When Cab Drivers Talk A Lot at 7AM

Cab drivers are one of the most interesting (and annoying) people you'll meet, including their highly offensive driving "skills." Last Friday, I intentionally missed out riding with my sister because I can't afford the 7am shuttle from Eastwood to Makati - I'll be late for my 8am meeting. So I hailed a cab and when I told the driver the company building, he asked me, "Sa Shell ka?" I smiled and shook my head, "Ay, sa isa pa pong mga nandoon." He mentioned all of the tenants there and he told me all about why my employer (he eventually figured it out, it was like a Pinoy Henyo moment) thought of having a shuttle would be better than transportation reimbursement (apparently they had this before). He mentioned all about safety and the whole point that the company can't afford their employees missing work since there are only a few folks in a team (by then).

He apparently knew a lot about everything, such a chismoso. And the last thing he told me when he dropped me off? "Late ka na ah." I shut the door after paying and mouthed, "Hindi paaaa!" Yep, the prolong letter A's were really necessary. For the record - I was half an hour early for the meeting.

Yes, I'm still reading the book "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer. I have read his other works as well and this topic really just hits the spot. I get to read a few pages each time I wait for the company shuttle or when I'm somewhere else waiting for my sister to leave the office. And just earlier while sitting out the traffic light on my way home, a whole paragraph from page 93 posted a good avenue for thinking or reflecting - whichever suits you more.

Why is taste, the crudest of our senses, exempted from the ethical rules that govern our other senses. If you stop and think about it, it's crazy. Why doesn't a horny person have as strong a claim to raping animal as a hungry one does to killing and eating it? It's easy to dismiss that question but hard to respond to it. [...] Try to imagine any end other than taste for which it would be justifiable to do what we do to farmed animals.

Well, people still eat. Maybe we're stuck at that level of appreciation - taste.

Advice from a Vegetarian: Eating Animals

It has been a while since I posted something in my blog. Mind you, my life has been really been interesting the past few months and this is all thanks to new people, new relationships, and a totally new environment for me. As much as I have been trying to adjust with this new environment quickly, one thing got left behind - my desire for Internet (okay, make that 2 things - the other one being exercise which I have totally forgotten along the way). I got to tweet less, submit lesser reviews in looloo, can go on dayS (the pluralization needs to be emphasized, hence the unnecessary capitalization) without checking Facebook, and my emails just tend to get read from the phone.

So when my friend (thanks, Kathy!) out of sheer kindness (or pity?) gave me this book which I've been looking for quite some time (is a 4-year-search still considered as "quite some time"?), it has propelled a desire to post an entry relating to the topic of the book. I'm currently juggling 3 books at the moment (ADHD much?) but this one trumps them all, so this lovely paperback covered in plastic and one ebook (which is not covered in plastic) would be my friends when I've got some time alone (because I usually spend time with our wall and the ceiling, they make good company, too).

Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not a how-to guide, an instruction manual, or a recipe on how to eat animals. This would increase your eating experience, and your awareness on what you put in your mouth. Freshly cooked bacon? Curses! Liempo and crispy pata? Zermenggerd! I can't probably add much more items in here because I haven't read the whole thing yet.

Then I remember what my friends share with me. An online article from Pepper and a video from YouTube. Please do NOT be a vegetarian. If you think I'm kidding, the online article clearly says our fun times. (I really thought my subconscious wrote that article. I totally agree with what was posted. It is expensive, you'll always be pa-special as your friends would think of what you can actually eat or if their favorite restaurants have options for you. Sometimes, you'll settle for langhap-walang-sarap makeshift salad from restaurants. You'll tend to eat lots of sweets and you won't be thin if you imagined that.

From: http://www.pepper.ph/dont-be-a-vegetarian/

Aside from the article, here's a clip about "Questions Every Vegetarian Is Tired of Answering." Both the article and the video link are hilarious. Why? They are actually true! Sometimes I think of carrying flyers or some note cards and give them away once people start popping questions, but nopes, I won't really do that. Patience is the latest value I am currently nurturing.


