barya

*barya (Tagalog): loose change (coins); change; smaller bills

i was the third person in line at 7-11. for some reason the cashier was taking a bit too long in serving the customers and it became even longer when the first person in line gave the cashier P500.

cashier: miss, wala po ba kayong barya? (miss, don't you have a smaller bill?)

well, obviously the customer didn't have any so the cashier went over to the other counter to ask for smaller bills in order to give the customer her change.

the seconds ticked by oh, so, sloooooowly.

then--the next person. finally. he bought about ten bottles of water and when he gave the cashier P500--yep, you guessed it right: "wala po ba kayong barya?"

and so the rigodon has started again. i wasn't exactly in a hurry, but i couldn't help but wonder why the till doesn't have enough change. oh well. when the other counter became vacant once more i quickly transferred there. in less than 20 seconds i made my purchase and as i went out of the store...

cashier (to yet another customer): ma'am, baka may barya po kayo.

i kid you not.

happy list

while i'm waiting for some pics for a food post (man, i really need to get me own cam... :P), here's a tag from beng:

The rules are easy. Just post 10 things that recently made you happy! Then tag 10 people and force them to post this meme on their blogs…

1. finally getting the daishi dance cd i asked my cousin to buy for me last year--and she bought the latest one--melodies (thanks cuz!!!!!)

2. hanging out with H and L again on friday night for much-needed girl talk hahaha :D

3. meeting a whole lotta cool new friends from the recently-concluded workshop i attended

4. nice weather

5. continuous music streaming while i work

6. finishing several crossword puzzles in the newspaper. yea! :D

7. new job/racket prospect

8. new eats--posts coming soon :)

9. sleep, glorious sleep... been so tired lately so the moment my head hits the pillow, it's heaven. :D

10. hanging out with cousins at amici and pier one last saturday


then again, i won't be tagging anyone for this :D

wednesday wramblings (conclusion)

finally... haven't i told you wednesday was a loooooong day for me? well, it just got longer. if there is a misadventure to end all misadventures, this certainly takes the cake.

somwhere between PNU and binondo, h excitedly suggested we take the pasig river ferry going home. and since i like inconveniencing myself most of the time, i agreed. i mean, i could have gotten home the fast way (g. liner bus) or the faster way (lrt 2), right? but noooo siree. an opportunity to ride the pasig river is always considered a treat. and so the ferry wins hands down.

after buying some treats at eng bee tin over at ongpin, we walked back to escolta to the ferry station. the ferry was already there as we were buying our tickets for guadalupe so at least we didn't have to wait for it anymore. it was 7pm at the time already so there's no point in trying to take a look at the view. so h and i engaged in an intense girl talk all the way to guadalupe... or so we thought.

so deep in conversation were we that the announcement that we were in guadalupe just flew over our heads. the only thing that brought us back to earth--with a big bump, i may add-- was the rumbling of the engines, signalling that we were leaving guadalupe station. we were in utter and total shock that we actually couldn't speak for a few seconds. then...

"where are we going?"

unconsciously we were waiting for all the passengers to disembark as we fully understood that guadalupe was the last station. apparently our memory of the route was still stuck in last year's. so as the ferry rumbled on towards the next unknown destination, we sat there, quietly losing our minds and bashing ourselves in our minds for being so heedless. for what seemed like hours (which was actually just 10 or 15 minutes), we finally docked to the next station which is san joaquin (pasig). imagine our shock as we got out of the station and into a street basketball game in a quiet neighborhood (thank God for that).

well, needless to say, we got out of that scrape by asking the old man who sat a few rows in front of us in the ferry where to go and walking alongside the river until we got to the main road.

we had an uneventful taxi ride home.

so, okay! here's a list of the stations along the pasig river ferry route:

Plaza Mexico (operational)

Escolta (operational)

Quiapo/Quezon Bridge (operational)

PUP (operational)

Sta. Ana (operational)

Lambingan (operational)

Valenzuela

Hulo (operational)

Guadalupe (operational)

San Joaquin (operational)

Napindan

Marcos Bridge

Riverbanks Mall

Sta. Elena

ps. most probably napindan is operational as well as there were still passengers after we disembarked. i was still in a state of shock then so i didn't even remember to ask what the latest operational station is. if there's anyone here who knows, well, let me know. ^________^

wednesday wramblings part 2

after heidz was done, we left PNU with growling stomachs. so where were we to go? if you have read our minds, you would know where we went: binondo. ;p

here's a little un-secret of mine. whenever i'm in someplace whether familiar or unfamiliar and i'm not... familiar with the how-to's to get to my destination by public transportation especially by jeepney, i walk. i don't care how long it will take me as long as i arrive at my destination provided i'm going at my own leisurely speed. more often than not i get to my desired destination albeit a bit walked-out and sorta smoked like an eagle with all those jeepney fumes everywhere. if someone's with me, it's important that he or she would not mind walking. another thing that i like about walking is that i get to experience new things, which, in this case, leads us now to--

a new food trip without images. bow.

