The Life of a Drama Queen

Cookworks Breadmaker Manual

2010-05-20T06:39:00.001+08:00

Lost your breadmaker manual?? Well here's the scanned copy of the manual!

Enjoy baking!

www.sarahceline.com/breadmaker.pdf

Best Vanilla Shortbread recipe

2009-09-18T23:43:00.003+08:00

I found the best vanilla shortbread biscuit recipe at

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1172/vanilla-shortbread-dough

Ingredients:

325g of plain flour

200g chilled salted butter

125g of caster sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tsp of vanilla extract

Tip the flour into a food processor. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them into the bowl, then whizz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks and whizz to a small dough.
you can either flatten it with a rolling pin and use a cookie cutter or roll it with a cling film, chill it then slice it.
There was no mention of oven temprature and time but i suggest you cook this at 180 degrees for 10mins.

The bottom module stirs under the educational group.

2009-08-28T05:12:00.001+08:00

The bottom module stirs under the educational group.

Kenny Rogers' Corn Muffin

2009-08-28T02:57:00.003+08:00

I recently craved for cornbread however i couldn't find one here in england! Not even kenny rogers! So i decided to bake one. I found one recipe which i thought was salty and taste of baking soda. It had that burning, metallic taste. I decided to re-read the recipe and instead of putting 1/2 tsp baking soda, i used 1 tbsp! Anyway, i found on the internet kenny rogers corn muffin and decided to try it out. It was absolutely scrummy! Exactly what I had when i was child, eating it with roasted meats or fish and veggies! Anyway, here's the recipe of the corn muffin. This makes 12 muffins. However, you can use this in a 22cm or 8 1/2 round pan.

ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (if you are using salted butter, reduce salt)

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (you may use white bread flour if you want a denser and rustic corn bread)

3/4 cup cornmeal or maize meal

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup frozen yellow corn or 200g tinned yellow corn (yellow sweet corn is much better!)

1. Preheat oven to 400degrees

2. Cream butter, sugar, honey, eggs and salt.

3. blend in flour, cornmeal and baking powder

4. mix in milk

5. add corn and mix it.

You can use a 12 cup muffin tray or 22cm (8 1/2in) round pan and bake it for about 20 mins or poke it with a toothpick or skewer and it should come out clean.

this recipe is from www.cdkitchen.com

enjoy!

Tuna Steak with stuffed sweet pepper and tomato salsa

2009-07-19T07:13:00.000+08:00

I was just watching Rick Stein's show about fish and suddenly had a craving for tuna. It's been years since I had a tuna steak. Moving to England apparently means having a lower lifestyle quality! Just joking. Anyway, on to the recipe ...

Ingredients:

For the tuna steak:

2 1/2" thick yellowfin or ahi tuna steak. You can do thicker if you prefer.
2 tbsp English mustard
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped finely
Thyme
Pepper

For the stuffed pepper:
2 yellow peppers (capsicum)
Thyme
Knob of butter
150g of cooked rice
Thyme
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Pine nuts (optional)

For the salsa:
4 vine tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped (if using a small sized onion, half if using large)
1/2 cup Cilantro or Basil, fresh and chopped
Juice of one lemon or lime
Salt and pepper

To start, whisk the mustard, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, garlic and thyme. Marinade tuna for an hour or two and put it in fridge.

Take your capsicum or sweet yellow peppers and either slice it in half vertically or horizontally. If you're cutting it horizontally, make sure you slice off at least half an inch from the stalky part. Coat peppers with olive oil. Place it on a baking or roasting dish and season it with herbs and salt and pepper. Bake for about 20-30mins at 180 centigrade.

For the rice, melt butter in a skillet and add the herbs. Add rice and mix it till it's evenly coated. Do not mash the rice. You may add pine nuts.

When the peppers are roasted, stuff the rice into the peppers.

For salsa, just combine the salsa ingredients listed above. Tomatoes and onion are best when it's in room temperature.

Heat and add a tsp of olive oil to a moderately hot pan. Cook tuna for one minute on each side. It should still be pink in the middle. Longer if you want well done or if you have a thicker tuna.

Serve it with the stuffed pepper and top it with salsa.

You may cook the marinade and use it as sauce as well.

Enjoy!

-- Post From My iPhone

ABE Business Management Study Manuals

2009-01-21T23:29:00.002+08:00

For Human Resource Study Manual: http://www.2shared.com/file/4693795/b2bc6cf5/10_Human_Resource_txt.html
For Managerial Accounting Study Manual:
http://www.2shared.com/file/4693816/e830f07a/12_Managerial_Accounting_txt.html
For Marketing Study Manual:
http://www.2shared.com/file/4693873/ce00a373/09_Marketing_Policy_txt.html

CookWorks Signature Breadmaker Recipes

2008-12-17T00:12:00.006+08:00

For those who have lost their copy of the manual, here it is. Please note that all recipes in this post is owned by Cookworks Signature.

Basic Breads for a 1.5lb loaf

Water 290ml
Sugar 2tbsp
Oil 2tbsp
Salt 1 1/2 tsp
Dry milk 3tbsp
Bread flour 3 cups
Dry Yeast 2tsp

This is reference only.... for others see below

Specialty Bread

1. White Bread for a 1.5lb (2.0lb) loaf

Water 250ml (300ml)
Salt 1.5tsp (2tsp)
Sugar 2tbsp (2.5tbsp)
Oil 2tbsp (2.5tbsp)
Durum Wheat Semolina 120g (150g)
Bread Flour 270g (350g)
Dry Yeast 1.25tsp (1.5tsp)

Program: French

2. Nut and Raisin Bread for 1.5lb (2lb) loaf
*tip: Add the raisins and nuts after the beeps during the second kneading phase

Water 250ml (330ml)
Margarine or Butter 2tbsp (2.5tbsp)
Salt 1.5tsp (2tsp)
Sugar 2tbsp (2.5tbsp)
Bread Flour 450g (520g)
Dry Yeast 1.2tsp (1.5tsp)
Raisins 50g (75g)
Crushed Walnuts 30g (40g)

Program Basic

3. Coarse White Bread for 1.5lb (2lb) loaf

Milk 280ml (330ml)
Margarine or Butter 1.5tbsp (2tbsp)
Salt 1tsp (1tsp)
Sugar 2tbsp (3tbsp)
Coarse Bread Flour 380g (510g)
Dry Yeast 1tsp (1tsp)

Program: Basic

4. Whole Wheat Bread for 1.5lb (2lb) loaf

Water 250ml (320ml)
Margarine or Butter 1.5tbsp (2tbsp)
Salt 1tsp (2tsp)
Sugar 1tbsp (2tbsp)
Bread flour 200g (260g)
whole wheat flour 200g (260g)
Dry Yeast 1 tsp (1.25tsp)

Program: Whole-Wheat

5. Traditional White Bread for 1.5lb (2.0lb) loaf

Water 250ml (330ml)
Margarine or Butter 1tbsp (1.5tbsp)
Salt 1tsp (1.75tsp)
Dry Milk 1.5tsp (2tsp)
Sugar 1.5tbsp (2tbsp)
Bread flour 450g (520g)
Dry Yeast 1.25tsp (1.5tsp)

Program: Basic

6. Italian White Bread for 1.5lb (2.olb) loaf

Water 220ml (280ml)
Margarine or Butter 2.5tbsp (3tbsp)
Salt 1tsp (1tsp)
Sugar 2.5tbsp (3tbsp)
Bread Flour 300g (400g)
Corn Semolina 80g (100g)
Dry Yeast 1.5tsp (1.75tsp)

Program: Sandwich

7. Sweet Bread for 1.5lb (2.0lb) loaf

Fresh Milk 210ml (230ml)
Margarine or Butter 1.5tbsp (2tbsp)
Eggs 1 (2)
Salt 1 tsp (1tsp)
Honey 1.5tbsp (2tbsp)
Sugar 3tbsp (4tbsp)
Bread Flour 450g (520g)
Dry Yeast 1tsp (1.25tsp)

Program: Sweet

8. Potato Bread for 1.5lb (2.0lb) loaf

Water or Milk 170ml (230ml)
Margarine or Butter 1.5tbsp (2tbsp)
Egg 1 (1)
Mashed boiled potatoes 120g (150g)
Salt 1tsp (1.5tsp)
Sugar 2tbsp (3tbsp)
Bread flour 380g (460g)
Dry Yeast 1tsp (1.25tsp)