Note - if you watched the video, I'll answer the last one. I don't eat french fries and it has nothing to do with being a vegetarian.

Three Years, Not Bad

Michelle Branch once sang, "The last 3 years were just pretend. So I said goodbye to you." Well, it lasted a month longer than 3 years and it was not just pretend. I actually learned a lot and I owe almost all of my learning and experience on those three years. It was not a walk in the park but I have gotten a whole lot along the way, not to mention people I have encountered. They made the years so fast, so good, and so much fun.

Let's put dates so we're all on track.
First Day: June 1, 2010
Last Day: July 19, 2013

Geez. I'm that old already! And then my first day at a new environment? July 22, 2013. Yep, no time to do pre-adjustment exercises if there's such a thing. We just get on and do what we're asked to do. Let's make this interesting, eh? :)

Who? What? Wine?

Well, based from the previous post, we were able to taste 8 different brands of wine. I am thinking of putting in the details of those wine but where's the fun in that? A lot of people probably gave their thoughts about it but I'll just share a couple of those I have tasted before and after the wine tasting class last Wednesday.

So, for Father's Day, we had steak - actually, they had steak while I had loads of potatoes and salad. I picked the wine to be brought to the steak party and thought that a good merlot (semi-bold) should be good enough. Presenting the Little Penguin! It's a 2011 merlot from South Eastern Australia as indicated. I thought it was sweet and not the kind of red wine I was expecting - one that will seep out from my skin from a strong kick. Okay, my white wine bias is showing here. Let's just talk red when there's cheese, okay? It has 13% alcohol and a soft finish - the taste doesn't linger that much in your mouth. Bottomline is that this would probably be my favorite merlot to date and it's not just because I chose it.

Look at those little footprints. Such a cutie.

Then when the first bottle wasn't enough, the uncle brought out the next bottle for everyone. They just got it from a wedding as a give-away. How convenient is that? Here comes Santa Carolina Premio aka "Fruity Chilean Red Wine" which was less sweet than the Little Penguin. A 2012 blend of red wine has 12.5% alcohol and research suggests it's mostly cabernet sauvignon and some other grape variety. Not prunes.

Now for some white wine. South Africa's Two Oceans has come up with this 2011 semillon chardonnay (of course it has sour notes, it's a chardonnay, baby) with a dry taste adding to the 12.85% (or is 12.5%?) alcohol content. Semillon from France and chardonnay from the rest of the world. Two Oceans, indeed. I'm not pretty sure if this is how semillon chardonnays really taste like, the blend is just a little dry for me but I drank it anyway because it's there. (What a douche.) Would I be mean if I say it's tolerable? I'll go around the area and look for a semillon chardonnay to challenge Two Oceans. Not the bottle to bring to your non-wine-drinking friends' party.

First Wine Tasting Class

I've had the worst week last week and yet I still attended a wine-tasting class because let's face it, when you have a really really hollow-block-type of a rough day, you'd get your hands on whatever opportunity for salvation that passes by. Okay, alcohol may not be the solution but I already paid for this thing and that my friend is there all set and excited to attend this class. We're cultured, like a pearl.

The crowd favorites. Kate Radburnd Sauvignon Blanc and
the French Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis (chardonnay).

I was late for a few minutes, let's say 10-15 minutes but not enough for me to be dropped from the class or to receive 500 dagger looks from the rest of the folks inside the room. They were on to the 2nd wine already and they had to repeat everything again, thank you very much, Ms. Latecomer. The instructor was able to explain the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand vs the Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc from France like 8x already since there were more people who came in later than I did.

There's our take-away, my favorite Kate Radburnd Sauvignon Blanc

from New Zealand. The New World makes fruitier Sauvignon Blancs.

There were 4 glasses for white wine (Sauvignon Blanc from NZ, Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc from France, a French Chablis, and an Australian Chardonnay) and another 4 for red (merlot and shiraz). It was basically Old World vs New World, with the French wine being the source of the "Old World" wines while Australia and New Zealand for the New World. Don't forget South America, too.

