Philippine TV

Feeling busy as opposed to being really busy, I haven’t been watching TV as much as I used to. Possibly it’s because of ennui. If I do watch TV i usually start a show but don’t finish it, or if I do, it doesn’t grab my attention a hundred percent. Still here are some things on it:

First: Chris Tiu pronounces Tiu not as “TSU” or “Chu” but as “tu” (u is pronounced like a long u). On another note, in MOA, an optical shop or maybe a shades shop has a huge picture of Chris Tiu (Careful with the pronunciation). Southwing area. Nice smile there.

Second: The twins of Carmina and Zoren and those of Aga and Charlene can act, the girls especially. Watch them in the Selecta and Jollibee commercials. the facial expressions of Cassandra while her hair is in disarray, when Zoren cuts the flowers, when she’s on her mom’s lap — Cassandra can give more seasoned child actresses a run for their money. And she’s so cute besides. To Carmina’s credit, while among the 4 of them she’s the biggest star, she doesn’t try to grab the limelight. Instead she’s laid back and allows Cassey and even Zoren to take centerstage. I like Carmina. Even if she doesn’t smile in the malls.

Oops, I don’t know the name of Charlene’s daughter but she moves her shoulders and her facial muscles in Jollibee’s latest commercial (where the twins discuss a party at Jollibee) like she’s been doing it for so long. What genes can do. (Pity there’s no youtube video yet of the family’s new commercial but here’s an old one.

Mall of Asia the second time around

My son is  one person who doesn’t stop at the obvious, he enjoys probing into the psyche of people, asking questions, etc. So some months back, when something about the CHinese puzzled him, I thought it was about time he met a college classmate who among the male of the species is my favorite Chinese specimen. He is kind, intelligent, the best.

Update on my request at the Manila City Hall Civil Registrar

Per the claim stub given me, I was supposed to follow up October 16. I called as scheduled and was told by Sally to call the following week. I did that last week (October 23) and was told by Jenny to call anytime this week. I called this morning (October 27) and was told by Elsa to call next week. Rigodon. I can’t wait to get acquainted with the rest of the staff at the City Registrar’s Office.

Update on my SSS card :

(did you read anything after “SSS card :” above?) I guess it’s early days.

The Podium on a Sunday etc.

Was at Podium yesterday, which appears like our mall of choice these days. I like the Podium, it’s small enough for a few hours of looking around. Now if only it had a grocery and a Mercury, wow, it would be complete, but it wouldn’t be the Podium either.

Why Podium again?

Eat Bulaga: Welcome back, Francis M!

watching eat bulaga now, I’m crying. Francis M is back, in fighting form. Very emotional I am — I’m so happy to see him looking okay. Ely Buendia too.

Francis M is nationalistic. Before Collezione, Giordano etc. came up with “in” Filipino t-shirts, Francis M did so under his brand “Three stars and a sun”. Would have wanted to buy for husband and son some time back, even before Francis M was taken ill, but the sizes I was looking for were unavailable. Available in Broadway I think and digiprint V-Mall the last time I checked.

Another proof of how nationalistic Francis M is his rap, Mga Kababayan Ko, among others.

Yehey, I’m so happy Francis is well enough to jam with Ely and Pupil. Great. And ely is smiling.

Just now (in between writing and posting this) I wrote in francis m’s multiply site, “Miracles do happen. Am glad it happened to you.” And I mean it.

Check out this site for the video on Francis M’s return to EB. A video is available also at EB’s site but a plugin has to be downloaded, it said. Click here for EB’s site.

Fish n’ Flakes

This morning, I asked the maid to cook fish fillet, having bought dory in Cold Storage when I did the groceries last Thursday. The recipe we’ve been using for months now, and suddenly, she starts scrounging around for it. I was aghast. (what if the recipe was lost forever?) She insisted on looking for it in a Nestle cookbook, I was sure it was in another cookbook, one for kids. I told her to look for that cookbook and luckily she found it. You see, after tasting this recipe of fish fillet, I don’t think anything can top it, so I’m posting it here, as much to share it with you as to be sure I don’t lose it ever. Here goes:

For the fish fillet:

1/2 k lapu-lapu fillets, cut into thick strips

2 tbsp calamansi juice

1 1/2 tsps salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 c all purpose flour

1 egg beaten

2 c crushed cornflakes

2 c cooking oil

For the dip

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 c tomato ketchup

1 tsp mustard

1 tbsp mayonnaise

3 tbsp honey or syrup

Like I mentioned earlier, I use dory. Lately a nephew said there was an issue about dory from Vietnam so when I went to Cold Storage in Rustan’s, I asked the one in charge where her dory came from. She said “Canada.” Hope she was speaking the truth, haha.

Re the cornflakes: Locally made Nestle cornflakes is good enough. No need to get the imported counterpart.

Be sure to wash off the fish with water after drizzling the calamansi on it so the acidity isn’t absorbed. Calamnsi removes the fishy flavor of the fish. That tip from the book’s editor, Gina Navarro.

Cookbook is Cooking and Baking for Kiddie Chefs. Did I tell you I’m retarded? Just kidding but I’m not beyond thinking that there is as much knowledge to be gained from kiddie books, cookbooks included, as there is from more adult material, and I don’t mean “adult” in the you-know-what-way sense.

Phone Calls and Text Messages

True, both forms of technology are undeniably useful tools if used circumspectly, but they can create annoying situations. I know Mercury is no longer in retrograde so why was my sleep interrupted by one or the other early this morning?

At 1:30 the phone rang. By then I had begun dozing off. I thought it was my “boss” who wanted to clarify something as I hastened to mention her name apologetically to my son who was watching a DVD and my husband who had been snoring away. But no, it was a call for him. The phone identified the source of the call so I didn’t answer it lest my ire show. Instead I nudged my husband so he’d take the call himself. I thought for a moment there was an emergency but fortunately, there wasn’t. The conversation could have waited for a more decent time but well… Oh well.

Then at 5:09 a.m., I checked so the time is accurate, my cell phone buzzed to indicate a message had come through: from Citibank, telling me how much I have to pay for my October transactions. Wow, if it weren’t a system generated message, I’d have answered with the message, “Aren’t you aware  what time it is?” But how can you scold a machine? Did the one who programmed it think we’re living in the States? Did he confuse time zones?

Citibank, please be more considerate about sending text messages. Tell your programmers so. Thank you.

(PS No wonder a friend puts her phone on silent mode at night, maybe I should too. Same with the phone. Hmmm)

Unsolicited Advice to GMA7

I am an avowed Kapuso and my husband and son too by virtue of osmosis (or is it martial law?). The few times the remote control buttons have strayed to ABS-CBN, my son would exclaim, “ang ganda talaga ng graphics sa ABS. Talong-talo ang GMA.” And I have to agree with him. Channel 2’s graphics are more artsy, creative, imaginative. GMA’s could be improved.

So you could imagine my consternation when an hour or so ago, my husband said “Si R nababaduyan talaga sa GMA, ang pangit-pangit daw ng graphics.” R is an art teacher. To his comment my husband said, “Pero di ba ang yabang ng mga newscaster sa dos?” R nodded in agreement. Actually my husband’s comment was a non sequitur but I guess he wanted to stress that in the end, that’s more important?

Whatever. But I hope GMA does sit up and improve its graphics. No, don’t fire your creative people. Times are hard. Everybody needs jobs. Maybe send them for training somewhere? Like to where ABS’ people go? You have a new studio or even building, so why not spend on the station’s graphics as well?

Just a thought.

Commercials/advertisements and Math, WRONG Math

Yesterday, husband saw a print ad of Enfakids A+

on nourishing the brain in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. It had the following equation:

9+5 = 14

but it unfolded to reveal

9+5 x 2 – (7×2) = 14, which is incorrect. When a series of operations is involved, the Math rule known asPEMDAS or GEMDAS is used, where P stands for parenthesis, E for exponents, M for multiplication, D for division, A for addition and S for subtraction (GEMDAS is the same except that G stands for grouping and therefore covers all the different kinds of grouping symbols like brackets, braces and parenthesis). In other words, such an equation as appeared in the ad should have been done in the following sequence: 9 + 10 – (14) = 19- 14 = 5

Ad agencies should be  more careful.

another: 1 > 2  for Tide

When a child shows the above inequality to a teacher or mom, the adult tells him it’s not mathematically correct. But the child argues that his mom said Tide can do this in the sense that one sachet of Tide can do the work of 2 sachets of another brand. Cute? I guess so, but that might lead to confusion where a half-listening child is concerned. I think a softdrink ad before showed something similar or along the same lines

PS: heard that faculty of a certain school called up either the ad agency or someone in the know and got a call from Mead Johnson apologizing  for the mistake. Said caller also mentioned that some parents had called their attention to the matter. Hooray for vigilant teachers and parents!

POPs’ advice to Regine

Pops: “Maybe she can learn from my experience. I got married young, so hindi ko na-enjoy ang pagiging single. Ngayon ko pa lang na-i-enjoy.”

***********

I was amused when I read this in Ricky Lo’s column today. If this had been said on TV, might Nestor torre have commented on it as a boob tube booboo? How old is Regine? Isn’t Pops’ advice too late? irrelevant? Inappropriate?