Program: Basic

9. Coarse Bread for 1.5lb (2.0lb) loaf

Water 240ml (310ml)
Salt 1tsp (1tsp)
Oil 1.5tbsp (2tbsp)
Bread flour 380g (500g)
Sugar 0.75tbsp (1tbsp)
Dry Yeast 1.25tsp (1.5tsp)

Program: French

10. Irish Soda Bread for 2.0lbs loaf

Buttermilk 220ml
Eggs 2
Oil 2tbsp
All-Purpose Flour 500g
Sugar 0.5 cup
Baking soda 1tbsp
Salt 0.5tsp
Raisin 1 cup

Program: Quick

11. Rice Bread for 1.5lbs (2.0lbs) loaf

Rice cooking water 230ml (330ml)
Bread flour 400g (520g)
Round grain rice- raw 35g (50g)
Sugar 3tsp (4tsp)
Dry Yeast 1tsp (1tbsp)
Oil tbsp (1.5tbsp)

Program: Basic

12. Carrot Bread for 1.5lbs (2.0lbs) loaf

Water 250ml (310ml)
Butter 1.5tbsp (2tbsp)
Bread Flour 450g (520g)
Finely diced carrots 56g (70g)
Salt 1tsp (1tsp)
Sugar 2tbsp (2.5tbsp)
Dry Yeast 1tsp (1.25tsp)

Program: Basic

13. Ultra-Fast Pesto Bread for 1.5lbs (2.0lbs) loaf

and the rest

will soon follow....

Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer Unexpectedly close due to avgapix.dll faulting module

2008-08-30T06:15:00.003+08:00

Does your Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer unexpectedly close? Saying that it generated errors or found errors that needs to be closed? First is to check your event viewer (start-control panel-administrative tools - event viewer)and see what is the faulting module. In other words, what causes it to crash. In my case, AVG 8's latest update seems to have caused it. Based on the event viewer, my faulting mode was avgapix.dll. If this is also your problem, do the following.

To check for the faulting module go to:
1. Start
2. Control Panel
3. Administrative Tools
4. Event Viewer

There are 2 solutions:
1. Open the AVG folder, C: Drive\Program Files\AVG\AVG 8
2. Rename avgapix.dll to avgapi.dll if there is another existing file... delete avgapix.dll

Note: deleting avgapix.dll will fix the internet explorer problem however, microsoft office won't work as it thinks that your file has a virus.

final solution is to reinstall or do repair avg AFTER deleting the avgapix.dll

Salmon with Stir fry noodles

2008-08-11T21:56:00.000+08:00

Ingredients :

For the Salmon:

2 salmon fillets
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 2 inch ginger, chopped
1/4th cup Sake or White Wine
3 tablespoon sugar (preferrably brown sugar but white is also fine)
1/4th cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ground nut oil (vegetable or olive oil is fine)
1 knob of butter

For the Stir fry noodles:

2 tablespoon of ground nut oil (vegetable or olive oil is fine)
350 grams of Egg noodles
1 red pepper, sliced into strips
1 yellow pepper, sliced into strips
1 green pepper, sliced into strips
1 medium sized onion, sliced
1 1 1/2 inch ginger, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4-5 pieces of closed cup mushroom, sliced
Soy sauce amount depends on your taste

First, combine garlic, ginger, white wine, sugar and the soy sauce in a bowl. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Marinade Salmon fillets for just one hour.
Boil egg noodles according to package instructions. drain water.
In a pan, heat oil and saute garlic and ginger. Add onions until it becomes soft. Add all the peppers and mushrooms. Once vegetables are cooked, add noodles and soy sauce. The amount of soy sauce depends on your taste. I wouldn't put too much as we will use the marinade of the salmon as well.
In another pan, heat oil. pan fry salmon starting with the skin first (if your salmon has skin). Add 1 knob of butter onto the pan. Once it's cooked, remove salmon from pan and cook the marinade. Wait until the marinade becomes thick.
Place noodles on plate and put salmon either on top of the noodles or on the side. Pour or drizzle the sauce over the noodles and salmon.

Banoffee Pie

2008-08-07T20:28:00.002+08:00

For the toffee sauce:
1 (405g) of condensed milk

Base:
350grams of digestives or biscuits of your choice
150grams of melted butter

Cream:
1 pint of double cream
3 bananas, sliced
instant powdered coffee (optional)

To make the toffee sauce, remove the label of the condensed milk and immerse it in boiling water. Boil the tin for 2 - 3 hours. The longer you boil it, the darker and thicker the toffee will be. Make sure that the tin is FULLY immerse in water all throughout otherwise, the tin will pressurized and explode.

For the base, crush the digestives and mix it with melted butter. Using a pestle or fork, press the digestives onto the pan. Make sure that there's no hole. Refrigerate.

Whip the double cream until it's stiff.

There are three ways to arrange:

Simple: Mix toffee and banana then pour onto the base. Sprinkle instant coffee then spread cream on top.

Layer - spread cream onto the base, sprinkle a little bit of instant coffee then arrange the sliced banana, spread toffee then repeat.

Layer 2 - spread cream onto the base, arrange the sliced banana then add another layer of cream. sprinkle some coffee powder and drizzle it with toffee.

Haddock with White Wine and Roasted Garlic Sauce

2008-07-29T03:27:00.006+08:00

Haddock with White Wine and Roasted Garlic Sauce

2 Fillets of Haddock
salt and pepper
olive oil
2-4 pcs of Shallot or 1 whole white onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 cups of white wine
Dried Rosemary
A twig of fresh rosemary
3 knobs of butter

First, chop the shallots or white onion and saute half of it in olive oil for 1 minute. Add the twig of rosemary and white wine. Reduce it till it's gone down to half. While it's simmering, roast garlic with olive oil.

While the sauce is simmering and garlic is roasting, proceed with grilling or pan frying the haddock. Season haddock with salt and pepper. I always find haddock a bit bland so what i do is i pan fry or grill it in flavoured oil by adding herbs or onions. In a pan, add the rest of the remaining of the chopped onion or shallots and dried rosemary. Saute till you can smell the rosemary which is like 30 seconds. Anyway, pan fry haddock. 2 minutes on each side. Careful when flipping to avoid breaking the fish.

While pan frying the fish, go back to the sauce. Use a garlic crusher to crush garlic into the wine mixture. Stir.

It's time to flip the fish...

then back to the sauce... turn off heat and add 3 knobs of butter onto the sauce and mix it with an electric hand mixer until butter and sauce is completely mixed. Strain the sauce before serving it.

On a warm plate, put mash if you want or buttered asparagus.. I prefer mash. Then place the fish and drizzle the fish with the white wine and roasted garlic sauce.

More Photos Taken From iPhone

2008-07-08T02:10:00.004+08:00

All Photos taken at the Roadhouse, Convent Garden, London. Do ask permission if you need to use any of my Photos

Seafood Rice

2008-06-05T00:00:00.005+08:00

Seafood Rice

Seafood Medley/Collection from Sainsbury (Prawn, Squid and Mussels)
2 knobs of butter
a tsp of lemon juice
worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
Fresh rosemary herb (about 2 sprigs)
2 pcs of carrots, blanched
half a head of cauliflower
1/4 cup petit pois
1 bell pepper, sliced (i use green, red and yellow)
200 grams basmati rice, washed and then cook with 300ml of water
1 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
pepper

In a pan, add a little olive oil and melt 1 knob of butter. Add garlic, onion and rosemary until you can smell the aroma but don't burn it. Add cauliflower, carrots, bell pepper, petit pois and seafood. Cook for at least a minute then add lemon juice. Add rice and mix. Add 1 knob of butter and mix until butter completely melts. Add worcestershire sauce or soy sauce, depending on your taste then add pepper. Don't add anymore salt as worcestershire and soy sauce are already salty.

Sundried Tomato Paste

2008-06-04T23:57:00.004+08:00

Sundried Tomato Paste

In a bowl, i combined Sundried tomato, olive oil, garlic, basil and pine nuts (similar to making pesto) then used food processor till it becomes a paste.
This is perfect for pasta, marinade for fish or spread on bruschetta.

