One day the sun's beating down on me, and the next it's raining like crazy. It's no wonder then that I'm feeling a little bit under the weather. And so while tapping out another story, I'm listening to Ella in the hope that her suave, smooth voice could nurse me into wellness--or at least get me in the mood for the holidays :)
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
The Library
Right smack in the middle of a city tour, I found myself within the quiet confines of a library. When I was in college, I spent a lot of time at the library. I loved walking through its quiet halls, looking at all those shelves with all those books, and imagining that I'd get to read them all one day.
Of course, I didn't get to read all of them. Because after a couple of semesters, I got involved in things other than studying. They didn't involve that much reading, but boy did I learn!
But whenever I have to get serious with a subject, I would run to the library. I would work on my research papers, go through dozens of books, and would be delighted no end when I found what it was that I was looking for. These days, students just Google and everything comes out with one click. Not the same.
I was raised by my parents to be a reader, and I could get lost in that library for hours--and without the benefit of cell phones, I could choose not to be found. Those days were precious!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Craving
Every so often, I'll get this great big hankering for certain types of food. Usually it's chocolate. I once wolfed down a humongous bar of Hershey's Milk Bar in the course of a few hours while writing, editing, and just surfing. I think it was a one pounder, and I don't think I'd be able to do that sort of thing again.
At other times, I'd long for my mom's slow-cooked super meaty spaghetti sauce or my dad's almost gooey Pata Beans, sometimes with a bone of ham thrown in making it extra tasty.
And then there were those fateful few months a couple of years ago that I had to order sisig whenever I saw it on the menu (Don't ask, I don't know why either). So I ate sisig everywhere from Manila to Marikina, and from Cagayan de Oro to Camiguin. The one in Camiguin was really super hot, and the only way we could finish it off was to drink it with lots of beer! Ayos!
A few weeks ago, it was onion rings. And I didn't think that I'd finally satisfy that craving in a Korean restaurant, a couple of hours from Manila no less!
It was hot, we were famished, and so we just practically ordered everything off the menu at Koko Buri in Clark. The utensils were quite big, the better to match our big appetites.
Of course, we all know about BonChon. Apart from kimchi, I suppose Fried Chicken is another thing that Koreans cook well. This one was gorgeously fried, crisp on the outside, but juicy on the inside (I sound like a commercial mwahahaha!).
The Vongole was a bit on the sweetish side, so didn't really appeal to me that much. I know what you're thinking, what's Vongole doing in a Korean restaurant?
For that matter, what's pizza doing in a Korean restaurant? Mwahahaha Well, it turns out that it's not so much a Korean restaurant, but a restaurant owned by a Korean. The pizza was good though.
And the piece de resistance: Onion Rings!!! Yipee! Really big onions cooked in a tasty thin batter. It was lovely!
At other times, I'd long for my mom's slow-cooked super meaty spaghetti sauce or my dad's almost gooey Pata Beans, sometimes with a bone of ham thrown in making it extra tasty.
And then there were those fateful few months a couple of years ago that I had to order sisig whenever I saw it on the menu (Don't ask, I don't know why either). So I ate sisig everywhere from Manila to Marikina, and from Cagayan de Oro to Camiguin. The one in Camiguin was really super hot, and the only way we could finish it off was to drink it with lots of beer! Ayos!
A few weeks ago, it was onion rings. And I didn't think that I'd finally satisfy that craving in a Korean restaurant, a couple of hours from Manila no less!
It was hot, we were famished, and so we just practically ordered everything off the menu at Koko Buri in Clark. The utensils were quite big, the better to match our big appetites.
Of course, we all know about BonChon. Apart from kimchi, I suppose Fried Chicken is another thing that Koreans cook well. This one was gorgeously fried, crisp on the outside, but juicy on the inside (I sound like a commercial mwahahaha!).
The Vongole was a bit on the sweetish side, so didn't really appeal to me that much. I know what you're thinking, what's Vongole doing in a Korean restaurant?
For that matter, what's pizza doing in a Korean restaurant? Mwahahaha Well, it turns out that it's not so much a Korean restaurant, but a restaurant owned by a Korean. The pizza was good though.
And the piece de resistance: Onion Rings!!! Yipee! Really big onions cooked in a tasty thin batter. It was lovely!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Veggie Expensive!
On the way home from Tagaytay, I got a bit excited when I saw a night market in Sta. Rosa. For the past few weeks, the prices of veggies have just gone a bit crazy. I remember going through the supermarket aisles in search of some sili, the long green ones. I was going to make some ginataang gulay and wanted to cook it with lots of sili. When I saw that a tiny pack costs P45, I said goodbye to the sili. Hello! At the palengke, the tindera would usually just give a handful for free.
