I've recently acquired a Palm Tungsten T3 from my sister (at a discount of course!), and now I'm finding things to do with it. Right now, I'm using to to draft my blog entries, which I hope can help me post more updates. :) I also uploaded my review materials for my OCA exam. Mobile studying anyone?

This brings the total of mobile devices I own to 3. My cellphone/camera K750i, which provides great small-sized pics with it's 2.0 Megapixel camera (perfect for blogging!). My music on the go, 30GB Ipod Video, and this keep your life organized, Palm.

I wonder what good all these gadgets will do me? :) Well, aside from the obvious advantages of mobility, new and/or old gadgets just make me happy. Hehe.

On Da Vinci and The Last Stand

X3 wins hands down! :)

Hehehe... of course we can't really compare these two, but I didn't like Da Vinci code that much. I think Tom Hanks' performance was just average, and the actress that played Sophie was just so... blah. Ian McKellen as Teabing was a good call, as was Paul Bettany as Silas. :)

I guess this is what happens when you have such high expectations of something, you're bound to be let down.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad movie... not a great one either. The scenery was amazing though, but the subtle changes to the story didn't sit quite well with me. And I don't understand all the brouhaha that's going on about it. Even Sunday mass isn't spared...the movie wasn't all that convincing you know? The book had so much more impact, and it didn't seem to shake the Catholic faith that much now, did it?

Faith is faith. The book and the movie is fiction. Let's leave it at that.

Now, X-Men3 on the other hand, was just amazing! Great effects, great acting, great powers and great story... fun, fun, fun!

And don't leave until after the credits okay? You'll see what I mean.

Hopefully, there's still an X4 in the works.

Food, food and more food...

May is such a fattening month!

1st, mother's day. We had two celebrations, for Lunch, we went to Seaside. First, in Diosdado Macapagal which was jam-packed with cars, so we tried to go to my favorite Jap resto, Red Kimono at the Fort, which was also packed. So, we decided to try another Seaside, this time in Ortigas. There were still a lot of people there, and we had to wait for a table at Aling Tonya's (great food!). Finally, we had a hearty lunch at 3PM, with some of my favorites, salt & pepper squid and butter & garlic shrimps. :)

Then, there's dinner with the Espiritus to celebrate Mother's Day for Nanay. :) We had dinner at Emperor's Court in New World...There was so much food! And since we couldn't eat much since we were still full from lunch, there were a lot of leftovers, which we divided so we can all have "baon" for Monday. We had a blast, as we usually do when we put all of us in the same room.

Fast forward two days later, May 16, my dad's birthday. He's 50 now! Happy birthday pa! Mwah! :) Another heavy dinner, I haven't felt hungry in days!

Next day, May 17, tito JRs bday and the annual blessing of the Espiritu residence. Which meant, another party! This time, with my cousins, aunts and uncles from the Bibiesca clan. My favorites on that night was the turon and the cucumber-something fruit shake...basically, the only things I could eat coz I was still reeling from the aftershocks of so much food.


Then, May 21. I'm a ninang again! This time to Andee, my aunt's baby girl. :) She looks so much like Tere when she was a baby, only Andee cries at the sightest inconvenience...and when she does cry it will rattle you to your very core. I mean, you can't imagine how loud this 3-month old is. But, adorable nonetheless. :) This time, we ate at Cantonese Kitchen in Jupiter, Chinese again.

Lastly, Mich's bday! May 23, we had lunch at Tempura at Convergys building. Food is pretty much like Teriyaki Boy, which was great. I love Japanese food. Happy bday Mich! And thanks for the treat!

And now, I need to work off all these calories... :-p

Happy Mother's Day!!!
Read on... this is really nice...

Being a mother

* *
*We are sitting at lunch when my daughter
casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a
family."
"We're taking a survey," she says, half-joking. "Do you think I should have
a baby?" *
*"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. *
*"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous
vacations...." *

*But that is not what I meant at all. *
*I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to
know what
she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the
physical
wounds of child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will
leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be
vulnerable. *
*I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper
without asking "What if that had been MY child?"
That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees
pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse
than watching your child die. *
*I look at her carefully manicured nails and
stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is,
becoming a mother will reduce her to primitive level of a
bear protecting her cub. *

*That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best
crystal without a moment's hesitation. I feel I should warn her that
no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will
be professionally derailed by motherhood. *

*She might arrange for child care but
one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will
think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her
discipline to keep her from running home, just to make sure her baby
is all right. *

*I want my daughter to know that everyday decisions will no longer be
routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather
than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. *
*That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children,
issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against
the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that rest-room. *

*However she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself
constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure
her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will
never feel the same about herself. *

*That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has
a child. *
*That she would give it up in a moment to
save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years -
not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
*
*I want her to know that a Cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will
become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will
change, *
*but not in the way she thinks..*

*I wish she could understand how much more you can
love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play
with his child. *
*I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for
reasons she
would now find very unromantic. *

*I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel
with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and
drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally
about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the
threat of nuclear war to my children's future. *
* *
*I want to describe to my daughter the
exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. *
*I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is *
*touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time. *
*I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts. *
*My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have *
*formed in my eyes.*

*"You'll never regret it," I finally say. *
*Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter's hand and offer a
silent
prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who
stumble
their way
into this most wonderful of callings. *

*This blessed gift from God!
Being a Mother.** *

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!