incessant rambling

my halloween fangs are out to take a big bite. catsup blood is going to drip from my fork as i plot my next food victim. watch out watch out, wherever you are. the big bad wolf is coming to a restaurant near you. (click on read.more for photo credits) photos: bored with waiting for my food, i played around with my table utensils and condiments. location: sunburst restaurant in one mango; watch out for that particular review.

enjoying a cup of capuccino in off-roads while sorting out the tons of pictures from my recent activities. am procrastinating, i really don't want to open up my six sigma documents. anyways, for those that are on the lookout for delish, affordable and giganto servings - head over to off roads in mabolo. the interiors are sparse but comfortable. did i mention that wifi internet is free? i had to pay Php 100 for an hour of internet in manila whereas most of the coffee shops around Cebu City offer free internet connection. which brings me to another point, avoid these places like the biblical plague towards the 12-15th or 27-31st of the month. the medrep horde of locusts usually swarm in coffeeshops for their reports.

if you know your rizal, you should know the character Padre Damaso - a spanish friar who sired a bastard daughter with Pia Alba. you can very well infer that damaso was a horny priest who preyed on innocent filipinas. to say the least that it was a sinful affair would be an understatement. with that in mind, it piques my curiosity that a dessert place is named as Pia y Damaso. Located in the third level of Greenbelt 5, the small quaint place specializes in dessert. a bit pricey with each slice averaging PHp 160, every bite is equivalent to a dangerous illicit affair with the calories. which probably explains the name Pia Y Damaso. Personally the price is a bit of a put down, then again it's not just the food you're paying for but the ambiance. where else can you find a chandelier hanging in a private cubicle set for two inside a space roughly around 50 sqm? it's a good place to visit once but not a regular haunt. besides, i am not really a cake person. :P ----- picture one ...

time and space are irrelevant to true friendships. friendships that seem to pick up from the last conversation in every meeting, never mind that the last meeting is separated by months (and even years) continents and timezones, and where the deepest of conversations can turn into the shallowest of ramblings. no holds barred. (click on read.more) kitty is my best friend. someone i consider as a dear sister, confidante, lakwatsa partner. someone i know that if i make a boo-boo she'd take it in stride because i am a friend. it took a lot of pleading to post her picture here given that she's a very very private individual. spanish sardines, greek mousaka, stunted japanese sashimis, snoopy, boots, broken hearts, bitter chocolate and exes, wedding disasters, racing cars, drama queens, stars and megastars - the list is long and the stories even richer. but like real best friends, they only make sense to those that has lived and shared these things, confident that private things remai...

if you're in the mood for quick and affordable italian, check out Piadina in greenbelt and sample set menus that has combinations of pasta and piadina. piadinas are pan-toasted, round flat dough similar to tortillas stuffed with all sorts of meats and flavorful herbs and spices. i had the Piadina con Chorizo Spagnolo with spanish chorizo, ham, fresh tomatoes & mozzarella. Pasta Italspagna with italian sausage & spanish chorizo in creamy tomato sauce was my choice of pasta (click on read.more) i am possibly one of the earliest patrons of this restaurant when they opened their first branch in robinsons' galleria. owned by an italian and his lovely filipina wife, the service was fast and interestingly personal as the owner usually goes around to greet the customers. perhaps it's just me but i think the original restaurant serve a much flavorful pasta than the one in greenbelt. my foodie companion got this yet unnamed pasta and piadina combination (cat? cat???) in any ...

A space right outside the entrance to Greenbelt 5 is set up to be a graffiti wall. it encourages street art and at the same time allow for the surrounding space to remain clean. I was so tempted to write my name on the wall. picture - courtesy of cat huang

fours hours of sleep and i find myself going under a hot hot shower to wake me up. my dear friend cat is picking me up in an hour's time and we're heading off to visit three museums. contrary to my caveman attributes, i do appreciate some of the finer aspects of life. despite the fact that my art critique vocabulary is limited to "a-ha!", "uhhh", "huh?" i am sure i can muster more than those three, deeply meaningful gems of wisdom. armed with my witty remarks, cat and i planned to visit the amorsolo collection, a tribute to the life's work of Fernando Amorsolo spread over seven museums all over metro manila. (click on read.more) considering that we only have half a day, we figured we can only fit in three and made a choice to start in manila city for BayANInanding: The Motherland And The Harvest of Maestro Amorsolo (Metropolitan Museum, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), head off to adjacent pasay city for Saliw: Rituals in Amorsolo's Art (GSIS...

