962.
Wow blooming at 53!
She lives in London, UK . She comes to Jeddah, every six months to visit her husband and her friends, she has only one very handsome son, who is currently studying Chemical Engineering in UK.
Sophie is a very devoted mother, her dreams revolves around her only son..
Do you have any other dream for yourself?
– of course I do! I like to travel around the world.
You travel a lot! isn’t it? how long you’ve worked as expatriates?
– I’ve been in Jeddah for 26 yrs, I travelled around the world but it’s like a working holiday. I would like to explore the world without thinking about work. I have worked hard and I would like to retire while I still have energy and can enjoy the scenery.
What is your motto in life?
“Dream big, work hard. Stay focused and surround yourself with good friends “
My friend Sophie is a very energetic woman, she exudes a happy-go-lucky attitude but beware when she is not in the mood, her tongue is like a sword that cut deep 🙂
We didn’t have enough time to do all the chitchat, I still have to go back to work after we did the impronto photo shoot. Hopefully , I will do another photo shoot when I have the chance to visit her in London.
When I greeted my bro Kelly ” A happy 60th birthday ” he told me he is celebrating with a dual citizen!
huh? dual?
YEp! Filipino Citizen and Senior Citizen 🙂
When you hit the big SIX “O” (60 yrs old), you got a card of senior citizen and a tag of twenty percent discount to selected airlines , restaurant and a free bus pass too!
celebrating with a trademark “Kelly” moustache 🙂
We decided to celebrate his bday with a “hot-pot ” lunch at home. Hot pot is basically a mixed of East Asian stew, simmering at the centre of the dining table; the ingredients like meat, shrimp,fish and different kind of vegetables are cooked at the table. The ultimate dining experience where you can smell the aroma of the spices, your eyes glued on the food, and once it hit your palate, savouring the flavour and the freshness, yum! then suddenly you grab a tissue to wipe your perspiration 🙂 either from the hot spices or from the steam of the hot-pot 🙂 whatever it is..we fill and feel the happiness of our belly.
hot pot Jeddah Style
I also made “lumpiang sariwa ” (fresh vegetable spring rolls) with homemade egg roll wrapper. We supposed to eat this while waiting for the hot pot but it seemed everyone was just to hungry and we dig in almost at one time 🙂
Fresh spring rolls
After four years, I will also be celebrating my own 60th bday! yay 🙂 I wonder what kind of celebration would it be? for sure there will be another menu on the table, who knows, I might be sitting at a restaurant manage by my nomadic Chef Kevin , lovely thought!
And for my bff’s Thank you for coming!
thank you for coming!my sis “bunso”cutting of the cakethe real bunso Ashley with Kelly
For you my bro Kelly, may you have more birthdays to come, stay healthy and young at heart 🙂
When laziness comes there’s no excuses for a bulging tummy 🙂 yay! So I pushed myself to get up early morning to do stretching and hopefully get my butt into my routine exercise, not even my gold gym membership helps! no motivation? or just plain laziness? Call it whatever you like but there’s something that got my attention lately.
It is a solar-powered station where one can rent the bike, it says one hour is free and the succeeding per hour is 10 SR.
There will be four stations and the bike can be returned to any stations.
It seems a great idea to pump one’s body into active mood but I wonder where is the bike lane? The walkway is full of walkers and joggers enthusiast, to have bikers on the same place would be a menace if not disastrous.If you live in Jeddah for many years, you know what I am talking about.
I went out early for a walk and few people were also getting ready for morning exercise 🙂 Oh yes! Ladies are fully covered with abaya while walking. The walkway is the safest place for a lady to walk alone and hoping no bikers will be allowed in the area.
There’s even a box of cold water , no seller around ,just a small money box..if your honest you can slip in a riyal for a bottle 🙂 and tissue box for free!
Sad thing, there are people who can’t be bothered to throw their empty bottles into the trash can (there are thrash can everywhere) all you have to do is walk to the bin ! (you’re here anyway for that purpose) WALK!
So now,you know what i am talking about..we need DISCIPLINE..AWARENESS..RESPONSIBILITY!
I hope the bikers, will find their lane ..although as of this writing I haven’t seen a biker yet 🙂 thanks goodness!
Long name 🙂 we fondly call her “Nanay Aurea” , a mother of four and one of her daughter is my friend. The first time I met her was three months ago.., time passes by quickly and on Tuesday she will be going back to Philippines.
Me: Nanay Aurea How do you like your stay in Jeddah?
Nanay Aurea: (masaya naman pero nakakalungkot din, lahat sila nasa trabaho at school, nasanay akong kasama palagi ang aking asawa. Napakahirap mag -isa). happy but sad at the same time. It is hard to be alone.
Nanay Aurea husband had passed away recently (less than a year).
(Hindi ko akalain naganito pala rito sa Jeddah, maganda at tahimik naman)I didn’t expect Jeddah is a nice and quiet City.
She told me, she is worried about her daughter condition in Saudi Arabia but now she have seen Jeddah, her mind will be at peace for a while.
Nanay Aurea is a retired teacher and a dancer. She loves to teach her students and pushed them hard to attained perfection in their dancing stint. She has a charming smile and boast that if it wasn’t for her beauty and charm, her daughter will not look beautiful.
Kung ano ang puno iyun din ang bunga! 🙂 Trees bear the same fruit hahaha is this the right translation? I guess so! A coconut tree won’t bear a mango fruit! 🙂 right?
That goes to my mom too! Like mother like daughter, though I also would like to look like my handsome papa 🙂
Nanay Aurea is a well travelled lady too. She said ” Kahit pala walang pera may nararating din” Though I don’t have money I was able to travel. She has been to Europe and now Middle East, hopefully she can also go to USA ! One of her daughter is in Germany and she also has relatives in USA.
That I may quote..”Kung anu ang tinanim siya rin ang bunga” in short, Good deeds begets good deeds 🙂
I asked her, what advice she can give to us?
Save for the future, oh Nanay Aurea, you’re my idol, you can travel anywhere without spending any centavo, so why should I save? hahahaha joke!
Certainly! For young people , SAVE is the key word, no matter how great your situation at the moment, no matter how healthy you are, we will never know what the future will bring. If you save a little while enjoying the moment, when the hard times comes, you won’t be begging for others’help.
Nanay Aurea, thank you for the moment, though it was a short visit it was worth every penny 🙂 worth every moment,I miss my parents, your short visit filled up the missing puzzle in our life as an overseas worker.
I lost two kilo in ten days and when my best friend came for a short holiday, I regained it in two days hahaha. That’s how we bond! We find happiness in food! Who cares we’re the beauties beyond fifties 🙂
Dr. Myriam- The Dental Aesthetic Clinic 
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