The Thank You Movement

Today, I spent the afternoon baby sitting my nephew while they play football in UPLB Freedom Park. This is the day after tsunami hit Japan.I was taking pictures between reading books and listening to yoga music in my iPod when I felt fresh wind brushing on my face.

I had to stop and thank the Lord today that our country has been spared, and at the same time, lifted a prayer for Japan, who just experienced a huge tsunami yesterday, March 11, 2011.

How many of us in our busy lives can actually "stop to smell the flowers?"

I just have to document my actual state earlier because I really felt at peace and I hope who ever will see this will feel the same peace that I felt the moment I took this photo.

This year I have started jotting down at least one good thing that happened each day as a practice to be optimistic  for everyday that I am breathing. This is my attempt to be optimistic since I've been more of a pessimist all my life. Trust me it works! They say if you think about good things, it will come to you.

Instead of wishing to God every night, I started saying thank you to every little thing even if there's nothing really special that happened that day. And since then,  I've been getting more good vibes than bad ones. This is what I call, Thank You Movement. Start your prayers with Thank you and not with a wish, be as specific as possible. I've actually incorporated the behavior with my jotting down nightly in my daily planner of the things that I have accomplished during the day. They said that it takes 21 days to start a new habit, I suggest you make this a new habit too.

And I am sharing this to anyone who might have the chance to read this entry, I hope you take time to find things to be thankful for every single day... and let's pray for Japan and the rest of the world.

Eye was a model for a day

I was enjoying a spontaneous Monday of coffee, book sales and girl talk when I got a call from my high school friend Marc Maligalig.

Marc: Kea, may contacts kang blue diba?
Me: Oo, Bakit?
Marc: Good! Kailangan ko!
Me: Ok, may grado yun ha!
Marc: Ok lang, ikaw naman magsusuot.
Me: Ha?
Marc: Please, please, kailangan kita, picturan ko mata mo. Nasa bahay ka lang ba?
Me: I'm out. Urgent ba?
Marc: Hindi naman, pero please kailangan kita kunan ngayon para sa blue project ko bukas.
Me: Okay sige, I'll get back to you. Uwi ako to get it, iba na kasi suot ko.
Marc. Good, good, sige, text text.

And that's all it takes for me to be a model... an eye model specifically, for just a day.

Anyone close to me  knows that I am more interested and passionate in working behind the scenes in concept shoots.Next thing I know, I was already with Marc and Poch going to Jim's house to borrow external flash and have my eye photo taken.

Four of my Highschool barkada (a.k.a. friends) were in this club called The Los Baños Camera Club. Every 2nd Tuesday of the month they have this themed contest among the members of the exclusive club and they invite guests to be the judge of the picture. Members are required to submit two entries in adherence to the theme. Every month they get to pick top 5 photos, proclaimed as winners, where their work will be shown in the club's upcoming exhibit on November of this year.


This month the theme is BLUE. Anything blue.

The Boys, all camera jargoned-up. I decided to take a photo of them exchanging lighting tips. Uploaded the dim/blurred version of this pic or else Jim will kill me that I exposed his sanctuary :)

My Crib Experience in LB Square = FAIL!

We're supposed to have a good lunch after four straight hours of lecture in grad school class. With a group of five hungry people, every thing on the menu should look and taste good. Gutom nga eh, papatulan yan! But it wasn't good. Not at all.

Please be informed that this is a group rating. To avoid reviewing this restaurant as seen in a very subjective eye, I asked my fellow classmates about their individual rating. It was all 2 ouf 10, and 10 being the highest. And as customers, we're supposed to be always right.

MyCrib coffee shop and restaurant is located in elbi square, beside the Arirang Korean Restaurant and Hop Scotch Bar and Restaurant. This establishment is located near the parking lot of elbi square, opposite Bugel's food house. It was supposed to be a good experience because it looked very cozy.


Ate, the server, was telling us about the videoke/KTV room that they have for rent, for 150/hr. It was supposed to be cozy. (Excuse my low res shots, these were taken from our camera phones.)

The "Private Room" for rent for DVD watching and KTV, it's Php150 per hour

There's this sign says: "This room is for REcreation, not PROcreation". LOL!