MOMS, the Podium

Just got home but caught the tail end of Moms. Pity I missed virtually all of it. Why pity? Because it had guests who are people I like and respect: malou de guzman, techie agbayani and CES QUESADA. Malou knows her craft, techie transcended whatever posing for Playboy meant by pursuing her studies and becoming a professor, proof positive that she’s more than just a body and is beyond all that, and Ces Quesada, she who entertained me during my pregnancy through her excursion into Eat Bulaga. Possibly, I was one of the saddest when she left EB but I understood where she was coming from. When she tried to get pregnant or had difficulty becoming pregnant, I prayed she would and rejoiced when she finally had a baby. I’m happy she’s on GMA now so I can occasionally watch her on afternoon TV, and pity, in Moms, had I gone home earlier.

Was at Fix Salon in Podium because after my son liked the haircut Jojo gave him, I read in Chechel Joson’s column that Fix at the Podium makes one of the nicest huge curls in the metro. She listed Fix as one of five, so I thought I should try the salon, not necessarilyt he curls. Plus based on my son’s experience, a haircut doesn’t cost an arm and a leg at FIX. (oops, I hope this “plug” will not make the owners think it should increase prices. Please don’t).

Irked by my hair which goes every which way but the right way lately, and aware that I cannot have a haircut Saturday morning because have somewhere to go early afternoon and in the evening, I thought of hiring the Wheelmo and to rationalize the expense, I asked my son if he wanted a haircut too. He said Yes. Yippee.

So off to Fix. The receptionist was very pleasant and asked whom we wanted to cut our hair. Hands down, my son chose Jojo. I asked the girl whom she’d recommend. She said they have two different prices: 185 and 225 (did I remember right?). She said Mr. Bam (BUm?) was available and he cuts for P225. I said okay and off I was positioned in front of a mirror, one of many. The place is spacious and there weren’t too many customers besides. They asked if I’d have a shampoo, I said I had just shampooed (getting a shampoo in the parlor means being lifted off my wheelchair to their seat etc.). I asked if they could just wet my hair and Mark did. Had my fingernails cleaned too by Ate Jo. Then Bum (bam?) cut my hair and offered me some Kerastase products. I said I’d think about it because I was sold a set during my last visit to Hair Shaft (?) 5th floor of the Podium. Guess why I haven’t been back there? Partly because of the purchase (quite a few thousands) I was pushed into making: 3 Kerastase products for a price one would pay for a sack of sinandomeng rice. Do the math. Partly because I wasn’t too pleased with the haircut I got there.

Eventually Bum said I could just choose one of the three and when I said I’d think about it, he stopped pushing the products. whew. I still have some of what I bought in HS last year. It was too expensive to consume so quickly, haha. So I’m stretching the value by using it so sparingly.

My son was convinced to have hair treatment (he warned me it would cost P800) and I agreed because I felt that after the rigors of the exams, his basketball injury, etc. he deserved it.

I was done with my haircut, blowdry and cleaning, he was still under the steamer. So I left him and afterwards,, when we met up, he said he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It felt good, he said. And now, back here at home, I like my haircut.

WIll FIX see us again? Most certainly. (I forgot to mention, the more compelling reason why I got a haircut was the news that power rates are going up next month by more than P3/kwh. Prior to the haircut, I needed to blowdry my hair but hopefully with the new cut, such will no longer be necessary. I hope to use the aircon less, too (but that’s almost near impossible because my immobility makes my back warm), cut on TV viewing, etc.

*******

While waiting for my son, I got a shirt for a godson at Topman (3rd) floor. They have some items at 50% off, some at 30% off. Then decided to have merienda at Gloriamaris. When my son  was done, he was hungry so he ate at Delifrance while I kept him company. So many flies hover around the area, I guess because of the mall’s doors which are open. Perhaps Delifrance should light candles to drive away the flies? Some restos we go to that have pesky insects do that. Just a suggestion.

*******

Because the wheelmobile’s driver isn’t difficult to direct we stopped by Metrowalk for some DVDs. Waited in the wheelmobile while son went up to the second floor. He’d have wanted some anime but didn’t find any.

********

Came home and like the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk who could smell the blood of an Englishman, I told the maid “I smell marang.” Indeed, the mom of a friend of my son sent one over. And it was heavenly: sweet and just the correct degree of ripeness. As I was enjoying the fruit, got a text from a cousin-in-law who asked if I eat dried fish and dried squid and to please be honest. Of course I was honest, I said YES.

What a blessed day. And happy birthday to my older brother who’s up there in heaven with my mother. Today also marks the 19th year of my son’s baptism. Oh, I forgot to tell him that…

Power Plant, oh ok, Pepper Lunch, Fully Booked, Iya’s Pastillas

Last weekend, for the first time in quite a while, our son was able to join us for pasyal.  I asked, where do we go? He said (have you guessed by now?) “I want to eat in Pepper Lunch.” He’s addicted, apparently. He brought along Neil Gaiman’s Coralene in anticipation of the wait while falling in line.

When we caught up with him he was not too far from the doorway and he was reading. Angel Aquino was there, a few individuals away, along with her two young daughters and a few others. Son ordered beef curry steak, I ordered the H steak (I might spell it wrongly again), while husband had the salmon pepper steak. My son had colds then so I told him to get some miso soup, while husband and I shared a shake, shake spicy tuna salad. Plus drinks and ice cream for son.

Perhaps distracted by his book, son joined us at the table after paying for our orders and sat down, reading again. Then a lady food server came with the money tray bearing his change, P200 plus worth. He absentmindedly got the change and handed it to me, still engrossed with his book. How nice that the resto has honest and efficient personnel.

Power Plant that day wasn’t very cool leading my husband to glance at the aircon vents. He said “it’s not on, I think.” But he too said “but it’s not uncomfortable because of the electric fans.” Thank God for that.

We went around a bit and then my son bought two boxes of the jumbo pastillas by Iya and we also got a canister of yummy skin-on salted peanuts from the same stall. There were so many people in the area that though I’d have wanted to explore what the other stalls had to sell, I didn’t.

While at Fully Booked, between the shelves of Philosophy books and biographies, we discussed the ideas of some philosophers, a smattering of economics, etc. That experience was an eye-opener for me. My son is a grown-up and is interested in such stuff. He apparently prefers to discuss ideas (Confucianism as applied in business, for example) rather than mundane matters. I’ll have to start reading more “serious” stuff to keep up with him. Yikes.

Cibo on a Sunday

After seeing gaita fores on The Sweet Life in QTV the other day, I thought it time to pay Cibo in Shang another visit. After ordering potato chips with mayo and the melba toast with spinach dip, I went over the menu in a leisurely manner. Lo and behold, aside from seeing the pollo limone which she demonstrated in TSL, I also saw that Cibo has osso buco (remember how I marveled about it in Amici a long time ago?) but husband failed to take a picture of it. So I ordered that while my husband ordered the pollo limone. My son ordered a pizza.

The appetizers were served quickly along with my husband’s Coke Zero and my son’s and my glasses of water. Fine. Soon after, my osso buco came. Hmmm, yummy. Not as cheesy as Amici but okay na rin. The rice was a bit dry, but the osso buco was so tender I was willing to forgive those tiny aberrants. Then my son’s pizza came. It’s uniquely shaped- rectangular with rounded edges. Not quite an ellipse or an oblong. Oops, I stand corrected. It’s elliptical. Toppings were sparse relative to the toppings one gets in Sicilian, Pizza Hut, etc. Then a waiter came bearing two plates of the roast pork. We said that wasn’t our remaining order. He went off somewhere. Time passed, still no sign of the roast pork. Time passed and still no sign of the roast pork. Time passed and still no sign of the roast pork. Do I sound like a broken record? Then one waiter came and apologized saying it was coming. The entree mistakenly ordered for my husband was roast pork rather than the chicken. My husband merely nodded as I gave him a few morsels of my osso buco and pilaf. I should have timed it but I didn’t. The pollo finally came and it was good. The wait would have been forgiven if a reprise hadn’t taken place. I ordered flourless chocolate cake. I ordered flourless chocolate cake. (yes, twice because after the first time to a lady server, it didn’t seem forthcoming). I followed up my flourless chocolate cake. I followed up my flourless chocolate cake. I followed up my flourless chocolate cake. Then a lady reassured me it would come soon. She asked, “gusto niyo take out?” I wanted to scream but I tried my best not to as I said we wanted to eat the cake there. Meantime, my son was getting impatient. He asked permission to get ice cream elsewhere. Many minutes later he came back with a glass of ZAGU. Haagen Das had increased its prices. A cup now sold for P175, his Zagu cost less than P50. Shortly before he descended on us from a trip to Haagen Das then down to the ground floor to Zagu, the cake arrived. I asked why it took so long. (Brownies cook for only 30 minutes and flourless choco cake so reminds me of brownies). The lady who served us said it was heated and “maraming nakaline-up sa stove (or whatever the contraption is called) kaya natagalan.” I touched the cake, it wasn’t even warm. I told her so and she said “initin natin uli?” I sarcastically asked, “gaano katagal? huwag na lang.” They might as well not have bothered to heat it if they did at all. Then we wouldn’t have had to wait. It came with raspberry jam and it was good enough, more cold than warm actually.

I asked for the bill. I asked for a glass of water. This was warmer than the cake. I asked for ice. The bill came. I didn’t leave a tip. I was so disappointed. My change actually had some bills and two 25-centavo coins. At first I thought of leaving the two coins but then decided that would have been meaner than leaving nothing at all. I opted to be less mean. I opted for the less mean option.

