Yet Another Top Ten List

The brainchild of Eat Your Banana got me to do this and yeah, I must admit; this fill in the blank thingies still have their classic charms of amusement. So here goes. *excited*

  IF YOU COULD ONLY HAVE ONE ___________ FOR YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?



1. CONDIMENT(s). Hands down to  Salt and Pepper. Their each others' soulmates and our food's breath and chakra. haha! Their so essential that their absence would make the world tasteless. Just like the non-existence of red, yellow and blue would make the world mononchromatic. haha!

2. CITY TO LIVE IN. Of course, DAVAO CITY. just because. period.

3. PLACE TO VACATION TO. I think I would go to ITALY. It's the center of my chosen faith, the birthplace of pizza and pasta, and of course... the eternal fountain of diluted caffeine is there. perfect. :)

4. COLOR TO WEAR. YELLOW. It's the color that lets the sunshine in. there's no excuse to be gloomy when you're wearing Mr. Sun. :)

5. CELEBRITY/CHARACTER CRUSH. just the thought of typing his name here makes me so kilig to the nerves. eeek! LEE MIN HO. go jun pyo!! go jun pyo!! wee! ok, now i can't stop smiling. ^____^

6. DESSERT TO EAT. I will always scream for ice cream. <3

7. BOOK TO READ. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA. This makes me go all "You Make Me Feel, You Make Me Feel, Youuuuuu Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman" Cheers to classic femininity.

8. TELEVISION SERIES TO WATCH. Our whole universe started and will end with THE BIG BANG THEORY. Never a dull moment with the gang. This show's writers are soo awesome I just wanna be engulfed by a black whole and be lost in a time-space (or is it space-time.. whatever) continuum forever. THat's how bad ass they are. <3

9. CARTOON CHARACTER AS A ROOMATE. Haha! This is easy. Of course, I would do everything to have Daria as a roomate. I just love her. To share her sarcasm, and her out of this world perception of the Social Contract is a once in a lifetime privilege that is worth killing for. I could really use her methods of bashing unlikable people. Mean but discreet. just the way I like it. *evil grin with Daria opening song as background music.*

10. TYPE OF FOOD TO EAT TO SUSTAIN A WHOLE LIFETIME. Oh this is hard! All of my favorite nourishments are yelling PICk  Me! Pick Me! PIck Meeee!!!! as of the moment.. hmmm, let's see.. Ok. I would go for *sorry, pizza, pasta and maki rolls* RAMEN. Yep. I think I can live with noodles alone. It has everything in it already. It has protein from the meat, vitamins and minerals from the veggies and the carbohydrates from the noodles. *ssssssssssluuurrrpp!* it's complete and perfect. :)

So these are my essentials. thanks chamie for getting me to do this. haha! And yeah.. among others, WORLD  PEACE. \m/

Happythankyoumoreplease, Paracetamol and Cold Compress

Me: Huh? What's the title?
Jomar: Happythankyoumoreplease.
Me: What?! Are you sure?

It's a weird title, yes it is. But real artistry doesn't come clean. If it does, then it wouldn't be a thing of beauty at all. Jomx got sick that night so it was my social obligation to make him feel better by making grilled cheese sandwiches and bottomless hot choco. (it's just Milo actually. Just made it sound fancy. wuahaha!) So while administering the periodic cold compress on his forehead, we landed on Star Movies and this movie was just getting started.

It was a really nice film. It has great lines as well as bad ass acting and cinematography. It's a film about love, being loved, finding love and being found. It's about giving your life a chance to be happy, and be a joy for others as well. It's about embracing your whole being and be proud of it. It's about appreciating yourself, and believing that you're beautiful. It's about knowing when and why you should take chances and risks, and how to learn from their outcomes. It's about throwing away that dagger of cautiousness you keep on the side. It's about learning that you can never be enough for yourself, but in reality, there is actually someone who thinks that you're already perfect. It's the same someone who gives you tons of kisses just so your mouth would close when you are sleeping; that same someone who finds you most beautiful in the morning despite your puffy eyes and the traces of evening drool on the sides of your mouth.

Yep, someone isn't a figment of my imagination. Someone exists; and Someone was right there beside me until the movie ended. I stroked Someone's hair until Someone fell asleep. I kissed Someone goodnight and thanked  the heavens for giving me another chance at life.

I'm happy, I'm thankful, but I don't think I'd still want for anything more. Maybe on some other upgrades for our meager middle class existence, super yes to that! (A retirement home for my family and an entertainment showcase for Papa, and of course world peace, among others)

But with this.. ^^^^ nah. I'm good. I'm found and I found it. I'm going to stick to that. 

The Ginamos Chronicles

"Where are we gonna eat?"

            This, and "What are we going to eat?" are the hardest questions that you have to answer when you're in college, and when the university you are in is a thousand miles away from home. Oh wait, I mean a thousand kilometers away. (Who am I kidding. In RP, its SI.) Jomar suggested that we go for burgers. Expensive according to me. I suggested we go for ramen at the Japanese restaurant. Expensive according to him. We ended up at a local carinderia that is probably the only one left which sells 1 cup of rice for just 5 pesos. If this is not the most delightful thing ever, I don't know what is.

              We have previously met the owner of the food stall last week because we ordered a bilao of pancit bihon for our semstarter. (For the record, I do know the English term for bilao. I learned that from my father when I was a kid. I just don't think using the term a "winnow of stir-fried white noodles extracted from mungbean" is appropriate. It makes me uncomfortable.) She overheard us talking in Bisaya and she asked us if we really are from down south. 

                                              "Bisaya mo Dong? Bisaya pud ko!", she said.

