Going nuts

One Filipino candy that I find myself craving for occasionally is the sweet and salty panutsa. It's a heavenly concoction of sugar that's generously sprinkled with nuts. (Or is it the other way around?)



As a kid, I remember going up to Tagaytay to Tita Zeny's house and passing by stalls and stalls of fruit vendors, and these vendors would usually have panutsa sold among their other offerings.

Now, whenever we go up to Tagaytay, I make it a point to buy a few packs of this sinfully delicious delicacy. The best ones are at Rowena's Tarts and at Loumar's Tarts. When we went to Loumar's with D' Frendz a month ago, I remember buying 4 big packs of panutsa, and it lasted only 2 days at home.

When we went up to Tagaytay with the IUJ gang, the carinderia at the back of the palengke also had a lot of panutsa vendors. I remember how Raul mentioned that he saw how panutsa was made in one of the expose shows, and the vendor went on the defensive and told Raul that he shouldn't generalize panutsa makers and vendors.

There are 2 kinds of panutsa: the glossy one and the matte one. Personally, I prefer the matte variety since the sugar is more crumbly and the texture is better. The glossy one is a bit too sticky for my taste.

Whenever I get the craving while I'm here in Manila, I'd go to Market, Market because one of the stalls there sell excellent panutsa. It comes in bite sized pieces and it has the same color and texture as the Tagaytay made ones.

This morning, I discovered that there's a stall in Farmer's Market that sells the same bite sized panutsa. I bought 2 packs, and finished one even before reaching the office. They're also sold at the pasalubong shop at The Enterprise - but it's the glossy kind so it isn't as enticing for me.

At least now there are different places to buy panutsa whenever the craving kicks in and I'm in Manila. I mean, eventhough it's a candy that I really, really like, I wouldn't go up to Tagaytay or Batangas just to buy one.

Now that would be nuts.

Happy - and lucky - birthday!

Yesterday was August 8, and when I was living in HKG, this date was considered the luckiest date ever. The number 8 is considered lucky, so having double 8s meant double luck.

For the chinese, being born on August 8 is auspicious. And in our immediate family, we don't have just a single birthday celebrator - we have doubles as well!

So, happy birthday to my 2 cousins: Cristina in Spain and Harold who's right here in Manila right now. (Though I have no idea where he is.)

Have a lucky birthday to you both! We're lucky to have you as cousins.

Self-service

My class got delayed by a good 30 minutes today because the equipment just won't cooperate.

First, my classroom's computer won't play Quicktime files. And all of my video support for today's class was in Quicktime.

I tried asking the computer center for help, but the sleepy eyed guy was no help at all. He kept on saying: "Hintayin na lang natin si..." for every request I made. Bad thing was "si..." never actually came. Talk about service!

Tried calling AVC to ask for a new CPU, and their reply was: "Maghanap na lang po kayo diyan." Now how's that for service?

So I ended up getting a CPU from the other room, carried it all the way to our classroom. Thankfully, it had a VLC player, so my lesson was able to go as scheduled. Hurrah for self-service!

Ah yes, the joys of teaching.

Middle school

Just read Chally's email reminding us that next week is the start of the mid-term exam week.

MID-TERMS ALREADY?!

It feels like the semester just started, and now we're halfway? And in a few more weeks, it'll be the end of the semester and a new one will begin?

Where does time go these days?

Watch, I'm confused

I've finally decided to send my automatic Fossil watch to the repair shop for cleaning. It'll take 3 weeks before they get all the gears cleaned are running like new, so in the meantime, I'm wearing the new Fossil watch that Biboy gave me.

Wearing a new watch feels a bit weird and confusing. For one, my new watch is lighter than the old one, but despite that, it's much bigger in size. Also, this one is battery operated, and I'm used to wearing an automatic watch. I find myself swinging my wrist (I used to do this to keep my watch in motion) even if I don't need to.

Dang. My wrist better get used to this new watch soon, or it'll be confused the next 3 weeks!

Raisin' the bar

Raisinets is one of my all time favorite chocolate snacks. I used to hoard them whenever I go to the supermarket, and when a local version came out (Raiseens from Kean's), it was double the delight.

