Home Sick

One of the articles I'm reading for my strategic management class points to Jollibee as a good example of companies that have gone global successfully.

Beyond the logical explanation of how they positioned themselves to address needs in the market not considered by McDonald's, all I could think about was their burger steak. Oh, Jollibee burger steak with button mushrooms and mediocre gravy, I miss you so.

It might be time to get cracking on that passport thing.

Sharp Ratio

When we moved into our new apartment, we had to acquire a shitload of stuff - dishes, cookware, utensils, placemats, etc. - but through several strokes of luck, we managed to acquire these essentially for free. So, I didn't feel too bad that we really splurged on quality knives from Korin. We did A LOT of research and a lot of hemming and hawing. We spent an hour at the store, looking at dozens of knives. Fortunately, the woman at the store was patient and nonjudgmental (she could totally tell we don't cook that much). We ended up with these babies:





The smaller one is a Togiharu Petty knife. We use it to chop up vegetables and fruits and I used it to chop up everything before I got enough balls to use the Santoku. The bigger one is a Togiharu Inox Steel Santoku, which is kind of your all-around knife and you can use it to chop and slice meat and vegetables. The knives are super sharp but they're not even the best quality knives. There are hundreds of knives on the Korin website alone and you could go crazy, and broke. We chose these knives because they're not made of the strongest steel but they're of decent quality, and we mostly eat fruits and vegetables at home. We went with the Santoku, rather than the Gyutou because it felt more comfortable in my hand. P, who has much longer fingers, can easily adjust to the Santoku. I love my knives and we cook more often than we did before we had them. The only other knife I would want at this point is a Glestain - it has those cool dips in the surface of the blade that prevent the food from sticking to it. Otherwise, we have all we need.

Lisztomania

PS22 Chorus covers Phoenix.

A place of our own

Did I tell you? P and I moved into our own little basement apartment. It's not done yet. We have P's big red chair and futon in the living room and my side tables that I got from the antique furniture shop scattered around. The spare room is still a hodgepodge of his stuff and mine. Mostly mine. It's not much but we have pots and pans and plates and plants and we make pancakes on Saturday morning.

image from michaelpollan.com

Argh Tea

P and I stopped by this new tea place on the way home from class the other day. I thought we could use a cup of tea after a big meal at our usual pasta place. We ordered some white tea (they didn't have vanilla) and then drifted over to their wares, where we grabbed an infuser mug (above in green). The woman behind the counter rushed over to explain the different tea accessories and why one is better (and more expensive) than the other (because you can perch it on the edge of the mug and just leave it to steep on itself).

Okay. It's so hard to be objective when ultimately we left with a sour taste in our mouths. We were looking at their displays of loose leaf tea and the helpful woman stepped in and explained how the system worked. You could either purchase a pouch or grab a bag and fill it from their dispenser. Usually, she said the loose leaf tea was a better deal than the vacuum packed pouch. We grabbed a paper bag and filled it with loose blueberry white tea. The sign beneath said, "2 oz pack $3.95 Loose $3.45". Clearly, the loose was a better deal. I even encouraged P to fill the bag with more tea to make it about 2 ounces.

While walking out the store, mug and little (and it was little) bag of tea in tow, I glanced at the receipt and noticed that P had paid $6+ for 1.85 ounces! So P went back in and I stayed outside thinking this was going to be short and sweet. After a few minutes, I went back in because it was getting cold outside. The woman behind the counter called her manager, who said that there was a misprint on the sign beneath the tea and it was supposed to say 1 oz pack instead of 2 oz. Also, the price published for the loose leaf tea is always per ounce, and he really doesn't want this to be weird.

I'm not clear about what happened next as it was getting late by that time and I really just wanted to get home, but they ended up charging back the $6 that they had taken off the card. Ladies and gentleman, this is a perfect example of bad customer service. P and I swore that the next time we were in a similar situation we would be better consumers and insist on the published price. And if we ever have our own little store someday we would train the staff to always accommodate the customer, especially in a situation where the customer is obviously right.

