Destiny and Cold Storage

Early yesterday morning, I read Krip Yuson’s column in Philippine Star where he mentioned getting himself connected to Destiny cable after Sky dropped Solar Sports and Basketball TV from its line-up following Solar Sports’ granting GMA7 exclusive rights to Manny Pacquiao’s fight months back. Yuson convinced me Destiny was ok, a question I had long wanted an answer to before getting a connection myself for the love of husband and son who enjoy watching NBA games.

I thought Destiny, like Sky, had 24-hour service. So after calling 187 for its number, I promptly dialed for Destiny but got no answer. I called 187 again (that was a little after to ask for a second number as the first wasn’t answering. The operator gave me a second number plus the info that

Unfortunate Food Incidents atbp (at iba pa)

Last week, my son, husband and I ate at a Greek restaurant in a mall. I am deliberately not posting the name as I love the place. Besides which, what happened to me there can happen even at home. Anyway, one of our orders was the clam pasta. This tastes very clean as there’s no thick sauce that comes with it. Possibly, just the broth.

After I got some and put this on my plate, before I took a bite, I decided to open some shells, many of which were already half opened. There was one that looked somehow unopened but not much effort was needed to pry it open. When I succeeded, lo and behold, the shell halves

Odd food combinations that work

This morning, the mom of a friend gave me a bottle of bagoong. When she handed it to the maid, she told the maid to tell me that I could eat it with crackers or toasted bread. That floored me. I had always associated bagoong with mangoes or with pork binagoongan. With bread and crackers? That was certainly a novelty. When I tried it out, wow, it was great. Perhaps the idea of combining both was in keeping with eating caviar and crackers? I don’t really know. But it’s a good combination, promise.

Way back when I was in Talisay, I always had barbecued saba with salted peanuts. Why? The maid got both from the market so to save on trips to the market, I’d ask her to get both for me at the same time. To this day, then, whenever I have one, I look for the other. Being in Manila now, it’s not always possible.

Yet another food combination I enjoy is that of chocolate and potato chips. Some people find this odd but I have been vindicated. Bon Appetit in Rustans carried potato chips covered with melted chocolate. See? I also like eating potato chips with dikiam. Honestly.

Foibles and "shoplifting" indavertently

Back in college, a Chinese classmate gave me a company pocket diary where I listed stuff to buy. One evening, I was in National Bookstore near Araneta Coliseum and checked the pocket diary. Then I quickly put it back in my maong bag with a Raggedy Ann painted on it. Tandang tanda ko pa. It even had a wooden handle. Why does that memory stand out? Shortly after I put the diary back in my bag, the security guard accosted me. I said “Why?” He said I took something. I promptly opened my bag and he got the red diary. I said, but that’s mine and it’s been used. He returned it and walked away. No apologies. The maid with me said “you should have told him your Lolo can afford to buy National Bookstore.” A gross exaggeration but comforting nonetheless. I was really shaken.

Years later, in my disabled state, my husband and I were choosing belts. The sales clerk gave me quite a number. I put them on my lap where my bag was. See, I can’t feel beyond my chest so what happens down there, unless the sensation, okay pain, is intense, I’m clueless about it. (Proof: I used to sit my son on my lap, lots of groceries, etc. People would say they were heavy but I managed to smile. I didn’t feel the weight. I just enjoyed having my son on my lap. Earlier, my nephew) Back to Rustan’s. We got one belt, paid for it and were on our way out when the metal detector was agitated: tooot tooot tooot. Oops, I thought, my wheelchair has been detected. Then I looked down and lo and behold, under my bag a belt was lurking. I was soooooooooo embarrrrrrrrrrrrrassssssssssssssssssssssseddddddddd. The guard hastily went to me with a smile and said, “Sorry ma’am.” Even the cashier and sales clerks smiled at me and said “Sorry.” I guess that’s Rustan’s for you. And maybe it helped that I frequent the place even if only to look around. They thought or at least made me think I wasn’t a shoplifter in their eyes. Whew.

If you think that embarrassing experience taught me to be more careful, it hasn’t. But the succeeding mishaps have been minor. Except that it would have been interesting if I noted the dates and the places from which I’ve inadvertently brought home table napkins from restaurants. If my memory serves me right, I once brought out of Kimpura a peach napkin which was the same color as my pants. As I saw this just before I was loaded into the car, when we passed Kimpura, we handed it to the guard with our apologies. He merely smiled. I also brought home a burgundy napkin from I can’t remember where, a white one from somewhere else, a beige one from yet another place. Last Saturday, I got one from Spring Moon. Make that I accidentally got one from the restaurant. Weird that I did as it was white, my pants weren’t and my bag on top of it was beige. Their waiters weren’t looking, I guess. Nice napkin. Had embossed patterns on it. Will I return it? Abangan…

The tale of Banjo and Boston

If I suddenly and mistakenly write Bruno here, it’s because Banjo and Boston are barbershops, just like Bruno’s. Oh, but now I get it. Bruno’s is upscale, located in Power Plant, Banjo’s and Boston are in Katipunan– they both cater to students. Let me correct myself, while Bruno’s is in upscale Power Plant, it charges reasonably. The last time my son had a haircut there, I think it cost P120. Not bad for an establishment in Power Plant.

