Kung Fu Panda Sunday

Two Sundays ago, I went to SM Megamall with my younger sister to have some quality time and to score some stuff from the mall. Sadly, we didn’t have much money to spend, so instead of spending what was left from our weekly allowance, we decided to fill our hungry tummies instead.

As mentioned, the lack of financial resources forced us to walk around the mall food court to look for food. I was happy they had Taho Boy, the same one from Greenhills Promenade. I wasn’t able to take a photo of it, but I assure you it’s really good. After some taho, we found this little stall called Chef Chow’s Shabu-Shabu Xpress. They were selling hot pot food and soup!!! How cool is that? My sister had no choice, my decision was final, we were getting this one.

 Chef Chow's Shabu Shabu Express

 Crabsticks! Not the most adventurous choice I must say.

My Kung Fu Panda bowl (although they look more like albino rats)

So I ordered one order of crabsticks with noodles and soup and another order of Kung Fu Panda with noodles and soup too. I’m guessing the Kung Fu Panda was made of fish balls and some rice cakes. I asked for chili oil which made the soup really yummy. Each cup/bowl costs around 40 pesos, so that’s a pretty good deal for me. My sister, on the other hand, was not quite satisfied so she bought Korean/Japanese pancakes before going home. These pancakes had dulce de leche and chocolate fillings which I didn’t enjoy at all.

Corn-shaped pancakes

I’ll really miss these Sunday bonding times with my sister or with myself. I’m afraid medical school can’t even give me the free time that I need once a week. So while I’m still here and have a lot of time to waste, I’m planning to waste it in the best way possible. Looking forward to an eventful and adventurous month of March ahead!

A Hopia Discussion

I must say, I’m very particular when it comes to my hopia. I only like ube or monggo, but leaning more closely to the latter.

I hate hopia baboy mainly because it loses the main idea of a hopia which for me should be sweet. Because of my incessant love for these Chinese pastries, I have trained myself to trying out the different kinds of hopia. The more famous ones come from Eng Bee Tin, while there are some who buy Polland or whatever brand is available in the supermarket.

My choice however will always be Ho-land. I’m not sure if a lot of people know this brand, but I’m guessing only those who frequently visit Ong Pin in Binondo can relate. Anyway, I really like this because of the consistency of the flavor, texture and appearance of their hopia.

 
Why the heck am I spending time talking about this hopia?! Well, I happen to be a free woman (at least before med school) hence this hopia discussion. I'll be posting more often now since I really have a lot of time to waste. Hihi feels so gooood.

On Romantic Dinners in the Future

There are two ways to spend your Valentine’s Day: to really enjoy it or to wish it ends already. I’ve had my share of both today, but I’d like to think I’ve done more of the former than the latter.

It’s not really my favorite holiday of the year, but it's not the worst either. I’d rather have Christmas twice a year than have Valentine’s and I say this not because I’m bitter over something. I just think everyone can have this much love if it was Christmas, since everyone has the equal chance of getting gifts. Anyway, speaking of gifts, today I got flowers.

 Doot-in-doo-doo

Where did you come from, little darling?

I have never received real flowers in college, except for origami ones (which remain very dear to me, hence I’ve kept them). It was nice to feel special or even liked, but sometimes, it’s hard to accept something when you’re not sure of how you’re supposed to feel for these things or for these individuals. Nonetheless, thank you. And to whoever you are who have given me this lone rose, thank you more. Aside from not receiving real flowers for so long, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a rose from an anonymous person. So thank you for this lovely gesture. Here's to hoping they did not come from the same person.

I have to admit, I’m never good at situations when I’m caught off guard. But then again, who is? I think, as much as the person who gave these things should matter, what matters more for me is the act of giving itself. Cut off the head (hihi sorry) of the gift giver and I think I will have the same feelings – surprised, shaky, and flattered. Eck, I’m such a girl.

So to drive away the weirdness that was Valentine's day, I had a lovely dinner with J. We settled for Maginhawa, thinking it probably would have enough room for single ladies like us since couples would go for a more classy and romantic venues. Well, I guess we were a bit wrong on that couples going for the better stuff. Cocina Juan was reserved for couples, but good thing we managed to get a table outside.

My Valentine for this year :)

Complimentary red-colored nachos 

 Baked Fish con Mozzarella

 Tuna Pita Pizza

Complimentary dessert

They serve good fish; I had some baked fish con mozzarella. It’s basically cream dory topped with cheese, then baked to a certain degree of goodness. We were also served some complimentary nachos and dessert, only because it was Valentine’s. It was good catching up with long-time friends and to look back on the things we’ve done before but only laughed at now. We’re a bunch of crazy people, I must say.

Ended the night with some milk tea from Moonleaf Tea, a new tea shop found somewhere along Maginhawa, near I Heart Froyo. I like their Oolong milk tea -- just the right taste of oolong tea, but they can probably work on their milk. I saw bits of undissolved milk powder in my drink. :)

When I got home, I opened my mail and saw this.