Gaita has just recovered from an ailment, stress related possibly. Should I have spared her this account? I don’t know. Maybe she doesn’t read blogs anyway. But this isn’t our first sour experience at Cibo. WHen I ordered the roast pork years back, it took forever to be served. Luckily I didn’t wilt nor faint from the long wait.

Service at Cibo in terms of the long wait for food and the non-simultaneous serving of food reminded me of the saying “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” The personnel are nice per se, they smile, they’re pleasant. So who is to blame? the lack of infrastructure? Does a time and motion study have to be conducted in Cibo? Should they make their kitchen bigger? Should they have more cooks/chefs/servers?

My husband said the personnel didn’t seem capable of handling the volume of customers. Oh well. It will take quite a while for me to want to eat in Cibo again. Sad. I like Cibo. I like Gaita. But I also think that I deserve better service than what I had today.

Gaita please don’t let this post stress you. But I’m sure you understand how I feel.

(Husband forgot to take a picture of the osso buco and the flourless chocolate cake but he did take a picture of the takeout goodies on sale: mayonnaise, lenguas de gato plain, lenguas de gato with pistachio, etc. See the orange pepper grinder? nice no? Gaita collects those. I think they’re on display in Pepato but have never gone there. Just read that somewhere.

The Sweet Life

While blogging, I lend an occasional ear to The Sweet Life. Featured guest is the lady who replaced the original Bb. Pilipinas world. She speaks with an accent (American) but her use of prepositions is uh, funny? I’m training with_____ for makeup and for hair, for JRP for poise and something, etc. But she’s very pretty.

Also in the show earlier was Ryan Yllana who cooked morcon. Patani is cohost in lieu of Wilma who’s sick. Patani said of RY’s morcon “masarap na rin siya pero hindi masyado.” Lucy, every gracious, said “Patani, masarap naman siya eh.” To Ryan’s credit, he didn’t at all look offended. I like the Yllana family, they’re not maarte.

Mobile 1 at the Podium, Shangrila Mall later

This morning, at around 9, I was suddenly wanting to go out of the house and not just to Rustan’s Katipunan. After all, I bought way too many snacks in Unimart last week, making it unnecessary for me to scour the shelves of Rustan’s on a whim. I just felt the urge to go out, couldn’t wait for Saturday afternoon earliest and to think as of 9 am today, it was less than 30 hours away. Still…

So I called up the Wheelmobile and thought if it was available, then the outing was meant. And happily it was. I asked what time it could come and the girl who answered said “anytime”. How lucky could I get.

Though I asked for it to come at 11, by 1030 the Wheelmobile was here. First stop was Podium, specifically Mobile 1. That’s all I needed to do there, pick up the replacement Philips docking thing after the one I bought in May conked out. Yes, a replacement, not just my old one fixed. Within the warranty period they said, so a replacement. Happily for me, Veron, the efficient clerk at Mobile 1, asked permission from her supervisor Marlon, to accede to my request – that instead of us going down to the shop, she’d just go up and bring the unit to us as we drove past. That saved us a lot of trouble — we didn’t have to pay a parking fee (Podium doesn’t allow the 15-minute window for free parking. Stay there one second and you pay P35. Stay there 10 hours and you pay P35). I guess what really made them agree to the arrangement was my being disabled – such a hassle to go down to just get the stuff and then wheel back to the Wheelmobile, right? Way to go, Mobile 1. May your tribe increase.

Then off to Shang. When I go traipsing the malls with my maid (this or my former maid), I choose to eat where I want to eat. Once my ex maid and I ate at Mini Shabu-shabu because I hadn’t eaten there for a long time. The next time we shared an order of pork chops in Cafe Provencale (one order has two big slices). While eating at CP, she said the food there was better than MSS. Ay, I was taken aback. The nerve? Never mind, it’s a free country. So that she voiced her opinion, well…

To go back to this morning, my tummy was grumbling loudly so first item in our Shang agenda was lunch. I chose to eat in PhoHoa. The last time I saw its menu, I wanted to try out so many entrees. But guess what we had? The beef noodles with tendon, brisket and two halves of a meat ball, basil leaves, bean sprouts. At first I thought it wasn’t too exciting but the taste grew on me. The lady who waited on us was very nice, she suggested putting Hoisin and hot sauce. Yummy. TO go with the soup I ordered spring rolls. Crunchy, yummy. I’m not sure my husband and son like it there which was why I decided that my maid and I eat there. That gives me an idea: when I go out without hubby and son, I should explore restos where we don’t normally eat. Aha. When’s the next time? Can’t wait.

After PhoHoa, we went to Rustan’s ground floor. Bought gift packs from L’Occitane for a debutante and a friend. See? If I were with husband and son, they’d get bored or peeved if it takes me awhile to choose what present to give. Also bought a bell for the gate in lieu of our busted one. And guess what? I took pictures of the nice things in Rustan’s that I blogged about previously because it was in that spot where the bell was on display. Oh, but I didn’t take a picture of the bell. IT’s now hanging in the garage. It’s not very big because a bigger bell would have cost a lot more. I hope this bell lasts because it didn’t come cheap. An option was to scour Tiendesitas for an antique bell but it would have taken time for me to do that because I don’t know the lay of the stores there.

In no particular order, I looked at the stuff in Body Shop because there was a sale there: some goods at 20, 30 or 50 percent off. Plus a niece who has asthma of the skin said she patronizes the stuff in BS because they’re kind to her skin. Bought a moisturizer at I forgot how many percent off. The lady wanted me to buy all the stuff for a complete skin regimen (cleanser, toner, moisturizer for daytime, for nightime, to regenerate skin, etc.) I balked. I had a good reason: I’ll try just one item first and see if it’s good for my skin.

Went to Toby’s to buy a birthday present for a godson. Then went to National Bookstore for some Christmas wraps. And here the outing soured. My maid and I negotiated the narrow aisle to the wrappers. I asked her to get one so I could see how much it cost. There were so many numbers I didn’t know which one indicated the price. So I asked the maid to ask the girl in the wrapping counter how much. And the girl there was very helpful (of course that statement is swathed in venom, sarcasm, etc). She said “nandyan yan.” She was wrapping a present for a junior-executive looking guy, and conversing with him. So I went to her and asked and so did the maid and believe it or not, she ignored us. Like we weren’t there. I was seething and the guy was looking at me. She was oblivious. Like we really weren’t in front of her. Initially I thought of just upping and leaving, the guy was still looking at me, but I decided otherwise. I asked the maid for a piece, went to customer service. There were two ladies there, both on the phone. I asked how much the wrapper was, they looked at it and answered me. And to think they were on the phone. And answering me didn’t take more than 3 seconds. SO I told on the girl in the wrapping counter. The girl in CS promised to talk to her. We went back to the wrappers section and the junior executive was no longer there. Earlier I saw him still looking at us. SO Itold wrapper girl “Why didn’t you want to answer us earlier?” She said “But the price is there, I said so.” I said “well, we didn’t know which of the numbers that was.” And she just looked at us. While I was busily choosing which wrapper to buy, another clerk of NBS approached her and asked her a question. And they conversed. I don’t know why she could hear and see everyone and respond to them and not to us. Did we look like mosquitoes, pests, or what? And I heard the NBS clerk call her Jennifer. So again I went to CS to tell them her name. So they wouldn’t reprimand someone not guilty. I asked if she was new at NBS because her attitude was so raw. They said no she wasn’t. I wanted to talk to the manager but they assured me they’d report her. I don’t know if they have or will. Because I guess, all of them are friends. Oh well. I guess more than anything what irked me was that the sales clerk ignored my maid. Hey you are  supposed to serve everyone no matter who.

NBS really lacks customer service skills a lot of the time.

By 230 we were done and off for home after buying some rope for the bell to be suspended on. 32 meters of rope that ended up too short. The bell doesn’t sound perfect but I’m hoping it will serve the purpose.

Forgot to mention: ordered paella to give as a birthday present to a cousin from Cafe Provencale. Initially they told me they’d put it in a microwaveable container. I asked if they could put a ribbon and the manager agreed. Wow, when I came back, it looked so prettily packaged. CP is one of our favorites in Shang. The waiters in the resto have been with it since forever, leading my son to comment how kind management is not to replace waiters before six months are up. We’ve noticed how some establishments do that, I hear so that they won’t have to pay SSS and stuff.

Also bought Le Coeur bread and was surprised that at that early hour (2pm) their breads were buy one take one.

Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman in Australia

In the news lately has been this epic starring the two successful actors from Australia and Australia, Nicole K and Hugh J who are my favorites after I saw them in Moulin Rouge and Kate and Leopold, respectively. And the director of Australia is Baz Luhrmann who directed Moulin Rouge and Romeo and Juliet (not Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting’s version, but a more recent one), which I was in awe of while watching. While I would have preferred watching HJ and NK in a musical like Moulin Rouge (because I’ve heard HJ sing in Jay Leno and seen videos of him on youtube in Boy from Oz) also directed by Baz Luhrmann, I guess I’ll have to settle for this epic in the meantime. But Hollywood, please produce a movie where Hugh Jackman will sing and dance. I’m serious. Musicals are hardly made these days, why? They’re such treats visually, aurally, musically. And their appeal lasts — Sound of Music, West Side Story, Fair Lady, South Pacific, Pippin. Please, Mr. Luhrmann. Or remake Moulin Rouge with Hugh Jackman in the lead alongside Nicole Kidman. For a trailer of Australia, click this link

Another thing, how I wish HJ would also have movies where he plays a normal person. True, X-men and its sequels where he stars as Wolverine are fun, but they’re not “real.” I enjoyed his movie with Ashley Judd (Someone Like You) because in it he was well, “normal.” Check out his filmography below and see what I mean. I watched him The Prestige but even with him in it, I found the movie so duh. Oops, no that’s not the movie with him that was a duh. It was another with Scarlett Johannsen. I’ll check. It’s Scoop, where they starred in along with Woody Allen. SJ was also in The Prestige, hence the consuion in my head. Meanwhile, here’s HJ’s filmography from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/.