While waiting for our meal, we were enjoying our stay in the non-smoking area, enjoying the bean bags and air conditioning on this hot Friday afternoon in UPLB.

Little did we know, there is a charge of Php 25/hr to stay in the area, exclusive of the order. 

Then the food came:

It wasn't the fastest service, plus there's no sign of additional fees in the area. The server did not educate us that there is an additional charge because all along we thought that it's just a non-smoking area. We didn't know that we'll get charged for staying, on top of the food that we ordered.

On with the food... since food establishments around UPLB area is famous for having student budget-friendly meals, it's not a surprise that we see meals that costs Pho40. This is how the food was presented: 

Porktapa Meal Php40

Tuna Alfredo Something. Php 75

Pork tapa with egg Php 45

Omelette meal, Php45

But the catch is, if you paid 40, you will really get Php40 worthy of presentation and size of food.

Presentation: 3 out 10

Taste: 5 out of 10

Service: 1 out of 10

On a separate occassion, I went there before with another friend but we just stayed in the smoking area so we did not get any ridiculous charge.

I ordered this choco chip shake. I thought it looked funny.

Chocochip , Php65.

My friend loved her shake with "Baileys" in it.

Shake with Baileys, Php65

Now the catch of all catch:

• The owner, or at least one of the owners, was in a bad mood and it shows. She was speaking very loudly over the phone, ranting and telling the person on the other line how pissed off she is with what she's doing. She didn't care that there are customers inside the enclosed area ( who wanted to relax ) and she kept on ranting on the phone. She also asked why am I taking pictures of the place (she asked in a  mataray/ snotty way) . I told her that I am going to send it to a friend who's getting married because we're organizing her bachelorette party and were thinking of holding the party there... well, not anymore. She was far from warm, considering they are in customer service. I bet when they get to see this blog, they will have to put on a sign that says: No Picture Taking. Better brush up on your customer service 101 as well. 
• We were inquiring about the rates of renting the place, the owner wouldn't even look at us in the eye or put on a decent face at least. Hello, pera kaya kame? 
• We were told that we already reached an hour, like as if she's indirectly saying: Get out or I'll charge you an additional fee. We were told that by ordering drinks, the Php25/hr charge will be waived but it wasn't. So we left. We were blindly robbed. 
• The refillable iced tea that costs Php40 can only be refilled up to three times. Sometimes they immediately refill your glass even if it's only half empty.
• They have free WiFi... at least.
• Bad customer service. Like really.
• No proper setting of expectations.
• Food is so-so. Wasn't really worth the money even if it's only forty pesos. First time I was there, I ordered for Pork Tapa and got Porkchop instead. Then I ordered Pork Tapa and got disappointed. 

Over all Recommendation: 

If you have friends that you want to piss off, recommend this place. If you are brave enough to try it out for yourself, we just hope that you won't get the same experience that we had. A friend of mine who was with me during this experience wouldn't dare to go back again. 

Tsk-tsk.

A Take Off from 'Date A Girl Who Reads'

Sharing this beautiful piece to the brilliant and pretty geeks. :)

"A Take Off from 'Date A Girl Who Reads' by Rose Urquico

by Faye Sta.Maria-Abalos (For the circulated version, click here)

Date a girl who reads...

She might keep you waiting all the time because a girl who reads knows the value of reflecting after being absorbed in a book.  She needs that few minutes or probably an hour so as an aftermath. 

Date a girl who reads...

If you hurt her and she will break, but will never admit it to you.  She may forgive you in time and ask you to give her back the fragments of herself.  Like a puzzle, she has to put back the pieces of herself to achieve renewal. 

She will always remember why she loves you  like the pages of her book that were earmarked, highlighted and annotated—marked for eternity. 

If you leave her, she will never ask you to comeback.  But like the letters of Bantock, she will always silently say “bring yourself back home to me and I will immerse you in every ounce of tenderness I possess.” 

She knows the power of words—how it can kill, love, ignite, arouse—so use these words wisely...because a girl who reads listens and understands language that are not being said.

Date a girl who reads...

Because she knows that like Allende, loving is beyond banal existence.  Engage her in a conversation and she will bring you into her thoughts...only to realize you have been talking for 6 hours straight.  Yes, she can make you laugh, cry, smile and amuse you in different ways. 

