~ °Café de Terrasse° ~

~ samedi, août 12, 2006 ~

"MASS" TORTILLAS POR FAVOR

Praise the Lord my teeth don't hurt anymore!!
...but my heart does.
hahaha.. that's so corny... haha.
What I mean by this is... I've been in Soul Cal for 9 days now and I've seen my girlfriend once during that time.. I'm not sure if it's because of me just not going over when I feel (partially because I don't have my car- it's a closet in the garage now, remember?) or if it's because she's a busy bee.. but either way, it kinda sux being 16 miles from someone and still missing her like I'm 423 miles away. I'll be seeing her on Sunday, Inshallah.
I have a church picnic to attend today, a Cursillo picnic to attend tomorrow morning, and I was invited to a house blessing Mass at a family friend's tomorrow afternoon, but I don't think I'm going to that. I might just end up seeing somebody in particular that I don't wanna see there.. which happens sometimes at this family friend's parties. Goodness knows, I don't wanna end up hiding behind a rubber tree plant and accidentally smashing a life-size porcelain statue of a dalmatian in the host's living room.. again (by the way, this actually happened).
But hey, now there's an idea... wouldn't it be awesome to have my apartment blessed and hold Mass at Greystone 223! I'm sure Fr. Richard would totally do it too.. u see, me and him, wE's LYkE DiS y0 [insert Los Angeles ghetto-style hand action as representation of our personal friendship here]. So in the Catholic Church, you can get basically anything blessed by a priest... now why come we don't get our bicycles blessed? Hrmm... getting my bike blessed..
...that's going to be on my list of things to get done when I go back to Davis.. right in between
#9: Learn to salsa like muy caliente.
and #11: Graduate from college.

~Benjamin 8/12/2006 09:43:00 AM

CHEWING ON TIN FOIL

I got my teeth bleached this morning and now I feel like I'm chewing on tin foil and scratching a chalkboard with my teeth.. they are sooo excruciatingly sensitive. I would load my mouth up with cloves if I had some right now.. to numben the pain. This is honestly probably one of the worst teeth pains I've ever experienced.. as bad as the time I had my 4 wisdom teeth removed. Even though I keep my mouth closed, my gums and the nerves in my teeth are throbbing like crazy. I tried to sleep it all off but a person can only sleep for so many hours and when I lie in bed doing nothing, that's when my mind wanders and my teeth hurt even more. Meeowzahh! I'm going insane with pain here.
On the bright side, my pearly whites are white! But I'm starting to wonder if this was all worth it... we'll see tomorrow.

~Benjamin 8/11/2006 09:06:00 PM

GOIN' TO THE CHAPEL OF LOVE

I am so thoroughly blessed. Halfway through my day, I had the sudden urge to visit St. Joseph's Catholic Chapel. For those of you who don't know, this chapel has had such a profound impact on my life since I first went there back in December. This is the chapel where I used to pray so long and hard for God to direct me in my life.
This is the chapel where I found peaceful solice from the loneliness and stress of 'back home' life.
This is the chapel where I prayed so fervently about my relationship with Trisha and asked about the love I was meant to have with her.

This is the chapel where I realized how blessed I was to have such supportive and loving friends in my life.
This is the chapel where I began to seriously discern and become open to a calling to the priesthood.
This is the chapel where I asked St. Joseph and St. Thérèse to be my patron saints.. and since then, they've interceded on my behalf when I've been in times of trouble.
This is the chapel where I met two very nice nuns on Christmas Eve who still know my name but I'm afraid to say that I've long forgotten theirs.. yet they've promised to say prayers on my behalf and for that I'm thankful.
This chapel has truly affected me soooo much. It's where the Lord re-enkindled my faith when I thought I was losing it. So when I returned to visit this evening, I was so blessed to walk into the beginning of Eucharistic Adoration with the Carmelite sisters who filled the air with traditional hymns.. and my goodness, a small tear came to my right eye- it was sooo beautiful!! Come visit me and I'll show you this chapel.
Praise God.

~Benjamin 8/09/2006 08:22:00 PM

I LIKE 'EM WHITE

Meeowzahh!! $500 for teeth whitening!? And insurance doesn't cover it... that's insane. And to think that's a discounted price too, otherwise it'd cost me over $612. Dr. Bautista DDS. told me that I have very healthy teeth... and I'm proud of my incredibly straight teeth too... but years and years of drinking coffee and tea has left their mark on my pearly off-whites. Whyyy!?!?! Curse you delicious staining beverages!!
If I'm going through with this, I need mo money. I'm definitely going to need a real* job when I get back to Davis in the Fall. I've got one already lined up and I'm considering becoming a desk attendant for UCD Visitors Services so I'm looking forward to that.

~Benjamin 8/09/2006 01:52:00 PM

GARLIC = ROMANCE !?