1. Drive (2009/II) (in production)
2. If You Could See Me Now (2008) (announced)
3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) (post-production) …. Logan / Wolverine
4. Australia (2008) (post-production) …. The Drover
5. Deception (2008) …. Wyatt Bose
6. Uncle Jonny (2008) …. Uncle Russell
7. “Viva Laughlin” …. Nicky Fontana (1 episode, 2007)
   - Pilot (2007) TV episode …. Nicky Fontana
8. Happy Feet (2006) (voice) …. Memphis
9. Flushed Away (2006) (voice) …. Roddy
10. The Prestige (2006) …. Robert Angier
11. The Fountain (2006) …. Tomas / Tommy / Tom Creo (I got a DVD of this but it’s another not normal movie, rather dark, so I didn’t watch it through)
12. Scoop (2006) …. Peter Lyman
13. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) …. Logan / Wolverine
    … aka X-Men 3 (Singapore: English title) (USA: working title)
    … aka X3 (International: English title: informal short title) (USA: promotional abbreviation)
14. X-Men: The Official Game (2006) (VG) (voice) …. Wolverine
15. Stories of Lost Souls (2006) …. Roger (segment Standing Room Only)
    … aka Historias de almas perdidas (Argentina: DVD title)
16. Van Helsing (2004) …. Van Helsing
    … aka Van Helsing (Czech Republic)
17. Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004) (V) (voice) …. Gabriel Van Helsing
    … aka Van Helsing Animated
18. Making the Grade (2004) (TV) …. Mr. Slattery
19. Standing Room Only (2004/I) …. Roger
20. X2 (2003) …. Logan / Wolverine
    … aka X-Men 2 (Singapore: English title) (USA: working title)
    … aka X-2 (USA: poster title)
    … aka X-Men 2: X-Men United (USA: promotional title)
    … aka X2: X-Men United (USA: promotional title)
21. Kate & Leopold (2001) …. Leopold
22. “Saturday Night Live” …. Host (1 episode, 2001)
    … aka NBC’s Saturday Night (USA: first season title)
    … aka SNL (USA: informal title)
    … aka SNL 25 (USA: alternative title)
    … aka Saturday Night (USA: second season title)
    … aka Saturday Night Live ‘80 (USA: sixth season title)
    … aka The Best of Saturday Night Live (USA: rerun title)
    - Hugh Jackman/Mick Jagger (2001) TV episode …. Host
23. Swordfish (2001) …. Stanley Jobson  (he died here)
    
24. Someone Like You… (2001) …. Eddie Alden
    … aka Animal Attraction (UK)
25. X-Men (2000) …. Logan / Wolverine
    … aka X-Men 1.5 (USA: DVD box title)
26. Oklahoma! (1999) (TV) …. Curly McLain
27. Erskineville Kings (1999) …. Wace
28. Paperback Hero (1999) …. Jack Willis
29. Halifax f.p: Afraid of the Dark (1998) (TV) …. Eric Ringer
    … aka Profile of a Serial Killer (USA: video title)
30. “Snowy River: The McGregor Saga” …. Duncan Jones (5 episodes, 1996)
    … aka Banjo Paterson’s The Man from Snowy River
    - Black Sheep (1996) TV episode …. Duncan Jones
    - Comeback (1996) TV episode …. Duncan Jones
    - Prince of Hearts (1996) TV episode …. Duncan Jones
    - The Grand Duke (1996) TV episode …. Duncan Jones
    - The Grand Opening (1996) TV episode …. Duncan Jones
31. “Blue Heelers” …. Brady Jackson (1 episode, 1995)
    - Just Deserts (1995) TV episode …. Brady Jackson
32. “Correlli” …. Kevin Jones (10 episodes, 1995)
    - Rumours (1995) TV episode …. Kevin Jones
    - Revelations (1995) TV episode …. Kevin Jones
    - An Early Release (1995) TV episode …. Kevin Jones
    - Wishin’ and Hopin’ (1995) TV episode …. Kevin Jones
    - Spoons (1995) TV episode …. Kevin Jones
    (5 more)
33. “Law of the Land” …. Charles ‘Chicka’ McCray (1 episode, 1994)
    - Win, Lose and Draw (1994) TV episode …. Charles ‘Chicka’ McCray

See he did Oklahoma! on stage. He can really sing and dance.

Gaita Fores

Years ago, when we ate at Cibo, I was surprised when the waiter gave us tiramisu without our ordering. It appeared that the proprietor, Ms. Gaita Fores, instructed them to give us one serving because I guess she saw how frequently we were at the Shang branch of Cibo. Then for two consecutive years we were also given Cibo umbrellas which we proudly use.

So, when I learned that Gaita had cancer, I was sad. She who ate healthy, had cancer? Luckily for her, she is a survivor and is now back on her feet (was she ever off her feet?) and has a new business to boot: her flower arrangements business. I was fortunate enough to have held one of her works when I was wedding ninang last September.

Tonight I saw her in The Sweet Life. And she talked about her ailment briefly after cooking chicken with lemon, salt and pepper in a turbo broiler. She also mentioned how she’s into helping out various foundations, one of them Kythe. Make a Wish was also mentioned and a community or something in Baseco Compound. Recently, she said, her son turned 18 and she allowed him to have a party on the condition that his friends had to bring books – story books, textbooks — to the party for donation to Baseco, which Gaita said, it’s actually her cousin Mar’s project (Mar Roxas: their moms are sisters). That night, she said, they collected 500 books. She also announced that she told her son to tell his friends to bring books that just clutter their houses to bring books to any Cibo branch or Cafe Bola and they’ll take care of bringing it to Baseco. In announcing that, I guess she was as much appealing to the viewers of The Sweet Life and I’m echoing her plea here. One of these days, I just might drop off a few books in Cibo myself.

Way to go, Gaita. I’m a fan, apparently.

Following up the CCE Petition for my son’s birth certificate

Why do I even blog about this? I need an outlet for venting, ranting, etc. about the tedium of getting such a thing done.

The claim stub is about a fourth of short-size bond paper. The entries on it are as follows

CLAIM STUB FOR CHANGE/CORRECTION OF BC, MC, DC (RA 9048)

Name of Document Owner/Petitioner: ____________

Address: ________

Date of Interview: ______ Tel. No.: _________

End of Posting: 9/6/08  Evaluation Period: 9/16/08

Date of follow-up: CCE PETITION 10/16/08

CFN PETITION __________ (from the 1st day of publication)

Received by: (some signatureDate: 8/26/08

**for inquiries pls. call 527-78-16/405-00-81**

NOTE: Unclaimed petitions within six (6) months from the date of release will be disposed.

********************

If you know me you’ll know that my typing the contents of the claim stub is for a reason. As the indicated date for the follow-up is today, I called up. I alternated between the two numbers indicated above and after maybe 20 attempts, the phone finally rang (previous attempts yielded a busy signal). Psyching myself that the transaction may not be very fruitful, this was what met me.

MCH (Manila City Hall employee): Hello. (I wondered, did I get a wrong number? Because the guy who answered the phone didn’t identify his office.) I asked, “Is this Manila City Hall?”

MCH: Opo. Bakit po?

Me: Gusto ko mag follow up ng petition ko.

MCH: Ano po ang tracking number?

Me: (feeling flustered) Saan dito ang tracking number? (I felt like such an idiot that I couldn’t see any tracking number. He confused me even further by insisting there was one.)

MCH: Ano uli pangalan niyo? Maria o Ma. (here we go again, so I said Ma.)

MCH: Sandali lang po.

A few minutes of silence that again made me anxious: were we cut off? So I’d have to dial again and start my spiel?

MCH, a female voice this time: Ano po yon? (I didn’t have to redial but had to explain again. but the girl no longer asked for a tracking number, just my name.)

a few minutes or maybe just one

MCH: Tawag na lang ho uli kayo. wala pa po. Nasa NSO pa po. ganyan talaga yun.

ME: Ano ang susunod?

MCH: Yun na nga po, follow up uli kayo (but I forgot to ask when I should).

ME: Tapos?

MCH: Pagkatapos, sasabihin namin pag nandito na.

ME: Tapos?

MCH: Certificate of finality gagawin. Two to three weeks yun.

ME: tapos? pupunta uli ako diyan?

MCH: Opo. tapos dalhin niyo sa NSO East Avenue para makakuha na kayo ng corrected copy.

