My friend David was in Manila for a week and we met up on Sunday to watch "Wall Street 2". David says that since he got married and had kids, he never gets to watch movies anymore since all his time is devoted to his family so whenever he's in town, we make it a point to watch a movie. A few of his colleagues were also in town and since they didn't have anything to do, they joined us.
The choice of movie came by default since Wall Street 2 was practically the only movie that seemed interesting enough to watch. None of us had seen the first one that came out back in the 80s and is a cult classic (the line "Greed is good" becoming one of the all-time movie quotes classics) so we had no basis for comparison, but this second installment was really good.
The film is set against the American economic crisis that happened a few years ago and it tries to depict how things turned out the way they did (although who's to say what is fact and what is fiction - this is a movie after all). The most interesting thing I learned is "moral hazard" or the situation wherein the
person who has your money is not responsible for it.
It's a really good movie and the cast did a great job. I personally felt that Josh Brolin and Carey Mulligan stole the scenes they were in. It was also nice to see Charlie Sheen - who was with Michael Douglas in the first film - make a cameo appearance. Don't be surprised if after watching Wall Street 2, you feel like going out and investing in the stock market. The ending was conveniently positive but with my crazy workload that brings with it a lot of stress, a feel-good movie is definitely good. :)
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Republiq night
Another birthday celebration, but this time not mine. Tim had a two-part celebration last weekend: we had drinks in Izumi in Burgos Circle before heading to Resorts World to party in Republiq. It was my first time in Resorts World (cool place) and also my first time in Republiq (cool club). We ended up partying until around 3am. After a really long week last week, it was great to unwind and let loose! :)
This song was played three times - once by each of the 3 DJs featured that night. Great song that definitely gets you in the mood. :)
video uploaded in youtube by user MrNewRNBmusic
This song was played three times - once by each of the 3 DJs featured that night. Great song that definitely gets you in the mood. :)
video uploaded in youtube by user MrNewRNBmusic
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Liverpool in the doldrums
It was supposed to be a very promising season. Gerrard and Torres both stayed in the team. They signed Joe Cole. And Rafa Benitez left after a miserable last season.
Seems though that they were better off with Benitez. Now Liverpool are practically at the bottom of the barrel. Several matches into the season and they have one win to show for themselves. One win! This from a team that was battling for the premier league title a couple of years back. Even Dirk Kuyt has had to apologize to the fans for their horror show. I'm not sure what it will take to turn things around, but they better do it fast.
Seems though that they were better off with Benitez. Now Liverpool are practically at the bottom of the barrel. Several matches into the season and they have one win to show for themselves. One win! This from a team that was battling for the premier league title a couple of years back. Even Dirk Kuyt has had to apologize to the fans for their horror show. I'm not sure what it will take to turn things around, but they better do it fast.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Birthday lunch in Adarna
I celebrated my birthday with my family in Adarna Food and Culture restaurant along Kalayaan. I've eaten in Adarna a couple of times before so I knew that my family would enjoy it here. Just like La Cocina De Tita Moning and Romulo's, Adarna is a house-turned-restaurant that offers very good Filipino food so it was a perfect place to celebrate with my family.
The ambience plays a big part in the overall experience in Adarna. The interior is filled with Filipino memorabilia such as framed celebrity photos and news clippings that are decades old. The service was excellent and it didn't take long for the food to arrive. I was really pleased with our selection of dishes. My favorite dish was the Piassok, a dish from Sulu that consisted of beef chunks cooked slowly in smoked coconut cream and spices. It was beautifully flavored and the beef was very tender. Our waitress told us it was their bestseller, and I can completely understand why.
The great thing about the dishes here are the interesting combinations. We ordered the Tagalog Pochero with Roasted Eggplant Dip, and it is recommended that you eat the pochero beef with the dip. The combination of the sweet beef and the tart eggplant was perfect. The same is true for the Grilled Pork Chop with Salsa Monja. The Batanes yellow rice had a hint of ginger which wasn't overpowering. And the Camaron Rebosado had a unique olive oil-based sweet-and-sour sauce which I haven't seen elsewhere.
It just sucks that I forgot to take photos of the food! Need to make sure I sort out another trip here sometime soon and blog about it, but this time with pictures. :) The only downside to Adarna is that they don't accept credit cards, so you need to make sure you have cash ready when you visit. (I did appreciate the fact that they informed me about this when I called to make a reservation. At least there were no surprises.)
After lunch, my nephews wanted to watch 'The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole". My brothers and my aunt couldn't join us so I drove to Shangri-La Mall to watch the movie with my nephews, my mom, and my grandparents. This movie really caters to kids - I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to adults unless you were taking children to see it. However, it did provide several good lessons to my nephews. It had themes like not giving up and trying your best even after you fail. It also showed that even if you are small, you can still succeed against immense odds (and bigger opposition) if you use your brain, train hard, and have a lot of heart.
The ambience plays a big part in the overall experience in Adarna. The interior is filled with Filipino memorabilia such as framed celebrity photos and news clippings that are decades old. The service was excellent and it didn't take long for the food to arrive. I was really pleased with our selection of dishes. My favorite dish was the Piassok, a dish from Sulu that consisted of beef chunks cooked slowly in smoked coconut cream and spices. It was beautifully flavored and the beef was very tender. Our waitress told us it was their bestseller, and I can completely understand why.
The great thing about the dishes here are the interesting combinations. We ordered the Tagalog Pochero with Roasted Eggplant Dip, and it is recommended that you eat the pochero beef with the dip. The combination of the sweet beef and the tart eggplant was perfect. The same is true for the Grilled Pork Chop with Salsa Monja. The Batanes yellow rice had a hint of ginger which wasn't overpowering. And the Camaron Rebosado had a unique olive oil-based sweet-and-sour sauce which I haven't seen elsewhere.
It just sucks that I forgot to take photos of the food! Need to make sure I sort out another trip here sometime soon and blog about it, but this time with pictures. :) The only downside to Adarna is that they don't accept credit cards, so you need to make sure you have cash ready when you visit. (I did appreciate the fact that they informed me about this when I called to make a reservation. At least there were no surprises.)
After lunch, my nephews wanted to watch 'The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole". My brothers and my aunt couldn't join us so I drove to Shangri-La Mall to watch the movie with my nephews, my mom, and my grandparents. This movie really caters to kids - I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to adults unless you were taking children to see it. However, it did provide several good lessons to my nephews. It had themes like not giving up and trying your best even after you fail. It also showed that even if you are small, you can still succeed against immense odds (and bigger opposition) if you use your brain, train hard, and have a lot of heart.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Missing out on Singapore F1
Can't believe it's been a year since I watched my first Formula One race in Singapore. I decided I would watch it on TV this year - had to save up on money and the timing of the race didn't sync up well with my deadlines. It was an interesting race with Fernando Alonso winning again and moving him up to second in the drivers championship, past Lewis Hamilton who got involved in a tussle with Mark Webber that left his car out of commission. Webber still stays at #1 in the drivers championship with his 3rd place finish, and with Vettel placing second, he leapfrogs Jenson Button into overall 4th.
There are four races left this season but anything can still happen. Only 25 points separate the top 5, and when you consider that anyone who wins a race gets at least 7 points more than everyone else, it's still anyone's championship. And while it will be tough for Ferrari to win the constructors championship, their outside chance make it an interesting three-way at the top, along with Red Bull and McLaren-Mercedes. Should be a fun rest-of-the-season!
There are four races left this season but anything can still happen. Only 25 points separate the top 5, and when you consider that anyone who wins a race gets at least 7 points more than everyone else, it's still anyone's championship. And while it will be tough for Ferrari to win the constructors championship, their outside chance make it an interesting three-way at the top, along with Red Bull and McLaren-Mercedes. Should be a fun rest-of-the-season!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
International Coastal Cleanup Day
Every year, the world celebrates International Coastal Cleanup Day, a global event led by Ocean Conservancy similar in concept to other global events like Earth Day and Earth Hour. International Coastal Cleanup Day normally falls on the third Saturday of September, but this year it was on September 25 (the 4th Saturday of the month).
Our Corporate Social Responsibility group at work felt that this would be a good event to support, given that the Philippines is an archipelago with more than 36,000 kilometers of coastline. So we organized a trip to Balai Anilao in Batangas and got about 50 volunteers from work to help in the cleanup efforts. If budget wasn't a constraint, we would have had a lot more participants actually - we sent out a call for volunteers at 2:45pm on a Friday afternoon and within 20 minutes, more than 80 people signed up.
On cleanup day, we arrived at 9am after a 135-km drive from Manila to Anilao that felt even longer due to the traffic. We were then split in two groups - the shoreline cleanup team (most of us were in this group) and the dive cleanup team. After the briefing, everyone went to work. Garbage bags were distributed and people started picking up as much trash as they could.
It was really interesting to see what kind of items were collected. Apart from the expected plastic bags, food wrappers, and drink bottles, we picked up an old knapsack, a syringe (God knows what that was used for...), a toothbrush, and a Magic touch liquid eraser. We also saw a whole lot of "pair-less" footwear. I don't know if it's because people lost one and tossed the other on the beach or if people got drunk and unintentionally while on the beach and lost half their footwear in the process.
The coast fronting Balai Anilao isn't very long but with a team of about 40 people sweeping through the shore, we filled seven large garbage bags in less than an hour. I didn't even realize there was that much clutter on the beach! Then came the garbage analysis - we went through the trash collected to count the different items we had. The information gathered would then be submitted to Ocean Conservancy for processing.
Once we were done, it was time to relax and enjoy the resort. The buffet lunch was really good - I had two massive servings LOL.
To officially close the event, we distributed certificates of participation and volunteer shirts to everyone there. We were lucky that we didn't get rained out considering that it had been raining a lot recently, at least in Manila. It was a successful event that the participants truly enjoyed - even if it meant getting dirty. The Philippines apparently has been the second biggest participant (next to the US) in this event every year since it first joined so it's nice to know that we were involved this year. It's definitely something to look forward to in 2011.
Our Corporate Social Responsibility group at work felt that this would be a good event to support, given that the Philippines is an archipelago with more than 36,000 kilometers of coastline. So we organized a trip to Balai Anilao in Batangas and got about 50 volunteers from work to help in the cleanup efforts. If budget wasn't a constraint, we would have had a lot more participants actually - we sent out a call for volunteers at 2:45pm on a Friday afternoon and within 20 minutes, more than 80 people signed up.
On cleanup day, we arrived at 9am after a 135-km drive from Manila to Anilao that felt even longer due to the traffic. We were then split in two groups - the shoreline cleanup team (most of us were in this group) and the dive cleanup team. After the briefing, everyone went to work. Garbage bags were distributed and people started picking up as much trash as they could.
It was really interesting to see what kind of items were collected. Apart from the expected plastic bags, food wrappers, and drink bottles, we picked up an old knapsack, a syringe (God knows what that was used for...), a toothbrush, and a Magic touch liquid eraser. We also saw a whole lot of "pair-less" footwear. I don't know if it's because people lost one and tossed the other on the beach or if people got drunk and unintentionally while on the beach and lost half their footwear in the process.
The coast fronting Balai Anilao isn't very long but with a team of about 40 people sweeping through the shore, we filled seven large garbage bags in less than an hour. I didn't even realize there was that much clutter on the beach! Then came the garbage analysis - we went through the trash collected to count the different items we had. The information gathered would then be submitted to Ocean Conservancy for processing.
Once we were done, it was time to relax and enjoy the resort. The buffet lunch was really good - I had two massive servings LOL.
To officially close the event, we distributed certificates of participation and volunteer shirts to everyone there. We were lucky that we didn't get rained out considering that it had been raining a lot recently, at least in Manila. It was a successful event that the participants truly enjoyed - even if it meant getting dirty. The Philippines apparently has been the second biggest participant (next to the US) in this event every year since it first joined so it's nice to know that we were involved this year. It's definitely something to look forward to in 2011.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Surprise birthday party
My friends threw me my first-ever surprise birthday party. It was a joint surprise birthday party for me and Tim actually since his birthday is just a few days after mine. While some surprise parties tend to fail since the people involved figure things out somehow, I really didn't pick up on it, even when I ran into another friend Aldwin going into Hai Bar LOL. I guess I just really had so many things on my mind as my workload in the last few weeks has been intense. In fact, I didn't even want to go to my surprise party (which would have been a disaster haha).
It was set up as Cesar's celebration after taking the medical board exams (or at least, one of the stages - apparently there are a few). I had initially agreed to go but the day before the party, I told Walter that I might not be able to make it because I was so tired and was starting to feel sick. So when Walter started texting the final plans that day and telling me that they were on their way to meet me, I felt quite annoyed that they didn't even bother to ask me whether I would be joining them or not. Apparently, they could sense that I wasn't in the mood as we had dinner in Little Tokyo.
