DENCIO'S ROCKWELL PROMO

After work, Monica and I headed to Dencio's Rockwell to meet up with Nikki. I was supposed to help Nikki with her speech but then sisses showed up so what do we expect but purely beer and chika all night long. Too bad that my camera did not have enough battery that night so i was not really able to take pictures of the sisses who went! Anyways, no more 3 for Php 100 promo for Dencio's Rockwell. Instead, they have this 6+4 promo (buy 6 beers and bar chow for Php 300+ and you get 4 free beers!) Not bad!!

Hay, hay been drinking again. Relapse! Relapse!

CAFE CENTRAL

We all needed a real break from work so instead of our usual ask-manang-siony-to-get-us-bananaQ-downstairs routine, Caron, Grace, Obet and I decided to get out of the office and have snack somewhere near. Well, they told me Café Central just opened a couple of weeks ago and maybe should go there for a change. Actually, they’ve been to the café (but I was absent that day so I wasn’t able to join in). Anyways, we originally planned to just have coffee, but since Grace and I didn’t eat much during lunch time, we also ordered food. Here’s what we had:

Trina—Carne norte penne with peas and sweet corn & pinacolada soda

Grace—Linguine in pesto cream sauce with pan-grilled chicken breast & iced tea

Caron—Penne in tomato-basil sauce with cottage cheese & yummy gummy soda

Obet—Chocolate cake & raspberry soda

Obet here withthe sodas

The carne norte penne was cream-based, and so I thought it’ll be really yummy bearing in mind that I’m a sucker for cream-based pasta and I consider corned beef as my comfort food. I was a bit disappointed though because I didn’t taste much of the cream. Simply corned beef through and through. Not that bad….but nothing fantabulous either. The Pinacolada-flavored soda, on the other hand, is a must try. It’s totally refreshing and they really got the pinacolada flavor right. Actually, I think all of their Italian sodas are good! Hihi. I took a sip from Caron’s drink, and yupyup, it’s really yummy gummy. As if I’m drinking a tutti-frutti gum!! Delish!

The Linguine was tasty. I actually wished I just ordered that instead of the carne norte penne. The cream sauce was really delicious and the chicken was evenly cooked so as not to contrast with the pesto sauce. I loved it! As regards the penne in tomato-basil sauce, it was okay too except you’ll be playing the find the cottage cheese game while eating. Hihi. When you order this, despite the really flavorful sauce, don’t expect too much cottage cheese in it.

I’ll have to say I might come back to Café Central when I’m in need of a real break from work. For those working in Makati (Paseo de Roxas-Valero area), you can visit the place to see for yourselves. Their Italian sodas cost Php 60 per glass and pasta ranges from Php 120 to Php 150. Oh, and for the coffee lovers, you get free cookies when you order coffee!

OFFICE MAZE

Due to the recently concluded office renovation, our office kind of looks like a maze. Anyways, our officemates decided to play a game using our very own maze. Hihi. Tita Adel hid chocolates in empty office spaces and there....our very own choco hunt! Super fun..I didn't win though. hihi

the contestants

Congratulations to Caron for winning the hunt! (and thanks for sharing your prize)

take note, she's not really allowed to eat chocolates!

Anyways, due to bad reviews concerning the "maze", minor modifications will have to be made after the holy week, i think. When everything's finally done, I promise I'll start fixing my things!

for now, my things will have to remain inside my box. hihi.

8-MCDO TRIED MY PATIENCE

photo taken from 8mcdo website

We ordered food from Mc Donald's through the 8-McDo number. The operator told me to wait for like 30 to 45 minutes before order would arrive. Well, guess what?! Still no food after an hour of waiting! Hence, I called McDo again to follow up our orders. I was told that due to the volume of orders received that time (at 3:30 in the morning, take note), it took time before they can finally process delivery. I told myself to calm down. I mean, food's on its way so no problem. But wait, wait wait, after 30 minutes, I received a call from McDo asking for landmarks! At that point I was already angry! That simply meant food's still at their branch. If we weren't so hungry I would have cancelled our orders..gladly!

