Last Thursday, my grandmother in Dagupan (dad's side) was rushed to the hospital due to a massive spike in blood pressure. She had cardiac arrest and was in a coma by that evening... by Saturday, she passed away.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.
And Let Perpetual Light shine upon her.
From the gates of hell
Deliver her soul, O Lord.
May she rest in peace.
Amen.

Ever since I could remember, I've been a fan of musicals... From Grease, to JC Superstar, Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, to Miss Saigon and Les Miserables, to more recent musicals like Moulin Rouge and Chicago... and now, the latest musical to hit mainstream audiences... Rent.

Rent is in my opinion, an AIDS awareness campaign that translates well on stage and on the big screen. The music takes you through the lives of Mark, Mimi, Roger, Collins, Angel, Maureen and Joanne. The story shows us a year in the lives of these people, how so much can happen in 525,600 minutes.

"..Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear. Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles in laughter in strife. In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes - how do you measure a year in the life? How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love... seasons of love...."

I cried a lot during this film... maybe coz I know how it's going to end, so when Collins and Angel were performing "I'll Cover U", tears were already falling from my eyes...and when "Without You" was being sung I was sniffling like crazy.

Guess this shouldn't surprise me... since I was also sad about how Brokeback mountain ended...

But there were also some nice lighthearted moments... like Mark, singing "Tango Maureen", is it just me or does he look a lot like Alton Brown of Good Eats and Iron Chef America? And the cool, cool duet between Maureen and Joanne "Take Me or Leave Me". And Angel's entertaining story involving an Akita named Evita in "Today for U".

If you have time, you should really try to catch it... it's still showing in Greenbelt cinemas.

I'll end this post with a line which was repeated several times during the movie.

"...Forget regret...or life is yours to miss..."

La vie Boheme!

Finally!!!
A weekend to myself. :)
Now I can catch up on my blogging...
First off, some food reviews... don't really know why I'm writing about food but it's a nice topic to write about.

One of the reasons why I'm always cash-strapped a few days (and sometimes even weeks) before payday is because I love eating out... My weekend typically consists of a visit to the mall and lunch afterwards with my sis/mom. Sometimes, my routine varies, scheduling a spa visit every now and then, and sometimes, we go out just to try a new resto that we've read or heard about. That, is how I found myself at the Red Kimono at the Fort with Maitz and Mon on the Saturday after the big anti-GMA rally the day before. We've read about their modern makis and crunchy rolls that for me was worth braving a possible coup just so I can say I've tried it. Yeah, that's just the way I am.

Being a fan of things raw and Japanese, I thoroughly enjoyed the Salmon and Cream cheese maki and the California crunch (Cali maki with tempura batter). Their other entrees were also good, but not "revolutionary" enough as the cream cheese and salmon combi worth mentioning. Yum, yum... Two weeks later, I went back with my mom so she could add the resto to her growing roster of favorite dining spots.

Fast forward to April 1, Maitz and I were at Shangri-La Edsa coz of their "big sale". Not really such a big sale if you ask me, but I did get three blouses from Faro. We met Mon and he took us to Metro Walk, and Maitz suggested we try this Brazilian BBQ place called Brazil Brazil... It's actually a sit-down buffet, I'll explain this in a minute, but dining here is an experience that's worth sharing. There's a buffet table for salads, rice, corn&veggies, pasta, but the real food is brought to you by the waitresses carrying big pieces of meat/sausages/seafood/grilled fruits on a large skewer.

They have this two-sided yoyo, color coded red and green on opposite sides. As long as the green-side is up, they will keep approaching your table offering the freshly grilled BBQs and will ask you how many slices/pieces you want. There's a set of tongs on the table which you use to hold the freshly carved pieces of meat and then transfer it on to your plate for a no holds barred beef binge.

Protein lovers and carb haters will love this place.

Not to mention, the service is great. :)

Price is a little steep though...so I guess I won't be coming back anytime soon.

All in all, 4 stars for both restos. Will add some more if I get to try some other new places. :)

Bon appetit!