We arrived in Hai Bar at close to 11pm. There, we ran into Aldwin who was also about to go in. Tim even asked him what he was doing there, and he just said that he was Walter's guest. Strange that even then, I didn't suspect something was going on LOL but in my defense, neither did Tim. :) In fact, I was so spaced out that when I got in and everyone there - Jesse, Mark, Clarisse, and CY - all said "Happy Birthday" and presented me and Tim with a shot each, I still didn't get it. It was only when Walter asked me if I was surprised that it dawned on me - oh wait, this is actually for me (or well, me and Tim)! Talk about your brain not working...
So what started out as me being displeased at the fact that I was practically forced into a night out turned into a real fun surprise party. I'm definitely thankful to have friends who'd spend all that time and effort organizing something like this.
It was set up as Cesar's celebration after taking the medical board exams (or at least, one of the stages - apparently there are a few). I had initially agreed to go but the day before the party, I told Walter that I might not be able to make it because I was so tired and was starting to feel sick. So when Walter started texting the final plans that day and telling me that they were on their way to meet me, I felt quite annoyed that they didn't even bother to ask me whether I would be joining them or not. Apparently, they could sense that I wasn't in the mood as we had dinner in Little Tokyo.
We arrived in Hai Bar at close to 11pm. There, we ran into Aldwin who was also about to go in. Tim even asked him what he was doing there, and he just said that he was Walter's guest. Strange that even then, I didn't suspect something was going on LOL but in my defense, neither did Tim. :) In fact, I was so spaced out that when I got in and everyone there - Jesse, Mark, Clarisse, and CY - all said "Happy Birthday" and presented me and Tim with a shot each, I still didn't get it. It was only when Walter asked me if I was surprised that it dawned on me - oh wait, this is actually for me (or well, me and Tim)! Talk about your brain not working...
So what started out as me being displeased at the fact that I was practically forced into a night out turned into a real fun surprise party. I'm definitely thankful to have friends who'd spend all that time and effort organizing something like this.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Despicable Me
I promised my nephews recently that I'd take them to watch "Despicable Me". I've heard really good reviews about the movie so I made sure we caught it while it was still showing in local theaters. It certainly lived up to the hype.
As is the case with a lot of animated films in recent years, "Despicable Me" is as entertaining to kids as it is to adults. It's not often that you have a villain as the protagonist in a film and Gru, the main character, is as despicable as villains come. At least initially. But when Gru's supervillain status comes under threat early in the story, an interesting series of events triggered by Gru's attempt to steal the moon lead him to three orphans Margo, Edith, and Agnes who become a very positive influence in his life.
The switch from villain to hero isn't instant, and it's a well-defined and careful process of character development that has the audience relating to and rooting for Gru, even when he is still trying to steal the moon. Its this growth in Gru's character and his increasing involvement in the lives of Margo, Edith, and Agnes that provide a lot of heartwarming moments in the film. This is complemented by the many fun and funny scenes that provide entertainment for the whole family and have audiences laughing out loud.
I felt only one thing missing by the end and that was the lack of resolution with respect to Miss Hattie's Home for Girls. I really wish we could've seen Miss Hattie get her comeuppance for the way she treated the children in the orphanage. But this little blip aside, "Despicable Me" is a really good movie and is worth seeing, even if you don't have any kids in tow. I'll certainly be getting the DVD when it comes out.
As is the case with a lot of animated films in recent years, "Despicable Me" is as entertaining to kids as it is to adults. It's not often that you have a villain as the protagonist in a film and Gru, the main character, is as despicable as villains come. At least initially. But when Gru's supervillain status comes under threat early in the story, an interesting series of events triggered by Gru's attempt to steal the moon lead him to three orphans Margo, Edith, and Agnes who become a very positive influence in his life.The switch from villain to hero isn't instant, and it's a well-defined and careful process of character development that has the audience relating to and rooting for Gru, even when he is still trying to steal the moon. Its this growth in Gru's character and his increasing involvement in the lives of Margo, Edith, and Agnes that provide a lot of heartwarming moments in the film. This is complemented by the many fun and funny scenes that provide entertainment for the whole family and have audiences laughing out loud.
I felt only one thing missing by the end and that was the lack of resolution with respect to Miss Hattie's Home for Girls. I really wish we could've seen Miss Hattie get her comeuppance for the way she treated the children in the orphanage. But this little blip aside, "Despicable Me" is a really good movie and is worth seeing, even if you don't have any kids in tow. I'll certainly be getting the DVD when it comes out.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Little Asia Dinner in The Piazza
My friend Mike, who has been living in the US for the last 6 years, is in Manila right now. We haven't seen him in a while so we decided to meet up over dinner. I noticed that there is a Little Asia in The Piazza at Venice, McKinley and I love that resto so I suggested we meet up there when Joh asked for dinner suggestions. Joh had been wanting to try the restos in The Piazza for a while so the dinner venue was set.
Joining the dinner were myself, Joh, Raffa, Peegee, and Mile. A lot of time was spent catching up and talking about current and upcoming plans - both career-wise and personal. The food of course was really good. The group favorite: Vietnamese Crispy Spareribs with Garlic. It was a weeknight so we didn't stay out too late. We are supposed to meet up again some time soon to celebrate my birthday and I'm obviously looking forward to hanging out with them again.
Joining the dinner were myself, Joh, Raffa, Peegee, and Mile. A lot of time was spent catching up and talking about current and upcoming plans - both career-wise and personal. The food of course was really good. The group favorite: Vietnamese Crispy Spareribs with Garlic. It was a weeknight so we didn't stay out too late. We are supposed to meet up again some time soon to celebrate my birthday and I'm obviously looking forward to hanging out with them again.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Rafa on top of the world
Rafael Nadal finally completes the career Golden slam! Despite rain on Sunday that forced the final to be played on Monday, Nadal beat current world #2 Novak Djokovic in four sets to claim the US Open crown. This was an incredible achievement on so many levels:
- He is only the seventh man in history to complete a career Grand Slam. That is, winning each of the four Grand Slam titles (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open) at least once in his career.
- He is only the third man to do this in the Open Era. It's amazing to think about this because some of the greatest tennis players in history - Sampras, Borg, McEnroe, Lendl, Connors, Wilander, Edberg, and Becker - were unable to achieve this rare feat.
- With his Olympic Gold back in 2008, Rafa also joins Andre Agassi as the only two men to have won all four slams plus the Olympic Gold medal. The only other player in history to achieve this feat is Steffi Graf (who of course won all four slams + the Olympic Gold in the same year - 1988!)
- Rafa now has 9 Grand Slam titles. This puts him in 7th place all time. Two more slam titles will put him on equal fourth, tying him with Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver.
- This win also assured Rafa of ending the year #1.
Monday, September 13, 2010
An early baby shower
Anna was in town this weekend so we decided to all meet up and have a very early baby shower for Joyce, who wasn't due for 3 more months. We decided to have our celebration in Mitch's place and while the initial plan was for Joyce's other close friends would join us, most folks backed out in the last minute so it ended up being just us.
Mitch asked Joyce what food she wanted and Joyce said pasta and salad. So we ended up having salad with three different dressings, really good lasagna, and chicken. Plus the mango tart I got from Conti's. Anna ended up being really late because she got pulled into a family gathering but Mitch's sister Myra and her family were there too. Myra and Iona are both very strong advocates for breast feeding and are experts on it, so a lot of the talk over dinner was on how best to accomplish breast feeding.
Anna joined us around 10pm and we decided to share gifts then. I didn't get Joyce a gift yet because I didn't know who would be there and what she might have gotten from other people. In any case I still have three months to get Joyce a gift so no rush. Maybe I will just combine her birthday gift, Christmas gift, and baby shower present and get her something really big and cool. I will just have to wait for her registry.
Mitch asked Joyce what food she wanted and Joyce said pasta and salad. So we ended up having salad with three different dressings, really good lasagna, and chicken. Plus the mango tart I got from Conti's. Anna ended up being really late because she got pulled into a family gathering but Mitch's sister Myra and her family were there too. Myra and Iona are both very strong advocates for breast feeding and are experts on it, so a lot of the talk over dinner was on how best to accomplish breast feeding.
Anna joined us around 10pm and we decided to share gifts then. I didn't get Joyce a gift yet because I didn't know who would be there and what she might have gotten from other people. In any case I still have three months to get Joyce a gift so no rush. Maybe I will just combine her birthday gift, Christmas gift, and baby shower present and get her something really big and cool. I will just have to wait for her registry.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
"Dakota" by The Stereophonics
Discovered this tune a while back. Awesome song by an awesome band.
video uploaded in youtube by user candchaoz
video uploaded in youtube by user candchaoz
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Food trip Friday
Thank God Friday was a holiday! I probably worked more than 50 hours in the four working days of the week, pulling an all-nighter from Wednesday to Thursday to make sure I met all my crazy deadlines (which thankfully, I did!) so it was great to unwind on Friday and enjoy a lot of great food with great friends.
Walter, Tim and I started the day off in Ongpin. Our first stop: Masuki. We shared a big bowl of mami and had one order of siomai (2 pieces) each. Their siomai is about twice the size of normal siomai and tastes really good and their mami ranks up their as one of the best I've ever had.
We initially wanted to have asado rice rolls and dimsum in Waiying but the place was full so we tried another resto a couple of blocks away. I can't recall the name of the place though. Aside from ordering asado rice rolls, we got hakaw, mushroom siomai, and sio long pao. I liked the hakaw but everything else was just okay. I'd probably try another place in the area if I want to order the same food we had there.
I was planning to get hopia from Eng Bee Tin before leaving China Town but we were a lot closer to Salazar Bakery (practically right next to it, actually) so I bought my hopia there instead. We then left Ongpin and headed to Makati.
Along the way, I decided to drop by Becky's Kitchen. I've tried the Cherry Walnut brownies from Becky's Kitchen a few times before when people would give them as gifts to my mom and I think they are great. I figured that since we had time, I would find out where along Bautista Street Becky's Kitchen was located and buy my first ever brownies from there. We were given a queue number once we got in which I found to be quite weird since there were very few people there. My number gets called shortly and as I start placing my order, the crowd in the shop tripled in size. Their numbering system all of a sudden made perfect sense. :) I got my half-box of brownies and we headed out.
For our next stop, I suggested we go to Earle's Delicatessen in Greenbelt 1. I tried this place for the first time with my mom and brother in Columns when we watched Master Class and thought it was extremely good value for money - the sandwiches which cost P120-150 were hefty and didn't scrimp on the fillings, the grilled sausages cost only P50-80 if you dine in (they cost about P20-30 per 100 grams if you buy it raw - in Rustan's supermarket, the sausages cost P35-50 per 100 grams), and the brewed coffee at P48 is quite good.
When I suggested Earle's Deli, Walter remembered that he wanted to try The Spud Diner by Potato Corner in Columns which was next to the Earle's Deli there. So we went to Columns instead. We set up base in The Spud Diner - Walter and Tim shared the Italian Job and the Crazy Spudster while I ordered Shepherd's Pie. I asked the cashier if it was okay to bring food from other restaurants in and she said it was, so I ended up ordering brewed coffee and a grilled Bavarian Cheese Smokies sausage from Earle's Deli. Apparently the Crazy Spudster was pretty good and the Italian job not so much. But my Shepherd's Pie matched perfectly with my Bavarian Cheese Smokies!
Our mid-afternoon snack was quite heavy but we still managed have dinner at around 730pm. We were planning to spend the night drinking in Distillery so we decided to eat somewhere in Burgos Circle. We ended up in Cantinetta, which is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Manila. I've eaten here a few times before and in each visit, I always order the same thing - the Tartufo, which is pasta in truffle cream sauce with prosciutto. I absolutely love this dish! While most people normally drink white wine with pasta, I had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with mine. An expensive dinner but it's not often I go on this kind of food trip so I decided to go crazy with it. :) And boy did I love my food!!
Distillery was full that night so we ended up downing a bottle of Absolut Citron in Izumi instead, this time with a couple more friends joining us. Once the bottle was gone, we moved to Hai Chinese Restaurant and Bar, where we ordered their Bar Chow Sampler along with the drinks we had.
A really long day with a lot of driving and a lot of money out, but there was a lot of really good food too. That I got to hang out with really good friends who enjoy food just as much as I do made it even better. Hopefully we get to replicate this day in the future.
Walter, Tim and I started the day off in Ongpin. Our first stop: Masuki. We shared a big bowl of mami and had one order of siomai (2 pieces) each. Their siomai is about twice the size of normal siomai and tastes really good and their mami ranks up their as one of the best I've ever had.