Salmon Pate

2008-06-04T23:50:00.003+08:00

Salmon Pate

Ingredients:
Salmon (either boneless, smoked or from tin. I've used smoked and from tin but give it a try with a pan fried boneless fillet)
Light Mayonnaise or Creme Fraiche (Depends on the amount of salmon you have)
1 tsp (or more if you want)
English Mustard
3 cloves Garlic
Chives
Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients except for chives and salt and pepper in a food processor or a bowl if you are using a hand-mixer. Mix until chunks disappears. Add chives and season it with salt and pepper.

You can also use Tuna instead of salmon.

Photos taken from iPhone

2008-06-04T21:35:00.005+08:00

Soundwaves... Confessions of a Deaf Person

2008-03-17T19:49:00.004+08:00

In 1983, there were no ultrasound yet if there is then it was not widely known yet in the philippines. On the day I was born, I could not come out the normal way and that caesarian was the option. It turned out that the umbilical cord was wrapped around my body and neck. After taking me out, the doctor have said i'm fine and healthy.

I was sitting on the foot of my grandfather's bed, watching tv when he was calling me. I wouldn't respond.

I was sitting on my mother's lap in a car when she was calling me and I wouldn't respond.

I have been told that similar situtations have happened often and that it took 3 doctors to find out what was wrong with me. The first 2 doctors have said that I am autistic but my grandfather and my father disagreed. The 3rd doctor have said that I may not be autistic and so referred me to an otologist. It was in 1986 that I was discovered deaf by Dr. Carlos Reyes through several tests. Also the first time that I wore hearing aids. I never asked what my parents reaction was but all I know is that they have done everything they could for me to be as normal as possible.

My parents would often question why i was able to say words before i learnt to listen/hear. I would be able to say, "water", "milk" etc but never in a sentence. Dr. Carlos Reyes have mentioned that I may have heard sounds through soundwaves. Especially, when my mother would read a book aloud and i would lie on her shoulder, i was able to hear a bit.

I was a happy child growing up. I hung mostly with my grandparents, uncles and a mixed breed dog named Rambo. My parents sent me to a speech therapist named Julie to help me speak in sentence and "hear" words or letters. From them on, I became fluent in speaking. My parents wanted me to go to a normal school but only one school was able to accept me however, because i was 6 that time and they can only accept 7 year olds, despite the fact that school starts in june and my birthday is in august, they wanted me to wait one more year to enter. So we did. At that time, i met Francis Kaye, who was a neighbor and we became best friends. I also met other kids but were way older than me. I remember a marco, alan and cecile who would babysit me on days my yaya (nanny) or parents aren't around. I remember going to their houses and would have lunch or dinner and then just hang around. They were practically like family to me. Francis Kay was my partner in crime when we were kids. We were never the type who would play barbie dolls but would play active games that would make you sweat and/or bleed from tripping.

After a year, i finally went to a private school. I was so nervous but at the same time excited. There was a school bus who would go to the house and pick me and my yaya up and take us to school and back home. I met great people in that school but later on, they would start to tease me and bully me for either not hearing them or misunderstand a word they are saying. They would call me "Bingi" which means Deaf. They call me that instead of my name. I didn't like it but i felt alone there. The only people who would understand me and help me were some teachers. I remember Sister Edith. She was my teacher in General Conduct and Religion. She often talks to me and ask how i am and would always tell me to continue standing strong despite students insulting me. I was never happy in that school, always angry and was always afraid of speaking but i did well in class. Well not all subjects... just those that I am good at.

Every summer, i would attend speech classes. I was put into a class where everyone cannot speak well and uses sign language as their medium of communication. I was left alone and was very bored coz i always perfect every exercises and didn't know sign language to talk to anyone in that class. I did play on occasion with Philip and others but their yaya's would translate to me what they are saying. Teacher Julie, decided to pull me out of class and give a one on one session instead. I don't know why my parents don't want me to learn sign language but thinking about it, i would want to learn.

We moved to a bigger house and i met new friends. They were all good to me and we played and hung around almost everyday. They would ask me about my hearing problem but i was a bit uncomfortable talking about it but eventually, i understood that it is not something they understand and so, by sharing with them my experience, they would, at some point, understand. My friends in this village where my family moved in, have always treated me as normal as possible. I remember that after school, i was happy to see them as they never teased me or bully me for being deaf. Up to this day, we are good friends still.

Few years later, a very good teacher of mine told my mum about me being called deaf and being teased about it. My mother confronted me and asked me about it. I was scared that i just wrote her a card. She then complained to the principal and transferred me to an exclusive private school, one of the PAREF schools. That school at first didn't want to accept me in the beginning because of my deafness but my mother defended me saying that i am as normal as other students. I play tennis and other sports, i listen to music, read, do art and so on. I guess the principal felt bad that they decided to accept me. I was again, nervous.

School started and i was introduced in front of the class. Everyone was really good to me and helpful. They were told about my disability during introduction. They asked questions and i guess talking about it to people who have no idea what it's like felt good. They all called me by my first name. No one teased nor bullied me. I had such great friends whom until now, are still my friends.

Later on, I transferred to another school which was closer to the house. It was my first time to be in a co-ed school. The school kind of reminded me of the first school i have been coz no one wanted to hang out with me or speak with me coz they thought i was like the other deaf student who couldn't talk clearly. Until i proved to them i was different by being one of the top students in class and by doing a lot of recitations. Academically, i was great. I even joined certain competitions such as Science and Spelling. Eventually, i gained friends. Danielle became my best friend until she moved back to the US. I had to be transferred to another school when the school started using the money that was for salary of teachers, for a piece of land. The corruption was so too much for everyone in that school. Only a few got to stay and most transferred. I was thankful i transferred coz it was shithole.

In the middle of the year, i transferred back to a different PAREF school. That PAREF school was fairly new and had to be held back a year coz they didn't have the level i was on. Everyone was friendly. Of course, the usual teasing and insulting is there but disappeared later on. I wasn't happy in the beginning. It took me a year to be happy and comfortable in that school. The teachers were great and very supportive of my needs. They always paid attention to me during discussions and making sure that I have understood them well. To be honest, i didn't like being treated differently or be treated as if i was a charity case but at some point i do have to be grateful for it that they actually care. It was much better than walking to you and asking how i am or just by being passive. The care i got was much more than passive, it was actually helping me.

Going to a university was difficult for me. At this point, i never thought of myself as a special person. I felt like I was actually just like everyone else. At the university, the challenge was greater in a sense that there are more students, the professors have different attitude and it was a faster pace. I was able to overcome it all just like everyone else.

Finding a job is very difficult for me. While studying, i have worked and earned money apart from allowances but the companies i've worked for are my parents's friends company. So it was easy for me. I left my last work to focus on thesis and have proper career growth for my last semester in school. AFter studying, i went to find jobs but quite a lot keeps questioning me about my hearing problem. Only a few good companies don't really mind it and thought i was good enough for them until an opportunity to do more in another country came. I decided to accept it. Hopefully, by having more exposure would be better for me.

The worst thing that was told to me in reference of my being deaf was, "I can never be good for anyone because i'm just deaf." I hoped it was a joke. I've had a few relationships but were not as serious. These few people have accepted me for who i am but eventually it didn't work out. I've had fears over the years of being alone, not being accepted into a society where everyone is better but i am with someone who made me feel better about it. Helped me boost my confidence and so on.

Oftentimes, i would hear deaf jokes. It is offensive at some point. Some thinks it's good to laugh at who we are but for some, it's a sensitive topic to be even be considered as a joke. When this happens to me, it's either i ignore and just laugh it out a little out of respect for them or just simply tell them that it's not her fault she didn't understand it. But when i do tell them that, they act defensive saying it's just a joke. There is nothing I or the deaf world can do about these things. After all, we are only considered as a minority by non-deaf people. To them, we are too different.

Not many people understand what it's like to have a physical disability. Some thinks that wearing a hearing aid is like wearing an eyeglass/specs that automatically corrects what's wrong. It takes years for one to get used to the hearing through experience and training. Especially, switching to a new hearing aid that needs to be reprogrammed every now and then. Until now, i depend on lip reading.

I am thankful that i was raised to be as normal as possible, and that I was able to experience and overcome my fears. As well as learning to not bottle up emotions and being able to speak out my thoughts and not let my disability impede what i want to achieve in life.

