In Ilocano (the parents' primary language), balasang is the word for a young woman who has reached the marriageable age, which in my parents' day would've been 15 or 16. A balasang presents herself to the world well-groomed, well-dressed, and well-mannered. Graceful and radiant, with no sassy mouth nor a defiant bone in her. Alas, that was not me. 

Mama did her best to polish me up with the stylish, stiff, and sophisticated outfits that she bought for me. I felt uncomfortable, awkward, and fake in them, preferring, and still do, the bohemian style.

In my early 20s, when I worked in the San Francisco Financial District as a clerk typist, I wore a Mama outfit when everything else was in the laundry hamper. To break the monotony of the outfit, I'd wear something silly with it. Once I wore wool knee-high socks and clogs with a pink polyester dress that had an attached two-toned bolero-type jacket.  I looked as atrocious as it sounds. Still, in the early evening, while wa…

Back in November I opened a box. Lo and behold, my favorite dinosaurs of old smiled up at me. In this house full of stuff, they chose to hang out in the guest bathroom. I'm glad to see them again.

I'm hanging out at Say Cheese! Tuesday, hosted by joyful Jeanna of Ched Curtain. Check out all the cheesy stuff here.

I came across a fun meme today. It's called Sunday Stealing hosted by Bev Sykes of Funny the World. Every Sunday she posts a bunch of thoughtful questions that she has "stolen" from elsewhere for participants to answer. Who doesn't like to answer questions, especially about themselves? Intrigued? Check out Sunday Stealing here, after checking my answers, of course. 

1. The strangest place you've ever been.
The strangest place I've ever been is a thinker. Shall I consider a place itself as being strange or a place where I encountered something weird? Better yet, the unfamiliar concept of being in a certain place, and it still feels unfamiliar (thankfully) after I leave that location?

My answer. . .Thummm tha tha tha Thaaaaaaaa! . . .the hospital last year. From the moment I entered that hospital near dawn to the moment I stepped out the door the following afternoon was surreal. My gosh!

2. Unusual food combinations you enjoy.
Pancakes, syrup, and several dabs…

I got so pissed this morning, I could spit.

Would you say that I'm saying this literally or figuratively?

FYI: I did not, am not, nor will I spit about what got me furious.  Spitting I reserve for when I am sick (better out than in, right?) or for root hormone (some gardeners say that spit makes a good substitute). The Mama pretended to spit whenever she broke glass, followed by a plea to Mary, Jesus, and Joseph that they don't hold the broken glass as a point against her.

Too much TMI? Sorry.

I continue. The cause for my growling spew?

Let's simply say that my tolerability cap for political beliefs got blown off for a moment.  I allowed myself to care that I was disappointed about humanity and so became bummed. As you can see, not anymore.

The Husband and I took a drive to Freedom to purchase food for our precious, and spoiled, Molly the Cat. The 60-mile round trip drive, more or less, had us rolling by green hills and zigzagging through a canyon and among farm fields, …

I like big-print books, I cannot lie.  Mentally I jump with glee when I find a new big-print book that I want to read at the library.

These days, my near vision is a laugh. I read by holding the reading material inches from my face, unless it's a big-print book. It's the most comfortable way for me to read, which isn't comfortable at all. The increasing kink in my near vision may be caused by the cataracts developing in my eyes, particularly the left. Until I got new lenses last year, I blamed the rips and tears in my old glasses for me not seeing clearly. Ha! I only had to put out $600 for the new eyeglasses to find out how wrong I was.

The Husband has cataracts too. Worse than mine. He'll have cataract surgery for both eyes (one at a time) in the Spring. Once he's settled, I'll get at least the left eye done. I'm glad that both of us are on a decent Medicare Advantage plan.

Fictional Characters I Like
Speaking of books, which I was at the beginning, her…

I don't recall whether Apo Dios refers to God or to the sun. Maybe I didn't ever know.

Ilocano was the parents primary language. I understood Ilocano but couldn't wrap my Americanized tongue around Ilocano words to speak it. So, yeah, we were one of those families in which immigrant parents talked to their American-born children in their native language and the children responded in English. Think of interpreters translating in real time.

The term Apo Dios is a combination of two languages. Apo in Ilocano means father or grandfather. So, I've always thought. An online Ilocano-English dictionary says otherwise. It says Apo means God. Dios is a Spanish word that means God. Spain colonized the Philippines for over 300 years so of course Spanish is going to seep into the native languages there. That same Ilocano-English dictionary defines Apo Dios as God.

Usually, my parents addressed Dios when life was going fine, such as "Hi, God, how are you doing? We're doin…