We initially wanted to have asado rice rolls and dimsum in Waiying but the place was full so we tried another resto a couple of blocks away. I can't recall the name of the place though. Aside from ordering asado rice rolls, we got hakaw, mushroom siomai, and sio long pao. I liked the hakaw but everything else was just okay. I'd probably try another place in the area if I want to order the same food we had there.
I was planning to get hopia from Eng Bee Tin before leaving China Town but we were a lot closer to Salazar Bakery (practically right next to it, actually) so I bought my hopia there instead. We then left Ongpin and headed to Makati.
Along the way, I decided to drop by Becky's Kitchen. I've tried the Cherry Walnut brownies from Becky's Kitchen a few times before when people would give them as gifts to my mom and I think they are great. I figured that since we had time, I would find out where along Bautista Street Becky's Kitchen was located and buy my first ever brownies from there. We were given a queue number once we got in which I found to be quite weird since there were very few people there. My number gets called shortly and as I start placing my order, the crowd in the shop tripled in size. Their numbering system all of a sudden made perfect sense. :) I got my half-box of brownies and we headed out.
For our next stop, I suggested we go to Earle's Delicatessen in Greenbelt 1. I tried this place for the first time with my mom and brother in Columns when we watched Master Class and thought it was extremely good value for money - the sandwiches which cost P120-150 were hefty and didn't scrimp on the fillings, the grilled sausages cost only P50-80 if you dine in (they cost about P20-30 per 100 grams if you buy it raw - in Rustan's supermarket, the sausages cost P35-50 per 100 grams), and the brewed coffee at P48 is quite good.
When I suggested Earle's Deli, Walter remembered that he wanted to try The Spud Diner by Potato Corner in Columns which was next to the Earle's Deli there. So we went to Columns instead. We set up base in The Spud Diner - Walter and Tim shared the Italian Job and the Crazy Spudster while I ordered Shepherd's Pie. I asked the cashier if it was okay to bring food from other restaurants in and she said it was, so I ended up ordering brewed coffee and a grilled Bavarian Cheese Smokies sausage from Earle's Deli. Apparently the Crazy Spudster was pretty good and the Italian job not so much. But my Shepherd's Pie matched perfectly with my Bavarian Cheese Smokies!
Our mid-afternoon snack was quite heavy but we still managed have dinner at around 730pm. We were planning to spend the night drinking in Distillery so we decided to eat somewhere in Burgos Circle. We ended up in Cantinetta, which is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Manila. I've eaten here a few times before and in each visit, I always order the same thing - the Tartufo, which is pasta in truffle cream sauce with prosciutto. I absolutely love this dish! While most people normally drink white wine with pasta, I had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with mine. An expensive dinner but it's not often I go on this kind of food trip so I decided to go crazy with it. :) And boy did I love my food!!
Distillery was full that night so we ended up downing a bottle of Absolut Citron in Izumi instead, this time with a couple more friends joining us. Once the bottle was gone, we moved to Hai Chinese Restaurant and Bar, where we ordered their Bar Chow Sampler along with the drinks we had.
A really long day with a lot of driving and a lot of money out, but there was a lot of really good food too. That I got to hang out with really good friends who enjoy food just as much as I do made it even better. Hopefully we get to replicate this day in the future.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Saving more paper cups
After discovering that I can save P5 by using my Starbucks tumblers when buying coffee in Starbucks, I decided to try and use reusable mugs when buying coffee in other places. The most logical place for me to try this first was the 7-11 at the ground floor of my building. I decided one day to bring a reusable mug to 7-11 and used it for my brewed coffee purchase. My mug was roughly the size of a medium cup (P45) but I got charged only P35. Pretty cool!
I brought my mug to Figaro as well. I have this fairly tall mug that matched their 16 oz coffee and I asked them to use that for my order. I didn't get a discount but at least I get to save another paper cup.
I brought my mug to Figaro as well. I have this fairly tall mug that matched their 16 oz coffee and I asked them to use that for my order. I didn't get a discount but at least I get to save another paper cup.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Old show a new favorite
I've recently rediscovered Criminal Minds on Fox (channel 50 on Skycable). I used to watch this show during my short stint in Sweden but it wasn't showing on any of the channels I had here in Manila. Either that or I could never catch it while it was airing.
I recall being disappointed when Skycable replaced Fox Crime - which had all three CSIs and The Practice - with Fox. At the time, there weren't a lot of shows on Fox which I enjoyed apart from The Simpsons, but now they are showing a lot of Criminal Minds (specifically season 4). I'm getting to watch a lot of it and I'm finding this show compelling once again. It's a heavy theme actually but there's a lot of triumph in it. What makes it even more interesting to watch is that different episodes don't always follow the same format - sometimes the antagonist is revealed early on and sometimes you don't find out who the perpetrator is until the show is close to the end.
There's also a new channel on Skycable - Universal on channel 33 - which shows a lot of the different Law and Order franchises. SVU (Special Victims Unit) remains to be my favorite one. With Fox and Universal added to the Skycable roster, there are now more shows to keep me entertained.
I recall being disappointed when Skycable replaced Fox Crime - which had all three CSIs and The Practice - with Fox. At the time, there weren't a lot of shows on Fox which I enjoyed apart from The Simpsons, but now they are showing a lot of Criminal Minds (specifically season 4). I'm getting to watch a lot of it and I'm finding this show compelling once again. It's a heavy theme actually but there's a lot of triumph in it. What makes it even more interesting to watch is that different episodes don't always follow the same format - sometimes the antagonist is revealed early on and sometimes you don't find out who the perpetrator is until the show is close to the end.
There's also a new channel on Skycable - Universal on channel 33 - which shows a lot of the different Law and Order franchises. SVU (Special Victims Unit) remains to be my favorite one. With Fox and Universal added to the Skycable roster, there are now more shows to keep me entertained.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace
If you're looking for a cozy restaurant that offers good, affordable food in the Quezon City area, you might want to try Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace. I saw this resto a few months ago and thought it was quite interesting. So when I had dinner with my friends Tim and Basil and Tim wanted to try something new, I suggested this place.
A big part of Blacksoup's appeal its unique interior: quirky decorative pieces, musical instruments, and tables displaying different pictures and photographs all combine to provide an artsy yet cozy ambience. When we were there, the film Bicycle Thieves was being projected onto the far wall, making our dinner a lot more interesting.
And of course the food. Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace offers menu items that are inspired by traditional Filipino fare, such as the laing pasta and mango turon.
Laing Pasta
Mango Turon
If you want something other that local cuisine, you can try some of their other dishes like the chicken with basil and cheese stuffing. You can also check out menu of the day for more options.
Chicken with Basil and Cheese Stuffing
Meal prices range from P100 to P150 so we went crazy and ordered five dishes. Apart from the items mentioned above, we also ordered the aligui pasta, the pasta ala victoria, and the salmon from the daily menu. Their coffee is pretty good and costs only P35 if I recall correctly. You can check out their menu here. Good prices, good atmosphere, and good food. That's a solid combination in my book, and it makes this place definitely worth a visit.
Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace is located in Unit G Maginhawa Bldg, #154 Maginhawa Street, Sikatuna Village, Quezon City. You won't see it along the road if you are driving along Maginhawa, so instead, look for Crave Burger and park in that area. Go through the short walkway right next to Crave Burger into the building complex behind it. Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace has a facebook page if you'd like to read more about it.
A big part of Blacksoup's appeal its unique interior: quirky decorative pieces, musical instruments, and tables displaying different pictures and photographs all combine to provide an artsy yet cozy ambience. When we were there, the film Bicycle Thieves was being projected onto the far wall, making our dinner a lot more interesting.
And of course the food. Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace offers menu items that are inspired by traditional Filipino fare, such as the laing pasta and mango turon.
Laing Pasta
Mango TuronIf you want something other that local cuisine, you can try some of their other dishes like the chicken with basil and cheese stuffing. You can also check out menu of the day for more options.
Chicken with Basil and Cheese StuffingMeal prices range from P100 to P150 so we went crazy and ordered five dishes. Apart from the items mentioned above, we also ordered the aligui pasta, the pasta ala victoria, and the salmon from the daily menu. Their coffee is pretty good and costs only P35 if I recall correctly. You can check out their menu here. Good prices, good atmosphere, and good food. That's a solid combination in my book, and it makes this place definitely worth a visit.
Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace is located in Unit G Maginhawa Bldg, #154 Maginhawa Street, Sikatuna Village, Quezon City. You won't see it along the road if you are driving along Maginhawa, so instead, look for Crave Burger and park in that area. Go through the short walkway right next to Crave Burger into the building complex behind it. Blacksoup Cafe + Artspace has a facebook page if you'd like to read more about it.Saturday, September 04, 2010
Hitting the treadmill again
It's been 2 months since I ran my marathon-for-a-cause and mentioned in a previous post, I haven't been able to run since then. That is, until today. I finally got to hit the treadmill again using my new running shoes. Since I haven't had any exercise in two months, I decided to go low-intensity and ran only 3 kilometers. It felt incredible flexing my running muscles again and breaking a sweat. I just need to regularly hit the gym 3-4 times a week. Not only will that keep me healthy but it can help me bring down my finish time in next year's marathon. And maybe lose some weight along the way. :)
Thursday, September 02, 2010
What a bad start
The Barclays Premier League started a couple of weeks ago. With the Liverpool featuring old stars Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres and new players like Joe Cole, my hopes were high that the team would do better this season.
Unfortunately, things haven't panned out the way I hoped. With a draw against Arsenal, a bad loss to Man City, and only one win coming against West Brom, Liverpool are sitting sadly in 13th place!!! That's 13th out of 20, which is a sorry place to be in for one of the biggest clubs in the BPL. Of course it's only the start of the season and it's only a 5-point difference between 13th and 1st, but you always want to get off on the right foot and Liverpool didn't do that.
Here's hoping things change soon and Liverpool start notching more wins and moving up the league table.
Unfortunately, things haven't panned out the way I hoped. With a draw against Arsenal, a bad loss to Man City, and only one win coming against West Brom, Liverpool are sitting sadly in 13th place!!! That's 13th out of 20, which is a sorry place to be in for one of the biggest clubs in the BPL. Of course it's only the start of the season and it's only a 5-point difference between 13th and 1st, but you always want to get off on the right foot and Liverpool didn't do that.
Here's hoping things change soon and Liverpool start notching more wins and moving up the league table.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Record
So I now have a new record in terms of blogging: 28 blog posts in the month of August. That is the most number of posts I've made in a single month since I started my blog more than 5 years ago. So cool!
I was actually gunning for one post a day but August has been one of the busiest months I've had this entire year so I missed out on a couple of days. Despite that, I still manage 10 more posts than my previous record of 18 (back when I was stationed in Sweden). I may still go for a perfect record of one post a day in a month, but I may rest a bit first. :)
I was actually gunning for one post a day but August has been one of the busiest months I've had this entire year so I missed out on a couple of days. Despite that, I still manage 10 more posts than my previous record of 18 (back when I was stationed in Sweden). I may still go for a perfect record of one post a day in a month, but I may rest a bit first. :)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Second Wind
Happy National Heroes day to all Filipinos!
I was very thankful for this holiday as it gave me an extra day off which brought with it some much needed rest. Last week I was averaging 5 hours of sleep a night so thankfully I was able to get more than 8 hours of sleep every night of this long weekend.
The extra day off also allowed me to finally drop by Second Wind, the running store I've been meaning to visit for a while now. With running being very popular in the Philippines, a lot of running stores are coming out of the woodwork. Probably the most popular one is Runnr in Bonifacio High Street. When I went there a few months ago, I ran on the treadmill to have my gait analyzed. It's such a cool concept where they can look at how you run and suggest the best running shoe for you, but I was very turned off when after my gait analysis, they offered me the most expensive running shoe! It made me feel like the gait analysis was useless because whatever the result, they would've sold that shoe to me.
So when my friend Alvin told me about Second Wind and how the folks in that store actually give you several options with different price ranges, I felt it was a much better option.