Homemade Smoked Salmon

2008-03-04T21:14:00.003+08:00

Today, i made smoked salmon today and it was fabulous. I got the recipe from my mum who attended a demonstration on making smoked salmon by a chef at her weekly mother's club get together.

What you need:
Utensils:

A Smoking Pan... i didn't have any so what i did was i used a very thick pan or wok and used a rack to place salmon on. My pan had a lid but when i was smoking it already, the smoke was coming out of the sides so the Chef's suggestion was to use aluminum foil instead. Please note that the pan has to be very thick. A thin one will make your salmon "oversmoked" and may cause a small fire and result in having a bitter smoked salmon.

Ingredients:

4 Salmon Fillets about 1 to 2 inches thick
1/4th cup lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

1 cup Cherrywood or Applewood shavings however if you can't find any of these you can use 1 cup of uncooked rice
bunch of fresh taraggon
bunch of fresh dill
bunch of fresh rosemary

First, coat your salmon with lemon juice and season it with salt and pepper. You may add herbs on the salmon if you want but it's optional.

in the pan, add the uncooked rice and herbs. put rack over the uncooked rice and herbs and place salmon over the rack. Cover. Turn on heat to high but when it starts to smoke, put heat on medium. Smoke the salmon for 15-20 minutes.

In my experience, i had to turn the salmon after 10 mins then finish the smoking time otherwise, the salmon will have one pinkish color and the other kinda yellowish.

After 15-20 minutes, turn off heat. Put on gas mask if you want coz the smoke kind of irritates the eyes and nose. Another tip, if you don't want your whole house to stink of smoke, open the lid outside your house.

The salmon is wonderful with mango salsa or tartar sauce and the leftovers are good to make for brekkie like scrambled egg and smoked salmon.

Battle of Halo Halo

2008-02-25T17:17:00.002+08:00

One of my favorite filipino snacks is Halo Halo. Halo Halo is a mix of sweet preserved beans, macapuno (coconut sport), leche flan (custard), purple yam (ube), sweet potato, sweet corn kernels, sweet banana, tapioca and topped with shaved ice and milk. Some even top it with ice cream. Hence the name Halo, which means Mix in filipino. Over the years, i've tried halo halo from different places and my top three choices were Chowking's Halo Halo, Razon's Halo Halo and Jurado's Halo Halo.

Chowking's Halo Halo is as traditional as it can be. The taste is soo filipino and the sweetness is just right. I like the fact that Chowking will give a small container filled with milk for consumers to adjust it according to their taste.

Razon's Halo Halo is very different in a sense that they put more macapuno in it and the ice shavings are very fine which makes it easier to eat.

Jurado's Halo Halo is the most unique of all. I have tasted Jurado's Halo Halo in Pampanga on way home from a hike at Mt. Arayat. According to the locals, Jurado's Halo Halo is more popular and better than Razon's. When I tried it, I was amazed at the texture of the beans. In fact, you won't even see the beans. It was actually all the sweet beans mashed with Leche Flan and it looks like a jam. Then topped it with Macapuno balls and has a surprise of pastillas de leche. The ice was not as fine as i would like it to be tho. But it was sooo good. Among all halo halos i've tried this is the best. I just wish the ice were as fine as that of Razon's but it's good enough. Jurado's Halo Halo is a must try for everyone.

Pickled Balsam Pear (Ampalaya Atchara)

2008-02-25T16:55:00.003+08:00

I've always hated Ampalaya or Balsam Pear/Bitter Gourd because of its bitter taste. However, last christmas a neighbor gave us Pickled Ampalaya and to my surprise it wasn't bitter at all. I liked it. So i decided to come up with my own recipe. I've always known how to make atchara using green papaya. I was taught by my grandmother when i was younger. So for the Ampalaya, i've used the same recipe of vinegar mixture to pickle it.

Choosing the right ampalaya is not really hard. All you need to do is choose the greenest ampalaya.

Recipe: (for 2 jars)
1 foot of Ampalaya
2 cup white vinegar
1 cup of sugar
2 bay leaf
2 clove of smashed garlic
2 small slice of ginger

First, Slice off the ends of the ampalaya, discard it. Half the ampalaya lengthwise to remove seeds and white stuff. Use a spoon to remove it. Thinly slice ampalaya and put all in bowl with water. Let it soak for about 3 hours or longer to remove the bitterness. What i do is, i change water at least every hour.

In a saucepan, boil water. Regarding amount of water, it's up to you. I usually use about 2 and a half cup of water. In a strainer, place the cheesecloth or any thin cloth you have, drain amapalaya. When water is boiling, pour it over the ampalaya to at least "cook" it. In other words, blanch it.

Now for a foot of ampalaya, i usually use two glass jars. Do not use plastic jar as it will melt when you pour the hot vinegar mixture in. So, add the smashed garlic, ginger and bay leaf in each jar. Go back to your ampalaya and using the cheesecloth, squeeze out all the water from the ampalaya. It will be hot so i usually rub my hands on ice and squeeze it. When all juice/water is out, divide ampalaya equally and put it in the jars.

In a saucepan, mix vinegar and sugar on low heat. Mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. When vinegar mixture starts to boil, turn off heat and pour over the jars.
Let it cool, don't close it yet. When it's cool already, you may close it and put it in the fridge. It is ready for consumption after 3 days

Mt. Arayat Hike

2008-02-23T21:18:00.027+08:00

I was supposed to wake up at 3am but instead, woke up at 4 and left at 430am. The night before, i was excited but at the same time thinking if i made the right choice coz it was my first time to hike. By 7am, we arrived at Mt. Arayat, Pampanga and when i saw the mountain, i thought that it wasn't as steep as it should be and we have been told that it's a good place to hike for beginners as it's classified as Level 2 climb.

The picture above was just the beginning of the hike. It looks easy suuuurree but let's see how it goes later on.

This is mount arayat from the bottom.

Still from the bottom of the mountain.

On the way up to 1/4th of the mountain, we have been resting every 15-20 minutes. I was shocked at how humongous the mosquitos are and how pesky they are and we've been told by the guide that they don't carry malaria or dengue. I wondered why they were awake on broad daylight. If you plan to hike on this mountain, bring mosquito repellant but i don't think that it will be as effective as it should coz you will be sweating the whole time ergo attracting mosquitos. Going up is actually a cardiac workout. Your heart will start pounding at every step you make, will have chest constrictions and everything feels soo heavy. Resting is a must and the weather helps since it was still early, the wind was cool and a bit cloudy. Thank god we bought like 100 bottles of water and loads of gatorade.

still going up

By this time, the way keeps getting steeper and steeper that we'd rest every 5 minutes.

It was around 830am when i took the picture above and mind you, we've only gone up 1/4th of the mountain. Still a long way to go and i am soo tired and my whole shirt is drenched in sweat. It is advisable to wear long sleeves (keep cloth as thin as possible) as there are branches that can scratch you and mosquitos, ants (as in really big black and red ants) and spiders that can bite you.

I actually felt like giving up coz on the picture above, you'll see how steep it is and later, it will be even more steep. Not to mention being on all fours and climbing rocks. Everyone started asking, how are we supposed to go back?? It was scary.

Unbelievable smog! Lol actually in these pictures, it looks like smog but up there, it's actually clouds and still early in the morning. Bring camera coz if you're too shy or ashamed to take a break when everyone is on the go, taking pictures is a good excuse for you to stop

Pictures above are of me being soo stroppy. All the while i kept saying to myself, i should have never done this!

Oh dear! More obstacles comes are way and they aren't getting better!

Oh my god the rocks! Climbing them is easy but think about how to go down that effing huge rock!

Finally at the viewing deck!

Oh my god I really wanted to stop and turn back lol. I started to get hungry around 1030am. We were supposed to go to the viewing deck of the mountain and i expected a big place with railings and stuff but it was actually just a big boulder. All 15 of us squeezed in. It took us 4 hours to get to that viewing deck. The viewing deck was about 2 more hours away from the very top. We decided to eat at the viewing deck. I had my pan-fried salmon while everyone had tocino, longganisa and red egg with huge amount rice wrapped on banana leaves. The view in the viewing deck was really beautiful. So, this is the longest break we've had lol. An hour and a half break compared to 15 minute break each work out.

