incessant rambling

i was supposed to travel (by bus) to negros occidental last week but decided to stay in cebu because of the erratic weather. friday night my best friend called up if i wanted to join a trip to kawasan in badian. that perked my attention as it's one place i've been wanting to tick off from my list but i was having second thoughts because of the weather. in any case, i found myself getting on a v-hire van heading to simala early saturday morning. it is very filipino to have a religious icon somewhere inside any transportation and i spotted the sto. nino de cebu on the dashboard, i have a bible on my dashboard. perhaps to keep me sane when i get royally pissed at some stupid fellow cutting me off in traffic. i wasn't so sure if it was an omen, but the rain kept pouring outside. the balikbayans wanted to visit the shrine to offer thanksgiving before heading off to kawasan but i secretly believed they were praying for better weather. you see, one has to trek for a kilometer and...

judith gave me two tickets for the Universal Reality Combat Championships today at the CICC. while i believe that the best defense is running away (at least that's what my sensei taught me), there is still that thrill seeing full contact sport without the extra trimmings. unlike regulated martial arts competition, URCC is fist to face, foot to torso, bloody mug action. i won't be doing much sitting later as i'd be running around taking pictures of the event, before, during and after. what better way to show you how to rearrange a face than doing a pre and post pictorial? hmmm? keep your eyes open for that post. - Cacho

"It's a lovely day! We came down from Mt. Pulag yesterday where the temp dropped to single-digit frigidity with matching !!|*@# wind factor and RAIN! But we stayed the night with friends at the Jesuit house in Mirador just on top of the Lourdes Grotto and heard mass in a lovely glass walled chapel that afforded an airy view of Baguio where a friendly little pug served to remind us that despite the deprivations of the previous days, if you wanted a warm cuddle and hairy belly he was all yours to have. GOOD MORNING from Naguillan Road. :)" Maning 02 November 2008 10:20:50 AM click on read.more for photo credits and notes pictures grabbed from http://freetoclimb.blogspot.com/ and yes, that whole rambling line was an actual text message from my good friend. it clogged up my cell phone and had to repeatedly update the message. :) and like maria, the hills are alive with the sound of curses as he skipped, clawed, ran, jumped and crept to the peak of the second highest mountai...

when i eat my pork barbecue i usually leave the end-most portion of the stick for the last bite. yes, that fatty, delicious pork fat that's grilled to charred perfection. that's why my interest got piqued when judith mentioned what she refers to possibly the "best" barbecue in town. skeptic that i am, i wanted to personally inspect the claim and headed off to BB Joes (The Walk, IT Park) to order the set meal: Two pieces Pork BBQ and a cup of rice for the price of Php 85. nothing extraordinary upon initial inspection except that the meat is not colored red like every other barbecue place. pinoy barbecue is not complete unless it is basted in banana catsup. the meat looked soft enough and had the oh-so-sparkly glisten of oil coating the meat . there were no visible fat pieces and i was already a bit disappointed until i realized that they cleverly cut small pieces of fat and inserted it in between the meat cutlets. that way, the pork fat slowly roasts to a crisp and dri...

you have to credit the pinoy for ingenuity. we never run short of inspiration and ideas for virtually any task. who would have thought that the ubiquitous bamboo can become material for a bust sculpture? (click on read.more for more sculpted art samples!) these amazing artwork can be found in a small stall along the trail path leading to kawasan falls in badian.

do you know how much i have to work out to burn 1/3 of a pound? i probably have to do two hours of spinning back to back with a kick punch class and hold off having dinner for three nights before i see the weighing scale dipping just a third of a pound. now, how much time do i need to gain it all back? five minutes. (click on read.more to find out how) the new jollibee 1/3 champ burger lives up to its promise of a heavier, heftier serving than its original quarter pounder version. i swear i have to adjust my belt after having one.

on our way to badian, everyone had a craving for the fresh ice cream from molave milk station. while everyone lined up for their creamy treat i spied a pack of bucayo on the shelf and ordered one. bucayo is a sweet and nutty treat that reminds me of days when i used to run the streets with friends and sought shelter from the sweltering heat of the sun in sari-sari stores where we used our 10 cent baon to buy these treats. never mind that it was probably the cause of oh-so-many toothaches way before sweet words caused heartaches. made from shredded mature coconut meat that is slowly cooked in a syrup made of brown sugar and water, the concoction is allowed to cool and harden before they're cut up into small bite sized pieces. i happily munched away my sweet childhood memories. --next-- heading back to the parking lot after the morning mass, ron darted across the street to get a package of masareal from manong . considering that is simply a mashed up mixture of ground boiled peanu...