My Secret Spaghetti Sauce

Jomar had 4 servings.

Rico was happy I did not put any ketshup on it.

Markku said, "I hate you, you made me forget I'm on a diet."

Abe and I had to cook more noodles at 2 a.m. and re-heat the sauce on the microwave.

So I think they liked the spaghetti I cooked. Sasha helped me stir! Here's the recipe:

garlic
onions
ground beef
Del Monte spaghetti sauce
black olives
mushroom
cheese
secret herbs and spices! (of course I won't give that away!)

Saute garlic and then the onions.
Put a dash of herbs and spices.
Add the ground beef and a secret ingredient (wink wink).
When the beef's cooked add the sauce. Let it simmer.
Add black olives, mushroom and cheese!

Check out BOBCast Episode 3: Wisik-Wisik in Singapore.

Window to Another World

I was at Makati Shangri-la Hotel the other day waiting for someone. Trying hard not to nod off to sleep I kept myself busy by looking at the hotel's interior and got fixated on the mirror. The photo may not have captured it, but it looked like I was looking at another world altogether (or a Harry Potter photo). With digital frames now slowly entering the market, how long would it be before we "leaf" through videos instead of just still photos?

Francisco's Viaje

Picture perfect photos taken by Google Country Consultant for Colombia, Francisco.

Check out his photos here:

Francisco on Photo.net

Francisco on Picasa

A Crazy Day `Twas

What happens when you play badminton after a one-year hiatus? Have dinner twice in one night? Do a podcast at 2 in the morning at Marc's ehem, er place? And then get home just about the time when the roosters tiktilaok? And then after just an hour you get up for one of the milestones in your son's life? Of course, the lack of sleep would definitely warp everything up. A crazy day `twas.


6:00 a.m.

Scratching one's eyes to clear out the morning dew isn't enough. You still won't see the road clearly.

6:45 a.m.

You get a great parking spot which you'll definitely lose coz you have to rush off for a meeting in the middle of graduation rites.

7:00 a.m.

You fall asleep on your laptop at the school canteen while waiting for the ceremony to start.

8:15 a.m.

Emo as you see your son in their graduation processional. My baby!!!

8:25 a.m.

The fab parking slot is taken even before you exit the area. Urg!

8:35 a.m.

You find yourself in Station 168, an internet cafe in BF Homes and think you must've fallen in a portal coz everyone in the cafe is Korean! I want my mommy!!!

10:30 a.m.

You speed through a red light. Sorry Mr. Policeman!

12:00 p.m.

Just as you munch on some yummy fried chicken, your boss looks for you. Oh noh he's here!

1:00 p.m.

You find yourself strutting in a posh hotel and trying not nod off to sleep as you wait for your meeting.

1:30 to 3:00 p.m.

Nose-bleeding from speaking English too much. LOL.

3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

You end up de-stressing by window shopping at Glorietta. You text a friend to get you out of the place!

5:00 p.m.

Finally home, you just conk out and forget about everything!

9:30 p.m.

Couldn't stop crying over Brian's death (Celine's husband in MSKM hihihi)

11:29 p.m.

Oh no! Where did that new pair of shoes come from?

The Best Diet of All

For some strange reason I always gain weight towards the end of February. Last year I gained 7 pounds when I went to Jakarta and Singapore because when you eat at McDonald's the smallest softdrink size is already our largest! And the same thing happened this year, so I really looked like a siopao when I went to Puerto Galera early this month.

Anyway, right after gaining so much weight is Ash Wednesday and me and my Mom go on Lenten fasting. No Coke! Believe me, I think we should be a major stockholder already because of our softdrinks consumption. Anyway, since I was a kid we'd try our best not to drink Coke for 40 days. The first 2 weeks is usually the hardest. Withdrawal!

My metabolism used to be so fast! I was just 85 pounds when I graduated and now, um, er... never mind. Anyhoo, I realized that the best diet I've put myself into is - no softdrinks! And I've influenced some of my friends with Winnie the Pooh tummies not to drink softdrinks anymore. And it's working! Oh! And complement this diet with less rice, you'll be ready for the beach in no time.

