Interesting links

Some interesting sites from friends (i.e. things to read/do when you're bored):

1. Date a geek. Sounds like a lot of guys in this business I've found myself in.
2. Which celebrity do you resemble? For anyone who dreams of stardom. Warning: Really bad English.
3. Watch me change. Dream closet...but not dream dance moves!
4. Plaxo. Create your own very professional looking signatures.
5. Technorati. Who's linked to your blog? Find out how popular your blogsite is getting by counting number of links to it.
6. Bloglines. Too lazy to read all your friends blogs from different sites? Check out this blog management system.
7. Statcounter. Find out how many people bother to read your blog and where they're from. I use it on my blog and who knew that I could get visitors from Uruguay?
8. Triumph the Comedy Dog and his piece on Star Wars. Hilarious! His other stuff funny too.

Happy surfing!

Jeepney Life

I'm always pleasantly surprised by the code of conduct that governs the Philippine jeepney. I used to be a much more spoiled brat than I am today, and never rode a jeepney til I was in college. And I think my first jeep was the UP Ikot (ah, you never forget your first jeep!). As I became more and more a woman of the world (with less and less access to my own car) I rode jeeps more and picked up so much stuff which probably seems common to early adaptors to jeepney riding but amazing to a late bloomer like me.

*People know better than to the driver on the shoulder or touch him in any way when giving payment. The driver has eyes at the back of his head to see you hand over payment, and an extra pair of hands holding on to the steering wheel to actually get payment even as he swerves to avoid traffic.
*Passengers develop undending patience as they wait without complaint for grandmothers, handicapped, little kids and people bringing everything from sacks of rice to bags of wet market purchases to board the jeep. In other cases they wouldn't be as forgiving.
*Passengers don't mind alighting in the middle of a busy street from a jeep and therefore holding up traffic behind them, but when given the opposing viewpoint of being part of the traffic that was held up, they can be extremely vicious.
*The driver always knows who hath not paid, and passengers always seem honest enough to pay and count out exact change for fellow passengers.
*He who sits nearest the driver has the lousy job of handing over everyone's payments and returning change. Its a never a steady job, so mostly you just take your turn.

Financials aside, it must be interesting to be a jeepney driver and see this sort of thing every day, although I'm sure they're bored with it already. I'm glad I'm not...yet.

Moments

The newlyweds Josh & Grace with friends from Level Up!

Two years ago I attended a spate of weddings of friends (8 in a year I think!), then it dwindled down to a score of christenings the suceeding year, and as a testament to my old age this year the 1st wedding I attended was of a staff member.  He was nice enough not to ask me to be ninang, but rather part of the entourage as the veil sponsor. It was a small and beautiful wedding, made even more meaningful by the fact that you could really feel that the vows spoken were straight from the heart.  The groom sang the vows through a self-composed song, the bride uttered them as heartfelt words.  Seeing someone I met years ago grow and develop into a mature individual pledging to share his life with someone was touching indeed.

Funny enough the other moment that struck me was when the minister lectured the bride that now, she could no longer live the single girl life and she would have to share everything with her husband, and consult him on all decisions.  I actually laughed out loud thinking of myself following that kind of advice.  It would be damn hard! Hmm, maybe I'm not ready?

PS - I caught the bouquet. Took pity on the poor flowers which were getting abused from landing on the floor because no wanted to catch them.

Mmmm, Dessert

I'm such a dessert junkie. I have a separate compartment in my stomach for dessert. Meals are not complete without dessert. Thanking Gigi for this yummy forward, reposted from another blog. Must try all...*slurp*

Strawberry Shortcake by Baby Yulo. "Mrs. Yulo from Forbes" is already a catchphrase among the well-heeled in Makati. Also known for her Turtle Pie but celebrated for her Strawberry Shortcake, this cake is close to eight inches high and is a sponge cake lightly spread with two layers of imported whipped cream and strawberry flecks. As a crowning touch, the top of the cake is decorated with a few large strawberries, definitely imported, definitely expensive at P1,300. Contact Number: 8124961/8108078