And true enough, it was. When I arrived, the guy there, Neville Manaois, asked me a few questions - how often do I run, what distances do I normally cover during training, what running shoe did I use before, etc. He then took a look at my foot and at the sole of my flip-flop to see where the wear-and-tear was. He mulled over the information for a bit then asked for a few pairs of shoes to be brought out - one Asics, one Brooks, and one New Balance. I try them all on and they all feel pretty good and I said, "I don't know which one to choose!" He then told me that I should just opt for the cheapest one, the Asics Gel 1150, which was a couple hundred pesos cheaper than the Brooks pair and more than a thousand bucks cheaper than the New Balance pair. So after buying my Nike cross-trainers the other day, I now have a pair of Asics Gel 1150 running shoes:
Listening to Neville explain what shoe I needed (apparently I needed stability; all this time I had been using shoes that provide motion control) along with the pluses and minuses of each shoe which he knew by heart made it clear to me how much of a running expert he was. The fact that he suggested I pick the least expensive pair also gave me the impression he was more interested in ensuring that I have an overall good running experience instead of earning more money from me. Needless to say, I stepped out of Second Wind with one of the best purchasing experiences I've ever had.
Second Wind has two branches: one in Teacher's Village and one in Ortigas Home Depot. If you need new running shoes, I suggest you visit one of these two stores:
Second Wind QC
88 Maginhawa Street, Teachers Village QC
Tel No. 7992089
Second Wind Pasig
Ortigas Home Depot. Julia Vargas Avenue. Pasig
Tel No: 9140283
Operating hours:
Monday – Friday: 11am - 7pm
Saturday: 12nn - 6pm
I was very thankful for this holiday as it gave me an extra day off which brought with it some much needed rest. Last week I was averaging 5 hours of sleep a night so thankfully I was able to get more than 8 hours of sleep every night of this long weekend.
The extra day off also allowed me to finally drop by Second Wind, the running store I've been meaning to visit for a while now. With running being very popular in the Philippines, a lot of running stores are coming out of the woodwork. Probably the most popular one is Runnr in Bonifacio High Street. When I went there a few months ago, I ran on the treadmill to have my gait analyzed. It's such a cool concept where they can look at how you run and suggest the best running shoe for you, but I was very turned off when after my gait analysis, they offered me the most expensive running shoe! It made me feel like the gait analysis was useless because whatever the result, they would've sold that shoe to me.
So when my friend Alvin told me about Second Wind and how the folks in that store actually give you several options with different price ranges, I felt it was a much better option.
And true enough, it was. When I arrived, the guy there, Neville Manaois, asked me a few questions - how often do I run, what distances do I normally cover during training, what running shoe did I use before, etc. He then took a look at my foot and at the sole of my flip-flop to see where the wear-and-tear was. He mulled over the information for a bit then asked for a few pairs of shoes to be brought out - one Asics, one Brooks, and one New Balance. I try them all on and they all feel pretty good and I said, "I don't know which one to choose!" He then told me that I should just opt for the cheapest one, the Asics Gel 1150, which was a couple hundred pesos cheaper than the Brooks pair and more than a thousand bucks cheaper than the New Balance pair. So after buying my Nike cross-trainers the other day, I now have a pair of Asics Gel 1150 running shoes:
Listening to Neville explain what shoe I needed (apparently I needed stability; all this time I had been using shoes that provide motion control) along with the pluses and minuses of each shoe which he knew by heart made it clear to me how much of a running expert he was. The fact that he suggested I pick the least expensive pair also gave me the impression he was more interested in ensuring that I have an overall good running experience instead of earning more money from me. Needless to say, I stepped out of Second Wind with one of the best purchasing experiences I've ever had.
Second Wind has two branches: one in Teacher's Village and one in Ortigas Home Depot. If you need new running shoes, I suggest you visit one of these two stores:
Second Wind QC
88 Maginhawa Street, Teachers Village QC
Tel No. 7992089
Second Wind Pasig
Ortigas Home Depot. Julia Vargas Avenue. Pasig
Tel No: 9140283
Operating hours:
Monday – Friday: 11am - 7pm
Saturday: 12nn - 6pm
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Food trip
Got to try three new restaurants over the last four days. Stuffed myself while I was at it. :)
*****
On Thursday night, I had dinner with my friends Walter and Tim in Charlie's Grind and Grill. The original restaurant is located in Kapitolyo but they opened a new branch along Ortigas avenue (Greenhills side) and that's where we went for our meal. I've read good reviews about the food here but I have to say I was a bit disappointed since the food didn't live up to expectations. The buffalo wings were so-so, the fish in the fish and chips didn't seem very fresh, and the meatballs in the meatballs marinara on pasta was a bit too soft and mushy. The chili fries was the best thing we ordered that night.
Of course, Charlie's Grind and Grill is supposed to be known for its burgers and we didn't have one so I will make sure to try one of their burgers (like the Black Angus burger or the Shroom burger which I really want to try) or their cheese steaks in my next trip.
*****
I met up with my friends Joh, Raffa, and Me-ann on Saturday night. We hadn't seen each other for a while - probably since Lexi's baptism! - and since Joh just celebrated her birthday recently, it was a good time for us to meet up. I've been meaning to try Mr. Jones in Greenbelt 5 and when Joh told me it had also been in their to-try list for a while, our venue was very quickly set.
It was a very good choice too! All four of us enjoyed the dishes we ordered. I had the Big Mama's Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, Me-ann ordered the Wicked Truffled Mac 'n' Cheese, Joh had the 1/2" Thick Double-Smoked Bacon and Eggs, and Raffa ordered the US Beef Ribcap Tapa and Garlic Overload. And the serving sizes are pretty big! We all wanted to have dessert after our meal but there just wasn't any room left after. Even hours later when I was in Reserve having drinks with other friends I still couldn't eat anything.
*****
We celebrated my nephew Ciera's birthday on Sunday. The initial plan was for us to have dinner in La Maison Café in Greenbelt 5 but there was some kind of function there when we arrived so we had to switch restos. So we went down one floor and had a celebration meal in Restaurante Pia Y Damaso. The cuisine is mainly Filipino (or Colonial Filipino as I've read) and we ordered a lot of it: Beef Shortribs Rioja, Chicken Pastel, Tapang Usa, Pork Belly with Chorizo and Chickpeas, and Lengua Sevillana. We also ordered paella, catfish adobo, and snails (i checked the online menus and couldn't find the "official" names of these last three dishes). It was my other nephew CJ who actually ordered the snails which definitely proves that my nephews don't have the same food preferences as most other kids their age (or even most other adults for that matter!)
The desserts were also quite exceptional. Ciera ordered the ube macapuno cake, my grandfather ordered Pepay the Dancer's halo-halo and shared it with my brother, CJ tried some kind of leche flan-type dessert (can't remember what it was called), and I ordered both Sisa's Dementia and Ibarra's Kiss for everyone else to share. I absolutely loved the last two chocolate-based desserts and it went perfectly with the really good coffee they had there.
*****
The only downside to this food trip is that I tried three new restos but took no photos hehe. Maybe next time I have a camera with me the next time I get to visit these places.
*****
On Thursday night, I had dinner with my friends Walter and Tim in Charlie's Grind and Grill. The original restaurant is located in Kapitolyo but they opened a new branch along Ortigas avenue (Greenhills side) and that's where we went for our meal. I've read good reviews about the food here but I have to say I was a bit disappointed since the food didn't live up to expectations. The buffalo wings were so-so, the fish in the fish and chips didn't seem very fresh, and the meatballs in the meatballs marinara on pasta was a bit too soft and mushy. The chili fries was the best thing we ordered that night.
Of course, Charlie's Grind and Grill is supposed to be known for its burgers and we didn't have one so I will make sure to try one of their burgers (like the Black Angus burger or the Shroom burger which I really want to try) or their cheese steaks in my next trip.
*****
I met up with my friends Joh, Raffa, and Me-ann on Saturday night. We hadn't seen each other for a while - probably since Lexi's baptism! - and since Joh just celebrated her birthday recently, it was a good time for us to meet up. I've been meaning to try Mr. Jones in Greenbelt 5 and when Joh told me it had also been in their to-try list for a while, our venue was very quickly set.
It was a very good choice too! All four of us enjoyed the dishes we ordered. I had the Big Mama's Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, Me-ann ordered the Wicked Truffled Mac 'n' Cheese, Joh had the 1/2" Thick Double-Smoked Bacon and Eggs, and Raffa ordered the US Beef Ribcap Tapa and Garlic Overload. And the serving sizes are pretty big! We all wanted to have dessert after our meal but there just wasn't any room left after. Even hours later when I was in Reserve having drinks with other friends I still couldn't eat anything.
*****
We celebrated my nephew Ciera's birthday on Sunday. The initial plan was for us to have dinner in La Maison Café in Greenbelt 5 but there was some kind of function there when we arrived so we had to switch restos. So we went down one floor and had a celebration meal in Restaurante Pia Y Damaso. The cuisine is mainly Filipino (or Colonial Filipino as I've read) and we ordered a lot of it: Beef Shortribs Rioja, Chicken Pastel, Tapang Usa, Pork Belly with Chorizo and Chickpeas, and Lengua Sevillana. We also ordered paella, catfish adobo, and snails (i checked the online menus and couldn't find the "official" names of these last three dishes). It was my other nephew CJ who actually ordered the snails which definitely proves that my nephews don't have the same food preferences as most other kids their age (or even most other adults for that matter!)
The desserts were also quite exceptional. Ciera ordered the ube macapuno cake, my grandfather ordered Pepay the Dancer's halo-halo and shared it with my brother, CJ tried some kind of leche flan-type dessert (can't remember what it was called), and I ordered both Sisa's Dementia and Ibarra's Kiss for everyone else to share. I absolutely loved the last two chocolate-based desserts and it went perfectly with the really good coffee they had there.
*****
The only downside to this food trip is that I tried three new restos but took no photos hehe. Maybe next time I have a camera with me the next time I get to visit these places.
Friday, August 27, 2010
My new cross-trainers
I haven't had any exercise in almost two months (the last time being my marathon last July 4!!). I've been having some cash flow problems recently so I didn't want to make a big purchases (by big, I mean items that cost a couple thousand bucks) until I got my finances sorted out, and since I broke my running shoes during the marathon, I couldn't hit the gym until I got myself a new pair.
With all the extra inches I'm gaining around my waist, I decided to start weight training again and alternate it with running and hopefully get back to a much more desirable level of fitness. I've read that you aren't supposed to use running shoes for anything else except running, so I figured I needed cross-trainers as well.
I saw this really cool pair of Nike cross-trainers in the Nike shop in Powerplant but it cost almost P5000 so I didn't want to buy it then. Which was a smart thing to do because I saw the same pair in Toby's Sports in Megamall. Toby's is currently having an anniversary sale (started last August 13 and runs until September 19) and the pair I wanted, the Nike Air Trainer 1 Low SL Men's training shoe, was on sale at 30% off! I decided to get it then and there. This is what my new shoes look like (it's the same model but I have a different color):
The only problem now is that I am really liking my new trainers and I don't want to mess them up by using them for working out LOL. Maybe I can just start using my Nike Frees for my trips to the gym and I can use my new trainers as my new casual shoes. :)
With all the extra inches I'm gaining around my waist, I decided to start weight training again and alternate it with running and hopefully get back to a much more desirable level of fitness. I've read that you aren't supposed to use running shoes for anything else except running, so I figured I needed cross-trainers as well.
I saw this really cool pair of Nike cross-trainers in the Nike shop in Powerplant but it cost almost P5000 so I didn't want to buy it then. Which was a smart thing to do because I saw the same pair in Toby's Sports in Megamall. Toby's is currently having an anniversary sale (started last August 13 and runs until September 19) and the pair I wanted, the Nike Air Trainer 1 Low SL Men's training shoe, was on sale at 30% off! I decided to get it then and there. This is what my new shoes look like (it's the same model but I have a different color):
The only problem now is that I am really liking my new trainers and I don't want to mess them up by using them for working out LOL. Maybe I can just start using my Nike Frees for my trips to the gym and I can use my new trainers as my new casual shoes. :)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Going through my Ipod
My old-school 30 Gb Ipod has been with me for more than 3 years now and I have about 20 Gb worth of music in it. However, I tend to listen to my favorite albums, favorite artists, or favorite songs only, so there are still hundreds or maybe even thousands of songs in my Ipod that I haven't listened to even once.
As such, I recently decided to make sure I go through every song in my Ipod. I started listening to songs in alphabetical order (by song title) a couple of weeks. I don't get to listen to my ipod everyday, but when I do, I probably listen to it for about 2-5 hours. Given that, I'm still at songs starting with letter 'B' (the last song I heard was 'Built to last' by Melee). I reckon I still have close to 400 hours worth of songs to listen to before I'm done! LOL
Anyways, here's one of the most played songs in my Ipod: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's extraordinarily soulful version of "Over the Rainbow". I never thought a song accompanied only by a ukulele could move me!
video uploaded in youtube by user mountainapplecompany
(Oh and if this arrangement sounds familiar, it's because this version was covered by Jason Castro while he was on American Idol and was also performed by Mr. Schuester and Puck in Glee.)