Going down was really scary. It was "slippery" considering the ground was too dry and too many dried leaves. Thank god that I had a really good balancing stick i found on the way up and it was very helpful.

Going down was as challenging as going up but not as tiring.

It took us about 4 hours to go down with only 4 rests compared to going up, we've had like maybe over 100 rests lol. It was about 330pm when i took the photos above. IT was about 1/4th of the mountain from the bottom. Try comparing the photo above from the earlier ones i took at about 830am. This time, sun is up and it's hot but the wind is still cool. On way down, because of so much pressure i put on my toes, my shoe broke. The cleats/soles had to be removed and while walking, the shoe finally had holes underneath that sands and sharp stuff keeps going in my shoe. Well what can i say, it's a sacrifice i'm willing to make just to get back to the comfort of my own home.

The whole experience was new to me. I've never been on a hike before and I think i did a good job at it. At the end of the hike, i feel like i've achieved so much. Sure it was tiring, hot, and obviously wake up the next day with a very sore body but rewards are priceless. This is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Ultimate Brownies

2008-02-08T14:19:00.004+08:00

I was looking for the ultimate brownies and have tried many recipes and tried brownies bought from shop. None really satisfied me. I wanted a brownie that is chewy, not crumbly. After trying many different recipes and techniques, i finally came up with one. Try it!

1 cup melted butter
2 or 3 cups of sugar (this will depend on your taste. and i prefer to use brown sugar)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 and 1/2 cup flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (if you have unsweetned dutch processed cocoa powder like vahlrona, then better! otherwise, stick to hersheys)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chip (this is optional)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

baking pan 9x11

First, preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour pan. Next, beat butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Sift flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda and add it to the mixture. Beat it slowly until flour mixture and butter mixture are incorporated, add chips then mix again. Pour it into the greased pan and bake it for 20 minutes or until you poke it with a toothpick and toothpick comes out slightly clean. Don't mistake melted chocolate chip from the batter. The toothpick has to have a bit of chocolate stuck to it. But if it's a lot of chocolate stuck, then it's not ready yet.

Let it cool. The brownie will be crumbly if you eat it right away. Let it cool and it will be chewy and not crumbly. Patience is a virtue.

If you are diabetic, there are sugar-free chocolates available at the market and you may use Isomalt as substitute for sugar but be aware of the amount you eat as Isomalt is a laxative. Google for more info on Isomalt.

Has the love faded or has it grown?

2007-09-08T23:31:00.000+08:00

Being in a long distance relationship is one of the hardest thing to do. It's fulfilling in a sense that someone loves you but painful because you're not physically together. It is true when someone said abscence makes the heart grow fonder. Whenever imi and i would see each other (not online), the feeling is so wonderful because finally you get to actually kiss, hug and hold the person. When she or I have to go back home, the separation was the most painful thing i have every felt.

When we're not together we spend most of our time at the computer. Webcamming, skyping, emailing.. trying to spend as much time as possible. Of course the distance is an issue. However, going back to the statement, sometimes a long abscence can make love fade or stop making the relationship work. Because of so many forces around us that's trying to keep separating us such as people, visa etc... sometimes i wonder, if i should still continue it. My partner was right, it's not a normal relationship. Anyone in their right mind would say not to continue the relationship because for others it will not work. After so many conversation of not continuing our relationship and seeing how unhappy the person is, sometimes i wonder if i'm just being selfish in continuing the relationship. AFter all, it's making the person unhappy.

However, because of the growing desire to be with the person, some are motivated to work for it.. finding ways to be together even if it means jumping off the cliff. It may not be as realistic as anyone would want it to be, but sometimes, nothing can actually stop love. When two persons love each other, these two persons go beyond their capabilities only to be together. It's how two people connect, despite the distance and the loneliness... also, it's how two people are motivated to live through life's disappointments, it's how they move on in life. Of course, it's devastating if one of the plans failed for some reasons but because of love felt for each other, they shouldn't give up and not think that it just mean something like.. not meant to be together. I think saying that it failed because maybe it means it's not meant to be is bullshit because right from the beginning, things like that was already known that it's bound to happen. I think that as long as there's love, there's hope.

I do hope that she still loves me and continue fighting for us and hoping for a good future for the both of us despite the distance. There will be so many challenges but it's all worth it to go through it all just to be together.

My Dogs

2007-08-29T11:44:00.000+08:00

Jack, Milo and Lily are my kids and i love them so much. Lily and Milo are basset hounds (hush puppies for those who don't know) and Jack is a sharpei. I got lily 4 years ago from a well-respected breeder. It was a few months after my 2 Basset Hounds, Harry and Sally, died from the dog food poisoning caused by factory mishap of pedigree. Lily was such a sweet dog from the first day i saw her at the breeder's shop. She was only 4 months old that time. When my family arrived at the breeder's place, she was one of those puppies who came up to me and turned over to have their tummies petted. However, it was her unique spot on her head that made me get her. Harry had a unique spot on his head too so i thought it was because of that that i felt a connection with lily. A year later, I wanted lily to give birth however I didn't have a male dog so i looked for a stud. That's when I met Milo.He was 1 1/2 years when i got him. The picture the person sent me showed that milo was good looking and well. However when i finally saw him, he was so frail and had a cherry eye. I asked the breeder why he's so frail and thin and what his eye was. The owner said that he couldn't afford to feed him and that he has no time to take care of him. Then I went to the owner's house. I was surprised at the state of environment milo had to stay in. He was staying in a very small cage, no water and no space to move at all. Also, I didn't like the way the owner treated Milo. Seeing him shove and "throw" Milo to the cage was enough so I decided to wager. I told him I will get him for a small fee. After convincing him, he agreed to sell him to me for just 5,000 pesos. ORiginally it was 10,000 pesos but i wanted to make sure he was healthy enough to be with lily so i deducted the rest from the amount. ACcording to the vet, he suffered from kidney infection, cherry eye which would be surgically fixed, ear infection and slight anemia because of ticks and fleas. He had everything fixed except for his eye. His first few days at the house, he was so quiet and so nervous. I had to make sure that I'm going to be there for him and care for him. Few days later, he got used to the surrounding and all then have finally introduced him to my dog, lily. They both got on well. It was great seeing Lily have someone to play with. When I looked at milo's certificate, i saw that he was related to my other basset hound, Harry. I felt a bit sentimental coz Harry was one of the best dogs i have ever had. Jack on the other hand, was the dog my dad fell in love with when we went to tiendesitas. He was a beautiful chocolate brown wrinkled puppy. He has the same loud snore like my dad.

The two basset hounds get along fine but Jack, he thinks he's the top dog and always taunt and pick on a fight with the two basset hounds. Because of the fights they have had with each other, we had to separate the basset hounds from jack. Their fights were so scary that they would have open wounds and lots of blood. The vet said not to worry because with their breed, they heal really quick especially for the sharpei. However, the bassets takes a while to heal.

I love walking the dogs however, my problem with milo is that he pulls. Milo was the toughest to train. Milo doesn't have the ability to respond well to commands. Lily and Jack knows how to obey. Jack on the other hand has separation anxiety. He whines and wrecks the door whenever someone in the family comes on. Sometimes, when i step outside to smoke, he would whine and wreck the door. One time, i let him out with me. He just sat there right beside me and would go around from time to time. He's kinda like my bodyguard lol. However, when milo and lily comes to greet me, jack protects me from them by distracting them with his barking and biting. Until to this day, I have no idea how to solve that. So for now, separation is the answer. Lily on the other hand, is such a sweet dog. Whenever one of us rides the car, she would try to hop in to come with us. But she's also very intelligent. She knows not when to stay in the way of cars and when to go out of the gate by herself. For two consecutive dog walks, I would put milo on a leash while lily is offleash and lily is sooo good off the leash. She would just follow us whereever we would go. I just call her attention when i need to then she would come running to me. Of course with numerous praises for her good behaviour. When there are dogs, she would bark but just calling her name, also milo, and then say no would stop them from doing that. It amazed me seeing them so behaved and responsive. I am just so lucky i have dogs like them. Despite them jumping like crazy and their nails scratching our legs lol.

My partner has a dog which she shares custody with her ex. I call them my step-dogs lol. Charlie is a westie and Maggie is a designer dog (collie and jack russell). Both are lovely dogs and very obedient. I like the fact that if imogen catches them doing something bad, they know that it is bad and they feel guilty about it by hiding under the chair. Wonder how she did it lol.

