Happy birthday, Maren!

I first met Maren in 2004 during the Oratorical and Debate Council (ORADEC) apps week. I couldn’t remember if I was the one who interviewed her but what I do know is that fact that she stood out from the crowd. Beautiful locks while everyone’s sporting a rebonded hair, fabulous tan, fashionable, impeccable grammar and amazing eloquence… I’m cutting myself right there for fear of being accused as a lesbo. hahaha. In short, she’s really cool. So there, she became part of the ORADEC.

She was a good member. She even became the org Prexy.

Spot the fashion designer, flight attendant, professional students abroad
 and Corporate magnate in SG

We had our share of debate tournaments in Manila and out of town. (I still consider Dumaguete as one of the best tournaments ;p)

Circa 2006 ba 'to? hahaha

We also had our in-house trainings. Remember our Tagaytay Highlands lockdown? Epic!

We stayed there for 3 days with nothing to do but debate, matter load,
debate, matterload and feel sorry for ourselves :D

And then, there came a lull in her debate career... (alam mo yan) ;p
Inspite of the lull, she still managed to hold on to her other passion-- FASHION!

hats, hats, hats

She can do wonders with your eyes.
Awesome smokey eyes, hun :D

 She even dabbled in the fashion industry as a make-up artist and a ramp model.
(Sorry friend, natatawa pa din ako pag iniisip ko na kinaya ng height mo ang ramp.
IKAW NA talaga. hahaha)

 ...once in a while, we would go out and catch up on each other's lives...

Remember Dr. F's birthday, ORADEC Christmas Parties and Mike's concert?
(hindi ko ma-resist i-post ang kaisa-isang picture na hindi ka wala kang tan! haha)

... but I think, one coffee session with Brian opened everything up. Then we had our sesh with Dawnie, Rix and Gee. Watched Kid in his gig. Met Guddz and Rach. And, as what they say, the rest is history.

Our love affair with Technowave and the occasional gig at Il Ponticello

And oh, how we love football! :)

Until you decided to pursue further studies in an unfamilir territory. Your despedida had an unwritten rule. NO CRYING. Guess who broke the rule first?

 

:(

 Oh well... we all need to spread our wings and see what life can offer at the other side of the fence. But I just want to remind you that before you became a...

...Poi enthusiast and...

... the girl with a complicated lovelife...

You were once a simple girl with a simple life.

Yes, you are a fashionista but you really are simple to the bones.

Oh, corny ka din pala! Remember this?

Making this as your profile pic and updating your status to appear like this:
MAREN ELIZABETH MARTINEZ IS A FAN.
i mean, what were you thinking?! ampotah! hahaha

What I wish on your birthday, is to see you laugh like this once again...

carefree. childlike.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Maren! You will always be one of my very few girl friends (knowing how testosterone-filled my friendship life is).

(photo creds: maren's albums and oradec files :))

Sango

I think I had my first authentic taste of Japanese cuisine during my primary education. Papa had a Japanese client who owned a Japanese resto along Pasay road. I could still remember the zen interior and the visually appealing bento, the unagi, ebi tempura, the properly executed miso soup, the fresh sashimi on top of glistening shaved ice and the freshly grated wasabi (unlike those wasabi paste and powder that you can get in the grocery). Simply put, I fell in love with Japanese food. Years after that, I was introduced to the trend of new age cuisine- FUSION. Some foodies are not a fan because it alters its cultural specificity, but I think a borderless world also calls for a borderless culinary opportunity. And yes, burgers are no longer mutually exclusive in the US diners. So for Doc She's last day of Makati yuppy life before doing her pre-residency, we decided to have lunch at Sango which is a stone's throw away from her clinic.

Sango is a restaurant that specializes in Japanese burgers. Now that's what I call fusion. The interior has a youthful vibe to it. They even have origamis and manga to entertain the customers while waiting for their orders.

Shobe told me there was Doraemon in there!

We ordered for their best-sellers which are the Master Cheese Burger, Yakiniku Rice Burger, Cold Lemon Ginger  and Iced Milk Tea.

The Yakiniku Rice Burger is really yummy. Tender slices of beef in between sticky Japanese rice. Doc She, who avoids rice every possible opportunity she has, finished this.

Yakiniku Rice Burger (Php145)

The Master Cheese Burger, on the other hand, has a huge slice of tomato, generous chili sauce, chopped onions and soft bun. A good burger for me is something that has a soft bun and a juicy patty. Good thing, this burger has both. I was initially overwhelmed with the amount of onions but surprisingly, it has a very mild flavor.

Master Cheese Burger (Php145)

We're full at this point so we settled for their Sango drinks instead of ordering their Cornflakes Shake. Since Doc She is feeling a little bit under the weather, she had Cold Lemon Ginger. It was just like a glorified cold salabat. It will surely clear any nasal congestion. I had the Iced Milk Tea. Unlike other milk teas, Sango's version is really mild. I did not taste the earthy flavor of tea. Definitely not for the purists or serious tea drinkers.

