Away from the web world again

    I've been away (again) from the web world for almost a month due to some social experimentation that my friends and I had conducted. I am not also able to touch my PC because of my busy schedule. Around April of 2012, I am not able to use my PC for almost a month because of some malware problems.

    And last night, after a month of not peeking on the web world, not even using internet through my cellphone, I decided to deactivate my Facebook account. I know I will lose all my connections from a lot of old friends since I'm not able to see them personally these days and I might miss some news from them. But, it is final. I want it off. I had made the past 19 years without Facebook, so I know that it is just normal if I want deactivate it.

    I want to make things clearer. There are a lot of news about that psychological, mental, emotional, etc., effects on people's daily living throughout social media especially Facebook, But that is not my reason. I love using Facebook, for real. I just want it off.

    And, for the posting stuff here, I'll be gone for another month for conducting new social experimentation. My experiences from those experiments will be my topics for the month of July.

    The 'Live life, laugh and live longer' Page on Facebook is still active and is now managed by my sister, Elena.

Filipino street food: Barbeque Or Inihaw/Ihaw-ihaw

::Typical scene of Inihaw vendors::
 Source:Filipeanut.com

    If you are walking on the side walks of the cities of the Philippines and you suddenly encounter a heavy smoke with an appetizing smell and an aroma that hypnotizing your taste buds  that is a sign that an ihawan (Barbecue stall or restaurant) is ahead of you.

    Filipino, no matter where they are, can never resist the taste of inihaw ('barbecue' in tagalog).

    In a small stand, a portable grill with flaming charcoal that cooks the marinated meat on sticks and people who patronized the food that is located usually on a corner is the typical scene of an ihawan stall. If you were the vendor, you must have a good memory to memorize those who already got their orders and those who haven't paid yet because the vendor usually the cashier, the server and the cook. It'll be a great loss in the income if the vendor is not attentive.

Here are some of the of inihaw/barbecued dish at a Filipino ihawan stall:

1. Isaw/IUD - Marinated chicken intestine.
2. Adidas/chicken feet
3. Baticolon or balunbalunan/chicken gizzard

4. Betamax o dugo/chicken's blood
5. Helmet/chicken's head
6. Bato/chicken's kidney
7. Sausage/hotdog
8. Atay/chicken and/or pork liver
9. Tenga ng baboy/ pig ears
10. Puso ng manok/chicken's heart
11. Ewe or pwet ng manok/ chicken ass
12. Pakpak ng manok/chicken wings
13. Kurbata/chicken wings

:: Isaw ::
Source:Foodrecipefetish.com

:: Adidas ::
 Source:Angledvista.wordpress.com

:: Betamax ::
Source:Thefilipinolifestyle.com

:: Helmet ::
Source:Pinoyfolks.blogspot.com

:: Hotdog/Sausage ::
Source:From-my-kitchen-to-yours.com

:: Chicken heart ::
Source:Myfilipinokitchen.com

Filipino Beverage and Dessert: Beat the heat this summer

    Filipinos love to eat; and to beat the heat, we crave for foods that are can quench the thirst and fill our appetite. Here are some of the foods that every Filipinos will surely crave for this summer:



1. Halo-halo - First on the list is the Halo halo. Boiled and sweetened kidney beans or mung beans (munggo), boiled kamote (sweet potato), garbanzos, kaong (sugar palm fruit), nata de coco, macapuno, boiled saging na saba, crunchy pinipig, filled with crushed ice and top with ripe langka (jackfruit) and ube (purple yam) and pored with evaporated milk, this Filipino's all-time favorite is served not only in during the summer season, but throughout the year.

::A bowl of mouth watering Halo-halo::
(Source)

    Even if some of the ingredients are out of season, halo halo, from the tagalog term that is 'mix', it can be mixed with other kinds of fruits and flavorings. The classic recipe of this dish has elevated to the next level as some establishments from the food industry introduced innovations to this dessert such as adding a scoop of ice-cream or serving it on a different way.


2. Ice scramble - Crushed ice blended with sugar and evaporated or condensed milk and top with syrup (usually strawberry or chocolate, or combination of both) and skimmed milk, are well-known and best-selling during hot afternoons especially among kids.

::Ice Scramble::
(Source)

    Since this dessert, which is commonly known as a street food, some food franchising company have seen it profitable and introduced innovations to the ingredients used such as the toppings.

3. Sago-gulaman or Samalamig - A refreshing beverage, from the root word 'malamig' (cold), usually flavored with vanilla extract and simple syrup and contains sago (tapioca pearls) and gulaman (gelatin).

::A refreshing glass of Samalamig:: (Source)

    To make this thirst quenching drink more attractable to the customers, they played with various colors or gelatins and add more options to the flavors that are being served such as fruit salad flavor, buko-pandan, melon, and other fruit combination that you could ever imagine.