Polly's Chocolate Cake by Polly Garilao. It's a simple chocolate cake with a regular shiny icing and none of the frills and froufro associated with most cakes these days. Contact Number: 8247612


Nono's Chocolate Oblivionby Baba Ibazeta. Owner of the wildly successful Classic Confections, this cake is named after Baba's father. She dubs it as the "quintessential chocolate cake": layers of chocolate cake and ganache textured with walnut praline and dusted with cocoa powder. Contact Number: (Classic Confections) 8423969/ 7462773


Mango Torte by Tony Cuerva. A thin layer of meringue similar to sans rival without the buttercream, crowned with mango balls and decorated with whipped cream rosettes. Contact Number: 8509182


Macaroons by Bizu. One of the two commercial establishments on this list with two (or is it three?) branches, these macaroons are just like those found in French patisseries. Light and unassuming, in a variety of flavors and colors, this is a light and unassuming dessert.


Rum Cake by Joyce Aragon. A regular at bazaars. Contact Number: 09175232913


Chocolate Decadence Cake by Dennis Hipolito. This is a light chocolate cake in texture and flavor. Not too overpowering and perfect for those who don�t like their desserts too sweet. Contact no: 0917516578/(044) 8404082


Chocolate Carrot Cake by Melissa Lim. Contact Number: 9112329

Caramel Cake by Estrel's. Mouth meltingly light chiffon cake is artistically decorated with elaborate buttercream flowers in beautiful colors. This is one cake that is so light it practically floats off the table and into your mouth. Contact Number: 3722965


Banana Toffee Pie by Roselyn Tiangco. Contact Number: 8120908

Paris in the Spring

You Belong in Paris Stylish and a little sassy, you were meant for Paris. The art, the fashion, the wine, the men! Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park... You'll love living in the most chic place on earth What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

Online quizzes are hardly ever accurate but this last one I took reminded me that one of the most fabulous cities on the world for me is Paris. I've been there thrice but the time I've spent there has always been too short. I'm quite a travel junkie, and Europe has always had special place in my heart. But travel in general, as long as the place, the is culture different, the food is something I've never had in all its authentic splendour before, is something I've always looked forward to, something I wish I could do with unlimited vast resources. Following a path I've never traveled, people watching, sight seeing, food-tripping, having new and amazing encounters with people and places, almost nothing can beat the experience.

The last time I saw Paris was in the spring of 2002, when I luckily got myself in a slot with a team of young professionals headed for 5 weeks in Denmark. I cashed in my savings, convinced Chikki to join me post-Denmark on my well-plotted on Excel route around western Europe, and bought myself a $300 15-day Eurail pass.

Of course given my limited resources, I didn't exactly travel in glamorous style, but rather in back-pack mode, which I think made the trip even more of an adventure. A little help from a lot of friends came a long way. There was Tonichi's Frommer's guide to Europe and Kathy's best friend Valerie who put us up for our 3-day Parisian stint.

We took the TGV for from Barcelona-Sants to Paris-Austerlitz. Didn't know there were advance bookings to be made so we got stuck for a couple of hours at Montpellier and avoided a pick-up attempt by some weird guy by saying we were married and running fast in another direction. I was so proud of myself because I called Valerie's daughter at home to tell her we would be late, but she couldn't speak much English. I clearly recall my vain attempt, "Allo! Je m'appelle Sheila. L' train arrivez tardez, neuf pm. Merci!" The poor kid struggled to understand me while I patted myself on the back for listening to French conversational tapes when I was very young. In any case my message was understood, and the extremely accomodating Valerie picked us up at the train station at the right time.