we originally planned to try out polland bakery along escolta, but discovered to our dismay that there was no place to rest our weary feet. what else can we do but to leave and continue walking down nueva (now yuchengco) street. when we reached the corner of dasmarinas street a strange yet wonderful sight filled our eyes: dimsum containers are stacked by the dozen on a counter along the sidewalk of dasmarinas street, and beside the counter of dimsum containers sat a steamer. ladies and gentlemen, the newest food stop in binondo is called ying ying tea house, and it just opened last week, at the corner of dasmarinas and yuchengco streets. judging from the number of people eating there we decided to try it out as well. with all that walking, who wouldn't go hungry?

the interior of the tea house is cozy though it's a bit warm on the ground floor. fortunately it has three levels though i have reason to believe it goes up to the 4th floor of the building. the second level is simply a room for large private parties (it can sit up to 15 pax at most from what i saw, with a large round table and a lazy susan) while the third floor is more spacious with another area set off for large parties as well. we got a table on the third level where we were the only customers until it filled up after about an hour.

here's what we ordered:

moi: wanton noodle soup (P80) and shrimp cheong fan (P60, 3 pcs. per order)
heidz: lemon chicken with rice (P90)

let me start with the lemon chicken. presentation was so-so, with the breaded chicken placed beside the rather large cup of rice and watery lemon sauce that was obviously poured over the chicken just before serving. and because the sauce was a bit watery, most of it was soaked up by the rice. maybe it would look better if they mixed the sauce and chicken up a bit so the white bits of cornstarch wouldn't show, and it would look more glossy. the portion of rice and chicken were at par with each other though and it's filling. in addition, the taste makes up for the presentation.

the wanton noodle soup is a different story. the soup was steaming hot, which means it came from a continuously simmering pot because if it didn't, it would have turned cold much faster. the five pieces of wanton that top the soup were quite surprising as they were packed solid with meat which, for me, took two bites unlike other wanton which i could pop whole into my mouth and still manage not to look like a chipmunk. ;-) the kind of noodles they used is my favorite kind, the long, thin egg noodles same as what le ching in greenhills uses. don't be deceived by the medium-sized bowl. the serving might just look little but i tell you the noodle soup can be good for two--i was just halfway through the meal when i already felt full--and i haven't even started on my share of the cheong fan yet.

i first tried cheong fan in a dimsum resto in texas last year. it was so good that i was happy when i also found it on the menu of some chinese restos here, and i couldn't wait to try it. at ying ying tea house i chose the shrimp cheong fan. each cheong fan only has two shrimps apiece and i only tasted more of the semi-sweet (at least, to my taste) wrapper as it was kinda thick. to me it seemed like a salty-sweet kind of dessert.

the prices at ying ying tea house are very affordable, which ranges from P55 (mostly dimsum, dessert, drinks) to P400 (mostly for the short orders and takeout).

heidz and i were so full afterwards, we needed another round of walking. i will definitely come back to this resto to try more of their food.

stay tuned for part 3... :-)

wednesday wramblings part 1

yesterday afternoon brought me once more to the manila area when my friend heidz texted me if i could come with her to Philippine Normal University (PNU) as she was planning to apply for their 18 unit teaching course. well, who am i to say no, especially when i've always wanted to go there? it was an uneventful bus ride to PNU from robinson's galleria which cost us P20.50. i don't know, but the prospect of going to PNU got me really excited. maybe because it was of the really old structures which i longingly stared at every time i pass it going to intramuros, maybe because of the fact that my lola studied there in the late 1930's, or maybe both. either way, i was like some giggly teenage girl silently freaking out (in a good way) when heidz and i entered the main building. and so while heidz was agonizing over the computations in her transcript, i amused myself by going around the campus--erm, i mean just around the main building, and just as far as the culture and arts building. going around wasn't any problem at all as i could easily pass for a student (naks!). from the looks of the campus grounds, there was a cultural festival courtesy of the PNU Lopez, Quezon campus although there's no program at the time except for a band practicing the philippine national anthem. inside the auditorium in the main building, however, a contest called battle of the chem masters was going on. chemistry. hrrmmph. aside from that, the whole atmosphere in the school was quite relaxing if you ask me.

