And while we were waiting for our ride...

A group of visually impaired people from Tagbilaran entertained us while we were waiting the fastcraft. They were quite impressive although they reminded me of our chapel singers in Batuan, Bohol. Does this mean my kababayans can passed as singers too in Tagbilaran? I bet! Think of Delores Riordan hahahahaha.

Breakfast at Bo's Coffee

I know the sea would be rough so before embarking on a trip to Cebu via fast craft I have myself a full meal. Breakfast to be exact, that of which is a rare thing for me to do.

Hmmm... What's new? Ok. Cheese and Mushroom Omelet then. Yes, a mug of brewed coffee please. That would be all, thank you.

The sea was really rough! But I never dare make myself sick. Sayang yung kinain ko. Masarap pa naman.

WHEN DO YOU ORANGE?

(Taken from CAMPAIGNS CEBU Ad)

WHAT is Orange?

Orange is now a verb and has been launched into the world of business for good.
Orange is compelling. Orange is believable.
Orange is ownable. Orange is memorable.
Orange is real.
Orange is your business getting in touch with your consumers - communicating with them so you can grow.

Orange Now.

NURSING A FEVER

To get myself creative, I went to Gloria Jeans for a strong brew two nights ago. Coffee have been helping me with the flow of my creative juices lately. It used to be beer, but not anymore. I don't know what happened along the way.

I had about 3 mugfulls when the rain started coming down on me. I thought this would add drama to my perked up mind. So I packed my things, put it in a place safe from moisture, and started walking home in the rain.

I felt so fresh. It had been a long while that I haven't been singing in the rain. So rain here we go again. Minus my singing.

Sadly, I didn't know there was a free fever inclusion with that rain. I didn't know I was not young anymore. Getting older. Getting more ignorant.(Sigh)

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

UNGUARDED GUARD

Oppps I SAW YOU! A drowsy guard caught unawares he is being photographed. Fuente Osmeña Circle. Early dawn.

Metrosexual Test

Damn! I think I didn't qualify! Hahahaha. At least I am not vain. (sourgraping)

I am 60% Metrosexual.

I am styling. I may have a bunch of fashion sense, but my macho man side leaks out here and there (mainly out my nose, I should buy some nose hair trimmers for Christ’s sake!)

Take the
Metrosexual Test
@ FualiDotCom

View from the Confessional

Last Saturday I attended a wedding of a former officemate. With the bride late and me bored, I sneaked in the confessional to "see" what priests can see from this vantage point. With my ever-faithful SE W810i I took these mementos (char):

Conducting Men

I went downtown this afternoon. With my meager budget I took the jeepney since it is the cheapest means of transportation I can afford. I noticed a small child asking passengers to sikiti lang ninyo diha gamay be (move over please so other passengers can have a seat). No question this is the jeepney conductor. What is his age? 8? 9? My gosh, this child should have been handling paper and pens and not coins and bills! He should be learning his ABCs and not this way of life!

When some passengers have left and the jeep started its way back to where it came from, the child suddenly "collapsed" out of exhaustion. He was dead tired. He could barely open his eyes nor bark again for more passengers. This child must be working since dawn!

And while this child worked, rallyists converged in Jones Ave chanting slogans only they could understand. They danced, sang and smiled. As if being in a rally is like having a vacation.

I took a deep sigh. The child earned his living the hard way. The rallyists made it harder for him.

Of love found and lost over a cup of coffee

Coffee and lovers often mix. But each coffee shop I’ve been to exuded a different atmosphere, a different love affair. I can always feel the ambiance and the pulse of the people there. Different folks, different strokes. People converge here to talk, to see and to be seen and sometimes to be left alone. Or to heal a broken heart. The mocha-colored environment seemed an endless rainbow to me.

I’ve met my partner in a coffee shop.

And my lover, too. Maybe my lover sensed my love for coffee long before the person knew me, a common denominator for both of us. We drank our coffee; we fell in love with each other. I was sure then that both our cups overflowed with love and joy as we talked about our future. My partner had her cup in Singapore.

And it was here, over a cup of course, that I cried myself, over the pain of our (my lover’s) break-up later. A close friend shared my dissent for 'that person', as we drank our cupful. Desperation, too, seated at my side.

Coffee allowed me to meet different personalities. I’ve discussed contrasting views, haggle like a businessman, and carried away with different trips in life. Over a cup, I’ve traveled to distant shores in different times. I’ve bid my farewells and goodbyes in coffee shops. Cup after cups of coffee have sent me to bed and awaken me in the middle of the night. My dealings with coffee have been as mysterious as a cappuccino or a latte, even more inexplicable than my shadowy affairs.

I was forced to stop drinking coffee for a short while when my doctor advised me not to, but it has not stopped me from visiting coffee shops. The scent and smell of coffee were as tempting as the fruit of life offered by Eve to Adam, making my medical fasting for coffee to last only for a while. With or without my doctor’s consent I splurged myself cup after cup. As if my very life itself depended on coffee.

And I haven’t stopped since then. When death shall have overcome me, I would still want my cup. And like death, each cup is worth a delightful wait.

another un-Pinoy breakfast

who would have a breakfast of coffee and guavas?

AKO!

Durian Fest at SM Cebu

The durian fest at SM City Cebu has been there for a week I think and I have been charmed by its smell since the time they set-up their booths. My only problem was I don't have someone to share with my delight.

This afternoon, I had my full share of durian at long last! Full because Mon and I finished the whole fruit without batting an eyelash.

It is amusing seeing those with anti-durian sentiments as they pass through us. They have to cover their noses because of the "smell." If I know they were just having a hard time salivating at the sight of durian lovers licking clean the fruits down to its seeds.

A nice ice-cold Coca-Cola goes well with it and makes burping deliciously sinful.

