recently read - january 2012

January has been a productive month. =)

Some Like It Hot - Louisa Edwards

Wild Thing - Robin Kaye

The Book of (Even More) Awesome - Neil Pasricha

When Harry Met Molly - Kieran Kramer

Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right - Kieran Kramer

Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage - Kieran Kramer

If You Give a Girl a Viscount - Kieran Kramer

A Home By the Sea - Christina Skye

Simply Irresistible - Jill Shalvis

It's All Greek To Me - Katie McAllister

Confessions of a Karaoke Queen - Ella Kingsley

The Accidental Courtesan - Cheryl Ann Smith

Destiny - Carly Phillips

Wild Heat - Bella Andre

Hot As Sin - Bella Andre

Swimming Naked - Stacy Sims

Whispers in the Dark - Maya Banks

Sweet Possession - Maya Banks

Summer Loving - Carly Phillips

this day has been a bitch to everyone

I woke up today with my ankle swollen and way worse than yesterday. The pain started the other day, but it was so bearable so I didn't pay it much attention. But today, damn, it was really bad. I can't even put weight on it so walking is a bitch. It was so bad that I had to take pain-relievers, and I hate taking medications of any kind.

While I was on my way to a nearby Watson's (I took the taxi because I really couldn't walk) to buy some Ibuprofen, the car began to shake. Earthquake. God, people from buildings and establishments were running out to the streets. Turns out a quake hit the Negros and Cebu area with a magnitude of 6.9.

Our class starts at one, and with the ongoing traffic at the Capitol area, I arrived at school with only minutes to spare. I changed quickly (well, as quickly as my foot allows) and went to the bakeshop. We were about to start when Chef Nick got a call from downstairs that classes are suspended because there's a level two tsunami alert advisory.

We wanted to continue on with the class since the alert was only for the west coast area, and we are far, but they won't ignore the warning so we had no choice but to go.

My batchmates, Bogs, Ienne, Cheng, Adz, Joy and I ended up in McDo, though. We were chilling, talking, and trying to hide the fact that the earthquake scared us. Then in the middle of our conversation, two firetrucks went by. At first we were wondering where the fire was, looking up the sky for some indication of smoke. When we couldn't find one, we asked a lady where the fire was. She told us there's no fire, but water's coming our way.

People were panicking, so what do you expect? Fear is contagious, and we also panicked. We ran back to our school, which is just a few meters away, figuring that if the water hits, we'd be safe on higher ground. Plus, if we got stranded there, we won't be worrying about food coz the kitchen's stocked. It wasn't easy running with a sprained ankle, but adrenaline worked it's magic.

It turned out to be a false alarm, but the damaged was done. The mass panic caused traffic jams, people were running in the streets, stores were closed down. We didn't get to see it firsthand, but we heard that the flyover at Robinson's was crammed with people. People gathered around Fuente Osmeña circle for safety. And IT Park was full of people, too.

Apparently some fucking idiot called the fire station and reported that he/she saw a wave coming it. Bad news do travel fast. You can just imagine that mayhem it caused. Damn. So whoever you are, what you did wasn't even remotely funny. I hope karma comes and bite you in the ass.

Prayers for everyone affected by the quakes. God help us. I know He won't forsake us, so let's have faith. ♥

soft dough bread and chocolate cookies

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that my dog Reina gave birth to five puppies.. But right after I wrote that post, she pushed out three more, which brings the total to eight. Sadly the youngest puppy didn't survive for more than a couple of hours. I'm hoping the seven will, though.

So.. Today marks the first day of our bakeshop duty. We made soft dough bread, and while we were waiting for the dough to rise, we baked two batches of chocolate chip cookies.

Maybe I'm a little bit biased, but our bread was yummy. And.. Our cookies were amazing!

We gave my Culinary batchmates who were working in the hot kitchen a piece each, and they kept begging for more. Yup, that's how tasty our cookies were. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. And it was overflowing with chocolate chips, unlike those you buys at stores where you can only see several pieces.

I forgot to bring my camera today, and my phone's camera sucks, so I had to wait till I got home to take pictures. I wanted it fresh from the oven, but sadly, no camera.

The best part bout baking class is that I don't have to worry about breakfast anymore.

Chocolate chip cookies.