PNU fast facts:

- it is the university that specializes in teacher education. it opened on september 1, 1901 as Philippine Normal School (PNS) by the americans.

- PNS was converted to Philippine Normal College (PNC) in 1949 and along with it came the introduction of new four-year courses such as bs elementary education, bse with specialization in elementary education and bse major in home economics.

- the graduate school was established in 1953.

- the school was elevated into university status on december 26, 1991, 90 years after it first opened.

- it celebrated its centennial year on september 1, 2001.

- there are four other PNU campuses around the country--in agusan, cadiz city, isabela and quezon.

(source: PNU website)

more ramblings to come later. it has been a loooong day yesterday... ;-)

love-hate relationships

one of the tags-in-waiting by pusang maganda =)

I love to eat: double bacon cheeseburger, pizza, and any dessert that's very creamy =)
I hate to eat: innards at most, but i can still change me mind
I love to go: anywhere that's far from the madding crowd--like the beach--anywhere as long as it's quiet
I hate to go: to shopping malls
I love it when: something unexpected and exciting happens
I hate it when: i get rudely interrupted when i'm very busy doing something.
I love to see: new sceneries
I hate to see: tv commercials that pander to every woman's vanity ;p
I love to hear: wind, crash of waves on the shore; music as long as it ain't metal or hiphop.
I hate to hear: unearthly noises coming from the nearby police station--police singing on the videoke at night...!

=)

birthday dinner at choi garden

note: sorry there ain't no pics yet but i'm posting this now before i forget what i want to write. =)

my family and i went to choi garden in annapolis, greenhills last night to celebrate my pa's birthday. by far, it was the best restaurant i've eaten in after cyma. notwithstanding my bros' allergies to seafood (my older bro being the more delicate one), all of us enjoyed our time together.

the restaurant occupies the same building where country waffles used to be. of course they had to change the structure to look more chinese than an american country house. the ground floor glowed red in all its glory from the outside, as all the interiors are in my fave colors--red and black.

upon entry, a short hallway reminiscent of a moon gate greets the guests. it's sort of like a tunnel to another dimension if you ask me. aside from the red and black interiors, another cool thing in the restaurant are the tanks of huge, live seafood imaginable: lobsters, crabs, prawns, etc. and along with the nice chinese music playing in the background, the reddish-black atmosphere of the whole restaurant looks something straight out of a gangster movie. trés cool.

judging from the number of people eating there, it seemed like we won't be getting a table for a while but fortunately a table was just vacated so we snapped that one up immediately. make sure you make a reservation first (especially if you're gonna eat at dinnertime) before winging it out or else you'd have to wait for quite some time like we almost did.

the food... it also took us time to get what we wanted. in the menu is basically your typical chinese fare: fried rice, roast fowl, noodle soups, dim sum, congee, sweet and sour pork, hot pot, the works. there are several items NOT on the menu, though, so ask your friendly waiter for the chef's specials. two such items not on the menu are the hot and sour soup and beef with broccoli in oyster sauce, which we ordered.

besides the hot and sour soup and beef with broccoli in oyster sauce, here are the other items we ordered: braised fish fillet with bean curd in pot, fried pork ribs with salt and pepper (that comes with seasoned vinegar), and birthday noodles, which is simply pancit canton with quail eggs.

because we were so intent on choosing the items carefully (like making sure there's neither shrimp nor crab in deference to me bros), we forgot one important thing: order the rice. the waiter had all but already gone to the kitchen with our order when we suddenly remembered we haven't ordered the freakin' rice. funny, eh? anyhow we got five nice, fragrant cups of steamed rice.

everything we've ordered really tasted great. the amount of salt on each dish is just right, the soup as well the sauces of the braised fish fillet and beef with broccoli are just about the right thickness; the fish fillets, bean curd and beef slices tender to the bite and thick enough for that "oomph" when biting into them; and the pork ribs are well cooked. the birthday noodles, however, just had a few veggies and seafood, not that it mattered to me as i like noodles better than veggies anyway. they don't use msg on their dishes, btw.

but what about the price? you may ask. well, all i can say is that my money was all worth it. the pricing starts at around 170PHP-up, small size. for medium and large, you just multiply the price by 2 and 3, respectively. don't be fooled by the small size as it's good for 3-4 people, 5 even. there were 5 of us and though all the dishes we ordered are small, the servings were generous. to say that we were full is an understatement--we're more like stuffed. and the grand total? P1,290 minus senior citizen (46.07) plus 12% vat = P1,243. that's about P250 per person rounded off. now if there is another resto that serves great food with generous servings at an affordable price like this, let me know.