Anyway, that's all for now. I must walk the dogs and see if lily will still be on her good behaviour. I hope it'll be consistent. Having two strong male dogs who constantly pulls is breaking my arm.

Hairspray

2007-08-29T11:20:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I watched Hairspray with my mum. It was an amazing adaptation of the broadway musical, hairspray. This starstudded film has left me wanting to watch the film over and over again. I was amazed at John Travalta's portrayal as Edna, Tracy's Mum. The music was awesome too. Michelle Pfeiffer sang 2 songs and i must admit that I can actually sing better than her monotonous singing lol. All of them sing really well. I was so surprised to see a different acting side of James Marsden (remember cyclops of x-men? that's him). I've always seen him as one of those hunky drama actor. Seeing him in this musical, singing and dancing, shows that he is really more than just a hunk. Amanda Bynes who plays Tracy's bestfriend does not sing as good as others but is very natural in acting. Christopher Walken another major actor in this show was just really good. I loved his singing. Zac Efron well, is better in Hairspray than his disney movie, high school musical. Queen Latifah could've done better acting but when she sang the song during her march for racial integration, "I know where I've been", left me crying. I felt tingles when she was singing that song. The person who portrayed Tracy, Nikki Blonsky, was really good and very natural. She has a very good singing voice. I wonder if she's the original Tracy in the broadway tho.

The main theme of the song is acceptance. First, Tracy is this plus sized girl who wants to dance at the Corny Collins show. Because Dancing was her dream, she fought hard for it even tho she knows she won't fit in because of her weight. However, because she's very good in dancing, people's reaction diverted from weight to her talent. Another is the racial segregation. This musical was based on the 1960s where racism was rampant. There would be a negro day which is a corny collins show for the black people. But Queen Latifah fought for racial integration, not segregation. Because Tracy has a big heart and saw the unfairness behind it, she helped with the campaign, in fact it was tracy who suggested to march when she found out that negro day will be taken out. Apart from all the troubles and all, at the end, every one came to accept each and every one's differences.

Krispy Kreme, Manila Review

2007-08-27T15:08:00.000+08:00

When I was younger, my mother would always go out of the country for business trips and she would never forget to bring krispy kreme home. I was so happy that krispy kreme has finally opened in manila. I have tried each and every krispy kreme donut. There are some i like and some I find too sweet.

Original Glazed Krispy Kreme: I thought that it's sweeter than the original donut i've tried out of the country. It's still good and the quality of the donut itself is good.

Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled: I love this one but i wish that krispy kreme would be more consistent on the amount of kreme inside the donut. The first one i bought was just perfect. The 2nd time i bought the donut, the kreme was only on one side of the donut and not as much as the first one i had.

Glazed Sour Cream Cake: Oh this is one of my favorites. Not too sweet, just right.

Chocolate Iced with sprinkles, this one taste like the original krispy kreme donut and it's too sweet.

Glazed Cruller: It's sweet and chewy and very light.

Glazed Raspberry Filled: I love this one. It's not too sweet and again, the amount of the raspberry filled should be consistent and really filled up. Sometimes, i'd eat halfway already and the filling starts to disapear so all i have left is just the donut.

New York Cheesecake: I didn't enjoy this one very much as it was really sweet.

Chocolate Iced Custard Filling: I like this in fact, they should have a variety of this without the chocolate. The custard is perfect enough.

Powdered Strawberry Filled: One of my favorites. This is a must try. The Strawberry filling is not too sweet and it's not as sour as i thought.

Chocolate Iced Glazed: The orignal glaze is already very sweet and with the added chocolate icing, it becomes even more sweet. so, not for me.

Glazed Lemon Filled: I'm not a fan of of sour food but this one, is really good. Not too sour at all. It's slightly sweet and the blend of sourness of the lemon filling and the sweetness of doughnut balances it.

Caramel Kreme Crunch: I love caramel and this one is just perfect for me. Another favorite of mine. This is a must try.

Maple Iced Glazed: I think the sweetness of this is just right. Not as sweet as the original glaze.

Glazed Chocolate Cake: It's actually similar to the glazed sour creme cake but this one is slightly sweeter and duh, chocolate-y

Traditional Cake: It looks very dry but it's very good. It actually melts in your mouth. This is perfect with afternoon tea.

I know i've used the word too sweet however, I think it was made to be sweet because these donuts are supposed to be eaten with coffee. It makes sense as they are also marketing their own brand of coffee.

The pricing for me is reasonable. Dunkin Donuts, gonuts donuts, and other donut shops are cheaper than krispy kreme and usually, i see few customers. However, Krispy Kreme on the other hand is more expensive than the others but the shops are always full. It's amazing to see that people are actually after the quality of the donut and not the price. Also, most filipinos know about krispy kreme abroad so it's not new for them. But because of its availability and "newness" in manila, more people are flocking in and trying to grab that free original glazed donut while they line up for a box of donuts. Let's see after a couple of months if they are still the biggest selling donuts in manila. Will it continue to satisfy customers or will customers gets sick and tired of it?

Pasta Recipe #1

2007-08-27T14:37:00.000+08:00

I love cooking especially when it comes to seafood and pasta. I don't cook meat at all. For today's brunch, I made an olive oil base pasta with ingredients found in my refrigerator.

Ingredients:
Cooked or left over spaghetti noodles. You can use fetuccine if you like
Olive Oil (the amount depends on the amount of noodles you will add)
2 pcs of anchovies or if you don't have anchovies, you can use sardines in olive oil or spanish style.
2 overriped tomatoes (do not do anything yet to these toms)
1 half of the large bell pepper or 1 small bell pepper, chopped
half of white onions
fresh chopped chives and basil
4 cloves garlic
Asparagus, chopped
4 pcs of sundried tomatoes on olive oil, chopped
1/4th black olives chopped
1/8th cup of capers
ground pepper to taste
Parmeggiano

In a pan over low heat, add olive oil. The amount of olive oil depends on the amount of noodles. However, to keep olive oil as good as possible, do not let it smoke as the higher the heat, the good fats will become transfats. So for this, just add about 1/4th olive oil. Add anchovies or sardine, mash it while cooking then half the tomatoes and squeeze the juice in the pan. While the anchovies or sardine is cooking, chop the remaining tomatoes, set aside. Add garlic, onions, pepper and the tomatoes (not the sundried). Wait for about 30seconds then add asparagus, sundried tomatoes, olives and capers. Add ground pepper and mix. Add noodles. If pasta is too dry, add olive oil. Serve it with shredded or ground parmeggiano.

For this recipe, i was able to cook for 4-5 people however, because it's so good, 3 people or less can gobble it all up in one seating.

stupidity, ignorance or what?

2007-08-25T22:13:00.000+08:00

Most of the workers in the Philippines are either stupid or uneducated. The past week i have dealt with electricians, the security guards, public transportation driver, maids and grocery service.

Let's start with the electrician. The first one who arrived to the house to check on the water heater and wirings seems to be very good. In fact, he checked the electricity with his tool and has even given us not only a quote but also what the problem is. However, my dad thought he should get a 2nd opinion because the solution the first one suggested seems complicated because it involves changing wires, rearranging wires blah blah. Couple of days later, another electrician came over. The odd thing was he went to the heater, and just wrote down what we have said yet gave us quote without even bothering to check if it has power or not and in fact what he said was the opposite of what the previous electrician has said. Well.. it's up to my dad to decide on what is believable or not.

Next is the security guards, in our village, when someone comes. Whether it's relatives or a messenger, they would call the house the person is going to give clearance to their entries. The past week, my mother had a lunch meeting at the house with other guests and has given the list to the security guards to allow their entry without calling the house. However, even with the list, they kept calling the house. 2nd, there was a car who they had to stop because of no sticker and so we had to wait. Wouldn't it be logical for them to allow us to enter (with sticker) to the other side of the gate when it's not being used?