I will be back!

Finally! The New Bench Ad

Here it is. But not impressive though. I wonder why they go gaga over Piolo... Regine's voice is hmmmmmm beautiful to the ears. Finally.

un-Pinoy breakfast

Honestly I rarely have a Pinoy breakfast.

You know, the usual garlic rice, tapa or corned beef, or tuyo at kamatis and eggs. Not that I'm on a diet. Or not Pinoy. I rarely even eat breakfasts. Or lunch hehehehe. (Some Pinoy breakfasts daw are eaten at 1 a.m. while drunk and you can't see the fatty ingredients on them, according to Filipeanut.com.) I'm choosy actually. Depende sa gana.

When I was in Zamboanga I ate a plateful of camote tops salad with bagoong! It was my lunch. Yummy. Slurp.

Lately I have this craving for bagels! So I bought some cinnamon/raisin bagels at Frenchbaker, P88 per pack of 5 (although the poppyseed bagel from Starbucks @ P30 each is delicious too but not cheap!), and fresh fruits from the sidewalk.

Today, I had a hearty brunch of bagels with tuna spread, banana and hot hot coffee!

Isn't that lovely? (read that with an Irish twang please.) :p

The Ketchup Effect

A friend of mine sent me a youtube on the ketchup effect. Sounds interesting. That red oozing liquid you can't help but lick. So I thought it was a good appetizer.

The first part was full of excitement. Now that one was sexy, you know, virgins to the act hahahaha. BUT I was stunned as the video ended. See for yourself.

Bitinnnn ako!

Travel Wish List

I've compiled a list of places I wish I could go before I die. These three tops the scale.

AFRICA: Exotic. The root of OUR civilization. The garden. Weird. Mysterious.
ISRAEL: The resilience of the Jews amazed me. Caught between enemies and have fought through ages. They are still standing there. Powerful. My desire to know them started way back in elementary when I learned my name is in fact Hebrew.
PRAGUE and/or Europe: The sense of "old town" in them captivates my heart. How can an industrial nation still retains its old come-ons? Art. Music. The beat. Ah Europe...

Others on my list are Vietnam, the new destination, cheap daw and just the thought of being in a war zone where the well-equipped Americans sheepishly herded themselves out of the country I think would excite me there, and the food!; Edmonton, Alberta (again); Argentina and the rest of the Latin Americas, think of Che Guevarra travelling on motorbike around his America; and ITALY (the Dolotina Clan seriously adhere to the belief that we are indeed Italians by blood. How I wish hahahaha!)

Alone at the movies (1408)

Bored and feeling the humidity of the day, I went to check SM and see what's on the big screen. Saw 1408 on the display screen and thought this movie was the historical film I've seen in the trailers about culture-something and why their civilization ended. (I am glad I just saw the poster in the Net, by the way.) :p

But the actors struck me as odd. John Cusack and Samuel Jackson were not supposed to be there. That movie I was referring to casts newbies just like Apocalypto!

And so i chose it. Damn! It was a horror film. A classic Stephen King story! Had a scared moment there. I don't believe King didn't participate in the scriptwriting because the plot, the authenticity is classically King's! Reminds me of his The Shining when I sat there at the movie-house feeling scared and chilly.

"The movie is called "1408" because that is the number of the room on which the movie centers. Also, Stephen King chose this number because it is a "thirteenth floor" story and the digits in 1408 add up to 13."

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[By the way, I can't help but be pushed towards the deliciously sinful smell at the exit door in SM City Cebu near McDonald's. But of course it's durian! They have a limited durian festival there in SM so grab that heavenly food now while it's there.]

New Magdalo Recipe

BALLS 2 MEN

Shocking title of a recipe from a recent recipe book launched by two members of the Magdalo group. That I have yet to see, try and taste.

from Fe Zamora of Phil Daily Inquirer:

"Aside from mapping out their defense against charges they planned to oust President Arroyo in 2003, the detained Magdalo officers have also been plotting ways to come up with the best “pulutan” (finger food or bar chow) to go with their drinks.

The result of their four-year “plotting” is the 135-page cookbook “Pulutan: From the Soldiers’ Kitchen”

Released last week, it is authored by Navy Ensigns Elmer D. Cruz and Emerson R. Rosales, both bachelors, who graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 2000.

Their recipes tell stories from their childhood, from years at the PMA, from stints at sea, from days in detention and the tedious court martial hearing which has been ongoing for more than four years, and from their yearning to be free..."

BE BRAVE!

Speaking of Bench, I was searching for that new ad that stars Piolo. My friends are going gaga over that ad. Haven't seen it yet on TV. Anyways, I am not a TV person so that's why I haven't had the chance to see it. So youtube.com comes into rescue. Instead I found this. Cool.

Martin Who?

I've seen him at Citigym at Waterfront Hotel in Lahug. We almost have the same gym time. He was so serious with the programs his gym instructor had prepared for him. He has friends of course. But he was not that friendly though. At least not to me.

Now I've seen him again on the web. He is one of those qualified for the Bench model search. Kaya pala nag-gym sya. What was his name again? Martin who?

Be Safe!

Missing Links

Saturday night. All appointments canceled. Stayed in my room. Emote. Reason? I miss my family so much. It's been a long time I haven't seen them. Our only link is the mobile phone. Damn!

I LOVE YOU GUYS.

Rainy Night in Downtown Cebu

I was happily editing some write-ups when a sudden wetty thingy crawled on my legs. I know what is was! It was the most dreadful thing to happen on that moment! I shouted and flipped and flopped and panicked! Only to realize that the whole office is under water! The heavy downpour brought the unnecessary things right under my table! A paper here, a tissue there, a plastic cup and COCK-roaches! Of all living things!

Then the brownout.

I DIED.