When chickens come home to roost...

I went hot and cold
When I was ignored

Am not angry
Just unhappy

For I am to blame
"So sorry" is lame

Mistreated you
Made you blue

Now it's my turn
My bridges burned

Coffee with Friends

At a cozy corner in Caffe Nero...

From left to right: Perry, Kuya Jhun and Roni

Clockwise from top: chocolate fudge cake, tiramisu and white chocolate mocha

Vampires vs. Wolves, Zombies & a Food Storm

Went on a movie marathon again, this time I had horror, romance, action and comedy in the menu.

1) New Moon (http://www.twilightthemovie.com/) reminded me of how it was like to be a teenager on the throes of falling in love. While I hated Bella's selfishness (though she was honest about it), I was actually rooting for Jacob Black despite the fact that we all know how this love triangle ends. Can there be an alternative ending?

2) I asked myself, will I be able to survive a day in a land full of zombies? Probably not. But Zombieland (http://www.zombieland.com/) makes it look easy - just follow Columbus' Rules for Survival. Interesting how the characters had no name but referred to each other by the place of their origin (Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock). There are a few memorable scenes like the opening scene (of course), Bill Murray's cameo, the fireplace scene where Tallahassee talked about his dead son, and the scene where Tallahasse finally got to eat a twinkie - enjoy the little things (Rule #32).

3) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (http://www.cloudywithachanceofmeatballs.com/) made my mouth water.

Of victuals

Someone, older and suffering from high cholesterol level, told me that we should enjoy our favorite foods while we're still young, healthy and able but in moderate amounts. This statement made me fell less guilty about my secret, once-in-a-while food binges and so I listed down, in no particular order, just some of my favorite eats and made a mental note to have them whenever I can - in moderate amounts.

Chilli's: Citrus Fire Chicken & Shrimp, Texas Fries, Quesadilla
Don Henrico's: Bottomless Iced Tea, Buffalo Wings
7-Eleven: Bola-bola Siopao, Slurpee
Andok's: Lechon Manok
The Noodle Room Express: Pad Thai, Chicken with Black Bean Sauce, Kung Pao Chicken
Tapsi ni Vivian: Tapsilog, Tortang Talong, Adobong Pusit
Lapid's: Pork Chicharon (yung may laman)
Chinese Dragon: Seafood Hot Pan
Shalimar: Beef Chilli, Thai Chicken, Chicken Sweet Corn Soup, Mixed Fried Rice, Mixed Grill
Al Sahary Restaurant: Shawarma
Safeenat Al Bahar: Cajun Burger, Fruit Cocktail
Pizza Inn: Potato Wedges
Hardees: Mushroom n' Swiss Burger
KFC: Toasted Twister, Chicken Popcorn, Gravy, Spaghetti, Brownie
Caesar's: Tiramisu, Chocolate Mousse, Spicy Chicken Pizza, Garlic Chicken Roll
Masaya: Chicken Wings
McDonald's: Fries, Apple Pie, Big Tasty, Hashbrown
Carl's Jr.: Onion Rings
Baskin Robbins: Banana Berry Shake
Dunkin Donuts: Boston Creme
Jollibee: Aloha Burger, Tuna Sandwich, Spaghetti, Burger Steak, Peach Mango Pie, Crisscut Fries
Pancake House: Fried Chicken & Gravy
Sweet Sunflower Seeds from China
Hot Bread: Danish Bread (assorted)
Tropical Hut: Burger Steak (esp. for breakfast)
Shakey's: Mojo Potatoes
Max's: Lumpia Shanghai, Caramel Squares
Pizza Hut: Salad Bar
Wendy's: Frosty, Salad
Mang Inasal: Chicken Inasal, Bbq
Starbucks: Mocha Java
Corn Cucumber Smoked Cheese Iceberg Lettuce Ham Salad with Thousand Island Dressing
Fresh Chicken King: Chicken with Mushroom
Spinneys: Almond Croissant, Potato/Russian Salad, Mexican Chicken Roll, Maple & Pecan Rolls
Chowking: Lumpia Shanghai, Nai Cha, Daing na Bangus with Kangkong & Bagoong, King's Congee
Doritos Nacho Cheese with Old El Paso Salsa Mild & Cheese Salsa
Frito Lays Ruffles Cheese/Sour Cream
Goldilocks: Dinuguan, Laing, Fruit Salad, Lumpia Sariwa, Bbq
Kenny Roger's: Fiesta Roast Chicken, Corn Muffin, Baby Potatoes, Corn & Carrot, Cheese Macaroni
Arns' Guinataang Tulingan (Bicol Style)
Capricorn & Fortune Bakery: Pandesiosa
Red Ribbon: Chocolate Mousse, Caramel Crunch, Mango Sylvanas
Perry's Sizzling Sisig
Danao Orange Banana Strawberry Cocktail
Burger King: Chicken Fries, Mushroom n' Swiss / King Burger
China House Restaurant: Chilli Prawns, Fried Rice
Greenwich: Hashbrown, Pizza Hawaiian / Supreme
Arns' Estrelladong Tuna
French Baker: Lasagna
Ferrero Rocher, Cadbury's Milk Tray, Godiva / Lindt Collection, Patchi, Butterfinger, Hershey's Pot of Gold: Chocolates
Seattle's Best: Frappuccino
Selecta: Coffee Crumble
Al Jazeera Restaurant: Biryani
Malabon's Kakanin sa Bilao, Pancit
Pospas ni Aling Nena: Pospas, Tokwa't Baboy
Activia Strawberry Yogurt
Triple V Express: Green Mango Salad, Dinuguan, Siomai
Subway: "Create your own sandwich" (basta may Philly Steak)
Molo's: Sizzling Gambas, Steamed Boneless Bangus, Crispy Pata, Fried Ice Cream
Miggy's: Burrito Dog, Quesadilla, Soft Taco
Popeye: Fried Chicken
Texas Chicken: Mexicana Burger
ENOC: Spicy Hotdog
Kowloon West: Lumpia Shanghai, Pansit
Luyong: Tortang Itlog, Ampalaya Con Carne
Golden Crown: Chicken Lollipop
Jif Peanut Butter with Honey