Public transportation drivers.. ah the worst of all. the ones who belches dirt and pollutes the air... the one that makes you cough when you're walking the dogs in a very nice park. Also, the ones that drives you crazy when they are mindlessly and heartlessly driving in the city. I think that these drivers should take a retest. They have no idea what right of way means. They cut in when they are not supposed to. The cabs, even if there is a rule (tho i've heard some say, law) that they cannot reject any passengers at all, they reject them because their excuse is that it's traffic. Don't they know that they cause traffic because of how they drive? 2nd, the cabs never gives change and sometimes ask for an extra 50 pesos because of the traffic. 3rd, they complain about the traffic saying we should pass this way blah blah despite the orders of the client. 4th, they should respect the client because they are getting paid based on the meter. All these public transport also irritates others because they stop in the middle of nowhere because of a passenger. It could be because the passenger is there or there's no bus/jeep/taxi stop. If there is a stop, then they should stop where they are legal to do so to get passengers. Otherwise, there'll be accidents and traffics. The passengers too should also be disciplined to go to a stop to get their rides. Also, is it legal for cabs to have more than 1 passenger with different destinations? I mean they are not the bus nor the jeepneys. Cabs should only have passenger/s going to the same direction. It is great that we have a bus lane but what is irritating is that they go out of the bus lane so they could go in front of who ever is in front of them. If we private drivers cannot go to the bus lanes, then it should be the same for the bus. They should bear their own traffic as well as we do with ours.

The maids. We got our maids from the province and they work good. Of course the problem is that they can't understand filipino language that there's always miscommunication. The older one, Thelma, seems to be very lazy as she only do is ironing while watching tv. At least she's working but she hardly helps. In fact, whenever any one of us do something she just stands there and talks. It's irritating coz she never helps. She's even scared of the dogs. It's ok if they have phobia but if the dog isn't doing anything to them and we even agreed to have them tied during the day so they can be comfortable and all.. they still feel scared! However, Loni, the other maid takes initiative and never rest even when we tell her to. She just keeps cleaning and in fact i was surprised that she overcame her fear of dogs. She even joins me when i walk the dogs and it surprises me how she gets along with milo lol. Today, the most stupid thing happened wsa that mum left both of them instructions. Thelma had ot be present because she understands filipino more than loni. Mum wrapped the three meats with cling wrap so they can put it in the freezer and the other marinated in barbecue roasted and at the same time, cooking the marinade to make it into a sauce. Loni, did not put the three wrapped meat in the freezer and didn't proceed to do the sauce of the barbecue. Instead she put one meat wrapped in cling wrap in the roasting pan and when mum came home she freaked out! I would to if i saw it but this time, it's not anymore about language barrier but it's about stupidity. Who would cook with plastic? If they know not to use plastic int he microwave, why do it in roasting? AFter that, I noticed that they forgot to lock the door on their side and i had to check who's outside before locking so i called out. Both came out and asked why the door was unlocked. The thing was we just came home and no one opened the gate for us. One maid said that she went out and i was like, if you went out why didn't you open the gate. She said she didn't know. Anyway, i'm sure each household has had experiences with the maids. Our maids are so hard to feed. All they want is the sardines in tomato sauce in can or any boiled food. So whatever food we cook, paella, pasta etc.. they won't eat. Although i'm surprised they like the food i cook lol healthy veggies. Mmmm.. I pity the maids actually. They were brought to the city and for the first time they are experiencing technology used in houses here in the city. Also, they don't have common sense at all because they weren't educated. They don't have the same things we do at their province. Patience is the only way here. IF they are helping us in home service, we should also help them not only financially but also in terms of how one should think and all without degrading them.

Grocery service... the most inneficient. I don't understand why the management would allow small jobs such as baggers when they work so inneficiently. Of course there is the question of unemployment in the country. The cashier should double as a bagger. What i don't like about cashiers is that, either they have to wait for a bagger before checking the items or they check in the items then when it's collected at the end that's when they start putting it in the bag. The most efficient ways are, once the cashier passes it through the laser it should go straight to the bag. The other efficient way is for the customer to put it in the bag themselves.

These are the people that i get mixed thoughts actually. Sometimes i pity them and sometimes i get so irritated because of their actions. However, we have to remember that these people are hardworking people, but not necessarily doing smartwork. They can't do smartwork at all because of lack of exposure and education. The government providing job isn't enough. There will be growing numbers of coconut heads in the philippines if education for both public and private is not strengthened and made mandatory. The most irritating thing that i always hear from these people is them saying "Wala ng pagasa kase" or "It's hopeless" but don't they know that they are not hopeless at all because after all, they are able to work and do service despite those who actually have nothing to do.

frustrated and disgusted

2007-08-23T22:31:00.000+08:00

At least, i have two days of the week that are productive which is going to school. After my first two classes, i went to megamall which i call smellysocks mall coz that mall smells like socks. On my way to the mall, the public transportations were exhausting so much pollution and were driving terribly. There are cops assigned to man the traffic but they were just standing there and not even thinking about correcting these bad drivers. In Makati area, if you step on the pedestrian lane, cops will ticket you. They even catch those who breaks the rule. However, this only happens in Makati area. Shouldn't this be applied to the rest of the country? After all, these are general, universal rules of driving. Makati cannot be the only one disciplining society since it only covers a certain percentage of the country's population. Apart from the terrible driving, i saw a lot of people spitting on the ground and i was so disgusted. There were women also doing this. It's so horrible. They are degrading the beauty of womenhood. In CNN, I saw that china is doing the anti-spit campaign where a group of people would go after those who spat and ask them politely to wipe it and throw it in the trash and of course, explain why. It's a good and active way to help in discipling society and keeping surroundings clean. After all, we live in a society where all spaces are shared by individuals. If you know how to keep your house clean, you'll know how to throw trash when outside the house.

My Celebrity look alikes!

2007-08-23T21:56:00.000+08:00

http://www.myheritage.com

cravings... blame it on my monthly hormone changes

2007-08-22T19:20:00.000+08:00

I'm craving for fish and chips.. with malt vinegar and salt.. oh ketchup too. I'm craving for pickled cockles too. oh and sushi! lol yes blame it on my monthly hormone changes...

Anyway, in the news today, i saw that china is campaigning against people spitting on the street. They would go around the city and whenever they would see someone spit, the campaigners would politely ask them to wipe their spit and put it in the trashbin nearby. Of course, explaining why they should be doing that. They even had testimonial videos of people "giving up" spitting. At least someone is doing this how i wish that someone here in manila would do that. Not only men spit but also women. I've seen uncivilized women spit and it's so horrible. Not only they are a disgrace to themselves but to the rest of the women. They've just degraded the nature of what women are.

If people can clean their house and themselves, why can't they practice it outside of their house? What happened to the saying, "if your room is not clean, then your underwear must be dirty." If that's the case then we can declare that there is no absolute civility among people living in the society. We pay taxes to help make our society better but yet, it's also us damaging the society slowly. Anyway...moving on

shortbus

2007-08-20T01:42:00.000+08:00

Couple of days ago, i watched an indie film by Thinkfilm Productions called "Shortbus". It's a very weird film erm porn lol tho i guarantee it's not porn. It was about a sex therapist who has not experienced orgasm and about a very depressed gay man. They're emotionally challenged people who search for the answer. They all go to a place called Shortbus, an underground salon where they all can share what they have in common. The place is filled with art, culture and sex. The film is also very graphic. These are the scenes which you would never see in any other films (apart from caligula). I thought the scenes were very erm for the lack of a better word, honest. It's really easy to connect to the characters of the film because of the emotions, the experience that the film shows us. The experience per se may or may not apply to us but the very core of the film applies to everyone of us. I'd recommend this film but only if you keep an open mind. Just close your virgin eyes and erm, cover your virgin ears if you can't take it lol. I've attached the trailer below.

What struck me the most in this film is why we actually have to search for the answer, for the happiness? Don't we all make our own happiness? Which reminds me, Tom Cruise's line in Jerry McGuire "You complete me" is total bollocks. It's full of bullshit. I would never say that to my partner. Maybe "complete" is the wrong term to use, maybe it should be "fulfill?" So if my partner breaks up with me, i'd feel so incomplete that no one can fill that void. Well the news is, no one can fill that empty void. I only have that power to fill the empty void to make myself happy. Just like everyone else. Most people who thinks otherwise are emotionally deranged and in planet utopia.