As such, I recently decided to make sure I go through every song in my Ipod. I started listening to songs in alphabetical order (by song title) a couple of weeks. I don't get to listen to my ipod everyday, but when I do, I probably listen to it for about 2-5 hours. Given that, I'm still at songs starting with letter 'B' (the last song I heard was 'Built to last' by Melee). I reckon I still have close to 400 hours worth of songs to listen to before I'm done! LOL
Anyways, here's one of the most played songs in my Ipod: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's extraordinarily soulful version of "Over the Rainbow". I never thought a song accompanied only by a ukulele could move me!
video uploaded in youtube by user mountainapplecompany
(Oh and if this arrangement sounds familiar, it's because this version was covered by Jason Castro while he was on American Idol and was also performed by Mr. Schuester and Puck in Glee.)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Meeting up with Ching and John
My good friends Ching and John were in town for the weekend. I got a text from John on Friday to inviting me to meet up that same night but unfortunately I was already booked pretty much the entire weekend. Thankfully, they were in town until Thursday.
I managed to have dinner with them in Kabisera by Dencio's on Monday night. It was actually sort of a family dinner - having dinner with us were Ching's parents and her sister Kathy who is also a really good friend of mine. But I guess since Ching and John didn't have a lot of time in Manila, they decided to extend the invitation (two other friends of theirs, Millie and Cy, also joined us that evening) to make sure we got to see each other while they were here.
It was really good catching up with them while they were here since it was several months since I saw them last. I also found out that Kathy is getting married next year - she has been engaged for a while but they now have a wedding date. She asked me if I could sing in her wedding and of course I said yes. She also asked me if I would mind singing along with the UP Singing Ambassadors and I told her that she shouldn't be asking me that question - rather, she should be asking the Singing Ambassadors if they were okay singing with me LOL.
It was a good night but obviously there wasn't a lot of time to catch up. Hopefully, I get to see Ching, John, and Kathy again some time soon. Maybe during the Christmas holidays.
I managed to have dinner with them in Kabisera by Dencio's on Monday night. It was actually sort of a family dinner - having dinner with us were Ching's parents and her sister Kathy who is also a really good friend of mine. But I guess since Ching and John didn't have a lot of time in Manila, they decided to extend the invitation (two other friends of theirs, Millie and Cy, also joined us that evening) to make sure we got to see each other while they were here.
It was really good catching up with them while they were here since it was several months since I saw them last. I also found out that Kathy is getting married next year - she has been engaged for a while but they now have a wedding date. She asked me if I could sing in her wedding and of course I said yes. She also asked me if I would mind singing along with the UP Singing Ambassadors and I told her that she shouldn't be asking me that question - rather, she should be asking the Singing Ambassadors if they were okay singing with me LOL.
It was a good night but obviously there wasn't a lot of time to catch up. Hopefully, I get to see Ching, John, and Kathy again some time soon. Maybe during the Christmas holidays.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Family time
Sunday is family day for me, as it is for most people. One of my relatives, Auntie Toots, was in Manila for a week so we had an extended family dinner in Uncle Albert's house (funny I call them Auntie and Uncle since they are both actually in the same generation as my grandparents. So I fetched my grandparents, my mom, and my nephews and we drive to Makati where Uncle Albert and Auntie Isabel live. Tita Jill and Tito Allen were also there along with their two kids. Extra tables were set up in the living room area to accommodate us all and as soon as we arrived, dinner was served.
Naturally, our dinner consisted mainly of Filipino food for the benefit of Auntie Toots and Uncle Amor who don't get to eat local cuisine very often. We had pansit malabon, Ilonggo-style lumpiang ubod, barbecue, and steamed crabs, among other things. My nephew CJ especially enjoyed the dinner since he loves crabs - he ended up having three whole ones! For dessert, we had mango cake and ice cream.
After dinner, my second cousins played some music to provide some post-meal entertainment. Nicolas played the violin while Mikaela played the piano. My grandfather and Uncle Albert then took over and played the piano and violin, respectively. It was around 930pm when we decided to call it a night since my nephews still had school the next day. Auntie Toots and Uncle Amor were staying in their friend's house and since it was along the way, we dropped them off.
It was a tiring night for sure as I had to drive all over the metro (twice!) but I really wouldn't have it any other way as it is such a joy to be able to take my family out every weekend.
Naturally, our dinner consisted mainly of Filipino food for the benefit of Auntie Toots and Uncle Amor who don't get to eat local cuisine very often. We had pansit malabon, Ilonggo-style lumpiang ubod, barbecue, and steamed crabs, among other things. My nephew CJ especially enjoyed the dinner since he loves crabs - he ended up having three whole ones! For dessert, we had mango cake and ice cream.
After dinner, my second cousins played some music to provide some post-meal entertainment. Nicolas played the violin while Mikaela played the piano. My grandfather and Uncle Albert then took over and played the piano and violin, respectively. It was around 930pm when we decided to call it a night since my nephews still had school the next day. Auntie Toots and Uncle Amor were staying in their friend's house and since it was along the way, we dropped them off.
It was a tiring night for sure as I had to drive all over the metro (twice!) but I really wouldn't have it any other way as it is such a joy to be able to take my family out every weekend.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Psycho Killer by Talking Heads
Had a dream that our band org at work performed this song in a company event. Would be cool if we eventually do as this song is so kick-ass! Not sure though if we'll ever be allowed to sing a song about psycho killers LOL.
video uploaded in youtube by user paulharris1967
If this old school rock tune sounds familiar to you, it might be because a slower and much more haunting cover version of this song was used in the TV series "Dexter". Either that or you have watched Dilana sing it in Rockstar Supernova.
video uploaded in youtube by user paulharris1967
If this old school rock tune sounds familiar to you, it might be because a slower and much more haunting cover version of this song was used in the TV series "Dexter". Either that or you have watched Dilana sing it in Rockstar Supernova.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Road(block) to the US Open
Rafa Nadal has never really had much success after Wimbledon. The fast hard courts in North America seem to be his bane, and they continue to remain his Achilles heel as he is ousted in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Masters by Marcos Baghdatis. That this is the first time Baghdatis has beaten Nadal is not a good sign, but Rafa did lose to Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals of the event before Wimbledon this year and it didn't matter. Hopefully, he can find the form that gave him two Grand Slam titles this year and finally win the only Slam title that's missing from his trophy cabinet. It's a tall order but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Visiting PGH
Due to a lot of after-the-fact pledges that came in after July 4, my marathon-for-a-cause will rake in almost P70,000 for the PGH internal medicine wards. There are still a whole lot of pledges that need to be collected (which reminds me, my friend Anna who now lives in Singapore will be coming to Manila in a couple of weeks so maybe my "pledgers" based in SG can send their donations through her...). But dozens of people will receive medical assistance from these funds so all my efforts to run, raise funds, and collect pledges will be absolutely worth it. :)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Moving on
I was surprised to find out that Melina Kanakaredes won't be returning to Season 7 of CSI New York. Stella Bonasera, the character she plays, is my favorite in the series and it will be unfortunate not to see her with the rest of the gang anymore. Apparently, it was her choice not to return after 6 seasons. Her contract was up and CBS was offering her a new deal but she decided not to renew.
She will be replaced by Sela Ward when the first episode of season 7 starts on September 24. The dynamic is certainly going to change, but CSI Las Vegas managed to successfully introduce Laurence Fishburne, who replaced William Peterson (Gil Grissom). So I am certain things will turn out just fine in CSI New York.
She will be replaced by Sela Ward when the first episode of season 7 starts on September 24. The dynamic is certainly going to change, but CSI Las Vegas managed to successfully introduce Laurence Fishburne, who replaced William Peterson (Gil Grissom). So I am certain things will turn out just fine in CSI New York.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Awesome mash-up of 2009 hits
I heard this back in early 2010 and I heard it again recently on 92.3. It's a really cool mash-up of hits from 2009 Created by DJ Earworm. Check it out:
video created by djearworm
video created by djearworm
Monday, August 16, 2010
Hard court season
Andy Murray won the Rogers Cup title on Sunday, and notched three firsts along with it: (1) he won his first title of 2010, (2) he beat both Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer in the same tournament for the first time (he did this feat last year but it was in exhibition), and (3) he becomes the first man to defend the Rogers Cup since Andre Agassi did it in 1995. While I am disappointed that Rafa lost, I still have high hopes that he can find his stride on the hard courts in the next few weeks and finally break through in Flushing Meadow and notch his first US Open title.
On the women's side, Kim Clijsters saves three matchpoints to beat Maria Sharapova in Cincinnati. This is Kim's 3rd title this year, and it's quite interesting since Cincinnati is where she made her comeback last year. This come-from-behind title victory must give Clijsters a lot of confidence going into the US Open, which she has won twice before.
On the women's side, Kim Clijsters saves three matchpoints to beat Maria Sharapova in Cincinnati. This is Kim's 3rd title this year, and it's quite interesting since Cincinnati is where she made her comeback last year. This come-from-behind title victory must give Clijsters a lot of confidence going into the US Open, which she has won twice before.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Belated birthday presents
I wasn't able to get my mom and my brother a gift for their respective birthdays, so I made sure that the next time I would see them (which was the Sunday after their joint birthday celebration), their presents would be ready.
For my mom, I got an orange shirt from Liz Claiborne. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to get because I wasn't sure about the size. That orange Liz Claiborne shirt caught my eye immediately since it was slightly sporty but had a classic style and cut, which means I didn't have to worry about it being age-appropriate. The problem was that the smallest size for that shirt was PS (or small) which seemed a bit too big for my mom. The Liz Claiborne shop in Shangri-La mall was on sale and I saw a few sale items that were PP (or XS) which I felt was the correct size. The catch was that if for some reason I got the size wrong, it would become a problem since sale items can only be exchanged with a different size and color (but still the same style). Since sale items had broken sizes, the right size might not be available anymore. I had to ask the staff about their exchange policy a few times (non-sale items can be exchanged with anything, including bags and even sale items, for up to 30 days as long as they are in good condition and you still have the receipt). I finally decided to get my original choice - the orange shirt. I figured that if it turned out to be too big, my mom could exchange it for other items in the shop that she could actually try on (a GC that can be used in Liz Claiborne was the more logical choice but I felt an actual shirt is was more personal). As it turns out, the size was just right for my mom. Cool!
For my brother, I got a dark blue shirt from Team Manila. I've window-shopped in Team Manila several times before and they have really great graphic designs. Unfortunately, their semi-fitted shirts don't seem to agree with my bulging belly LOL so I haven't bought any shirts there for myself. However, my brother is leaner than I am so I thought a Team Manila shirt would fit him perfectly. And as it turns out, it did.
For my mom, I got an orange shirt from Liz Claiborne. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to get because I wasn't sure about the size. That orange Liz Claiborne shirt caught my eye immediately since it was slightly sporty but had a classic style and cut, which means I didn't have to worry about it being age-appropriate. The problem was that the smallest size for that shirt was PS (or small) which seemed a bit too big for my mom. The Liz Claiborne shop in Shangri-La mall was on sale and I saw a few sale items that were PP (or XS) which I felt was the correct size. The catch was that if for some reason I got the size wrong, it would become a problem since sale items can only be exchanged with a different size and color (but still the same style). Since sale items had broken sizes, the right size might not be available anymore. I had to ask the staff about their exchange policy a few times (non-sale items can be exchanged with anything, including bags and even sale items, for up to 30 days as long as they are in good condition and you still have the receipt). I finally decided to get my original choice - the orange shirt. I figured that if it turned out to be too big, my mom could exchange it for other items in the shop that she could actually try on (a GC that can be used in Liz Claiborne was the more logical choice but I felt an actual shirt is was more personal). As it turns out, the size was just right for my mom. Cool!
For my brother, I got a dark blue shirt from Team Manila. I've window-shopped in Team Manila several times before and they have really great graphic designs. Unfortunately, their semi-fitted shirts don't seem to agree with my bulging belly LOL so I haven't bought any shirts there for myself. However, my brother is leaner than I am so I thought a Team Manila shirt would fit him perfectly. And as it turns out, it did.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Cav night
I always passed by Cav Wine Shop every time I'd go to Bonifacio High Street, and I always wanted to try it but I never did. That is, up until the Friday night. My friends and I wanted to try a wine bar so I suggested Cav. It looks like a pretty expensive place and we didn't want a big spending night, so I decided to drop my friends off first so they could take a look at the menu while I waited outside in car. They decided the menu seemed reasonable so I parked my car and followed them.