****************

hayyyyyyyyyyyyy. So when do I call up? I asked her name, had to ask it twice or thrice before she’d give it to me. sally. Again, so when do I call up? Tomorrow I think I will. And everyday thereafter.

hayyyyyy. the saga goes on. Will this take on Cecil de Mille proportions? The experience thus far seems to be pointing in that direction. A recent acquaintance said hers took a year, another friend said hers took 3 months. Why is the quality of service so uneven?

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

A non-sequitur but still government service related. Remember I finished applying for my SSS card on the last day I finished filing the petition for my son’s birth certificate? that would be 8/26/08. It’s now 10/16/08, almost two months ago. Has the SSS card arrived? No. Did they give a tracking number? No. Did they say I should follow up? No. All I was told at SSS was that my SSS ID would arrive via mail. My sisters advice: Don’t think about it. It will just arrive when you least expect it.

Isn’t it obvious my sister is more patient, less exacting than I am? Am I adopted?

Anyway, let this be now a race between City Hall, NSO and SSS. Who’ll win? Mayor Lim, Carmelita Ericta or Romulo Neri?

Abangan…

My son’s birth certificate and my Philips docking system

Tomorrow is the next d-day for my son’s birth certificate. It is the date indicated in my claim stub for me to call Manila City Hall to inquire on its status. Already now I’m anxious: what will tomorrow bring Additional requirements? News that the petition or request has been denied? What?

*********

I called Mobile 1 to follow up on the Philips Docking System I brought last Saturday. I was told they might give me a new one in its stead. I hope they do. Months back, when my husband’s Treo 680 hung and couldn’t be fixed, he was told to go to this shop in Glorietta where he was given a replacement, but it wasn’t a new one. That’s Treo’s style, he was told. (Back then the Treo hadn’t been with him a year.) They give reconditioned replacements. I wonder if that’s a worldwide practice or a third world one. Years back my niece dropped her Palm and asked how to resolve the problem.She was told to send it to Singapore, freight charged to them. They sent her a new unit in its place.

Telemarketers and their ilk

It’s 12 o’clock and I have just started lunch. Homemade onion soup. The phone rings, I pick it up. Then I hear, “hello? Is this _____(my name.)” I said “yes and what are you selling?” taray no? But hey, she interrupted my lunch which I was beginning to enjoy and for what? She wasn’t even a friend or family. Then she corrected me “wala pa ako binebenta” (she so sounded like she was set to sell me something. SO I asked, “so ano?” Nagsusurvey lang kami tungkol sa leisure habits niyo” I said bilisan mo naglulunch ako.” She said “One minute lang po.” As if that’s possible. So she asked where we go on vacation. I said Philippines because I am disabled. then she asked if I had a choice what country would I like to go to? Then she gave me choices: Australia, US, Europe or Asia. Before she mentioned the last two, I was about to say Australia but when she said Europe, I changed my mind but only after I corrected her: Europe and Asia, even Australia, are continents. She laughed “hehe.” Joey does that in Eat Bulaga. Corrects contestants who when asked for a country say Europe or Asia.

Moral of the story: Trainers of telemarketers, please tell your trainees not to call at lunch time nor siesta time. Better still not to call at all. Joke. But seriously. There’s a saying about taong lasing and taong bagong gising, which declares that it’s better to trifle with the former than the latter. True. And also with gutom na kumakain kasi gutom na nga.

See, instead of proceeding with my lunch, I felt I had to blog about it. So peeved. Now to lunch.

PS The hotel she claimed to be surveying for is the five-star one along Makati avenue, she said. I was surprised that such existed (the name was unfamiliar). She asked if I knew were Aberdeen Court is. I said yes. She said it’s in front of Aberdeen. Five star in that area? Wow. true kaya? Oh and she seemed discouraged when she asked me what my husband’s work is. I said “teacher.” She optimistically asked “college?” I said grade school. Then she asked “kayo ma’am?” I said “wala.” May business kayo?” I said ewan. I should have said “monkey”. I mean sure it’s a survey but she could have been a con artist, right?

ADDENDUM: a few minutes ago, I got a call from another telemarketer. She said “Tumatawag ako para sa ______” (couldn’t understand what she said). Nag-ooffer kami ng loan. Ano ang pangalan mo?” I said “di ko kailangan” and put down the phone. SHe just randomly dialed my number? what kind of luck am I experiencing today from that sector? arrgh. Then shortly after I got a call in my cellphone. This one from Citibank NA. She said they’re inviting me to invest. I said Citibank’s minimum is always way beyond what I can afford. I asked what the minimum was: P4M. She was too nice to be told off (that I haven’t seen that much in my 52 years of existence). She offered to email info.

I was “fired!”

Last week, a former contact in a certain foundation pleaded that I take on an assignment, rush. He said the contract would follow and I believed him. So I began the task even in the absence of a contract. I’d stay up until 2 or 3 a.m. to get as much work done as possible. Each day I’d burn a CD containing whatever I had accomplished so they could work on it as quickly as possible from their end. Then, this morning, an atomic bomb hit Hiroshima all over again. He asked how far gone I was and said to stop. His big boss did not approve the contract.

I took the news calmly. In my line of work, this happens and I shrug it off and charge it to experience. But I never learn. Friendship gets in the way. And it costs, but again, I’ll simply write it off like a bad debt, no tears please. So I can sleep early from now on or stay awake blogging or doing whatever I please. Like now…

Perhaps it helped that when he called I was too engrossed about the wedding of my niece. When he called I was busy mulling over which makeup to use, what to put in my ultra thin bag that could hardly be closed after I put in my cell phone and a hanky. Oh yes, I told the bad news to my husband who was aghast, but there was nothing we could do. End of story unless a miracle happens and his big boss sees the light?

To my niece’s wedding. It was scheduled at 3:45 (I can almost hear C say, oh no, because I think she knows what will follow, hahaha). The church: San Agustin in Intramuros. We left Loyola Heights at almost 2:30. We went the Makati route and encountered so many stoplights, most of them red. So of course you know what that means: we were late. Arrived in time for the First Reading. Never mind, at least we were there. Weeks back, we were thinking of being present at the reception only because the REVO is number-coded on Tuesdays and it is the car of choice for us because it’s easier for my husband to load me into it as he doesn’t have to bend. But then we thought we should go. One option then was to take the Corolla which wasn’t number coded but requires a mega bend. Wheelmobile was the other option except that it costs and the pumpkin that it is (same color pa) does not turn into the lovely thing Cinderella rode in to the party. It remains a pumpkin. Oh yes, a third option was to get an MMDA permit so we could be excused from the number coding and take the REVO. Called MMDA and was told it would take 3 days to get a permit. Fine. But that permit didn’t cover Makati and the reception was in Makati. So get two permits? Wheelmobile na lang. Then husband said we would take the Corolla. So there.

Okay back to our tardiness. At least we didn’t miss the wedding completely. Back when the mother of the bride and the father married, we missed the wedding completely. Family practice was to go to Manila every time someone flew in from abroad and a sister did. Then when we were scheduled to take the plane to Bacolod, we were informed at the airport that our trip had been canceled. Only our parents and the sister who planed in from abroad were accommodated as chance passengers. We were scheduled to leave for Bacolod early morning of the wedding. From Loyola to the airport, we suffered a flat tire. When we got to Iloilo pier from Bacolod, the car that picked us up refused to start. So when we got to the church finally, we saw rice grains on the floor. I was hoping it was for another wedding, but well, it wasn’t.

Anyway, back to my niece’s wedding. She was dressed in a white dress as opposed to a gown. She had no veil but she looked very nice. Lovely in fact. Makeup really made her glow. I thought the communion line would be very short as in most Chinese weddings but we needn’t have rushed. A number of the Chinese present lined up for communion. Whew.

In keeping with the Chinese tradition of having the reception hours after the wedding, or for whatever reason the arrangement was thus, we had time in our hands and spent it in Power Plant, my son in rolled up long sleeves, me in a wedding get-up and hubby in a polo. While waiting for 730, we sat around a table in McDo eating fries with ketchup and drinking Coke. Did we look odd? I guess not, no one was staring. Besides some time back, I also saw people in barong and gowns traipsing the floors of Power Plant. Same circumstances, I guess.

When we got to Le Souffle, my niece was in maong and a nice blouse, husband was in a collared T-shirt. I told her I should have come in maong too, and she said, “I told you.” We both laughed. Some of the other guests had changed into less formal clothes but the majority were still in barong and wedding get-ups.

The food. Wow. The pumpkin soup — very good. The pumpkin taste wasn’t overpowering. The breads served – dinner rolls and baguette were warm and tasty. Butter was soft rather than rock hard (it was that when we ate at Fish and Co the other night such that if one weren’t too careful, it could have jettisoned to the next table while one was trying to scrape some butter off). Aside from the soup which was served individually, the rest of the food was served buffet style. Everything, yes everything without exception was really good. Chicken al’ orange (bet the spelling is wrong). Beef salpicao (lots of sauce and very tender beef). Sole with mushroom and leeks sauce (my son’s favorite). Spicy tuna salad (it had wasabe but not too much so I took several spoonfuls). Seafood pasta – very good too. The dessert: mango, strawberry and pandan panna cotta in small cups daintily topped by a rosette of whipped cream that was in turn topped by either a hardened caramelized sugar filigree, a tiny cube of mango and I forgot what. The other dessert was decadent chocolate which people had difficulty slicing (only the men managed to slice them as they should have been, the ladies in the table had very thin portions because the cake was too hard to  slice, they said.) But it tasted good. Possibly flourless chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and a tiny cherry with two mint leaves. Cute. Wine was served and illy coffee.