Anyway, Happiness is not a feeling or emotion. It's a state wherein we've acquired what is good for us. So, if i want beer, i'll get a beer and then I'm happy.

in search for the best chocolate cake

2007-08-20T01:12:00.001+08:00

i'm currently craving for chocolate cake. I haven't found the best chocolate cake yet but i will be visiting cafes and restaurants to check out their cakes. Anyway, so far, i have tried starbucks, matcha, shoppersville, gayuma and sugar house.

let's start with starbuck's chocolate cake...well some people like it but i have to say it's not great. It's very dry. I couldn't even finish it.

Shoppersville chocolate cake is good, moist and the chocolate icing is just right. however, it's too heavy for me.

sugarhouse... lacks something to make it memorable.

matcha... well matcha's chocolate cake is white sugar icing with caramel chunks on a chocolate cake. i had to look for the chocolate cake in it ffs. Too much icing and there are caramel chunks than the cake itself. This isn't a chocolate cake. but it's good i liked it. i'll eat it again.

gayuma... ah the famous cake. i thought it was famous because of its name, better than sex lol. I disagree tho. I think nothing can be better than sex lol. but the cake is just bliss. moist, good amount of chocolate and caramel sauce.

oh well looks like gayuma may be the best chocolate cake but i'm still in search. i just need to know where else to look for chocolate cake. I'll be passing by Xocolat, shangri-la hotel ortigas and cookies and goodies.

punch and salsa recipe

2007-08-18T23:37:00.000+08:00

Last night I celebrated my birthday with my closest friends. Mum made marinara pasta and we had roasted garlic and shrimp pizza delivered by yellow cab. I made my ultimate salsa and punch.

Salsa it's actually simple to make and there are so many varieties of salsa. For my salsa, i use stewed tomatoes instead of the whole tomatoes.

Salsa:
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (if you choose to stew it yourself then use 7 big toms)
1 whole white onion(finely chopped)
parsley
sweet basil(fresh, optional.. most don't use this but i've recently discovered that it makes a great addition to the recipe)
jalapeno pepper or tabasco or chili flakes

just mix everything.

UK 2007

2007-08-18T15:42:00.000+08:00

Last June I went to the UK to visit my gf for a month. This was my first trip to Europe and of course without my parents lol. Anyway, It took me more than hour to get out of the heathrow airport. Thanks to the (not sounding like a racist) the middle east people!They Don't even know how to line up! Although I heard from a close friend of mine that the germans too don't know how to line up. I guess it's a pretty general thing. anyway, after more than an hour of the people who doesn't know how to line up and taking the piss, i finally met up with imogen at the airport. It was really great seeing her there waiting for me. I gushed when she kissed me in public lol. First thing i said to her was that i need to smoke lol. The plane ride was horrible.

Travel Tip: If you're traveling alone, don't get the window seat, or else you'll be bothering the person beside you when you want to go to the bathroom or stretch

anyway, after the smoke, we went to her place and i met the dogs for the first time. Charlie and maggie are soo adorable. Seeing them made me miss my dogs in manila. So I went to take a shower while imogen, got some fish and chips take aways. We stayed in for the night coz i was so tired from the plane ride. So we hung out, watched tv and tried catching up on the things we missed. Oh of course, due to jetlag, i prodded her to wakey at 3am lol. This lasted for a couple of days only.

Next day, Imogen drove me to the church called St. james catholic church for my obligatory sunday masses. The service i attended made me wonder if it was really catholic. It was the first time seeing the priest use white wine instead of red. Also, first time seeing first communion and confirmation done during the offertory. And no Apostle's Creed after homily. I thought that the people in the church were very noisy. Quite a lot of the ladies were ogling at how cute the babies are. I wonder why the parish priest didn't do anything about it. After the mass, Imogen picked me up and went back to her place. She had to go to work while i stay at the house and dog sit. So I stayed at the place, ate, watched tv, cleaned up the house, the dishes, oh and laundry. I was that bored lol. So I waited till imogen came back.

Imogen took me to Epsom Downe, drove me around the area. Went shopping at the TK MAxx which i enjoyed so much. We had great lunch at the Wetherspoons. We went to the river thames in surrey and had lunch at the cabbage and slug restaurant. Took piccies and walked around the place. It was freezing cold but for them, it was warm.

We went to chessington park to get the annual pass. Imogen, being such an adorable kid, tried every ride in the theme park.

Few days later, we went to Brighton, Sussex. I loved brighton so much that i asked imogen if we can go back there. I tried cockles and loved it. In fact, when we went to sainsbury, we got pickled cockles in a small bottle. It was lovely. Then we had fish and chips at the brighton pier. By the way, i loved the fish and chips that i had three in my first few days there.

On my 2nd week, We went to London by train via Waterloo Station and walked to London Eye. First few minutes of London eye was fun and it was great seeing the whole london. However, when we were on the top, it was effing scary. I couldn't move. I had to sit down while imogen, left me alone in my misery and took pictures of places. Thank god for my London Eye booklet guide lol. I was able to take pictures despite the legs getting in the way.

After the eye, we walked around the jubilee garden and then we crossed the jubilee bridge and had lunch at one of the cafe's there. We walked around some more then had to go back for the dogs.

It was also on my 2nd week that I met Imogen's parents for the first time. I was so nervous. I've never met the parents of my partner and i was being introduced as a gf not as a friend so it was different. They were very nice and warm.

We went to thorpe park, another theme park. It was the adult version of chessington park. The rides were intense, faster and scarier.

It was also when the UK was celebrating the birthday of the Queen. We weren't able to go to the trooping of the colours because of the rain but i was able to catch a glimpse of the planes flying over london and "smoking" out colors representing the flag of UK.

In my 3rd week of stay, Imogen and I drove all the way to staffordshire and went to Alton. It was really nice there. lush greeneries, wonderful gardens, the castle/tower oh and not to forget the theme park, alton towers. the theme park was awesome. full of scary, more intense and faster rides. It was so scary that most rides have this don't-look-down-or-don't-open-your-eyes-or-you'll-die-feeling.

Anyway back in surrey, imogen and i went to london to meet up with her friends. we had lunch and i just sat and listened to them talk. They talk a lot and knowing that they don't see each other often, i just let them catch up with each other. AFter lunch we went to the covent garden and shopped around.

Imogen took me to soho and it was my first time to see a place packed with gay men. It was fun lol. then we went to chinatown and i don't remember what happened after lol.

anyway, for the rest of my stay, we went to leicester square, picadilly circus, regent's park and had a huge lunch with mum's friend mrs. egan, st. james park.. erm pardon me i'm struggling hard to remember lol. anyway i will edit this later on when imogen comes online so she can help me refresh my memory lol.

Anyway, my last week was depressing. I knew the time i had to leave her sometime and it was painful. At the airport, we couldn't stop crying. I hope that my next trip to visit her would be final. no more separating.

Love and Pain.. in the same sense at the same time.. yes it's possible

2007-08-18T11:08:00.000+08:00

Being in a relationship is wonderful. Having someone to share your life with apart from your family and friends is one of the most wonderful feeling anyone could have. Currently, I'm in a same sex long distance relationship. I have had relationships before my current one however, this one is my first longest relationship and the most serious of all. It's been more than a year now. I wondered how we were able to manage our relationship despite the stress of being so physically distant from each other.

Someone has said that "abscence makes the heart grow fonder." It is true especially when two people fight. The best thing for the both of them is to not see each other to clear things up and then everything will be fine. Also, spending every minute with each other can be so unhealthy. In relation to long distance relationship, sometimes, a very long absence can lead to pain and confusion. As what my partner has said, "We're so close and great together but painful when we come to realize that we're not really together." I am just fortunate that my partner has not suggested it to be an open relationship because that would mean it's not only the physical part that is lacking but something else like sex or boredom.

I have had friends who would say that they can never be in a long distance relationship. Part of me understands them because of the pain that comes with it. Other part does not understand them at all because just like one of the most memorable quotes, "love conquers all".

The longest i've physically been with my partner is just one month. Sometimes I wonder if what would happen when the time comes that we will actually be together. I am sure it will be different. Not only we're sharing our space and all but we're actually going to be experiencing each others life versus, sharing our life via online or phone calls or short visits.

There's no secret really in managing a long distance relationship. I guess the general rule of thumb is that when you love, you WILL to love that person. When you fall in love, it can't be controlled but you're given a choice to give yourself or not. In my current relationship, i choose to give my wholeself to my partner because i love her.