It's exactly 12 midnight and everybody in my house is asleep.. except for my mom and I.
A few minutes ago, I walk into the kitchen and I find my mom mincing garlic, chopping onions, and preheating a large wok on the stove.

Benjamin: What are you doing ma?
Mother: Cooking.
Benjamin: What are you making at this hour?
Mother: I donno yet. I think maybe menudo.

What the heck? She doesn't even know what she wants to make but she's sure whatever it is, it's going to have garlic and onions. Now the entire house smells like sautéed herbs, spices, and vegetables. I think this is where I get it from.. cooking at weird times of the night. You see, it relieves stress, builds up appetite, and... for me, well..
When it's really late at night and I'm all alone at home or everybody is in deep sleep, I get a certain urge to cook.. not out of hunger or boredom... but out of something deeper. The atmosphere is peaceful and relaxing so I turn on the light jazz music and I light a candle with a match (because a lighter just won't do). Under the dimmed stove light, I sautée, sear, and pan-bake a sweet and aromatic dish to be served on square plates with light herbal garnishes. Sometimes, I like to sip a glass of sweet red merlot on the side or cut up limes and drop them into tall misty glasses of chilled iced water for sipping on cool summer nights.
I don't know why but there's something about this experience that I find... romantic. It's a different sort of romantic though.. not like the romance between two people. It's a romance of beauty and experience.
Have you ever promenaded alone under rustling trees and scented the sweet aroma of mangoes in the air? Have you ever cruised on your bicycle on a late afternoon through a lonely lighted path and prayed the rosary? Have you ever taken a stroll through a vinyard in the early spring evening and picked a grape to taste the sweet flavours of the fruits of vitis? Have you ever felt inspired upon discovering that a sour granny smith apple compliments the springtime lemongrass-color of your necktie? All these experiences describe a different sort of romance.. like the romance between a person and the beauty of senses. In a way it's like an inner communion.
Although, however alone I am, I still feel like I'm with somebody.. maybe another aspect of myself.. or maybe it could even be God in a way. I'm not quite sure. Still, I also dream of a time when that special someone in my life can share these experiences in inner romantics. "Romance without" coupled with "romance within".. a sense of sensual togetherness.. a sense of sensual balance.

Ok yeah, i'm weird, I know... and it's kindof hard to explain myself when I get into these moods.. I can't explain it but I can show it to you and if you happen to feel it the way I do, then I hope you could appreciate it with me too.

~Benjamin 8/08/2006 12:05:00 AM

LEFT ON A JET PLANE

This is Benjamin Catabas live from Duarte California! It's good to be back in the hometown.. so many memories.. and yet, things at home have physically changed.. my old room has turned into my brother's art studio, my kitchen is falling apart awaiting remodeling, my old car has become a closet in the garage, there're new pictures on the wall, and new routines are in place. Takes a while for me to get the hang of it all.
So how was my last day in Davis? Well in the words of my dear Korean friend, Dong-Ah, "it's good." That morning, I woke up extra early at 5:47am so that I could go to Mass at 7am in St. James. I had a rather morbid reason though... I've been meaning to go to a daily Mass but I figured what best time to do it than the day I was going to be launched 12,000 miles in the air. If it was the last time I'd see the world, at least I went to Mass on my last living day, aye? After Mass, I talked to Fr. Blinn, then went to Mary Catherine's place to drop off my plant. I don't quite trust Ken and Emil with my money tree... i'd end up going broke. Mary-Catherine actually made me coffee and cooked me breakfast. It was pretty good.. haven't eaten breakfast in a looong time. After leaving MC's, I went to work at the Visitor's Center but ended up mostly chillin behind the desk with Jill. Soo much fun.. she's always there to laugh at my lame and corny jokes.
So anyway... that was my morning. I rushed home, good ol' Andie airported me, I flew back home, and my mom picked me up. First thing we do after leaving the airport is SHOPPING. Frick, I was tired but who could say no to shopping?? My mom bought grippa jewelry from the family jewelers.. these two old Thai sisters who never could remember my name and they keep trying to sell me white gold at discounted prices. I'm never interested though... I'm not much into Jewelry.. in fact I find it kindof boring.. diamonds and stuff.. doesn't really interest me.. maybe cuz i'm not a girl. I dunno. But peridot, I must admit is a beautiful stone.. so is mystic fire topaz. Uhhh... anyway..
Yeah, I just lost interest in this post. To cut this story short.. I bought clothes and stuff.. came home, hung out with David at a local McDo's and got a delightful surprise call from Trisha.. ooohhh gonna see her tomorrrowww... very exciting!!
Weekend was filled with church and retreat reunions.. and this week is full of dental & optometric appointments. Meeeowwsaahh!
That's it! I'll post later.. I'm off to run errands now. ciao.

~Benjamin 8/07/2006 01:21:00 PM