Disconnect

I haven't posted a new entry in two weeks, partly because I couldn't make time for it due to my busy schedule (it's that time of the month in the magazine where everyone is really busy), and partly because I chose to get a bit disconnected from the Internet.

I cannot totally disconnect myself from the Net because I use it for work, but to give myself a break, I can limit the time I spend being glued to the PC or Kaylie, my netbook, when I'm at home. I feel that I'm missing out on something when I'm constantly connected to the Internet. While I'm logged on to Facebook or Twitter, there might be a good movie being shown at that moment on HBO or Star Movies, which I would just miss because I'm busy checking my friends' updates. I could've been flipping pages of books instead of waiting for web pages to load.

The other weekend, I started to do the disconnecting, and it felt liberating. I finished reading Wicked, which I've been reading for several months already. I started reading a new one: Paulo Coelho's The Winner Stands Alone, which has been in my bookshelf since the start of this year. I was able to chance upon the Pinoy comedy Kimmy Dora on Cinema One, and had a good, laughing Sunday because of that. Last Monday, I watched the 9/11 interviews on National Geographic when I got home from work instead of aimlessly surfing the Net to kill time.

I'm still busy at work, and will continue to be. I'll still post entries in my blog, of course, reply to comments, and read other blogs. I love blogging, and I love the Internet. But like in a real relationship, parties need space. Hence, a bit of disconnecting is necessary, lest I become disconnected from other spheres of my life, and miss out on something great.

Iced Gem Biscuits

One of the things that remind me of my childhood is this: a pack of Iced Gem Biscuits.

They're tiny biscuits decorated with solid icing on top. They're sweet, and I loved munching on them when I was young. I guess the fancy look of each biscuit makes them so appealing, especially to little kids.

Whenever I chance upon a pack of Iced Gem Biscuits in one of the food places at the ground floor of our office building, I take the opportunity to buy one and reminisce the days when I was little - days marked by playing with my dolls and tau-tauhans (toy people) when school is out and reading storybooks at night.

Other junkfood snacks that I enjoyed when I was a kid were the tiny, football-shaped Goya chocolates, Serg's chocolate bars, that P1 lollipop whose brand I can't recall (I'm not even sure if it has a brand), Zip orange juice that are placed inside triangular cartons, Hansel cookie sandwich, and Tivoli ice cream. Now, only Hansel cookie sandwich is sold in groceries and sari-sari (variety) stores. The tiny Goya chocolates have evolved into Goya chocolate bars, which are also yummy, but I miss the bite-size, football-shaped ones. I miss Tivoli ice cream. I miss licking that cheap lollipop (I loved the strawberry flavor). I miss being a kid.

Good thing I get to munch on Iced Gem Biscuits once in a while. And Hansel cookie sandwich, too (I love the mocha flavor). They make me feel like a kid again, and it's really good to feel that once in a while.

How about you? What reminds you of your childhood?