for a "Hilton" that has been in Cebu for the better part of three years, the hotel has never been the top of mind choice for most vacationers and corporations wanting to host events. it's always been THAT hotel by the far end for most cebuanos. i presume things are changing as Hilton is gearing up to invite people to go just a little further down the road for the Hilton experience. i got the chance to visit the property courtesy of the new marketing communication manager, red catalan, to enjoy the third year anniversary festivities of the hotel. turn out was good with no less than the governor attending together with some of the diplomatic community and tourism honchos enjoying a fabulous night of filipino dances. the fire dancers and spectacular fireworks capped the show and added zing to a hot event. ho-hum. after the initial dance presentation my interest wandered over to the food array. unless they do an acrobatic version of the tinikling then it's just the same c...

the weekend market is something that has been done in different places: Chatuchak in Bangkok, Nandaemun in Seoul, Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur. weekend markets are insanely popular with the locals as well as tourists looking for THAT unique token you can't find in malls. Cast of Characters Mariano Garchitorena Cely V. Kalaw Italian Gentleman Miguel Ongpin with time to kill before my flight to Cebu, i met up with a friend to drop by the Legazpi Weekend Market in Makati. for the uninitiated, legazpi village is right smack in the middle of the makati central business district and is just a stroll from some of the more ah... affluent... side of the city. set in an empty weekend parking lot with mismatched tents providing respite from the sun, people milled around and almost always, holding a small plate with food tidbits. eating is the philippine's national sport, that and dodging cars when crossing the street. which brings me to a point. the weekend market felt like a retro snobbish af...

twenty check in counters and one long line of passengers. whoever planned this masterpiece of an idiotic plan should be fired from Cebu Pacific. Not only do they have flights that are "100% Late All The Time, Every Time", they also managed to achieve "70% wasted time, any time." - it took me almost an hour just to check in my single piece of luggage as they have runners with megaphones running up and down shouting NEXT! nexxxxt! NEEEEEXT! for a classy airport, they managed to cheapen it like a wet market. "Flight 5J 529 is late due to the dear departed Flight 5J 539 that arrived better late than never. ever." - Talk about crappy service, they used to banner 95% on time flights but are now crowing about achieving 87% ever since they moved to the new airport. i don't get it, better airport equate to delayed flights. (click on read.more) my litany of horrors continue with the in-flight experience. Passenger 11D of Flight 5J 529 (who will remain anonymous...

for some reason, they don't serve banana cream pie here in Starbucks Cebu, so every time i go to manila i make it a point to go ape. anyways, the only other place that serves decent banana cream pie in cebu would be uhmmm.... la marea.

“95% On Time, Every Time!” that’s the banner that greeted me as i picked up my e-ticket in Cebu Pacific. it’s already five minutes past eight and they haven’t called passengers to board the plane despite the fact that fight 5J 550 is scheduled to leave at eight. Flight 5J 550 for Manila is now boarding in Gate 5. Passengers with infants or wheelchairs are requested to board first…. In a dream like state i imagined Glorya Makapal Ako’no adding, “ I… am… sorry. Joke lang po yun.” as if this is a portent of things to come, there was a slight commotion behind me as a male steward asked a passenger to vacate his seat and deplane. The passenger complained that the gatekeepers of hell should have checked his ticket before allowing him to board the (wrong) plane. Duh, it’s like airport security, they look, but they REALLY don’t look. I am not stupid, everyone else is doing it wrong. – that’s what they all say. (click on read.more for a sweet surprise) -time space warp, an hour after- landed s...

my latest addition to blogs that i follow is PostSecret . an interesting community site where people from all over the world mail their secrets using a postcard. as expected, the mood swing from angst, guilt, joy, remorse and everything in between a to z. the content can be pretty graphic with subjects tackling controversial issues: religion, sexuality, politics, crime, personalities ad infinitum one must understand that each and every post is a personal SECRET of a sender and does not attempt to represent common held beliefs or ideals. well, here's a secret of mine: underneath the facial hair, that's how i look.

Run to the Max participants: From the left, Noy Jopson (Pinoy Ironman), Judith (PR Megawhiz), Ms. Veron (Manager, HGS Cebu) and Rio (star trainer for runners). Except for Judith whose only claim to a marathon is to run from the parking lot to the gym, these guys have done the full marathon (read: 42 kilometers) at one point in their lives. stellar inspiration.