She is comforting.  She knows what silence means and she does not need all the expository narrative of your day—because she knows...just so.

Love a girl who reads...

She will give you unimaginable presents—thoughts that play and linger in your head. 

How will you say I love you to a girl who reads?

Ask her if it is ok to put down her book for a few seconds...she will –for you...she will.  Look deeply into her eyes and she will know.  Simply because she can read.

How will you say I love you to girl who reads?

by Faye Sta.Maria - Abalos

Ask her if it is ok to put down her book for a few seconds...she will –for you...she will.  Look deeply into her eyes and she will know.  Simply because she can read.

Love a girl who reads...

She will give you unimaginable presents—thoughts that play and linger in your head.  She will love you wholeheartedly and openly show how much she loves you everyday. 

Love a girl who reads...

You will be her everyday.  Her knight in shining armor in her romance novels--Tita’s Pedro in Like Water for Chocolate,  her Francisco in Allende’s Of Love and Shadows.  You will be her  poetry, stanzaic but fluid. 

Love a girl who reads...

Because she knows how to love—love well.  Her passion for you is in each words that engage her.  You will be in her book—for every page she reads as she smiles and sighs... it is you. 

Hurt her and she will break, but will never admit it to you.  She may forgive you in time and ask you to give her back the fragments of herself.  Like a puzzle, she has to put back the pieces of herself to achieve renewal. 

She will always remember why she loves you  like the pages of her book that were earmarked, highlighted and annotated—marked for eternity. 

If you leave her, she will never ask you to comeback.  But like the letters of Bantock, she will always silently say “bring yourself back home to me and I will immerse you in every ounce of tenderness I possess.” 

You will be in her musings as each page is flipped.  And in between tears, she will talk to herself that there is a difference between fantasy and reality.  She knows that the pages will be witnesses to her tears and pain and she will always unconsciously wipe those wet pages.    

It may take her a while to be ok because she knows that books are not written overnight.  She will be fine one day and start hitting the book stores in the corner because she knows that she will have next editions soon and make a new list of books to savor. 

Love and hurt a girl who reads...

She will always be in each word you will accidentally read, in each page you flip in each word you will utter.  She will be in each conversation you will formulate. She becomes the word because she is imprinted and published in your mind.  Love and hurt a girl who reads  is difficult to forget—because a girl who reads will always be the first edition...something you will always be searching for.

Important Credits:

Jennifer Lapis for sending the link

Faye Sta.Maria-Abalos for the take off posted in facebook

Rose Urquico for the original piece

Shisha + Kebab = Everyday Kebab

Been looking for pieces of Manila Chill Night in elbi and I found it in... Everyday Kebab! To get a good Kebab experiece, complete with Shisha and all, go to Everyday Kebab!

First things first: What is a Shisha or Hookah? As defined by Wikipedia:

A hookah (South Asia: हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari), حقّہ (Nastaleeq) huqqah) also known as a waterpipe is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled and filtered by passing through water. The tobacco smoked is referred to asnarghile or shisha (sheesha) in the United States and Canada.Originally from India, hookah has gained popularity, especially in the Middle East and is gaining popularity in North America, South America, Europe and Australia.

Everyday Kebab

Early bird gets the Desperate worms

Hardest part being in elbi? Good coffee shops don't open up until lunch hour.

We were craving for an immediate caffeine fix early in the morning when... there's no good coffee shops available at 9am in elbi. We decided to go to elbi square just to try our luck and there's Cafe Altria again (see my previous peppermint mocha review) and figured out this might do the trick.

Elbi Square at 9 am

Then there's Cafe Altria, the earliest of them all 

Love the capiz, sound of it in elbi wind takes me back to some resto we went to in Bora

RAVE: Grilled Cheese, Php 65

RANT: Rusty Fork ( tsk-tsk) 

RAVE: Cookies and Cream Frappe (Php70)

Rave: Cross dresser becky (gay guy) taking a "pam-profile pic" shot. Ikaw na teh?! 