One major downer - the corkage! There were a lot of wine bottles that cost under P600 which made my friends decide that Cav was worth trying, but if you order a wine bottle under P1,500 and drink it in the restaurant, you have to pay a corkage fee of P300. It's written in the fine print at the bottom of each page of the wine list so my friends didn't notice it when looking at the menu and deciding that we hang out there, but at least the waiter informed us about the corkage before ordering. It momentarily doused our enthusiasm and so we decided to stick to the cheaper wines (I was looking at a more expensive bottle initially). In any case, I figured that a bottle of wine in most places costs about P700-800 or more, so we didn't pay more than what we would've spent if we ate somewhere else.
The thing that made my night, however, was the Cav card and the "wine vendo machine" (that's not the actual name - I'm just calling it that lol). The system: the wine vendo has a pretty good selection of red and white wines and you can get a taste, a half-glass, or a full glass of any of these wines. You slot your card into the machine, put your glass under the wine you have chosen, select the amount you want to have, and press the button. The card automatically gets credited and you have your wine. You pay for the total amount credited to the Cav card once you ask for the bill.
If you decide to get just a taste, it can cost as low as P35 although it really is just a few sips. However, this system worked perfectly for me because I wanted to try a lot of different wines. Even the more expensive wines that cost around P1400++ per bottle had tasting options that cost about P80-90.
One of my favorites was the Belnero Castelo Banfi Sangiovese 2006, but it was a bit too pricey for my wallet (P80 per tasting). My other favorite that night was the Salmon Creek Pinot Noir 2008 from California, and it turned out that a bottled of the Salmon Creek was "only" P660. I enjoyed it so much and thought it was priced decently that I decided I would bring a bottle of it home with me.
I ended up tasting about 6 or 7 more different wines, some of them good, some of them great, and one of them tasting awful LOL (I absolutely hated the Errazuriz Chardonnay 2009! Thank God I had only a few sips of it LOL). Add to this the bottle I got for myself, the two bottles my friends and I shared there, and the salpicao I ordered (it tasted so good with the red wine! LOL) and it's not surprising that my tab that night was really high!! I have been working my ass off the last few weeks, though, so I can consider this to be my prize to myself haha. My friends in fact said it was so nice to see me enjoying myself a lot, like a kid in a candy store LOL.
While I would rather they didn't have that whole corkage thing, there are still enough relatively inexpensive wines in the menu. And the Cav card set-up is, for me, worth trying again. I will have to save up for another trip here, and maybe I need to eat a lot before going there so I won't have to order any food from the menu, but I would certainly like to pay Cav another visit.
One major downer - the corkage! There were a lot of wine bottles that cost under P600 which made my friends decide that Cav was worth trying, but if you order a wine bottle under P1,500 and drink it in the restaurant, you have to pay a corkage fee of P300. It's written in the fine print at the bottom of each page of the wine list so my friends didn't notice it when looking at the menu and deciding that we hang out there, but at least the waiter informed us about the corkage before ordering. It momentarily doused our enthusiasm and so we decided to stick to the cheaper wines (I was looking at a more expensive bottle initially). In any case, I figured that a bottle of wine in most places costs about P700-800 or more, so we didn't pay more than what we would've spent if we ate somewhere else.
The thing that made my night, however, was the Cav card and the "wine vendo machine" (that's not the actual name - I'm just calling it that lol). The system: the wine vendo has a pretty good selection of red and white wines and you can get a taste, a half-glass, or a full glass of any of these wines. You slot your card into the machine, put your glass under the wine you have chosen, select the amount you want to have, and press the button. The card automatically gets credited and you have your wine. You pay for the total amount credited to the Cav card once you ask for the bill.
If you decide to get just a taste, it can cost as low as P35 although it really is just a few sips. However, this system worked perfectly for me because I wanted to try a lot of different wines. Even the more expensive wines that cost around P1400++ per bottle had tasting options that cost about P80-90.
One of my favorites was the Belnero Castelo Banfi Sangiovese 2006, but it was a bit too pricey for my wallet (P80 per tasting). My other favorite that night was the Salmon Creek Pinot Noir 2008 from California, and it turned out that a bottled of the Salmon Creek was "only" P660. I enjoyed it so much and thought it was priced decently that I decided I would bring a bottle of it home with me.
I ended up tasting about 6 or 7 more different wines, some of them good, some of them great, and one of them tasting awful LOL (I absolutely hated the Errazuriz Chardonnay 2009! Thank God I had only a few sips of it LOL). Add to this the bottle I got for myself, the two bottles my friends and I shared there, and the salpicao I ordered (it tasted so good with the red wine! LOL) and it's not surprising that my tab that night was really high!! I have been working my ass off the last few weeks, though, so I can consider this to be my prize to myself haha. My friends in fact said it was so nice to see me enjoying myself a lot, like a kid in a candy store LOL.
While I would rather they didn't have that whole corkage thing, there are still enough relatively inexpensive wines in the menu. And the Cav card set-up is, for me, worth trying again. I will have to save up for another trip here, and maybe I need to eat a lot before going there so I won't have to order any food from the menu, but I would certainly like to pay Cav another visit.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Fantasia commits suicide?
This is such sad news. Fantasia Barrino, winner of American Idol season 3, overdosed on aspirin and other pills at home. Police seem to believe that Fantasia attempted suicide although her manager claims it wasn't.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gx7zmkgB1gcpX4OcEuNOXEvJ9I8wD9HHJO5G0
The talk of the town is that Fantasia's alleged suicide attempt was brought about by an affair she had with Antwuan Cook, a married man. To make this episode in her life even sadder, she might now be sued by Antwuan's wife Paula.
http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrities/2010/08/14/15023186-wenn-story.html
The good news is that Fantasia was released from the hospital.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2010/08/fantasia-released-from-hospital/1
Hopefully she gets past all the issues that trouble her. Fantasia has never had an easy life, even after winning AI. But I do hope she can focus on her daughter, her family, her work, and even her fans, which should be more than enough reason for her to stay alive and remain healthy.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gx7zmkgB1gcpX4OcEuNOXEvJ9I8wD9HHJO5G0
The talk of the town is that Fantasia's alleged suicide attempt was brought about by an affair she had with Antwuan Cook, a married man. To make this episode in her life even sadder, she might now be sued by Antwuan's wife Paula.
http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrities/2010/08/14/15023186-wenn-story.html
The good news is that Fantasia was released from the hospital.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2010/08/fantasia-released-from-hospital/1
Hopefully she gets past all the issues that trouble her. Fantasia has never had an easy life, even after winning AI. But I do hope she can focus on her daughter, her family, her work, and even her fans, which should be more than enough reason for her to stay alive and remain healthy.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Salt
I've heard good reviews from people who have seen 'Salt' so I made my way to the cinema to see it. It certainly lived up to the hype. The action was great, the fight scenes cool, and the fact that the movie starred Angelina Jolie ensured that it would have more than its fair share of guys in the audience. :) Jolie definitely has the tough action woman role down pat - what with Tomb Raider and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I can't imagine a lot of other women in Hollywood being able to pull of these kinds of roles (although Scarlett Johansson comes to mind...)
While it has all the ingredients to make it your typical action blockbuster, story-wise, its not all that typical. It had three pretty major twists, the first of which was especially surprising. That it came at a point where I was starting to think that this movie would follow in the footsteps of other films that involve hunting down the central character ensured that the film would keep me interested.
All in all, 'Salt' is really good action movie that should provide movie-goers with a good time.
While it has all the ingredients to make it your typical action blockbuster, story-wise, its not all that typical. It had three pretty major twists, the first of which was especially surprising. That it came at a point where I was starting to think that this movie would follow in the footsteps of other films that involve hunting down the central character ensured that the film would keep me interested.
All in all, 'Salt' is really good action movie that should provide movie-goers with a good time.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
10-year old Opera singer in America's Got Talent
OMG, I saw this clip on youtube and I was blown away. Close your eyes and you wouldn't believe it was coming from a 10-year old!!
video uploaded in youtube by user AmericanBestTalent
video uploaded in youtube by user AmericanBestTalent
Monday, August 09, 2010
Big birthday bash
I know my grandparents like the Mango Tart in Conti's so I decided to pick one up on my way to dinner. As expected, there was more food than all of us could eat - pansit malabon, lumpia, chicken, kare-kare, paella, and a few other items. We had a lot of dessert too - apart from my Conti's mango tart, we had ice cream, an ice cream cake, and a birthday cake.
I'm still planning to bring my family to Adarna, but since my nephews have exams next week, we'll probably do it two weekends from now.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Nadal and Djokovic team up
Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic join forces as a doubles team and enter in the draw in the Rogers Cup in Toronto. This is the first time that the top 2 players in the world teamed up in doubles since Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe played together on the same side of the court. That was 34 years ago. (Roger Federer dropped to #3 in the world for the first time after Wimbledon. It's quite strange to talk about the top 2 players in the world and not include Federer.)
Nadal and Djokovic, however, ended up losing in their debut performance. While the result was not as good as their fans would've liked, it will be interesting to see if they decide at some point in the future to play doubles together in a Grand Slam event. That would certainly draw a huge amount of attention to doubles.
Nadal and Djokovic, however, ended up losing in their debut performance. While the result was not as good as their fans would've liked, it will be interesting to see if they decide at some point in the future to play doubles together in a Grand Slam event. That would certainly draw a huge amount of attention to doubles.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
A 'Master Class' performance by Cherie Gil
Opera: the art that combines powerful musical scores and phenomenal voices to tell stories that often end in tragedy. Opera in the 20th century gave the world a star in Maria Callas, who is one of the greatest opera singers of the 1900s (and in history). As such, it was foreseeable, even inevitable, that Callas' life would imitate art, with the highs of her international acclaim and innumerable standing ovations and curtain calls and the lows of hardship she experienced in her childhood, her relationships, and even her fame.
Maria Callas is the central character in "Master Class", a Tony award-winning play written by Terrence McNally. It is Callas' life, as well as McNally's interpretation of it, that serves as the foundation of the plot. The play is set in one of the classes given by Callas at the Juilliard School in New York from October 1971 to March 1972. The audience forms the class, and it is in front of this class that Callas teaches her students, or 'victims', as she playfully calls them. This play is currently being staged at the Carlos P. Romulo auditorium in the RCBC building and is headlined by the ageless Cherie Gil and directed by Michael Williams.
I feel very lucky to have seen this play as I didn't know that it was showing, much less what it was about, until my mom asked me if I wanted to watch it with her and my brother. In fact, my mom was actually not intending to watch it either. She was initially planning see a Cecile Licad performance, but when she was unable to get tickets, she noticed the staging of "Master Class" and thought it would be a good alternative.
An exhibit about Maria Callas was set up at the entrance area of the Carlos P. Romulo auditorium.
And a great alternative it turned out to be. "Master Class" was thoroughly entertaining on so many levels. The script was loaded with repartee and hilarious one-liners. Live performances by the students of arias from operas created by Verdi, Puccini, and Bellini provided awe-inspiring moments that added color and vibrance to the play. Callas' instruction to her students - from understanding the music and the intent of the composer to how arias should be interpreted and delivered - were both lessons on artistic performance that all singers must learn and imbibe and life lessons on how we should have passion in our lives and put 100% into the things we believe in and love the most.
And of course, there was Cherie Gil. I've always known what an incredible actress she is in movies and television, but to see her perform live was another thing altogether. She was funny, sad, strong, and vulnerable as she embodied the spirit of Maria Callas. I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that 80% of the lines in the play were hers, but it was more than her exceptional memory skills that had me raving. Her extraordinary delivery and characterization made her portrayal of a larger-than-life Maria Callas believable, relatable, and ultimately irresistible. Nowhere is this more apparent than in final monologue: Cherie went through the whole gamut of emotion as she relived Callas' glory, decline, and sacrifice, and brought the entire audience along with her. Needless to say, the standing ovation she received during curtain call was very well-deserved.
It was just such a shame that "Master Class" remains unknown to many, as was evidenced by the fact that more than half the seats in the auditorium were empty. The play will run until August 15 so if you have the funds and the time, I urge you to see it while you can. Tickets are available at Ticketworld, with prices ranging from P515 to P1,545.
Maria Callas is the central character in "Master Class", a Tony award-winning play written by Terrence McNally. It is Callas' life, as well as McNally's interpretation of it, that serves as the foundation of the plot. The play is set in one of the classes given by Callas at the Juilliard School in New York from October 1971 to March 1972. The audience forms the class, and it is in front of this class that Callas teaches her students, or 'victims', as she playfully calls them. This play is currently being staged at the Carlos P. Romulo auditorium in the RCBC building and is headlined by the ageless Cherie Gil and directed by Michael Williams.