It was a fine affair that everyone seemed to have enjoyed, we included. Le Souffle is tops. Here’s wishing my niece and her husband many years of wedded bliss.

PATANI – plus an update

no, not the vegetable, but a Philippine survivor drop out. Quite exotic looks heightened by makeup around the eyes. And a character to match. She’s very self-confident, brazen even. She’s the yaya of some baby who joined Survivor. It’s the yaya who joined ha, not the baby. She’s Bisaya I think so expect her pronunciation to be a bit hard. She has attitude. She pronounces vegetable not as such nor as “bageteble” but as veg -ete ble. Quite a character. She might make it bigger than Alyssa Alano (kiss me, kiss me Youtube lady) if she plays her cards right, if fame doesn’t get to her head. She’s more talkative than Alyssa.

People like her and Alyssa make me feel a tad guilty because they really make me laugh. I don’t like laughing at the expense of others hence the guilt. But they’re earning from it and they don’t look hurt when laughed at. Does that make it okay to laugh at them? Don’t they get hurt? Allyssa I think might be more sensitive. But Patani – she’s really kapal. She’s dressed to the nines but because she pronounces kuya as KOYA, one is not misled. After her take with Drew in the market where she was running after KOYA with a balisong, the camera panned to Rhea Santos and Arnold Clavio in the studio. Rhea held her hands in prayer directed upwards as Arnold said “ingat sa patalim” or something. PATANI. Remember the name.

Click on this link to see her in Eat Bulaga. Pity the video has only a little on the exchange of Joey and Patani, but Diana, a Brazilian model, is funny too. She’s so disarming. She replaced another doll-like Brazilian model Arianne who was not as into it (EB) as Diana is.

October 22

Patani. Watch UH, Patani is there. Watch EB. Patani is there. Last week, she even co-hosted The Sweet Life with Lucy Torres because Wilma Doesnt was indisposed. What do I think of Patani now?

Some quarters have said she is overexposed. While that may be true, I don’t think that (overexposure) is material. What is even more scary is how inadequate she is so that unless she reinvents herself or her handlers handle her extraordinarily well, she will be history before she cares to be. As co-host in The Sweet Life, the nudging of Lucy did not register. She failed to deliver the lines she should have. So Lucy said Patani was resting and would be back. And she did come back but briefly.

At EB, during the Sa Pula Sa Puti portion, she’s very arbitrary in deciding whose performance to cut short. Her judgment calls, if one can even call them that, are premature, uncalled for, unfair, a lot of the time. And the expression on her face is a bit annoying: she doesn’t seem pleasant. Like I wouldn’t get her to take care of my baby if Ihad one, because she doesn’t smile too often. (Someone once told me babies should wake up to a smiling face all the time). She seems a tad harsh.

In an interview of Joey de Leon reported in the PEP portal, Joey was quoted to have said that Patani cannot (and maybe should not be allowed to) work without a script. She’s dangerous with a mic without a script. Joey mentioned how in an exchange between P and Vic, luckily for EB Patani’s mutterings weren’t caught by the mic otherwise MTRCB might have issued a memo. So there.

Though I’m kapuso and all that, and maybe because I am one, I believe Patani should be guided in her new career if she is to survive Philippine showbiz.

Rustan’s Shangrila, ground floor, and Window Shopping

Rustan’s always has nice things to look at and not necessarily buy unless you have money to burn. Or a nice house to put all the nice things in.

Years back it set aside the front portion and had some pieces from a museum in the US (New York Met?) for sale like jigsaw puzzles, totes, etc. Yesterday, towards the back (I think Shaw portion) they had this display of nice thingies. Actually that display was beside this portion which sells unusual things like metal puzzles, electronic stuff like docking systems, cute magnets, etc. Yesterday, that portion alone should have told us there was an adjacent area devoted to ships and planes. Because in that area of cute, unusual stuff were spy telescopes (the one you see Captain Hook look through), a small canoe made of dark wood which looked like it could be a shelf for something or just hung on its own, compasses, etc. Now for the really nice things.

What caught my eye were things that were suspended from the ceiling – miniatiure hot air balloons. Nice designs, interesting ones. They also had huge model airplanes that cost some P35k. Biplanes, monoplanes, etc. Vintage designs. And boats with masts – think Captain Hooke, Moby Dick. And Brooks bikes for men and women. These cost in the vicinity of P50k. And they even had this “steering wheel” used in ships – think Love Boat? No older. If one had a log cabin or a dark wood study, all these would look nice in them. Oops, this post is so full of the adjective NICE. But I can’t help it. Go check it (the section) out and dream. Would have wanted to take pictures but was scared they might not want it. I read in a post last week that a patron was disallowed from taking pictures of the food or interiors in a resto. what’s your take there? To avoid being imitated by competition? Don’t these establishments know pictures of their place or product posted in the Net, if favorably, can mean free advertising for them? Oh well.

Also at Rustan’s, checked out what Clinique had. A young lady, a family friend’s daughter, will have her debut soon. So I was looking at what CLinique had: gift sets in the vicinity of P2k. But they had this interesting product that came in a box with two pieces: lip gloss on one end and cologne on the other end of one tube. The lip glosses were of different hues. That box of two cost P1900 something. Very handy if one is into lip gloss and CLinique’s perfume. I like its Happy and Heart scents.

Also on the ground floor of Rustan’s is a GAP section. Gap’s clothes are nice (oops, nice again?) and they have nice informal bags. One can be folded and then one’s wrist inserted into the soft handle that fits snugly around one’s wrist so it can be held like a pouch bag except that it’s actually bigger. My son likes the colors of GAP apparel.

Upstairs on the third floor we looked at Kipling products a little. These aren’t made of leather but what looks like waterproof materials. Colors are a nice blue, beige etc. And they have cute monkeys. But they are a bit pricey. One pouch that looked like it could hold tissue sold for almost P1k. The bigger pouches cost P2k at least. I don’t know if and when I’ll have the guts to get myself a Kipling item. Le Sport Sac too. This brand is on the second floor. We didn’t go there yesterday but I remembered it after writing about Kipling. Same nice designs but pricey, given that they’re not items one uses in formal affairs. But I guess their being pricey is for a reason. Maybe they’re made of really sturdy materials. Or maybe you’re paying for the name? No they really look durable.

Like the title of this post says, it was mostly window shopping for us. My son though got guitar strings (steel) from Lyric Store at the basement. The store has pianos, guitars, violins, etc. for sale. It may even have music scores/sheets.

Christmas is drawing near so the fourth floor of Rustan’s has nice Christmas trees of various hues and sizes. One set of three table top gold trees that have lights costs P5k.  110w but it comes with a transformer according to the sales clerks.

They also have nice stuff made of silicone on the fourth floor, like basting brushes with the name of Mario Batali. Small ones at P500 plus, the bigger ones at P600. And cheaper versions starting at P300 plus. Silicone is really making it big in cookware. Will it go the route of the microwave in the sense that suddenly, detractors will declare it unsafe? I hope not. No I don’t have too many silicone stuff but they’re really more durable than their rubber counterparts. I’d love to spend more time looking at the colorful silicone things in Rustan’s.

(Having breakfast now: Chicken Hotdog by Virginia’s, a brand made in Cebu. It’s very good: quite tender and not at all rubbery. Maybe the maid cooked it just right? Or maybe the hot dog is really well made. I had some pork and beans heated so now it’s like I’m eating chili con carne hot dog sandwich without the chili. I’m eating this with a pan de sal half with cheese on top.)

Have you begun your Christmas shopping yet? Me, no and I regret it. August-September would have been a better time to shop with sales galore. Yesterday there were no more sales except in Celio which gave a 5% discount till yesterday care of a Bench card I got in PCX at Power Plant for P100. the card entitles one to occasional discounts (not year round) in Bench’s affiliate stores: Dimensione, Celio, Charles and Keith, Fix salon, etc. Year-round one earns points.

BLind Items and then Some (groceries, restos, etc.)

C, these are for you. Blind items again. But you might have to think harder than last week. Hahaha. thing is, I’m not dolly ann carvajal or ricky lo (whose blind items are so hard to guess) and when I give clues, it’s because I really want you to be able to guess the identities. Here goes:

Saw this young lady in Rustan’s. She was with that’s Entertainment I think. She was touted to be a Gloria Diaz lookalike. yes, she’s pretty and was even a newscaster in IBC 13 for a while. She was with a daughter and a son. And she was in a really short skirt. I was a bit uncomfortable at the shortness of her skirt because…

and get this, when she turned away from the men who had been attending to her, they were looking at her back and legs and I don’t know what else. Oh well, carry na kun carry, but how I wish she didn’t wear her skirt too short. Saw her bruise (pantal) on her right leg, just above her knee. Nabangga siguro sa mesa yun. Guess mo ba sino siya?

Person number two. He’s tall and mestizo. married. He knows how to paint, his dad is a painter. He flies a plane too. he defies the norm: child actors and actresses don’t grow tall (thing Nino Muhlach etc.). He must be over six feet. Saw him on the sixth floor of Shang. In a red shirt. His male companion looked like the brother-in-law of someone you know, but not sure if the man was a lookalike or the brother-in-law. He was with That’s also and I think that’s more than enough clues.