Efren Peñaflorida - 2009 CNN Hero of the Year

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/11/16/cnnheroes.tribute.show/index.html


Watching Mr. Efren Peñaflorida's acceptance speech made me very proud to be a Filipino indeed. His triumph is our nation's triumph and shows how a small group of young Filipinos - the 'Dynamic Teen Company' - thru hardwork, love and servitude and with nothing but a lowly wooden 'kariton' can make a difference and inspire people all around the world.

On the other hand, this victory also puts our politicians aka 'public servants' to shame (they should be ashamed if there is still some vestige of conscience left in their empty, black hearts)...

Efren's cause started years before. Did anybody from the Philippine Government reach out, lend help or even much less, acknowledge his efforts? It's considerably a small project compared to their million-peso funded projects of public highways, public schools, public toilets, etc (which would include the cost of the advertizing banner with their face and name slathered on it). He already gained publicity when he got featured in a local TV program (and consequently won a public service award from a private institution) before becoming one of the top ten contingents in the CNN  Hero of the Year, still did anybody from our Government lift a finger to help? Now that he has brought home the bacon, all the politicians, esp. Madame President who were absent before, are clambering to acknowledge and assist his cause, or at least have their photo with him taken. What a shame...

About economics

Someone forwarded an e-mail to me and I am so amused that I have to post it here. I don't know who originally wrote this but it is one witty and humorous take at world economics...

TRADITIONAL ECONOMICS
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies and the economy grows.
You retire on the income.

INDIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You worship them.

PAKISTAN ECONOMICS
You don't have any cows.
You claim that the Indian cows belong to you.
You ask the US for financial aid,
China for military aid,
British for Warplanes,
Italy for machines,
Germany for technology,
French for submarines,
Switzerland for loans,
Russia for drugs
Japan for equipment.
You buy the cows with all this
And claim exploitation by the world.

AMERICAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
You profess surprise when the cow drops dead.
You put the blame on some nation with cows & naturally that nation will be a danger to mankind.
You wage a war to save the world and grab the cows.

FRENCH ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.

GERMAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so that they live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves.

BRITISH ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
They are both mad cows.

ITALIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You don't know where they are.
You break for lunch.

SWISS ECONOMICS
You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you.
You charge others for storing them.

JAPANESE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You redesign them so that they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create cute cartoon cow images called Cowkimon and market them worldwide.

RUSSIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 17 cows.
You give up counting and open another bottle of vodka.

CHINESE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim full employment, high bovine productivity and arrest anyone reporting the actual numbers.

SINGAPORE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
Believe you have a brilliant government
Need to hire foreign talents to manage your cows
You lost all your cows.

Hahaha!!!

A Fractured Heart

I'm looking at him, but not really
The truth is I'm focused on the outskirts of my vision where you lie
You're turned towards someone else and the ache is burning within me
I wanted to reach out but it's pointless, there's a chasm between you and I

I don't know why I endure the pain, I should forget you completely
But your memory lingers, like a sad old melody