On our trip to Subic a few weeks ago, I discovered two new variants that made me love Raisinets a bit more.

First is the dark chocolate version. Dark Chocolate is healthy, raisins are healthy, so this snack is double the healthy goodness!



Then there's the Cranberry variant. I'm also a big fan of dried cranberries. When I was still living in HKG, I'd always have a few packs of dried cranberries at home. The creamy sweetness of the chocolate is a perfect foil to the tart taste of the berry.



I wonder if they have these at SM or Landmark. My stash is almost gone! And I don't want to go all the way to Subic just to buy some. (But if worse comes to worst, I definitely will!)

Sunday with siblings

With Biboy in town for a few weeks, we had to make sure that the traditional sibling portraits were taken. It's been raining the past few days, but we still thought it would be fun to have our photos taken outdoors - and we did!

The weather cooperated and it didn't rain. It was a bit warm and humid, though, but better that then soaking wet. We found a nice garden in MMLDC and did our usual thing - making fun of ourselves in photos.





Not only were we able to gather the Morales siblings, the in-laws, nephews and nieces were there. The result - a huge, happy, and hilarious portrait session.



Next portrait project - the siblings with Dad and Mom!

High school's musicals

Last night, my dreams were on "musical" mode as there were songs involved. Not just any ordinary song, but songs that I used to sing in high school, when I was still part of our choir. (Or "glee club" as people call them nowadays.)

The first song was "One Tin Soldier." It's a song about treating people fairly and not stealing or killing - especially over material things. A very adult subject delivered in a very child-like way. This is also a very "catholic school" song to sing.



The second song I dreamt of was "Corner of the Sky". This song has "musical" written all over it. Heck, it was written for "Pippin."



I think this dream is my subconscious' way of missing my musical past. Harhar.

Hindi malimot

"Moulin Rouge" is one of my favorite films. It's such a conceptually solid and executionally decadent piece of film. Everything just fell into place perfectly, from the story, to the costume, to the songs. The film was so spectacular, I was hoping that it would win the Oscar that year.

Among the many memorable scenes in "Moulin Rouge", this is one of the ones that I'll never tire watching. This was the opening night of the play, and the ensemble sang "Hindi Sad Diamonds."



Everything is going right in this scene. Elaborate costumes - check. Breathtaking stage - check. Beautiful choreography - check. Excellent music - check. Nicole - bonus!

It's this combination that makes it simply unforgettable.

Soup-er cheap thrill

I'm a big - make that HUGE - fan of sopas. There's something about it that reminds me of childhood. Memories like going to Unimart with the family, and Lola Dita would buy Royco Chicken Sopas and serve it at home. Or how Uncle Rolly would prepare Royco Chicken Alphabet Noodle Soup and spell our names on the plate. Fun times, indeed.

That's why Sopas is one of my all time favorites, especially the one with elbow macaroni and milk.

I've always been on a "quest" to find good Sopas. Jollibee has one, but it's too thick and it feels like sipping gravy. My friend told me that they have good ones at the "Jollijeep", but when I tried it, it had more bones than macaroni. Then, today, I wandered off to the food court at The Enterprise Center and got this:



It's really, really good Sopas from Lola's Kitchen.

It doesn't look like much, but believe me, it's DA BOMB! The soup is very milky, and you can actually taste the fresh milk they used on it. The vegetables are very crunchy. And there's a whole egg in it! Best part is, it's got no meat, which is a big plus for me.

And this baby costs P39! It's way cheap considering I'm willing to pay much, much more for a good bowl of Sopas.

Ah yes, cheap thrills make life so much more flavorful.

Ferosh-shoes

Trust Isuma to always have fun, funky and ferocious shoes on its shelves. I dropped by today and found these 2 beauties for my sisters.



First is a black cut out bootie. It's got very nice detailing and the heel grounds the look.



Second is a gray, jute heeled shoe with an open back. It looks so chic from all sides.



These shoes will definitely look good with boyfriend jeans or shorts. And since both my sisters have lots of those, I'm sure these booties will add much needed fierceness to their look.

Marc Jacobs and Mee

A few hours after arriving in HKG, I've already ticked off a number of things off my checklist:

1. Deliver pastries to Aaron and Monna

2. Say hello to our former student's Mom

3. Go to my favorite Prawn Mee place at Landale Street and order my usual Seafood Prawn Noodle soup


(So much goodness in just one bowl!)

