Food Hopping

I can't think of any better title for this entry even though the current title Food Hopping doesn't make sense at all but oh well...

This entry is not for bragging the fastfood chains or restaurants that I have tried for the past weeks since the start of my first job. After all, you might say that I'm such a loser for listing the restaurants that I have tried. Calm down, they're not even many and some of these restaurants that I've tried were only my first time so it's kind of a big deal for me to list all these restaurants. Probably when I look back to this after sometime, it may not be as big of a deal when I first wrote this blog.

I love eating and if you have read my previous blog, you'd know how much emotional I was when I deprived myself from eating fatty foods. But from the moment that I got my med cert for my job, unfortunately, I went back into my hobby which is eating like a monster. I am currently working at Mckinley Hill, Taguig and it's been a month since the start of my job. I noticed that I've been eating a lot and spending lots of money for food in several restaurants around Mckinley Hill specifically at Piazza at Venice and in Makati area as well. You can find lots of fast food chains and restaurants around this area and I, being the person who used to only eat in my favorite or usual food chains and restaurants such as Jollibee, Mcdonalds, KFC, Tokyo Tokyo and Maxs, I find myself discovering new restaurants to satisfy my cravings for food and trust me, some of these restaurants are not new at all but I've only recently tried them. This is because of the help of my office mates and my other friends from high school and college. Add to this the fact that I am earning my own money now and when it’s about food, I don’t mind spending huge amount of money for it.

So since then, I have tried the following restaurants, only 1 or 2 of them aren't new to me which is Gilligan's Island and Yellow Cab but since they're not really some of the restaurants that I used to eat at, I'll still include them in this list so this list is probably more of the restaurants that I've tried since my first day at work.
First up is…

-Aveneto Pizzeria Restorante at Glorietta 3 - It was my friend, Pia's first pay day and I didn't spend a coin when we ate here since it's all her treat. We ate Chicken Alfredo, pizza, very cheap but satisfying buffalo wings and Spaghetti with meatballs na lasang Nilagang Baka. I got a taste of all of this food and eating with only 2 friends helped me eat more than the usual food gatherings with many friends. Since then, I found a new appreciation for Italian cuisine. I wasn't a fan of Italian dishes before but because of this place, I keep on telling people to try to eat there and experience how great this restaurant is. They have huge serving, very affordable cost of delicious food.

-Gillgan’s Island at Glorietta 5 – There was one time when my office mates Steve & Rai and I randomly decided to eat somewhere. It’s one Friday night and I can’t remember the details but we just went with the idea of eating somewhere probably since it’s Friday. I wasn’t in favor of eating here because I wanted to try a different resto but if I’m not mistaken, Rai hadn’t tried eating at Gilligan’s during that time so I just went with the flow, and I realized that I have a discount in that restaurant from the benefits of my alumni ID card. We ended up not using the discount benefit anyway. We ordered a combo meal good for 3-4 persons but we ended up craving for more so we ordered another combo meal. So all in all, we ordered food good for 8 people. I recall that we were really hungry that time so it was worth it and my tummy was filled with joy and satisfaction. Gilligan's Island is not the best restaurant but since it’s my first time eating dinner with Rai and Steve, The experience was cool. After we ate there, we had time to get to know each other as we strolled around Greenbelt and shared different stories and experiences.

-Reyes Barbecue at Piazza at Venice – Yes, I haven't tried eating at Reyes Barbecue before and it’s my first time to eat there just recently. I’ve always wanted to eat at Reyes Barbecue because I’ve heard a lot of positive feedbacks from my friends who already ate there. I like this restaurant but the food is actually, quite common. The food is delicious although I think it’s overpriced judging by the quality and quantity of their servings but oh well, I probably won’t suggest to eat there again except if I miss it which is very unlikely.

-Dencio’s at Piazza at Venice – Yes, I can hear you! I just had my first time eating in this restaurant just a few weeks ago. Dencio’s is everywhere but as I have mentioned, I’m not really the person who tries new food when I already know the meal that I’d like to order which most of the time, are the usual Chickenjoy, Twister Fries, Maxs Fried Chicken etc and this fact also goes with my family who rarely tries new stuff so when I tried eating here, it's okay. I didn’t really like it. There’s nothing special with their fried chicken which is my only order, lulz and they have slow service that lead to being tardy at work. The only thing I liked about Dencio’s is their fried camote which is saying a lot because I rarely eat camote. Yummy

