“This bottle must contain intelligent bacteria.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Says here on the label, ‘advanced acidophilus’.”

A few updates:

1. Okay, yes, I’m forever on a diet. This time, I’m on a caloric restriction diet and trying (keyword being trying) to eat 25% less than my normal calorie intake for the day. It’s purportedly the secret to looking young and living longer (if youthful-looking mice from scientific experiments are to be believed).

One Saturday, I dragged Bee down to caloric madness with me by eating just salads for lunch. I had a heaping bowl of caesar salad and he, caprese at Chelsea in Serendra. That was totally wicked, because by 5 p.m., we were so hungry we could have eaten cardboard and paper for snacks.

my caesar salad with bacon and shaved almonds

bee’s caprese salad

loved the bread with a head of roasted garlic

chelsea market + cafe, serendra, fort bonifacio. +632-9091711.

2. Mom’s here and brought pasalubong from Bacolod. We opened a pack of Bong Bong’s cheese tarts and my golly they were super yummy! I wanted to stuff my mouth with ten of them manna from heaven. Bee says one tart is around 150 calories. Goodbye caloric restriction diet. I ate two cheese tarts and immediately felt guilty. I’m a psychological knot like that and did Hip Hop Abs like crazy afterwards. Swiss Miss says I’m exagg.

3. Bee finally got tired of hearing me whine about my losing bids for a DVD of Shaun T’s Hiphop Abs on eBay, he got me one. At next to nothing. *wink*

4. Mom says all of our baby pictures are now gone. The recent flash flood reached the ceiling of the first floor of our house, wreaked havoc on the furniture and carried away most of our old clothes and childhood pictures. Some photos remained but the colors have melted and are not salvageable. That brought tears to my eyes.

My sister-in-law’s brother says the day after the flash flood happened in Iloilo, he drove around the city and couldn’t quite believe it when he saw some big men in dresses and gowns. Apparently, most of these guys’ clothes have been carried away by the flood and were lost and they had to make do with whatever change of dry clothing was available. It was heart-wrenching and comical at the same time.

5. Bee got a really cool PC game for Boo. It’s called Lego Designer. It’s a virtual version of the beloved Lego manipulative toy. Boo enjoys constructing buildings and houses using the virtual Lego pieces.

6. While I got Boo a pack of playing cards. To teach him how to become the God of Gamblers. Ha! (My Dad taught my brother, sister and I how to play Lucky 9, Black Jack, Forty-One and Pusoy at a very young age. I remember Swiss Miss dealing cards at five. And I knew how to count cards like a pro at age 7. I could have had a career ala Street Kings hehe).

7. I finally got to try Pepper Lunch at Rockwell Mall. I turn into a boring person at steak places so I ordered Teriyaki Chicken. Dashed over to the Fruitas stand in Rustan’s across Pepper Lunch for a healthier drink (Cold Defender) since I was sick. Put my caloric restriction diet at bay and ate everything up to the last grain of rice. Burp!

my teriyaki pepper chicken

bee’s hitokuchi cut steak

8. Enrolled in my graduate school alma mater again after 4 years. Just to finish my MBA thesis. On my BF-GF anniv day with Bee. While waiting for the elevator doors to open, we stood in front of the classrooms which held fond memories for us (mostly because it was where we met for group studies, meetings and the like). Henywey, made me think of how life has come full circle. This was where Bee and I first met and this was where we were standing again as husband and wife.

9. Have itchy throat. Lost my voice for a day. I’m coughing and wheezing but refusing to take medication. I bought a pack of Zand herbal lozenges from Healthy O. It has brown rice syrup, lemon oil, menthol, eucalyptus leaf, hyssop herb, sage leaf, thyme leaf, mullein leaf, peppermint leaf, licorice root, horehound herb and slippery elm bark. Contains 5 mg of zinc per lozenge. If this doesn’t kick the cold virus in the butt, I don’t know what will.

