08 4 / 2012
Easter Lunch with the extended families who I ever dearly love to always cook for! So much things to thank God for, like moments as such wherein I can at least forget about the dreaded things and focus on my skills in the kitchen. I had a great time cooking as everything got done in time for lunch! (I think my time-management skills in the kitchen have improved! yey!)
Hope everyone had a wonderful Sunday! Happy Easter!
Easter Lunch Menu: (Some not in photo)
Appetizer: Nachos and Chili Dip
Soup: Mom’s signature Pansit Molo
Antipasti: Tomato Feta Pasta Salad
My main entrees: Prime Rib Roast, Chicken Parmigiana, Tangy Baby Back Ribs
Mom’s entrees: Inihaw na liempo, steamed crabs, nilasing na hipon, Tuna Belly
and of course, the much loved dessert table! All homemade and freshly baked (good thing I had time to make everything set on time!)
Blueberry NY Cheesecake, Mango Freeze, and Red Velvet Cupcakes!
I looooove the kitchen! We had a great time catching up with families! Indeed a wonderful Sunday spent!
25 3 / 2012
Love and the Hunger Games
Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor
It’s yet another year for the Reaping. Children from ages 12 to 18 gather at the square awaiting and desperately hoping that the piece of paper holding their name won’t be drawn and announced. Its the 74th Hunger Games, a crude means for the land of Panem to recall and celebrate the peace that reigns over their districts. For the Capitol, the rich and the fortress of power in the country that had once been known as North America, the event is the most celebrated, the very way to remember how the Rebellion ended and a reminder that no such foolishness should ever happen again. The rules are simple, a boy and a girl from each district is to be chosen as a tribute to represent their community in what maybe the first and last battle of their life. With 12 districts, 24 tributes are gathered into one arena where only One can survive, the Victor.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins must be one of the greatest literary discoveries I had back in early 2010. It was fresh out in Barnes and Nobles in the late winter, and I have only heard of it through my niece who wanted to get a copy. I got a pile of books from the shelves of B&N, while she only got that one. With the book cover in black and not much color to attract my eyes, I really didn’t pay much attention while she raved about it after finishing the book in less than a week. I was and has always been in love with Harry Potter that it would take a really good piece of literature to sway my bookworm heart, even Paulo Coelho (although I have so much love for him too) nor Twilight could ever take a percent less of my fandom for the boy who lived.
It took a few months and a thin pile of unread books in our San Francisco home, plus a lot of convincing from my niece, to finally pick it up and read it. And just like that, I’d spend most of the day and the night to absorb every page. I was in awe that my niece finished it in less than a week. When I went into reading it, I knew why because I was flipping the pages like how I did with all 7 Potter books, and was done and in love with it in no time.
I waited for the 2 installments like I did with Harry Potter. I raved about it with my niece, and then eventually got my younger brother involved with it as well. It was one of the books that challenged my imagination, stirred much of my emotions, and made me an insomniac for most nights. I’ve reread it so many times and never get tired of reliving the moments. It was genius, utterly genius writing.
And like all good books, expect a movie adaptation not too far away. With all three installments raking great reviews and dominating the best sellers list for a loooonnng time, the announcement of the movie remake was as thrilling as winning the lottery.. okay maybe not, but it was a thrilling thought that made me all giddy for all I remember.
When the trailers came out, Youtube must have felt so harassed when I watched it over and over again. When T.Swift came out with the soundtrack, my iPod must have been in complete agony and my earphones near the edge of giving up as it played repeatedly. I was in fandemonium, I couldn’t stop talking about it and I was just so glad I had friends who raved about it too, that when the movie was about to be released, we scrambled for an immediate movie date, full of excitement and of course expectations (which with the years of practice in the Potter films, have taught me to treat the book and the movie as two different things), and so much gusto!
Its the opening weekend, I have watched the movie twice now, with friends and my brother. I have my thoughts gathered about it right now, but I’m no rotten tomatoes, nor a newspaper post to give a professional two-cents POV, so I can’t really rate it in terms of stars or apples or tomatoes, but I can say that as a movie-goer and a fan, it was waaaay better than the first Harry Potter Film (yes, I am actually saying it) and it surely took my Twilight movie experience down the drain (sorry, after the first film and all that sparkles, I had given up any attempt to digest the cheese and pale skin of the Twilight franchise).
24 3 / 2012
Last night’s feast before engaging in the arena (a.k.a Cinema 3 of Newport Cinemas) for The Hunger Games!
Noodle Works Resorts World Manila
A sumptuous dinner of Nasi Lemak, Japchae, Nasi Goreng, Braised pork in Caramel, Chicken Rice and Gimbap!
with the bffs :) Gotta love Friday nights!
22 3 / 2012
I went to the Senate today to accompany my mom who is called for to testify in the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. For whatever grounds she must attest to, I leave that to the interest of those who accidentally stumble upon this entry and read along, to stay tuned until trial resumes on May 7 to actually find out. But if you happened to be listening, watching, or even perhaps monitoring today’s twitter feed, and you know that my mom works for a certain city government, you might have already figured what the ruckus would be about.