Boissy St. Leger was on the outskirts of Paris, so daily Chikki and I would take the RER Line A to the heart of the city. We had extremly hilarious and pathetic attempts to save our money by jumping the subway gates so we wouldn't have to buy tokens, and squeezing in paid toilets meant for 2 so we wouldn't have to pay a 2nd time. We were frequent lunchtime patrons of a European fastfood chain that had an end of the spring promo --- cheeseburger meals buy one, take one! We walked everywhere, but I really couldn't complain because it was sensory overload.

During our first day as we were walking down the Champs-Elysees, two Chinese women came up to us and asked us to buy 3 Louis Vuitton bags each at the nearby shop. We almost refused because it seemed like we would be scammed, but then we figured what the heck, you're only in Paris once, and the experience of shopping at a Louis Vuitton store at the Champs Elysees would be hard to repeat unless I became extremely well-off! They handed us 700 Euros each and asked us to meet them at the corner after we were done. I half throught of running away with the cash, but I had dropped my heavy suitcase on my foot the day before (the trials of not affording to store my luggage at the Frankfurt airport), so I couldn't make a fast getaway. We spent 45-minutes getting top service at the shop, walked away with about 5 bags each which we handed to what we guessed to be counterfeiters, and later on got a $100 dollar tax exemption on our total purchases at the train station leaving Paris.

Other fun episodes --- buying bread and cheese with and picinicking near the Eiffel Tower as we jokingly turned our noses up at Parisiennes who vainly sunbathed near the fountains amidst cold spring air and a weak sun, thinking that Pinoys just have to drive an hour or so to sun-worship a gorgeous beach. Visiting the Notre Dame and arriving at the Louvre just in time to find out that it was too late to take a tour, but scoring a gorgeous Sephora lip gloss anyway (good thing I've seen the Mona Lisa before or I would've gotten dearly disappointed). Traipsing through cobble-stoned streets and finding a store that sold Naf-Naf items for just a Euro apiece (I got a dress and a shirt). Taking a photo outside the Moulin Rouge to commemorate my being there after the hit movie was shown. Looking out at the beautiful Seine River and watching the boats go past. Walking up to Montmarte and seeing a glorious (and free!) view of Paris. Bargaining down a hot artist to just 10 Euros for my Parisian portrait...and getting asked out after my portrait was done. Driving from the RER train station to Boissy St. Leger in Valerie's cute little car and getting a bit lost, then a car of cute guys stop to help us out. My only regret about my last trip to Paris was not seeing the nightlife because we had to go back to the house every day before the trains closed. But then there's always next time!

This year I've done a lot of local travel but I'm saving for a major purchase which is why I've held back on crossing the Pacific. The way things look, I think next year will be different.

The world is a book and those who don't travel read only a page.- St. Augustine

Facing a Challenge

Although life has been hard at times for me, many things have actually come amazingly easy. Its only now that I've gained some maturity (hopefully), that I've come to realize how lucky I've been throughout my life. In high school and college, I made above average grades without parental pressure. I've never lacked job offers. When the bottom fell out of things at home, I never really fell down on my knees...I tripped in a major way but things righted itself pretty soon. Not to say that I didnt work hard for it, but many people work harder but don't get the same results. Even when I entered the corporate world, I moved faster than quite a few who started off on the same footing. Again I didn't kill myself to make it happen, it just did with some investment from me.

I was quite surprised last year when I was told I seemed to be too nice for my job, that I wasn't hard or aggressive enough, that I couldn't seem to handle everything even if I was doing a good job. For the first time someone questioned my abilities and it really bothered me. I almost thought of just packing up and leaving. But I couldn't admit defeat. So I grew up, and thought I proved them wrong in a matter of a few months. Actually it was a good experience for me. Taught me many things and I walked out of that experience a different person. I still had the nagging feeling though that I still hadn't proven myself enough.

Recent events have proved otherwise. Though I refused to accept things at first, I should finally give up on humility...for a brief moment please allow me to indulge. I've proud of what I've accomplished and the trust not only I've been shown, but something publicly announced. And once again fate handed me an answer to my growing indifference and gave me something to throw myself into. Something scary but exciting. Wish me well on this new adventure!