C.E.L. Ruffolo, Author at Reading Ruffolos

When the eight-year-old dream comes true

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 23, 2017 January 24, 2017 Raves & RantsLeave a comment

Here’s a confession: my eight-year-old dream came true last Tuesday, January 17 and my job has something to do with it. I was eight years old when Charlene Gonzales represented the Philippines in the 1994 Miss Universe pageant. Hopes were high for Charlene to win that year. She won Best …

Pork soup and veggies on Sinulog Sunday

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 20, 2017 January 17, 2017 Casa Ruffolo CucinaLeave a comment

I got back home on a Friday night after a week-long teachers’ boot camp in the province of Laguna. I missed Jeff and the mutants so I was very excited to take care of them and whip up some magic in the kitchen. One of the exercises facilitated by Kuya Prim Paypon …

X-Men meets the world of Harry Potter (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children)

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 18, 2017 January 15, 2017 ReviewsLeave a comment

The very first time I saw the first edition copy of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, I thought I was in for a written version of The Conjuring. The book oozes a mysterious, scary ambiance that invites readers inside the doors of one unusual orphanage where …

Sleep tight cutie pie

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 16, 2017 January 17, 2017 Raves & Rants / Special ProjectsLeave a comment

Our resident cutie pie, Jeff Junior, is one year and four months old. He is adorable. I say that, of course, with all the biases and favoritism in the world because he is my son. But really, any person who came across our Jeffrey Peter Jr. speak of the same cuteness and that he …

Travels: Cruisin’ Again

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 13, 2017 January 12, 2017 Ruffolo TravelsLeave a comment

Inside the luxurious Crystal Serenity of world-renowned Crystal Cruises is a plethora of surprises that await the traveler with the most discriminating taste. This is not a cruise ship that packs up 6,000 people in one gigantic ship. Careful attention is given to only bringing in 1,000 guests at the …

The little triumphs of the unwanted (Chinese Cinderella)

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 11, 2017 January 12, 2017 ReviewsLeave a comment

If you’ve read Falling Leaves, then make sure you read Chinese Cinderella for it presents the little triumphs of the unwanted.

Published in 1999, two years after Falling Leaves hit the book stands and took the world by anguish and scorn, Chinese American author Adeline Yen Mah came out with Chinese Cinderella: The Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter, a more detailed account of her childhood until her foray into the world of medicine in England. Continue reading“The little triumphs of the unwanted (Chinese Cinderella)”

Why we teach cooking, sweeping, swimming

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 9, 2017 January 6, 2017 Raves & RantsLeave a comment

Sometimes I think I am too harsh on my children but Jeff, who serves as the logical voice in my head when I am an emotional wreck, often reminds the reasons why we teach our children cooking, sweeping, swimming even when we have Ate Joy and Ingrid to do these …

Dad Speak: A Night Out

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 6, 2017 January 3, 2017 Dad SpeakLeave a comment

A night out. Everyone needs one … The children consistently scream, rain belts the outside of Casa Ruffolo Uno relentlessly and what do I have to cook for dinner to make everyone satisfied are but a few of the never-ending challenges to my everyday life. Not a complaint mind you …

Colon: Fearless, bold take on history (Book Review)

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 4, 2017 January 5, 2017 ReviewsLeave a comment

Rogelio Braga was fearless as he wrote Colon, a bold take on history — or a part of history that I have never read in any book or discussed in any forum or symposium that places the war in Mindanao under the blinding, pretentious attention accorded by a spotlight. Braga’s literature is free and …

Hello 2017!

C.E.L. Ruffolo January 2, 2017 January 1, 2017 Raves & RantsLeave a comment

Hello 2017! Happy New Year! It feels so good to be in my beloved Cebu (Philippines) to welcome 2017. The last three years of our family life was characterized by frantic moves from the Philippines to China to the US and back to the Philippines.