=)

a (re)new(ed) endeavor

i just recently bought this lovely boxed set of larousse gastronomique (in three easy installments ;-p) from my cousin N, who is a certified foodie herself. from the moment i saw it on her multiply site, i knew i had to have it (talk about impulse buying). impulse buying or not, larousse gastronomique is considered to be the encyclopedia of gastronomy of professional chefs since its first publication in 1938. (now i ain't no professional chef but i can cook pretty well, if i do say so myself.)

this edition of larousse gastronomique is divided into four parts to make the recipes easy to follow: fish & seafood; vegetables & salad; meat, poultry & game; and desserts, cakes & pastries. each book has basic recipes for the sauces, pastries, garnishes, etc... another great thing about this is that it includes all the different measurements for wet and dry ingredients and even for the oven temperature. for someone who shudders at the very thought of conversion like yours truly, this is heaven-sent. basically, most of the recipes in larousse gastronomique are french (duh!) but over the years recipes from different cuisines have also been incorporated into it whilst retaining its very essence.

when there's the time and opportunity, i will post here the dishes that i'd have tried cooking already. to try and cook the recipes presents a challenge to me as i haven't cooked that much in a long time--except for my spontaneous cooking inventions and the obligatory holiday meals which are far and few in between. now the question is, do i have the guts to try and cook these wonderful recipes?

oh, yes. i do.

who knows, maybe this impulse will pay off.

wish me luck!

may-me time

pardon the pun. i'm still waiting for the pictures from the family trip to baguio, so i'm starting of this new bloggin' year by doing a tag from kris jasper and mojo potato:

What to do:
1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them.
2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months.
3. Pick your month of birth.
4. Highlight the traits that apply to you.
5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them.
6. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it!

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

ho-kay, so i highlighted the obvious aspects. as for the others, well, i dunno. some of them do apply to me but i just say i am a big bunch o' contradictions. ;-)

won't be tagging anyone for this but feel free to do this if you'd like. =)

thank you

this year has really been a good one, notwithstanding the occasional mishaps (funny or unfunny) that i've encountered. (ooh-kay, i'm not usually this dramatic, but just humor me for now. ;))

here are the things i'm thankful for:
- the opportunities to travel even if i'm on a budget(san narciso, zambales; us (CA, TX, FL); manila, roxas city, boracay, etc.)
- food trips with friends
- discovery of new sounds, tastes and places
- good relationship with family and friends
- cool surprises (like winning a contest)
- opportunities to meet cool new people (ya know who you are!)
- and yeah, even surviving in my job for another year! lol ;P
- and a whole lot more that's gonna fill this up

i'm kinda excited for the new year to come. there would be more new experiences for me to... experience.. ah basta, anything goes!

and to you me dear friends, i share with you this mango tart, a wonderful, heavenly, rich and creamy creation from conti's. have a slice, people! =)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! XOXOXO

ps.
btw, will be going to baguio later today for the new year. gotta remember to get me a pack of those cute and intriguing ube dimples from good shepherd!

tag-a-long twenty

was tagged once more by the pusang maganda. this one is a bit more personal but what the heck, it's fun! hehehe

Here's the rule: Remove 1 question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged. Whoever does the tag will have blessings from all.

1. At what age do you wish to marry? when i was young i thought 25 was a good age to marry, but now i'm past 25, well... i dunno.

2. What color do you like most? red and black, blue and green, in that order and pair

3. If you have the chance, what would you probably say to your beloved one? i don't know yet, it will come... if it will come!

4. Where is the place that you want to go the most? those wonderful, magical scandinavian countries and japan

5. Which part of you that you hate the most? don't really hate, but i wish they look better.. me eyebrows ;)

6. When you encounter a sad moment, what would you do? sound tripping or go to some place far away.. the problem is it's so far that i can't walk to it hahaha

7. What are you afraid to lose the most? my senses

8. If you win $1 million, what would you do? preserve an old building, like el hogar in binondo and/or travel around the world.

9. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her? Or would you keep it to yourself and observe from afar? neither

10. What do you always bring with you when you travel? aside from the necessities, i bring a notebook and pen all the time.