4. Buko juice (coconut juice) - Buko craze started to boom on the later part of 2012. Since the modern lifestyle today are focused on the 'more healthier side', this natural drink will surely suit your crave for a nourishing and refreshing drink. Buko juice, young coconut meat and milk serve in its shell for a classy look are usually seen in restaurants and resorts.

::Healthy and refreshing Buko Juice::
(Source)

I hoped you will enjoy your summer with this Filipino refreshing drinks.

Anime marathon: ANOTHER

    Just recently, my brother, who is an otaku (anime addict), let me explore his archive of anime stuff.

Source

    While digging into the volume of CD's he has, my attention was caught by the cover of this anime entitled "Another". He was about to explain what it's all about, but I exclaimed not to because I am too much excited to watch for it that I might be ended up listening to his story and forgotten to watch the whole of it.

    The whole story was interesting. Though, the whole story lasts for 12 episodes, it was worth watching. The way it was compressed and the sequence was very tricky; the cursed of the legend that have been haunting the students for the past years, how to solve the mystery and to know who was the "Another" was the main dish of this story.

    The story goes when a 15-year old Koichi Sakakibara transferred into Yomiyama, class 3-3 in the spring of 1998. There he met Misaki Mei, a strange young girl belong to their class, but being ignored because of the thought that she might be the "another". Sakakibara, being unaware of the said curse, had brought his curiosity to stalk at Misaki. And as soon as Sakakibara gets closer to Misaki, he knew about the curse and the whole class started to ignore him, too.

    Though the students and faculty tried to follow the measures to prevent the unfortunate events, the curse continues as they were caught up by ghastly deaths. And, as Sakakibara and Misaki continued to solve the mystery behind, they knew that the 'another' was someone from the past and is already dead, but came back to the world of the living as of being part of the curse. The only way to stop the curse is to identify who was the 'another' and bring it back to the dead.

   

(No Brandy) Alexander

    Last time, I posted a topic about my happy Sundays with my family; This time I am going to share to you my own recipe of Brandy Alexander.

    First, how to make a non alcoholic Alexander (Brandy Alexander originally) that you can serve to your family during special occasions or even on an ordinary day.

Yields: 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of Vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup All-purpose cream
• Chocolate syrup
• Ice
• (Add 3 jigger of Brandy for BRANDY ALEXANDER)

Procedure:

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender. Be generous with chocolate syrup.

2. Blend until the texture turns smooth.

3. Garnish the glass by frosting the rim with cocoa powder or rolling drops of chocolate syrup inside the glass.

4. Serve and enjoy!

Family Day: RETRO SUNDAY

    I just finished having my lunch with my family and now I am sitting here in front of my desk, tapping new entries for my blog while the ideas in my head is still running. (I can hear them right now teasing me 'you will get fat if you sat for an hour after taking your meal!' I wish I could gain weight just because of sitting after meals.)

    Today is Sunday on our meantime; Instead of having a barbecue party today (which we usually do every Sunday as a part of our family bonding), they decided that I must show-off my bartending skills by mixing something new for them.

    I made a Non-alcoholic Alexander for the kids; And, Pomegranate Deluxe for my parents. Proudly saying that these are all my original recipe.

    The non-alcoholic Alexander was originally Brandy Alexander, but my friends who are non-drinkers tend to dislike the bitter taste of brandy, so I developed this new recipe for non-drinkers. Pomegranate deluxe was inspired by the ice scramble mixture that I always bought beside the school building every afternoon during my high school days.


    Going back, upon all the days on my calendar, Sundays is my favourite day not just because everyone in the family are present, but because it is the only day where we could not think of work nor the school and such--we are free to do everything like what we always did when we were younger.

    We are carefree. We don't have to think of either doing things maturely or act like someone so perfect so that people won't judge you negatively. Everyone accepts your personality whether good or bad. Not because we are family that we understand every aspects of ourselves, but because we respect each other and that is what brought us together.

    We are all busy the whole week and Sundays is the only day wherein everyone is free from work and school. So, we make sure that we could bring out all that we can to make this day the happiest, most exciting and the most unforgettable Sunday ever!

    Unfortunately, NO GADGETS ALLOWED every Sunday except for the only telephone, old radio playing retro songs and a television that can be used after four in the afternoon (4:00 PM). (Obviously, I cheated this time! Ha ha!) I wanted to take a picture, but my father refused.

    By the way, my recipes for the drinks will be posted here soon. :)

    Happy Sundays!

Library as heaven

    The Library. My heaven, but seems to be hell to some who don't own a card or afraid to face a frowning librarian.

    Today, in the generation where everyone owns a tablet/laptop or any gadgets with an eBook application installed in it, the library seems to be too old-school and most of the time, forgotten.

    It makes me feel sad to know that (some) people forgotten the use of library or they don't even know they have a library in their own town. Maybe to some urban poor area, maintaining or having a library is not a major priority. But, having a library that is free for everyone who is willing to learn and at least try to read on their own, makes a place out stand (It is just my opinion).

::Source::

(This next part is what I hate most) Students are afraid of entering the library.