Weight loser that is. Got myself into a wager to lose ten pounds in a month's time (tick tock). okay make that 27 days from now (tick tock). i'm still figuring out how to do that while contemplating the reality that i can't have my food binge. i hate you boneless crispy pata cutlets (Kuls Kitchen) goodbye Spicy Thai Chiken Wings! (Kuls Kitchen) begone you oh-so-delicious grape slush (Kuls Kitchen) if you're not on a diet, i suggest you head off to kul's kitchen in IT park and order these dishes. then come back here and tempt me with your experience. sigh.

i am not overly fond of taking pictures of myself. let me correct that, i am not overly fond of taking pictures of my... err... hefty self. it's just a reminder of thirty more pounds that I have to shed. unfortunately, i'm the only bear that doesn't hibernate. last saturday i couldn't resist alvin's insistence to take a snap of mah-self and rowena during the luau party of Holiday Gym and Spa. it was a hot, hot, HOT affair. to quote maurice, "my lips are sealed". i didn't say my lens were. so snap snap i go. ps i guess, i would have to post another pic of myself a month from now to show i've lost weight.

Name : Patani Claim to Fame: Cast, Survivor Philippines Name: Jervy Dano Schools : University of Cebu Occupation: RESIGN Affiliations: Modern Image, Youth Organization Hobbies and Interests: Dancing, acting, writing, modelling, advertising, hosting, news casting, singing, shopping, dating, going disco…and lots. Favorite Books: Fairy tales & Top Secrets books Favorite Movies: T he Touch of Magic & Fruits Basket Favorite Music: Pop, Jaz, Rock…Hip Hap About Me: I’m just a simple woman, having a dippest dream. I’m just a simple Pilipina woman. My beauty for me and my family is belong in middle class standard. I’m not intelligent,but not totally brainless/bird brain In short, I’m not perfect but no ones in this super duper complicated world perfect! (need to read more? click after the jump!) But whatever I’m proud to say that Ive lot of talent and I’m loving and speaking of “loving” for me, it’s complete because if you love you can do everything,you can do anything. But I’ll never...

Holiday Gym and Spa celebrated their 3rd Year anniversary with a luau and I got to take pictures of people partying like it was the middle of summer instead of a rainy october. For once, the rain held its peace as if appeased by the fire weavers that stormed the night with fiery flames.

* Female ( yes, di po ako transvestite ), 34, It's Complicated ( i am twice married, at the same time, teka divorced na. sa una? sa kay ylmaz ata. so i guess i'm up for sale again , este SINGLE! ) * Interested In: Friends ( rich friends. very rich, special friends. like my mom says, your value is measured by the price of your watch, right ylmaz? ) * Member Since: Feb 2008 * Location: Philippines ( i can fly anywhere you want me to, just send the tickets , and pleez wag Cebu Pacific.) * Loofah's URL: http://profiles.friendster.com/62913920

i am friends with kevin bacon. you see, if my theory proves right, i can trace each friend (and so-called "friends") linked to me in friendster and eventually end up with kevin bacon, in less than seven degrees of separation. better yet, just get myself linked to ruffa gutierrez. rumor has it that she's "connected" with half the northern americas, belly danced with the entire arab continent and rode camels. am not sure if she rode the camel, or it's the other way around . (click on read.more) pardon the rambling, my point really is that the philippines has an estimated 24 million internet users according to a report by AC Nielsen and recent news indicate that about 94% of filipino internet users own a friendster account. the same report show that majority of these users are from the 19-30 year old bracket. that's a lot of friends to choose from. and am sure you can find all your enemies too. just about any tomas, roderick and ari can post a friendster ...

Today's Prayer: "O Lord, grant me good digestion, and something to digest." - Arab Prayer -thought- Lord, tutal humihingi na din, wag lang po gatas from China. Tenks.

pardon my uninspired title. i was browsing through my old pics and saw this old memory of myself in raymond lontoc's vacation house in puerto gallera. the place is hidden in one of the lagoon around the main port. i think it's just a day before my birthday as i distinctly remember that it was rose tanalgo's birthday the following day. anyways the dogs curiously followed me around and when i settled to relax on a cushion they all cuddled up to me. i love dogs. i guess the feeling's mutual!

AY BUTIKING BUNDAT! - well, that's not exactly my thought when my cellphone went BRRRIIIINGGGG KA-RIN KRIIIINGGG at five in the morning. let me give you a clue, it rhymes with birds a- peck-pecking and golfers tee-teeing in the morning. if you don't get "it"... you never will, so just continue reading this my poor innocent reader... (click on read.more) eneways highway, judith was hollering on the other end: hoooy, bangon na... am getting dressed for the marathon. you promised to be there! but... BRING YOUR CAMERA! but... BYE!!!! end of conversation. my carefully rehearsed excuse of working till around 2am didn't even get any airtime. it was like talking to a radio. ok, let's do a shaider moment and do the time spacewarp (ngayon din!) approximately 30 minutes after the conversation, the marathon marshals are waving my car away, the race was about to start in a few minutes and they won't allow cars to park along the driveway. i managed to park my car in She...