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half? physically: taller, nice eyebrows and nose.. personality: someone who can handle the likes of me ;p

12. Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most? nothing

13. Which type of person do you hate the most? KSP (kulang sa pansin--attention-grabber..?)and maarte

14. What is your ambition? To be a nomad ;P

15. What is the thing that will make you think he/she is bad? i just sense it.

16. If you had one wish what would you wish for? erm, the ability to fly...?

17. What brand of toothbrush do you use? hapee

18. Name one of your body part your hubby or boyfriend tells you he adores. wait, i think i have to get a bf first lol

19. It would be 2008 in a few days, do you have a new year’s resolution? i don't make new year's resolutions

20. If your better half is cheating on you, will you forgive him or her? no.


so now, i'm a-tagging mimi, dhez, kyels, islander, snglguy, krisjasper, coldman and yatot =)

to me blogfriends and those who simply dropped by...

cooking for noche buena is going on full throttle, last minute shopping for presents and wrapping them (oh, panic!) and what-have-you, but just wanna wish y'all

MALIGAYANG PASKO AT MANIGONG BAGONG TAON!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

=)

secret wish

as i type this out, this secret wish won't be so secret anymore. ;-)

i've been to a lot of places already, but there is one where i secretly wish to travel to. unfortunately, it will never happen, not in this lifetime. i wish to travel back through time, may it be during the medieval times or world war ll. wherever it may be, it doesn't matter. which is probably the reason for my affinity for anything old--houses, the people, music, etc. simply by looking at old houses will make one think of the people who have lived there before and the events that happened in that era. same thing goes for music (at least, for me). who sang the song? what year did it first come out? are there other versions of this song? who's the original singer?

and the questions could go on, and on, and on...

so even though i can't literally travel back through time, i could by listening to old songs. one really old song that i recently rediscovered while surfing the net is called "if you were the only girl in the world." i first heard the song in the tv show charmed about seven years ago and i was easily... charmed by the way they were able to make the guy sound like he came from the 1920's (the episode's setting was in 1924). the song was actually released in 1916, music written by clifford gray and lyrics by nat d. ayer. it was used in the musical the bing boys are here and was sung by george robey and violet loraine. (from firstworldwar.com and wikipedia.org)

if you want to listen to the original song, click here. you have to click another link from the webpage to open it in windows media player.

there's also another version of this song (instrumental). havalisten, just press play!

lyrics:
If You Were the Only Girl in the World

Sometimes when I feel low
and things look blue
I wish a boy I had... say one like you.
Someone within my heart to build a throne
Someone who'd never part, to call my own

If you were the only girl in the world
and I were the only boy
Nothing else would matter in the world today
We could go on loving in the same old way

A garden of Eden just made for two
With nothing to mar our joy
I would say such wonderful things to you
There would be such wonderful things to do
If you were the only girl in the world
and I were the only boy.

all right, shall i call dr. emmett brown now? :D

food meme

interesting meme i got from ruy of a taste of (married) life. really says something about one's eating habits hehehe.

What were you cooking/baking 10 years ago?
rice, eggs, hotdogs, spam, instant noodles--pathetic ain't it? i didn't cook much then lol

What were you cooking/baking one year ago?
any kind of pasta alla carlotta and roast chicken

Five snacks you enjoy:
1) pizza
2) double cheeseburger!
3) potato chips bbq flavor any brand
4) shredded cod from aji ichiban or any other fish sticks in the grocery (forgot the name)
5) corn on the cob slathered with butter and a dash of cayenne pepper

Five recipes you know by heart:
1) pasta alla carlotta ;-)
2) roast chicken
3) roast beef
4) fish fillet alla carlotta
5) beef alla carlotta
("alla carlotta" -- recipes i invented. i know, how creative. üüü)

Five culinary luxuries you would indulge in if you were a millionaire:
1) steak
2) prawns
3) lobsters
4) pannacotta
5) rack of lamb

Five dishes you love to cook/bake:
1) brownies
2) chocolate chip cookies
3) banana bread
4) lasagna
5) other dishes alla carlotta

Five dishes you cannot/will not eat:
- cannot write anything here as i might change my mind after. =)

Five favorite culinary toys:
wire whisk
mortar and pestle (i pound the garlic to the beat of the music. try it, it's fun! ü)
chopping board
set of knives
electric chopper (only when i'm too lazy to chop onions and garlic, which is rare)

Five dishes for your "last meal" menu:
1) super supreme pizza with extra extra cheese
2) double bacon cheeseburger with all the trimmings
3) hot, steaming sinigang na baboy with rice
4) a big platter of sushi
5) joey's new york cheesecake