Missing a bottle from the red and wine group.

Thanks, Chin, for the photo. :)

My friend and I were the youngest in the group. I think we brought down the average age in the room by a lot. When finally, everyone got a little chatty (there's your alcohol working) we got the "Aren't you too young to be drinking wine?", "How old are you? Do your parents know you're here...drinking?" questions a lot. Haha. It was an interesting trip and out of depression we passed by Domino's Pizza since I've been craving for that since forever. (Pizza sentence is definitely out of place in this post. What's wrong with me?!)

Vegetarian! 

Far From the Middle

Remember Dr. Bailey's line in Grey's Anatomy? That part where the hospital admin don't let them do the teaching style they used to do, she said that she doesn't want to wait till she doesn't recognize herself anymore - basically doing what she doesn't like to do.

Well, I waited. I waited till I don't know myself anymore. I waited till it's not me already. When you get tired, you stop fighting and all chances of redemption can just make you smile.

Comfort zone here? Where the magic happens, is there outside.

Easy to draw, difficult to live by.
But it's this kind of chalkboard illustrations that are worth trying.

So, keeping it to my 2013 theme (which sprouted from last year's events as well), maybe it's time to take risks. For the first time, I don't have a timeline, I don't have a clear direction. I am not lost, but I'll find a better way.

Thank you, Pipino restaurant for that fortune cookie
plastered on the corkboard.

How to break up with someone? And everything you've been with for more than 3 years?
There's no easy way to break someone's heart.
But sometimes it's easier when they broke yours first.

Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace

When I see a place I like so much and I have the time to ponder about it, I would definitely blog about it. See, looloo (it's an iPhone app but you can access it on your browser as well) has been taking up most of my food comments. This time, it's about the place and well, okay, a little on the food. Another gem along Maginhawa Street is Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace! Yay!

Cutesie! But no aircon, boohoo.

"SHOKOT means TAKOT. But WHAT is the meaning of THIS?!" is printed on a shirt they were selling. It's inspired by the movie Zombadings and they have dvds of it for sale! (I restrained myself from buying right then and there.)

Zombadings DVD!!! HOMERGERSH!!!

Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace is my new favorite place in Maginhawa. It has that cozy cafe feel inside with a small garden outside sharing the space with a few more restos. Oh oh, they have stools by the bar! You can sit there and stare at their quaint open kitchen while they whip up your food.

They also have this suspended coffee initiative wherein you can pay for the coffee or sandwich of someone else (homeless, etc, up to you). Charity begins at home.

You can sit by the bar! Yay!

Although it might be a little maalikabok to you (open air, hence, no aircon!) and the place is not that fun during summers (init much) and to lamok-heartthrobs like me, the set-up is clearly targeting the local indie and art freaks, or plain hungry people. They also sell shirts, dvds, and cds. I recommend that you walk and take a look around the area (unless you have pilay or something) to enjoy the place. Tralalala I enjoyed it, okay?!

As for the food, they have vegetarian options!! Hurraaaah!! Food were priced at Php100-200 so they're kinda light on the budget. I had tofu steak (Php100) and blacksoup salad (Php100 please hold the adobo flakes for the vegetarian!), while my friend got their fish burger (Php140). All were really good considering the price. My friend liked the fish burger and I believe her palate. Haha. Next time, I'll probably try their vegetarian "You Won't Be Single For Long" pasta which has vodka mix in it. *smug face*

Blacksoup Salad with the adobo flakes on the side!

Definitely coming back to my new home!!

YAY: Food; Interiors; Exteriors! Haha.
NAY: Lamok; No Aircon


Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace
154 Maginhawa St, Sikatuna Village, QC
435 2549 / 0915.3055480
Open for lunch and dinner (12 noon-3pm; 6pm-9pm) but may open earlier and close at a later time for special reservations. (As stated in their Facebook page)