-Super Bowl at Festival Supermall – When I first ate at Aveneto, I told my companions Pia and Mica to continue trying new restaurants to spend our salaries from our pay days. It was my turn to treat them and we ended up eating at Super Bowl. At first, I was kind of hesitant to eat here. This restaurant was Mica’s choice and I don’t really like Chinese/Japanese/Korean food. I’m not entirely sure of what I’d expect in this restaurant but I just trusted Mica since she also suggested Aveneto before which is now, one of my favorite restaurants. When I looked at the menu, I saw foods that I really love, pork and chicken. I was really hungry that time so I ordered many food that made the waiter chuckle, because for him, I ordered too much for 3 persons. I ordered a platter of rice good for 8 people that I really thought we could finish. I also ordered soup for Mica, 2 main dishes –chicken with lemons and pork asado, and when they served my first order, I added another main dish which is 1 fried whole chicken. I thought at first that we could finish all of this food since I was starving but we ended up not finishing everything. We’re not even close. Takaw tingin ika nga.

-Yellow Cab at Olivarez, Biñan – I told my mom that I’ll treat them on a weekend after my first pay. The time came and my whole family was present. My two sisters suggested Yellow Cab and I started to think that these 2 didn’t really treat my family during their first pay days. Well, they did in some occasions and they had their share. It’s not that I think it’s unfair but the moment they suggested Yellow Cab, I started to worry about my money. But then, I gave in since I thought that it would probably be so cool to treat my family since I’m the youngest. I felt like a total badass that as the youngest in the family, I get to treat them with the fruits of my labor. LOL. So this attitude got the best of me and when we got there and they start ordering, I kept on biting my tongue. At the back of my mind, I was saying, “Hala, ang dami nilang inoorder. Pano yan?” but my ego prevailed. They ordered the most expensive pizza of Yellow Cab, I can’t remember the exact size but they ordered the largest for sure with four flavors. It’s Four Seasons if I’m not mistaken, then, they ordered chicken, and another chicken something and 2 pastas. It cost me 2,000 plus bucks and I’m a self-proclaimed kuripot so it’s already a huge amount for me. Well, it really is. My dad offered that he could share some of his money but I declined his offer due to my stupid ego of thinking that I’m the badass son who can treat his whole family into an expensive fast food. In the end, I made them full and probably, made them proud. In my opinion, Yellow Cab is not really that great, well it’s great but whatever. In the end, I said to myself that I won’t treat them again anytime sooner. Who knows? :p

-Sicilian Express at Mckinley Hill – It was a regular lunch time when me and my office mates ate here. It was my first time eating here and it’s not their first. Hehe. I ordered chicken alfredo which I immediately compared to the chicken alfredo of Aveneto. It made me full but I still prefer Aveneto’s Italian servings.

-Flapjacks at Greenbelt – I went here with Rai and Steve again. They would like to drink and the first time we passed the hall where Flapjacks stood, we saw in one of their ads that they serve 1 pitcher of beer for only 99 pesos. Again, it was a Friday night and we wanted to kill time before going home since we know that Friday nights are rush hour nights. So we went here, they drank and I ordered their Vanilla Sundae, all I can say is that it’s alright. The food isn’t that memorable but the conversations that we had there, are.

-Krazy Garlik at Greenbelt 5 – It was the night before the Barangay Elections and me and my high school friends, Jo, Wil, Nero and Poch decided to go somewhere, not necessarily to eat but we ended up eating anyway and yay, we ate in a new restaurant. I don’t know if it’s literally new but I haven’t heard this restaurant before. Damn, I love the food here. From gambas, to calamari, to Crispy Pata to Pizza, we spent our money right for this restaurant. Yes, the price is kind of expensive but I left the restaurant full and with a smile on my face. Good thing is that we all have money to contribute to our overflowing order which satisfied me most because I ate more compared to them. HIHI.

Oh and just to add another first-time-thing, I tried the Manong Taho's taho and I didn't like it. LULZ

-Carlos Pizza at Venice at Piazza – I just tried here yesterday and I was with 6 of my office mates. It seemed like it’s a regular restaurant for them but once again, it was my first time eating there. We ordered 2 different kinds of pasta and 2 different kinds of pizza. I must say that their Pesto was absolutely fantastic and the rest is great too but I still prefer Aveneto. Huhu
Now, I’m looking forward to other restaurants. I know that Mica’s turn to treat Pia is fast approaching, we’re going to a food event at NBC tent next week and I’m sure that there are more to come with my other friends. Looking forward to Chili’s, Racks, Sbarro etc etc etc.