Five happy food memories:
1) eating dinner (which we bought the ingredients from the market and cooked the dishes ourselves) outdoors with friends on one holy week outing in san fabian, pangasinan. we ate in mismatched plates, lacked utensils so we ate with our hands. and yeah, got rice straight from the bamboo leaf. this is the best dinner i've had.
2) at cyma (greenbelt branch) where me and me friends heidz, lay and jeng ate the fastest dinner but not without savoring what we ate--swordfish kebab (really tender and juicy without the malansa taste), moussaka and roka salata... we were the last to get a table at the time and the first one to leave the restaurant--that's how hungry we were (and we forgot to take pics of the food!)
3) tapsilog at rodick's in UP then cheesecake at chocolate kiss after (if we still have dough). =)
4) baking fruit cake with my lola
5) spontaneous food trips with friends

binondo dreamin' pt. 2

shrine of sto. cristo de longos

the first two markers indicate the place where a deaf-mute chinese laborer found an effigy of the holy christ of longos in a well a little over 200 years ago. he was said to be miraculously healed from his affliction. the effigy is now in binondo church where more miracles are attributed to it.

nosebleed alert!

the description on this one is more concise.

the door where the second marker is placed (left side). behind it are stacks of crates, boxes and sacks. (smells musty, too.)

don't you just love old houses? i do. the older, the better. and in the san nicolas district of binondo, a lot of prewar houses have survived the test of time. but looking at them today, i don't think they will last any longer, with the wear and tear of the natural elements and of course, human neglect.

a bahay na bato that has seen better days :-(

another house that's crying out to be restored. i'm just glad my lola's house is well preserved, from the roof to the capiz windows to the very floor we walk on, unlike this one. :-( if i have a lot of money, i'll fund the restoration myself, house by house.

derelict house sandwich, anyone?

this marks the spot on san fernando st. where teodora alonzo, the mother of our national hero, jose rizal, once lived. i say spot because the house is gone and this is the only marker left to let the people know where famous people from the past lived. just like the door at sto. cristo de longos (3rd picture) behind the big green gate here is a vacant lot stocked with lots of crates and boxes and... a growling dog. come to think of it, juan juna's house, as well as the marker, are now nonexistent in another part of this district.

i know i should be proud of this place no matter what state it's in, but it makes me sad at the fact that it is slowly falling into more ruin, if not total oblivion. i mean, where's our sense of history? culture? nationality? i don't claim to be an expert on this, but then again, maybe even by just restoring some of the remaining old houses, we'd be able to recover a bit more of our national pride. (and tourists won't just go to vigan to see the wonderfully restored ancestral houses there when we have our own share of them right in our city.)

note: thanks to snglguy for the pics =)

binondo dreamin'

When you're alone
And life is making you lonely,
You can always go downtown

so goes the song "downtown" by petula clark. i am neither alone nor lonely, but i definitely wanted to go downtown, which in this case, is binondo. aaacckk, so corny, i know.

aaanyyywayyy, moving on...

this must be my nth post about binondo already, but the place is just chock-full of hypnotizing nooks and crannies that still need to be explored so i can't help but return there again and again.

last saturday proved to be a good time not just to tour binondo, but to meet up with blogfriends snglguy and beng as well. it's my first time to meet both of them. sngl, who grew up in the area, proved to be an engaging tour guide who led us through a merry walk through the narrow streets with eat-all-you-cans, sugarcane juice, black vietnamese porky pigs, old houses, and even hardware stores with questionable names (i mean, who would name their store king of screws? obviously, it's a store that sells mainly screws. oh well. ;P). as for beng, bless her heart, though she wasn't able to bake the brownies we were hoping she would bring, whipped up a batch of her equally super-duper-mega-ultra-melt-in-your-mouth chewy chocolate chip cookies. i do think in due time she'll be able to put up her own bakery. i'm also glad to have found a kindred spirit in her.

we ate lunch at emperor villa, which, for less than 300 pesos for their lunch buffet, was a real steal, but unfortunately, due to changes in their policy, they won't be refilling the trays after 1pm. suffice to say, we've had our fill well before the time. we (i, rather) even had some more room for dessert.

at the emperor villa

fueled with sugarcane juice at one of the stalls along ongpin, we went on to florentino torres street to los ambos mundos, the OLDEST RESTAURANT IN THE PHILIPPINES. it's been around since 1888. isn't that great? another novel thing about the restaurant is that the owners of the restaurant have four vietnamese potbellied pigs pampered to their heart's content. as for the food, we still have to try them sometime soon.