I love my mug and the blueberry tea was delicious, but I am never going back to that store again. From now on, we are going to Teavana for all our tea-related purchases.

Bedtime drama

I am texting this blog entry because I am too cheap to get internet connection at home. Late at night, if I'm lucky, I piggyback on my neighbors' connections or I go to starbucks or wherever else there's free wifi. But I had this late night epiphany that just can't wait: If I am to get ahead at work I have to play this game called pagbubuhat ng sariling bangko. It's a popular game and almost everyone plays it and that is just the reality of it. And if I can't do it or the other game called deadma when I make mistakes then maybe I need an alternative career.
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So this is the new year

Happy new year! I know. This blog entry has been a long time coming, constantly interrupted by dinners (Christmas, birthday, farewell) with P's family, babysitting responsibilities, not to mention the three-week-long, three and a half hours three times a week whirlwind of a class. I would just like to say, despite my uncertain job future, my uncertain domestic future, the fact that I was unregistered for failing to pay my tuition by the deadline, and the myriad other uncertainties in my life, 2008 was a good year - a very good year - and 2009 will be too, even if I have to give it constant timeouts and issue constant reminders to it like a petulant child. I am blessed with great friends - both near and far - and my teachers this sem are almost as awesome as my boyfriend.
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My bad boy



This is my new bike :-) - my first one since the BMX I rode to and from piano lessons. BMX had a steel thingamajig onto which I'd clip my piano pieces. My new bike is a 2009 F7 Cannondale hardtail. It has disc brakes and is a pretty decent entry-level mountain bike. Notice the hottt color scheme. It's a small men's because the small women's came in pink and I'm not really a pink bike kind of girl. P has the same bike, in a patriot blue large. Last week-end we went to Target to get helmets and gloves, and on Monday we went for our first ride around town. We just rode through the streets and on the boardwalk to the 7-11 two towns over because we had to catch the train back to New York as I had midterms that evening. I liked it. The only problem is I have a really hard time carrying my bike up and down stairs. I think it might be too tall for me. Also, my butt hurt like hell and my legs were sore. But, whatever. This is my first real attempt at an active lifestyle. P said we could ride the trails by the reservoir, pack a picnic basket, romantic shit like that. So we'll see.

Today is the ing nyc marathon, which runs through 5 boroughs, 26.2 miles, ending in central park. I stood by the roadside in 4th avenue, brooklyn just as the women were getting off the verrazano bridge, went to get a tea from the chinese bakery, and whoosh! - the lead pack went by. Paula Radcliffe, 2-time winner, and Kara Goucher, NYC native and rookie and two other women crossed the block in about five strides. The men were no better - blink and you miss them! I think runners are beautiful, all muscle and sinew, the human form at its best. But what I love about this race is the mix of people - runners of all shapes and sizes. Incidentally, the hosts mentioned a lot of the elite women are in their 30s and beyond. This is really inspiring to someone like me who's never been physically active - it's not too late to start. This is a very tough course by the way - lots of uphills and with today's winds, really hard. Anyone who finishes it or runs it at all is amazing. I took a bad picture but look closely - it's 38,000 people from all over the world running through the streets of crooklyn!

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Smells like teen spirit


I've been a fan/stalker of Ms. Sarah Brown's blog for years. Finally, her humor in book form via teenage angst-filled diary entries compiled in a neat little package. I bought Cringe today and I've already read half of it. It's like reading through all my Corona notebook journals tucked away in a box somewhere in my parents' house. The obsessive chronicling of daily outfits ("gray peter pan shirt, green-and-blue checkered culottes"), the pining after boys next door, the irrational parental hate, etc. It's all coming back to me now.