4. Buy a couple of Marc Jacobs shirts at my favorite haunt




(The print on this one is so cute!)

It's amazing how you can do so many things in a matter of hours. That's the big plus of HKG - it's so compact, it's easy to do a lot of things at once.

Next stop, look for Mark's Crocs.

Doesn't quite bring home the bacon

After going ballistic over Marty's, I thought I'd have the same reaction to Baconette Strips - Oishi's next foray into "vegetarian friendly snacking."

I tried a bag when Mark and I went to Subic more than a month ago, and it didn't quite do it for me. After trying one again tonight, I therefore conclude that it's not as awesome as Marty's.

In fact, the snack isn't very original. Jack and Jill already came up with Bacon strips a few years ago. Unfortunately, it didn't fly.

Let's hope that the same thing won't happen to Baconette. Or else that little piggy will cry wee-wee-wee all the way home.

Wild about it

Out of curiousity, I picked a pack of Wild Berry Tootsie Pops during our Duty Free soujourn last weekend just for the heck of it. Now that I've tasted it, I realize that I should've gottem more. Much, much, much more!

It's phenomenal! And the Wild Cherry Berry pop is divine!

I hope they have it here in Manila. I'm gonna buy some more!

Gene pool

Last Sunday, the family was able to go on a quick weekend getaway to Subic. Biboy flew in last Friday, and since we haven't seen him in almost 2 years, we thought that this was a perfect time to catch up and bond.

The getaway turned into one big slumber party with the kids staying up until 3am and the adults awake and cooking by the time it was 6am. In between, there was a lot of eating, playing, iPad-ing, and the favorite activity - swimming!

We were able to gather most of the best genes from the family and place them in a pool. I say "most" since some of us were conspicuously absent. My folks are in the US, Kuya Marv was shopping with Rose, Biboy went biking with Raymond, and I - well, I was the photographer.



It was a hectic weekend, but it was all good. There's nothing like a coalescence of the family's dominant genes.

Pops goes my world

One great thing about going to Subic is duty free shopping! A lot of my favorite food stuff from the US isn't readily available in Manila. But in Subic, it's easy to get them. Among them, my favorite lollipop - Tootsie Pops!



Eating Tootsie Pops brings me back to my childhood when my Lolo and Lola would come home from the US and this would be part of their pasalubongs. I love how the fruity and sour taste of the candy mixes with the rich, chocolate taste of the the Tootsie Roll. It was such a treat!

My favorite flavor has always been cherry, and thankfully, they had it at the Duty Free store. Plus, they had this Wild Berry combo, which I also bought.

Ah yes. Going back to my childhood is sweet!

Dangerous Crossings!

As if to add insult to injury, The Ramp at Crossings has also decided to put up their sale sign and join the plethora of fast fashion brands who are bannering the four letter word onto their store windows.

This week, Zara further marked down their prices (bad news), Mango replaced their 50% signs with 70% signs (more bad news), and now this! The excruciating part is that the two super chic dresses that caught my eye at United Pop are now at 20% off! You can almost translate that sign to "Buy me! BUY ME!"

Maybe I should stay away from Crossings first. Good thing our family will be in Subic this weekend. That should get shopping off my to-do list.

But wait a minute. There's duty free in Subic!

This bites!

It was bound to happen.

After the deluge of Vampire movies and Vampire themed TV series, someone actually came up with a Vampire spoof!



This looks like it's going to be a corn-fest, just like "Date Movie" and "Dance Movie." But hey, Vampires suck, so why shouldn't this movie.

I hope they show it in Manila!

Viva Espana!

And Spain wins the World Cup!!!

It's their first ever appearance in the finals, and they took it all the way and grabbed the championship!

This is solid proof that dedication and passion (and the presence of King Felipe and Queen Sofia) can turn an ordinary team into a team of champions!

Enhorabuena!

Here's to Honesty!

Ayala Cinemas are the best! Not only do they have the best seats and screens, they also have the most honest security personnel. Mark and I proved that today.

Here's to the Ayala Cinema security and management! More power and success to you guys!