10. Ack. My current obsession and the most played album in my iPod is Mamma Mia! by Abba. I can’t get these off my head, they’re forever playing in my mind like LSS - Money, Money, Mamma Mia, Honey, Honey, Thank You For the Music, Chiquitita and Dancing Queen. I play them while I’m driving, in the shower, while doing chores and while in the waiting room of clients’ offices. And I hum them to myself in the office while mentally trying to restrain my feet from dancing. I do a little tap-tap-tap with my hands instead. Ay, mamma mia!

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

- J.K. Rowling, from her commencement address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination”, at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association

Words of wisdom from the next Dalai Lama:

“It can only get better if you wait.” - Boo

My three-year old doesn’t actually understand the meaning behind the words he’s suddenly quoting out of the blue. He uses it as a dialogue among his Power Rangers action figures (Arrr, I hit you. You can’t beat me. You lose, I win. It can only get better if you wait). Blurts it out when I ask him to talk to his Lola on the phone (“Say hi to Lola”. “It can only get better if you wait Lola Fat”). And practically shouts it when he’s mad at me (“IT CAN ONLY GET BETTER IF YOU WAAAIT MOMMYYY).

I don’t know where he got that quote from (maybe the steep pre-school tuition fee is paying off after all hee). But the enlightened words sound nice. So I’m making it my personal mantra.

Don’t be surprised if I spice up my sentences with it. (“Oh, I’m not yet hungry. But it can only get better if you wait.” Or “Yes, I’m resigning from my job because it can only get better if you wait.” Or “You wanna go shopping? It can only get better if you wait.”).

U-huh. It can only get better if you wait.

Here’s a refreshing take on what to do when in Europe:

1. Learn to sail a yacht in Greece.

2. Sit in Freud’s waiting room and peruse his books.

3. Take a turn about the Athenian Agora.

4. Learn to cook in Sicily.

5. Stroll the hallowed grounds of Oxford and visit the Bodleian Library.

6. Take a creative writing course in Sardinia.

7. Go on a Walking Tour in Berlin.

8. Go on a Wine Tasting Tour in France.

9. Make your signature scent in Cologne.

10. Take the pub crawl of intellectuals in Dublin.

I’d like to do 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8.

The Sweeties watched Hulk in Eastwood Cinemas last Friday night.

“‘You won’t like me when I’m hungry’. That was funny.”

“Haha. Yeah that’s right. I like this Hulk film better than the 2003 release. Although it’s action-packed to the core, the story is more coherent. I just got all cross-eyed and dizzy from watching Banner in the chase scenes. ”

“Did you know that Lou Ferrigno did the voice for Hulk in the film? Huuulk (in a low, guttural voice). Beeettty. Huulk Smaash.”

“Er, Hulk hardly talked.”

“Edward Norton is also a casting coup.”

“Thought he couldn’t deliver but he did. I liked Jennifer Connelly in Dr. Elizabeth Ross’ role. Liv Tyler is much too pa cutie-pie.”

“Don’t you think Bruce Banner is such a serious character? I mean compared to Peter Parker who’s so playful or Tony Starks who’s a witty playboy. And the actors, Eric Bana and Edward Norton. They have such kind, serious faces.”

“That’s true. It was even rumored that the casting agents were considering David Duchovny for the first Incredible Hulk film. He looks like a downtrodden puppy dog.”

“I know why Bruce Banner is portrayed as a surly figure.”

“Why?”

“He can’t be too excited, right? He can’t have sex. He doesn’t get any.”

It was Bill Gates’ last working day at Microsoft yesterday and his employees made this touching and funny tribute for him:

(watch out for an all-star cast starring Matthew McConaughey, Jay-Z, George Clooney, Bono, Steven Spielberg, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Al Gore)

Here’s the before (1978) and after photos of the original 11 Microsoft employees:

With nothing better to do (and little money in our pockets) Bee, Swiss Miss and I decided to roam the shops of Tiendesitas one lazy Saturday afternoon instead of going to the mall. We had suman, tsokolate (was it ah! or eh!?) and pancit bihon at Tita Lynne’s and washed down the hefty meryenda with buko juice and fruit shake at a nearby fruit stand.