Meet Pork and Beans

I didn't realize it's been a long while since I had a pet. You see I have this problem of getting too attached to my pets. And when they die (gulp) I end up mourning till I'm literally blue from crying. Oh well, sometimes we just really don't grow up at all.

It's been 4 years since Oscar, my Oscar, died. Snakey, the snake fish, soon followed and my Mom just dumped Johnny, the janitor fish, in the creek behind our house because he was the culprit in Oscar and Snakey's death. I then had Ham and Egg, hamsters, but they got away while I was cleaning their cage and then Pork & Beans, black mollies who fell in the sink in the office (waaaaah!). Sigh. I then tried with Lucky, my fighting fish inspiration behind Luk4, but the janitor overfed him when I went on Christmas vacation. After that I thought it was too much to have a pet. Sigh.

Anyway, since it's been a long time already, I thought it's about time I get another pet. So I'm starting with the basics - 2 fighting fishes! Meet Pork and Beans -
















I guess Pork and Beans wouldn't be intriga at all than displaying someone's photo on my desk.

Travel Blog: Davao and Cebu

Picture this.

Soft, cool sand going between your toes

Salty, tangy wind blowing… whipping…

Small waves crashing through the shore

Sun rays streaming through a tree

And nothing else but the wide blue horizon in front of you.

Oh yes! I’m at the beach tap-tapping on my laptop (now belly-top).

Are you now itching to go to the beach? It’s summer! Go!

The past few days have been a blur of activity. I spent the weekend in Davao to attend the Davao Blog Party organized by Blogie, Andrew, Jun, Marc and countless others. Abe, Jayvee, Abe and Janette also came from Manila to attend. It was a huge success with a hundred percent more attending versus target. After the party we had durian coffee at Blugre Café (with free wifi!). Oh! And we stayed at Casa Leticia, the hotel with free wi-fi and the most number of electrical plugs I’ve seen in one hotel room (I managed to charge my laptop, 2 phones, Ipod and PDA all at the same time!).

We all wanted to go white water rafting, but wasn’t able to plan for it. Rex, a Davao-based friend was kind enough to bring Abe, Abe, Jayvee and me to Costa Marina, Samal Island. Costa Marina’s a really cool place. It just took us less than 15 minutes to get to the dock and a five minute jetty ride to the resort (at PhP12 each!). We all just chilled the whole day, napping, eating and taking photos. Wanna know how much fun we had? What Abe’s really cute dance (hihihi).

In the evening, Dennis invited us to his “house that Adsense bought” (more of Adsense paying for the rent). There was so much food! I liked the kinilaw best and the “clams” (too bad Abe and Jayvee are allergic to seafood! So I ate their share haha). After dinner, Abe and Jayvee did some jamming. Watch the videos here.

Jack’s Ridge, a place overlooking Davao City, was still very much beautiful. Rob, a college friend brought me there two years ago and I thought that the first timers would have a grand time at the place. We ended up at a cozy bar and did some videoke. Watch Abe as he sings a love song.

We had an interesting time at NCCC Mall. Who’d have thought of naming their stores “Juice Ko Day”, “Wear Else” and “We Make Scents”? Crazy isn’t it?

I would love to live in Davao. Aside from free wi-fi all over the place, where else could you eat three barbecues with unlimited rice for only PhP25? Buffet at “Buffet Palace” (the best in Davao) for only PhP200 (and buffet at PhP75 to 99 in other places). Everybody is so easy to speak with, no hassle whatsoever! The place is as clean as Singapore. Not crowded. And the best thing? The beach is just 15 minutes away!

Click on the photo to see more pictures.

Davao

See Davao Blog Party photos here (click on the photo please):

Davao Blog Party

After Davao I hibernated in Cebu for 48 hours. Managed to go to the beach with my best friend. In the evening we went to 22nd St. (they have branches in Las Pinas and Malate in Manila), a comedy club. We had a hilarious time and basically laughed the whole night. It was a good thing we didn’t push through singing on stage. I can just imagine going through the “interview”. I would’ve probably been so embarrassed and would’ve probably died on the spot. Well I left Cebu crying again because parting with one’s best friend is never an easy thing to do.

Click on the photo to see more pictures.

Cebu