See those choco chips? =)

Mini burger and hotdog buns.

recently read - october to december 2011

Hungry for You - Lynsay Sands

The Reluctant Vampire - Lynsay Sands

Before I Go To Sleep - SJ Watson

Lord Langley's Back In Town - Elizabeth Boyle

Mad About the Duke - Elizabeth Boyle

Slow Ride - Erin McCarthy

Handle With Care - Jodi Picoult

The Best of Me - Nicholas Sparks

All I Ever Wanted - Kristan Higgins

Catch of The Day - Kristan Higgins

Too Good To Be True - Kristan Higgins

Until There Was You - Kristan Higgins

Fools Rush In - Kristan Higgins

Maybe This Time - Jennifer Crusie

My Sister's Voice - Mary Carter

The Book of Awesome - Neil Pasricha

Code Blue - Richard Mabry, MD

Medical Error - Richard Mabry, MD

Diagnosis Death - Richard Mabry, MD

Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay

A Secret Kept - Tatiana de Rosnay

Along For The Ride - Sarah Dessen

Keeping The Moon - Sarah Dessen

School For Brides - Cheryl Ann Smith

Wouldn't Miss It For The World - Tara McCarthy

Hide and Seek - Fern Michaels

Sweet Revenge - Fern Michaels

Hokus Pokus - Fern Michaels

The Hiding Place - Karen Harper

The Falls - Karen Harper

Avenging Angel - Justine Dare

Take Me Home - Jerri Corgiat

puppy litter

I haven't been updating my blog lately.. Mainly because of three reasons: I'm busy, I'm lazy, and I have crappy net. But this is just too "important" to pass up.

First, it's Chinese New Year, so I'm gonna give a shoutout to everyone, especially to my fellow Chinese and Fil-Chinese brothers and sisters. Kiong Hee Huat Tsai! Translated it means I wish you prosperity and good fortune. I came home for the holiday since I have a long weekend. Plus, I wanted some tikoy.

I'll be going back to Cebu later, but I had plans to come back when my dog Reina gives birth. We expected her to deliver her pups at the end of this month. We didn't expect her to do it today, though! Since my bed is currently out of order (don't ask), I bunked in with my parents last night. Something was obviously bother Reina last night, as she kept on moving from one area of the room to another; she kept scratching the floor and cannot seem to settle down. We all thought it was because she's nearing the end of her pregnancy. How right we are!

Around 4AM this morning, my Mom woke up and attended to Reina, before she start prepping herself for Mass. I woke up because she turned on the light, but I ignored them and pulled my blanket over my head. I was drifting back to sleep when I heard my Dad told my Mom that Reina already pushed out one puppy. That woke me up faster than any alarm clock did.

As of 4:43AM, Puppy 1 was born. After that, four more puppies came out. So Reina is the proud momma of five.

So there. Two events, one fine day. I just have to blog this, no matter how sucky and slow my connection is. Oh, and to make today's occasion three, lemme just greet my dearest crazy friend Jenny. Happy birthday Luka, best wishes from Sisa. I love you.

Pics of the smug bitch (Reina) and her litter of love.

"Think chidbirth is exhausting? Try giving birth to five."

Smug bitch.

"You can't even handle one, yet I have five!"

They take after their Momma.

the last day of the year ♥

Another year is upon us. Thank you, Lord, for blessing us another year of life. I'll be the first to say that 2011 could have been better, but it could have been worse, also. All in all, I just wanna extend my thanks to the people who've always been there for me - my parents, my friends, my bf. I'd be lost without you guys.

It's been fun, and we're gonna rock 2012 together.

What my cousin got me.

And cheers to Janz for this shirt!

gingerbread starr ♥

This morning, I felt the urge to bake. And being one who never turn down these urges, I did a quick inventory of what's in our pantry, and got to work.

In honor of the holidays, I made Gingerbread Men and Stars. I call this Gingerbread Starr. I would have make other designs, but I don't have a lot of cookie cutters, and hearts, flowers, and animals don't deem appropriate. Except for the one my friend Janz kept asking for, a rabbit with antlers. Some sort of freaky hybrid, but then, she's weird that way. LOL

I spent the whole afternoon baking. Jojo dropped by, and we kept talking, I almost forgot I had a batch in the oven. Good thing I remembered on time, else I'll have charred Gingerbread Men.

Oh, and here's one for the Idiot's Guide to Baking: Stop the chatter and pay attention to what you're doing when getting something from the oven. It leads to first degree burn, which I now have on my thumb.

I thought of leaving it to cool overnight, then decorating it tomorrow, but decided to just finish the job. So, I've made 84 cookies, most of which I'll give away. I'm gonna give them to our two salesladies' children, and maybe to some of the vendors outside our store. There' this one kid I'm fond of, coz she loves to eat. So cute.

Anyway, I'll end this post with a hearty Merry Christmas to each and everyone who might pass by my blog and happen to read this. May your Christmas be filled with fun, laughter, and love. ♥

The smiley is just from the leftover dough. It wasn't enough for either a gingerbread man or a star. =)

Sneaking a peek inside the oven.