RAVE: Second version of the Cookies and Cream Frappe

In fairness, the grilled cheese and frappes are good. Except for the fork, which we didn't use, by the way. They usually offer student meals, wouldn't really call it Grade A service but the frappes are pretty huge for 70 (yey!). Haven't tried their "student meals" yet, because that's what they really offer the moment you sit down.

Tip: Good place to go to if there's no other choice/destination in mind to kill time. We were there before to kill time as well a.k.a. while waiting for the preferred restaurant to open up. :)

What "Shot" Really Meant to those in Grad School

"Shot Tayo!"

I must admit it took me like a few weeks to understand what "Shot" is. Shot, is a term used by Grad Students ( well at least the ones that I am often with ) to invite friends and classmates in Graduate School to go out for a drink. This is while others go out for coffee.

I remember last semester when one of our professors told us that "Shot Sessions" are what made her survive graduate school. They would often have a sort of Thursday group when they have a meeting place at a certain time and that restaurant/bar/coffee shop would already have two buckets of beer waiting for them to start the session. Usually once the alcohol or beers got them talking, all the bright ideas and really good conversations come in, sans inhibitions. Oh well, we all know what alcohol does to us, right?

Anyway, for the past few days I've been in and out of these "Shot sessions" that as I write this entry, I am still trying to recover from the things that I pondered on these past few days.

"Work with the Given"

"This is a world of labels"

"The difference between Chemistry and Compatibility..."

"Pillow Talk"

"Post-Modernism"

"Succeeded at some degree..."

and so on.

I guess these "Shot sessions" are best used by those taking up their Masters and PhD in Social and Communication Sciences. I was able to get an idea for my thesis through what seemed to be harmless conversations and was able to get more inputs from people that I meet and randomly drink with. I think it's a bad idea to be a loner in grad school, because it is very important that you have someone (not just anyone, but someone on the same level / wavelength) to brainstorm with.

"This is not just beer in my glass, these are thoughts waiting to be 'sipped', in order to be expressed" 

Perfectly peeled beer labels up on the window...as an expression

Man Mig Light - if you want to drink Men. Lol.
Random behavior (Altering beer labels) during Shot Sessions

For Consistency purposes (see above picture)

And my biggest weakness: Free WiFi

That's what I look like when there's free wifi

Major challenge for me is to resist free WiFi. (Majority of the establishments that I go to has free WiFi for their customers.) 

I'm excited to share "Shot Sessions" topics [that is worth sharing] soon. I am still trying to recover from my lack of sleep for the past couple of days due to preparation for facilitation and reports.

Happy Sunday friends! Have a good one! :)

Trying out Tresto Restaurant

After hearing it for a while from our friends of friends of friends (a.k.a. teeny tiny world) and in our quest to find a good food establishment around UPLB that opens up as early as 10am and serves *drum roll please* beer, we found ourselves in:

Early apologies for the low resolution shots, I just used the camera on my phone to take these photos. From that moment on, I promise to include "my camera" in my mental checklist whenever I change bags.

Anyway, here's what the place looks like:

In Daylight

Love the wall

Counter

At night

They have private conference room

Must Try:

Try the ChocNut Shake! :)

Sandwich + Fries

Faye's Rating: " The sandwich is not so good..."

Mojos

Sizzling Beef Strips

Must Try (accdg to Sam Pasia): Trong

Spicy Chicken Fillet/Strips

Chili Hotdogs

Chicken Salpicao

Sam, the current Upsilon Sigma Phi's Bossman, tells us that the place transforms every night for they have smoke machines and lights perfect for "gimmick nights".Anyway, I was not able to witness it because I have to leave early ( like 8pm) to prep up stuff for grad school.

Tip:

• Crowd: Usual hang out of Undergraduate students, fraternities and sororities.
• If you're from the "mature" age bracket, best to go there to have dinner or lunch.
• Due to the garden/nature feel, there are mosquitoes.
• They have fast and free WiFi!
• Good for conducting meetings, they have private room for conference
• They have nice and clean restroom

Tresto Bar-Resto-Garden is located at 9711 Mt. Banahaw Street, Umali Subdivision, Los Banos, Laguna 4030. Email: tresto.uplb@yahoo.com, contact numbers: 09062502733 and 049 536 7858 and their business hours: 10am - 12midnight, Open daily. :)