Cold Lemon Ginger (Php65); Iced Milk Tea (Php50)

If you get to experience food this way, who cares if it's fusion?

Posh likey :D

The Past

My lovelife was never an open book. I may be outspoken and little Miss Sunshine, but I do have my gloomy days and I always choose to handle this aspect of my life alone. A few days ago, I saw someone who is connected with the-one-that-got-away. Obviously, I was reminded of our past. When I decided to end everything, I wanted to give him a letter to let him know how I feel but I opted to write a journal entry instead. Now that I'm super ok (at bilang nakapagmove on na ko), I decided to post it. (yes, ako na ang strong :D)     

  

      Growing up is all about accepting and living with the fact that things don’t always work out the way you want them to.

      I know that I am torturing myself by writing this entry but I guess the urge to let it flow via self-expression is more powerful than building a wall or going on detachment. Like what joevz said “Cry, then move on…”. Ironically, I can’t find it in me to cry.  I just feel empty and alone.

     I have little respect in your institution, you live for the chain of command; I love to talk, you are a man of few words; I have an erratic fashion statement, you go for plain white shirts and jeans; I enjoy the rare display of my “goldilocks mode”, you are always decisive in everything. Tsk,tsk… We are a mismatch waiting to crumble. But despite the absurdity, we made an effort to live in our own world… a world of complexity and uncertainty. My choices rarely fit yours but instead of compromising, I would end up giving in.  A world mostly composed of giving in than compromise. Not a perfect one but then again, our set-up’s even far from being normal in the first place. The realization came in a little too late mostly because I was dismissive of entertaining the thought. Dismissive because I am happy to be your “special friend”… I was happy to be your “special friend”.

     For quite some time, the distance was never an issue. I would always take pride on the fact that we feel more physically proximate than those who have each other by their side 24/7. The way you manifest faux-anger when I don’t eat on time... those constant reminders to take care, bring an umbrella and go home early… the way you say “I’m sorry” even for the smallest thing that caused me pain. You always show small acts of sweetness that never fail to envelop me in the warmth of security.  We were on the same level but definitely on different planes but we managed to get by… for a while, that is. Somehow, things are no longer the same. We have lost our enthusiasm. Lately, our conversations are mostly devoid of zeal.  The nasty predisposition that’s haunting me suddenly came to life… We have come to the end of our journey. My friend said that maybe I’m making a hasty decision but then again, I can feel that we are really drifting apart… that maybe, you have already made the same decision before I even made up mine. Maybe, I want to have a win-win case. Maybe, I sometimes have the tendency to quantify the feelings that I give and expect to get a decent part of it back. But one thing is certain, I want everything rationalized and clarified, and in our case, that was lacking. I am not shedding a tear and my friends think that I am acting cool about it but deep down, I am languishing in despondency because the fact that this experience is way out of my league fails to temper the pain from within. But that’s life. You take some risks… you fall down… you get hurt but you also have to bounce back. I know that being perpetually dissatisfied is not my style but I still have boundaries to set and sanity to keep that is why I know when to say it’s enough and when to accept that it’s all over.

     Thank you for that blissful chapter but we have to close it because I don’t want to be left in the dark dreaming of us when in reality there is only me, and only you.

Choices at Food Choices

I have a confession to make...

I've never tried eating at Food Choices. Well, I've tried some of the stuff there but I've never sat down and enjoyed my meal in one of the food court seats. Luckily, I was with my sister, Doc She, the other night and we decided to just hang out while waiting for the rush hour crowd to thin out.

Here are some of the food that we tried.

Maru Maru Takoyaki balls

Takoyaki Balls (php68/6 pcs)

My sister liked this one but I found it too cake-y for my taste. I only tasted one octopus (or it might even be a squid) per takoyaki. I understand that this is probably my money's worth considering how cheap they're selling it. However, they should've tried to make a close approximate of the taste inspite of commercialiasm.

 Smokey's hotdog

Double Cheese Bacon Dog (Php50+)

My sister and I grew up liking Smokey's with all the fixin's that goes with your hotdogs. However, this one's far from the taste that we loved. The bread was too hard, the bacon bits tasted weird and the hotdog? Forgettable.

Go Greek!

Moussaka (Php115?)

I've read from ourawesomeplanet about this new addition to the list of fast food outlet in Food Choices. They specialize in Gyro but my sister and I are too full so we just tried out their Moussaka.  With that amount of bechamel, I expected it to be runny but I like the fact that it held its shape pretty well. You can also see that they did not scrimp on the beef though it could use a couple more layers of beef and eggplant to balance the richness of the white sauce. But I enjoyed this one. Doc She and I promised to go back and try out the Gyro.

Food courts are really convenient and highly economical place to have your quick tummy-fix.

Posh thinks this is so-so :)