THE HALL PASS

Happy Holidays to all our fans (and inmates...)

Nope, this isn't about our knack for making up the quirky signs. Rather, I found myself a bit irked one night while watching to the news. If memory serves me right, the story was about how we've practically rearranged and bastardized the standard descriptions for road signs. The feature showed flawed city, town and barangay street signs. They were recklessly designed, poorly researched and misuse of public resources. All that and the government agency tasked to do it right doesn't seem to care that they've somehow screwed up. The top boss at the LTO was first to admit (God bless his soul) that our road signs are flawed and are in dire need of an overhaul. He sounds like a straight-arrow, maybe there's hope? It has to come from him rightly so because it's his agency that releases our driver's licenses. Thinking about it, wasn't there a section in the driver's license exam that deals with familiarity with street signs? Other than that, didn't dr

...but this is ridiculous!

My mom fondly recalls that when my siblings and I were little, while other moms had a hard time feeding their kids, she had the most difficult time keeping us from eating too much. While she was away, we would hang out the kitchen and try concocting our own little "gourmet" meals. Our kusinera that time, Ate Epion, could only sigh in relief that we didn't set fire to the kitchen. Fast forward to today. Yes, I still eat like there's no tomorrow, but thank goodness our kitchen hasn't burned down. I still like to cook and do so from time to time. Some recipes I got from watching Food Network shows while others from books and magazines. (Thanks Cherry for that FOOD Magazine special you gave me a couple of Christmases ago. Sulit na sulit na talaga siya!) Now, you might be thinking I'm doing something like Bobby Flay's Cumin-Crusted Chicken with Cotija and Mango-Garlic Sauce . It's a mouthful to say and frankly, sounds difficult to do. Best to take my cha

Very short post. I hope my blog still works... Donna and I were very blessed with the birth of Marian Annelie Lacuna. Yep, we're parents now and never been prouder. She was born 30 September, 2008 at St. Lukes Medical Center, but I'll leave all of the details to Donna and her blog . *wink* Cuutieee! And now, for some laughs... Dr. Bob Y. Ramo

With work getting far more difficult, I would've placed an order for a couple of these right now. It would be absolutely perfect! A couple of articulated arms for picking up stuff like a crane and a bulldozer attachment for plowing through debris makes this Zaku Tank a boon to the heavy equipment trade. Anybody out there selling one?

No, I didn't get myself into trouble with the authorities. Back in the Q days, whenever RX's Monster Riot and TM's Friday Magic Madness would play The Alarm's "Rescue Me" and "Rain in the Summertime", my boss could be heard singing these with gusto. The only Alarm song I knew then was "Absolute Reality" and these other ditties became very catchy. Lo and behold this - With a little bit of online research, I found "The Best of The Alarm and Mike Peters". The album rocks, especially for someone who misses the "old days" of alternative rock. It's gritty, a bit passionate and a requisite for someone who just wants to let it all out. Donna can attest to the letting it all out bit. Maybe I'll check out the Wild Swans & New Order next...

Whew! I finally got my blog rolling again. The past few months have been a harsh lesson in being patient and time management. Had a couple of skirmishes here and there but now, the dust is beginning to settle a bit. I should seriously get my act together.