Kythe boys greeting the Kythe girls a happy Valentine's day 

Thank God for thoughtful little boys in my life. Hahaha. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

I just have to add this, because reading J's post made me cry a little. Hihi. Yes, I would also like to have a fancy dinner with a fancy man clad in a fancy suit that matches my fancy dress and shoes. That will be nice. But this is something that I'm wishing to come true, not tomorrow, not in the next few months, but probably, in a few more years or so. And I'd like to have some wine with that dinner too.

From the Backseat

In the four years that I’ve been staying in Quezon City, it’s inevitable for me to ride the cab once in a while, to go somewhere either for school or for fun. Last Friday, I had to take the cab from Medical City (venue for my med school interview!) to Katipunan. It was an interesting 30-minute drive. For those who have been taking the taxi for a while now would know that there are three kinds of cab drivers: the quiet one who minds his own business and gets you to where you want to go; the creepy one who looks into the mirror once in a while, reaches for something somewhere and makes you feel really uncomfortable and afraid that he might rape you, and the talkative one who likes to talk about the weather, about Mike Enriquez on the radio, about his family, and just about anything.

So last Friday, it was interesting that the cab driver was extra cheerful to talk to me for the whole trip back to Katipunan. He was talking about his experience as a soldier in Mindanao for more than three years. He said he was lucky enough to be alive despite of being assigned in critical locations. He went on saying how much he hated the generals for stealing all the money that was supposed to go to the needs and supplies of the soldiers. The driver told me that soldiers were supposed to have at least five sets of uniform, but because the money seemed to have gone elsewhere, they can only be given one or two and these were supposed to last for their whole stay in a particular site. Aside from his military experience, the driver shared about his family. His eldest was graduating in three years from law school while his two other children were still in college. He shared that he realized, during his stint as a soldier, that there were other, safer ways for him to earn a living and to be with his family and so he decided to be a taxi driver and give up his job as a soldier.

But why am I sharing this and not my experience in the ASMPH interview? It just feels really good sometimes to talk to a stranger without having to worry what I’m supposed to say next or what information I have to share. I’m sure a lot of us have had experiences with cab drivers who just can’t help themselves in sharing their stories to their passengers. This wasn’t the first, but it was something I’ll be remembering for a while. Do you have your own taxi stories to share?

New Dreams

So if you’re not up for another movie review then maybe this isn’t the right page to read. Can I interest you with my photo blog instead? But in case you’re still there for a bit of movie review, here we go.

Tangled has been shown for weeks now, but it was only last Sunday that I had the time and the company to go and watch it at the cinema. Can I just sidetrack for a bit and digress on how much I’m missing out on the new movie releases now? It just seems pointless to go to the movies when there’s no on there to laugh or cry with you. Eck, moving on.

The only reason I was forced to watch Tangled was because Love & Other Drugs was only being shown in Ultra 7, so might as well settle for something cheaper. Being a Disney movie, Tangled had the basic qualities one usually sees in Disney films. A pretty princess, a dashing young man or prince, an animal friend, an evil witch, and feel-good songs to sing to after. But other than these things, I think Tangled was able to stand on its own without forcing itself to be cute or romantic. I mean, it’s very different from last year’s Toy Story 3 with all the heartfelt drama of childhood, but there was definitely something in Tangled that makes the girls feel queasy. I mean, the sweet scenes between Rapunzel and Flynn weren’t that pilit, I can say they were funny even. But what I like most about the film is the flying lanterns scene. Sure, there was that part when Flynn almost kissed Rapunzel after they broke out into a song (which is must-download btw), what made me cry was the part when the king and queen released the first lantern, as a sign that “yes our little princess, we’re still here looking for you.” Just as I was still recovering from that heartbreaking scene, Zachary Levi goes off saying how what makes dreams beautiful is that once we reach one dream, we can make a new dream. I cried, seriously. I don’t remember crying in other Disney movies, but this one, oh my golly. Maybe it’s the senioritis that’s been infecting everyone else, or maybe the thought of having new dreams or fulfilling old ones touched a sensitive part of me. For a while, I asked myself if there ever came a point in my life that I attained one dream completely, enough for me to go and have a new one.

I like talking about dreams. There’s something about them that makes me hopeful and inspired. I guess, the idea of having dreams we wish to achieve gives us reasons to actually do something. Anyway, I mentioned how the soundtrack makes me feel happy, so here.

Thesis Done

After more than 10 months of "working" and working seriously, it's finally done! Behold, the fruit of our labor, the baby of our fertilization, the daughter cell of three mother cells.

Do you get it? Heehee. For the whole school year, we've been working on the waste segregation policy of four different universities in Manila, analyzing what could possibly influence their students to throw their trash in the right places. Sound simple? Well, kinda. To be honest, whenever people would ask what our topic was, I'd really laugh because sometimes, the topic feels like a joke. Well, 106 pages of hard work is not really a joke. And it's not as easy as it looks. I like how our final theoretical framework has all these arrows point to each other and to different things. It's pretty cute.

Anyway, I shall work, yes, work and not sleep, on one more paper that's due tomorrow. Hayayay, last 15 days of my college life! Can't wait to get rid of all this work.