Then I pulled Swiss Miss and Bee to the area of the antique shops. It was boredom alert for Bee so he excused himself and wandered somewhere in the vicinity of Fun Ranch while Swiss Miss and I explored the dark, eerie shops of the Antique Village.

This is the result of having nothing better to do and opting not to join the mainstream Filipino hobby of malling:

old perfume bottles from thailand made of wood and ivory

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You know what complements cold, rainy weather? A light, romantic novel and dark chocolates.

Romance Novel

I have just finished re-reading Judith McNaught’s Whitney, My Love which is a cult classic among us girly girls. If guys had their dungeons and dragons, we girls had our McNaughts and Devereauxs. I read Whitney, My Love as a tweener and got so enamored with the book that I read all the remaining Judith McNaught novels chronicling the romantic conquests of the Westmoreland males all in a span of a month.

The last time I read the novel was about five years ago (and, uh, this is my umpteenth time) and it took an entire day of rain to make me want to read the book all over again. In Whitney, I am always tickled pink by the verbal sparring between the stubborn, funky heroine Whitney Stone and the handsome, arrogant duke, Clayton Westmoreland. Whitney is described as a very beautiful and intelligent woman, proficient in four languages, French and German, among others. Clayton Westmoreland is the man who wanted her for himself and nobody else (hayayay!). Whenever I want maximum kilig factor (and it’s raining!), I always turn to Whitney, My Love or some other McNaught romance novel.

Under the dark, languorous eyes of Clayton Westmoreland, the Duke of Claymore, Whitney Stone grew from a saucy hoyden into a ravishingly sensual woman. Fresh from her triumphs in Paris society, she returned to England to win the heart of Paul, her childhood love…only to be bargained away by her bankrupt father to the handsome, arrogant duke. Outraged, she defies her new lord. But even as his smoldering passion seduces her into a gathering storm of desire, Whitney cannot - and will not - relinquish her dream of perfect love.

Cheesy but classic.

Dark Chocolate

And of course, can we talk about love and romance without chocolates? I finished eating an entire bar of Valor dark chocolates with almonds in one sitting (hello 400 calories that are now sitting in my hips!). Bee and I bought three different dark chocolates in Terry Selections in Podium and I’m afraid I’ll finish all three by tomorrow. Yikes. Cold weather always does this to me. If it’s not chocolate, it’s ice cream. Or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Or kimchi, salted fish and coffee.

Send me dark chocolates (at least 70%) with nuts (almond and macadamia are my weaknesses) and we are friends for life! That’s how Bee courted me. Sent me three blocks of exquisite Domoro chocolates from Italy and I said yes. I was an easy catch like that hehe.

Giving chocolates to a romantic ladylove to win her heart has a scientific basis actually. Eating dark chocolates stimulates endorphin production which gives a sense of pleasure and well-being. Dark choco also contains serotonin which is an anti-depressant; theobromine and caffeine which are stimulants. Guys, just make sure you give the dark kind and not chocnut haha (I looove chocnut though).

As an added health benefit, dark chocolates contain plenty of flavonoids which act as antioxidants that lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Romance novel + chocolates on a rainy day? Cocooning has never been this heavenly.

Rudely Awakened

I usually sleep like a log but at 4 this morning, I was rudely awakened by gusts of wind and rain pounding on our bedroom window. There was also a weird helicopter-like sound coming from our aircon so we had to turn that off. Fully awake and alert, I asked Bee to find the flashlight and put it in the night stand right beside me.

Signal No. 3 Up in Metro

I open Inquirer.net and see this breaking news: Signal No. 3 Up in Metro. First thought that races through my mind: yehey, walang pasok sa Monday! (No work on Monday!). But I banish that joyful thought lest a friend scold me again for such a selfish remark. Whenever I would rejoice over not having any work during flash floods and typhoons, this friend would shush me and say: be grateful you have work, other people’s homes have been thrown into smithereens by the storm. Gulp, guilty as charged. But I’m still hoping walang pasok, hehehe.

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