Foodtrip, Inc.

In my short stay in Manila I am almost sure that I cannot stand living in this city for good. The noise, the pollution, the hassle and the heat that makes me wonder whether I am in Earth or in the surface of the sun are enough to convince me that nothing beats life in the province.

But one thing can make me stay. It's the food. There are a lot of food in Manila that are not in the provinces ranging from the apparently delicious to the ones you only buy out of curiosity. 

We went to try J.Co Donuts. I have resolved to try them when I read about Jessica Zafra's review of the donuts. My friend said they have great iced choco and that the best tasting donut is Al Capone. Yes they have unique donut names from stars the likes of Drew Berrymore, Berry Spears, etc. No, the book by Suzanne Collins is not part of the order. 

I have longed to try Wendy's because it was endorsed by Regine Velasquez in the '90s. You remember the high pitched "It's the best time for Wendy's?" By the way the fries were excellent and I thought they're going to drown me in sundae.

We also set out to try Yoshinoya, a Japanese restaurant, obviously. Meals come in bento boxes and they offer desserts like green tea flavored ice cream. All of us except one detested the ice cream. They said it was like eating cold wasabe with cream. I thought I was eating algae.

A friend boasted to me the famous Churros at Dulcinea. While eating I remembered Dulcinea is a character of the film adaptation of Don Quixote. Dulcinea del Toboso was played by Vanessa Williams in the Peter Yates film starring John Lithgow as Don Quixote. 

More to come!

First time

It's my first time to experience what they claim as the world's most immersive movie experience. Yes, IMAX Theater. And guess what's on the big screen: The Avengers. 

We had our seats reserved 2 days before the actual showing. That's how eager people want to see the most awaited flick. Seats were sold out and it was my first time to line up in such a long queue. While waiting to get inside I imagined what it would be like. I actually thought I won't have to look at a screen anymore. I just have to put on a headgear that would connect to my brain, manipulate my nervous system and transport me to the movie itself. Hey, I paid 400 pesos. But my companion said it's just like the regular moviehouse except you'd have to put on 3D goggles. "What? The red and blue spectacles? Like the freebie that comes with a can of Nido?" 

Oh, how innocent I was.

While watching the movie I cannot restrain the child in me. I actually tried to grasp the objects in the movie and on several occasions tried to hug Captain America and Thor. Ha ha. Not to mention exerting so much effort to prevent myself from shouting, 'I Love You TONY STARK!" 

Probably because it's my first time, my eyes hurt and I had a headache after watching the movie. I have to constantly position my goggles lest they fall off or improperly oriented. Times like these make me want to question God why he did not wake me up when He was giving people better looking noses. The headache is not a surprise for someone who cannot stand a minute of playing Counterstrike because the graphics and motion makes me want to throw up. Nevertheless, it made me research the characters that make up the Avengers and walked myself to a long history of comic books. My personal favorite is, yes, Tony Stark who without his armor is just a genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist. Robert Downey Jr.'s comedic timing is such a turn-on I tried so hard to restrain myself from shouting.....here I go again. I think I might have to watch it once more this time in 2D. Looking for awesome? Go watch it.

Moving Forward

I remembered very well that the last time we seriously talked I told him that when I happen to come across him in the future, I would show my achievements, accomplishments and even wealth by pretending to not recognize him. I imagined myself walking past him as if he does not exist or in the event of an unavoidable conversation say, "Hi, have we met?" or the more dramatic, "Can you please introduce yourself? This is the first time I encountered such an abominable persona." That was how vengeful I was. Yes, vengeful is a substitute for bitter, something people associate with failed romantic fixations and which I associate with a certain vegetable. 

So when I graduated I decided to cut all possible means of communication. I deleted his numbers (yes, two different networks), and hid his facebook updates on my wall. To remove him from my list of friends was too bitter a move-- you know you're bitter when you deny being so.

 I longed for self-improvement: I took up a master's degree, spoke in front of people and delivered lectures-- all in the pursuit of something I could be proud of against him. In my fascination of ninjas I thought of all those as shurikens: things to hurl at him until he's ground to a pulp the moment we meet again.

To fuel my motives I thought of how he threw derogatory remarks on me, the curses, the expletives. How he slaughtered my confidence. How he condemned me for who I am. How verily he portrayed how terrible I was as a friend. The months of uncomfortable silence between us plus more months of half-hearted interactions were more than enough to torment me and kept me asking why. But those were to end because I'm going to throw it all upon him the next time we meet. Bastard, I'm gonna kick your ass without you knowing it. 

But time thwarted all my plans. Time, with its sharpened edges cut the chains that held my mind captive. Suddenly, there were new friends, new adventures and a lot of things to do and it all slowly, painstakingly removed the hate from me. It was like shouting at the top of your lungs in front of the vast ocean until the burden weighs no more.

And it confused me. 

Before, I was certain of what to do when we meet. Grind, pulp, feed to the dogs. Now I don't have any idea. I was supposed to rehearse my reaction upon seeing him but all I could ever think of was nothing. He thinks I hate him. A big smile and a warm welcome is ironic, not to mention so unlike me. A cold glance and stark indifference was out of the options anymore. In a moment of enlightenment I decided to stop thinking and let it all just happen.

And he was the same old friend I know.

