hump day updates - 2

i know!!! one day delayed and im sorry. lol .. i had a crazy day at work yesterday and i had dinner plans last night.

* end of the month bullshit here at work is driving me up the wall! i want it over! i need a force field.

* i saw melody lacayanga at the dance studio i go to last monday night. she's soo cute and diminutive. i wanna marry her.

* The Amazing Race was fun! non-elimination round so the pink Godlewski sisters were saved.

* off to vegas this weekend to see jason mraz play at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. good times! kinda scared about the drive though coz it's halloween weekend and im sure a lot of peeps are trekking out to the desert.

* speaking of halloween, i'm still undecided what i will be this year.

* it's been rainy and cold the past few days - a sign that winter is just around the corner. time to take out those sweater, coats, scarves and beanies. cold season in southern california doesn't last very long though and thank god we don't have to deal with snow since my tolerance for cold weather is pretty low.

* imma try making pork sinigang tonight. i really like it maasim! (making asim face) and i like mashing the gabi with the rice then pour sour broth over it. pass me the patis!

* it's sorta my policy to learn something new every day and today i learned that the english term for gabi is taro root.

* The Tourettes Cowboy - a must see for the silly peeps like me.

* i badly need to get new headphones for my ipod. my right earpiece conked out. i dunno but listening to music with one earpiece doesn't feel right.

it's really pointless

top 10 things that make alex happy ...

10. home cooked chicken adobo over a plate of steamy white rice...

9. a kick-ass routine at dance class...

8. an acoustic Mraz concert...

7. long weekends consisting of trips to the beach or a road trip to Santa Barbara or San Diego...

6. endless afternoon naps...

5. ipoding at work...

4. fresh contact lens are almost orgasmic...

3. lunch breaks by the lagoon...

2. trip to a city/state i haven't seen before...

1. someone special who'll make an extra effort to make me happy when all else fails...

alex the chef

my latest culinary accomplishment - beef with mushrooms and kaldereta! lmao ... damn, it feels good to actually know how to cook something. i'm slowly graduating from eternal sandwiches, tv dinners and microwaveable meals. it's awesome!

and even though the kaldereta took me two hours to prepare, it was worth every minute! the end product almost brought me to tears because it reminded me of home. it was a lucky first try i have to admit. i got the exact taste how mama makes it (unlike my first try with adobo which was only half-way decent). and after two hours of cooking it, i finished my meal in just 20 minutes. is it just me or does one really eat faster when they are all alone?? sadness...

so my next mission is pork sinigang which i heard is uber easy to make - even easier than beef steak. i'm not a big pork-y oink-y fan but i might as well tryit and add to my roster of culinary achievements. oooh it just hit me - shrimp sinigang! lol...

hump day updates

ok ... every wednesday starting today, imma try doing a weekly-update-whats-goin-on-with-my-life-random-shoutouts-i-speak-my-mind-blah-blah-i'm-a-dork kinda post ...

* san francisco trip last weekend. happy to see my step-lola. pig out on caldereta and rice. ulk!

* hang out with my high school friend Mei on sunday afternoon. window shopping in downtown san fran. stroll on market street. movie at metreon. dinner at Cheesecake Factory which sits on the rooftop of the Macy’s Building in the heart of Union Square. sigh, a pretty autumn day in san fran!

* thanks for a storm named Wilma, i had the most horrifying flight ever! 30 minutes of turbulence while i watched lighting and rain thru the airplane window. i seriously thought that was it - the end, kaput, goodbye, adios, sayonara. i held on to my armrest like i would hold on to my dear life. i said a prayer and made a note to my family and friends just in case i die inside this crappy piece of flying metal called Southwest.

* ugly shoes and i talked last night. pleh! i can see where this "relationship" is going. "call you in a few days." makes me shudder every time!

* my YM buddy lesley is in a flash training in anaheim today. ugh, it's almost impossible to survive a work day without her!!

* from KGB (10/18) "Hi alex how are u. What u dont like to talk to me any more? No call, i see ur friends out, but your not there. What is all this about. I think i saw u on friday, maybe. U look hot, if it was not u well u looked hot anyway. I think ur hair is longer maybe. Well any way myy weekend was ok, just chilled out and saw a movie. I heard u were in S.F. to see family. Ill call u tonight. chow."

* i freakin missed Amazing Race Family Edition last night. grrrr ....

* i am very close to maxing out one of my credit cards! *shock*

* i discovered a Big Lots close to work - 3.5 miles away only!

* billie, a very good college friend of mine is coming to LA. wow! i think it's been about 5 years since i last saw her. can't wait!

* dance class tonight .. weee!!!!

* my next culinary project - beef with mushrooms.

* it's 3:56pm. an hour and a half to go! i'm clockwatchin.

denial

a routine trip to K-mart turned out to be a wake-up call.

i almost flipped when i walked into a section of the store laid out with fake christmas trees, beaming santas, and endless rows of holiday decors. i yelled to myself - 'already??! fuck me, i ain't ready'.

halloween isn't even over yet. for a second, i was tempted to talk to the manager to ease my panic attack. i wanted tell him that this isn't right. after a few seconds of deep breathing, i realized that it is already october and indeed, the holidays is just around the corner. it pretty much goes downhill after halloween. holiday songs will be playing on the radio, holiday decors everywhere you turn, red/green/gold ornaments etc etc! and slowly i will drift into my annual holiday depression. for me, the holidays mean 'a complicated level of homesickness'.

hohoho ... with a frown.

=(

Cold, cold water surrounds me now
And all I've got is your hand
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Or am I lost?

(from Damien Rice's Cold Water)

pinoy beef steak

yum yum for my tum tum!!!

sunday night i was bored out of my wits when suddenly i remembered the beef steak recipe my sister gave me over the phone just a few nights ago. i rushed to Pavillions at the top of my street, got the ingredients and 30 minutes later i was enjoying a plateful of rice and my own home-made beef steak. it wasn't difficult to make it. and i realized what a dork i was for not trying it sooner.

and i am oh so proud of myself. hehe ... it wasn't as good like my yaya back home would cook it but mine turned out ok for a first-time try. i was so happy with my beef steak that i was tempted to gobble up the whole thing. lol ...

maybe this coming weekend i'll try adobo. it's gonna my new thing - i should learn how to make filipino dishes. i've been asked a million times before by my american friends if i know how to make chicken adobo or pansit (apparently, these are the most popular filipino dishes). i die of embarassment everytime i answer in the negative.

i should call home and tell mom about my recent culinary success. hahaha .. it's been 2 days and i'm still stoked over my beef steak. so stoked that i even had to make a special blog entry about it! good times!!