I feel very lucky to have seen this play as I didn't know that it was showing, much less what it was about, until my mom asked me if I wanted to watch it with her and my brother. In fact, my mom was actually not intending to watch it either. She was initially planning see a Cecile Licad performance, but when she was unable to get tickets, she noticed the staging of "Master Class" and thought it would be a good alternative.
An exhibit about Maria Callas was set up at the entrance area of the Carlos P. Romulo auditorium.And a great alternative it turned out to be. "Master Class" was thoroughly entertaining on so many levels. The script was loaded with repartee and hilarious one-liners. Live performances by the students of arias from operas created by Verdi, Puccini, and Bellini provided awe-inspiring moments that added color and vibrance to the play. Callas' instruction to her students - from understanding the music and the intent of the composer to how arias should be interpreted and delivered - were both lessons on artistic performance that all singers must learn and imbibe and life lessons on how we should have passion in our lives and put 100% into the things we believe in and love the most.
And of course, there was Cherie Gil. I've always known what an incredible actress she is in movies and television, but to see her perform live was another thing altogether. She was funny, sad, strong, and vulnerable as she embodied the spirit of Maria Callas. I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that 80% of the lines in the play were hers, but it was more than her exceptional memory skills that had me raving. Her extraordinary delivery and characterization made her portrayal of a larger-than-life Maria Callas believable, relatable, and ultimately irresistible. Nowhere is this more apparent than in final monologue: Cherie went through the whole gamut of emotion as she relived Callas' glory, decline, and sacrifice, and brought the entire audience along with her. Needless to say, the standing ovation she received during curtain call was very well-deserved.
It was just such a shame that "Master Class" remains unknown to many, as was evidenced by the fact that more than half the seats in the auditorium were empty. The play will run until August 15 so if you have the funds and the time, I urge you to see it while you can. Tickets are available at Ticketworld, with prices ranging from P515 to P1,545.
Friday, August 06, 2010
Panasadiyaw in Greenbelt 3
I was meeting up with my friends Martin and Jane on Friday night to have dinner, and the initial idea was for us to have dinner in the Manila Ocean Park area. The venue changed since Martin found out that there was this dance concert entitled 'Panasadiyaw' in Greenbelt 3 that he wanted to see and Jane and I thought it would be an interesting show to watch.
'Panasadiyaw' was performed in the staging area right in front of Havana and Seattle's Best, and I have to say it was a brilliant show, one that I would definitely not have minded paying to see (the show was actually free). There were two 30-minute dances that comprised the one-hour show. The first half, 'Karga Tapas', was choreographed by Dwight Rodrigazo and performed by a dance troupe from Bacolod. The dance itself was an interpretation of a rice harvest, and you could see this clearly with the movements and even the costumes. The second half, 'Panadamlong Bulan', was choreographed by Max Luna III and showcased different freelance dancers who together performed the Pangalay, the Pangasik, and the Pangiluk. The original concept of these dances is based on the Buddhist concept of male and female celestial angels, common as characters in other Southeast Asian dances.
It was breathtaking to watch these dancers perform as their incredible grace, skill, strength, and technique were at full display. You could clearly see just how difficult most of their moves were, and the fact that they had to dance for half an hour and maintain the same power and strength they had at the start all the way 'til the end utterly amazes me. Both dances were accompanied by live music, performed by what I understand to be the former members of the Pinikpikan band, and it certainly made the show more vibrant and gave it a stronger energy.
We joined the "afterparty" since Martin was friends with some of the organizers, who invited all of us to join them for some pica pica in 'Kitchen'. We hung out there for a bit before moving to People's Palace so we could have a full-on dinner and so we could all catch up a bit more. A few of Martin's friends joined us for our late dinner as well. It was certainly a wonderful night filled with arts and culture, amazing food, and great conversation with good friends.
'Panasadiyaw' was performed in the staging area right in front of Havana and Seattle's Best, and I have to say it was a brilliant show, one that I would definitely not have minded paying to see (the show was actually free). There were two 30-minute dances that comprised the one-hour show. The first half, 'Karga Tapas', was choreographed by Dwight Rodrigazo and performed by a dance troupe from Bacolod. The dance itself was an interpretation of a rice harvest, and you could see this clearly with the movements and even the costumes. The second half, 'Panadamlong Bulan', was choreographed by Max Luna III and showcased different freelance dancers who together performed the Pangalay, the Pangasik, and the Pangiluk. The original concept of these dances is based on the Buddhist concept of male and female celestial angels, common as characters in other Southeast Asian dances.
It was breathtaking to watch these dancers perform as their incredible grace, skill, strength, and technique were at full display. You could clearly see just how difficult most of their moves were, and the fact that they had to dance for half an hour and maintain the same power and strength they had at the start all the way 'til the end utterly amazes me. Both dances were accompanied by live music, performed by what I understand to be the former members of the Pinikpikan band, and it certainly made the show more vibrant and gave it a stronger energy.
We joined the "afterparty" since Martin was friends with some of the organizers, who invited all of us to join them for some pica pica in 'Kitchen'. We hung out there for a bit before moving to People's Palace so we could have a full-on dinner and so we could all catch up a bit more. A few of Martin's friends joined us for our late dinner as well. It was certainly a wonderful night filled with arts and culture, amazing food, and great conversation with good friends.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
I need new shoes
Running shoes, that is. I broke them after running in the marathon last July 4. I used that same pair in my last two marathons so the mileage on those shoes is probably around 400-500 kilometers already. I checked out the shoes in Runnr in Bonifacio High Street a few months ago and even did a running test (or whatever it's called). I was inclined to get a certain pair of shoes there but I wanted to get their input, and interestingly enough, they recommended the most expensive pair - P7,000!- and gave me a P5000+ pair as a secondary recommendation. It seemed that they were just intent on selling their top price items, so I passed on buying a new pair that time.
My friend Alvin who is also into running suggested that I visit Second Wind. I think the original store is in the UP Diliman area, but apparently there is another store in Ortigas Home Depot. I haven't been able to go to the gym recently because I have no athletic shoes, so I need pay a visit to Second Wind one of these days.
My friend Alvin who is also into running suggested that I visit Second Wind. I think the original store is in the UP Diliman area, but apparently there is another store in Ortigas Home Depot. I haven't been able to go to the gym recently because I have no athletic shoes, so I need pay a visit to Second Wind one of these days.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Perfect Strangers
Back in the 80s, one of my favorite TV shows was 'Perfect Strangers'. The premise is that Balki Bartokomous, played by Bronson Pinchot, moves from Mypos (a fictional country) to the US and ends up staying with his distant cousin Larry Appleton, played by Mark Linn-Baker. With a lot of cultural and even behavioral differences, Balki and Larry end up in a lot of fun and funny situations.
I enjoyed this show so much that when I discovered that Seasons 1 and 2 of this series were now available on Amazon (I know that it wasn't for years), I made sure to get a copy.
Obviously, this sit-com is about 2 decades old so some of the gags are a bit dated, but I still find it really funny and entertaining. This is due in large part to the lead characters (and of course the actors who play them) and how they are developed as the story progresses.
On top of that, Perfect Strangers one of the the best theme song of any TV show I have ever watched. Check it out:
video uploadd in youtube by Robby520
I enjoyed this show so much that when I discovered that Seasons 1 and 2 of this series were now available on Amazon (I know that it wasn't for years), I made sure to get a copy.
Obviously, this sit-com is about 2 decades old so some of the gags are a bit dated, but I still find it really funny and entertaining. This is due in large part to the lead characters (and of course the actors who play them) and how they are developed as the story progresses.
On top of that, Perfect Strangers one of the the best theme song of any TV show I have ever watched. Check it out:
video uploadd in youtube by Robby520
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
My brother's birthday
My brother Clemence celebrated his birthday today so I suggested that since my nephews get out of school at around 3:45pm, they could just head to the Ortigas area and we could all have dinner at around 6pm. I suggested that we meet up in Shangri-La Mall so that my nephews could hang out in Quantum if they go their early.
As it turns out, we all arrive there around the same time. We ended up going to Sumo Sam. My nephew CJ looked through the menu and suggested that we get "The Arena", a platter that contains served with gyoza, beef yakitori, oyster teppan, mixed tempura, chicken teriyaki, tuna sashimi, salmon sashimi, yasaitame, kani sashimi, and Japanese fried rice.
CJ suggested "The Arena" because he wanted the kani sashimi. Since this platter is good for four, we also ordered gyoza (half of them fried and the other half steamed), seafood yakiudon, and another bowl of Japanese rice.
When our food arrived, CJ tried even the tuna sashimi - he liked the first bites and took another one then decided it wasn't to his liking - squid sashimi (or was it cuttlefish?) which he enjoyed. The interesting thing was that both CJ and my other nephew Ciera enjoyed the oyster teppan! I myself am not a big fan of oysters but the oyster teppan they served was actually quite good and well seasoned. Ciera even said that his favorite dishes were the gyoza and the oyster. This just proves that my nephews tend to prefer "adult food" to kids' food. (I mean, they'd pick fish and chops and pasta with pesto sauce over fried chicken and spaghetti on any given day!)
After dinner, we did end up going to Quantum. I tried the ball drop game and my ball luckily dropped into the 75-point hole, thus earning my 75 tickets. CJ was even luckier as his ball dropped into the Jackpot hole, earning him 100 tickets. A lot more arcade games later and we called it a night. My mom and my grandfather are celebrating their birthdays in a few days so we will be celebrating again on Sunday. Am definitely looking forward to that.
As it turns out, we all arrive there around the same time. We ended up going to Sumo Sam. My nephew CJ looked through the menu and suggested that we get "The Arena", a platter that contains served with gyoza, beef yakitori, oyster teppan, mixed tempura, chicken teriyaki, tuna sashimi, salmon sashimi, yasaitame, kani sashimi, and Japanese fried rice.
picture taken from the Sumo Sam facebook page
CJ suggested "The Arena" because he wanted the kani sashimi. Since this platter is good for four, we also ordered gyoza (half of them fried and the other half steamed), seafood yakiudon, and another bowl of Japanese rice.
When our food arrived, CJ tried even the tuna sashimi - he liked the first bites and took another one then decided it wasn't to his liking - squid sashimi (or was it cuttlefish?) which he enjoyed. The interesting thing was that both CJ and my other nephew Ciera enjoyed the oyster teppan! I myself am not a big fan of oysters but the oyster teppan they served was actually quite good and well seasoned. Ciera even said that his favorite dishes were the gyoza and the oyster. This just proves that my nephews tend to prefer "adult food" to kids' food. (I mean, they'd pick fish and chops and pasta with pesto sauce over fried chicken and spaghetti on any given day!)
After dinner, we did end up going to Quantum. I tried the ball drop game and my ball luckily dropped into the 75-point hole, thus earning my 75 tickets. CJ was even luckier as his ball dropped into the Jackpot hole, earning him 100 tickets. A lot more arcade games later and we called it a night. My mom and my grandfather are celebrating their birthdays in a few days so we will be celebrating again on Sunday. Am definitely looking forward to that.
Monday, August 02, 2010
American Idol shake-up
We all know that Simon Cowell won't be sitting as a judge on the next season of American Idol. But as it turns out, Ellen DeGeneres, who made her debut appearance on the show last season, won't be coming back. Read more about it here. It seems she will be replaced by Jennifer Lopez.
But on top of that, there are rumors that Kara DioGuardi won't be coming back as a judge either. There is no confirmation on this just yet, but if it does happen, you'd have only one familiar face on the judging table and a lot of new ones. I'm not sure if this is something the viewing public will appreciate, particularly since the judges play a large part in the show and it will take some time for new people to build rapport with the audience.
Makes me wonder how this will all play out. Not that it matters. I glossed over the last season, and I don't think that I'll be tuning into the next one any more than I did in the last.
But on top of that, there are rumors that Kara DioGuardi won't be coming back as a judge either. There is no confirmation on this just yet, but if it does happen, you'd have only one familiar face on the judging table and a lot of new ones. I'm not sure if this is something the viewing public will appreciate, particularly since the judges play a large part in the show and it will take some time for new people to build rapport with the audience.
Makes me wonder how this will all play out. Not that it matters. I glossed over the last season, and I don't think that I'll be tuning into the next one any more than I did in the last.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Disaster for McLaren
The Hungarian GP did no favors for McLaren as a gearbox failure caused Lewis Hamilton to retire from the race and drop to 2nd place in the Drivers Championship. Mark Webber returns to the top spot after winning his 4th race this season. With Jenson Button finishing 9th and Sebasian Vettel finishing 3rd - could've been 2nd if not for the penalty he incurred late in the race - Red Bull Racing also edge past McLaren in the Constructor's Championship.
Up next: the Belgian Grand Prix. McLaren have three weeks to sort things out. Especially now that Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa of Ferrari are starting to peak.