"What you don't see with your eyes don't invent with your mouth." - Jewish Proverb -thought- Considering that Maning is the PR Director of one of the most luxurious hotels in the country, I wonder if he has to struggle with this thought every, single, day. ha ha ha.

Chanel was once asked where one should use perfume, and she answered: "Wherever one wants to be kissed ." -thought- dear boys and gels, wag lang po sa inyong mga private parts mag espray. mahapdi. mabango, pero mahapdi. parang " Burning Love " yan...

It's Blog Action Day and the theme for this year is Poverty. Responsible parenting is an issue as it has been shown time and again that the poorest sector of the country are the most prolific in producing the next generation of mendicants. The church is against the Reproductive Health bill - equating it with hell and damnation when the real sin is their inability to educate the masses on responsible parenting. Isn't it a bigger sin to bring a child unto this earth knowing that you have nothing to provide for them? Eradicate poverty, Be Responsible Parents, Support the Reproductive Health Bill. Today is the day of action as me and millions of bloggers write about poverty! ------------------------ church leaders are threatening to refuse supporters of the reproductive health bill from taking communion. if that is not enough, they gloat and hurl invectives carelessly that lump "anti-life" and "abortionists" in the same breath as the RH bill. next time they ope...

What's the definition of " Burning Love "? It's when you reach for a tube of KY Jelly but pick up BENGAY instead. (click on read.more to find out who Maning is) Okay, to answer the obvious: Who is Maning? Short for Mariano Garchitorena. One of my bestest bestest friend who regularly sends anecdotes, thoughts and (mindless) ramblings over text. A certified bibliophile and the human equivalent of a chatroom, talking to him is like going through a socio-cultural discourse on humanity - powered by liters of coffee.

diametrically opposite personalities, backgrounds and interest make up for a very interesting conversation. in between sips of expensive kape in estarbecks the chatter revolved around the global meltdown caused by the crashing american dream. my mind wandered as i tried to keep track of the conversation except that distractions like gnats occupy the space between attention and boredom. -thought- do they say 50% off for a dress when they actually mean you only get to wear half of it? -thought- ...and these investment bankers are reselling these IOUs at ever increasing value except that when the original asset gets embargoed, everyone else down the chain have their investments locked... -thought- this kid probably thought that his daily intake of gluthatione is going to make him paris hilton. news flash, it ain't working. natives have a certain look that doesn't magically disappear with lightening pigmentation. duh, don't fancy those spots left on your face as freckles... wa ...

Shenny, Camotes Island 2006 My dear friend is now sailing the world with Norwegian. (click read.more)

Ninoy Aquino The Philippines' greatest chance at redemption is the biggest reminder of its failure. Photo - Ninoy Aquino bust. NAIA 3 Lobby, Manila.

Plagiarism - "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source" - merriam-webster.com My student's idea of original work is to remove a period, add a comma and pass it off as original. as a member of the open source community, my tolerance for code reuse is at best "lenient". on the other hand, certain conditions do apply when students decide to copy or reuse existing work from the internet: they must acknowledge the source AND they must demonstrate understanding of the work. believe me, it is easy finding out those that enrolled in the course keyboarding, major in copy and pasting. i have given complete eggs (aka zeros) to students who can not locate a particular snippet of code that is critical to the content and function of a program. then again, this is not about my students. i recently read a rather disturbing piece of professional plagiarism done by a contributor to the Phi...

On a recent trip to Manila I was billeted at BSA Suites, right in the middle of the Makati Central Business District. quickly depositing my overnight luggage in the suite, i went to the viewing deck on the 30th floor. BSA Suites, Makati Despite the looming feel of the concrete jungle around me, my mind contemplated the array of lights that undulates with the moving traffic.

Marco Polo Hotel, Cebu City Cafe Marco Inspired vision of electric jelly fish floating above your head.

"People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking the ice cream maker (Ben & Jerry's) to begin using breast milk in its products instead of cow's milk, saying it would reduce the suffering of cows and calves and give ice cream lovers a healthier product." - msn.com Aligned with this effort, I am including a list of picture perfect celebrity candidates for the Mama's Milk campaign. Vicky Belo, Milk Substitute Non Fat, Non Organic Melamine Enhanced Rosa Rosal, expired milk aka "Mummy's Milk" Gloria, "condensed" milk Madam Auring, Reconstituted Powdered Milk Just Add Hot Water!