So there it goes and I can’t wait and I look forward to add new restaurants in this list next pay day. :)

This is my September

So I have stopped in writing blogs for a while but I had a talk with my friend Arianne last night and she told me to write again. Hah. Good to know that somebody cares when you just write stuff about yourself. I tried on writing blogs again a few weeks ago but I have this thing that I can’t stop myself from writing everything that’s on my mind. Apparently, I really have many things to share. Post grad and pre employment have been a wonderful journey for me. From hardships to success. From depression to happiness. It’s been a roller coaster ride.

But this ain’t going to be all about that. I have never in my life feel so blessed until this month of September. I just feel like I’m having the best time of my life even if I’m not doing anything at the moment. It is fun when you have a lot to look forward and it all happened this month and some are yet to happen but it’s soon. Here’s just a few things that I looked forward and still looking forward for this month.

Before September 2010 came, I’m looking forward to 3 things. My birthday party, Survivor Nicaragua premiere and the start date of my first ever job at Thomson Reuters.

These 3 important things are especially worth looking forward for because of the obstacles and struggles I’ve been to. First, looking for a job wasn’t so easy in my case. Before landing a job at Thomson Reuters, I have applied for being a Sales representative, Medical transcriptionist, talent acquisition staff and many more to mention. Heck, I even accidentally applied to a call center with low salary. Thank God I didn’t pursue it because the current job that I have is the closest thing related to my course.

I have passed the examinations and interviews for the Publishing Specialist post at Thomson Reuters. I was just waiting for the contract signing until one of the HR of Thomson Reuters called me and informed me that I still haven’t passed the Medical Exam due to my high blood pressure. They asked for me to seek a medical clearance from an Internal Medicine physician stating that I’m clear from Hypertension and I’m fit to work. I thought it was going to be easy so I immediately went to the hospital to accomplish the requirement of the HR only to know that my blood pressure still hasn’t dropped. So I worked out and changed my eating routine for a week and some few days and I finally accomplished the normal blood pressure for me to have a medical clearance. Telling this story is so easy but I struggled not only physically but also emotionally. Eating is one of my hobby, passion, favorite thing to do, almost my LIFE (no kidding).. I just love love love eating and I had to deprive myself from eating my favorite food just to pass a requirement that’s needed from me. I succeeded though and now it actually helped me feel good about myself.

I still love eating but now I find myself not too sugapa for food. Throughout this healthy process, I learned to appreciate vegetables and fruits that I barely eat before. I realized that I really need it. I also appreciate jogging now which used to be a thing for me that’s like pulling a tooth through a door when you’re young. Now, I love how I feel. When you look good, you feel good. Not that I look that good but it’s better to walk anywhere without having a huge tummy.

Thomson Reuters is really a blessing for me for it taught me to live a healthy lifestyle. To think that I had no plans on working in this company because of the start date which is September 20. I told myself that by June/July, I should have a job and if I still don’t have any by August, that’s when I’ll apply in a Call Center company. Luckily, I didn’t and Thomson Reuters made me patient and it actually made me pursue a job that I really love. Working in an office is my thing. I am thankful to my OJT, Wildfire because they made me realize to follow what I love and I realized as I work during my OJT that production work is not my thing. Instead, I prefer being in front of the computer and I can work there even for the whole working hour. That is boring for some but I think that this is my cup of tea and that’s what I prefer.

And now, let’s go back to my food deprivation. This just made me look forward to September more especially my birthday. :) Being food deprived is hard for me and the moment I got my medical clearance, my anticipation for my birthday increased bigtime. I knew that no one is gonna hinder me from eating during my birthday. Heck, I was wrong. I actually didn’t eat much during my birthday but still, a week without food really made my wait for my birthday so sweet. This is why I was so excited about this month and I still am. The first week happened with me signing my contract for Thomson Reuters and celebrating my birthday. All my preparations for my birthday paid off because I didn’t only improve my relationship with my mom, we bonded from going to the market and buy food, to cleaning the house, to cooking food, preparing all the stuff needed for my birthday but also, my closest friends came. It was fun to celebrate a party when you all know everyone around and they’re happy for you and you all see their smiles greeting you. It was a FANTASTIC party. I know I had fun and my visitors swept all the food that we’ve prepared for them. The party didn’t end through that party because the day after, me and my College friends went to Nuvali and just chilled through the burning heat of Sta. Rosa. LOL. When I went back home, I immediately slept and when I woke up, I had flu and sore throat. BOO