look at them piggies snooze in the sun! (the other one is in the background, not so visible)

it's tag time!

i now interrupt the regular programming with a couple of VITs--very important tags. ;-P really, it's fun to do tags from time to time.

handwritten post (from dhez):

1. sceneries: as in sunsets, cloudless skies, crystal blue waters, the wind, lush green mountains... ah, don't get me started. :)
2. music: gotta have earphones plugged to my ears especially when working.
3. world war 2: i've reveled in my aunts' stories of their lives during the war and even from the peacetime.
(i won't be tagging anyone in particular for this one, but consider yourself tagged if you've reached this part hahaha! ü)


i am beautiful (and sexy), no matter what they say...

from an equally beautiful and sexy blogfriend, pusa:

thank you, thank you! *sniffle*

i now pass on these awards to the following beautiful and sexy blogfriends like me ;-) -- verns, toe, kyels, rochelle, gypsy, beng, mimi and dhez. =)

Summer in November Pt. 8

random roxas city pics

note: this will be my last installment of my roxas city-boracay trip. hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i had posting. =)

cuzes, bro and moi on our first day in roxas. it drizzled again late in the afternoon so it's cloudy as you can see. this was where we heard those (drunk) guys singing/shouting at the nearby ktvs.

tu-KO! (gecko) this is a very big lizard we saw on the first night. it's as fat as my arm and about 7 inches long... and that's just the baby. eep!

roxas city coastline with an island at the backdrop. my tita has a beach house here where we ate lunch the day before we went home. there was a fishing boat on the shore then (not pictured), so it smelled a bit fishy. the fishermen were able to have a good catch that day.

enjoying the sun, sand and sky! (and the water, too! ü)

standing on fine black/gray sand at low tide. it may be of a dark color, but it's as fine as the sand on station 1 in boracay. (which means the sand in station two is a bit coarser. ü)

Summer in November Pt. 7

boracay epilogue (sunday, 4 november 2007)

my trip to boracay would have been totally perfect if not for one thing: i lost my glasses. so from sunday noon up until the end of our trip (6 nov.), i had to look at the world through hazy eyesight. stupid, stupid me! i won't go into the gory details anymore as i could not recall where and what time exactly i lost it, although i have my suspicions--might be when we took a last dip in the water. (to give you an idea how weak my eyes are, i'll give you an illustration: i'm practically kissing the computer/book to be able to read).

right after lunch, we did what other tourists would do: buy souvenirs. shirts, keychains, cell phone toppers that all scream, "I'VE BEEN TO BORACAY!!!" as usual i bought more than what i could give so there are still some more cell phone decorations/keychains (whatever you call them) stashed somewhere in my bag. want one? ;-P (available until supplies last hahaha)

on the pump boat ride back to caticlan, i surmised that once in a while, it would be nice to visit boracay no matter how commercialized it is. what really matters is the people you're with and how you enjoy the place for what it is. so yeah, i'll be going back to boracay, hopefully not 9 years after. there might be an sm or robinson's mall by then. ack!

that's our shadows on the white boracay sand. i'm the one on the left, fixing something in my bag. :-P

back to roxas

if the total travel time we've had last november 2 from roxas to boracay was 5 hours, we actually cut our travel time back to roxas by 2 hours. i noticed that on every trip i've done, the trip back home takes a shorter time. excluding rest and emergency stops, this really happens. what reason that is, it still evades me.

in our case though, one of the reasons would be because the daughter of cuz O's cousin (who told us to hitch a ride with them to and from bora) took a bug in boracay in which medical attention is needed (she's definitely better as of this writing). in just three hours we were at the emergency room in a hospital in roxas city, where our tito and tita (cuz O's parents) and nephew G picked us up.

fun with language barriers

back at our tito and tita's house, we had some time to rest before dinner. nephew G wandered into our room as me and cuzes M and E were lounging on our beds. now for G to even come near us is quite a feat, considering that he's really, really shy and doesn't talk to just anyone except his family. so we stared at G, and he in turn stared back until i said, "G, kiss your titas." so he went around the room to kiss us titas which broke the ice and we started to talk to him in tagalog. the problem is that he answered us back in ilonggo (pls. correct me if i'm wrong here), complete with the lilting sound of the dialect. we were like, oh man, what's he talking about? so for the next few minutes and up to the next day, our conversations generally went something like this:

moi, M or E: G, nasaan si elmo? (G, where is elmo?)
G (speaking in ilonggo): si elmo ara sa balay namon.

