incessant rambling

This world will be a much better place. i was scanning through my old pics and stumbled across one of me sometime in the early 2000s. If I remember this right, this is in puerto galera where i celebrated my birthday and rose's. the place is a rest house in one of the private enclaves in mindoro that has its own docking port. i didn't even know rose was taking my pic. i've always loved animals, and for some reason, they flock to me wherever i go. they probably see a kindred spirit. o baka naman hayup lang talaga ako. :P

hapi berday to you, hapi berday to you! hapi berday hapi berday. hapi berday to you! sorry i don't have much to offer you on your berday. i've been bad and good this year. hopefully, mostly good. thank you for the blessings you've given me (and the rest of the world). don't give up on me (us) yet. that's me watching over your crib. yup, i fit right in the pic. i look like a donkey. errr.... a bearded (not-so) wise man.

i was gearing up for this point in the diet. after careful planning, i timed day 6 to fall on shaun's birthday. what other excuse do i have in eating all the beef and vegetables i need? Day Six Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content. Day Six Actual have you ever tried spicy lechon? am sure if anthony bourdain tried spicy lechon he wouldn't have blessed the overly salty and ugly looking zubuchon the distinction of the best pork dish. unfortunately, there wasn't much beef in the party. on the other hand, the diet doesn't lock down your protein intake to beef so any substitute would do. ubberlicious spicy lechon, cordon bleu (chicken breasts stuffed with cheese and ham, rolled into logs, coated with breadcrumbs and fried to golden brown perfection) and chop suey made up my meal for the evening. surprisingly, i wasn't able to go back for seconds. for dessert ma ann tried to seduce with krispy kreme d...

today's the first time that i'm going to have meat or protein as part of this diiiiiet. am not sure why there's a specific requirement for tomatoes, then again i'm not complaining. it must be some sort of food chemistry mumbo jumbo. Day Five Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef. Hamburger is OK. Combine this with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake by one quart. This is to cleanse your system of the uric acid you will be producing. Day Five Actual Since I don't have the patience to pluck fresh tomatoes i went for the canned version. more specifically the garlic and tomato herb salsa that i generously slathered over beef strips cooked in oyster sauce. yami! for dinner i had cow and chicken. not the cartoon. i guess protein substitution is okay as i was craving for some chicken. i got some tomato herb spaghetti sauce and used it on top of the fried crusted chicken fillet and i had a sm...

if king kong went on a diet he'd love this day. bananas and more bananas for the whole day mixed with three huge glasses of milk. i consumed a liter of milk today. late evening, the devils-in-disguise tempted me to step out for dinner. guess what, the restaurant had banana shake in the menu. pppuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrfect! amale and ray had the classic tapsilog (beef jerky with fried egg and rice) that wasn't soo tempting for me. on the other hand, quennie had beef stroganoff with the creamy mushroom sauce and tender beef that practically called out my name. hmmmp! good thing i'm on my beef and tomatoes day tomorrow! Day Four Bananas and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. This will be combined with the special soup which may be eaten in limited quantities. Day Four Actual Had bananas, low fat milk and cheated with two slices of the superbly fruity pineapple pie. didn't do the soup as i had no time to cook. let' see how this...

107 kilos to 103 kilos. that's the weight i registered when i stepped on the weighing scale. i was supposed to weigh myself tomorrow morning but i was sort of anxious how i was progressing considering the tough two days i had to go through. i am trying to discount the fact that i woke up at 3:45AM with barely four hours of sleep just so i can attend the misa de gallo in the office. Day Three A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet. No potatoes today. Day Three Actual I had pumpkin soup in the morning with garlic croutons. "generally" vegetable but with a dollop of cream and pesto. lunch was different as i had stir fry spinach in garlic relish paired with a very (very) small portion of steamed cream dori fish (i know, NOT allowed). snacks was a medley of fruits from guava, melon, indian mango, ki-at (miniature mandarin oranges, which incidentally means clumsy, goofy in the local dialect) with a dash of iodized salt. i wen...