I think I started a journal in second or third grade. It was all about Paolo, who lived a few blocks from me and whose older sister I was busmates with. He played basketball and looked like a puffer fish, which I found very charming. I made up stories about how we'd ride our bikes to the park together and get ice cream. Oh my God.

To the face that launched my bicycle countless times, I think of you and cry. I think of you and smile. I think of you and laugh. I think of you and scream. I think of you and jump up and down. I think of you and want to see you again. I think of you and wonder, do you think of me, too?

This and other gems like I HATE HER!!! BYE! and I Find Myself Collectively Insane and much, much more.

A couple of things

The other day, during lunch hour, we spied a long, ship-like yacht cruising along the Hudson River. On board were a helicopter just getting ready for takeoff, two boats, and tons of people who looked like they were having fun. We squinted and saw it was called The Highlander. The writing on the helicopter was too small to see. But if we had been able to read it, it would most probably have said "Forbes". The Highlander has a crew of fourteen and is capable of worldwide sailing. Besides the two boats and the chopper, it has two BMW motorcycles on board, too, just in case its high-profile guests fancy a spin. Eighteen 14-oz tins of Beluga caviar are served every season on the Highlander. So, yeah. Just another playground for the rich and famous.

My new favorite beer is Negra Modelo, It's a dark Mexican beer that is actually a Vienna lager. It's best to drink it super cold with a soft chicken taco on the side.

Last week-end I helped to babysit not one but two! kids - a toddler and an infant. At first I was a little worried because I know zip about children, but by the end of the week-end I not only changed diapers for the first time ever, I also changed enough to be able to do it with my eyes closed. On Sunday morning at 6 am when I woke up because the toddler started screaming and got into bed with us, I lost what little maternal instinct I have. But when I was pretending to fall asleep in the faint hope that he would, he drew the blinds open and declared, "It's a beautiful day!" and that made it so.

Before

Before P: Cheerios? For breakfast? Just Cheerios?

Now: I have eight boxes of cereal on top of my fridge, including but not limited to Froot Loops, Banana Nut Crunch and Raisin Bran. When they go on sale at the Rite Aid, I get excited. 2 for $4!

Before P: Breakfast - $3.50 + Lunch and coffee - $10 = broke by end of the week

Now: We brownbag PB+J sandwiches or turkey+provolone wraps and tapioca pudding. None the richer but at least I'm trying.

Before P: Whatever's on TV for entertainment including America's Next Top Model

Now:

Conclusion: Now is better.

What your time's worth

I took the rest of the summer off from school and two weeks off from work so since last week I've been waking up mostly after noon (gasp!). I had no big plans this year. I opted out of a glamorous fabulous week-end with my peeps to save money, so I've been splitting my time between Crooklyn and Jersey.

Last week I hung out with P and family. We went to the movies (Hancock) and visited various stores (Raymour and Flanigan, Costco, Shop Rite, Target, etc), some several times, and played poker and rummy with the kids. At night we went for walks on the boardwalk and had kiddie scoops on sugar cones (mint chocolate chip, vanilla peanut butter, coffee, banana). Pretty much epitomized the words "relax" and "chill," which I don't think I've ever used as much I have been.

Took a day in between for a doctor's visit, during which I was simultaneously cleared of breast cancer, told I might have adenomyosis, and strongly encouraged to have a baby. My doctor is a short Filipino woman ("ang Pilipino magaling sa kapa!") who has pictures of children tacked all over her walls next to numerous certificates, plaques and awards. When I told her I was single and didn't plan to get married soon, she said, "Just have a baby! I don't care if you're not married!"

Speaking of weddings, my college roommate got married last week underneath a tree up a hill in a park. She had ordered a dress online but there was some kind of shipping problem, so two days before her wedding she bought what will go down in the books as the cheapest wedding dress of all time. She looked radiant.