Food arrived after 2 hours. Sheesh!

BIG DADDY'S HIGHSCHOOL REUNION (where he brought along angry wife and confused eldest kiddo)

starring:

husband/big daddy

wife and eldest kiddo

with special participation

Big Daddy's friends

Even before we got to Rory's, Momsy and I we’re already panicking. I mean, we don’t really know the people in the reunion (except for Lucky of course!) so we’re kind of just crashing, right? Anyways, as it was an Ateneo Highschool Reunion, we expected intoxicated guys reminiscing. We guessed right! Momsy and I simply sat on one corner gulping beer and from time to time, Big Daddy would introduce a former classmate to us. Of course, introduction was not simply introduction. Big Daddy would of course share interesting stories about the person being introduced, like when we were in highschool..yadda yadda or at present he’s already schwinkkiddiddleloolooloo. I mean, you know, stuff like that.

Momsy’s forever line that night was “My gaaaad he’s so annoyingly drunk!” Well, I couldn’t blame her because it was so true (hihi sorry Big Daddy). In fact, I had my one forever line that night too…Momsy, your husband is drunk and his bestfriend (referring to Lucky) is of no use coz he’s so drunk as well!! Well, anyways it was very entertaining, I mean, listening as the guys reminisce. I bet they were more rowdy back in the day. It was nice too that Momsy and I met a lot of new people that night. I’m just really bad when it comes to remembering names of people I just met so I can’t, at least for now, tell ya the names of the people we shared a couple of hi’s and hello’s with.

I just really wish the waitress assigned to us would act nicely if and when we decide to visit Rory’s again. Everytime we ask something from her, you can read it in her eyes that she’s so pissed! And the accent sheeeeeesh!!!! Gosh, I so wanted to put her in her proper place. Feeling! It was as if she owned the place ha. I mean, hello, even if she did, so what? We’re still customers and she should do her job right! Oh well… bottomline is, we had fun that night despite Big Daddy’s drinkin and service at Rory’s. Towards the end, I must admit we were just simply entertained by four things namely, how Big Daddy never ran out of stories to tell, how Gino managed to take a nap while party was ongoing, why Lucky won't stop yakking about his missing lighter and most importantly, free beer for momsy and me!

in the end.....there was peace

IT'S A FAMILY THING

We originally planned to go to Pino, but my officemate Val told me that a new bar “Kumpulan” in Esquinita will have an opening night promo (read: Php 20 per bottle of beer) so Momsy decided maybe we should just invade Esquinita. Oh by the way, my first time there. Anyways, Kumpulan was packed (and I’m not surprised why). We stayed at this bar “Toma” just beside Kumpulan. Beer was at Php 130 per bucket of 6 beers so not bad!

It was just me and my Momsy sharing chismis and beer bottles because Big Daddy Taps had to attend a reunion. Good thang my sorority batchmate Monica showed up (and after a couple of minutes, Monzit too). Anyways, he had to go home after a while and Monica was forced to leave due to cats showing up from time to time. Too bad!

But the Momsy-Matutrina1 tagteam knows nothing about dull moments especially when there’s alcohol present. Hence, beer and chisimis still kept on pouring until Momsy started texting with Big Daddy. It turns out, he was already drunk! And he was insisting that we (Momsy and I, his “mag-ina”) just crash his reunion. Ay my goooolay, how can we follow if he has the car? And take note, Monica left already so she can’t drive us to Katipunan. Knowing Momsy, she was definitely confused and irritated by Big Daddy’s drunk suggestions! Ha, you should’ve seen her face while texting Mr. Patajo!!!!

That's my Momsy

My momsy as "angry wife texting drunk husband"

Well, after that angry texting, Big Daddy came-a-running to Toma. He didn’t even let us finish our bucket of beer (with three beer bottles untouched) since he was so excited to go back to the reunion with us. Drunk, I told you!!!