A few days later, I went to the palengke. The prices weren't as horrible, but still not so very affordable. Plus, no libreng sili!
D couldn't understand why I got so excited about seeing the Sta. Rosa Market. But well, I thought that since Sta. Rosa is still technically in the provinces, the veggies would be cheaper. Well, not really! Two small bags added up to more than P300--for veggies only! Hay! Anyway, I was happy because I was able to score fresh Salay Guinto, easy to cook and yummy!
I thought maybe it's time for a trip to Quiapo where the prices are incredibly cheap. However, my sister B told me that the veggies are quite costly there too (This photo was taken early this year, so the prices, I'm sure, are not the same).
My dad tells me that the storms and intermittent rains jacked up the prices of veggies. And with the holiday season upon us, it's not likely to go down anytime soon. Well, goodbye veggie lasagna. It's good that I still get some form of entertainment (thanks Baby S!) when I go grocery shopping.
A few days later, I went to the palengke. The prices weren't as horrible, but still not so very affordable. Plus, no libreng sili!
D couldn't understand why I got so excited about seeing the Sta. Rosa Market. But well, I thought that since Sta. Rosa is still technically in the provinces, the veggies would be cheaper. Well, not really! Two small bags added up to more than P300--for veggies only! Hay! Anyway, I was happy because I was able to score fresh Salay Guinto, easy to cook and yummy!
I thought maybe it's time for a trip to Quiapo where the prices are incredibly cheap. However, my sister B told me that the veggies are quite costly there too (This photo was taken early this year, so the prices, I'm sure, are not the same).
My dad tells me that the storms and intermittent rains jacked up the prices of veggies. And with the holiday season upon us, it's not likely to go down anytime soon. Well, goodbye veggie lasagna. It's good that I still get some form of entertainment (thanks Baby S!) when I go grocery shopping.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Happy B!
If there's one thing I miss about my old day job, it's walking into B's cubicle, sitting in one of her chairs, and then gabbing about anything and everything. Sometimes, we'd chat every two weeks or so. Sometimes, it would be months before we had time to talk. But always, when we start chatting, it feels like we were just continuing a previous conversation. It didn't matter that we hadn't seen each other for some time, what mattered was that we were still there. Here's to our continuing conversation! Love ya, B!
My favorite photograph of B taken during a Bora vacation ten thousand years ago.
The birthday girl who doesn't look a year older, promise!
BFF K, who organized the whole shebang
Oh so Yummy!!
Candy girls!
With my former neighbor, Mama M
E! Nasaan na ang cake at chismis?!! Tampo na ko nyan! Mwahahaha
B, one last time :)
My favorite photograph of B taken during a Bora vacation ten thousand years ago.
The birthday girl who doesn't look a year older, promise!
BFF K, who organized the whole shebang
Oh so Yummy!!
Candy girls!
With my former neighbor, Mama M
E! Nasaan na ang cake at chismis?!! Tampo na ko nyan! Mwahahaha
B, one last time :)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Beauty Queen
I remember getting a call in the middle of my birthday dinner from my editor, telling me about the details of this upcoming interview. After the call, my mom goes to me and says, "It's your birthday." And I go, "It's OK, mom. Exciting naman yung interview."
And it turned out to be really exciting! We loved talking to Shamcey. We loved picking her brains. In fact, we could have picked her brains for hours, if only she wasn't so busy. Here's an excerpt from the latest issue of YES!
"When Shamcey Supsup walked on the stage of the Araneta Coliseum as Binibining Pilipinas Universe on April 10, not a few of her friends and colleagues were surprised. After all, she was hardly their idea of the typical beauty queen. She wasn’t fond of makeup, using only sunblock because her job as an architect often required working under the sun during site visits. She didn’t know how to wear heels, preferring the comfort of sneakers so that she could walk through construction sites with ease. And before joining the Binibining Pilipinas 2011 pageant, she had never worn a swimsuit. In fact, she didn’t even own one.
Shamcey likes telling the story of how she once got booted out of a public swimming pool. She was then taking up architecture at the University of the Philippines.
“I wanted to swim, but I didn’t want to wear shorts,” she recalls. “Parang it was an outing for our organization. ’Tapos, pinahiram ako ng jogging pants, nag-swimming ako. ’Tapos, bawal daw. Pinaalis ako sa pool… Lagi kong ’kinukuwento ’yon… Napahiya talaga ko.”
Here, some photos from the shoot...