The rest of the week flew by. Went to the beach a couple of times, even went in the water in the midst of riptide currents. One sunny day we checked out Allaire State Park. We rode the steam train as everything else was closed and saw some deer grazing on the open field. Early one morning (by this I mean before ten) I took a walk to Ocean Grove, where the famous Nagles is, by myself and checked out the shops. Ocean Grove is a dry town, meaning no alcohol is served there, and was a popular Methodist camp meeting town for years.

All in all, a pretty good vacation, if I may say so myself. Bonded with the kids via Family Guy. P and I snuck away for a late walk one night and saw fireworks in the distance, just close enough to see and far enough so it seemed like we were the only ones watching them.

Dramachine

Every summer these past few years, on a holiday week-end, somebody in my family gets married. This year, I am missing the wedding of the season because I have Economics finals. The teacher drones on for two hours on Mondays and Thursdays and then gets the computer to pick 50 random questions for the midterms and finals. Right before the midterms he said that if we encounter a question that we didn't discuss we should just go ahead and ignore it because "the computer does all this stuff." At least he said he'd add four or five points to the score. He is by far the laziest teacher I've ever had. He doesn't even have to grade the tests; they're both multiple choice shade-the-right-dot tests. I have two more chapters to read. I have a doctor's appointment this morning and afterwards I am getting my eyebrows done, by hook or by crook. Then and only then will I hole myself up in the library or a Starbucks somewhere. Gudlak na lang to me.

On other news, I think I'm meeting the kids this week-end.

Well, well, well, look do we have here!

I've been a fan of Cynthia Bauzon-Arre for ages. I haven't been up to date with what she's up to, but I discovered her Twisted English shirts the other day at work. I laughed my butt off all day. Under my breath, of course, because I'm professional like that. You can buy them here. She and her husband Arnold have pop culture shirts as well. C'mon, let's join us!

It's a blessing in the sky!
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Just came from a long walk on the boardwalk. P lives right near the beach, and it's great! There was a little bazaar thing going on where they sold kitschy stuff. I went all the way to the next town and sat on a bench for a while watching the kids sandsurf. It's the first real nice week-end this season, so everybody is out. Ako lang yung Pilipino dito! May isang batang intsik akong nakita. Hindi siya marunong mag-sand surf kaya nagpagulong-gulong na lang siya sa buhangin. P's on his way back from golf, so we're going to get something to eat. I think I'll iron a shirt or two before he comes back =)

I'm on the train heading home from my Statistics finals. After work I had two hours to kill before my 8 pm test. So I got a guilt-laden burger for stamina. Then I went to the library, purportedly to study, but the place was hopping with anxious students and I couldn't concentrate. So I did what any other stressed grad student would do - I slept my butt off. Best nap ever, really. Then I had a kiddie cup at baskin robbins and took a small black coffee out. All of that did wonders because I finished the test in an hour. Or maybe I just wanted to get out of there for whatever reason (read: need to go to bathroom). Then on the way home, I passed by the shake shack and lo and behold! There was no line around the park. Clearly it was a sign. This is my reward for being such a good student. Then again maybe it's the last time I'll ever be around that neighborhood again, being the first casualty in my class. In any case, I had a single cup of the apricot almond frozen custard. It was delicious.

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Calling
Sometimes, usually when I'm particularly disappointed in myself or when I read a certain blog, I wonder if maybe I missed my calling. Sometimes I wonder if I could have been a doctor. Why not? I used to be smart. Now, I'm not so sure. On the last day of my Marketing class I did a (voluntary!) presentation. The presentation was fine. Afterwards was the problem, when I stared out at the sea of faces and raised hands and tried to field questions. Anyways, if I were a doctor, I suspect there'd be way more opportunities to help people and make a difference, rather than if I were an executive working for a money-hungry conglomerate. But of course, it's too late now and I think there's a reason I was steered towards this direction. Maybe this is my calling.

Which Pisay WV batch 97 graduates are going to be changing their Friendster profiles to "in a relationship"?

P.S. Their initials are e.b. & a.b.
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