So why am I writing about Boston and Banjo’s?

Banjo’s has been in Katipunan for a long time now. It was the barbershop of choice of my son and husband. In fact, my husband has a favorite barber in Banjo’s. Okay, make that had.

Last Monday, when he came home from the barber’s, he said he went to Boston’s. Why? His favorite barber had transferred. And think about this. Boston’s is on the second floor of the same building where Banjo’s is. No zoning regulations here, apparently. Or should that be courtesy at the very least? I asked my husband how he found out that Hermie, his favorite, was in Boston’s. A barber in Banjo’s had informed my husband. And when he told Hermie this, Hermie said that possibly, it was his brother-in-law who had told my husband. Husband said the manicurist of Banjo’s had also transferred to Boston.

Tonight my son came back from the barber’s. Still Banjo’s. My son has a soft spot in his heart. Outside Banjo’s he said, were the former barbers of the shop who were staking out their old clients so they could lead them up to Boston’s. How crude and cruel. But my son, like I said, has a soft heart. Seeing that there was but one barber left in Banjo’s and despite the fact that by choosing to stay loyal he had to await his turn, he did. He also told me that while he was at Banjo’s, the lone barber was interrupted several times by calls from the owner who asked if new barbers had been recruited from the province. My son said he heard there had been. But he also noted that the lone remaining barber also wanted to up and leave.

Banjo and Boston. Their story is nothing new in the Philippines where the crab mentality rules. Sad.

In-yo

This restaurant I think I’ve written about. It was a house converted into a cozy, fine dining, a bit pricey restaurant. It features Fusion cuisine.

Parking is ample inside, with a valet available to do the chores. He’s not clad the way hotel valets are but he’s okay. Sorry I failed to take pictures of the facade but next time I will.

There are tables outside under trees with vines cascading downwards.

It’s cool enough in the evenings but I don’t exactly imagine enjoying a meal there at lunch, though some do. Just before the doorway is a fishpond littered with koi. Reminds me of my childhood when we had some of these but referred to them as goldfish. hahaha. Now they’re known as carp or koi. Cool.

I was earlier than my two friends but it didn’t occur to me to take pictures which I should have done. The tabletops are perched on top of the legs of old sewing machines. The waiter gave me a round stool, or so I thought, for laying my bag on. I didn’t accept his offer. I should have taken a picture of that too.

Anyway, when they finally came, we ordered Oysters Rockefeller. In one shell were two oysters (mutants? just kidding) slathered with melted cheese, topped with orange fish roe. There was a leaf inside, I think basil. But I’m no expert so I could be wrong. Six shells were neatly arranged on top of a bed of rock salt. Wonder if they dispose or recycle the salt. See picture somewhere on this page. Hopefully, below or beside this paragraph.

We also ordered oven poached lapu-lapu. When it came it was engulfed (buried?) in a blanket of suspended foil. I should have taken its picture thus, but I didn’t think quickly enough. When the waiter opened the “package”, it revealed a shallow bowl of filleted lapu-lapu swimming in clear broth along with some pechay leaves, slices of Chinese chorizo and shiitake mushrooms. Very healthy. Oh, and there were a few clams as well. My friend put two lapu-lapu fillets on my small plate, one chorizo slice, several mushroom slices, one clam and one pechay leaf. again very healthy. not very tasty, but healthy.

we also ordered what I ordered the last time: something like US tender hanging blade. I’m not sure about the exact wording or the sequence of the words. Sounds like it anyway. We asked that the beef be cooked medium well (my friend did; i’d have preferred medium rare). The beef slices were perched against very yummy mushroom risotto along with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and alfalfa sprouts. I really like this dish so much I may not order differently next time we’re in In-yo. Luckily my companions (friends or family) are adventurous, so I get to taste the other entrees in the restaurant.

And because I subscribe to what Gail Gand says “there’s always room for dessert” I asked my friends what we should order. i’d have enjoyed the creme brulee or the mango pavlova but someone said we might try the pannacotta. So we did. It was served with very small slices of fruits like grapes, strawberry, green apples, pineapple. Atop the pannacotta was an egg roll (barquillos) shaped like a crescent moon, like in the Muslim flag. Here it is somewhere…

In-yo makes a lot of effort to present everything beautifully. The food they serve look like paintings. This explains why when we eat out and order dessert in other restaurants I get disappointed when the cake plate only has a cake and no art work whatsoever. In-yo has educated me to expect only the best…or at least, pretty entrees.