Today, i felt like a goat. a big hairy goat. a big hairy goat that wanted to chomp on pizza as the boss treated everyone to pizza during the town hall meeting. a big hairy goat that kept on munching my "exotic vegian" salad from kuls. Day 2 All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat until you are stuffed with all the raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount or type. For your complex carbohydrate, you will start day two with a large baked potato for breakfast. You may top the potato with one pat of butter. Day 2 Actual Had a huge plate of salad with balsamic vinegar dressing for lunch, had a meeting with Mayor Tommy Osmena and the barangay chiefs earlier in the day, tooo early in the day. I was served the meat pie from angelica by the decidedly EVIL staff from CIPC who knows i am on a diet. i was able to resist and took home three packets to give out to my colleagues in the office. i looked at them munching on the pork asado while purged myself ...

i stumbled across the General Motors Weight Loss Diet Program in metro magazine and was sort of inspired to go through the program based on the "documented" results of the writer who lost around 8 lbs in seven days. compared to the south beach or atkins diet, the GM diet is actually EASY to follow. no complicated food preparation and the diet allows you to have everything in the food pyramid. well not exactly. you can have everything in the food pyramid but not all at the same time! now, december is the worst time to go on a diet or any food deprivation program with just about every other day a christmas party is bound to come up. sometimes even two or three invites can happen in a single day. then again, it's a matter of will (or lack of it). so i'm chronicling my battle with the ever expanding waist with the hope that i come out leaner and healthier for new year! DAY 1 All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all the fruits you want. It is strongly...

as much as possible i try not to drag my work over the weekend. a boy can dream i suppose. in any case, last weekend my boss had a meeting with the mayor and he wanted me to tag along. he bribed me by promising lunch in marco polo. fair trade. value for money, marco polo buffet is at the top of my list. they have enough selection that will satisfy any palate. aside from the usual spread, they also had some french dishes laid out as part of a food festival of sorts. except that there was nothing interesting as they had stews that day. i feasted mostly on seafoods for a change, scallops, tuna, salmon, prawns - grilled, served raw. have had enough of meat for the past few days. on the other hand, whatever caorific savings i had got wasted with the the sweet ending. you know what i mean. tip, if you have to absolutely choose one then go for the flourless chocolate cake. the original sin. on another note, marco polo put on a grand display for their christmas village set near the entrance to...

despite the fact that travel, exotic places and hotels seem to be part of my rather nomadic life, my interest remain the same: the search for delicious food. it doesn't have to be something new. it doesn't have to be something grand. it can be an old recipe. it can be a staple dish served right on the streets with the street smoke lending it the extra flavor. here's an ilonggo take on the pinakbet, an ilocos original. pinakbet is the filipino version of the french ratatouille or mixed vegetables sans the stewed tomatoes. the ilocos original uses the traditional ginisa method to quickly stir fry garlic, onions, tomatoes with pieces of pork fat then throw in ampalaya, okra, talong, string beans, kalabasa and season with ginamos made from hipon to give it flavor. the ilonggo version adds ginamos and minced ginger during the stir fry process for a more fragrant dish. when the pork fat starts to caramelize lower the heat then layer the vegetables with the kalabasa at the bottom ...

a quickie here. went to bacolod december 1 and flew back december 2. was invited to attend the forum hosted by the job placement office and alumni relations office of university of st. la salle in bacolod. part of the balik la salle program for alumni to share with graduating students real world experience. well sort of. hmmmm, i now have a better understanding of the infamous beauty and brainless contenstant janina san miguel. it was hard fielding questions from students. pang miss universe. in any case, i had a cheap thrill being on stage. never mind that the hosts look like they're more nervous compared to the guests. i've been on stages and talked to audiences that number in the hundreds and thousands. but this one is particularly good. you see, not so many people know that i never went up to get my diploma in De La Salle University. i didn't get to attend my own graduation as i was working already. when they handed over the certificate of appreciation i just pretended ...