The second week of September, despite my flu, I finished my thesis of course with the help of my thesis mate Pat and the money of Fila. Pat helped me lots for that thesis even though she doesn’t need it yet and she still have lots of responsibilities at school. My only concern about her is that she made me wait a lot of times and she’s sorta a cause of delay but it’s all good because all my efforts for it paid off as I am already cleared and I’m ready to get my TOR on Oct. 5. :) I need it for my job. Also, this week is the start of Survivor Nicaragua. My favorite show ever and I’m just happy. :p All my friends know that I love Survivor and before my Day 1 at my work, it’s cool that I got to see an episode, live. The icing on the cake is that my favorite, Brenda, dominated the first episode. :D

Now, the only thing I’m looking forward is my Day 1 at work in Thomson Reuters Legal. I can’t wait to be a part of them and officially say that I’m working at Thomson Reuters. I’m proud to have my first job there and it’s 2 days from my first day of work. I just hope that these blessings continue so I could not only look back at September to be MY month but I would also like to say by the end of this year that this is my year. I have good vibes that this will be my favorite year.

But life is good. Life is amazing, because there’s still a party waiting for me before working. Tomorrow will be my grandmother’s 85^th birthday. For the past 5 or 6 years, she have been sent to the hospital twice and one of those instances, she almost died from heart failure that’s why I’m happy for her and I would like to have the opportunity to at least hug her again. She’s very supportive of her grandchildren especially regarding Academics because she used to be a teacher and a principal. She is so proud of me when she learned that I landed a job.

That’s it. This is my September.

2 months of Unemployment

Why am I such in a hurry to be employed? I don't know but before, I know why, I'll use my career as the way to move on my depressing problems. But it's different now when companies are starting to call me.

I have a job interview for tomorrow at Makati. When I saw their email, I was ecstatic but then, as I practiced my "My name is blah blah blah", studied the requirements, responsibilities & the nature of the company, something startled me. In addition, my mother asked me if I'm ready to have a job. I realized, geez, why am I such in a hurry? To be honest, I need to calm down and relax. I'm not even employed yet but I feel like even though I'm eager to have a job, I'm probably not ready yet. I'm sure I'll miss these bum days when I finally have a job but we'll see.

The only point of this dilemma is that the reason why I'm going back and forth into thinking if I should pursue this job/interview is that I still don't know what I would like/love to do in life. I don't know. I don't excel in anything. Well, I excel in using the internet and socializing with people but I don't know any job that is close to that. I'm only average to everything that I know. That's my problem and I'm hoping that soon, I'll discover what I really love and what I'm really good at. *sigh* I wonder what am I going to be 1 year, 5 years from now. I just don't see the maturity in me and I can't force myself to be mature because that's just impossible. But even though this bothers me, I kind of like this because this is also what makes my life unpredictable and interesting but so far, what's predictable in my life is that, I won't move unless others help me. Wah I need to change this but whatever... I'll get through this. Wahh I need to grow up. Probably.. I don't know. Lulz

May 19, 2010

Tingin ko, nangyari na yung dating akala ko ay imposibleng mangyari.

Thank you Lord. :)

She Played Twice, Won Twice

Congratulations Sandra Diaz-Twine for being the Sole Survivor of probably the greatest season of Survivor, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains.

Overall, it was a great season of Survivor. Every Tribal Council delivered. If not all, 3/4 of the Tribal Councils this season were great.

I prefer a Parvati win this season just because she's great in all of the aspects of Survivor but I guess that Sandra is just better at expressing herself in Final Tribal Councils that the whole game didn't matter because she speaks eloquently. I won't say that Parvati sucked at the FTC but she didn't shine in it and she wasn't able to defend herself regarding playing the game by her own without Russell related to her. I can't blame her, Russell was her only choice. I thought it's actually a great strategy for her since she had no one to run to during the beginning of the game because almost everyone thought that she's the biggest threat in the game and was gunning for her. It turned out that Sandra was the biggest threat and for Parvati to reach the end game, it's amazing that's why I prefer her to win than Sandra. She also surprised me with her challenge domination this season. But I love both of them equally and I just wish that one of them is the 4th placer. I thought it would be less disappointing for the 2nd placer to be 4th than to lose in a close vote in the FTC but I don't know. Either way, I'm happy that Sandra won the game.

I won't bother writing anything about Russell because he just sucks and in the Reunion show, he proved that he's not playing the game to win so he's really the perfect goat to the end because he's zero when it comes to the social part of the game.

Anyway, cheers to all Survivor fans for another great season. Looking forward to Survivor Nicaragua. Woooh 21st season and going strong. :)

Rule #32 - Enjoy The Little Things

I got this rule from the movie Zombieland. It's my favorite rule along with rule #18 Limber up. I watched this with my friends, Neh, Zel, Dong and Jigs.