I almost forgot. My friend ordered a drink which claimed to warm the stomach and melt I forgot what (so she thought it might help her arthritis). It’s called apple crumble and here is how it was presented.

We’re Lost! and how Globe Find helped

Last Saturday, my son and the group to which he belongs sang at a wedding in Greenhills. He drove himself and found his way to the church easily. We didn’t hear from him until after the mass when he called my cell and said, “Ma, we’re lost! Can you locate us?”

This is not a commercial for Globe but may well sound like one. You see, a year or so ago I registered in Globe Find after a mom told me of how impressed she was when her son went to Bacolod and she located him in Robinson’s. She also told me of how the same feature of GLobe helped locate a friend of her husband’s whose relative had passed away. The tracker said the friend was in Eastwood.

So hastily, I enrolled my son with his permission. If he hadn’t sad yes, I’d have coerced him. I registered my husband too but as his phone is Smart and I have since not used my Smart phone, I cannot track him any longer. Hmmmmmmmmm. But that’s another story.

Back to Saturday. Before my son called, I had tracked him because I wanted to know if they were out of Greenhills. What I found out through GLobe was that he was still in Greenhills. So when he called and I said, “You’re in Greenhills,” he said, “no we aren’t. That was earlier.” So I decided to text “Find…” to 7000 again, and this time, it said he was in Sta. Mesa, near Stop and Shop. He was supposed to have headed for Promenade in Greenhills, across (though diagonally) from the church. Bayani and his NO U-TURNS.

My husband was alarmed, “they’re so far away.”

I said, “please relax and just help him.” So they talked, put down the phone so my son could park the car somewhere so they could talk again and my husband could give him directions. To cut a long story short, things worked out and when I next tracked my son, he was where he should be.

Okay, sometimes, the system has glitches. How do i know? Sometimes, out of mere curiosity, (though it costs Php5 per find) I’d have my son found within a few minutes of each other and though he’d have moved by then to another place, the answer would still be the same. Sometimes too, the location given is a bit off but I guess, within a certain radius of where he actually is. Thankfully, though, when the correct info was most needed, Globe delivered. Thanks, Globe.

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This is not about my son anymore but about a nephew. He works in Ortigas and was on his way to the Scout areas or somewhere. He missed a U-turn, decided to turn somewhere and ended in Makati. Darn Bayani. So my nephew decided to go home to Loyola instead of going to the party with his friends in the Scout area.

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One time we were at the Acropolis clubhouse. We wanted to go to Omakase which was across the entrance of Acropolis subdivision. But no thanks to bayani, we had to travel maybe a kilometer or so and back so we could get to Omakase. Bayani doesn’t believe in energy conservation, I guess.

A Taste of Heaven. No, make that glimpses of heaven

A sister texted that she had some Yoku Moku cookies for me.

If you read an earlier blog of mine, I had swooned about those cookies, which I first tried before a lauriat after a Chinese friend was laid to rest on the ground. (days before he had been cremated after a weeklong wake in a coffin). Then, when this same sister went to Japan, I had asked her to get Yoku Moku cookies for me, offering to pay for them because I had been warned by a Japanese professor that they were expensive. My sister didn’t charge me for the lovely tin of double chocolate Yoku Moku cookies she brought. They were heavenly. We ate those cookies sparingly because we knew we might never, ever get a chance to have them again. They are not available in the Philippines. Thus, when she said she had new cookies again, I decided to consume the rest in the old tin and saw 3 pieces when I got home. hahaha. enjoy.

Anyway, back to the story.

So when my sister texted she had some to share, my taste buds grew excited. But not until I took the first bite after dinner in a CHinese restaurant did I relive the experience of biting into it. I just had to say to my husband after I took the first bite, “This tastes like heaven,” while handing him the bigger portion of what remained. This time around, the cookies came in several flavors, mostly nut-based: macadamia, almond, etc. Of the lot she gave, we’ve shared just two: my husband, son and I. And that’s not even one each. Or maybe my son also ate one by himself?

The new batch of cookies were wrapped in red, blue, yellow and green plastic wraps with Christmas designs. Very spare designs as only the Japanese can, so very elegant in their simplicity.

My Sandals – Indulge Me

Indulge me. When I could walk, I enjoyed wearing heeled sandals, especially the flesh colored ones. they were flattering to the feet. I liked in particular those that closed around the ankle. Even as early as Grade 6, I had favorite adult-looking shoes which I liked wearing with my maong or corduroy mini-skirts. Okay, I liked dressing up, I still do.

