Sparksfly

"A game full of chances is a vice that starts with a letter g."

Boring and gloomy afternoon, consider it rainy, muddy and clumsy me day.  Just arrived at glorietta makati just to kill time.  Decided to eat at mexicali (grilled steak burrito the best! better than taco bell).  After which I went up to timezone g4.  I really don’t have plans to play kasi I played na yesterday.  The usual things I find: people lining up fronting the main counter, people playing, kids running, couples strolling, kids crying, teens and adults carrying bags of stuffed toys, kids happily shouting, they just translate to total fun.

I passed by the giant stacker unit, man this is box office.  Sikat ka, kayang-kaya magpapatong-patong ng mga boxes, pagdating naman sa dulung-dulo sa taas—sablay.  People around will utter the ever popular "SAYAAAAAANG!"  The timezone frequents just don’t mind because of the stacker’s cheating algorithm.

Punta me by the elfin cupid machine (you know that grab a medium sized stuffed toy in a sea of styropor balls while you try to spin the roleta ng kapalaran so that the sidetoy tray will make hulog to win).  Ito panalo din.  A guy or a girl will swipe his/her card, them move the crane above the toy.  Then take this, he/she will spin the joystick 360 degrees for a gazzilion times.  I dunno if it really works to rotate the 3-arm claw.  With a press of a button, the crane lowers down to the toy.  Upon making contact, it ascends, BUT doesn’t grab the toy immediately, well yes but after 0.5 secs.  It takes the toy up, pauses, moves to the bin, but the toy falls before that.  You get lots of shouting and grunts after.  Tapos uulit ulit, wala parin.  Ulit ulit, dina magrab.  Goodbye Tigger!

I sat on a bench across the mini toy grabber watching people play, talagang matiyaga sila.  Siguro dahil sa side crane na may puro mentos.  Pag may gusto silang toy na makuha, pagsisikapin.  Pero me upo lang, nood, enjoy narin kahit konti.  May katabi pa me na lolo, tingin ko enjoy din sya manood.  Kakatuwa sya kasi kahit oldy, happy naman.

Naisip ko bigla yung mga laro sa mga perya, parang ganito rin, game of chances, pag magaling ka may stuffed toy ka.  Dami nang nagbago, pero ganun parin ang concept.

Medyo nalungkot me.  Namiss ko han ko.  Masaya sana kung may kasama ka or marami kayo.

Well, to conclude, I ended up playing HAPPY2GATHER touch screen matching game.  Astig! May tickets! Just mix and match pairs of cards.  Kakalito, kakaexcite.  Pag frustrated kana at wala ka nang makitang pairs, pindutin mo yung 3 free cheats for pairs, or add time, or change the category of cards.  Pag kabado ka hampasin mo yung padded na counter pads.  Anti STRESS! …pero…

"Mas masaya sana kung may kasama, lalo na pag umuulan." — Summit

Sometimes you want to go some place just to be alone or be with someone, to unwind, relax and feel the good taste of life, just like a scrumptious dessert.  I have an answer, and it’s not a coffeehouse.

Right from the heart of UP Diliman (Sunken Garden), I took a jeepney bound for Katipunan Rd.  Regular fare.  Passing by a few establishments on the road, the jeep stopped in front of an East West Bank branch.  The oval orange sign on the 2nd floor greets you with a smile after unloading.  I just took the staircase.  Up above, upon entering the door, from the ambiance and aroma, I realized this is it.  Cello’s.  Dips.  Doughnuts (and I love it the way it’s spelled in an old school way).

While ordering, I saw how the doughnuts were made, first hand.  Just beside the cashier, it seems like a viewing room.  Just look through the glass and feel like you’re with Charlie and the Doughnut Factory.  Freshly baked doughnuts, all in one tray are prepared for decoration.  A lady picks one up with a pair of metal tongs, dips it into a tray of glaze, and then reverts it back to the main tray.  After the sixth dipping, she proceeds to another set of trays.  Guess what inside them: sauces, syrups and sprinkles.  Name it: cheese, peanut butter, oreo and m&ms (in granulated form), caramel, chocnut, chocolate syrup, chocolate and candy sprinkles, cinnamon, and more.  What caught my eye are those c-shaped doughs.  No toppings.  Plain.  Aha, that’s where the dips come in.  Toblerone (goes out-of-stock before noontime), nutella, belgian choco, white choco strawberry.

After ordering, I took a seat.  Most tables are for twos.  A few would cater for 4 to 6s.  What I liked about the place is that the ambiance is close to home.  Very cozy indeed.  There would be an average of 6-8 persons dine in, so it rarely gets crowded.  You can sit by the window and enjoy the blue eagle scenery, or just sit beside the counterglass and savor the doughnut while watching it being created.  For take-outs, guess what, virtually no lines.

It’s worth a try.

The papers are shouting the new craze in junk food.  E-aji: the snack with a dip.  At first, I thought it was a high-end snack, but long and behold, it cost approx. 15php.  It’s just as big as a medium-sized local chichirya pack.

It comes in three types: fries, ridges (the lady said it’s neither fish nor shrimp, but they really looked like fish crackers), and nachos.  The dips are inside the pack.  Dips may range from bbq mayo, cheese, garlic cheese, chili, and more, but it’s the salsa dip that made me want to buy a pack or 2.

Went home.  Opened the pack.  I tell you it’s a 1 pack per person serving.  The salsa tastes great.  The nachos are a little hard to bite compared to regular nacho cheese snacks.    I tried the garlic cheese dip but the salsa tasted better.  The dip may not be enough because it ran out with little bits of chips still left in the bag.

I just felt bad afterwards.  Well, it’s junk food.