okay, this we could understand somehow. he's saying that elmo is in his house. but read on:

moi, M or E: ganun ba? sige, dalhin mo sya dito para paglaruan natin. (is that so? ok, bring him here so we can play with him.)
G: (now speaking in rapid ilonggo which we couldn't catch except for a few stray words)
moi: ha? M, anong sabi nya? (what? M, what did he say?)
M: malay ko! (i don't know!)
G: (speaking in more rapid ilonggo)
moi, M or E: huwaaaaaaaat???
G: (laughing at us coz we couldn't understand him. apparently, he understands tagalog but can't/doesn't want to speak it yet.)

and with this, our lifelong bond with G was sealed. (G is four years old, btw, and the first cousin of K and E.) that adorable little kid has a sister, I, who fortunately came to our rescue the next day as our translator since she knows how to speak in tagalog. at one time, she and G came into our room whispering in ilonggo. cuz E, who apparently just woke up from one of her countless naps (peace, cuz! ü), blurted out, "bakit pa kayo nagbubulungan hindi ko naman kayo maintindihan?!" (why are you whispering? i can't understand you anyway!)

G and sis I. see how comfy he is with us? hopefully he will remember us when he comes to manila this christmas with his family. ^^

Summer in November Pt. 6

food trip galore alla ms. lamon

we originally planned to eat at cyma for dinner on our first night in boracay, but the restaurant was already full by the time we went there (we made a reservation for the next night but still we didn't get to eat there but that's ok). so we went over to true food indian cuisine. since this is our first night, we were already tired by this time. the big fluffy cushions we sat on in true food just about made our stay there oh-so-fine. and the food? it's a bit pricey (about 200 pesos up) but if you're adventurous enough in trying out different types of cuisine, then you'll love this place. sorry there ain't enough pics for this as we were all too busy eating (did i say we were very hungry?) to take pictures.

sweetened lassie at true food indian cuisine. lassie is a really nice drink made from yogurt and can be drank plain, sweetened or even salted. they also offer variations with fruits, but i think if i ordered that it might taste like the commercial yogurt drink.

pat's creek. i was so sleepy by this time (about11pm) but since my bro and cousins were there already, i opted to go too. had only one piece each of the calamares and onion rings and a sip of san mig light from my bro's cup... then the singer's voice woke me up from my lethargic state.

this is rush, a huge lab-golden retriever mix in the restaurant we ate in at d' talipapa. of course we did NOT eat him. he is the pet of the owner according to my bro. isn't he cute? anyway, we bought fish, shrimp and chicken at the wet market and had them cooked over at this resto (just like dampa in parañaque and pasay)and i was more interested in looking at this dog. but hey, the food we had--sauteed ampalaya with egg, sinigang na talakitok, garlic and butter shrimp and adobong atay ng manok--yummeh!

jonah's fruitshake and restaurant. i've heard so many praises about this place so i just had to try it. yep, it's really nice to be sipping a big cold glass of thick, creamy milkshake while stretched out on the beach chairs and tune out the sounds except for the waves, night or day. the milkshakes cost from around 60 pesos up. i ordered banana choco peanut shake (P75)

mañana. this is where we ate on our second night in boracay. we ordered different items and had a taste of everything--nachos, burritos, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and flautas. i love the side of mexican rice which is quite small, but it's good enough for moi. everything is soooo dee-lee-shus!

mañana restaurant in the daytime. what a happy, happy day, just look at that cloudless sky! me likey!

for our last meal in boracay, we ate in lemon cafe, a restaurant in d'mall where they serve mediterranean food. but since we had to leave early, we opted for brunch and ordered from their breakfast menu. cuz O and i had the big breakfast (which as a really big serving... duh!) which consists of potatoes, bacon, egg sunny side up, sausages and very yummy warm bread which i slathered in butter *drool, drool!* the rest ordered pinoy tapa. i must say, their tapa is one of the best i've tasted. not only has it a really big serving too, but also the meat is very juicy and tender, the flavor is salty-sweet and dip a piece of that in vinegar, ahh, heaven. :-) cuz M couldn't finish hers so i got the last piece and put it in the remaining roll from my breakfast, and had that as my baon on the way back to roxas. :-P

note: the restos mentioned here are all located on the beach front (except for d'talipapa), hence, they are quite pricey for a cheapskate like moi hehehe (think greenbelt, eastwood, and their ilk). but ya know what's the best thing about this food trip? having guy cuzes who get the bills! LOL

well of course not all of them bills but still...

thanks guys! =)