Shamcey walked into the studio looking all fresh despite her very busy schedule
G, our art director, shows Shamcey how to vogue it
Look at those legs! They seem to go on forever!
Fooling around with B
And it turned out to be really exciting! We loved talking to Shamcey. We loved picking her brains. In fact, we could have picked her brains for hours, if only she wasn't so busy. Here's an excerpt from the latest issue of YES!
"When Shamcey Supsup walked on the stage of the Araneta Coliseum as Binibining Pilipinas Universe on April 10, not a few of her friends and colleagues were surprised. After all, she was hardly their idea of the typical beauty queen. She wasn’t fond of makeup, using only sunblock because her job as an architect often required working under the sun during site visits. She didn’t know how to wear heels, preferring the comfort of sneakers so that she could walk through construction sites with ease. And before joining the Binibining Pilipinas 2011 pageant, she had never worn a swimsuit. In fact, she didn’t even own one.
Shamcey likes telling the story of how she once got booted out of a public swimming pool. She was then taking up architecture at the University of the Philippines.
“I wanted to swim, but I didn’t want to wear shorts,” she recalls. “Parang it was an outing for our organization. ’Tapos, pinahiram ako ng jogging pants, nag-swimming ako. ’Tapos, bawal daw. Pinaalis ako sa pool… Lagi kong ’kinukuwento ’yon… Napahiya talaga ko.”
Here, some photos from the shoot...
Shamcey walked into the studio looking all fresh despite her very busy schedule
G, our art director, shows Shamcey how to vogue it
Look at those legs! They seem to go on forever!
Fooling around with B
Saturday, November 5, 2011
No One Here Gets Out Alive
I was looking at my calendar about 14 days ago, and remember telling myself, "How will I ever get out of this week alive?!" Everything just happened. I had bought the tickets months ago, thinking that I could fit it in my schedule, even if it's right smack in the middle of the week. The beach road trip had to be arranged in a jiffy because of deadline considerations. As for the fiesta? Well, I couldn't very well reschedule that! Mwahahaha
So here goes that week filled with far too many road trips, a couple of hours jumping up and down to Fergie, eating way too much and drinking way too little, and one blissful night of watching shooting stars.
E was my date when the Black Eyed Peas made it a very good night. I fell in love with Black Eyed when I loaded my son S’s playlist on mine. From then on, they’d occasionally serve as my soundtrack as I go about my writing life. I remember one super long night when I had to finish my Shamcey story with Black Eyed blaring in my room, it was a blast! Of course, the concert was a thousand times better (I love the costumes!!!). I kept forgetting that I was in my forties and had to take it easy with the jumping up and down to the music thing. But hey, you only live once! Mwahahaha!
The next morning found me sitting under this magnificent tree. The road trip to this eerily peaceful spot took the better part of three hours, most of which I spent sleeping. I was still high from the concert and the songs just kept playing inside my head all day.
In the middle of this heady week, I found myself here, and I couldn’t have been happier. Sometimes, things can just spin way out of control and you find yourself crashing. But then, you’d see the setting sun, or gaze at a sky filled with stars, and you are filled once again with this sense of happiness at just being freaking alive!
And because I live in the Philippines, the week wouldn't have been complete without an all-out fiesta with rock bands blasting out my eardrums and the town folks telling me to please eat some more!
Hell of a week!
So here goes that week filled with far too many road trips, a couple of hours jumping up and down to Fergie, eating way too much and drinking way too little, and one blissful night of watching shooting stars.
E was my date when the Black Eyed Peas made it a very good night. I fell in love with Black Eyed when I loaded my son S’s playlist on mine. From then on, they’d occasionally serve as my soundtrack as I go about my writing life. I remember one super long night when I had to finish my Shamcey story with Black Eyed blaring in my room, it was a blast! Of course, the concert was a thousand times better (I love the costumes!!!). I kept forgetting that I was in my forties and had to take it easy with the jumping up and down to the music thing. But hey, you only live once! Mwahahaha!
The next morning found me sitting under this magnificent tree. The road trip to this eerily peaceful spot took the better part of three hours, most of which I spent sleeping. I was still high from the concert and the songs just kept playing inside my head all day.
In the middle of this heady week, I found myself here, and I couldn’t have been happier. Sometimes, things can just spin way out of control and you find yourself crashing. But then, you’d see the setting sun, or gaze at a sky filled with stars, and you are filled once again with this sense of happiness at just being freaking alive!
And because I live in the Philippines, the week wouldn't have been complete without an all-out fiesta with rock bands blasting out my eardrums and the town folks telling me to please eat some more!
Hell of a week!
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