It’s worth noting though that the Angry Wife and Drunk Husband story does not end here. This is just the beginning. Hence, stay tuned for my entry about Big Daddy’s Highschool Reunion (where he brought along angry wife and confused eldest kiddo).

AFTERNOON MASSAGE

Due to the fact that mother has started to become a stress ball lately, and that my sister Pey will be graduating that weekend, the three of us went for an afternoon Thai massage at Ton Ton. Afterall, I was also in need of a stress-reliever after all my shenanigans at work.

Ana Kapela unaware of what will happen next

Well, it was very relaxing I almost fell asleep if not for the quasi-acrobatic stunts that their brand of massage entails you to do. Haha. Go there and you’ll see what I mean. But don’t get me wrong, even that was relaxing. Massage costs Php 200 per hour if you arrive at their doorstep from 12nn to 6pm. Good thing that we got there at 5:50pm! Will surely come back in order to unwind and perform more acrobatic stunts! Hihi.

To all of you stress machines, Ton Ton is located at 118 Calamba St., corner 528 Banawe, Quezon City.

ROADHOUSE EL PUEBLO

My Friday nights are usually spent drinking out with my sisses, law school or college friends. Anyways, thanks to the busy week that harassed me, I didn’t have the chance to schedule a gimik nor confirm attendance to any of the gimiks I was invited to. I actually thought I was about to give my mother a heart attack by going home early that Friday, but my officemates, who were really surprised by the fact that I had nothing scheduled that night, suddenly thought of us having our gimik night. Caron, Grace and Obet are the closest to me when it comes to the office scene. Anyways, this is the first time we actually went out for a couple of drinks!!! We first headed to Sidebar, but as expected, no more seats available due to the Ortigas-based yuppies who came in earlier. Huhuhuhu. We decided to go to Roadhouse instead. It was a good decision actually.

The food was delicious, although I must admit, the veggies….tsk, kind of dry and bland. To those planning to try Roadhouse, I suggest you order the Blue Marlin or the R thing Chicken (gosh, I am so bad when it comes to memorizing stuff written on the menu). Also, for bar chows, the Jesse James sampler is a must for those who want to get a taste of everything but don’t want to spend too much (kuripsies! Haha.) In the event you crave for dessert, the Oreo Mud Pie should be top priority. At Php 210, the same could be shared by 3 to 4 people. Lastly, and most importantly, during happy hours (around 9, I think, until closing time), beer is at Php35 per bottle. Not bad!

Jesse James Sampler

Oreo Mud Pie

I had so much fun that night. I had the venue to tell the three of them the little problems that I have when it comes to work and office. Big thanks to them for verifying that they also experienced everything that I am going through; that I’ll be just fine; and that I should not worry much about bar results because panicking to the core is only justified at most 2 days before the actual release of bar results. They have a point, actually. Anyways, it was really a fun and interesting night for all of us. I must admit though that to a certain extent I was kind of pressured because my officemates have never seen me with a beer bottle. They’ve heard stories of my drinking sprees and they sure informed me that they want to see if my so-called capacity for drinking is not a product of mere exaggeration. Hihi. Well, you know the rest.

MARGE'S PAGEANT

First time in my life that watched (live) a beauty pageant as big as Binibining Pilipinas. Hence, super thanks to Marge whom I now normally refer to as Candidate Number 16 for giving me and the sisses the chance to watch an event as special as this one. More importantly, I would like to thank her for giving us the opportunity to show her how special she is to all of us. Naks! Full force the sorority that night complete with tarp and banners! I’ve told her a million times already (even before the pageant ha) that she’ll always be a beauty queen to me and to Regina Iustitiae.

photo grabbed from bluelawbyanna

Anyways, after the pageant, Marge decided to say thanks to the sisses by buying us buckets and buckets of beer. Tuesday after the pageant, sisses came running to good old headquarters a.k.a Dencio’s Rockwell. Of course, pageant fever has not died down yet so all of us had our stories to share. Especially Marge!!! I can’t really share everything that Marge divulged about the pageant so to all the sisses who missed the event…..sorry!!! hahaha.

