May 3

Down to earth

A small miscalculation made unconsciously and before I knew it the price is being paid in full. For a moment I forgot the key to happiness that Seinfeld has given me: lowered expectation.

The stress of the past few weeks and a string of events made me lower my guard for a bit. It allowed hope to sneak in unnoticed. I started raising my expectation and for a time it felt good. Then reality came crashing back in and I am scrambling to get hold of my previous position.

Lowered expectation is pessimism. Nothing is wrong with it. It was even stressed during one of the motivational lectures that I have attended. “Aim for the stars, and even if you miss them you will hit the moon.” It may look like looking at the glass half-full but it was already setting the audience for failure.

Tomorrow is going to be day 1 again of the journey back to my place of happiness. I need to re-learn how to lower down my expectations so that I will always be pleasantly surprised on any outcome that is other than what I am expecting. This is not going to be an easy journey as the taste of disappointment has a lingering effect.

Wat: You have been weighed.
Roland: You have been measured.
Kate: And you have absolutely…
Chaucer: Been found wanting.
William: Welcome to New World. God save you, if it is right that he should do so.

Source: IMDB

Category: Top of my head | LEAVE A COMMENT
March 23

Adieu to a dependable team

Tonight marked a sad day for me for I had to say goodbye to a dependable team who have worked so well together and have accompanied me through a lot of happy and sad times. I admit that I have not been paying them much attention lately but at the back of my mind they are always something that would be there if I need them to help me get back on my feet.

Today is the day that I was informed that KFC has switched to Coca-cola products. My 2-piece hot&crispy chicken, large coleslaw and extra rice would have to do with another wingman as Mountain Dew has moved on to another place. Of course they can still get together sometimes for reunions but it would never be the same as when they emerged together from the same counter.

*sigh*

ciao!

Category: Humor, Top of my head | LEAVE A COMMENT
March 13

Marker for the 13th year: rescued from Friendster

Today marks the 13th contiguous year I am with my wife:6 years in a bf/gf relationship and 7 years as a married couple. We didn’t have anything spectacular planned although we had a very nice dinner last Friday at Bistecca courtesy of a gift certificate, and an impromptu spa session yesterday sandwiched during our weekly grocery run (how romantic! 🙂 ).

It is said that couples in a long-term relationship either get sick of each other and start growing apart; or they become so comfortable with each other and go into a mode of complacency. I think we belong to the former category, at least for the comfortable part. Nothing would rationally explain how we can stand the stink bombs randomly emanating out of our toilet. For the record, I am not saying who creates what. 😉

Back on the discussion course, has something changed during all these years of being together? I remembered that during the days Friendster was new, giving a testimonial was a pretty big thing for me. I only spent time giving it to people who really matter. Friendster is for all original intent and purposes dead but I decided to login and recover the testimonial I gave my (then) soon-to-be wife. I decided on rescuing that testimonial and give it a new home: this blog. Here is the testimonial given/posted on November 25, 2003 5:07PM:


-=-=-=-
How do I describe her? I will surely
fail but I will definitely try...

She is the reason why I see the world in
a whole different light. She provides
the contrast in my life; she is my
strength and my weakness; the person who
can send chills down my spine but
radiate warmth during my trying times;
she can make me laugh and shed tears
like nobody else could. She is my best friend
and confidante. Simply put, my better
half, my passion-embraced. She is my
little spitfire. Her diminutive frame
belies her strong grip on my heart. I
feel so lucky to be blessed by such a woman.

I love you my labsc. I am looking
forward to living the rest of my life
with you.
-=-=-=-

In case you are curious, what was posted there still holds. I only added some typo correction since now I can. This is my marker for the 13th year of a relationship that started on a 13th day. Too bad today couldn’t have fallen on a Friday like the original date as that would be pure coincidence awesomeness. 🙂

ciao!

Category: Top of my head | 5 Comments on Marker for the 13th year: rescued from Friendster
March 8

Riddle

“If the sky is high and the carabaos can fly, how many bananas are left?”

A riddle I found from the Inquirer circa 1994. I dedicate this to Babs na Babs, bsMouth and JoyaBongga. 😉

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November 28

Sizzling disappointment

I am one of the proud to proclaim as a “promdi” (“from the province”) and one of my early memories was when the whole family undertakes a trip to Manila every few years to spend some time in the city during the Christmas season. We would always go to SM City as it was the first huge mall in the country and still spanking new. Daddy will always take us to the basement food court and if we are lucky we can get to watch a live episode of “Kuwarta o Kahon”. We will always order our lunch from the “Sizzling Plate” kiosk which always sports a very long line of waiting customers. I always wait in anticipation as Daddy and Kuya brings in the sizzling plates bearing different meat viands. Daddy always orders the sizzling porterhouse or tenderloin steak which in my young mind was very expensive (around Php35-45 I think).

Fast forward two decades, and I find myself in front of the “Sizzling Plate” kiosk in the SM Taytay food court. Neth is on her 6th day of the General Motors diet so she can only eat beef and vegetables. We were eyeing the tenderloin steak (~Php130) after confirming with the kiosk servers that it is indeed of the beef variety. While I was deciding on what to get, the servers offered their new Christmas sizzling plate: stuffed squid with a piece of pork asado and two pieces of fried bananas plus a small serving of coffee jelly for dessert, all of it for an affordable price of Php125. I like grilled squid so why not?

As sizzling plate orders are always prepared or finished off only after being ordered I waited for a few minutes to get our order. I asked Neth to scout the other kiosks for vegetable viands as she won’t be able to eat the rice that comes with her beef tenderloin order. First to come out was my Christmas plate. The squid was a bit small and orange-y in color but it is definitely stuffed. The pork had some asado sauce poured in it with a few strips of semi-fresh cabbage on top for garnish. I took it to our table as the sizzling plate and drinks was already crowding the tray. When I got back into the counter the sizzling tenderloin was already coming out and I was suprised at how tiny the tenderloin meat was. It was a good thing Neth already ordered one fresh lumpia to augment her meal. I proceeded to our table with the tenderloin and we settled in to have our lunch.

Everything went downhill after the first bite. The squid tasted bland even with the pork stuffing. Neth complained that her tenderloin tasted like it was a few days old and tasteless even with a healthy dollop of gravy. After a few more bites she pushed her sizzling plate away and concentrated on her lumpia. I took a few bites off the tenderloin and it indeed tasted like some leftovers that I have left in the refrigerator for a few days. It was that bad. I manned up and tried to finish my own meal which was an exercise in practicality (hey I paid for that food so it shouldn’t go to waste!) and futility. The pork asado, being served in that tiny portion already, had a large bone. I thought the coffee jelly was going to be the redeeming portion of the meal but I was wrong. I put it down after the first bite which amazed Neth as I rarely waste any served food. I said that it was literally coffee jelly: you can see the separation between what is coffee and what is jelly. She asked for a tiny sample which I obliged. She suddenly went to a Batanguenyo[1] accent saying “Ala e, sa amin ay iniinom lang ang kape. (Ala e, in our place coffee is only being drank) to which I gamely responded in the same accent with “Ala e, sa amin ay tinitimpla muna ang kape at hindi ibinubodbod ng ganyan-ganyan lang (Ala e, in our place coffee is prepared first and not just sprinkled over food just like that)”.

When all has been said and done, both of us agreed that it will be the last time that we would be eating at Sizzling Plate. And there goes a memory that will only remain as such in the near and not-so-near future. What a waste of a good franchise.

[1] Habitants of Batangas which is famous for strong coffee

ciao!

Category: Garbage, Reviews | LEAVE A COMMENT