             I can feel her excitement and her joy upon this discovery. After closing our transaction for that bilao of pancit (yup! that's more comforting), a few chats, and after devouring our very delicious dinner of pork sisig and radish-smothered pork tidbits (I didn't ask for the name of the dish. It just looked so appetizing.) and 2 cups of rice for me (grins), we already said our goodbyes.

              So last night we decided to eat there again and Ate still recognized us.

                                   (Oh, the Bihon People! <--- her probable recollection of us)

          We ate a serving of pork sisig, munggo, pork barbecue, and 3 cups of rice (One serving is just 5 pesos. It would be such a shame to be rude to food by not devouring it. Never be rude to inexpensive food!) After we finished our feast, Ate talked about how much she misses her home in Mindanao. She said she missed cooking most of the mouth-watering dishes that are only popular there at the South. She can't cook it here because people are not used to them. So there, we night-dreamed about the food that have already grown on out hearts.

    1. Paklay

            Basically it is just stir-fried cattle rudiments and liver with lots of ginger, onions, garlic and bell pepper. This dish is sooo good I can eat it alone even without rice. And yeah, I can live with eating just this.. plus water... and a medication for high blood pressure, just in case. :)

2. Champorado Ug Bulad

             Being blessed with a Type IV climate where occasional typhoons are no match to Mindanao's majestic mountain barriers, we fancy cooking the classic Filipino chocolate porridge during rainy days (just plain rainy days without the scary wooooo-ing wind). To compliment the sweet and thick delight, we eat it along with a little twist- Bulad (dried fish)!!!! Oh just thinking about it makes me drool! These two are soulmates, and they are nothing less but looove to the palette. 

3. Ginataang Munggo with Kamunggay and Bulad na Lapu-Lapu

            The urge to drool is getting so much stronger. This is our take to the classic Mungbean Soup but again, our version features some more delectable twists. The coconut milk makes the soup creamier and the inherent saltiness of the dried Lapu-Lapu compliments all the flavors. Malunggay or Moringa as it now fancily called makes the dish more nutritious and more appealing by giving touches of green to this culinary masterpiece. 

4. Ginamos

           This is our own version of bagoong. Of course, nothing beats the bagoong of our brothers and sisters in Pangasinan and Ilocandia when it comes to taste, but ginamos already has a special place in our southern hearts. In contrast to the traditional bagoong, it is somewhat grayish to black in color, and the dilis (long-jawed anchovies) are still visibly whole. After squirting the juice of some calamansi, and after adding a few slices of not-so-ripe-and-still-crunchy tomatoes, breakfast/lunch/dinner is ready. Just that simple. 

            To say I miss home is absolutely an understatement. I miss the laid-back lifestyle, the compassionate people and the yummiest inexpensive food. They say a banana a day keeps the doctor away. But I refuse to follow that here in Luzon when a single banana is priced eight pesos. EIGHT PESOS! Sometimes it's even ten. It may not be inexpensive but I just get that at home almost for free. The classic adobo here has potatoes and hard boiled eggs, and it's consistency is almost soupy. Back home adobo is made purely with meat and it is thick, and almost all the liquid have been absorbed. The meat is soft and the taste is impeccable. 

           I can go on and on with this forever. But I guess I have to stop now as this just makes me miss home more and more. I'll be going home soon, that's a relief. But for now when I'm still here, I'll keep on eating there at that little food stall along F.O. Santos Street. Eating there gives me a sense of comfort that Home is not a thousand kilometers away. It only takes a few steps to get there, some great food and some great friends that I could share every meal with to make me feel as one with the Land of Promise again. <3

        *P.S. This post is not date sensitive. I started composing the earlier parts about a week ago. :) 'Til my next word dumping. Ciao.

<--- Because 1200 Characters are Not Enough to Fill that Box Entitled About Me

I just pulled this out from those random chain posts from Facebook that somewhat obliges you to answer or else (____________insert gory details of misfortune here______________) will happen to you in SEHVEEHN DHAAYSShh <--*delivered in a very creepy and rashly whispered way* (Kidding aside, that movie was really freaky! eeeek!) OK, so here's ME. <3

1. i'm an artist trapped in a scientist's ordeal.
2. i'm not a dancer. i can't follow steps. haha!
3. i scream for ice cream!
4. i've been self-teaching myself to play the guitar and the piano since time immemorial.
5. My ultimate dream is to be a VJ or a documentarist or to be a travel show host in TLC. =)
6. i love to read. i read everything that has words on it. from shampoo bottle labels to aircraft emergency landing instructions. =) take note: EVERYTHING
7. I LOVE MY FAMILY SOOOOO MUCH!
8. i love Jose Mari Diez.
9.  i'm a very, very shy person... before. 10 years ago. wahaha!
10. i want to write a book, Bob Ong style or the Jessica Zafra way (hail Jessica Zafra). or be a columnist in a major broadsheet.
11. i'd like to have a mango farm with an Apiary in it, and a garden full of sunflowers, and a silk processing facility. sweetness, happiness and classic elegance! =)
12. No, I'm not Stacey's mom. I'm Gwen's mom.
13. i love to eat, that's why i love to cook. =)
14. i enjoy watching Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica.
15. because of number 14, I think it would be best if I replace Penny in The Big Bang Theory. hahaha! =)
16. i see beauty in chaos. haha! this is just my excuse for being not so organized.
17. sorry, but i'm not a goddess. i'm just a mere mortal. haha!
18. i sleep with my mouth open. wink!
19. i prefer a fiery red Ducati over a cherry red Ferrari. zoooom! zooooom!
20. i don't know how to drive. yet. =)
21. i'm a shoe-deficient shoe person.
22. i'm a stylista cloaked by pauper garments.
23. I have a minimalist concept for beauty. Glamour is best served in Simplicity-garnished dishes.
24. i am a beautiful disaster.
25. i am Geri Casas.