Left: Love, Jang, Trinagar, Ria, Ina and Samantha

right: Trina, Marge, Monica, Guia and Charles

Considering the bottles consumed and the stories shared, it was undoubtedly a very interesting night. Thanks again, Margarita! Cheers!

SO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH BLOGGING?

I learned about the article through Jegoisms, and I simply felt the need to react. You can read the article through http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife2_mar10_2008 .

Yes, it’s so easy to diss or bash someone through blogging; and yes, it is undeniable that there are those who hide behind pseudonyms when blogging or even commenting. Despite that, I still don’t think said instances can ever be considered as justification for this statement:

“But blogging, aside from Perez Hilton and the other big time bloggers (you know who you are) is for me a slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect. Unless you’re in bloody Siberia or in a Gulag prison, try stepping outside your comfort zone and turn off the laptop or pc, you just might find some real live people to talk to instead of typing away in cyber space.”

The author of the statement, in fairness to her, also listed a number of things that she liked about blogging (like it’s a good source of info; that people can exchange views and ideas through blogs). What I really didn’t like about the article is the fact that she made it appear that bloggers are like journalist wannabes who unfortunately do not have enough knowledge as regards “certain guidelines that govern the freedom of speech”; that they write simply because they don’t have anything better to do.

I’ve been blogging for quite some time now, and honestly, I was insulted by the article. Truth is, I enjoy b logging because I get to share to friends things I’ve experienced, emotions I’ve felt, or places I’ve been to. Oh, and yeah, blogging never made me feel the need to get out in order to “find some real live people to talk to.” In fact sometimes, my Momsy and I even go out just so we can blog about something new. Hey, I am not trying to justify my blogging. I’m just saying I was insulted by the article.

Oh well, I can’t blame her anyways because she was simply airing out her opinions and maybe feelings concerning anonymous bloggers. It just really started to look bad when she started to use statements criticizing bloggers in general.

My name is Trina Ilarde. And I didn’t like that article.

WHAT THE?!

Yes, that’s a snake inside a liquor bottle! The boys tried to scare me with that and congratulations they freaked the crappy out of me. I mean, what’s the snake doing inside the bottle, right? Wahoo gave this long speech about fertility spells in the olden times, then right before the speech ended, he said it’s in no way connected to the snake liquor. So anyways…I tried to answer my own question. As stated in one webpage,

“To prepare this incredible beverage a cobra snake or some scorpions are put into a bottle fulfilled with transparent rice wine liquor and some herbs are added before the drink is left to ferment for months. The venomous cobra snake used to make Snake wine is preserved to have the snake poison dissolved in the rice wine, but because snake venoms are protein-based they are inactivated by the denaturing effects of ethanol, and no more dangerous, but this makes a healthy liquor with many health benefits.” As in health benefits? Call me stupid, but REALLY?!?!

Really, as in health benefits? Thanks, but no, thanks. Sticking to snake-less drinks! :)

THAT GINDARA THING

Okay, I got the name, finally! Went to Pino again last 8 March 2008 (after Marge’s pageant) and there, I checked the menu so I can stop calling that gindara thing “that gindara thing”. It’s properly referred to as Higashi Marinated Cod. Although according to Jet, “itlooks like some sort of plant out of its pot...” I’d still say yummy yummy yummy. Hihi.

Anyways, Gar finally gave me copies of pics from Pino (first visit). Check Press Release.

MANAOAG TRIP 2008

After the Bigaloo time at Pino, I had to rush back home. We (that means me plus Gar, Jang, Nina, Wahoo and Nino) closed the resto at around 4:30 in the morning!! We didn’t even notice the time. My mother would have disowned me if I missed our Manaoag trip scheduled at 5am that morning.