**********

I know, I know, I have deadlines galore but it’s a weekend, so I guess I wanted it not to be unlike most of my weekends. Friday night, met up with friends in Shang. Sumo Sam. We were held up by the thingy that lets cars in because it was on a test run and apparently experienced birth pangs. Maybe we were three cars away fromit and waited over 20 minutes before we could drive past it. I was getting hungry but couldn’t proceed to SS right away as days back, I called toby’s to order 2 Molten balls, GG7, for my son. Renz assured me he had them and said he’d put them in the counter for me to get on Friday. So before going to SS, we went to Toby’s. The cashier said, “what ball?” uh, oh. But the question still didn’t register. I thought she was just by nature clueless. Then a man said he’d get it. Then another man came. I smelled trouble. Renz appeared, “Ma’am nabenta. Di ba gusto mo sana GF7?” I then said “Di ba sabi mo mas ok ang GG7?” And of course i ranted: we came here precisely to get the ball because you assured us and then you sold it to someone else? Renz asked if we could wait, he’d get from their other store: Megamall. In another post I related how Marks and Spencer successfully did that within an hour. But in still another post I related how National Bookstore’s personnel didn’t reach Megamall even after an hour. How would Toby’s fare?

I left in a huff but only after I gave my cell number so they could text me as soon as it was ready. They did text so I got the 2 balls. GG7 is all terrain, while GF7 is for indoors. Why the two basketballs? Sem break, and son and friends hope to play every day as they did last year.

Sumo Sam – crunchy squid is really so good. These are small, quite small, but they can be eaten even without rice. The other dishes we ordered were okay, but the squid stood out.

Got two packs of junk food from Healthy Options for my friend who was celebrating his birthday. He’s a health buff but I guess it follows that junk food from HO is healthy? Seriously, though, I got two different kinds for him but of the two, I got one for the family: Michael Season’s Baked Cheddar and Sour Cream potato crisps upon the recommendation of the cashier. For how much? HO isn’t cheap. Here’s how the exchange went between the sales clerk and me. MAgkano ‘to? I was holding the two different packs for my friend. She said “parehong P219.” Okay so how do you interpret that? P219 for both or both have the same price: P219? I guess it’s my optimistic nature, but I thought P219 for both, so I got another of the Michael Season’s so we could try it too. When the sales slip was given to me, hahaha, P657. How’s that for miscommunication? And what a cheapskate or tightwad I am no? Imagine I was going to give a friend junkfood worth P219 only? HO naman eh. anyway, so there. Good think the MS thing tastes ok, but it’s not real potato. It’s like Pringles if you get what I mean.

After SS, we went to The Dome on the ground floor. One of us ordered New York cheescake and was very happy with it. My husband and I shared a flourless chocolate cake. Tastes so like brownies but is served wit whipped cream. The plate on which it was laid had caramel dots. Yummy.

Saturday we went to Podium to have my Philip’s docking system checked. The other night, it refused to work unless the cable was put at a certain angle. The contact point was no longer straight up; it leaned to one side. Hopefully Mobile 1 will either have it fixed or replace the unit. The lady there would have given me a new one if there were one available. She checked. Thing is, they had run out of stock. My husband is looking for a sync cable for his Treo 680. Anyone willing to sell his? He lost his sync cable and said it must have dropped off his bag somewhere. He tried MO’s generic sync cable whose packaging promised it would work with Treo but it didn’t.

After Podium, we went to Unimart. When I’m in Unimart I feel like such an ingenue grocery-wise. The number of shelves are easily twice that of Rustan’s Katipunan, maybe more. SO while the daughter of a former president in a denim dress (blind item 3) glanced at the shelves  disinterestedly without getting anything, I picked up boxes of cookies of different kinds. I reasoned “wala nito sa Rustan’s Katipunan. At kelan pa ako maka balik sa Unimart?” Among the cookies I saw and got were two kinds of sugar free ones for my husband. Okay make that two brands, but six different kinds for one brand and three different ones of the other brand. No, not Murray’s because those are available in Rustan’s. See I reasoned, I would not get what is available in Rustan’s. Also saw Oreos in yellow packs whose cookies aren’t chocolate but vanilla (a light brown). And some kind of seeds for my sister – wrapped in brown paper with red labels. Also got 3 boxes of Butterfinger chocolate drink for C, because she can’t find them anywhere and she doesn’t shop at Rustan’s and rustan’s doesn’t have it either. C, some time back, got my son packs of white MM’s with the Pirates of Penzance theme. See? I never saw those in Unimart or Rustan’s. She got them In Robinson’s Cainta, I think.

Also at Unimart got this snack pretzels – Synder’s with filling. Haven’t tried it yet though. And Burger King potato thingies. Junk food. It will be some time before I’ll need to buy any. And they had cilantro and parsley (i had to put that in to convince you that I also eat healthy food). And green pepper, mangoes, grape and bananas. carrots. I wanted to get some lanzones but they didn’t seem ripe enough so they might turn out sour. Oh yes, I also got this rice cakes, sort of, endorsed by Vicky Belo. One had vegetables and asparagus ( I tried it, it was okay) while the other had cinnamon. It’s a good thing we don’t shop at Unimart too often, because imagine if we did.

went to DelMonte’s meat section. Got six sticks of marinated pork barbecue. It no longer tastes like it did before. It tastes a lot better. My husband said “parang gawang bahay” which I think is a nice endorsement.

Today we went to Fish and Co after condoling with a friend whose mom passed away. I asked about a new dish and the waiter who attended to us said, “ay hindi ko po alam yun.” Duh, zilch product knowledge? Oh boy. So he called another waiter who had relatively better product knowledge. Which leads me to two other marketers.

One was the guy on the fourth floor of Rustan’s who’s in charge of Jura coffee dispensers (machines? I don’t know anything about coffee except for coffee ice cream) and coffee beans and additives ( actually, think Torani but it’s a different brand). He was very engaging, offering to prepare freshly brewed coffee for us. He explained the difference between latte (with cream, a little froth) and cappucino (lots of froth). He could talk endlessly about his products. I asked where he was trained and he said he was a barista before. Now that explains the extreme product knowledge. But he didn’t sound at all cocky nor pushy. Lucky the distributors of jura for having someone like him in their employ.

Now to two telemarketers. No, make that 3.

(1) from Philam. The other day a young man called saying I had a free accident insurance from PHilam. I said “wala na nga kayong pera, mamimigay pa kayo ng free insurance?” I didn’t want to be mean, but hey, isn’t Philam having problems because of AIG? He was immediately defensive and apparently raw. He said “Pinatawag lang po ako sa inyo.” or something like that. No conviction there. Not trained enough.

(2) from mandarin Hotel. Offering me a privilege card or whatever it’s called. Wow, she rambled on and on and I just listened or half-listened (my laptop was open all the time) then after a while she’d say “Ma’am?” I’d grunt and then she’d talk again. P7k for the usual discounts in the hotel’s restos but this one with a free night and other thingies. But after my Pen experience (by the way she said negative things about Pen because according to her, she had clients who told her Pen’s no longer honoring the card I got months back), I thought, no. So never mind that she must have talked or delivered her spiel for more than 20 minutes. I didn’t bite.

(3) Globelines telemarketer. Offered phone line and dsl at P995 or thereabouts for a speed of 384 mbps. 1G would mean coughing up P1200 plus. Should I get it? we’re using PLDT DSL (P1995 monthl). Please advise me if you know anything about which is better. Or share your experience with either provider

I’ll review what I wrote another time. Gotta work now.

Hairspray, the Musical

The musical Hairspray will be shown at the Star Theater (CCP Complex) this November. For tickets to the opening night on November 14 and for the November 23 show, please refer to the following letter from Stewart Ong:

Dear Friends,

We are selling 2 shows of the Broadway and movie-hit musical HAIRSPRAY on November 14 (Friday) and November 23 (Sunday). It’s a great show, winning 8 Tony Awards in Broadway.  It’s also being produced and directed by the same group as Rent, Avenue Q and Cinderella. Venue will be at the Star Theater, CCP Complex, 8pm.

For ticket and show inquiries, you may email me (song1@jnjph.jnj.com) or SMS me directly (+63917-8735412)
Best to confirm early in order to reserve good seats!

Thanks!

Stewart also shared Hairspray’s casting as follows:

HAIRSPRAY CASTING

TRACY    Madel Ching
EDNA    Michael de Mesa
LINK    Tim Espinosa
SEAWEED    Nyoy Volante
PENNY    Monica Reynoso
AMBER    Christine Allado
VELMA    Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo
MOTORMOUTH    Dulce
WILBUR    Leo Rialp
CORNY COLLINS    Noel Rayos
FEMALE AUTHORITY    Ana Bitong
MALE AUTHORITY    Gabe Mercado
INEZ    Precious Lee Viloria

WHITE ENSEMBLE

ENSEMBLE #1    Mark Tayag
ENSEMBLE #2    Anthony Ong
ENSEMBLE #3    Reb Atadero
ENSEMBLE #4    Red Concepcion
ENSEMBLE #5    Francesca Borromeo
ENSEMBLE #6    Crienna House
ENSEMBLE #7    Margarita Laurel
ENSEMBLE #8    Bea Garcia

BLACK ENSEMBLE

ENSEMBLE #9/DYNAMITE    Emerita Alcid
ENSEMBLE#10/DYNAMITE    Erika Cedilla
ENSEMBLE#11/DYNAMITE    Pam Gumabon
ENSEMBLE#12    Michael Melvin Odoemene
ENSEMBLE#13    Gerlin Francisco
ENSEMBLE#14    Jordan Aguilar

Ticket Prices:

P1,200 (Rows A to I)

P1,000  (Row J to S)

P800 (Rows T to X)

P600 (Rows Y to Z)

I can safely assure those interested that Stewart delivers in the literal and figurative sense. We obtained tickets to West Side Story and were very much satisfied by his and his friend’s “brand of service”.