And even though today is nothing special and there isn't a huge wave of zombies approaching in my life, still, I realized that I'm probably mastering rule #32. ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS.

This is me at the moment-- bum, unemployed, pennyless, a little bored, single, ugly (only because of pimples but my facial features are still awesome), hmm what else? That's it. :) And even though I'm unfortunate with my career hunting and I'm so eager to find a job just cause I need money so badly just to pay back the things that my friends bought for me for the past few weeks and to spend it for myself with all the gadgets and other things that I'm planning to do and buy, I keep surprising myself because these life proficiencies that I'm having at the moment don't make me sad and lame. Instead, other little things are continuously going my way and I enjoy it.

Thanks to my friends who keep on pulling me to go to anywhere they want. I'm very lucky to have them because I need them. Sa totoo lang, parang ang epal epal ko na sa lahat ng mga kaibigan ko. But from what I see and feel, they actually love me. Di ko na nga kailangan pang analisahin toh pero nakakatuwa lang isipin na sa mga nagdaang linggo, ilang tao ang mga nakasama ko. Marami. Iba-iba at lahat sila kaibigan ko. Ang dami kong kaibigan. Ako na! :))

Hindi lang yung mga nakakasama ko sa gala, kasama na din yung mga kalaro ko sa PEX at Games that Suck ng Survivor games. I have grown to know some of them and to an extent, care for them. Some of them knows my life stories even though we haven't met each other in real life and we're just friends in FB and to other existing sites and forum. Ang saya kasi natutulungan ka din nila hindi lang dahil common ang interests niyo, kundi, dahil kahit paano, sa mga stories at sa pinagsamahan niyo sa games, ay nagkakakilanlan na din kayo. One time nga, nagpapasa ako ng resume ko sa kumpanya na pinagtatrabahuhan ng kalaro ko pero walang nangyari. LOL

Magaan ang buhay ngayon. All you have to do is appreciate and love the people around you who loves you. These little things are actually the huge ones. After that, wala ka nang dapat isipin. Magiging masaya ka na lang at makakalimutan mo na problema mo. Sa ngayon, ang pinakaproblema ko na lang ay makahanap ng trabaho at matuto magdrive. Huhu gusto ko na matuto magdrive, una, kasi pag natuto ako magdrive, may karapatan na ko mag-aya ng gala. Ikalawa, baka kailanganin ko din sa future career ko. Nag-apply din kasi ako bilang Med Rep pero kelan kaya ako matututo magdrive???

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day everyone.

It's still early but my day will probably be a sad day. I opted to stay at home rather than to go to Pampanga with papa and my sister's family for my cousin's daughter's baptism and my other cousin's birthday. I was supposed to go with them but I've learned that they won't go home til tomorrow and tomorrow is the May 10 Elections and the only reason why I didn't come is that I want to vote. It's the first automated elections and it would be cool to be a part of that as I can say after I vote that I'm one of the millions of Filipinos who were able to vote in this huge event but by choosing this, my day will probably be sad, boring and stucked in front of the computer. Hopefully not. I'll probably just ask my mom to go to the church later, just the 2 of us, and at least celebrate this day for mothers, with of course, my mother.

Thinking about it, it's a shallow reason to be sad. I'm not really this dramatic when it comes to my family anyway but I guess, I expected that we'll be complete for this day because of Mother's day and we will go eat in a restaurant and I also expected that we will go to the precinct together tomorrow because we all registered at the same time but the plan was ruined and now, it makes me sad. LOLOLOL ang babaw! But probably the real reason why I'm sad at the moment is that, being alone will just make me feel lonely and insecure. I'm trying to avoid feeling this feeling because I'm not really alone. In my mind, I think that the people I care for, not only just my family, are having fun right now. Not that I'm not happy for them but it sucks when you're sad and you need a companion but no one's available for you. I'm not alone though. I have many friends but it sucks because they all have something to do, they have their own lives and they're busy and they can't be there for me just because I'm nagdadrama and I have to ruin their happy hours just for me and even though I wanna spend my time with them, I don't even have money right now to go to their places. Makes me really want to have a job now so that I won't be stucked here at home. It's miserable when you don't have anything to do and you don't have money to fulfill your boredom. It sucks. I just need someone, someone to talk to that whenever others are busy, that person will be always be available for me even with her busiest schedules. But I've got none so yeah, I just have to suck on this misery. Tsk. Makakahanap din ako. Huhu Trabaho sana dumating na. Oh well..

Ui may nagtext. :)

May you all have a happy day!