TOPAZ HORIZON

Over the past couple of years, I've been trying out various cellulite-removing creams. Yes, I'm thin but if you're a woman reading this, you know that cellulite happens on anybody, no matter the size and weight. And I am an unhappy victim.

There are many active ingredients in these creams that are said to be effective in reducing the dreaded dimply skin. These are L-Carnitine, AHA, Retinol, chocolate, gingko, cayenne pepper and caffeine. So far, the ones that have worked on me are those that have the fat-burning L-Carnitine (Nivea Good-bye Cellulite) and the circulation-increasing caffeine and coffee berry (L'Oreal PerfectSlim).

I stopped drinking coffee years ago but when I heard that caffeine is a major slimming ingredient (used in diet pills like Fenterdren, for example), sweetheart, I just started drinking that stuff again! Of course, my insomnia is also back with a vengeance but hey, I can sleep when I'm dead!

*image used with permission from FreeFoto.

This is my magnetic wall at work. Those are just some of the events I'm going to this month. I wonder why all the invites I get now are black. They all look alike, I have trouble remembering which is which. Sigh, old age is catching up with me. I like different colors--they help me remember better!

My husband, Vincent C. Sales, has three published books, two under a pseudonym. His first is called Children in Exile. The other two... well, I can't say what they are because they're under a pseudonym!

Anyway, do read the first part of his next book at Philippine Speculative Fiction's brand new site. And please support Pinoy literature!

I have been eating unbelievably the past few days. At a party catered by Albergus the other night for the launch of Lacoste's spring-summer footwear collection 2009, I kept going back to the buffet table. I had the shrimp salad with tangy mango dressing, then I got the chicken tandoori, then the tomato cream pasta. Then I dropped by the dessert table and had a peach crepe, which was really good. I sauntered back for a second helping and then had the mango crepe, which was also good. Then I went back for the banana crepe, which was very good too! Then I went home and had a big slice of red velvet cake. Yummy!

That's just one night, one example. Try to imagine the rest of the week! I just can't stop eating lately. If I don't watch it, I might be popping some diet pills together with dessert!

*image used with permission from FreeFoto.com

On a shopping trip with my younger sister. We passed by a man on a street beating up a little kid. It was a busy street. There was a ton of people rushing about and there was this guy violently beating up his kid.

I looked because the boy was wailing in pain. I looked because I could hear the slaps and the fists hitting skin. I've never actually heard that sound before, although I had been beaten up before by an abusive boyfriend in college and my older brother had punched me in the stomach once because I was spilling a terrible secret. The sound of a beating is curious and I stopped to listen and to look at what was causing that horrible sound.

Then I saw, really saw, what was happening. I looked around, wondering why people were letting this happen. Then before I knew what I was doing, a big and angry shout came out of me, "Hoy! You! Stop that right now! That is WRONG!"

People paused and looked. He stopped and looked at me in shock. The boy continued to wail. Then my sister grabbed my arm and said, "Shhh, don't get us into trouble." She dragged me away... And I let her.

I don't even know if that boy is still alive. And if people even care.