Probably slimmer but the pounds he lost were gained by his ego. Mas yumabang pa nga eh. But this time I realized that I do not take that against him anymore. Before, I cannot stand him. In fact, I restated the Pauli Exclusion Principle to apply to us:  We cannot be in the same place at the same time without an argument. I hated him a lot, but I liked him more. Ironic but true. But now, I took his yabang as that usual attribute of a friend you would tolerate simply because he is your friend. I was not irked anymore and would not engage in a senseless banter with him anymore. Yet he was his usual self. The kind who teases, jokes and irritates you like a pesky little spoiled brat infuriating the yaya with his mischiefs. Before I would fuel his malevolence by striking back, now I just pass it off as his nature. 

When we met and sat down to a couple of drinks I must admit that I had the best conversation in years. No one can beat that guy's smart ass when it comes to things we talk about. That was why I liked him in the first place. And when we touched on religion, he said that we should not just call on God only when we need something from him. I felt the urge to insinuate that by extension, one should not do that to people, say for example, me. But I held my tongue. Something has really, remarkably changed. There was no pounding of the chest, there were no awkward moments for me and I could look at him straight in the eye and say the things I want to say. 

Have I forgotten all the hate? God forbid, have I been nice to any life form? I don't exactly know but one thing's for sure. I don't want to hurl at him all those shurikens anymore or ask him what kind of surgeon would operate on him if I shove an entire shoe collection up his ass. Time has been so kind to remove him from my death list. 

Was it indifference? No. I still care for that conceited member of the male species. However, what I probably had in excess before, to the point of staying up all night to answer his exams, I have now in the friendliest of form. The kind that refuses, says enough and says not what you want to hear but what you need to. I realized a major mistake I made all along. I was too engrossed on liking him that I did not notice the good friend that he was. It was unfortunate that we have to go through all these just to find ourselves enjoying each other's company now without the stigma that prevented us then. 

I found it amusing when he shook my hand really hard and patted my back like he's going to expel my lungs when we parted ways. I even thought we'd gonna do a chestbomb. You know, that gesture boys do when they're happy to see each other. Hilarious. But most of the time the ultimate manifestation that things move forward for the better is when you could simply laugh it off. And we laughed till we had abs. Then suddenly I remembered a line from the opening theme of Full Metal Alchemist: To regain the things we've lost we must keep on moving forward. I cannot stand the cheesiness but I agree.

And oh. He recently just officially became an engineer. I did not congratulate him. There is no point in doing so. I am not surprised that he would pass. I knew it all along. 

Keep well.

Acclimatization and Technohalohalo

I have been to the UP Campus twice before and the surroundings is no longer foreign to me. But this time is different since I have to stay longer. That means I could finally put on my bagpack and guiding stick and proceed with my explorations. 

Because I felt like eating KFC Hotshots I texted my friend (my teacher before) in UP where the nearest KFC store is. It's in Technohub, and he gave me instructions how to get there. I have my own share of bloopers getting there because I have always known how poor a navigator I am. But nevermind, I got there in one piece. I had the opportunity again to visit the place but this time at night and with two of my friends who are having their master's in UP (they were my instructors before, now we're classmates). The place was totally different at night. 

After dinner one of them said we must have halo-halo at Razon's of Guagua which was nearby. He said the halo-halo is famous having been featured in TV magazine shows. 

My first reaction: where's the ube? The sago? The langka? The color? It turned out that the unique thing about this halo-halo is that it doesn't have any of these. There is however, macapuno, ice, milk and a leche flan topping. It was delicious, but all I can taste is the milk. I still prefer the conventional halo-halo which lives up to its name. 

Hello UP.

Some things just comes back to you when you have forgotten about it and don't concern yourself about it anymore. When I graduated from high school I have dreamed of studying in the University of the Philippines. Diliman campus in particular. But it was not realized because our meager income dictated so. Now that I have finished a bachelor's degree and proceeded to graduate school I was given a chance to cross-register in UP. That means I'll be staying here for summer in the comfort of the University Hotel. It's a refreshing break from the previous semester and I plan to be productive while comfortable (comfort often begets idleness). 

The UP registration form asked for a present address. So I wrote this.

The room was all right. But you'll know we flew 700 kilometers because it instantly turned messy the moment we came in and settled ourselves.

At least the comfort room is clean, organized and well-lighted. In fact, it's where I spend most of my time.

Right now all I wish is that I'll have a good time here. Allowance, please be quick.

Planners and Parlors.

When I come to think of it I am surrounded by planners. Ironically, however, the number of planners I have is inversely proportional to how organized I am. My schedules and to-dos always go haywire. There were even occasions when I fail to attend an appointment because I forgot about it, notwithstanding the fact that I wrote about it in a planner.

It's not the planner's fault. It's just that a certain mentality is hardwired into me. In other words, I am a person who finds it difficult to abide by a rigid schedule. However, in my profession a rigid schedule is common, hence the planners. But like some medicine, these planners seem placebo.  In the previous years I buy them because they're cute and not because they really help me with organizing. Later on I buy them and use them so I could look at it and say, "Hey I've got a life."

As a New Year token, my tutee gave me a 2012 planner. It's simple and I am "using" it now. And just recently, a good friend graduated from the Philippine Military Academy and gave me a PMA Bagwis Class planner.

We were classmates in engineering school for a year. On the second year she decided to join the Academy. During that memorable freshmen year she was the crush of almost all boys in our block. When she came back a year after studying in the academy, our boys turned into sissies compared to her.

Suddenly I am reminded of a joke my father used to crack on me. He said when I grow up I should go to PMA. As in Pedicure, Manicure, Alot.