    I don't know why, they are afraid of facing the librarian! They are just too scared to borrow books or even having an application for a borrower's card. Gee! What in the world would they think the librarian will do by the time they enter the library. And, they even scared of touching books like those books will eat them the moment they touch them!

    Library is a paradise. For real.

    People might think it sounds geeky or whatever, but if you value your right to enrich yourself, library is the place to be.

    I know that those gadgets and applications (e.i. eBooks) occupied and replace the use of library and real books and they have the same practice, which is reading. Technology has lessen the hassle of carrying large books or even going to libraries.

    Let me clear first that I am not against the technological innovations. But, holding a real book while cherishing the silence of the place will give you that certain authentic feeling that only the library could bring. And on the other hand, you will help authors in their fight against the copyright problems and plagiarism. It is where real treasures can be found that the new generation can't realize--Knowledge. Knowledge is the only thing that can't be stolen nor rot in this world.

    And, the library  is like a temple of endless knowledge. I don't want to see the future without a place like this that is vanished by the idea of modernization and technology and worse, by the people's ignorance.

My sweet mom makes me cry again; Strike 21!

    I think it is worth to be shared.

    I have this behavior of checking my e-mail first early in the morning. But today, my mom let me extend my sleeping hours until past eight.

    She tried not to make noise, not even a knock at my door to wake me. Unknowingly, she was into my desktop, already started to the boot-up scan while preparing my favorite breakfast combo—fried rice, my mom's homemade daing na Bangus (milk fish, marinated overnight and fried), unripe mango salsa perfectly goes with the daing, egg sunny side up, cabbage soup and a hot cup of black coffee.

    I woke up past eight and was surprised by the moment and absolutely touched by her effort...

    This, after a long time, was the first time again that she prepared a breakfast for me.

    As I sat and took a sip of the coffee she had prepared, she whispered, "My only princess deserves a dish served with love." She smiled with tears in her eyes and left me in the kitchen.

    I can't help myself, but to cry like a child. I just murmured my thanks because I can't say a thing. Overwhelmed, she never failed to make me cry first in the morning of my every birthdays.

I saw this Google Doodle on the home page. It was so delighting that a doodle
will greet you on your birthday. Nice one Google!

Get together with my long-time friends

    A day before my 21st birthday, I managed to make time today with and gather the people that I loved most--my two long-time friends, Enrico and Rea.

    I haven't been in touched with them for almost three years and this time around, I took the opportunity of the holiday tardiness that resulted to cancellation of class and use my free time to see them again. (I doubt I shouldn't have attended my class today; I waited for about six hours for nothing that even my Entreprenural class, which was the last of the seven subjects I have today.)

    We have been through a fast food and ate spaghetti (thing we never done before) and talk about the moments we are separated from each other and the and, of course, life talk that we miss doing for a long time.

    They change a lot—physically. We have not been speaking to each other for the last three years, but they are still the same person that I used to be with for the past 12 years of my life.

::Having fun in the
Enrico got the first place::

    ::Enrico:: was my first guy friend. He transferred to our school when we were in third grade. And, as I remember, he was the tallest among the boys and the first among the class to wear eyeglasses for medical reasons. I have never been too close to any boys in the class, except him. Actually, we became friends unintentionally; it was like the same ordinary, daily conversation together with the other classroom mates. And, we became comfortable with and get used to talk with each other each day. We are like the geeky type on the class before and we always feel awkward and teased by the bullies. Then, on, we always look up to each other's back like warriors with swords and shields (like a normal kids do, during our daydreaming hours). We never noticed, the years have passed and still, we got each other's back. That is why I really value the friendship we build together.

::preety Rea:

    ::Rea:: was a transferred student from Dubai. That was when we were in third year high school (/junior high/ last of the two years we had in high school). She came back to school late that was a month and a half after the start of the school year. At first, we feel unease because we thought she wasn't talking in Filipino language and we always teased each other, saying: "Nose bleed!" (It can't be said without ending a demonic laughter, ha ha!). Yes, she can speak Filipino language, but not fluent. We taught her of some common terms that she is not familiar with especially in our Filipino Literature subject, which even us are having a hard time dealing with the deeper words. She's three years older than all the girls in the class aside from her step sister, which is also our class mate. Though she is the eldest in the class, she always treated as the "Bunso" or the youngest and fragile (like a youngest sibling in a family). She is fragile in all aspects of her being—emotional. That is why we always smooth and careful with of her.

    We had an enjoyable night together—from arcade games, food, small talk, and most of all, the pleasure of having them, again, by my side after a long time. I am overwhelmed and delighted with this moment to the point that I almost cry, but I just stopped myself a hide the tears just not to break the momentum of each other's amusement.

    I am looking forward to another fun-fun Friday night with them, but this time, I am planning to invite my two best of girlfriends together, ::Joanna:: and ::Christine::.

    I think this is the best birthday gift that I had given myself—a gift that captivate my sentimental soul and an enchantment to my life.