Remembering the Glorietta Blast

The following was emailed to me by a cousin who was in Glorietta during the blast along with her daughter who wrote the letters that follow:

Dear Family and Friends,

It has almost been a year since the explosion in Glorietta 2.  I know I promised some of you that I would write, would tell you all the details about what happened.  Well, I didn’t realize it would be so hard to put everything down on paper.  I have hesitated doing this since it brings back old feelings, things I would rather not remember, most of which I do not remember in fact.

So, finally, in the last two weeks, I was able to put together this 5 page letter to Rafa and Mia, for their scrapbook.  So that when they grow up, they will still remember that they are so blessed in spite of this terrible thing that happened to us.  I wanted to share this letter with you, my good friends, so that you will know why this experience has forever changed me, and my relationship with God.  I thank you again for what you did for me last year.  Each of you in some way, was there for me this past year, or when this happened.  I hope you can also feel the love we have felt from this experience.  God bless you all.

Blind Items

I don’t profess to be a Ricky Lo nor the Inquirer staff that does the Rushes I so enjoy, nor Dolly Ann Carvajal. Just wonder if people will be able to guess whom I saw at Power Plant tonight, 6 October 2008. A relatively quiet night but certainly star-studded. Here goes:

(1) Pepper Lunch –  I saw this unmade up actress who’s very beautiful even in the absence of makeup. Shortly after she came in her boyfriend followed, a tall young man with whom she has a child. They had separated for a spell but are now back in each other’s arms and if I remember correctly, she’s pregnant by him. They make a beautiful couple and both are unattached, that is neither was ever married. Their young boy was with them too.

(2) While having some gelato at Pazzo, saw this young lady pass by with two lady friends, both non-showbiz. She sings and at times acts. She hosts. She was in a black tube dress but looked very decent as usual. She has a hunk of a boyfriend whose former girlfriend is in town.

(3) Still while at Pazzo (even after consuming our gelato, we sat on languidly for a tete-a-tete), saw this former Eat Bulaga host who jumped channels, clinging on to her boyfriend whose a scion of a showbiz family. She sings, she hosts. Her younger sister now has her on showbiz talk show in a newly reformatted channel because a foreign partner has bought into it.

(4) While on our way up to R2, we were joined in the elevator by a model turned host who also jumped channels. She was in a miniskirt and a dress that had a low V cut at the back. She carried it well except that the horizontal thing of her upper undergarment could be seen slightly above the vertex of the dress. I don’t know if that was deliberate or if she was unaware that it showed. My husband didn’t recognize her and thought she was, never mind. Very uncomplimentary.

Care to guess the identities, anyone? I’m sure my friend who frequents the PEP website will get a perfect score. Right C? I won’t tag this post for obvious reasons…

Chris Tiu Manila Bulletin October 5, 2008

Why do I post articles on Chris Tiu from the broadsheets? The sole reason I do is that I know a number don’t get all the broadsheets on any one day and might thus miss out on articles concerning him. Sayang naman, right? Here’s the link to the article below. Enjoy. The title is so amazing/amusing. So many permutations/ spellings of too, two, to, tsu, tue have been replaced by “tiu” lately. How creative Pinoys are.

Hardcourt Tiunami

Basketball is just a small fraction of Chris Tiu’s charmed life.

A model student, a consistent dean’s lister, a public servant, an entrepreneur, and it won’t hurt to add that he is a hardcourt heartthrob too.

After savoring their win against the DLSU Green Archers at the recent UAAP basketball championships, the Ateneo Blue Eagles team captain promptly hit the books to prepare for his finals. In fact, he just finished an exam before he met up with the Students and Campuses Bulletin staff for this 60 Minutes interview at the Moro Lorenzo Gym in Ateneo de Manila University last Friday afternoon.

Food Finds

Two days ago, a friend who was in Bacolod for work came back with a whole white chocolate cheesecake from Calea. Time and again, friends and relatives based in Bacolod have talked about having lunch somewhere and then hieing off to Calea for dessert. All this time I thought Calea would just be a pastry place I’d hear about. Never did I imagine I’d get to try one of its confections.

Well, I was mistaken. My friend who’s aware of the family’s predilection for differing variants of chocolate (dark for husband, white for son, and milk chocolate for me) thought of gifting my son a whole white chocolate cake from Calea

Chris Tiu in Ricky Lo’s Conversations 5 October 2008

Entertainment

For Chris’ Sake
CONVERSATIONS With Ricky Lo
Sunday, October 5, 2008

from this site:

Basic facts about Chris Tiu, shooting guard and team captain of Ateneo’s Blue Eagles which recently regained the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) crown after a six-year “dry season,” beating fierce rival La Salle’s Green Archers:

• He stands 5’11” and weighs 170 lbs.

•  He’s a Cancerian (July 15, 1985).

•  He has been playing with the Blue Eagles for five years (since 2003), taking time off only when he went to France (and stayed there for six months) as an exchange student.

•  He comes from a conservative family; his mother is an Opus Dei and his father, although not officially an Opus Dei, is a co-operator.

•  His favorite fruit is banana (“The big, green one”) and he loves to eat Chinese spinach, lettuce and all-green veggies (“I’m a salad-lover”).

•  He sleeps with four pillows (a long one, two regular rectangles and a small one) and his favorite sleep wear is basketball shorts and T-shirt (“Never in the nude”).

What would you have done if a huge pickup parked right in front of your gate?

Tonight at a little past 6, my husband and i were on the driveway, about to drive out to watch Sinta in Ateneo when lo and behold, there was this humongous Strada pickup parked right in front of our gate. No driver in sight. Sure, the show was at 7 but we wanted to be early because we were warned the show would be full.

Seeing the Strada, my husband and two maids went to the different restos near our house in search of whoever was driving. The help of the waiters in Xocolat, for example, was solicited. But no brave soul owned up to the pickup. Perhaps, the driver wasn’t there. Perhaps the driver or owner was but was too lazy or cowardly to own up.

Paulo Coelho’s Blog and how I was led to it

Last Monday, my husband and I were at Power Plant. I bought him a shirt that was 70% off in Quicksilver. When the young lady made me sign the charge slip, she gave me a book on which to lay the slip so I could sign for comfortably. In supermarkets, I’d sometimes be given a flap of a carton, occasionally a log-in book, a clip board. This was the first time I was given a book. So I said before giving it back to her, “tingnan ko muna ha.” It was backside up. And she said, “sige po.” Then I saw the book’s title: Like the Flowing RIver by Paulo Coelho. And I can’t remember now how I reacted. Maybe I said “wow” or maybe I asked “maganda ba?” What happened next is what I cannot forget. She said “Sa yo na lang po.” I was taken aback to say the least. I said “no, nakakahiya.” She assured, “Sige na po, tapos ko na po yan.” But I was firm I wouldn’t take it. So she said “Sige po, hiramin niyo na lang.” And even if I didn’t really feel I should because she was a complete stranger as I was to her so I didn’t feel I deserved it, I acceded. I haven’t yet begun reading it but will do. And I’ll return it to her.

I posted the above in another site of mine and got the following comment:

Hello!
I’m a big fan of Paulo Coelho! You will love this! He’s the first best-selling
author to be distributing for free his works on his blog:
www.paulocoelhoblog.com

Have a nice day!

Aart

Novenas to St. Therese

I hope it’s still October 1 in other parts of the world because where I come from, it’s October 2. I thought of sharing these novenas yesterday but I clean forgot. October 1 is the feast of St. Therese of the Little Flower. Here they are:

My Novena Rose Prayer

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love.

O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God today to grant the favors I now place with confidence in your hands . . . .

(Mention your requests)

St. Therese, help me to always believe as you did, in God’s great love for me, so that I might imitate your “Little Way” each day.

Amen.

MIRACULOUS INVOCATION TO ST. THERESE

O glorious St. Therese, whom Almighty God has raised up to aid and counsel mankind, I implore your Miraculous Intercession. So powerful are you in obtaining every need of body and soul our Holy Mother Church proclaims you a “Prodigy of Miracles . . . the Greatest Saint of Modern Times.” Now I fervently beseech you to answer my petition (mention here) and to carry out your promises of spending Heaven doing good upon earth . .  of letting fall from Heaven a Shower of Roses. Henceforth, dear Little Flower, I will fulfill your plea “to be made known everywhere” and I will never cease to lead others to Jesus through you.

Amen.

I’ve been praying this novena for years (a copy was given me by a favorite aunt, Tiay Reking, way back in the 1980s)  and it is only now that I am able to at least try to fulfill my promise to make St. Therese known everywhere and to “never cease to lead others to Jesus” through her. Thank God she has been very patient with me as she always seems to have been praying for my intentions many of which have been granted. Thank you, St. Therese.

For more prayers and requests for prayers, visit this site from which I got the image in this post.