With the cookie cutters.

Stacks of cookies.

Wish upon a Starr.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Gingerbread Men Version

late christmas party post

We had our Christmas party last December 16. It was the first time I attended a school party where the students did the table arrangement and skirting (our batch did this), cooked the food and made the desserts (done by the higher batches).

I got there early, around 5PM, and four of my batchmates were already there. Since we were early, we decided to go to the convenience store across the street to get a few drinks. The girls got T. Ice, while the boys went for Red Horse.

Ienne consumed three bottles, and Cheng and I finished two. But among the three of us, I was the only one who kept eating the chips, so the alcohol didn't have any effect on me. Wish I could say the same for both of them, though. It was funny, coz they got tipsy, and by the time we got to school, we were laughing so hard and they were starting to get noisy.

The party itself was fun. We got games, programs, food, booze, raffles, and gifts. Our batch bonded with the other batches, and we made new friends along the way.

Then there's the "tradition" that was saved for last. I don't know how that started, but it's always done to the new batches every acquaintance party. We were blindfolded and made to go around the school in a line, then we were led to one of the classrooms where we were told to squat or sit on the floor. Oh, the anticipation. After a short, or long (depends on how you perceive it, blindfolded and all), wait, we were drenched in a mixture of oil, water, flour, and eggs.

It's all good fun, but you can imagine the shock we got. The water was cold, and the oil made the floor (which was covered in garbage bags, by the way) slippery that some of us had a hard time getting up without help.

We were told to bring extra clothes for that, but nobody said anything about underwear. We expected getting wet, but we weren't expecting to be soaked. So yes. We went home with wet undies. Not to mention with chunks of flour on our hair, as a quick shower didn't do anything much.

Still, despite getting wet, having stinking hair and being unable to remove the flour chunks, we did have fun. Even though I still wasn't able to get rid of the flour-egg-oil-water-mixture smell from my shirt no matter how many times I washed it.

I cant wait to see my batchmates next year, when we return from our Christmas break.

I wish I had the complete list for the foods, but I don't know where our copy of the menu went.

why you should date a girl who reads ♥

I saw part of this being reblog in Tumblr, and it was said that Robert Pattinson was quoted saying this, but turns out it wasn't. It was written by Rosemarie Urquico, who hails from Baguio City.

It's a really nice read, and I could just relate to it (the italicized lines are the ones that best describe me). I felt the need to pass this on, especially to fellow bookworms like me.

"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn't burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes."

on shopping, attending mass, and going home..

The other night, my high school barkada, Tif, and I went to SM. There was a humongous Converse sale going on at the Megatrade Hall, and we, along with throngs of people, were there with hopes of buying original Converse stuffs at the lowest prices.

It's like a big warehouse of Converse stuff.

The line at the counter.

There were a lot of people, and the lines were long. But we managed. And we both survived, with me buying two skirts, the kind with shorts underneath, and Tif sporting a pair of shorts. I got both for only 350 pesos. What up.

There were these pair of high-cut Chucks that I really wanted, but I couldn't find one in my size. Guess it wasn't for me. Fate is trying to tell me something. "Girl, you got two pairs of CTs already, why you need another one?"

What I bought.

And speaking of people gathering, I attended the first day of the 9-day novena to celebrate the coming of our Christ, more commonly called the Misa de Gallo. This is my fifth year of attending, and like the past four years, I hoped to complete this one, too.

It never fails to amaze me how many people would get up early in the morning, before the break of dawn, to attend Mass. The Mass was conducted in Bisaya, and I didn't really understood much of the First Reading, and the Gospel, but I'm glad Father said his Homily in English.

So many people attended, the church couldn't accommodate all the people.

It was a good one, too. Basically, what he was trying to tell us is that we should see the good in people, in thing, instead of always focusing on the bad. If we see the good, then change could happen, and peace may be within our reach.

It was short, succinct, and heartwarmingly satisfying. He got to the point. I don't like priests who go on and on and on without ever coming to what he really is trying to say. And I appreciate those who can deliver a good message without it becoming a 2-hour sermon.

On a much more lighter note, yesterday was our last day of school. And after class, we did arranged the buffet tables and did the skirting for our Acquaintance/Christmas Party tonight. We had a little bit of conflict with the other batch, and we don't really like some of them. They might think they can walk all over us because they're ahead, but we won't let them. We're tough. But what the hell. It's Christmas. Goodwill to men, and all that shit.

I'll be going home to Tacloban on Sunday, and I can't wait. =)

Shoutout to my good friend Jin, who's taking the board exam this week. Good luck, and may God be with you.

This is the face of the next board topnotcher. =)