Up next: the Belgian Grand Prix. McLaren have three weeks to sort things out. Especially now that Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa of Ferrari are starting to peak.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Save P5 and save the trees
Here's a good way to save money while making a small contribution towards environmental sustainability. If you go to Starbucks every now and then and if you have a Starbucks tumbler (I reckon most people do since it's one of the most popular and easiest gifts to give during Christmas), simply bring your tumbler the next time you visit Starbucks to buy a drink and you will get a P5 discount.
Not only will you be saving money, you will also help reduce the usage of paper cups. With one tree equal to about 2000 paper cups, using your tumbler will help reduce the number of paper cups used and thus, in a small way, reduce the number of trees that are cut down to create these cups.
I now need to check if other coffee shops like Figaro have a similar set-up. But even if they don't, I guess it's good practice to bring your own tumbler and have the coffee shop server your coffee using your tumbler.
Not only will you be saving money, you will also help reduce the usage of paper cups. With one tree equal to about 2000 paper cups, using your tumbler will help reduce the number of paper cups used and thus, in a small way, reduce the number of trees that are cut down to create these cups.
I now need to check if other coffee shops like Figaro have a similar set-up. But even if they don't, I guess it's good practice to bring your own tumbler and have the coffee shop server your coffee using your tumbler.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Cover version: Beautiful Monster
Check this out. It's a really cool cover version of Ne-Yo's latest hit, Beautiful Monster performed.
video created in youtube by Anth703
video created in youtube by Anth703
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
A dream within a dream within a dream
That's the concept of Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster "Inception". The film is headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio who plays Dom Cobb, an "extractor" or thought-stealer. He and his team have developed a way to create shared dreams as a means to steal secrets and information from other people by penetrating their subconscious. The conflict: if it is possible to steal thoughts from other people by entering their dreams, then it would also be possible to plant an idea - an "inception", as it is called in the film - that will lead the person to make a decision that they truly believe is their own. Cobb's team are approached (maybe coerced is the more appropriate term?) by a client who wants them to perform an inception on the son of the client's main business rival.
It's a smart and edgy concept, sort of akin to 'The Matrix. There obviously is suspension of disbelief in how they actually manage to create shared dreams and enter the dream state while maintaining conscious control, but the details really sell the idea. You have a team composed of an architect, an extractor, and, well, someone to wake everyone up (I don't what that person is called LOL). There's the induction of a dream within a dream to bring the targets deeper into their subconscious and thus make it more possible to steal their secrets. Then you have the sub-conscious of the target creating "projections" that attack the thought-stealers as a means of self-preservation, and the process by which the extractors can manipulate the thoughts of the target so they actually go against their own subconscious. Other details, like totems, kicks, and time expansion in dreams add more layers to the film that make it a lot more interesting and even believable to watch.
I also appreicated how the story unfolded. I usually lose interest when too many questions are raised for a large part of a film or show without any answers being provided, but that was not the case here. The timing and delivery of both questions and answers, as well as how some answers actually led to more questions, were done in a way that ensured audiences would remain interested and eager to see more. The final series of revelations made by Cobb were both brilliant and chilling, and the suspense and integration of multiple dream levels bring the film to an explosive climax. Of course, with a lot of the story taking place in the dream state, you can be sure that the special effects would be off the hook.
I guess my only criticism of this film is the ending. I found the final scene a bit too predictable, but whenever you have revolutionary concepts in film, there is just no easy way to end it. That said, "Inception" is a must-watch. Just make sure you bring your brain with you when you go into the movie theater as this film will definitely make you think.
It's a smart and edgy concept, sort of akin to 'The Matrix. There obviously is suspension of disbelief in how they actually manage to create shared dreams and enter the dream state while maintaining conscious control, but the details really sell the idea. You have a team composed of an architect, an extractor, and, well, someone to wake everyone up (I don't what that person is called LOL). There's the induction of a dream within a dream to bring the targets deeper into their subconscious and thus make it more possible to steal their secrets. Then you have the sub-conscious of the target creating "projections" that attack the thought-stealers as a means of self-preservation, and the process by which the extractors can manipulate the thoughts of the target so they actually go against their own subconscious. Other details, like totems, kicks, and time expansion in dreams add more layers to the film that make it a lot more interesting and even believable to watch.
I also appreicated how the story unfolded. I usually lose interest when too many questions are raised for a large part of a film or show without any answers being provided, but that was not the case here. The timing and delivery of both questions and answers, as well as how some answers actually led to more questions, were done in a way that ensured audiences would remain interested and eager to see more. The final series of revelations made by Cobb were both brilliant and chilling, and the suspense and integration of multiple dream levels bring the film to an explosive climax. Of course, with a lot of the story taking place in the dream state, you can be sure that the special effects would be off the hook.
I guess my only criticism of this film is the ending. I found the final scene a bit too predictable, but whenever you have revolutionary concepts in film, there is just no easy way to end it. That said, "Inception" is a must-watch. Just make sure you bring your brain with you when you go into the movie theater as this film will definitely make you think.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ticket
P500 for making a U-turn in a supposedly no U-turn area. Sucks.
I actually didn't know you couldn't make a U-turn where I did. I was along the Ortigas side of Shaw trying to go to Makati and my initial plan was to turn left once I got to Edsa. Unfortunately, I ended up on the wrong side of the road and couldn't go under the Shaw flyover anymore, so I had to go over it. I decided I could just make a U-turn once I crossed the flyover. I didn't see any No U-turn signs so I U-turned. And a few meters after I did, traffic enforcers blocked my path and told me to move to the side of the road.
Apparently, Shaw is a National road and you are not allowed to make a U-turn when you are on it, at least on the Mandaluyong side. The traffic enforcer pointed to the solid line in the middle of the road that indicated you couldn't turn there. He actually also said you couldn't make a left turn, but I was thinking, there are buildings on the left side of the road, so how are you supposed to get there if you couldn't cross the solid line?
Anyways, since I'm probably one of the scant few people in Manila who don't really want to give traffic enforcers any money to look the other way, I just had him write me a ticket. I had to surrender my license which meant I also had to pick it up at the Mandaluyong City Hall. The ticket cost me P500 and the trip to City Hall used up about an hour and a half of my time so it was definitely more economical for me to have just passed the enforcer a P100 bill, but I don't really like encouraging that kind of behavior. So I guess I just need to make sure not to break any traffic rules in the future. (Or well, at least not when traffic enforcers are around LOL.)
I actually didn't know you couldn't make a U-turn where I did. I was along the Ortigas side of Shaw trying to go to Makati and my initial plan was to turn left once I got to Edsa. Unfortunately, I ended up on the wrong side of the road and couldn't go under the Shaw flyover anymore, so I had to go over it. I decided I could just make a U-turn once I crossed the flyover. I didn't see any No U-turn signs so I U-turned. And a few meters after I did, traffic enforcers blocked my path and told me to move to the side of the road.
Apparently, Shaw is a National road and you are not allowed to make a U-turn when you are on it, at least on the Mandaluyong side. The traffic enforcer pointed to the solid line in the middle of the road that indicated you couldn't turn there. He actually also said you couldn't make a left turn, but I was thinking, there are buildings on the left side of the road, so how are you supposed to get there if you couldn't cross the solid line?
Anyways, since I'm probably one of the scant few people in Manila who don't really want to give traffic enforcers any money to look the other way, I just had him write me a ticket. I had to surrender my license which meant I also had to pick it up at the Mandaluyong City Hall. The ticket cost me P500 and the trip to City Hall used up about an hour and a half of my time so it was definitely more economical for me to have just passed the enforcer a P100 bill, but I don't really like encouraging that kind of behavior. So I guess I just need to make sure not to break any traffic rules in the future. (Or well, at least not when traffic enforcers are around LOL.)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Cats in Manila! :)
The fountains of CCP were on full show last weekend. Cats, the musical, made its way to Manila. It was headlined by none other than the magnificent Lea Salonga and my family got to see the matinee show on Saturday.
The show was incredible! Singing incredibly well is difficult enough as it is, and so is dancing with brilliant technique. It's often quite impressive when people can sing and dance well, but when people can dance and sing at an impossibly high level at the same time, it just blows my mind. Everyone in the cast was really amazing. I especially like how the cast sang "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" in a very muted way. According to the program, since the cats are just meeting the audience for the first time, they are still quite suspicious so singing very quietly, almost as if they were purring, is meant to convey this doubt.
And of course, the production value! The set, the lighting the make-up, and the costumes were all fantastic. It doesn't surprise me that Cats won Tony Awards for costume design and lighting design.
One really cool moment in the show was in the beginning of the second act, during the song "The Moments of Happiness" which has a portion of the song Memory in it. One of the cats actually sings this song with the lyrics translated to Filipino! Normally audiences do not applaud in the middle of song numbers but after this translated verse, we just immediately had to show our appreciation.
Another really cool thing about the show is that about halfway through the intermission, a few cats, in full character and costume, started interacting with the audience. As they were in character even while amidst the crowd, they did not pose for photos, but audience members could walk up to them and take photos. We were able to take a photo of my mom with one of the cats! :)
Of course, for all the Filipinos in the crowd, the highlight was Lea Salonga's rendition of Memory. Or rather, of Memory (Reprise). The tonal quality of Lea's voice along with her amazing technique, phenomenal power, and impeccable control ensured that her rendition of this Andrew Lloyd Webber classic brought the house down. The thunderous applause she got after her performance lasted a while and echoed through the walls of CCP.
I'm really pleased that I have now been able to watch two big musicals in CCP - Miss Saigon (years ago, also with Lea in the cast) and now Cats. My mom bought the tickets several months ago - back in December, I think? - and she managed to get them on a promotional discount so our orchestra tickets were purchased at 30% off. We got really good seats too, right smack in the middle. And it's good she bought them then because I've heard that tickets are sold out and they have in fact extended the run. I hope the success of Cats brings more world-class musicals to the Philippines.
*****
After the show, we had dinner in Sizzling Pepper Steak right next to CCP. If you ever get to visit this restaurant and you still have room for dessert, I suggest that you try the Turtle Cheesecake. It's cheescake which caramel, almonds, and cocoa powder, and it was really good!! Sizzling Pepper Steak doesn't have coffee in its menu, but we were allowed to purchase coffee from Starbucks and bring it inside.
The show was incredible! Singing incredibly well is difficult enough as it is, and so is dancing with brilliant technique. It's often quite impressive when people can sing and dance well, but when people can dance and sing at an impossibly high level at the same time, it just blows my mind. Everyone in the cast was really amazing. I especially like how the cast sang "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" in a very muted way. According to the program, since the cats are just meeting the audience for the first time, they are still quite suspicious so singing very quietly, almost as if they were purring, is meant to convey this doubt.And of course, the production value! The set, the lighting the make-up, and the costumes were all fantastic. It doesn't surprise me that Cats won Tony Awards for costume design and lighting design.
One really cool moment in the show was in the beginning of the second act, during the song "The Moments of Happiness" which has a portion of the song Memory in it. One of the cats actually sings this song with the lyrics translated to Filipino! Normally audiences do not applaud in the middle of song numbers but after this translated verse, we just immediately had to show our appreciation.Another really cool thing about the show is that about halfway through the intermission, a few cats, in full character and costume, started interacting with the audience. As they were in character even while amidst the crowd, they did not pose for photos, but audience members could walk up to them and take photos. We were able to take a photo of my mom with one of the cats! :)
Of course, for all the Filipinos in the crowd, the highlight was Lea Salonga's rendition of Memory. Or rather, of Memory (Reprise). The tonal quality of Lea's voice along with her amazing technique, phenomenal power, and impeccable control ensured that her rendition of this Andrew Lloyd Webber classic brought the house down. The thunderous applause she got after her performance lasted a while and echoed through the walls of CCP.
I'm really pleased that I have now been able to watch two big musicals in CCP - Miss Saigon (years ago, also with Lea in the cast) and now Cats. My mom bought the tickets several months ago - back in December, I think? - and she managed to get them on a promotional discount so our orchestra tickets were purchased at 30% off. We got really good seats too, right smack in the middle. And it's good she bought them then because I've heard that tickets are sold out and they have in fact extended the run. I hope the success of Cats brings more world-class musicals to the Philippines.
*****
After the show, we had dinner in Sizzling Pepper Steak right next to CCP. If you ever get to visit this restaurant and you still have room for dessert, I suggest that you try the Turtle Cheesecake. It's cheescake which caramel, almonds, and cocoa powder, and it was really good!! Sizzling Pepper Steak doesn't have coffee in its menu, but we were allowed to purchase coffee from Starbucks and bring it inside.
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