I went and sat throughout the whole impeachment proceedings today in the Senate’s session hall. Unlike twitter feed or tv coverage, watching it right then and there made me cringe less on the blunders, the round-robin questioning, and the irrelevant statements. Being there, and with that I mean being physically and intellectually present, you’d realize how much work it is for everybody to get through a day’s trial. Listening, understanding and piecing the statements together was really no joke for the prosecution, the defense, the senator judges, and even spectators like me. You’d also have this deeper understanding of what’s really going on because there’s no interjection of outside comments from people other than the three bodies involved. It was altogether an amazing and eye-opening experience in understanding the judicial and legislative system of the country. These people involved are out there to get to one goal: the truth. As for which side that “the truth” will be in favor of, I will borrow some words from what both the prosecution and defense say in conflicting testimonies of witnesses - “I will leave that to the appreciation of the public who care about what has been and what will be presented in trial”
Let’s leave it at that.
Amidst the serious (and even tension-filled) atmosphere in the Senate Session Hall, I would just like to point out some interesting facts I discovered after having the privileged to be present.
- Its cold. The session hall was chilly-cold!
- JPE’s really sharp, when he hits his hammer parang wala ka ng choice sa mundo. :))
- There are more seats available on the prosecution’s side of the session hall than on the defense.
- Atty. Karen Jimeno is really pretty on and off camera.
- One room for the Defense, one for the prosecution, and one for the media - go figure where we had to stay.
- Sen. Miriam Santiago is absolutely interesting to watch on TV and live, unfortunately she left the session early today
- I have this deep admiration for Ret. Justice Serafin Cuevas and his wit. He’s friendly until trial begins. :)) He didn’t wear his signature white suit - probably because its the trial season finale. I think it’d be cool to be his apo. haha, and i feel sucky to have missed the chance for a photo with him - na-overwhelm ako with his presence and such reaction just confirms that he’s worth to really look up to.
- Study the evidence before claiming to proceed
In all honesty, although I know that my mother will just most probably be asked clarificatory questions on the stand (and I’m pretty she’ll answer really well), the fact that she had to take part in all this is not something easy to take in. She’s been working honestly hard in the government service for 35 years, that alone is a feat. She believes and lives by the principles of good governance and dislikes idiots who enter into government service just because of the notion that the pay is great and the dirty money even greater. Public service is perhaps the hardest area to specialize in, because you are accountable for the billions of people entrusted by the governing laws of a nation and the responsibility to give what is due to the general population. She works on time, acts on time, and never complains working overtime to the point that her weekends are spent overseeing documents, answering problematic calls, and sometimes even missing out on family activities to attend to her responsibilities as one of the city government’s office head. Had it my way, I would not want her dragged into this, simply because she doesn’t need to be nor does she deserve to be, but in her words to shut me up - its part of the job. I am proud of her, and the way that she is handling this situation alone amplifies that.
And for all those people who prayed, wished us good luck, extended support and encouragement, tuned in and will continue to tune in when trial resumes, and most importantly, believes that my mom will do great should she be subjected to questioning and cross examination, Thank you thank you thank you very much! It means a lot to me and my family. But more than that, I think what would really matter is that all of us understand the gravity of this impeachment trial - this will determine the independence of the three branches governing our country’s democracy, so it is REALLY important to care about what’s going on in our society.
10 2 / 2012
Damon x Elena x Stefan.
The recent episode’s making me ship from one brother to another. torture. Even worse, Damon saying those three bold words and gets lashed back, and Stefan getting so close to feeling humane again only to end up repressing those feelings again.
On a positive note, Klaus and Caroline together made the best moments eveeeer! *kilig* Never fancied Tyler and her, so yeaaah it’d be so awesome for them to just have those hook-up moments! LOL.
Sorry for the rants, I just watched the best Vamp Diaries Season 3 episode yet!
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10 2 / 2012
ESTER,KILL YOURSELF,WOMAN.
your actions are threatening to end an awfully good series! LOL
(Source: di-saviour)
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10 2 / 2012
one of the best things with TV dramas, is the background music playing in those heartfelt moments.
just.love.it.
Ed Sheeran - Give me love
The Vampire Diaries S3 Episode 14 Centennial Waltz BGM.
05 1 / 2012
Currently singing this except you gotta replace the “H” with the “M” to relate with me. teeehheeeeeee!
sick days are the worst. I cannot settle myself in the room, and against our family doctor’s orders to get more rest per day, I end up checking my emails, working on documents, monitoring and following everything up from home - and I’m not complaining with doing work, makes me feel more relaxed knowing that I’m doing my task even if I’m not in my cubicle. Still I cannot ignore the throbbing pain from the swelling (that does not seem to subdue ugggh!) and the fact that I can’t enjoy eating, been memorizing my Baked white cheese fish fillet for 3 days straight now. Nonetheless, I am thankful that I remain to be healthy with only these little infirmities to deal with.
Oh well, the New Year must be reminding me to take things slow and easy. Can’t wait to get well real soon!
(Source: fergie-gifs)
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03 1 / 2012
contagious for a week.
Sana sex appeal nalang ung naging infectious, at least that won’t keep me in bed and in my room for 7 days.
oh well. time to catch up on some Running Man
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