(bukas, bibili nalang ako kay will ng happy peanuts…sana hindi nya day off.)

Early evening Tuesday.  I dropped by Robinson’s Galleria for a pre-dinner snack.  That’s the only place where I can find a Cafe Mediterranean restaurant near my workplace.  I chose beef gyro.  What, you don’t have beef today?  Alternate?  Oh, lamb gyro…yeah yeah! Make is special, bud.  First time ei.

Here it comes.  What?  This is it?  A gyro (in a small tiny-winy voice).  Oh well, might as well try it.  Mmmm…tastes good, the onions, the fries, the veggies, and the, the garlic sauce.  THE BEST!  Of course the lamb strips, crunchy meat though.

The Bill.  Darn.  Gosh!  Gosh!  Gosh!  I think I’m going to have vertigo.

…

(and guess what…I did!  5 hours later.  At work.  Me spinning around, and around.  I can stand, but then I’m falling.  No balance.  No direction.

No gyro for tomorro.

I discovered Youtube.com several months ago but it’s just this time I tried putting it as a part of my internet itinerary (aside from checking friendster and watching yahoo movie trailers).  Maybe this is a good alternative, might be better than spending a luck-less day at timezone’s elfin cupid.

After I registered, I searched and checked the list of most favorite and top rated videos off all time.  I found a boy playing guitar, an afro guy dancing on stage, a guy dressed like pacman, a real life ninja in muggle clothes (I don’t know the right term), triple h and ultimate warrior fighting, 2 guys grabbing-punching-grappling each other, a girl folding a T-shirt, 2 guys playing pingpong with japanese men dressed in black in the background, michael v. singing a spoof of "narda", or even vic and jose singing "la la la la la".

The only limitation I got is how to know what topics to search for.  It’s limitless.  Although I haven’t checked the categories yet (oh that’s the answer), I just focused on what I’m interested in that time then I just typed it in the search box.

Btw, if you use youtube, I need some help on how to enjoy it more.  I also want to know how to use the Playlist option to save my favorite videos, then access them without logging in…especially when my friends (that includes YOU) want to watch my selected videos.

Watch out!

Diverting from the box-office line of swash-buckling pirates, I tried to watch "Initial D" on the silverscreen.  When I entered the cinema it seems very sad that most of the seats were empty.  Good thing I was able to get a good spot: top row left section next to the center aisle, then people started coming in.  This is good because they’re kids. I love it when they react inside a cinema: different kind of laughs and reactions.  I get less phone rings, loud sneezes and courtside comments from them eh.

The movie is very very nice.  Although it’s a chinese movie subtitled in english, it doesn’t really matter if you can’t look at the picture and read the subtitles at the same time.  Just ride with the tofucar and enjoy the racing scenes along the twisted roads of japan’s mt. akina (imagine multiple hairpin curves).  All I can say is it’s pure speed, skill, rush, and heart.  Nothing too flashy, just designed, but not decorated.  Adding up comedy and romance didn’t do damage.  I just felt I want to watch the next screening, if it wasn’t getting late before the mall closes.

I just felt I was missing so many chinese movies lately.  Oh well, we’ll watch pirates next week anyway.

I just woke up 5:30 am on a weekday off.  Twasn’t a normal "gising" coz I usually wake up 3 to 3:30 am for some internet time.  Anyway, I just felt weird after trying a different kind of breakfast.  The pinoy tradition of my "almusal" consists of the usual sinangag garlic fried rice with any prito-fried ulam.  Sometimes I go for freshly-baked pandesal and any palaman.  Once in a while I partake hot rice porridge either in "lugaw" or "champorado" forms.  Well, trying out milk and cereal would hurt at all, right?

You’re right.  Honey Stars was the only available option.  So in a small bowl, I filled it up about 1/3 of the bowl and added bear brand milk.  While pouring, the stars began to float in a sea of dairy liquid.  I tried drowning them using my spoon…hehe.  After one scoop…crunch, crunch, crunch, then a little sip.

Yes, it’s breakfast.  Then I miss the rice and ulam.  Tomorrow I’ll go back to the norm.  I’ll just eat honey stars for snack!

1. Tapsilog - tapa
2. Tosilog - tocino
3. Longsilog - longganisa
4. Chickenlongsilog - chicken longganisa
5. Skinlesslongsilog - skinless longganisa
6. Porkchopsilog - porkchop
7. Bangsilog - daing na bangus
8. Masilog - maling
9. Embusilog - embutido
10. Hotsilog - hotdog
11. Dangsilog - danggit
12. Adsilog - adobo
13. Bisteksilog - bistek
14. Dangsilog - danggit
15. Chosilog - chorizo
16. Chiksilog - chicken
17. Cornsilog - corned beef
18. Litsilog - lechon
19. Barsilog  - barbeque
20. Bursilog - burger steak
21. Hamsilog - ham
22. Spamsilog - spam
23. Tuyosilog - tuyo
24. Ribsilog - ribs
25. Disilog - dilis
26. Sarsilog - sardines
27. Pusilog - pusit
28. Sausilog - sausage
29. Sisilog - sisig
30. Baconsilog - bacon (added on 07/09/2006)
31. Footlongsilog - footlong hotdog (added on 07/09/2006)

Add in please!

Love is contagious.
We get it from one another.

A tale of friendship between a giraffe and a frog printed on a plain white shirt.  I still have mine, good condition, fits perfectly since…uhmm…1993!!!

Calling you all Marian Music Guilders IHMS.  Shout out!  GOT SHIRT?

stones.

chambers.

prisoners.

fire.

order.

…

…

…

da vinci.

…

(oops!)

…

Time to crack a new code in paperback.  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling out now in Philippine shores…err…bookstores.