Just before I was paralyzed, I had aching knees and feet that would suddenly have cramps, so I resorted to flats, which I bought in several colors. They had tiny leather ribbons on top and looked like ballet shoes, not the pointe, just the regular ballet flats. My sandals were no higher than two inches by then.

Then I was paralyzed. Initially I bought shoes that had heels but then as I no longer had control of my feet, the right foot especially would lie on its side and it was unsightly. Occasionally, I’d get shoes that were flat but as these didn’t have straps, they’d shoot out of my foot and up (not that high naman) in the air when my feet became spastic or suddenly tiptoed involuntarily. In fact, during my wedding, I think a shoe came of. Shades of Cinderella, except that the prince charming who picked it up was my neurosurgeon cum godparent.

So lately, I’ve resorted to flat, strapped sandals. Initially I had sandals that had complex designs like banig on top and sometimes my toenails which the maid would sometimes forget to cut would be caught in them. So twice, I had blackened big toes that… do I go into details? I don’t want to, I’m queasy about such things. Suffice it to say, those two nails grew back, thanks God.

And so here are my sandals. The gold one is from T Studio at Rustan’s. I bought it for my wedding ninang get-up which explains why it’s gold. The black pair with white beads I had made to order at Lila Almario’s in Power Plant. Shop is no longer there though. I think I ordered them to wear to formal occasions with my black silk (?) pants. The rest are Grendha sandals which aren’t only soft and light, but cost the least. The Grendha sandals are available in Shoe Salon. They have other nice designs, one in particular which I liked had sequins and looked very feminine. Except that these had a strap just below (across) the toes, and garters crossing at the ankle. My feet might not survive in them. But they looked really good when I saw a lady wearing them. Sigh.

My sandals:

T Studio

Grendha

Lila Almario (when my sister’s friend saw this, she told my sister, “Taray naman ng sandals ng sister mo.” She even took a picture of me in them.)
One of these days, if I have reason to, I want to try Solea sandals. They also look good. But that will be a long time from now. I’m happy with what I have now.

Oh yes, when CROCS first came out and I read such favorable write-ups on them, I wanted to buy myself a pair. So we went off to Rustan’s where when I saw the Crocs’ uneven surface, I thought this might damage the skin of my feet. Husband said to wear socks with them but I thought these wouldn’t look nice on me. So he and my son ended up buying CROCS for themselves. And I just looked at them enviously. Sigh. I wanted to look like Mario Batali or Paul Huang, chef’s both with orange versions. Just kidding about looking like them, haha.

Getting a Philippine Passport and an NBI Clearance

 

Getting a passport or government service in the Philippines is one for the books. My son embarked on getting one yesterday, but before he left for the Department of Foreign Affairs, I called up the trunk line to ask up till when applications could be made. The operator said, 2 pm.

So my husband and son left for the DFA. They were there before 2 but the guard told them, the applications were closed at 12. When I learned about this, I called DFA and this time the operator still said 2. I said, so why did they close at 12? He said, why don’t you call this number and complain there? As far as I know it’s 2. I scolded him saying you should know how to answer questions because it’s quite a long drive from Quezon City to Roxas Boulevard. After some time, I decided to give the operator a rest and took up his suggestion to call the other number. Phone just rang and rang and rang. So I tried the other trunk line number. The operator manning the said line was better informed. He said as there were so many applicants, they closed the gates at 12. Just like that, they closed the gates at 12. Darn.

So I called Teleserv via which one can apply for a passport by phone but at 3 times the cost. Where weeks back I was told an NBI clearance was optional, the operator who answered me yesterday they were requiring it because some verifiers at DFA insisted on it. Also, where before I was told the driver’s license which Teleserv needed had to be the original form, this time she said they decided a xerox copy would do. How’s that for consistency?

When my husband arrived, I had him call Teleserv just so we could firm up the requirements. The one who answered his call said the NBI clearance wasn’t necessary. My head was spinning from the crossed information we were getting yesterday.

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The NBI clearance. When I learned of the need for an NBI clearance, I called my son to go to city hall to get one while they were still on the road. So they went to the NBI. After some time he texted, “mama, I wasn’t cleared!” I asked what crime he had committed, oh okay, what crime his namesake had committed, he said he didn’t know. Crazy no? The NBI saw he had a different middle name from the lawbreaker plus a different address, but he wasn’t cleared. Family name too common, he was told. So he’ll have to go back to the NBI for his clearance on 14 January. Years back, when my husband applied for a police clearance, he wasn’t cleared either. A namesake was listed as a criminal.

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