Anyways, I was asleep the whole trip. My groovy grandma just woke me up and told me that we’re already in Manaoag Church. Major headache due to lack of sleep! But it’s okay, I guess. I have to deal with this. So, we did the usual things done in Manaoag: lit candles for our petitions; touched the robe of Our Lady of Manaoag while saying prayers; heard mass; went to their mini museum and bought religious trinkets for the people we left sleeping at home. Hihi.

left: The Manaoag Trip Gang

below: Groovy Lola with her faithfuls

You can say it’s a tradition. Well, for one thing, my mother is a big fan of the Lady of Manaoag. As for me, she already granted 2 big wishes I made in the past. But regardless of the petitions that’s she grants, I always find myself going back. Anyways, this whole candle-lighting thing reminded me of the time the sisses went to Manaoag before the bar exams. Imagine…(and I have to highlight the fact that this was Pat Bautista’s idea) Pat, Monica and I had to light one candle per bar exam subject that time. And we also lighted candles for barrister sisses who were not able to make it to the trip. Well, let’s see… nyiiii.

For this latest trip to Manaoag, I lit 7 candles. I can’t exactly say what my petitions were but I guess I can try to summarize (hihi). I lit candles for bar exams, family, and that thing I’ve been asking for since I-cant-remember-when. But most candles were really for the people I so want to forgive. Trust me. (and trust me it ends here because this blog space should be drama-free!!!!)

candles burning for various reasons

Well, let’s see…..

PINO

If you’re looking for a cozy and home-y place that nevertheless exudes elegance, visit Pino. For weeks, my best friends Trina Garcia and Jang Moreno tried their very best in persuading me to squeeze Pino visit into my busy schedule. As I know very well the expertise that these two have when it comes to food and dining, I finally agreed to come and visit the restaurant with them last Saturday, 23 February 2008. As was stated, Pino proved to be a very cozy place. Black and white walls, adorned with different paintings, enveloped the dining area. “It’s a nice place ha” was the first thing that I told Gar and Jang. When Nina and Wahoo arrived, we shared a couple of laughs first before Wahoo finally informed us of the yummiest on the menu. Note, entrée comes with Iced Tea and either salad or soup so good deal there (and I haven’t even told you yet how delicious our picks were!).

For starters, all three of us (Jang, Gar and I) opted for pumpkin soup. Jang and I had the Vietnamese Beef with Mushroom Risotto Cake ; Gar ordered Gindara ( I promise I’ll let you know what it’s really called in Pino); Wahoo and Nina who were not so hungry that night, simply ordered Asian Fish and Chips and Beer Sausage in Tugarashi Sauce (bar chows).

Vietnamese Beef with Mushroom Risotto Cake

This is it!! The watchamacallit Gindara!

The Vietnamese Beef was so heavenly I was not able to speak right away when asked how it was. I am not exaggerating, but the meat was so juicy that at that very moment I couldn’t bring myself to believe that I was only gonna spend Php 300 plus for this! Of course Gar made me try her Gindara. I really loved it. Haha! You can blame it on the fact that it is somewhat Japanese-ish, and I love Japanese food.

For desserts, we ordered Pandan Panna cotta and Pino’s own brand of turon (ube center, how yummy) with green tea ice cream. Well, I personally liked the panna cotta because it’s super tasty without having to be super dooper eewy sweet.

Yummy Desserts (Jang and Wahoo not included)

Trinagar and Panna cotta

Wow, we were super full after the meal that we all noticed how silent we were after eating. Hihi. Anyways, after a couple of minutes’ worth of rest, I had to order MY Bigaloo Guavo (normally good for 3-4 persons)….

and the laughing continued. I can’t really tell you most of the stories that were shared that night coz I was so busy with my Bigaloo. Hihi. Anyways, more Pino reviews to come because Gar and I promised we’ll have to get a taste of every single chow on the menu!

Visit Pino at 122 suites Maginhawa Street, Teachers Village, Quezon City. See you there!

GOODLUCK, MARGE!

Margarita N. Gutierrez

photo from http://www.bbpilipinas.com

She's always wanted to become a beauty queen. Actually, the title is not really that big a deal to us because she'll always be the beauty queen in Regina Iustitiae. Hihi. Anyways, much has been said and written, but we shall see on Saturday. Oh, am I excited!

Goodluck, Marge!!!